27th Biennial of Design, Ljubljana: Super Vernaculars, Design for a Regenerative Future
The theme of the 27th Biennial of Design (BIO 27) was exploring a growing and ambitious movement that takes inspiration from vernacular architecture and design to shape a more resilient and equitable future. BIO 27 brought together forward-thinking and environmentally conscious designers, architects and professionals from other disciplines. Within the several months-long collaboration process they developed projects for the exhibition that tackled possible alternatives for the future.
National
Slovenia
The main event was based in Ljubljana, with the whole of Slovenia as a research polygon especially focused on Triglav National Park.
One part of the research and action was also done in Topolo a small village in Italy.
The project had presentations of the work also abroad with one event at Milano Design Week and a study day at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Yes
ERDF : European Regional Development Fund
In the period 2017-2022, the project Centre for Creativity is co-financed by the European Union from the European Fund for Regional Development in the Republic of Slovenia. It is implemented within the framework of the Operational Program for the implementation of European cohesion policy in the period 2014-2020, within the framework of priority axis 3. Dynamic and competitive entrepreneurship for green economic growth, priority investments 3.1. Encouraging entrepreneurship, especially facilitating the economic exploitation of new ideas and encouraging the establishment of new companies, including business incubators and specific objective 3.1.1. Encouraging the creation and operation of companies, especially start-up companies.
The idea and programmes of the Center for Creativity developed from the needs of designers and creatives cooperating at Biennials of Design (BIO). Experimental interdisciplinary processes and collaborations within BIO are enabling creative research on the basis of which social or entrepreneurial innovations, new concepts and ideas – can develop. This experimental interdisciplinary process enables the creative exploration and innovation that makes social or entrepreneurial innovation possible. With the aim of developing innovative products and services, Centre for Creativity co-produces the production part of the biennale - new production platform commissions. As a result, today BIO is co-financed and organized in close cooperation with the Center for Creativity.
No
Yes
2022-10-23
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Musem of Architecture and Design, MAO, Ljubljana Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: Anja Last name of representative: Radović Gender: Female Nationality: Slovenia Function: Head of BIO and Museum Curator Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Rusjanov trg 7 Town: Ljubljana Postal code: 1000 Country: Slovenia Direct Tel:+386 51 601 906 E-mail:anja.radovic@mao.si Website:https://27.bio.si/
URL:https://www.instagram.com/bio_ljubljana/ Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): bio_ljubljana #bio27 #supervernaculars #bio27supervernaculars #vernaculardesign #vernaculararchitecture #design #architecture #environment #supervernaculars #tradition #vernacular #vernaculararchitecture #biennial #museum
The 27th edition of BIO Ljubljana (BIO27), the oldest and one of the leading design biennials in the world, brought together forward-thinking and environmentally conscious designers, architects, thinkers and researchers from around the globe.
Based at the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) and created in cooperation with, the Centre for Creativity Slovenia (CzK), the Biennial comprises the Super Vernaculars exhibition; a presentation of the five new production platform commissions; and a vibrant programme of talks, workshops and engaging events.
The theme for BIO27, Super Vernaculars - Design for a Regenerative Future, explores a growing and ambitious movement that takes inspiration from vernacular architecture and design to shape a more resilient and equitable future.
Curated by leading independent curator, design consultant and writer, Jane Withers, with assistant curator Ria Hawthorn, Super Vernaculars is envisaged as a collection of stories told through case studies that show how these ideas serve as a springboard for contemporary innovation.
Super Vernaculars revealed how designers and architects are taking note of vernacular traditions and value systems largely ignored in the modern era to create imaginative responses to contemporary challenges such as water scarcity, waste and declining biodiversity.
The projects featured in BIO27 foreground localism, connection to nature and ecological resilience. Super Vernaculars approaches include a city-wide nature-based water management system, low-energy alternatives to air conditioning, zero-waste food systems and design that supports local communities and landscape regeneration.
Regenerative Cultural Production
Forgotten Vernaculars
Negotiating Traditions
Reimagining infrastructures and systems
Catalysing Community
Museums play a dual and indispensable role in society. They safeguard our future generations’ engagement in cultural heritage. At the same time, they are actors themselves, places that contribute to a socially, ecologically, and culturally conscious society by incorporating the future of our life worlds.
In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement (a legally binding international treaty on climate change) were adopted. The nature of this global challenge requires a collective response across all sectors and scales. It is essential that, aside from talking about environmental impact, every organisation (and individuals) analyses its own actions and commits to being environmentally responsible.
The biennial’s greater purpose, which is firmly centred on how design can tackle environmental and climate questions, weaves the thread that will be tied into all future editions. BIO added to its mission sustainable approaches, a decision that begins with reducing and mitigating the carbon footprint of its event.
A local design research team was invited to develop a new commission in collaboration with the Centre for Creativity, undertook an environmental audit of the biennial and guided the reduction of its environmental impact. The team called Futuring working on a project titled Regenerative Cultural Production consisted of three members Žan Kobal, Tamara Lašič Jurković, and Barbara Predan was advised by designer and sustainability expert Sophie Thomas.
Futuring's objective was to use the biennale to interrogate its practices and future; to observe, source, and examine the existing sustainable practices in cultural production. Their findings are collected in an open-source toolkit which is available online following this link - https://sustainable-toolkit.czk.si/. The toolkit enables cultural institutions, designers (and individuals) to reduce the environmental impact of their work.
The aesthetic and quality of experience were for sure meet by the extraordinary exhibition and graphic design. The designers were working closely with the research team Futuring and were finding sustainable and regenerative solutions to fit their findings. In tune with BIO27’s overarching theme, the exhibition and graphic design became an active part of the exhibition instead of merely providing suitable infrastructure. The exhibition construction was made entirely of wood. The aesthetic potential of this raw, traditional material, was used in simple but surprising ways in order to create a functional exhibition infrastructure while also creating a spatial intervention that evoked the topic of BIO27. The chosen material had a strong visual and sensual presence in the museum spaces – one could smell the drying wood through the exhibition materials and the raw, untreated logs are the primary design element in each room. The wood was returned to the supplier after the exhibition closed and was used for its original purpose.
The Super Vernaculars exhibition was accompanied by a programme of events around the city that illuminated the theme. BIO was more than just a source of entertainment with the rich and engaging programme made people explore and connect with the local space in new ways. The programme offered creative workshops, lectures, and public events creating a place of fun, creativity, meeting and socializing.
Production platform team Garnitura took part in the renovation of Plečnik's Kiosk located in the main central Prešeren Square. Their project was integrated into Ljubljana's city centre and presented through various design products, city maps, alternative guided tours, pop-up shops and exhibitions. During the biennial, Plečnik's Kiosk was transformed into a dedicated info point for the architect's legacy as well as an exhibition and event space presenting the work of the five production platform teams throughout the whole BIO duration.
The key objectives and goals were to be as inclusive and accessible as possible starting with the project's development phase and during the whole programme duration. Ensuring the participants and involved teams were considering diverse audiences in the planning, production and programme period. One of the general goals was also to communicate clearly without using unnecessary jargon, or overly complex words. All of the texts were available in Slovenian and English language. The videos included captions, the subtitles were printed in a suitable typography size. Works within the exhibition were displayed in a way that was accessible to all people. We organised several events for the local community. Together with the local community, we organised a series of events for the International Day of Families and the European Week of Mobility. We had three open museum days with a free entrance and all-day available guiding tours for the local community. Free tickets were distributed at the community event. We organised guiding tours with bikes, connecting all the exhibition venues and encouraging green mobility. At the exhibition entrance, we collected data on how visitors arrive (by bike, by car, by bus …) and visualised the impact on nature visitors did with their travel choice.
We offered free tickets to see the main exhibition every first Saturday of the month, which also allows all vulnerable groups to get a chance to visit the exhibition. All the satellite programmes and events were free of charge. Every second Sunday the program was dedicated to families. Creative workshop for children and a guiding tour for their parents. Special guiding tours were performed for disadvantaged groups of children, youngsters and elderly people. Specially tailored programmes for physically and sensory disadvantaged groups were offered in MAO. During the biennial we established a connection with Alzheimer Slovenia, which resulted in the announcement of MAO as a Dementia friendly spot.
The Biennale establishes the museum as a meeting place for confrontation and dialogue. The museum also functions as a laboratory, experimental and discursive platform and above all as an encourager of critical ways of thinking, knowledge and actions within the professional environment of the museum as in everyday life to the life of an individual.
Civil society warns about climate change and global mass protests have made demands for climate action a central issue. Responding and reacting also to the building up of tension regarding environmental challenges where real climate measurements are needed we wanted to start developing and implementing sustainability actions by adding Climate Neutral Now goals to our immediate and long-term agenda.
The concept of the biennale, the process of collaboration and the organizational structure establish complex connections between institutions and the local community with an imaginative, multi-layered system of networking. With new commissions within the production platform and central exhibition, BIO27 focused on design that was born from the needs of the local environment. Projects draw from local conditions and included a high percentage of local participants, resources, and materials. The clear value of local resources has encouraged us to be more attentive to local environments and eager to include as many local participants as possible.
BIO is the biggest design event in Slovenia that brings progressive design closer to the local communities. The exhibition was accompanied by a vibrant programme that engaged local and global audiences, stakeholders and decision-makers. Many guided and educational tours for schools or organized groups took place. Guided tours provide a detailed insight into the working process of individual groups, in the thinking of the authors, curators, advisory board members, other experts and creators of Biennale informing and educating people about the meaning and value of regenerative design.
MAO is Slovenia's central institution in the field of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, design, and visual communications. It is a space dedicated to the promotion of creativity, and the exchange of ideas and knowledge. MAO promotes and initiates an exchange of knowledge in regional and international contexts by inviting experts to collaborate in various programmes such as round tables and discussions about the circular economy, sustainable design practices, and new ways of thinking. It conducts international activities by pursuing exchange and active cooperation with organizations covering the Museum's area of operation.
BIO27 as a production-exhibition project connected more than 50 partners during development (of museums, cultural and educational institutions, ministries, government organizations, municipalities, companies, and civil initiatives) with more than 70 international and local experts and creators.
The Advisory Board included local and international experts from various fields like anthropology and ethnology, cultural heritage, design, architecture and art, and climate-neutral ecology to ensure a multidisciplinary view and to shed light on exposed problems within the theme. Their role was to bring knowledge and an outside perspective as well as to recognize and define potential in developing projects.
The event for policymakers was organised. Officials from different Slovenian ministries were invited to the presentation of the Super Vernacular theme. A further collaboration with the Directorate for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation Department for Global Challenges was agreed upon.
Cooperation between the partners was extremely diverse and was based on the professional exchange of knowledge and information, the cooperation of experts in researching archives, support in the realization of projects and the integration of projects into the local community, even after the end of the biennial.
The production platform featured five Slovenian interdisciplinary teams which were mentored by internationally acclaimed creatives to tackle compelling problems of local communities and the environment. Five local collectives were selected and invited through an Open Call to participate in the Super Vernaculars production platform. We were looking for established collectives, teams or newly-formed project groups from the geographical region of Slovenia which had the option to participate in one of the project themes of the BIO27 and its production platform.
Krater team: an industrial designer, design researcher, architect, microbiologist and permaculturist, biologist and ecologist and intermedia artist
Mentors: architects, mason-architect
Advisors: natural materials, construction and woodwork experts
Robida.plus team: architects, researchers, illustrator, film researcher, problem solver, baker, teacher, wild plant forager, culinary artist, interdisciplinary artist and gardener, multi-disciplinary artist, cook
Mentor: designer and researcher specialised in food-related projects
Advisors: farmers, anthropologist and ethnologist
Pjorkkala team: Product designers and researcher, Graphic and web designers
Mentor: architect, a biodesign researcher, a social entrepreneur
Advisors: water expert, chemistry scientists and engineers, Triglav national park keepers
Garnitura team: industrial designers & applied artists specialised in glass and ceramic, visual artist, art historian, architect, graphic designers
Mentor: design, architecture, and visual arts theorist, journalist and curator
Advisors: cultural heritage expert and Unesco manager, Municipality of Ljubljana and Tourism Ljubljana
Futuring team: design researchers and product designers
Mentor: creative campaigner and design agitator, working in the fields of sustainable design, behaviour change and material process
Advisors: museum curators, non-profit climate and ecologic
The selected category Regaining a sense of belonging fits most of the projects as the central theme was presenting and developing new projects that were based on regenerative processes and with a deep connection to the strong local historical heritage and traditions. The newly commissioned project are great examples of the development of products, processes and business models that were built on or from local culture, traditions, know-how, craft and contemporary diversity and creativity. They involve various elements of our everyday lives that carry a sense of belonging on the local scale.
Project Forbbiden vernaculars was opening questions about the fact that the use of natural construction materials in Slovenia is greatly challenged by costly certification processes, preventing these resources from being widely applied. A site-specific rammed earth pavilion was built in an urban abandoned construction site which is rich in resources and enabled material experimentation with wild clay, invasive plants and gravel as construction materials. The new space hosts a series of public talks with practitioners and decision-makers, who will all be served herbal tea in wild clay vessels sourced from the urban site. Discussing the legal, social and ecological implications of designing with local materials will hopefully support a fresh start in making these forbidden practices part of the vernacular again.
Collective based in the remote Alpine village of Topolò drew on Slovenia’s rich cultural, agricultural and culinary heritage to redesign the traditional Slovenian use of buckwheat. Referencing old pratike, Slovenian farmers’ almanacs, Robida has developed a new format of recipe book where content is organised through time, following the lifecycle of the plant. As a response to critical conditions – climate change, the global food industry, overconsumption of meat, and a crisis team Robida aimed to find the tools to raise awareness of the food cycle, from landscape to pl
Super Vernaculars revealed how designers and architects are revisiting vernacular traditions and value systems largely ignored in the modern era to create imaginative responses to contemporary challenges such as water scarcity, waste and declining biodiversity.
The model of the biennial where design is employed as a tool to broaden perspectives, open new horizons and connect knowledge is unique. The central part of the biennial is an experimental platform for collaboration. Professionals from different fields are collaborating in prototyping, drafting and creating possible scenarios on specific topics in relation to environmental challenges.
World's biggest environmental challenges are all-encompassing, overarching questions that are not easy to answer but require the engagement of the entire society - from governments, public institutions, companies and individuals, to take an active role in what we want for the future.
The open-source toolkit developed during the biennial, the methods of collecting and evaluating data, monitoring the impact on the environment, good practices examples and recommendations on how to plan the activities to meet the Climate Neutral standards have a strong potential for knowledge sharing and dissemination.
The Biennial of Design is a production-exhibition project that discovers the potential of contemporary design through the process of developing design concepts and presenting them at an exhibition. Today the biennial acts as a testing ground where design is used as a tool to question and transform everyday life between different approaches to design, encompassing systems, manufacturing, services, scientific research, humanism, and unexpected conditions for making our living space. Through its projects, it strives to create flexible structures that can evolve over time and continue after the end of the biennial. It is a cultural event directly linked to various sectors, namely, those of industry, architecture, economy, design, and education, especially as linked to innovation and development. The methodology of the production platform which is based on an interdisciplinary collaborative process not only educates designers but also nurtures understanding among wider audiences.
BIO explores and reflects contemporary developments in international design through a collaborative process in which teams of designers and other multidisciplinary professionals develop alternatives to established systems, and question and analyze current conditions of production, public and private space, systems and networks.
Internationally selected designers behind key exhibition projects were invited to act as mentors to the commissioned teams with exhibition projects serving as case studies for the commissioned work which acted as a springboard for the development of local design knowledge and experience. This proved that selected projects can be transferred to different environments and developed locally according to the specific situation of the chosen environment. The technologies and processes used varied according to the given requirements of each project.
The project Forbidden Vernaculars was led by a local design collective Krater in dialogue with Atelier LUMA and BC Materials developing ongoing research into rammed earth, invasive plants and mycelium.
The team Robida.plus based in the remote Alpine village Topolò and mentored by Carolien Niebling developed a project titled Grains for Brains which draws on Slovenia’s rich cultural, agricultural and culinary heritage to redesign the Slovenian tradition of buckwheat use.
A project titled Water - Designing a BioVernacular was researched and produced by team Pjorkkala under the mentorship of Shneel Malik. The project is addressing the problem of pollution in natural water sources in Slovenia. The result was the creation of 3d printed clay prototypes for local, nature-based solutions.
Adam Štěch, an architectural historian was mentoring team Garnitura under the project titled Communicating Modern Architecture to communicate the architectural legacy of the renowned Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik to new audiences by drawing on the architect’s profoundly human vision for the city.
Futuring was undertaking an environmental audit of the biennial and is guiding the reduction of its environmental impact by developing a project titled Regenerative Cultural Production. Mentored by Sophie Thomas, the team developed a pioneering open-source toolkit to help designers and institutions to raise their awareness and reduce the impact
The exhibition was based on four main exhibition chapters which were addressing global environmental challenges the production platform projects offered localised solutions to selected challenges from each exhibition section. The section Forgotten Vernaculars introduces the Super Vernaculars theme and explores the ideas that underpin this contemporary movement. An assemblage of objects and ideas from different eras and cultures, it shows how ancient practices can act as catalysts for new departures as well as reminding us of ways of living that are more in tune with the natural world. It also illuminates the under-acknowledged but influential dialogue between 20th-century designers and the vernacular. The theme explores Negotiating Traditions the many ways in which designers are subverting, reimagining and adapting vernacular and traditional knowledge and practices to address contemporary needs and challenges and to shift thinking and acting away from current energy-intensive and resource-draining modes of production.
Reimagining Systems & Infrastructures - Vernacular design principles are inspiring the reimagining of technologies, infrastructures and production processes. Nature-based systems can provide efficient models of circular and regenerative systems that are essential for enabling ways of living with, rather than from, the earth. Combined with contemporary technology and new scientific understanding, it is possible to develop scaleable systems and infrastructures that function to the standard of highly engineered industrial equivalents, but without the environmental impact.
The final theme focuses on projects that put people and communities at the heart of design thinking. Ensuring fair and equal participation in regenerative change is critical to achieving a lasting impact. Catalysing Community explored how designers can galvanise action and celebrate commonalities by using shared stories to connect people to each other and to their ecosystems.
