99 projects for the real world in “Design for life”
From the 19th of February to the 17th of May the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona presents its first temporary exhibition, dedicated to objects designed to make our lives better
Nobody can be in any doubt that design makes our everyday existence easier. Thousands of inventions that have been dreamt up, designed and manufactured have provided solutions to problems that, to a greater or lesser extent, have improved our everyday lives. As an example, one has to look no further than the results of the Gual 120 project, which led to the incorporation of ramps on pedestrian crossings throughout Barcelona, an idea that has not only improved the lives of said pedestrians, but has since been copied in other cities.
Parting from this premise, the Barcelona Design Museum (Museu del Disseny), which opened its doors just two months ago, in now hosting its first temporary exhibition Design for life. 99 projects for the real world, which presents almost one hundred objects created expressly in an effort to offer everyday solutions that improve our surroundings and, eventually, society itself. The selection of designs on display have the common denominator of presenting an innovative and creative design and roughly half of the ideas are home-grown, the other half being contributions by designers the world over. Curated by Oscar Guayabero, the aim of the exhibition is to reveal the face of design that seeks interaction with society and to invite visitors to ask themselves what the purpose of design is today.
The exhibition is structured into six areas: Design for connecting, Design for educating, Design for healing, Accessible design, Sustainable design and Design for protection. All the exhibits are presented on low tables so that they are visible from wheelchairs, are accompanied by audio-visual aids, and are ordered following a life-line from the prenatal stage as far as the funeral home.
The exhibition includes such fascinating objects as Embrace, the incubator for premature babies, the pedal-driven washing machine-dryer, Gira-Dora, which offers savings both on energy and water, a drone-hydroplane for extinguishing fires, the new street lamps that are already adorning the reformed Paral·lel and which come equipped with Wi-Fi, traffic control and ornamental illumination, a magic pill for performing endoscopies, the Kigali Chair, which turns any chair into a wheelchair, the high-performance 3D sling, the aforementioned Gual 120 and the solar socket Windows Socket.
The exhibition is complemented by a series of parallel activities and culminates with a participative space where some of the objects on display can be tested.
Design for life. 99 projects for the real world
When: From the 19th of February to the 17th of May. Tuesday to Sunday, from 10.00 am to 8.00 pm.
Price: 4,40 €
Where: Museu del Disseny
More information here