2010 Brazilian Design Biennial
The 2010 Brazilian Design Biennial, organised by the Paraná Design Centre and the Federation of Industries of Paraná (FIEP) through the International Centre for Innovation (C2i), has begun.
This is the first time that the Biennial has been held by an entity that works specifically towards the construction of a design culture in Brazil and that focuses on industry. This year, the event’s theme is “Design, Innovation and Sustainability” and the head curator is Adelia Borges.
The Biennial’s main exhibit presents an overview of Brazilian design’s recent production, focusing, on one hand on innovation, and sustainability on the other. About 200 projects including products, design services and product and service systems, including graphic design and packaging, are present. Great care has been taken to diversify the geographic origin of selected works in order to achieve a fair national representation.
The objective is to contribute to a discussion about the urgency of a commitment to design that, when all is said and done, is attuned to the concepts of sustainable development, considered here in the broadest understanding of the word: environmentally responsible, economically inclusive and socially fair. It’s a difficult equation, but one for which Brazilian design has already come up with some answers that deserve reflection and visibility.
Curator
Adelia Borges is a journalist, a curator specializing in design and a teacher at the Armando Alvares Penteado Foundation (FAAP). She is the author of six books, among which is “A Designer is not a Personal Trainer”. She is a former director of the Museum of the Brazilian House. She has written for several publications, including the magazine Design & Interiors.
Urban Design: A Trajectory
In this exhibition, architect, planner and public administrator Jaime Lerner highlights some of the urban design intervention experiences in his career of nearly half a century. These are projects designed for both Curitiba and other Brazilian and international cities where he was able to apply his concepts of mobility, sustainability and identity. The point that unites these different studies is the fact that they represent highly innovative solutions without having to resort to stratospheric budgets. Instead, they propose simple, low-cost solutions, which serve the purpose of improving the citizens’ quality of life. The express bus system; the “Rubbish that is not Rubbish” programme; “Portable Street”, a modular, mobile stall system for street-vendors; and Dock Docks, a super-compact, pay-per-trip public-authority-owned car system are some of the projects to be presented.
Jaime Lerner is an architect. He played a major role in the planning that made Curitiba a reference in urban administration. He has been Mayor of Curitiba three times and State Governor once. He develops urban structuring projects for both Brazilian and foreign cities. He is a United Nations consultant on city-based topics.
