Slow Ski

A new way to live mountains


Slow Ski is the new wave of skiing: an invitation to enjoy ski and snow with ease and slowness, enjoyng panoramics views and natural rhythms.
Slow Ski is the praise of the winter holiday to be spent without the frenzy of downhill skiing and incredible performances. This is a new approach to skiing, more relaxing, more user-friendly: in some ski resorts have already decided to equip the paths in this direction, providing them with comfortable benches and rest areas, to admire the surrounding views and to stop to breathe deeply, snow in sync with nature and embracing. The slow descent from the ski slopes is not taking speed on specific routes.
The trend, however, embraces more than one area and seems to know more fans of the genre: it is enough to mention the slow food culture to realize that in these frenetic times, on vacation you try just relaxing and find peace.
In an expression: slow ski.

Slow ski allows to enjoy the mountains in a more complete way
http://railaway.ffs.ch/snow-n-rail/tessin/

Slow Design

What is slow design? Where did the idea come from? What does it consist of?

Theory

Slow design manifests itself in existing objects and spaces, in products and buildings, in real and virtual environments, and in socio-cultural experiences. Analysis of such manifestations suggests eight distinguishable themes although cross-over and hybridisation between these themes is also observed. These eight themes - ‘tradition’, ‘ritual’, ‘experiential’, ‘evolved’, ‘slowness’, ‘eco-efficiency’, ‘open source knowledge’ and ‘technology’ - contribute towards understanding the potential benefits of slow design towards individual, socio-cutural and environmental well-being. This framework provides a platform for further debate while offering a pluralistic, secular canvas for designers to encourage individual and socio-cultural change towards slowing metabolisms for a more sustainable future.

Some examples

Recycled materials, conservation and innovation of traditional knowledge, encourages recycling and auto design, socio-cultural memory, enhancement of the book lady, identity, humor, joy and colors in everyday life. 
http://blog.bientotdemain.com/index.php/tag/piece-unique

London-based design firm Raw Nerve's Slow Design sofa: "Above all it emphasizes slowness in the creation and consumption of products as a corrective to the frenetic pace of 21st-century life."
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/green-ideas/slow-design-nyt-house-home-roundup-13108-041690
 

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/green-ideas/slow-design-nyt-house-home-roundup-13108-041690

Aerodynamics

How to exploit air flow

Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Understanding the motion of air (often called a flow field) around an object enables the calculation of forces and moments acting on the object. A typical propertie calculated for a flow field is speed.

Aerodynamic studies are applied in various disciplines, especially to design vehicles that have to be very fast, such as airplanes, rockets, racing cars but also "ordinary" cars: since aerodynamic, a car reduces the resistance of air and, as a consequence, consumes less fuel.

Air flow around three objects: spherical bodies are subject to an average resistance, the shape of an airplane wing minimizes the air resistance, and the resistance is high for bodies with large surfaces perpendicular to the flow.
http://dida.fauser.edu/aero/terza/alainfin/resisten.htm

In racing cars aerodynamics plays a very important role; mechanicians study very carefully how to design the perfect shape to let the driver go faster.
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wallpapers/pictures-of-f1-cars/bar-005-2003-f1-car-pictures/bar_cfd_2003_2/

The fastest gun in the west

Speed can save your life!

In many western film there are duels between cowboys, based on their speed with the gun; usually they place themselves facing one to the other at a given distance, and at a signal they shoot each other. Of course, fastness is essential to stay alive.

For example, this is a scene from "A fistful of dollars", a 1964 Italian-Spanish spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone; in this particular film, in addition to the duel, we can observe the rhythm of it: it is indeed a very slow scene, that changes suddenly to fast at the moment of shoot, this to create suspence and climax. Also the movements of the cowboys are very slow before the shoot.

Chromo-suggestions

Behind the colors

Usually we don't care about them too much, but colors have a great influence on our psyche.

In advertisement, places, business and many others fields, colors are used to send subliminal messages, acting on people's psyche and manipulate their behaviours in an indirect way.

For example, we can see that in fast food reastaurants there are very bright colors, most of all RED; this color is very important because, according to chromotherapy, it vehiculates messages of excitement, passion, vitality and fastness; here the hidden purpose is that of accelerate the movements of the customer to make room for another.

A McDonald's interior, full of red to make the customer consume faster.
http://blog.catapulta.it/tag/lavoro-mc-donald

From the other side, we can see that in places where you need to be calm and relaxed (hospitals, waiting rooms...), the main colors used are BLUE and GREEN; these are colors of nature, relax and slowness.

In hospitals and waiting rooms the main colors are blue and green, in order to calm down the patients.
http://www.ambulatorioveterinariobelgrano.org/galleria/index.html

Speed and symbolism

When architecture moves

Tatlin’s Tower or The Monument to the Third International is a grand monumental building envisioned by the Russian artist and architect Vladimir Tatlin, but never built.

It was planned to be erected in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, as the headquarters and monument of the Comintern (the third international).

A model of Tatlin's tower, that shuold have been high 400m (more than Tour Eiffel)
http://purplemotes.net/2007/07/01/cob-12-the-art-of-bureaucracy/

The tower's main form was a twin helix which spiraled up to 400 m in height; the main framework would contain four large suspended geometric structures.

These structures would rotate at different rates of speed.

At the base of the structure was a cube which was designed as a venue for lectures, conferences and legislative meetings, and this would complete a rotation in the span of one year (the slowest of the three structures). Above the cube would be a smaller pyramid housing executive activities and completing a rotation once a month. Further up would be a cylinder, which was to house an information centre, issuing news bulletins and manifestos via telegraph, radio and loudspeaker, and would complete a rotation once a day (the fastest of the three structures).

The rallenty effect

Let's watch it again in slow motion!

The instant replay is the replaying of video footage of an event or incident very soon after it has occurred.

In television broadcasting of sports events, instant replay is often used during live broadcast, to show a passage of play which was important or remarkable, or which was unclear on first sight. Replays are typically shown during a break.

The replay may be in slow motion, or from multiple camera angles. More advanced technology has allowed for more complex replays, such as freeze frame, frame-by-frame review, and overlaying of virtual graphics. Sports commentators analyze the replay footage when it is being played, rather than describing the concurrent live action.

In Italy the istant replay is often used during and after football matches, and it is often reason of quarrels.

Spot and commercials

A mix of concepts and techniques

The concept of speed and the binomial Fast/Slow are very important in the advertisement's field: these are very useful to underline some aspects of the product. Usually, as we can see in the following examples, slowness is bad, old, passed, while fastness is good, modern, new and technological advanced.


In this spot of Renault Clio the rallenty effect is used to communicate that "slowness is ugly", while the car is very fast (and so this isn't ugly).



This is a very famous 90's spot, directed by Spike Lee for Nike: The rallenty effect underlines the unbelievable capacity of the shoes, that let Jordan to "fly".


This is a spot that takes advantage of speed dating to comunicate the different possibilities of combinations of the product.

Photographic Techique

How to capture the movement 

The panning technique is used to suggest fast motion, and bring out the subject from other elements in the frame. In photographic pictures it is usually noted by a foreground subject in action appearing still (i.e. a runner frozen in mid-stride) while the background is streaked and/or skewed in the apparently opposite direction of the subject's travel.

Subject in focus and blurred background.

Blurred subject and background in focus.

http://gerasimone.altervista.org/2007/fotografare-il-movimento/

http://ste95.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/le-foto-in-movimento-si-fanno-con-la-tecnica-del-panning/

http://www.fotografia-digitale.info/tecniche/560/catturare-leffetto-movimento-in-fotografia/

Cinematographic Techniques

Slow down fastness, speed up slowness!

Fast Forward: to fast-forward means to move forward through an audio or video recording at a speed faster than that at which it would usually flow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKCG9rGFgqA&feature=related

Slow Motion: is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by August Musger.

Slow motion is ubiquitous in modern filmmaking. It is used by a diverse range of directors directors to achieve diverse effects. Some classic subjects of slow motion include:

• Athletic activities of all kinds, to demonstrate skill and style.
• To recapture a key moment in an athletic game, typically shown as a replay.
• Natural phenomena, such as a drop of water hitting a glass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBTbM80Aer8

Slow COLOR movement

Slow Color & DESIGNatural & for conscious comfort ™

The interesting thing about Slow Color Movement, is how in today’s fast paced world, it teaches you about being patient with yourself. Be it either to see how the colors will reveal themselves slowly, as the natural fabric dries, to just waiting for the natural dyes to boil slowly and not in a flash.

With a need to increase awareness about the consumers about the problem with synthetic dyes and the benefits of natural dyes, the SlowCOLOR movement looks to change perceptions and attitudes among consumers and the incumbents in the apparel industry in order to preserve and sustain natural dyeing traditions around the globe.

http://www.slowcolor.org/

http://www.crowdspring.com/project/2286725_designatural-the-slow-color-movement/details/ 
 

Slow Art

"Slow" ends up being a way of being

Slow art is an evolving movement championed by such proponents as Michael Kimmelman, chief art critic and columnist for the New York Times. It advocates appreciating an art work in itself as opposed to a rapid, flitting witnessing of art common in a hectic societal setting. One of its central tenets is that people often seek out what they already know as opposed to allowing the artist to present a journey or piece in its entirety.

Another interpretation of Slow Art relates to creating art in a slow way. This practice is about being mindful of detail, valuing the history inherrent in re-usable materials, putting time into creating small items. The practice encourages the maker to be naturally meditative as they create. "Slow" ends up being a way of being. An example of local makers creating in this way is highlighted by those involved with the inaugural Eastside Makers Market in Tasmania.

East Side Makers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Movement
http://eastsidemarket.blogspot.com/

Slow Reading

How to comprehend and appreciate a complex text

Slow reading is the intentional reduction in the speed of reading, carried out to increase comprehension or pleasure. The concept appears to have originated in the study of philosophy and literature as a technique to more fully comprehend and appreciate a complex text. More recently, there has been increased interest in slow reading as result of the slow movement and its focus on decelerating the pace of modern life.

The use of slow reading in literary criticism is sometimes referred to as close reading. Of less common usage is the term, "deep reading" (Birkerts, 1994). Slow reading is contrasted with speed reading which involves techniques to increase the rate of reading without adversely affecting comprehension, and contrasted with skimming which employs visual page cues to increase reading speed.

The earliest reference to slow reading appears to be in Nietzsche's (1887) preface to Daybreak: "It is not for nothing that one has been a philologist, perhaps one is a philologist still, that is to say, a teacher of slow reading."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_reading

Slow Travel

"If we have slow food and slow cities, then why not slow travel?" - Théophile Gautier

Slow Travel is an evolving movement that has taken its inspiration from nineteenth-century European travel writers, such as Théophile Gautier, who reacted against the cult of speed, prompting some modern analysts to ask "If we have slow food and slow cities, then why not slow travel?". Other literary and exploration traditions, from early Arab travellers to late nineteenth-century Yiddish writers, have also identified with slow travel, usually marking its connection with community as its most distinctive feature.

Advocates of slow travel argue that all too often the potential pleasure of the journey is lost by too eager anticipation of arrival. Slow travel, it is asserted, is a state of mind which allows travellers to engage more fully with communities along their route, often favouring visits to spots enjoyed by local residents rather than merely following guidebooks. As such, slow travel shares some common values with ecotourism. Its advocates and devotees generally look for low-impact travel styles, even to the extent of eschewing flying.

Aspects of slow travel, including some of the principles detailed in the Manifesto for Slow Travel, are now becoming to feature in travel writing. The Sloth Club Japan [www.sloth.gr.jp] produced a slow tourism manifesto in 2006 that incorporates culture, fair trade, ecology and spiritual reconnection and regular runs tours along these themes to places like Bhutan.

A new book series launched in May 2010 by Bradt Travel Guides explicitly espouses slow travel ideas with volumes that focus very much on local communities within a tightly defined area, often advocating the use of public transport along the way. Titles include Slow Norfolk and Suffolk, Slow Dorset and Exmoor and Slow North Yorkshire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Movement

http://www.slowtraveleurope.eu/data/downloads/hiddeneurope_25_slowtravel.pdf

http://www.sloth.gr.jp/E-index.htm 

Slow Parenting

Parents and children: happy and satisfied

Slow parenting is a parenting style in which few activities are organised for children. Instead, they are allowed to explore the world at their own pace. It is a response to concerted cultivation and the widespread trend for parents to schedule activities and classes after school; to solve problems on behalf of the children, and to buy services from commercial suppliers rather than letting nature take its course.

Slow parenting aims for the goal of allowing children to be happy and satisfied with their own achievements, even though this may not make them the wealthiest or most famous.

The parents of modern children are often encouraged to give each child the best possible childhood experiences, to ensure their success and happiness in adult life. However, it is argued that this may lead to over-stressed children who do not know how to take care of themselves. Their imagination and attention span are reduced. They expect constant stimulation.They are unable to cope with the unpredictability of the real world, either expecting their helicopter parents to intervene, or complaining about unfairness. They may not even understand who they are themselves until much later in adulthood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_parenting 

Slow City

 The Modern City: It can still be slow?

Cittaslow (literally Slow City) is a movement founded in Italy in October of 1999. The inspiration of Cittaslow was the Slow Food organization. Cittaslow's goals include improving the quality of life in towns while resisting "the fast-lane, homogenized world so often seen in other cities throughout the world" – as the official slowmovement.com description puts it. Celebrating and supporting diversity of culture and the specialties of a town and its hinterland are core Cittaslow values.

Cittaslow is part of a cultural trend known as the Slow movement.

Cittaslow has expanded broadly beyond Italy. By 2006, national Cittaslow networks existed in Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom; By mid-2009, fourteen countries have at least one officially accredited Cittaslow community. In July, 2009, the small seaside village of Cowichan Bay, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada became Canada's and North America's first Cittaslow town.

Movement's logo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cittaslow 

http://www.cittaslow.net/