The Slovenian design biennial BIO, hosted by Ljubljana’s Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO), is a cultural event and a platform for experimentation and development across architectural industry and academia. Curator Jane Withers and her assistant Ria Hawthorn focused the 27th edition of BIO on the subject of "Super Vernaculars".
Although the term vernacular is usually associated with local architecture and design practices, this exhibition rethinks its definition by combining new knowledge and technologies. The philosophy of the "super vernacular movement" stems from the cross section of innovation, anthropology and ecology and connects it to BIO, giving this movement a larger platform. The main aim of BIO is to be a catalyst for change, a very open laboratory for experimentation, for the dissemination of the knowledge pertaining to the change that design and architecture, combined with other disciplines, can bring to society. BIO wishes to connect and support designers and thinkers from around the world who want to work and live in a different world and are actively building it. Their activity shows that change is here and it is here because their innovation successfully stands against capitalism, its systematic destruction of ecosystems and the impoverishment of marginalised communities.
An integral part of BIO is the "production platform", a group of Slovenian multidisciplinary collectives and foreign experts that conducted independent research on local, social and environmental problems. BIO27 Super Vernaculars ultimately builds on shared knowledge and is a testing ground for exploring alternative narratives in Design research. The exhibition is open until 23 October 2022 at MAO.
*Interview translated and edited by the KoozArch team from the original text published in Slovene in the magazine Delo.
BIO27 Super Vernaculars ultimately builds on shared knowledge and is a testing ground for exploring alternative narratives in Design research.
Nuša Zupanc Jane Withers, what do you think is “good design” today?
Jane Withers Good design entirely depends on the context and the times we are living in. For today, and the areas we are involved in, design has a responsibility to address this planetary crisis: climate crisis, social crisis, economic… In other words: How can we build a different society? So good design has to be framed within the context of the time. And of course it's very different now compared to 30 years ago.
Nuša This last point opens to the next question: What are your core values as a curator?
Ria Hawthorn Accessibility is particularly important. If you start alienating or demoralising people then you're not going to carry them with you. So it is about communicating our ideas and research well, and also inspiring people to apply those changes into their daily lives.
JW Exactly, one of the important points is about inspiring change, provoking people to think differently. That is particularly in the context of today because it is not just that we need to change things around us. We need to change our mindsets, our values, our vision. I think that is where design can be very inspiring to help us imagine alternative futures and different ways of doing things.
One of the important points is about inspiring change, provoking people to think differently. We need to change our mindsets, our values, our vision.
Nuša Was the theme of the upcoming biennial something that you worked on before or did you coin the subject “Super Vernaculars” for BIO27 specifically? How did it evolve throughout the year-long process?
JW I think it has been a very long-term thinking in our curatorial work. It is a subject that I have come to through water and many different projects, and now it is also a topical theme which is gathering momentum. I see a lot of designers using vernacular references to design as a departure point and there is a lot that we can learn from nature based systems, from traditional ecological design and so on. But It is very important that it is not retrogressive or nostalgic, but approached with a contemporary mindset. This is the super part: Exploring a vernacular for the 21st century. The super- part is about how we can support this? The exhibition is a forum where we can interrogate what it means today and how we can empower it.
This is the "super" part: exploring a vernacular for the 21st century.
The exhibition has 4 themes, pictured here is an excerpt from Negotiating traditions which explores the many ways in which designers are subverting, reimagining and adapting vernacular and traditional knowledge and practices to address contemporary needs and challenges, and to shift thinking and acting away from the current energy-intensive and resource-draining modes of production. Image credit: Urban Cerjak for MAO.
NušaIf I understand it correctly, Super Vernaculars is a self-defining, continuous process, constantly redefined and re-evaluated through this movement?
JW With Super Vernaculars there is a contradiction in terms, specifically between super and vernacular and it sort of jolts the mind as it is slightly strange. It forces you to think about it. It is the merger of vernacular and open source thinking and ways of spreading and sharing knowledge, a common store of ecological knowledge. What is interesting is that there are many different voices and approaches within it, but it is a kind of mindset that looks back to an inherited common ecological sense. There are many generations of refinement, adaptation and sharing that made these approaches work.
RH It is bringing in contemporary know-how as well, combining technology as well as combining it with action. The projects that we have selected are projects which are trying to create real change at different scales. Sometimes it is at a city-wide scale or at a grassroots community level. These are projects that can really inspire visitors because they can see clearly that change is happening and designers are taking these concepts, along with vernacular knowledge, and applying them to serious contemporary challenges.
With Super Vernaculars there is a contradiction in terms, specifically between super and vernacular and it sort of jolts the mind as it is slightly strange.
Nuša BIO is an experimental platform that bridges academia, market demands and has an overarching goal of developing a multidisciplinary approach towards real societal problems. What surprised you the most during the long process of curating this exhibition?
RHDefinitely the projects we discovered and the research behind them. There were certain things that we wanted to include but could not, for example a leather-like material made from mushrooms, or mycelium. It is a project with great potential for the future but the material is required in such demand that it is impossible to get even the smallest sample. I was surprised that this material has been taken over by high fashion, which really shows the appetite for these new biomaterials and, unfortunately, it takes time for the innovation to scale-up and reach a wider audience. These new processes and developments are happening in real time and are fascinating to watch. It is also slightly frustrating that they are not more widely available.
JW Some of the aspects that surprised me are the problems faced in using some age-old materials today. Earth is a good example. Local earth has been used for construction all around the world forever. The collective Krater are making a teahouse from rammed earth and other biomaterials produced on the abandoned construction site that they occupy in the centre of Ljubljana. According to their research, as clay has not been through expensive certification processes in Slovenia, it can not legally be used for building but they can import clay from Austria where there is legislation for its use. So they call their project Forbidden Vernaculars. Examples like this show the Super Vernaculars movement needs to engage in political action to make change happen.
Clay has not been through expensive certification processes in Slovenia, it can not legally be used for building but they can import clay from Austria where there is legislation for its use. So they call their project Forbidden Vernaculars.
Slovene collective Krater took over a dormant construction site in Ljubljana, where workshops enable on-site production methods with local matter, such as plants, earth and fungi. Despite the successful reception of Krater the use of natural construction materials in Slovenia is greatly challenged by costly certification processes, preventing these resources from being widely applied. As the legislation currently stands, local material landscapes have become forbidden vernaculars. The design collective Krater, in dialogue with Atelier LUMA and BC Architects, has researched rammed earth architecture and locally sourced building materials to create a teahouse that is situated on the crater-like construction site in the heart of Ljubljana occupied by Krater. Image Credit: Amadeja Smrekar for MAO.
Nuša BIO (within MAO) is one of the first cultural institutions in Slovenia that is transforming its work processes in terms of sustainability. How is this process done in London? Could you point out any other way of achieving low impact cultural production as you have few of the most famous museums in the world. Did you notice such changes or how are they applied and do their work processes?
JWI think that many museums are at a similar stage. They are questioning their practices and thinking how they can change how they do things and making guidelines for sustainable practices. By talking to an organisation like Julie’s Bicycle, who are leading on a lot of the thinking and working with museums here, I think it is not dissimilar to what is happening in Slovenia and at MAO. Maybe they are a little further along the journey, but they are equally big machines to change so that the change is led by different people within the institution. Perhaps the contemporary departments are more aware of the challenges and how to resolve them. It is about understanding best practice and sharing knowledge so that in time it becomes a new vernacular.
RH It requires a large amount of time and additional funds to create the new systems that enable change. With limited resources in the cultural sector, change is slow going. There are different museum sustainability networks in the UK and across Europe, and many museums will have a sustainability lead. The V&A, for example, has commissioned several projects where they have worked with designers to reuse their exhibition waste.
Nuša Let’s move from curatorial processes to your practice, your office. How did you implement sustainable solutions in your design? Is there something that you can highlight that was a major change that you adopted?
RH It takes time to find the suppliers and new supply chains. So I guess that is a constant in our work across different projects, including how we can recycle different elements or making sure they are part of a circular system. And we often find that the challenge working with partners is getting people to buy into sustainable principles. At the very last minute when time is tight, it is easy to say, ‘Oh, it's all right, we'll just use those plastic fixings’ rather than look for an equally simple but more sustainable solution. The biggest challenge is to change the mindset of everyone you are working with.
The exhibition installation by Medprostor architects challenges conventional approaches to exhibition design by using loaned firewood that will be returned at the end of the biennial. As well as taking active steps to reduce BIO27’s environmental footprint, we have commissioned an open-source toolkit based on our findings to help other cultural institutions and designers to reduce their impact. The exhibition design is done entirely of firewood and will be returned to the provider after the exhibition ends. The use of nails, adhesives and plastic was reduced to the bare minimum. Pictured here is Carolien Niebling’s hero project Sausage of the Future which includes a commissioned Slovene Sausage of the Future project as well. Image credit: Urban Cerjak for MAO.
NušaWe often only highlight the carbon footprint or the environmental impact side of sustainability - they are measurable and can be shown on paper. However, this kind of sustainability goes hand in hand with the other part of sustainability, which is the “immeasurable” component that looks at the impact that sustainability has on communities. For example MAO became a vibrant hub for the Fužine community. Could you explain why you think it is crucial to have experimental platforms such as BIO, along with design projects that strengthen and empower communities?
JWThere is no sustainability without society's engagement in it. It is about designing the thinking, the mindset, the values as well as the materials and thinking of new ways of embedding these ideas in communities. If we look at the exhibition’s impact it opened so many questions and engaged so many people to think about some very important things. We were very open with the questions and asking everybody to engage and reflect on it in their own practice. One section of the biennial is titled “Catalysing Community” and all these ideas need to engage with the people, their livelihoods, their cultures and how you make something sustainable and enduring over the long period.
There is no sustainability without society's engagement in it. It is about designing the thinking, the mindset, the values as well as the materials and thinking of new ways of embedding these ideas in communities.
The Catalysing communities theme focuses on projects that put people and communities at the heart of design thinking. Ensuring fair and equal participation in regenerative change is critical to a lasting impact. Catalysing Community explores how designers can galvanise action and celebrate commonalities by using shared stories to connect people to each other and to their ecosystems. Examples here show how design can encourage communities to revive and regenerate their own environments through careful stewardship and group enterprise, improving quality of life and generating new livelihoods. Placing communal infrastructure such as waste and water processing at the heart of a community’s conscience and care can raise awareness and connect people to the systems they rely on. Projects such as the Great Green Wall and the Girjegumpi Sámi Architectural Library show how technology can connect dispersed communities to scale-up impact without compromising inclusivity and equity. Image credit: Urban Cerjak for MAO.
Nuša We are living through a series of interconnected crises: the climate crisis, Russo-Ukrainian war, the pandemic. Here are not only climate but also economic, war and political refugees. Some believe we should go back to pre-pandemic order. Shall we rebuild the world instead? If yes, how?
RH I think it will take a lot of time to rebuild. But these crises are still ongoing: Climate change, war and so on, and these are all terrible situations. I guess that incrementally and radically rebuilding in a different way would be the way forward, and we have seen that. I agree that many politicians are in a rush to simply get the economy back on track regardless of the climate, and without thinking of the longer term implications of their actions. On a personal level, rebuilding in tune with nature and having ecological principles embedded into everything we do at the highest levels of politics and legislation is something that I would really like to see over the coming years, keeping people in mind. It is not just about climate change, it is important that we consider citizens and that social change and social opportunities for everyone are part of this rebuilding and change for the future.
Rebuilding in tune with nature and having ecological principles embedded into everything we do at the highest levels of politics and legislation is something that I would really like to see over the coming years.
NušaAnd if we look into the future, what major issue or theme would you like to address through your work?
JWI will continue looking at water because it is an ongoing theme in my practice and the deeper we go and the more people we work with the more interesting it gets. That said, we are always developing new themes, often they take a few years to really engage with and develop our own perspective. After BIO we will continue to develop the Super Vernaculars theme and interrogate how it really can become a credible approach to some of the challenges we face. We are continuing to look at drinking fountains and plastic bottle reduction and am also working on the subject of death. I know more about the cultural context in Great Britain than in Slovenia, but here we mostly resort to rather outdated Victorian rituals. Most people are not prepared for a funeral and so they have to suddenly adopt these customs and rituals and fake formalities from another era. So we are looking at inviting designers to make new rituals for death. This is in the context of the large environmental problems about current methods of cremation, burial and so on. So how could we develop a new set of practices and contemporary rituals for this still most taboo of subjects?
RH I would like to continue some of the work we have started at BIO where, from the outset, we decided to look at how we could reduce the impact of the biennial and create a more sustainable cultural production. Temporary events are inherently wasteful, and everyone working in the cultural sector has a responsibility to do everything they can to change that. We dedicated one of the Production Platform teams, Futuring, to analyse our activities, research best practice and advise us on how to reduce our impact. The outcome is an open-source toolkit aimed at cultural institutions and designers that empowers them to assess the impact of their own activities without bringing in expensive consultants. This kind of knowledge sharing is becoming increasingly important in making change and I know that the BIO and Futuring teams would like to develop a network which can develop and continually update this knowledge. I would like to support that, as well as continue our curatorial work in sustainability and sharing the potential that design has to support change.
Temporary events are inherently wasteful, and everyone working in the cultural sector has a responsibility to do everything they can to change that.
Nuša What toolkit of knowledge do you wish that visitors of BIO27 and Koozarch’s readers take with them?
JWThat an important role for design today is to help us imagine other ways of doing things. And alternative visions for the future. We are so entrenched in capital-centric thinking and systems that we seem to have lost the power to envisage how things could be different. Many of the projects collected under the Super Vernaculars banner illuminate this new world of co-design and participatory practices that is emerging from the changing relationships between designers and the communities they serve. A good example is Social Design Collab, a community driven architectural and art practice based in Delhi that engages with local communities to design and collectively build schools as well as designing information campaigns that aim to make planning and public policy more accessible. Another example is the work of Mexican designer Fernando Laposse who weaves connections between the worlds of agriculture and ecology, living materials and crafts. His Agave film documents a collaboration with communities in Tonahuixtla Mexico on an ambitious regeneration project based on indigenous traditions of terracing with agaves. Laposse uses the flamboyant works made from sisal - the fibre from the agave plant - to publicise the regeneration project and raise funds to support it. Or Pomelaj, a Slovenian collective that brings together local farmers, crafts people and designers to make products with contemporary appeal from a type of corn indigenous to the Prekmurje region. In all these projects narrative is a powerful tool in forging collaborations and re-imagining materials and process and integral to the success of the project. What I find inspiring is that many of these projects have come through the test phase and made the transition from inspiring concepts to actually proving viable approaches and practices.
In all these projects, narrative is a powerful tool in forging collaborations and re-imagining materials and process and integral to the success of the project. [They] made the transition from inspiring concepts to actually proving viable approaches and practices.
The water filter by the production team titled Pjorkkala named Dodola after the Slavic goddess of rain, offers an affordable solution by combining vernacular materials and practices, natural and physical phenomena and contemporary production processes. The installation of intricately shaped filtration modules purifies water of contaminants as small as bacteria, leaving behind desired constituents such as minerals. It’s made of clay mixed with organic material and fired in a way which increases its porosity. The gyroid structure, developed together with Indian bio-researcher and architect Shneel Malik, accelerates the filtration of water by increasing the available surface area of the module is achieved by 3D printing. Following principles inspired by the Archimedes’ screw, Dodola moves water through the filter by relying on the flow of the water it is placed in, meaning it can work in remote locations where electricity isn’t available.
Bio
Nuša Zupanc studied and obtained her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ljubljana. Simultaneously, she pursued a degree in architecture at the Faculty of Architecture in Ljubljana. In 2012, Nuša won the Re-cycle Re-chair international design competition and was awarded the Prešeren Award for research. Nuša is also a recipient of the Vurnik and Valvasor award. Since 2019 she has been working at the Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana and is currently the editor of BIO27, Super Vernaculars and project coordinator of the European Architecture Platform LINA.
Jane Withers is a leading design curator, writer and consultant based in London. Her studio works on curation, programming and design-led strategies with institutions and global brands, bringing imaginative design thinking to address social, cultural, and environmental challenges. She has curated critically acclaimed exhibitions and programmes at the V&A Museum and Royal Academy of Arts among many others. She is curatorial advisor to the London Design Festival and initiated the Brompton Design District as a platform for experimental design, as well as collaborating with pioneering brands such as Kvadrat and Therme Group.
Ria Hawthorn is a design curator and producer, who has worked at leading institutions including the Design Museum, where she has curated exhibitions such as "Designs of the Year" and "Designers in Residence", and the British Council where she managed the "New British Inventors" programme. Ria guides many of Jane Withers Studio’s projects from concept development to completion and is particularly interested in researching and championing sustainable and regenerative design approaches.
