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    Medprostor stacks firewood for Ljubljana design biennial exhibition

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    Firewood logs were used as modular stackable elements for the scenography of the BIO27 Super Vernaculars design biennial in Ljubljana, Slovenia, which has been shortlisted for a 2023 Dezeen Award.

    Curated by Jane Withers, the 27th edition of the city’s design biennial took place at the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) in the summer of 2022.
    Firewood was stacked in various ways to stage the BIO27 Super VernacularsThe four-month presentation explored how designers and architects are adapting vernacular traditions and value systems to respond to contemporary challenges like water scarcity, waste and declining biodiversity.
    Similarly, the brief for the exhibition design was to rethink classic parameters and consider sustainability in the context of a temporary show.
    The firewood bundles were used to display various design projects throughout MAOSlovenian architecture studio Medprostor chose to create the scenography from a readily available, locally sourced material that could be entirely reused at the end of the show.

    “Walls, planes, piles and lines of firewood are a part of the Slovenian visual landscape, as almost 59 per cent of the country is forested,” said Medprostor.
    “By only using the standard logs and non-invasive stacking and binding methods, all the material was returned to the supplier for further resale and use.”
    The logs were pre-cut to standard lengths so they could be reusedPre-cut to standard lengths, the logs were oriented vertically and bound together to create tables and platforms of varying heights and sizes throughout the exhibit areas.
    Some of the logs were notched in their tops to hold photographs and texts mounted on honeycomb cardboard sheets, which also formed flat horizontal surfaces for displaying items by participating designers.
    Photos mounted onto honeycomb cardboard were placed in notches on top of the logsBundles were also laid on their sides to act as low-lying display podiums for larger pieces.
    “The aim was to explore ways of stacking wood that are based in traditional techniques but can at the same time support new shapes and methods that evoke a sense of contemporaneity,” Medprostor said.
    Orange and grey straps recycled from the shipping industry were used to bind the logsThe grey and orange straps used to bind the wood and to hang cardboard panels from the ceiling were reused from the shipping industry.
    A few panels also incorporated video screens or served as a backdrop for projections, adding another medium through which the curated projects could be articulated.

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    Medprostor collaborated with graphic designers Studio Kruh and AA to continue the low-impact approach to the exhibition graphics and signage, which were primarily printed on-site at the museum.
    Additionally, the firewood was able to extend its drying process for the duration of the biennial, making it more energy-efficient when finally used as fuel, according to the studio.
    Hanging panels incorporated video screens and were used as projector backdrops”The drier the wood, the higher heating value and better environmental footprint it has,” Medprostor said. “While in the museum, logs can dry additionally and be returned to the supplier for further resale with a better ecological footprint.”
    “The museum becomes a part of the process of curing the wood.”
    All of the firewood was returned to the supplier when the exhibition endedThe BIO27 Super Vernaculars scenography has been shortlisted in the exhibition design category of the 2023 Dezeen Awards, along with a shrink-wrapped exhibition design by Didier Faustino and a showcase of recycled steel chairs by Daisuke Yamamoto.
    The awards will be presented during a ceremony and party in London on Tuesday 28 November 2023, with creative direction by The Unlimited Dream Company.
    The photography is by Ana Skobe and Klemen Ilovar.
    BIO27 Super Vernaculars took place at the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO), Ljubljana, Slovenia from 26 May to 29 September 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
    Project credits:
    Location: Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO), Ljubljana, SloveniaExhibition design: Medprostor: Rok Žnidaršič, Jerneja Fischer Knap, Katarina Čakš, Teja GorjupGraphic design: Studio Kruh + AACurator: Jane WithersAssistant curator: Ria HawthornBIO27 director: Anja Radović

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      Daisuke Yamamoto presents recycled steel chairs under Milan railway arch

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      Japanese designer Daisuke Yamamoto presented recycled steel chairs on podiums of the same material as part of an exhibition in Milan, which has been shortlisted for a 2023 Dezeen Award.

      Yamamoto’s Flow project explores ways to minimise industrial waste by focusing on a single material – light-gauge steel (LGS).
      Daisuke Yamamoto presented his Flow chairs as part of the Dropcity showcaseCommonly used in construction as a strong, lightweight framing option, LGS is also one of the industry’s largest waste products, Yamamoto claims, as it is rarely recycled after demolition.
      The designer therefore chose to create a second life for the steel sheets and components as a series of sculptural chairs.
      The chairs were placed on podiums made from the same light-gauge steelHe also used LGS to form platforms for showcasing the seating designs as part of an exhibition at Milan design week 2023 that has been shortlisted in the exhibition design category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.

      “This project began with the awareness that everyday recycled construction materials are disposed of, then new construction begins – a so-called ‘scrap and build’,” Yamamoto said.
      Each of the recycled steel chairs had a different form”Using the iconic LGS material – one of the most popular materials normally used in framing systems throughout the interior wall structure – we transformed it into beautifully redesigned furniture, giving the materials a second chance,” he added.
      The exhibition formed part of the Dropcity showcase, which took place inside the Magazzini Raccordati spaces at Milan Central Station during the design week in April.
      A workshop bench was also placed at the centre of the spaceThese empty railway arches have a dilapidated, industrial aesthetic with peeling floors, stained tilework and exposed utilities.
      Yamamoto chose to leave the vaulted room largely as he found it but placed a series of platforms in two rows, upon which he presented the series of chairs.

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      Track lighting was installed overhead to spotlight the elevated designs, each of which has a slightly different shape.
      In the centre of the exhibition, a workshop bench also built from lightweight gauge steel was used to fabricate more chairs during live demonstrations between Yamamoto and craft artist Takeo Masui.
      Yamamoto and Takeo Masui built more recycled steel chairs during live demonstrations”This is a landfill, a place where a volume of used LGS is collected,” Yamamoto said. “A place where the designer and craftsmen work hand in hand to recreate what was bound to be disposed into something new, a process of disassembling to re-assemble.”
      The intention was to not only showcase the material’s capabilities for reuse but also to allow visitors to engage with the process and ask wider questions about how society deals with waste.
      The demonstrations allowed visitors to engage with the processUsing waste materials produced by other industries was a key trend that Dezeen spotted during this year’s Milan Design Week, with designers and studios including Formafantasma, Prowl Studio, Atelier Luma and Subin Seol all looking to reduce the environmental impact of their products.
      The photography is by Takumi Ota.
      Future Landfill took place at Magazzini Raccordati from 15 to 23 April 2023 as part of Milan Design Week. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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      D/Dock creates immersive exhibition space inside 19th-century Amsterdam gasworks

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      Creative studio D/Dock has transformed a hall inside Amserdam’s former Westergasfabriek gasworks into Fabrique des Lumières – billed as the largest immersive art centre in the Netherlands.

      Commissioned by Parisian company Culturespaces, D/Dock’s design and build team transformed the double-height 3,800-square-metre hall into an exhibition space where bright, colourful artworks are projected across the floor and walls.
      D/Dock transformed a gasworks hall into an immersive exhibition spaceThe space can be adapted through the use of movable seating and adjustable sound and light systems to suit the needs of various exhibitions on everything from space travel to the work of architect Antoni Gaudí.
      “[The space] serves as a versatile canvas set against an industrial backdrop, where over 100 projectors and speakers transform the venue into dynamic worlds, from a lively jungle to an interstellar journey or an evocative art gallery, offering a spectrum of cultural and sensory experiences adaptable to various exhibitions,” managing director of D/Dock Sven Butteling told Dezeen.
      The 17-metre-tall exhibition space has a viewing platform and moveable seatingTo achieve a continuous space suitable for light projections, any openings of the 1885 building were closed up with cladding and painted to blend in with the existing brick interior.

      Taking advantage of the building’s height and scale, an internal staircase wraps around the rear facade and leads to a raised platform providing views of the main space.
      Newly built elements echo the building’s industrial heritageTwo newly built pavilions provide more enclosed immersive experiences within the main exhibition space while also operating as projection surfaces in the main hall.
      Among them is the mirror pavilion, which D/Dock clad in mirrored panels and shiny flooring tiles to create “an infinite projection space”.

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      During construction, the building’s interior was carefully restored to maintain its industrial character, with the addition of newly built and digital elements creating a contemporary arts centre that blends the old and new.
      The addition of lightweight insulation on the roof and windows, as well as acoustic and fire-rated doors, helped to enhance the energy performance of the hall.
      Pavilions provide enclosed immersive spaces for visitorsD/Dock is a creative studio of architects, artists, designers and engineers based in Amsterdam.
      Fabrique des Lumières has been shortlisted in the architectural lighting design category of the Dezeen Awards 2023. Also in the running is the glowing facade that ArandaLasch created for a Dior store outside of Doha, Qatar.
      The photography is by Ossip van Duivenbode, Marijn van Laerhoven and Eric Spiller.

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      Gallery Fumi marks 15th anniversary with design exhibition informed by biology

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      To celebrate 15 years of Gallery Fumi, the London gallery is hosting the Growth + Form exhibition of “functional art”, featuring sculptural furniture and lighting with organic forms.

      The Growth + Form exhibition includes new works by 16 of the 28 past Gallery Fumi exhibitors, responding to themes of transformation, regeneration and biological growth patterns.
      The Growth + Form exhibition celebrates Gallery Fumi’s 15th anniversaryIt was designed by architectural designer Leendert De Vos and curated by design historian Libby Sellers, who invited former exhibitors back to showcase new pieces in a group display.
      The exhibition title and theme were informed by the On Form and Growth book by Scottish biologist D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson, which analyses the mathematical harmony of growing shapes in biology.
      Pieces in the exhibition were informed by biologyResponding to this biological starting point, furniture and lighting with organic shapes and natural materials can be seen throughout the exhibition.

      Danish artist Stine Bidstrup created a sculptural chandelier titled Light Entanglements, made up of twisting clusters of hand-blown glass.
      Light Entanglements is a chandelier made from hand-blown glassDifferent lengths of painted sticks were combined to create Marmaros Metamorphosis II, a circular decorative wall piece with a textured, tufted-like surface by sculptor Rowan Mersh.
      “Revisiting the very beginning of his career when Mersh used cheap materials to experiment with techniques, in this work using lacquered coloured sticks, he creates forms with the details and skill level he currently attains when using precious materials,” said Gallery Fumi.
      Seating crafted from a single yew log is featured in the exhibitionAs the gallery celebrates its 15th anniversary, Sellers likened its growth to the formation of crystals – the material traditionally associated with 15-year anniversaries.
      “Grown from small particles into a solid form of geometric beauty, crystal is both a poetic metaphor for Gallery Fumi’s own development over the last 15 years and an opportunity to explore the creative affinity between science, art, and the intricate nature of constructions,” said Sellers.

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      “After all, is this not a definition of design? The meeting of knowledge, form-making, material exploration and beauty?” Sellers added.
      “The works are vibrant and active – sprouting, swirling, twisting, turning – transferring material and form into objects of beauty.”
      Wegworth created a crystal salt vase for the exhibitionAlso on show was a wooden cabinet covered in hand-painted shingles by Berlin-based designer Lukas Wegwerth, who also created a crystal salt vase titled Crystallization 183.
      “Crystallization 183 was identified by Sellers as most significant for the exhibition, as not only is the 15-year anniversary traditionally celebrated with crystal, but the process of growing the crystals is a poetic metaphor for Fumi’s growth as a gallery,” Gallery Fumi said.
      The wall sculpture Marmaros Metamorphosis II has a tufted textureOther pieces on display include a sculptural copper floor lamp with a stone base by London design studio JamesPlumb and a chair by British designer Max Lamb crafted from a single yew log.
      “Tapping into the creative affinity between science and art, the pieces created for the show will display fluid organic forms, natural materials and geometric structures,” said Gallery Fumi.
      The exhibition is on display from 7 to 30 SeptemberOther designers showing work include US sculptor Casey McCafferty, Italian designer Francesco Perini, design studio Glithero, Chinese material designer Jie Wu, German ceramic artist Johannes Nagel, Finnish artist Kustaa Saksi, British artist Leora Honeyman, Spanish artist Saelia Aparicio, British artist Sam Orlando Miller, design studio Study O Portable and furniture design studio Voukenas Petrides.
      Gallery Fumi was founded in 2008 by Valerio Capo and Sam Pratt. It has previously showcased work including a Jesmonite lighting collection by British designer Lara Bohinc and a limited-edition bench by JamesPlumb made using medieval dying techniques.
      The photography is courtesy of Gallery Fumi.
      The Growth + Form exhibition is on display at the Gallery Fumi in London, UK, from 7 to 30 September 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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      Asteroid City exhibition immerses visitors in Wes Anderson’s Americana film sets

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      An exhibition of the 1950s sets, props, miniature models, costumes and artwork used in Wes Anderson’s latest film Asteroid City has opened at 180 The Strand in London.

      The exhibition was designed to immerse visitors in the film’s fictitious world – a desert town in 1950s America famous for its meteor crater and celestial observatory.
      The exhibition is on display at London’s 180 The StrandIts aim was to give visitors insight into the “1950s Americana world the film is set in”, said Asteroid City associate producer Ben Alder.
      Asteroid City was filmed on flat farmland in Spain, with the buildings made for the film set up to appear like a town.
      The exhibition features large sets”Everything you see in the film was physically built and laid out in a way that gave the actors and crew the sense of living in this real town,” Alder told Dezeen.

      “The exhibition is a great way for people to see how much work went into all the elements of the film, like the costumes, because you can spend more time looking at how they are made and how much care went into them.”
      Film sets used in the Asteroid City movie are on displayPieces in the exhibition are spread across three main spaces, with audio clips and parts of the film projected onto walls referencing scenes relevant to the nearby displays.
      “The idea was to use the largest open space for the sets to give people the sense of how big they were on the film, and you can imagine how massive our Asteroid City town was,” said Alder.
      Costumes and props are on display”Then there’s another space that’s a more traditional gallery-type curation where you can see smaller objects and props, going into the details of the characters,” Alder continued.
      Mimicking the exterior of the cafe featured in the film, a temporary wooden structure decorated with menu lettering and a desert scene spans the entrance of 180 The Strand.

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      Sets displayed in the exhibition include white wooden residential shacks, a train carriage and a bathroom scene.
      Other life-sized scenery props include telephone booths, billboard posters and humourous vending machines that dispense martinis and bullets in the film.
      The exhibition provides a close-up view of the Asteroid City film props”There are moments where visitors are invited to be in the sets and interact with them,” said Alder.
      “Not only can visitors see all the pieces from the film really closely but they can go inside some of the sets – they can sit inside the train compartment, recreate the scene with [actor] Scarlett [Johansson] in the window, or go into the telephone booth – which is something really special that not a lot of exhibitions have.”
      Visitors can explore a desert setSome of the character costumes are arranged together with set pieces to recreate scenes from the film.
      Also on display are puppets made by Andy Gent, who previously created puppets for Anderson’s films Isle of Dogs and Fantastic Mr Fox, and a series of glass flowers used in a stop-motion animation sequence where they transition from blooming to wilting.
      The Asteroid City exhibition showcases many details from the filmThe exhibition ends with a recreation of a luncheonette featured in the movie, where visitors can order food and drink.
      It has a 1950s-style decor, with stools lined up along the service bar, pastel-coloured blinds and the image of a desert landscape framed inside fake windows.
      A 1950s-style cafe is at the end of the exhibitionAsteroid City is out in cinemas now.
      Anderson is known for his distinctive film aesthetic, typified by retro influences and pastel colours. Interiors that have been informed by the director’s style include a pastel-yellow breakfast cafe in Sweden and a bottle shop in Los Angeles with mid-century influences.
      The photography is courtesy of Universal Pictures and 180 Studios.
      The Asteroid City exhibition is on display at 180 The Strand in London from 17 June to 8 July 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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      Largest-ever Norman Foster retrospective opens at Centre Pompidou in Paris

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      An exhibition dedicated to the work of British architect Norman Foster has opened at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, showcasing drawings and original models produced by the architect over the last six decades.

      The exhibition, which according to the Norman Foster Foundation is the largest-ever retrospective display of Foster’s work, features around 130 of the architect’s projects including the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Headquarters, Hong Kong International Airport and Apple Park.
      The exhibition was designed by Norman FosterDesigns that informed Foster’s work are also exhibited, including works by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, French painter Fernand Léger, Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi and Italian painter Umberto Boccioni, and even cars, which the architect is passionate about.
      The exhibition, simply called Norman Foster, was designed by Foster with his architecture studio Foster + Partners and nonprofit organisation the Norman Foster Foundation.
      On display are sketches, drawings and models of the architect’s buildingsCurated by Centre Pompidou deputy director Frédéric Migayrou, the exhibition aims to showcase examples of Foster’s innovation and technology, his approach to sustainability and his ideas for the future of the built environment.

      “This exhibition traces the themes of sustainability and anticipating the future,” said Foster.
      “Throughout the decades we have sought to challenge conventions, reinvent building types and demonstrate an architecture of light and lightness, inspired by nature, which can be about joy as well as being eco-friendly.”
      Examples of Foster’s work are interspersed with cars that have inspired himThe 2,200-square-metre exhibition begins with a room dedicated to Foster’s sketches and drawings, a practice he uses to communicate ideas and log design inspiration.
      “For me, design starts with a sketch, continuing as a tool of communication through the long process that follows in the studio, factories and finally onto the building site,” said Foster.
      “In 1975 I started the habit of carrying an A4 notebook for sketching and writing – a selection of these are displayed in the central cabinets, surrounded by walls devoted to personal drawings.”
      Visitors begin the exhibition in a room filled with Foster’s sketchesThe exhibition continues in a large space with partition walls that separates it into seven themes: Nature and Urbanity, Skin and Bones, Vertical City, History and Tradition, Planning and Place, Networks and Mobilities, and Future Perspectives.
      The Nature and Urbanity section explores Foster’s approach to preserving nature by building “dense urban clusters, with privacy ensured by design,” the studio said.

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      Referencing a critic’s comment that the external appearance of Foster’s projects could be categorised as having a smooth “skin” facade or expressing its skeletal structure, the Skin and Bones portion of the exhibition showcases projects that illustrate the relationship between structure, services and cladding.
      In the Vertical City section, the studio showcases how it created “breathing” towers by designing open, stacked spaces.
      The exhibition features around 130 Norman Foster projects”We were the first to question the traditional tower, with its central core of mechanical plant, circulation and structure, and instead to create open, stacked spaces, flexible for change and with see-through views,” said Foster.
      “Here, the ancillary services were grouped alongside the working or living spaces, which led to a further evolution with the first ever series of ‘breathing’ towers.”
      It showcases projects spanning Foster’s six-decade-long career”In the quest to reduce energy consumption and create a healthier and more desirable lifestyle, we showed that a system of natural ventilation, moving large volumes of fresh filtered air, could be part of a controlled internal climate,” the architect continued.
      The History and Tradition section aims to provide insight into examples of historic and vernacular architecture that influenced Foster, while the Planning and Places portion explores masterplanning and placemaking in urban spaces.
      The exhibition is on display at the Centre Pompidou in ParisTowards the open exhibition space’s exit, the Networks and Mobility section displays examples of transport and infrastructure and leads to the final room, Future Perspectives, which exhibits concepts for future methods of travel and communication.
      On display are details of autonomous self-driving systems and designs for habitats on Mars and the moon that were developed with NASA and the European Space Agency.
      Foster recently spoke with Dezeen about his views on sustainability in architecture, in which he said “there are lots of dangerous myths”.
      The photography is by Nigel Young from Foster + Partners.
      The Norman Foster exhibition is on display at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France, from 10 May to 7 August 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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      Designmuseum Denmark exhibition asks visitors to “think about what kind of future we want”

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      Designmuseum Denmark has looked at how design can shape the future through its The Future is Present exhibition, which features projects including a tubular chandelier made from cow intestines.

      Presented at Copenhagen’s recently renovated Designmuseum, the exhibition showcases a range of “speculative and suggestive” works that examine four themes titled Human, Society, Planet+ and Imagining the Future.
      The MYX Chair is a mycelium and hemp chair that has “grown” itself”Design is very much a forward-looking profession,” said exhibition curator Pernille Stockmarr. “It’s about changing the existing into something better – and what we do in the present creates the future.”
      “Living in a time with major global challenges, this exhibition wants to invite people to see and reflect on the different potentials of design in this transformation and encourage them to think about what kind of future we want,” she told Dezeen.
      100 metres of cow intestines were used to make the Inside Out chandelierAmong the pieces on show is Inside Out, a chandelier-style lamp made from 100 metres of knotted cow intestines extracted from eight cows. Designer Kathrine Barbro Bendixen aimed to explore how byproducts can be used to rethink patterns of material consumption.

      Faroe Islands-based fashion brand Guðrun & Guðrun created Vindur, a ruffled dress with exaggerated bell sleeves made of woven silk and machine-knitted milk yarn sourced from dairy production waste.
      The brand worked with textile designers Amalie Ege and Charlotte Christensen and Lifestyle & Design Clusters to create the garment, which was made using a “traditional technique used during the inter-war period when resources were in short supply and waste was transformed into value,” according to the Designmuseum.
      A group of designers created a dress made from dairy wasteMore conceptual works include Beyond Life, a collection of biodegradable paper foam urns by designer Pia Galschiødt Bentzen with detachable pendants containing seeds that can be grown.
      “Beyond Life unites death, loss, and remembrance with the awareness that we humans are part of nature’s endless circle of life,” said Stockmarr.
      Also on show is Library of Change, a “map” of dangling acrylic foil cards charting current trends and technologies, inscribed with questions for visitors such as “would you leave the city for better connection?”
      Beyond Life is a collection of biodegradable paper foam urnsStockmarr explained that the exhibition aims to communicate “the breadth of design” by including works that vary in scale, purpose and medium.
      “Their ability to inspire, start conversations and make visitors reflect was a priority,” she said.
      “I didn’t want the works to be too-defined solutions for the future, extreme sci-fi visions, utopias or dystopias, but exploratory works. Some are collaborative research projects and others provide foresight into design methods, handicrafts and creative experiments.”
      Library of Change is a project that encourages visitors to question the future of designAlongside the various projects in the exhibition, artefacts from the Designmuseum’s own archive that highlight past ideas for the future are also on display.
      One of these designs is the three-wheeled vehicle Ellert, Denmark’s first electric car developed in the 1980s by engineer Steen Volmer Jensen.
      Ellert was Denmark’s first electric carLocal studio Spacon & X created the exhibition design for The Future is Present with the aim of reflecting its themes.
      The studio delineated the show’s various zones using modular bioplastic dividers that snake through the exhibition space and worked with natural materials including eelgrass, which was used to create acoustic mats to manage noise in the museum.
      Objects are arranged on custom tables and plinths made in collaboration with sustainable material manufacturer Søuld, while Natural Material Studio created a mycelium daybed for the show.

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      Stockmarr explained that the show is meant to be a call to action and empower people to reflect on their individual roles in determining the future of design.
      “By asking more questions than giving answers the exhibition wants to inspire visitors,” reflected the curator.
      “The show acknowledges that it is not only designers, architects, craftspeople and experts, but all of us who are participating in shaping and designing the future by the questions we ask and the choices and actions we take today.”
      The Future is Present was designed by Spacon & X to be an immersive experienceSimilar recent exhibitions that explored the climate impact of materials include a show at Stockholm Furniture Fair that visualised the carbon emissions of common materials such as concrete and The Waste Age – a London exhibition that addressed how design has contributed to the rise of throwaway culture.
      The Future is Present is on display at Designmuseum Denmark from 19 June 2022 to 1 June 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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      Space Popular reinterprets Aldo Rossi's architectural theories for the metaverse

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      Architecture and design studio Space Popular has unveiled Search History, an exhibition at the MAXXI museum in Rome that applies the writings of Italian architect Aldo Rossi to virtual worlds.

      The installation features bold and colourful images envisioning a metaverse city, with doorways that appear to be gateways between different virtual spaces.
      Search History features a physical installation exploring virtual architectureThe aim of Space Popular founders Lara Lesmes and Fredrik Hellberg was to show how Rossi’s ideas about the experience of real-world cities can be reflected in the immersive spaces of the metaverse.
      “The project Search History began as part of our research on issues of the virtual city,” says Lesmes in a video about the project.
      The project draws parallels with the urbanism theories of Italian architect Aldo Rossi”We have been studying how we move between virtual environments, basically places on the internet that are three-dimensional,” Lesmes said.

      “We found a lot of connections to theories of Aldo Rossi,” she added. “Even though he didn’t develop them thinking about the virtual realm or virtual worlds, we feel they are extremely applicable.”
      Multilayered images of virtual environments are printed on overlapping curtainsSearch History is the fifth edition of MAXXI’s Studio Visit, a programme that invites contemporary designers to reinterpret the work of iconic architects from the museum’s collections.
      The starting point for the project was Rossi’s seminal text The Architecture of the City, which describes urban areas as a multilayered sequence of spatial experiences.
      The colourful imagery suggests gateways between different virtual spacesSpace Popular believes that virtual environments should be equally multilayered, and that special attention should be paid to the way people move from one space to another.
      “What does it mean to click on a hyperlink? Do we open a door or do we slide something up?” Hellberg says in the video.
      A lamp within the installation is reflected in the printed imageryThe exhibition comprises a doughnut-shaped pavilion formed of overlapping curtains, each printed with multilayered imagery.
      Inside, Space Popular created the feeling of standing in a city plaza by adding a circular bench topped by what looks like a street light.
      A similar lamp is depicted on one of the curtains, alongside other pieces of street furniture that include a litter bin and a drain cover.

      Space Popular sets out its vision for digital portals made of virtual textiles

      The curtains also depict architectural elements like roof profiles and columns, as well as references to computing such as a keyboard and a search window.
      “This piece is a sort of simulator, a representation of what it could be like, the experience of browsing through immersive, digital environments,” said Lesmes.
      The images also depict architectural elements like roof profiles and columnsThe project builds on the manifesto that Space Popular presented for the Dezeen 15 online festival, which proposed using portals made of digital textiles to navigate virtual worlds.
      The duo have also created other works that explore the design of the metaverse, which they call the immersive internet. These include Value in the Virtual at ArkDes and The Venn Room at the Tallinn Architecture Biennale.
      The images also show virtual interfaces like search windowsSpace Popular: Search History is curated by Domitilla Dardi, senior design curator at MAXXI, and is sponsored by textile manufacturer Alcantara, which provided the material for the curtains.
      Previous editions of Studio Visit have seen Neri&Hu explore the world of Carlo Scarpa and Formafantasma examine Pier Luigi Nervi.
      The exhibition photography is by Matthew Blunderfield.
      Space Popular: Search History is on show at MAXXI from 7 December 2022 to 15 January 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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      Design + Health exhibition in Valencia highlights importance of design in the health sector

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      Promotion: exhibited as part of World Design Capital Valencia 2022, the Design + Health exhibition showcases the influence of design on advancements in science and medicine.

      Presented at the Valencian Museum of Enlightenment and Modernity (MuVIM) in Spain, the exhibition aims to illustrate how design has been used in the health sector to improve people’s wellbeing.
      The exhibition takes place from 11 November 2022 to 16 April 2023, during Valencia’s tenure as the World Design Capital 2022.
      The exhibition is part of World Design Capital Valencia 2022The Design + Health exhibition combines research from various design industries, including architecture, interiors, industrial design, graphic communication and fashion.
      Organised into 25 themes, the display outlines the progression of science and medicine by reviewing past disciplines, analysing current practices and illustrating future possibilities.

      The exhibition examines the impact of design within the health sector”Design in itself cannot cure anything, but neither could a vaccine if we did not have a syringe to inject it with,” said exhibition curator Ramón Úbeda.
      “Designing is part of the solution, it is not an added value but rather intrinsic to the development of any innovation for the social good.”
      It covers designs from a range of industries, including architecture, interiors and fashionThe exhibition contains over 500 examples of design for health, including creations from renowned designers and architects such as Charles and Ray Eames, Barber Osgerby, Philippe Starck, Yves Béhar, Nendo, Piero Lissoni, Matali Crasset, Benjamin Hubert, Raw Color and Tokujin Yoshioka.
      On display for the first time in Spain is the Emergency Bike, an electric bicycle design currently being tested in Paris.
      The bike was created by creative agency Wunderman Thompson to allow doctors to cut through road traffic and reach medical emergencies faster.
      The exhibition contains over 500 examples of health product designsOne of the aims of the display was to promote design for the health sector, which is often overlooked compared to designs that are more prominently featured in magazines, such as furniture and lighting.
      “This is probably one of the most ambitious exhibitions in the entire programme of Valencia World Design Capital 2022,” said Xavi Calvo, general director of the year-long programme.
      On display is a medical electric bike”The open, witty and didactic nature of this exhibition will bring society as a whole closer to such familiar and vital issues as health and the search for wellbeing,” Calvo continued.
      The exhibition concludes with the screening of the documentary The Hospital of the Future, which was created by Dutch architecture studio OMA.
      Design + Health exhibition takes place at the Valencian Museum of Enlightenment and Modernity, Valencia, Spain from 11 November 2022 to 16 April 2023 as part of World Design Capital Valencia 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
      Partnership content
      This article was written by Dezeen for World Design Capital Valencia 2022 as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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