5 New Design Exhibitions for November 2016

According to Axl Rose, “…it’s hard to hold a candle, in the cold November rain.”

The question is surely, why you would want to? It sounds like a thoroughly foolish thing to do.

The clocks have changed, it’s dark, cold, we’re all a little down, but honestly Axl, standing outside with candles ain’t going to make things better.

Visiting one of the following five new architecture and design exhibitions however might just….

Fear and Love – Reactions to a complex world at the Design Museum, London, England

As much as being an interesting sounding exhibition in its own right, Fear and Love – Reactions to a complex world also marks the re-opening of the London Design Museum following its move westwards from Shad Thames to Kensington. And thus the first chance to experience the new exhibition space. Particularly pleasing is that for the inaugural exhibition the museum have decided against a “From our Collection” showcase and instead are presenting a much more challenging sounding exploration of contemporary living and contemporary society. Featuring 11 installations by international designers and architects as varied as, for example, Christien Meindertsma, Madeline Gannon or OMA, Fear and Love promises to explore how contemporary design thinking and design processes (can) affect society at levels beyond the physical or economical and at much more elementary, immaterial, levels.

Fear and Love – Reactions to a complex world opens at the Design Museum, 224-238 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6AG on Thursday November 24th and runs until Sunday April 23rd

Christien Meindertsma presents Fibre Market, part of Fear and Love – reactions to a complex world at the Design Museum, London

Christien Meindertsma presents Fibre Market, part of Fear and Love – reactions to a complex world at the Design Museum, London

Ceci n’est pas une copie. Design between Innovation and Imitation at CID – centre d’innovation et de design au Grand-Hornu, Hornu, Belgium

As we’ve often noted in these pages, the (hi)story of contemporary design is one of copying. Back in the day students learnt from their masters in that they copied them, recreated their works and through this process began to understand their craft. Today the copying may be more subtle, but it is still there. Quotation and homage to classic designs, for example, can regularly be found in newer works, as can the transposition of vernacular objects from one culture to another. At another, alltogether less honest, level, one reason for the regular lamentations of monotony in the global furniture market is that everyone looks at what others are doing and takes inspiration from what is commercially successful. Such rarely involves direct copying, but equally rarley original thought. While in terms of Open Design copying is actively encouraged, or perhaps better put, isn’t possible, being much more the idea.

Promising an exploration of “copying” in all it hues and tones, including downright plagiarism intended to achieve a commercial advantage at the expense of someone elses work, Ceci n’est pas une copie promises to explore not only the scope and variety of copying in contemporary design, but also the function of copying in contemporary design and thus, hopefully, explain that copying is not necessarily copying.

Ceci n’est pas une copie. Design between Innovation and Imitation opens at CID – centre d’innovation et de design au Grand-Hornu, Rue Sainte-Louise, 82 7301 Hornu on Sunday November 27th and runs until Sunday February 26th

Mal 1956 from Mal: The classic Eames Lounge Chair in rotation moulded plastic. PArt of Ceci n’est pas une copie. Design between Innovation and Imitation at Le Grand Hornu

Mal 1956 from Mal: The classic Eames Lounge Chair in rotation moulded plastic. Part of Ceci n’est pas une copie. Design between Innovation and Imitation at Le Grand Hornu

Maasparadox: Cultural Resilience in Times of Climate Change at Bureau Europa, Maastricht, Holland

Climate change is transforming our relationship to water. For some water will become even scarcer than it currently is, will increasingly become a tradeable resource and thus a source of economic pressure; for others it will mean more water than is useful, healthy or practical. For all it will mean adaptation and change. For the exhibition Maasparadox 15 international designers, artists and architects were invited to investigate the River Meuse as it weaves its way through France, Holland and Belgium, and for all to explore in how far climate change is affecting the cultures and communities along the flow of the river and what can be done to counteract any negative aspects of the climate change induced changes. Or we presume accentuate any of the non-negative.

There is no one, global, solution to dealing with future hydrological challenges, and thus understanding their local nature is important to ensuring local solutions are targeted and appropriate. One could, arguably should, get scientists to build models and measure real change, but asking creatives to explore the same according to their specialities is not only an equally valid exercise but in many regards an important expansion of and compliment to the scientific research

Maasparadox: Cultural Resilience in Times of Climate Change opens Bureau Europa, Timmerfabriek, Boschstraat 9, 6211 AS Maastricht on Saturday November 5th and runs until Sunday January 22nd

Maasparadox: Cultural Resilience in Times of Climate Change at Bureau Europa Maastricht

Maasparadox: Cultural Resilience in Times of Climate Change at Bureau Europa Maastricht

Frei Otto. Denken in Modellen at the ZKM Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Karlsruhe, Germany

Frei Otto is arguably one of Germany’s most important 20th century architects. If not one of the 20th century’s most important architects. If not the 20th century’s most important architect. Yet remains an architect who is barely known outside specialist circles.

Which is bordering on a crime. Because in his research on lightweight structures, tensile membranes and naturally occurring construction systems Frei Otto not only helped us understand the essentials of construction, helped us move away from the idea of a building as something permanent, redefined the aesthetics of architecture, but also taught us how to construct with a minimum of resources.

Organised by the Südwestdeutschen Archivs für Architektur und Ingenieurbau, saai, and curated by a team led by archive head Georg Vrachliotis, Denken in Modellen aims to bring the work of Frei Otto to a larger audience. So, where it belongs. And also, one hopes, explain the relevance of Frei Ottos’ work for contemporary architecture, design and urban planning.

To this end the ZKM promise an exhibition featuring some 200 objects complimented by around 1000 documents, photos and sketches which explores Frei Ottos’ oeuvre in four sections: “Frei Otto’s Model World”, “Frei Otto’s Open Archive”, “Frei Otto’s Cosmos”, “Frei Otto’s Projection”.

And thus an exhibition which promises to be one of the most extensive and wide ranging explorations of Frei Otto and his work. And thus a fitting tribute.

Frei Otto. Denken in Modellen opens at the ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Lorenzstraße 19, 76135 Karlsruhe
 on Saturday November 5th and runs until Sunday March 12th

Interior of the Multihalle during construction for the Bundesgartenschau 1975 in Mannheim (Photo © saai Südwestdeutsches Archiv für Architektur und Ingenieurbau, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Werkarchiv Frei Otto)

Interior of the Multihalle during construction for the Bundesgartenschau 1975 in Mannheim (Photo © and courtsey saai Südwestdeutsches Archiv für Architektur und Ingenieurbau, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Werkarchiv Frei Otto)

Pierre Chareau: Modern Architecture and Design at the Jewish Museum, New York, New York, USA

The French architect and designer Pierre Chareau is arguably one of the great overlooked protagonists of 20th century architecture and design. Born in Bordeaux in 1883 Pierre Chareau was a founding member of the Congrès International d’Architecture Moderne, CIAM, an early, if not founding, member of the Union des Artistes Modernes and with the Maison de verre in Paris created one of the most idiosyncratic works of modernist architecture in France.

Yet, Pierre Chareau?

Organised in cooperation with Le Center Pompidou Paris Pierre Chareau: Modern Architecture and Design aims to explore and explain the work and importance of a designer who although unquestionably modernist in his approach never lost touch with the crafts from which his work, and indeed his understanding of his work, arose, nor with the more natural, organic elements of Art Deco. And who thus developed a canon of work which stands as a unique testament to the discussions around production, aesthetics and functionality which were taking place globally in the inter-war years.

And which continue today. And to which a Pierre Chareau could, perhaps, make a valuable contribution.

In addition to looking at Pierre Chareau’s work the exhibition also promises to look closer at the man through explorations of his many patrons and his contacts to and relationships with leading international artists of the period.

Pierre Chareau: Modern Architecture and Design opens at the The Jewish Museum, 1109 5th Ave at 92nd St, New York, NY 10128 on Friday November 4th and runs until Sunday March 26th

MB152 Telephone table and lamp by Pierre Chareau. Photo © Collection of Audrey Friedman and Haim Manishevitz. Courtesy of Jewish Museum New York)

MB152 telephone table and lamp by Pierre Chareau. (Photo © Collection of Audrey Friedman and Haim Manishevitz. Courtesy of Jewish Museum New York)

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