鈥淯topia by design鈥� is the theme of London鈥檚 first ever design biennale, which is at Somerset House until 27 September.听The topic marks the 500th anniversary of Thomas More introducing his fictional Utopia to the world.
Installations, artworks and design proposals from 37 countries explore issues such as sustainability, migration, pollution, water and inequality. Here are 10 of them: visions that could shape tomorrow鈥檚 real world.
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Border City
Fernando Romero (Mexico)
Fernando Romero鈥檚 conceptual city straddles the US and Mexico. From Hong Kong to Andorra, border cities have flourished by both blending and offering contrasts between different cultures. Border City鈥檚 hexagonal plan is designed to use space efficiently, conserving resources and shortening journey times: a compelling and politically pertinent vision for border regions that are already home to over 100 million people.
The real utopia: This ancient civilisation thrived without war
The Indus civilisation seems to have flourished for 700 years without armour, weapons, inequality or royalty. Here鈥檚 how to build a paradise on Earth
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Water Machine
Basma and Noura Bouzo (Saudi Arabia)
In a world of dwindling resources, business as usual is no longer an option. This point is driven home by sisters Basma Bouzo and Noura Bouzo, whose futuristic dispenser sells plastic-packaged globes of fresh water听鈥� good for one gulp. The specious convenience of their product, and its obvious wastefulness, are a powerful provocation to think differently about how we distribute the stuff we need for life.
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Al Falaj: Water Systems of the Gulf鈥檚 Oases
Rashid Bin Shabib, Ahmed Bin Shabib, Samuel Barclay and Anne Geenen (United Arab Emirates)
Rashid Bin Shabib听is no stranger to magical lands. His home region once depended on a system of irrigation channels that greened the desert, provided water for all, created meeting places in the middle of nowhere and encouraged civic society to develop in one of the most inhospitable places on Earth. In an exhibition intoxicated by the future, Bin Shabib鈥檚 quiet, bold proposition to reintroduce traditional irrigation systems is based on the idea that we already live in Utopia: we just have to uncover and restore it.
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The Counterculture Room
Andres Brice帽o Gutierrez and听Tomas听Vivanco Larra铆n (Chile)
The manufacturing laboratory Fab Lab Santiago recreates the control room of Project Cybersyn, a phone-based 鈥渘ervous system鈥� created in 1970 for the Chilean government by engineer Fernando Flores and Stafford Beer, a statistician from Surrey, UK. The Pinochet coup in 1973 ended Chile鈥檚 vision of participatory, cybernetic government听鈥� but the dream of a听鈥渟ocialist internet鈥� of sorts persists among the nation鈥檚 technologists and designers.
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Discovering Utopia
Alexandra Sankova (Russia)
The Soviet Union鈥檚 failure to realise its own utopian ideals adds a bitter note to Moscow Design Museum鈥檚 staggeringly dense exhibition of innovative industrial and commercial design, from the 1960s to the 1980s. The听All-Union听Soviet Institute听of听Technical听Aesthetics created nothing less than a fully worked-out vision of a decent, efficient, egalitarian way of living听鈥斕齜ut few of its designs were ever realised.
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AIDrop
Yaniv听Kadosh听(Israel)
These folding cartons, whose design was inspired听by听the听rotating motion听of听seeds that slows their descent, can be filled with 3 kilograms of听equipment听and听emergency aid supplies and dropped from aircraft over isolated, disaster-hit areas. For Kadosh and other exhibitors from Israel鈥檚听Shenkar听College听of听Engineering,听Design听and听Art, utopia is a state of mind听鈥斕齛 willingness to respond quickly and inventively to events.
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Eatopia
Rain听Wu, Shikai听Tseng and Chung-Ho听Tsai (Taiwan)
At the heart of听a听serene, forest-like听installation, the听鈥渃ulinary performances鈥� of experimental chef Chung-Ho Tsai conjure up the fusion food of the future, as Taiwan continues to accrete people and influences from around the world. Taiwanese identity is a famously fractured and complicated thing, but the act of cooking and eating reminds visitors of their shared humanity. In More鈥檚 Utopia, people听eat lunch and dinner together every day, and food is always plentiful.
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Reaching for Utopia: Inclusive Design in Practice
Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture (Norway)
By 2025, all citizens will be able to participate in society on equal terms. That, anyway, is the vision of the Norwegian government, and the听Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture spotlights the bricks and mortar of this brave new world. Users participated in the design of听Bergen Light Rail from the very start, and the city鈥檚 comfortable new public transport system has proved staggeringly popular.
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Shenzhen: New Peak
URBANUS (China)
Thirty-six years ago, Shenzhen was a town housing 30,000 people. Now it is a megacity of over 17 million. 鈥淭otally utopian urban forms such as megastructures are now a practical necessity for the city of Shenzhen,鈥� say the anonymous creators of 鈥淒enCity鈥�, a slickly designed city of the future that, by constantly reallocating flexible shared spaces, opens its doors to everyone 鈥� including those who will never be able to afford its real estate.
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Mezzing in Lebanon
Annabel Karim Kassar (Lebanon)
After a pomegranate juice and a wet shave in Annabel Karim Kassar鈥檚 installation, the promise of utopia seems both imminent and unimportant. The recreated street life of Beirut, with its tangled electric cabling, street signs and the overflowing barrows of street sellers, celebrates the ordinary virtues of ingenuity and optimism. It鈥檚 almost as though, left to their own devices, and given a chance, people will always find a way to live well.
