Food and agriculture
The architect-researcher Anna Maria Orru, Brent Richards of the urban and rural design consultancy Transpolis Global, LLC, the artist Martin Hablesreiter, and Dorota Sienkiewicz of the European Public Health Alliance visited the Netherlands from 19 to 23 September 2011 to discuss designers' potential role in the food and agriculture sector.
The visit was a follow-up to Premsela’s strategic exploration of design’s role in agriculture last year at Kasteel Groeneveld in Baarn. Designers specialise in making technical solutions applicable in everyday life, and the food industry has not yet fully tapped their skills in this area. One of the meeting’s conclusions was that designers could help to improve the image of the industry and its products.
The guests visited Wageningen University, a leader in food and agriculture studies, and the design organisation Mediamatic and the food workshop-cum-restaurant De Culinaire Werkplaats in Amsterdam. They also met food designers Katja Gruijters and Marije Vogelzang and product designers Agata Jaworska and Frank Tjepkema.
The visitors took part in a Premsela expert meeting on 22 September, where they talked about how designers could contribute to the food and agriculture industry's image and the public's acceptance of new developments in it. They also discussed agriculture in urbanised societies and the new food culture.
