On Thursday, 18 September 2014, more than 120 designers and multidisciplinary agents will descend upon Ljubljana for the opening week of BIO 50, the Biennial of Design, organized by the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO). Over the course of four days, they will unveil the results of a six-month long collaborative process, offering perspectives on possible futures for design. On the opening day, awards for best collaboration will be presented by the BIO 50 jury comprising industrial designer Konstantin Grcic, design critic Alice Rawsthorn and designer and professor Saša J. Mächtig. Before the opening of BIO 50: 3, 2, 1 … TEST, MAO will host a lecture and talk on Designing everyday life with Alice Rawsthorn, Justin McGuirk and Jan Boelen.

The results of an unprecedented collaborative effort will take the stage at the Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana on 18 September at 20:00 when BIO 50 opens its doors to the public unveiling of the results of an ambitious work process with eleven teams. Brought together by the experimental framework that shaped BIO 50, members of eleven groups tackled the themes of Affordable Living, Knowing Food, Public Water Public Space, Walking the City, Hidden Crafts, The Fashion System, Hacking Households, Nanotourism, Engine Blocks, Observing Space and Designing Life, creating specific projects to be implemented during the Biennial and beyond. Following a period of intense research, where collaboration and learning were fundamental values, the outcomes are widely diverse, ranging from a series of household appliances developed under the same principles that shape open-source software, a garden pavilion developed with the local residents to encourage new discussions about food to a performative experiment that challenges the way one experiences walking in the city and a multipurpose engine that doubles as a survival tool in a dystopian vision of the future.

Presented results will be reviewed by the international jury - industrial designer Konstantin Grcic, design critic Alice Rawsthorn and designer and professor Saša J. Mächtig, who will present awards for best collaboration on the opening evening of BIO 50. 

Preceding the award ceremony, numerous events will take place, namely:

- At 10:00: PRESS TALK at MAO, followed by guided tour with curatorial team and jury at all three venues of the exhibition - MAO, Jakopič Gallery and Museum of Modern Art (only with accreditations to the form).

- At 18:00: Talk DESIGNING EVERYDAY LIFE with guests Alice Rawsthorn, Justin McGuirk and Jan Boelen at MAO.

- At 20:00: Start of the much anticipated opening of BIO 50: 3, 2, 1 … TEST

BIO 50 is shaped by the exhibition BIO 50: 3, 2, 1 … TEST, which presents the process and projects developed by each group. It will be displayed from 18 September to 7 December 2014 at the Museum of Architecture and Design, Jakopič Gallery and Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana. The outcomes of each team’s collaborative work and the topics are presented uniformly in a single individual exhibition space, some of them however extend beyond them (the garden of the team Knowing Food and the container of the team Affordable Living at Fužine Castle, one of the projects of the group Public water – Public space in the center of Ljubljana ...) or are available as a service (for example: hotel BIO 50 by group Nanotourism or Agency of Walking of the group Walking the City).

BIO 50 is further enhanced by the retrospective exhibition The Biennial of (Industrial) Design over Fifty Years, displayed at the Jakopič Gallery, shedding light on the transformation and shifts in the discipline of design, our society, and ultimately everyday life. The resulting projects and historical overview will be published in an accompanying book titled Designing Everday Life, co-published by Park Books. The book will include contributions by Slavoj Zizek, Chantal Mouffe, Alice Rawsthorn, Justin McGuirk, Konstantin Grcic, David Crowley, Thomas Lommee, Liesbeth Huybrechts, Jan Boelen, Cvetka Pozar and many others.

Alongside visions of the future and reflections on the past, a lively program entitled BIO 50: NOW will animate the city of Ljubljana for the duration of the Biennial, from events, exhibits, guided tours, presentations and lectures to children’s activities, talks and workshops.

For this year’s edition, the Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region and its Regional Creative Economy Centre and company ELES, d.o.o. became main partners of BIO 50, supporting the event’s concept, interdisciplinary approach and some of the themes. Many partners, sponsors and supporters joined them; their support allows us to build a new, innovative form of the Biennial as a highly relevant international design event.

BIO 50 VENUES:

Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO), Pot na Fužine 2, Ljubljana, Slovenia  

• Affordable Living, Knowing Food, The Fashion System, Hacking Households, Nanotourism, Engine Blocks
  
  

Museum of Modern Art (MG), Tomšičeva 14, Ljubljana

• Observing Space, Designing Life and Hidden Crafts
  
  

Jakopič Gallery (GJ), Slovenska 9, Ljubljana

•   Public Water Public Space, Walking the City, The Biennial of (Industrial) Design over 50 Years

Opening Hours:

Tuesday–Sunday: 10:00–18:00.

Closed: Monday and 1 November (MAO and MG).

FOLLOW US

Twitter: twitter.com/@bio_50

Facebook:www.facebook.com/muzej.za.arhitekturo.in.oblikovanje

Instagram: instagram.com/bio_50

BIO 50: NOW side events program: http://bio.si/en/program/

Group mentors:

Rianne Makkink, Tadej Glažar, Lucas Mullié, Digna Kosse, Marko Fatur, Aldo Bakker, Marko Peterlin, Judith Seng, Tulga Beyerle, Tina Hočevar, Eugenia Morpurgo, Evan Frenkel, Tilen Sepič, Jesse Howard, Tina Gregorič and Aljoša Dekleva, Gaspard Tiné-Berès and Tristan Kopp, Miha Turšič, Jurij Krpan, William Myers. 

Team members:

Uroš Babnik, Lee Ivett, Adrian Friend, Dirk Osinga, Staša Dabič Perica, Georg Rafailidis, Maša Mertelj, Brina Vizjak, Lukas Wegwerth, Austin + Mergold (Jason Austin,Aleksandr Mergold), Martina Muzi, Silvia Dini Modigliani, Simon Beckmann, Gregor Bucik, Mika Cimolini, Aleš Ogorevc, Fala Atelier (Ana Luisa Soares, Filipe Magalhães), Gaja Mežnarić Osole, Nuša Jelenec, Leonora Jakovljević, Jan Kikelj, Sergej Kuckir, Fabrico Próprio (Rita João, Pedro Ferreira, Frederico Duarte), Ema Gerovac, Amelia Desnoyers, Katarina Dekleva, René Bosch, Henriëtte Waal, Asnate Bočkis, Matic Vrabič, Vanja Gortnar, John Stanislav Sadar, Bennie Meek, La Jetée (Paolo Patelli, Giuditta Vendrame), Maja Baloh, Ben Landau, Aya Bentur, Mima Suhadolc, Marta Ostajewska, Martin Abbott, Carolien Van den Hole, Sophie Rzepecky, Matthew Collings, Emanuel Gollob, Zaven (Marco Zavagno, Enrica Cavarzan), Beno Ogrin, Klemen Smrtnik, Dejan Kos, Ernest Nograšek, Dea Kaker, Urša Vrhunc, Oloop (Jasminka Ferček, Tjaša Bavcon, Katja Burger), Marko Drpić, Gregor Humar, Alessandro Fonte, Emile De Visscher, Klemen Zupančič, Klara Zalokar, Liene Jãcobsone, Anna Badur, Janez Mesarič, Annika Frye, Mima Suhadolc, David Tavčar, Tanja Pađan, Elena Fajt, Clara Vankerschaver, Nina Mlakar, Linda Ogrizek, Martina Obid, Tijana Todorovič, Tjaša Avsec, Nataša Kovač, Olivia de Gouveia, pH15 (Lucija Jankovec, Nika Batista, Katja Grčman, Maruša Kranjc, Karmen Sedeljšak, Ana Jazbec, Elena Fajt), Thibault Brevet, Leonardo Amico, Jure Martinec, Nataša Muševič, Coralie Gourguechon, Barbara Nawrocka, Dominika Wilczyńska, Žiga Rošer, Silvia Susanna, Living Courtyards Initiative/ Association House (Katja Beck Kos, Nadja Dodlek, Maša Kresnik, Samo Lorber, Kaja Pogačar, Maja Pegan, Niko Poljanšek, Tjaša Perović, Robert Veselko), Maja Jenko, Oaza (Nina Bačun, Ivana orovnjak, Roberta Bratović, Tina Ivezić, Maja Kolar, Ana-Marija Poljanec), Marjeta Fendre, Alessandro Fonte, Blaž Šef, Antoine Monnet, Ricardo Carneiro, Mats Horbach, Daniela de Paulis, Rogier Arents, Carlos Gendall, Joseph Popper, Andrej Strehovec, Pomme Van Hoof, Tanja Grosman, Dimitrios Stamatis, David Benque, Špela Petrič, Pei-Ying Lin, Jasmina Weiss

Partners:

Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region, Regional Creative Economy Centre • Faculty of Architecture • ProstoRož • JP Vodovod - Kanalizacija • Institute for Spatial policies • Steklarna Hrastnik • Tiporenesansa • Kamena • Petrič • Rokodelski center Ribnica • Interseroh & Consensus & Plastika Skaza • Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering • Squat • Lidija Pritržnik, Gorenje Design Studio, Gorenje • Architectural Association (AA), School of Architecture, Visiting school • Tomos • KSEVT – Cultural Centre of European Space Technologies • Kapelica Gallery

BIO project group:

Matevž Čelik, director, Biennial of Design
Maja Šuštaršič, head of Biennial of Design
Anja Zorko, head of marketing
Nikola Pongrac, project manager
Ana Kuntarič, project coordinator
Pika Domenis, public relations
Natalija Lapajne, educational program
Mojca Mihailovič, group’s project manager
Eva Perčič, group’s project manager
Taja Topolovec, social media manager
Anja Rejc, production assistant
Matjaž Rozina, Aleš Zalesnik, technical assistants

Ajdin Bašić, BIO 50 identity, graphic design

Matic Vrabič, exhibition design

Curatorial Team:

Jan Boelen

Maja Vardjan

Cvetka Požar

Project end date: December 7^th 2014