A Car Made of Cars: the Suame Magasine, Kumasi with Set Up Shop
Photo: "A Car made out of Cars" hood ornament, made from melted down car parts in the Suame Magasine. Cynthia Hathaway
With students of the Rietveld designLAB, and the Painting and Sculpture Department of the KNUST University in Kumasi, Ghana, I was invited to participate in the initial design research phase of the African Car project of Set Up Shop (led by Melle Smets and Joost van Onna) to support initial design research for a car made in the largest open air auto factory/community of the Suame Magasine. In the Magasine 200,000+ artisans with 12,000 shops are dedicated to the reuse of tons of used automobile parts imported from Europe. One of the goals of Set Up Shop was to see how to build a concept car from a variety of car brands, with local artisans and to kick-start an earlier attempt 50 years ago of local car production. Using Action Research, Smets and van Onna started from scratch, working in context, mapping an informal network and community practice of social and economic transactions. Please see www.setupshop.eu for more detailed information.
With the research studies done in the Suame by KNUST Art and Engneering students and Rietveld DesignLab students, initial automotive ideas were conceived, from logos devised from Ashanti symbols, vegetable and palm oil engines, seat designs and cars that transform into mobile offices and shops. Design Lab students, Stijn van Kervel, Bob Vos and Lukas Wolzak produced a number of objects focused on making "car parts from cars". With Suame casting and molding experts, sewers, pattern makers, metal benders, furnace technicians, and mechanics of the Suame Magasine, steering wheels, car logos, ventilators, car seats, storage bags and cooking pots for the car engine were made from various automotive materials, parts and local production processes.
Thank you to Set Up Shop Team (Melle Smets and Joost van Onna), SMIDO, ITTU, KNUST University and Professor Kwaku Boafo Kissiedu and his participating students of the Painting and Sculpture Department, and the Rietveld Academy. And of course, all the wonderful artisans of the Suame Magasine.
International press links in English :
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=264770
http://business.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201302/101038.php
Thank you to Set Up Shop Team (Melle Smets and Joost van Onna), SMIDO, ITTU, KNUST University and Professor Kwaku Boafo Kissiedu and his participating students of the Painting and Sculpture Department, and the Rietveld Academy. And of course, all the wonderful artisans of the Suame Magasine.
International press links in English :
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=264770
http://business.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201302/101038.php
Below: Final design of the Turtle Truck, designed by Melle Smets and built from scratch by the artisans of the Suame Magasine out of numerous car parts.