Modernism and sustainability in Utrecht

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Utrecht Manifest is an international cultural biennial, which perceives contemporary developments in design and architecture from a social perspective.

By Editor Design.nl / 29-11-2007

Utrecht Manifest is an international cultural bienniale, which perceives contemporary developments in design and architecture from a social perspective.

The bienniale shows how architecture and design, in the past and present, have looked for answers to social and cultural questions connected to innovation, quality and sustainability. Utrecht Manifest searches for connections between design, architecture and other cultural expressions such as film, theatre and literature, in order to stimulate the public and political debate. The aim is to reinforce the role of design and architecture in developing coherent agendas for social and cultural innovation.

2007 theme
The biennial’s theme is Modernism’s legacy. At the start of the previous century, this movement in the arts, architecture and design formulated a new socially inspired aesthetics, based on modern, technological-industrial methods. After the critique of Postmodernism, does Modernism still exert influence? Is modernism’s social agenda still relevant?

The Sustainability Dilemma
Another theme of the Utrecht Manifest is the question of sustainability. Many people are suddenly realizing that we urgently need to find a new way of interacting with our natural environment if we want to have a future worth talking about. All kinds of conflicting aspirations, fears and responsibilities become evident in this quest for sustainability. Utrecht Manifest looks at design as a strategy for transformation through a series of lectures, debates, workshops, publications and an international symposium on 28 November.

Exhibition programme
Ed Annink is curator of the exhibition programme at Utrecht Manifest 2007. For Design.nl he chose his top Utrecht Manifest picks that visitors shouldn't miss. Published later this week on Design.nl.

Utrecht Manifest 2nd Biennale for Social Design runs from 24 November 2007- 11 February 2008.

Images:
Living and Working Together
afbeelding: Frederico Duarte 'Diversity'

Lovely Language and A safe Place
afbeelding: Charles Sandison 'People'

Endless Inspiration
afbeelding: fragment uit Surplus