Critical Run is a sweating debating format for criticism.

The concept is developed by artist Thierry Geoffroy and the purpose is to train the awareness muscle by discussing a topic while running. Distances are relatively short and participants are often dressed in normal shoes and clothes.

Topics discussed so far include: "Does art has an impact in political decisions" and "optimism at the age of global war".

Critical Run has taken place in New York, London, Istanbul, Athènes, Paris, Siberia, Copenhagen, Moskow, Napoli and den Haag.

Check the website for upcoming runs.

• www.emergencyrooms.org/criticalrun.html

"It was 300 days too long. He gave me his cell phone so I couldn’t call him any more."

Museum Of Broken Relationships is a website and touring exhibition of stories and donated objects that represent broken relationships.

You can participate by donating an object and sharing a story. A donation form can be found at the museum's website.

Next stop will be at the Root Division in San Fransisco. The reception is today, Feb 14 - Valentine's day!

• www.brokenships.com

Why follow the lines, when they can follow you?

Intervention by Sara Dierck and Michael Dodge.
Check Sara's website for more art projects and quirky designs.

• www.saradierck.com

Causas Externas is a young design collective based in Barcelona who create experimental objects that play with the border between interior and exterior.

One of their objects 'Grass Tiles', is a modular object that makes it possible to add pieces of grass to your habitat.

The tiles comes in movable squares and can be used in either indoor or outdoor spaces such as terraces or houses with no garden or even an office space.

• www.causasexternas.com

Color Pencils by the Finnish artist Jonna Pohjalainen, created during a workshop in environmental art at the Open-Air Art Museum in Pedvale.

• www.environmentalart.net

Humongous knits, used as decorative sitting objects. Looks very comfortable.

Designed by Bauke Knottnerus who apparently also created a magenta covered room long before the Pink Prank Project became a viral smash hit.

• www.baukeknottnerus.nl

Simple DIY hack that solves a classic problem.

• anti-seat-back

The Danish Design Center in Copenhagen is currently showing the traveling exhibition Sauma [Design as Cultural Interface], a presentation of innovative contemporary design from Finland.

The exhibition - produced by the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York - contains around 20 projects that on different levels experiment with themes such as usability and user-experience.

My favorite projects has to be the most experimental ones. Like the Dance Shoes and Jacket for Lonely People by Aamu Song & Johan Olin as well as the intriguing roller blinds Better View Blind by Elina Aalto.

For some reason, the Design Center changed the exhibition-title to [User Driven Design], which is somewhat misleading if that is what you are looking for. Besides, an exhibition featuring user driven design from Finland would surely include Nokia and Linus Thorvalds who took a user-driven approach long before the term became popularized (neither are included).

In any case, if you can't make it to the physical exhibition space, SAUMA is accessible and well presented on the web too. It's worth a visit.

• www.saumadesign.net

"Ur" (clock) is a time-consuming performance by the artist Mads Lynnerup, recently held at Karriere Bar in Copenhagen in conjunction with the U-TURN quadrennial for contemporary art.

From seven in the morning till midnight, the artist, supposedly, acted as a 'live clock' by manually changing numbers on a hand-held sign every single minute.

• uturn-copenhagen.dk

The artist Elke Veltman turned an elevator into a living room and stayed there for a whole day.

The event was recorded on the elevators' security cam and the footage shows how people (guests) enter and leave the elevator (living room).

Semi-Related: Random Lift Button.

• Video on YouTube and more images of the lift project here.