OBJECTS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Nobody dares to predict the future of our society anymore or even pay attention to its spoilers. We are too hurried to bear them in mind. Our present-day lives are more than ever based on the how-while the here fades away. Ordinary actions seem to be deprived of past memories and indifferent to future consequences. Past, present, and future have converged in the digital era, where date value has been replaced by data value. We turned out to be the best possible benefactors of the economic system, based on the immediate satisfaction of instant needs and wishes. Thanks to that, no one is enquiring us about the future, which has been transformed into an unpleasant scenario by the sci-fi novels and films, and an unhomely place by the climate predictions –if the here is not sustained today, why to care for it tomorrow? Only the ten-day weather forecast -enough time to plan our next action as consumers- is at our hands. Beyond that is darkness.
Objects for a Sustainable Future is an exhibition curated by Lab3, Emerging Sustainable Architecture, at Aarhus School of Architecture. It aims to bring light into the forthcoming context by showcasing objects based on, conveying, or inspiring a sustainable future. This reverse time capsule is an attempt to throw the present into the future, allowing us to reflect on how can we expand the how and recoup the here. All the objects are physically displayed, accompanied by a few lines describing their key attributes for tomorrow. Both the object and the allied narrative can be real or fictional, new or recycled, natural or manufactured, explicit or implied, self-contained or part of a system… As a collection, they incarnate Lab3’s commitment to investigate the rising societal and environmental challenges affecting our culture and willingness to instigate the students –the future of our profession- to participate in its initiatives with their vision and wishes for more sustainable architecture.
