Bio 50

During a period of six months, 120 international designers and multidisciplinary agents engaged in a large-scale collaborative effort to devise possible futures for design. Working on eleven themes that impact diverse aspects of everyday life, they were brought together by 3, 2, 1…TEST, the experimental framework that shaped BIO 50, the Biennial of Design in Ljubljana. Different 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. Founded in 1964, BIO was the first design biennial in Europe. In 2014, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, it undertakes an ambitious transformation, from a traditional industrial design exhibition into a six-month collaborative process. BIO 50 strives to strengthen local and international design networks, searches for alternatives to implemented systems where design can play a role, and creates bases for resilient structures that can develop through time, beyond the duration of the event. In its experimental approach and ambitious goals, this edition of the Biennial becomes a case study for what design and design events can be in the contemporary world. BIO 50 is shaped by the exhibition 3, 2, 1 TEST, which presents the process and projects developed by each of the groups. It is further enhanced by the retrospective exhibition The Biennial of (Industrial) Design over 50 Years, and complemented by BIO 50: NOW, a lively program of parallel events.