Multiple Plan - Belgian design at the red dot design museum

From 29 October to 21 November 2010 the red dot design museum and Wallonie-Bruxelles Design/Mode (WBDM) present the exhibition “MULTIPLE PLAN – Design crossroads in Belgium”, which shows a cross section of the new design standards in Belgium. This country is regarded as one of the most interesting with regards to the development of design. With its young generation of designers the regions Wallonia and Brussels embody the frequently invoked approach of increasing economic performance through creativity. Architecture, arts and crafts, and design look back on a tradition of many centuries and particularly in the last decades the two regions have remembered and reclaimed this expertise. The vernissage takes place on 28 October 2010 at 6:00 pm at the red dot design museum.

The exhibition “Multiple Plan – Design crossroads in Belgium” focuses on the potential of its creative companies, the local expertise, its cultural heritage, and the strong ties with research as well as technological and industrial innovation. A diverse selection of projects and realisations, prototypes, products, and documents as well as images and videos allow the visitors to gain an insight into “conversations”, the interweaving of ideas, and human as well as technological processes that characterise the current design world in Belgium.

Here design refers to a responsible activity – the intention, the “plan”, or the planning, respectively – which favours the development of sustainable solutions for the community and the environment. In the face of the complexity of the addressed problems and the necessity of a multi-disciplinary method these plans are manifold. The title expresses the diversity of an approach and an intention – beginning with the coming together and merging of different visions and subjects at the start of a project up to their final implementation.

Already at the origin of this project many diverse visions intersect, for instance those of the two curators, Giovanna Massoni, exhibition organiser in the area of design, journalist and communication specialist, and Alok Nandi, interaction designer, event organiser, contributor, author, and graphic designer.
The critical approach of the curators as well as the concept are based on the telling of twelve exemplary stories about human, cultural, and technical encounters representing the creative and economic achievements and the “multi-linguistic” quality of the country of Belgium.

Read here the interviews with the designers Damien Bihr, Sylvain Willenz and Danny Venlet.