Imagining the Future—through Architecture and Design

What would happen if we dared to visualise a future scenario—not as science fiction, but as tangible, research-based proposals for new ways of living, dwelling and thinking?

The exhibition Imagining the Future—through Architecture and Design at the Royal Danish Academy—Architecture, Design, Conservation presents 29 projects by architects and designers. The projects use current challenges and possibilities as their point of departure: new materials, new ways of dwelling and providing ourselves with shelter, new ways of envisaging community and sustainability. 

Each project is an independent narrative, but in the aggregate, they point towards a future where human needs are put on an equal footing with planetary needs. For instance, is it possible for a dwelling to include species other than human beings? And how can technology and design help us envisage a future still unknown to us, but which is fit for the whole planet and its living beings?

In Imagining the Future, designers and architects depict the part they play in shaping the future by examining the present. Keeping in mind our common culture and identity, the exhibition features projects that make the changes in the future attractive. 

Design and architecture are not only about function but also involve fostering meaningful ideas through aesthetics, user involvement and local anchoring. In brief: to understand human needs and reflect this. The exhibition includes projects by researchers, educators and students at the Royal Danish Academy. The projects encourage the solutions for the future to grow in an interplay of research, practice and artistic methodology.