Dream out loud’: Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum hosts designs for a better future
Wallpaper* doesn't have a reliable crystal ball. But if we did it would probably be designed by Swarovski, and it would no doubt unveil a catalogue of works from a new exhibition at Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum.
'Dream Out Loud: Designing for Tomorrow's Demands' questions what the next generation will need and desire. The extensive group show – featuring no less than 27 emerging and established designers – is an eclectic romp through their REM worlds, allowing us privileged access to their wildest design dreams.
The emphasis is on conceptualisation rather than immediate functionality. Curator Lennart Booij explains, 'Idealism is not new to design, but now we’re seeing a change of emphasis: the focus has shifted from the design object to the idea itself.' This new wave of 'social design' is abundantly present throughout the gallery – in Pieter Stoutjesdijk's prototype self-building house, for instance. He dreamt up the concept in response to the devastating Haiti earthquake in 2010, particularly for residences in Port au Prince. The home is made from 122 'Eco boards' that can be produced locally and sustainably from grass, reeds or pruning chips, while a bowl-shaped roof collects rainwater.
Other featured projects are physically smaller, but pack an equally powerful punch; like Studio Formafantasma's recreation of their 2014 installation De Natura Fossilium, documenting two years' worth of research into bio-based polymer packaging, which reconstitutes lava into decorative glass.
The exhibition goes on to address a range of environmental and socio-politcal issues. Even the projects that seem like they're created for pure aesthetics comment on larger global issues. We Make Carpets' vivid tapestry of cocktail umbrellas, for instance, recognises the creative potential of things we use once, then needlessly throw away.
Despite the sobriety and immediacy of the global problems addressed by the exhibition, one leaves with a sense of hope. Each project is optimistic and each designer determined. It's exciting to see. Booij says of these encouraging works, 'It's all about bringing the seemingly impossible a step closer to reality. Social design responds to complex societal issues. And that’s of enormous relevance.'
INFORMATION
’Dream Out Loud: Designing for Tomorrow’s Demands’ is on view from 26 August until 1 January 2017. For more information, visit the Stedelijk Museum website
ADDRESS
Stedelijk Museum
Museumplein 10
1071 DJ, Amsterdam
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Elly Parsons is the Digital Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees Wallpaper.com and its social platforms. She has been with the brand since 2015 in various roles, spending time as digital writer – specialising in art, technology and contemporary culture – and as deputy digital editor. She was shortlisted for a PPA Award in 2017, has written extensively for many publications, and has contributed to three books. She is a guest lecturer in digital journalism at Goldsmiths University, London, where she also holds a masters degree in creative writing. Now, her main areas of expertise include content strategy, audience engagement, and social media.
-
First look: Vyrao’s latest neuroscientific fragrance bottles the grounding effect of a digital detox
Vyrao’s earthy new fragrance ‘Mamajuju’ provides sensory respite from screen time. Lara Johnson-Wheeler speaks with brand founder Yasmin Sewell for a Wallpaper* preview
By Lara Johnson-Wheeler Published
-
Kengo Kuma’s new Kyoto hotel is ‘a sanctuary of ethereal beauty’
A former ryokan inn, Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto offers onsen rooms equipped with natural hot spring water, and a contemporary take on a Noh theatre
By Danielle Demetriou Published
-
Frieze London 2024: everything to see and do
As London gears up for Frieze Week (7-13 October 2024), here are the must-sees inside and outside the fair
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Solar light and modular cabin win Life-Enhancer of the Year: Wallpaper* Design Awards 2022
Marjan van Aubel's ‘Sunne’ solar light and the Space of Mind cabin, by Studio Puisto, Made by Choice and Protos Demos, are the joint winners of this year's Life-Enhancer category
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Best of Dutch Design Week 2021
After a virtual edition, Dutch Design Week is back for 2021 (until 24 October) with a physical showcase of creative talent across the city of Eindhoven celebrating the design event’s 20th anniversary
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Saul Steinberg: behind the scenes at Triennale Design Museum
Triennale Design Museum and publishing house Electa present ‘Saul Steinberg Milano New York’, a new exhibition (until 13 March 2022) that pays homage to the American artist through 350 works. Join us for a behind-the-scenes peek at it's installation
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Ten years of Muller Van Severen, at Design Museum Ghent
A new exhibition by Belgian design duo Muller Van Severen (until 6 March 2022) features a retrospective of the studio’s ten years as well as a curation of pieces from the Design Museum Ghent collections
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Noguchi show celebrates his reverence for Greece
Design show ‘Objects of Common Interest: Hard, Soft, and All Lit Up with Nowhere to Go’ opens in collaboration with Wallpaper* Designers of the Year, Objects of Common Interest, at the Noguchi Museum in Queens, New York (until 13 February 2022)
By Tilly Macalister-Smith Last updated
-
‘Design not for children, but for everyone’: Jewish Museum Berlin’s new play space
Olson Kundig architecture and design practice brings kids’ play space ANOHA Children’s World to life inside a vast former wholesale flower market, at the Jewish Museum Berlin
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
A landscape of playful animals pops up at Design Museum Holon
Child-centric designer Sarit Shani Hay presents an imaginary natural landscape that references Ron Arad's Design Museum Holon architecture and is inhabited by soft, cushioned sea lions, seals and bears
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Charlotte Perriand’s life and work explored at London’s Design Museum
London’s Design Museum presents ‘Charlotte Perriand: The Modern Life’, an exhibition turned the spotlight on one of the most iconic creators of the 20th century
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated