Panasonic “Cut Out the Darkness” Campaign

This is a really nice project by Panasonic which aims to provide light to 1.3 billion people who do not have electricity. It was started back in 2006 and they aim to have distributed 100,000 by the company’s 100th anniversary in 2017.

The “cut out the darkness” campaign offers the general public the chance to design and submit their own cut-out patterns for the Panasonic lanterns. By including the general public, the campaign promotes the understanding of life in areas without electricity. This is in the aim to have beneficial repercussions as the public become more charitable, environmentally and humanitarianly conscious.

I created my own design and submitted it to Panasonic in the aim for it to be voted in to the top 100 designs. My inspiration for my shade was football and more specifically David Beckham. This was because football brings happiness to people in all corners of the world.

Both children and adults can forget about the reality of the world whilst they have a kick about. The idea behind the shade is that they can continue this enjoyment and in turn create a relaxing environment for them to dream and aspire in. This is especially for the children who can aspire to role models like David Beckham and dream for a better life.

No matter what gender, age or language, people know David Beckham due to his unique global image. With him as my root of inspiration, I went with the idea of having past famous football players who played and wore the number 7 shirt for Manchester United to be shining from the lantern. These four players included; George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. I chose these four past players because they all represent different decades of football and Manchester United and so people of many generations can enjoy the atmosphere of my lantern shade.

On the 7^th February, Panasonic closed the campaign’s submission and released the report results on the 10^th. My design came thirteenth out of over five hundred and thus was one of the hundred to be sent off with the first release. My shade will be manufactured and donated to people living without electricity on Sumba Island in Indonesia. I can not wait to see a manufactured model of my design and hope the people it is donated to enjoys it and benefits from it.

I am very privileged to have my design voted in and appreciate those who voted for my creation. I am very thankful I got involved in the campaign to help raise awareness for those living without electricity across the globe and to give to those who are less fortunate than myself. I know I will do a lot more charitable campaigns from now on and encourage people to do the same.

The Nou Camp Expansion

The Nou Camp Expansion

Home to one of most successful football teams of all time and arguably the most successful in the past decade, Barcelona’s Nou Camp has become an iconic symbol of the club’s greatness. However, for many years now, the club has been discussing the possibility of expanding the stadium.

The first question I asked when I heard this was why? The stadium is the largest in Europe and eleventh in the world, boasting a maximum capacity of 99,786 fans so why add more? It is simple really. The desire to watch the team’s matches are at a huge demand and no wonder due to the club’s recent dominance not just in Spain but in Europe.

The club were pondering two ideas for expansion, the first being the expansion of the original stadium whilst the second was to build a new one. The later proposal had plans developed by Lord Norman Foster and was to hold a capacity of 106,000 people. The build featured a new roof and outer-shell which surrounded the original stadium and had a beautiful mosaic like outside with translucent tiles that glowed during games.

However, on the 22^nd January 2014, it was decided that the original stadium was to be expanded, scrapping Lord Foster’s plans. The new plan sets to increase the capacity to 105,000 by adding a new, much steeper first tier. The stadium will also have improved functionality and accessibility making the venue which was built in 1957 much more modern. The stadium will have a roof that covers all the tiers, instead of just one and from first images looks magnificent. I am sure the expansion will continue the Nou Camp’s symbolism of Barcelona’s success.

If any of you have been to the Nou Camp then I am sure you will agree with me here that the upper tiers are already extremely steep. I went for a tour of the stadium and felt terrified of how steep the upper tier was. I cannot image how more ominous this feeling must be during a full capacity match.  The new tier may offer a better viewing experience but there really is a limit to how steep you should make your stadium and Barcelona’s is already too much.

With all that in mind, plus the 2021 expected completion date and the £495 million estimated build cost, is all worth it for an extra 5,214 fans per match? I would not say so because by 2021 the demand for tickets will outgrow the expansion and so further plan discussions will take place right after competition.