Latest news with #VitraDesignMuseum
Spectator
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
The future of gardening looks bleak
Since 2005, a Chinese man called Zheng Guogu has been creating a garden inspired by the strategy game Age of Empires. The project is ongoing, so the garden is expanding. It currently covers 20,000 square metres but it may yet become larger, spreading over more of Yangjiang, where Guogu lives. It's not clear how he came by all this space. Nor is it immediately obvious how a garden can be inspired by a game in which you go to war with others. Perhaps he's particularly fond of invasive species. This is all quite intriguing and unusual, and most visitors to Garden Futures: Designing with Nature will have questions. Who is this guy? How does he handle his borders? Is his preference for perennials or annuals? Does he watch Gardener's World? Where does empire-building come in? These won't be answered, unfortunately. That's partly because a display that consists of a large reproduction of a sepia photograph and a minuscule screen showing footage of Age of Empires being played is no match for a large garden. But the more obvious, curatorially thorny reason is that gardens of the Age of Empires sort – in fact even garden-variety gardens – aren't well suited to exhibitions. The qualities that make them enjoyable and distinct – smell, colour and texture, as well as size, pattern and progression – are hard to capture and get across in sunless gallery spaces. Work has been done to overcome this difficulty: the first of the four sections has been designed to resemble the sort of pavilion found in a Persianate garden; little boxes containing scents of rose, jasmine and narcissus are distributed throughout the show; and the exhibits encompass all that can be construed as relating in some way to the words in the title. One might commend these efforts. They have, after all, been jointly made with the Vitra Design Museum, the Wüstenrot Foundation and the Nieuwe Instituut, all of which previously hosted Garden Futures. But they have not produced a good exhibition. The problem is that it is about everything, sort of, and therefore nothing, really: gardens, design, nature, plus a little bit about the history and future of each. So it is that one encounters – in what feels like no particular order – Kim Jones' Spring/Summer outfits for Dior, which are 'inspired by the story of Charleston'; a mid-17th-century Persian tile panel; photographs of the Maggie's Centre in Dundee; a pair of trainers that 'imagine how city dwellers can help rewild urban environments'; a Hepworth sculpture; a Wardian case; a wholesome-looking community space underneath power lines in Kuala Lumpur; a seaweed garden in Oban; and Piet Oudolf's pens (Sharpies, Faber-Castells and Winsor & Newtons, in case you're curious), which admittedly have the edge on the 'tools and materials similar to those used by Roberto Burle Marx' displayed nearby. There are more than 400 things on display, so the experience is a disorientating one – akin, perhaps, to the effects of inhaling the fumes of a rude pesticide. The fact that the themes meant to hold it all together – 'Paradise', 'Garden Politics', 'Testing Grounds' and 'The World as Garden' – fail to do so is a shame, since some of the work here is excellent. Andrew Buurman's portraits of allotment plot holders capture their pride and pragmatism, and there are extraordinary photographs from the first and second world wars, including one of a soldier growing celery in a trench and another of an impeccable garden in a bomb crater in London. There's a considered display about the Dutch landscape architect Mien Ruys, which includes some original designs for planting within the housing developments in Buitenveldert, a garden suburb in Amsterdam. Her drawings make a nice contrast with the freer sketches by Oudolf shown nearby, and would have been equally well placed in the part on the development of the garden city and the application of Ebenezer Howard's ideals in apartheid South Africa, Palestine, postcolonial Brazil and, less contentiously, Rosyth. Where things really go wrong is in the futures. Clever farming solutions aside, these look bleak. This impression is only deepened by oppressive optimism of the labelling. Should we look forward to such things as the 'Chia Chair', which 'is designed to entice us to take a seat but it is actually a bed for chia seeds'? The same applies to the 'Beatrix Chair', which is hung above and was designed by Gavin and Alice Munro, who 'literally grow furniture'. At least it is honestly displayed. It's not meant to be sat in, so why put it on the floor. The labelling is also big on the idea of gardens as therapeutic places, which is fair enough, as it's generally true. Gardens are worth spending time in. If you have one, you'll know; and if you don't, you can visit one (they're often free). That would be a better idea than going to this exhibition.
Cision Canada
15-05-2025
- Cision Canada
TRANSFORM. DESIGNING THE FUTURE OF ENERGY - AN EXHIBIT FROM THE VITRA DESIGN MUSEUM PRESENTED AT THE BIOSPHÈRE Français
MONTRÉAL, May 15, 2025 /CNW/ - Espace pour la vie is pleased to announce the North American premiere of the traveling exhibit Transform. Designing the Future of Energy, a creation of the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, one of the world's most important museums of its kind. It will be presented at the Biosphère until autumn 2026. Energy is at the very heart our societies, and the use of fossil fuels is one of the major causes of climate change and global warming. Among the solutions envisaged, CO 2 -free energy sources are being explored. Taming the wind, sun and water has its share of challenges, but design offers innovative, fascinating solutions. Design in fact plays an important role in today's energy transition. Transform. Designing the Future of Energy, curated by Jochen Eisenbrand of the Vitra Design Museum, reveals how design, at different scales, integrates renewable energies into our day-to-day lives, whether in terms of the body, our homes, cities or modes of transportation. Visitors will discover everyday objects using renewable energy: among others, the Sunne lamp, which capturers solar energy during the day, and lights up at night; the wind-powered streetlamp PAPILIO; the underground refrigerator from Groundfridge, which you need only bury in the ground to create a perfectly functional fridge; or the (B)pack backpack from (B)energy, which carries 1,000 liters of raw biogas and weighs just 4 kilograms. Not only is it an alternative to the wood and coal used in kitchens on the African continent, but it also offers income possibilities for small producers, since production requires nothing more than organic waste and water. An inspired and inspiring Canadian design Although the exhibit respects the narrative framework and the experience of the original exhibition – Transform! Designing the Future of Energy, created and presented in 2024 by the Vitra Design Museum – the Biosphère team has been able to adapt part of the content for the local audience. Thus, close to a dozen projects (out of the more than 75 presented) come from Canada, provided by designers, architectural firms, artists, university departments and various players in the field. Among those will be Éclipse XI, the prototype solar-powered racing car from Montréal's École de Technologie Supérieure; a kinetic-energy dress from Joanna Berzowska that harnesses energy generated by the human body; the model of a community freezer created by Blouin Orzes Architectes and inspired by the cultural tradition of Inuit communities in Nunavik; and the ThermoDrain, which uses heat from drain water to reduce home water-heating costs. Just as dependence on fossil energies has deeply influenced our daily lives, the growing transition to renewable energies will have an increasingly greater effect on our lives in the future. The Biosphère invites you to discover just how powerful an asset design is in shaping a sustainable energy future and inspiring positive changes in how we live our lives. Transform is also: A family tour booklet available during the exhibit to make the content accessible in a fun way, and to help young visitors explore and understand the connections taking place between design and the energy transition. An enriching, inspiring guided tour where visitors can admire first-time prototypes and innovations that illustrate the crucial role of design in the energy transition of the future. Every day, at 11:00 a.m. in English and at 2:30 p.m. in French. Information and ticket sales A series of six meetings being held between October 2025 and April 2026 aimed at showcasing and delving deeper into certain aspects that resonate with the design communities in Montréal and Québec. The goal here is to inspire audiences towards an innovative, inspiring socio-ecological transition. To learn more: Follow us on LinkedIn Quotes The Honorable Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Environment and Climate Change "Since 2021, the Government of Canada has supported the Biosphère's cultural and scientific mandate, whose purpose is to raise awareness and inspire environmental action and commitment in everyone. There's no doubt that the Transform! Designing the Future of Energy exhibition will help awaken the ecological conscience of visitors in search of solutions and possibilities for an ecologically sound and sustainable future." Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montréal "Montréal is proud to host this innovative exhibition, which highlights the crucial role of design in the energy transition. Transform! Designing the Future of Energy inspires us to rethink our energy use and adopt sustainable solutions for a better future. In Montréal, we're deploying a series of initiatives to make the energy transition a success, and we absolutely need the commitment of everyone—civil society and the general public—to make profound changes. The Biosphère is an excellent way of reaching people and raising public awareness of the importance of this transition." Caroline Bourgeois,Vice-president of the Executive Committee and responsible for sports and leisure, Espace pour la vie, the French language and the East End of Montréal "This exhibition is a unique opportunity to discover how design can transform our daily lives by integrating renewable energy. As a unifying and positive museum in North America, the Biosphère plays a key role in raising awareness and mobilizing civil society and the general public in this socio-ecological transition. Thanks to the support of the three levels of government, the Biosphère hosts large-scale projects, demonstrating its reputation and relevance in the museum world. Through inspiring projects, we can see how Montréal and Canada are contributing to a more sustainable and innovative energy future." Julie Jodoin, Director of Espace pour la vie "This exhibition will showcase the power of design to shape a sustainable energy future and inspire positive change in the way we live. At the same time, it will contribute to Espace pour la vie's ambition to empower people to take action to protect biodiversity and the environment, with a view to a socio-ecological transition that takes into account the needs of future generations." Isabelle St-Germain, Director of the Biosphère "The Biosphère is very proud to host this North American premiere in partnership with the Vitra Design Museum, one of the world's leading design museums. This exhibition is all the more important as it positions energy as a tool for protecting the planet." About the Vitra Design Museum The Vitra Design Museum ranks with the world's major design museums. It is dedicated to the research and presentation of design, past and present, and examines its relationship to architecture, art and everyday culture. The work of the Vitra Design Museum is based on its collection, which contains not only key objects from the history of design, but also the belongings of many important personalities in the design world. The museum creates its exhibits in such a way that they can go on tour, and they are presented in venues around the world. About Espace pour la vie Protecting biodiversity and the environment is at the heart of the mission of Espace pour la vie, which groups the Biodôme, the Biosphère, the Insectarium, the Jardin botanique and the Planétarium. Together, these Montreal museums form the largest natural-science complex in Canada, and each year welcome more than 2.5 million people. In light of the challenges facing our planet, Espace pour la vie is working on expanding its impact by fostering dialogue with communities and by taking actions aimed at engaging the population on the path to socioecological transition.
Telegraph
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Garden Futures: Not for those who love a manicured lawn
There's not much greenery in evidence when I arrive outside V&A Dundee: grey skies, a leaden sheen to the River Tay, concrete panels cladding Kengo Kuma's waterfront building, which opened in 2018. Inside, an installation by Dutch design studio DRIFT extends the monochrome theme: 11 mechanised lights, with white shades inspired by flowers that close at night, rise and fall like robotic jellyfish pulsating in an imaginary ocean. But, with quotes on the walls by the likes of the 20th-century French philosopher Michel Foucault, Garden Futures, the museum's new show of more than 400 objects (an expanded, 'localised' version of a touring exhibition initiated by Germany's Vitra Design Museum), is seemingly pitched at highbrow design enthusiasts as much as horticulturalists hoping to finesse their herbaceous borders. The title of the final section – 'Garden of Ideas' – distils the approach. As someone who – to the despair of my wife – has never fired up a lawnmower, this comes as a relief. There's surely only so much excitement anyone can muster for all the scythes, rakes, watering cans and hoes in an introductory display of wall-mounted tools; many of the subsequent objects and ideas, though, proved beguiling enough to captivate this horticultural novice. That said, their presentation may irk traditionalists who relish immaculate lawns – described, in the catalogue, as monotonous 'green deserts', and associated, in the exhibition, with aggressive chemicals marketed during the 20th century to foster their growth. Filled with artworks, including paintings by those 20th-century artists-cum-gardeners Cedric Morris and Duncan Grant, and Requiem (1957), a tall, hollowed-out walnut sculpture by Barbara Hepworth, as gorgeous and sleek as an embrace, the opening section, 'Paradise', makes plain that gardens have always been central to humanity's imagination. (Consider the Garden of Eden.) At the same time, it suggests that exclusion is intrinsic to their underlying concept: the word 'paradise', we're told, derives from the ancient Persian for 'walled enclosure'. 'Garden Politics' explicitly links the history of gardening to '19th-century European colonialism and industrialisation'. (What exhibition doesn't attempt to draw such connections these days?) There's talk, too, of 'guerrilla gardening as a political tool' and 'seed bombs'. Yet, an inventive setting, evoking a hedge maze, suggests the complexity of the issues involved; and it's here that the exhibition's most powerful and moving artworks may be found: a pair of images by Dutch photographer Henk Wildschut of gardens scraped together in refugee camps in Tunisia and Lebanon, with plastic bottles for picket fences. One of the show's heroes, the artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman, magicked an unlikely garden out of stony coastal ground in Kent, having been diagnosed as HIV-positive. These examples remind us that gardens can be sanctuaries of hope. Hope is the theme of the exhibition's final stages, which showcase enterprising work by designers inspired by gardens and nature, intended to bring about a more sustainable future. A chair consisting of a single ash sapling grown for several years around a custom frame in a Derbyshire orchard (a process its makers describe as 'biofacture', not manufacture) is drooping, skew-whiff – and beautiful. A minuscule but ingenious 'system' for aerial seeding – inspired by the seed of a flower that drills itself into the earth to germinate – may provide a remedy for desertification. I could take or leave (okay, leave) the show's politicking. But exhibits like these represent brilliant, original concepts that bloom in the mind.
