Join us for an open house on Pier 17 at 4pm and get a tour of our exhibitions on urban futures.
As part of our 20th anniversary programming Metropolis, we are featuring several exhibitions on display in our space at Pier 17.
Discover the U.F.O.G.O. Exhibition from ECAL (Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne), Urban Futures Stories with Your 2040, and our Swiss projects selected for the anniversary program.
All exhibitions will let you discover new ideas for the cities of the future and will give you the opportunity to interact with the creators of the different projects.
The open house is followed by an event on the future of cities:
Utopian Cities: From Current Solutions to Future Realities
Explore urban futures with innovative Swiss projects driving sustainable and digital city transformation selected for our Anniversary Programming ‘Metropolis’.
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2023, 5:30-8:30 pm
Cost: free / Register here
U.F.O.G.O. Wind Turbines
In 2023, the significant role of renewable energies in tackling the environmental crisis is blatant. In this context, wind power has once again been presented as a promising avenue for regions seeking to transition to renewable energy. However, concerns about their visual intrusion on surrounding environments pose a significant obstacle to their deployment.
From a design perspective, this aesthetical factor is not insurmountable. On the contrary, it highlights the need for greater consideration of how we shape these technologies and integrate them into the environment and our lives. This project, completed by 16 MA Product Design Students of ECAL, has set out to explore how wind turbines can fit into natural landscapes and cultures not only sensitively, but beautifully – if we focus on their design.
To complete the project effectively, a case study location was required. Fogo Island (Newfoundland, Canada), described locally as “this rock in the battering Northern Sea,” was chosen due to its natural beauty, abundant wind, and tight-knit community of approximately 2,500 inhabitants. The island’s climate and geography make it ideal for wind turbines. Additionally, Fogo Island is home to Shorefast, a non-profit organization dedicated to building a sustainable, renewable economy for the island.
In October 2022, the students and tutors of ECAL visited and immersed themselves in Fogo Island. The project resulted in eight speculative yet practical wind turbine designs, considerately informed by various perspectives. U.F.O.G.O. is a sustainability project grounded in reality, but not limited by what already is.
Your 2040
The [y]our Urban Futures is an interactive installation that embarks on a journey of imagination, pushes the boundaries of the possible, and envisions the world we desire to live in in the year 2040, all through the power of storytelling and visualization. The aim is to encourage us all to shape better outcomes for regenerative cities and systems of tomorrow.
San Francisco, November 6–9, 2023 /
With 'Metropolis – Sustainable Futures Under Construction', Swissnex in San Francisco is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a look into the future of cities, focusing on food, energy, and the built and digital environment.
