About this project

BACK STORY
Four days after Project M purchased a 2004 Ford F450 BioDiesel and embarked on its national (blank)LAB tour, the engine blew! We’ve spent the last two months trying to get Ford to make good on the engine, to no avail. Finally, we found a decent used engine at a discounted price and are anxious to get back on the road. But until we get the money to purchase and replace the engine, the project remains on hold. We need your help! Without a running truck, Project M can't continue the (blank)LAB tour.

(blank)LAB is a mobile studio constructed from a 20’ Hyundai shipping container that brings designers and communities together. It engages in the communities it visits in the hopes of fostering creative collaborations. The conversations that naturally occur when disparate groups are introduced, possibly for the first time, will be the catalyst for design projects meant to foster positive change. Essentially (blank)LAB is an incubator for creative minds to transform.

It has already engaged with over 200 people at various design conferences; "Better World by Design Conference" in Providence, RI, AIGA's "MAKE/THINK" in Memphis, TN and the "ACSA/NCAA" conference in St. Louis, MO. (see ENGAGE/TRANSFORM project with Sappi)

HELP US GET BACK ON THE ROAD
Your donations will go directly toward purchasing and replacing the 2004 Ford F450 PowerStroke BioDiesel to be efficient and safe as it travels and engages in these future plans:

2010 PLANS INCLUDE
– Visiting the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota for a two week Project M session. Pine Ridge is the poorest county in the US and has recently been covered in the New York Times about the growing state of gang violence. The new Project M'ers will engage with the residents of Pine Ridge in hopes of finding projects dealing with local issues while utilizing the power of design for the benefit of the community.

– Joining the Reverb's "Campus Consciousness" 2010 Tour in April which has the expectancy of reaching over 300,000 fans and 400 volunteers across the U.S. This tour "aims to inspire and activate students in a fun and exciting atmosphere while leaving a positive impact on each community and college that the tour reaches."

– Using (blank)LAB to showcase nada bike frames, which is the promotion of bicycle transportation as an environmentally conscience alternative to gas powered vehicles. While on the "Campus Consciousness" Tour, we plan on conducting bike workshops along with encouraging individuals to test out our demo nada bikes through friendly bike roller competitions inside (blank)LAB. We plan on contacting local bike co-ops in joining us for that city's stop to help with starting a relationship between the bike co-op and potential nada bike members.

– Partnering up with the Bamboo Bike Studio and showing how to build your bike out of this sustainable and abundant material.

– Writing a book for Princeton Architecture Press in part documenting this tour, as well as serving as a Project M manifesto.

– The Sundance Channel and MTV have both shown interest in documenting the spring tour.

ABOUT PROJECT M
Project M, founded in 2003 by veteran designer John Bielenberg in Belfast, Maine, is a group of designers, writers, and photographers brought together from around the world to challenge the conventions of design, and think wrong about how their talents can be used for the greater good.

LAST 6 MONTHS OF PROJECT M
– Opened a non-profit pie shop called PieLab in Greensboro, Alabama, funded in part through Kickstarter, that serves as a gathering space, education center and design studio focused on community revitalization. This project was featured in Fast Company, ID Magazine, GOOD Magazine, and we were interviewed on LA's NPR station, KCRW.

– Built Plot 63, a horseshoe park for a low-income community in Detroit. Watch coverage on the park on Fox News in Detroit.
– In Connecticut, a Project M session put on Pizza Farm which brought together a diverse community of about 300 for an afternoon centered around a celebration of the benefit of eating locally. (Read more about it here.)

– There is also a documentary film in the works about PieLab.

We believe that the potential impact of (blank)LAB's projects will have a profound effect on the people it will encounter. Thank you for your support!

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(blank)LAB is, at its essence, a bare bones mobile studio bringing designers and communities together. (blank)LAB engages the communities it visits in order to foster creative collaborations. The conversations that will naturally occur when disparate groups are introduced, possibly for the first time, will be the catalyst for design projects meant to foster positive change.

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