Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.12.2011, Qupperneq 23

23
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 18 — 2011
KáRI TULINIUS
HVALREKI
be you have somewhat silly ideas you
want to make happen and if you explain
them to others you get blank stares. But
in LornaLAB you get concrete feedback
from people that understand where you
are coming from." Þráinn continues:
"There is a lot of wasted effort in being
completely independent and trying to
reinvent the wheel. Here I have people
who can help and tell me when I am do-
ing something wrong."
Though the group is quite active,
and has led to a number of different
projects, from musical compositions
to university courses, the members
feel that it would be even more fruit-
ful if there were a set physical location
where they could meet. Until January of
this year, LornaLAB had space in Hug-
myndahús háskólanna ("The Universi-
ties' House of Ideas"). It was a building
with facilities for business start-ups
and organizations that might gener-
ate interesting ideas. Since it was shut
down, LornaLAB has led a nomadic ex-
istence. Halldór stresses that having a
home is important: "With physical prox-
imity, intermixing happens, arbitrary
connections are made because people
are open to one another and contribute
to each other's ideas."
The members feel strongly that a
media lab benefits society, as Hannes
explains: "It should be pointed out that
groups like this are seeds which can
grow in any direction. Some may even
become business ideas, even though it
is terrible to be always thinking along
those lines. But business people should
have no problem finding justifications
to assist something like this."
"A dAMN bEAUTIFUL GATEWAy"
One of the organisation's goals is to
have access to a fab lab, even run one
in association with like-minded groups,
such as Hakkavélin, a hacker space
currently located at the Reykjavík Uni-
versity. A fab lab, short for fabrication
laboratory, is a physical space with
a set of high-tech tools, usually com-
puter-controlled, that can make pretty
much anything that people can dream
up. Most have laser cutters, 3D print-
ers, lathes, grinders and tools for mak-
ing circuit boards. These are often as-
sociated with media labs, which is not
odd, considering that the fab lab idea
was first developed at the MIT Media
Lab.
Three fab labs exist in Iceland but,
as Halldór points out, "it is weird that
none of them are in Reykjavík. They are
in Sauðarkrókur, Akranes and in Vest-
mannaeyjar. Many of our members are
interested in working with others on
running one, and there is work being
done on making that happen. If the fab
lab would become reality, then we have
an anchor for our work."
One of the driving impulses be-
hind the fab lab concept is that they
are open to everyone, that any person
can come in off the street and work on
their idea. Halldór stresses this aspect:
"It is a damn beautiful gateway for the
general public into this 'do it yourself'
maker culture. [Fab labs] and the Ardu-
ino work hand-in-hand in a truckload of
projects. You design a system, cut out
some custom parts, rig it together and
the Arduino controls it. Whether it is a
robot or..." Bjarni interjects: "...a cooling
system for beer brewing."
"THE PROMISE OF FUTURE POS-
SIbILITIES"
LornaLAB, as an organisation, could
develop in many different directions,
which excites its members. Þráinn says:
"This is an idea generator. When you
have conversations, ideas are passed
around and people make use of them."
During our conversation so many dif-
ferent ideas for projects and ways that
members of LornaLAB can help each
other are brought up, that it can be
difficult to figure out exactly how the
organisation will develop in the future,
and that is the point. Hannes explains:
"Where it could lead is also important
to me. Seeds are being planted, and the
promise of future possibilities, which
alone is enough to keep me going."