Exhibition: Plug-in-to-the-future: Changing approaches to design

The rapid development of digital technologies has led to emerging design initiatives that challenge established fabrication techniques.

A selection of works that demonstrate the impact of digital technology on design have been brought together in this exhibition, ranging from the fields of architecture and engineering to interior design, fashion and art.

The exhibition showcases relatively early examples of generative design and bubble matrix geometries from 2008, used both for design of the Beijing National Aquatics Center and artist Antony Gormley’s Dublin Project Model 2. Lana Dumitru and Vlad Tenu’s Swarovski crystal dress foræva (2017) and Nervous System’s running shoes with 3D printed midsoles (2015) demonstrate processes usually associated with engineering.

Alternative materials and plug-in-systems are explored by Beat Karrer and Stefan Borselius in their biocomposite and felt space dividers, and by Manuel Kretzer in his cardboard Chick ‘n’ Egg Chair. These and other works in the exhibition demonstrate the sharing of information and convergence of design processes across disciplines.