The opening will be accompanied by a rich program, including the award ceremony, the unveiling of the BIO exhibitions at two other locations, and several other events across the city.

After BIO 50's lively introductory event, which took place in February in Ljubljana and which brought together more than 120 participants, the collaboration has continued, with participants using various creative and unexpected ways to communicate, organize, and further develop their design process. "From a constant postcard exchange between the Walking the City team members, to Skype dinners with wide range of ingredients organised by the Knowing Food team, the participants have found countless ways to surprise us with their engaging resourcefulness and boundless enthusiasm," said BIO 50 curator Jan Boelen.

Jan Boelen, who was invited to curate the jubilee edition of the Biennial by the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO), has changed the Biennial's concept into a new, innovative form of design event, takes an important step forward from international competition toward collaboration and experimentation. "We absolutely have to end the festishisation of products that has alienated design from production. I believe that BIO should play an active role in this and strive to support creativity in its most delicate and vulnerable stage. This means that in the future, BIO has to increasingly play a research-based, experimental role," explains Matevž Čelik, Director of the Museum of Architecture and Design.

Eleven concepts
For the last six months, more than 100 multidisciplinary participants from 20 countries have been collaborating under BIO 50 on the topics of Affordable Living, Knowing Food, Public Water – Public Space, Walking the City, Hidden Crafts, The Fashion System, Hacking Households, Nanotourism, Engine Blocks, Observing Space, and Designing Life. International and Slovenian mentors, who put together project guidelines for each team, lead and monitor project progress, whereas members with diverse experience, skills, and motivation work on one or more of the projects that will be presented at the Biennial.

The designers included in the Hidden Crafts team have been collaborating with Slovenian companies in the research process, which could lead to new ways of understanding crafts. Project development is a joint effort along with the companies Steklarna Hrastnik, Tiporenesansa, Kamena, Petrič, Rokodelski center Ribnica, and Interseroh & Consensus & Plastika Skaza. Apart from the above-mentioned Skype dinners, the Knowing Food team is working on possible scenarios for the future of food and is planning to plant a garden in the museum. While the Designing Life team is examining the intersections of biology, science, and design, as well as possible life forms in extreme conditions, the Observing Space team is exploring new ideas that could be provoked by human presence in space. The Hacking Households team will present two scenarios of "hacked" household appliances, one of which will be based on open programming interfaces, and the other on programmed objects. The Engine Blocks team will use a deconstructed, interchangeable, and removable Tomos engine on other devices such as a brick maker, a motorcycle, a saw, a water pump, and a boat. The main objects of The Fashion System team's concern include research on materials, such as local wool and second-hand clothing, their decomposition, and the development of new production systems and their applicability. Projects undertaken by the Public Water Public Space team naturally focus on water in public spaces, such as a fog garden, a four seasons fountain, an irrigation system, and more. The Walking the City team has set up an agency for walking to explore and promote different ways of walking in the urban area. The potential uses of empty and derelict buildings top the Affordable Living team's list, along with developing strategies and programmes for the revival of neighbourhoods within communities, and tackling the problems of affordable ownership. The Nanotourism team is looking for alternatives to the existing tourism industry, suggesting new possibilities at the micro-level, and expanding the project beyond Ljubljana to Maribor, Vitanje (in collaboration with AA Visiting School), and Zagreb.

The BIO 50 exhibition will be open from 18 September to 7 December 2014 at the Museum of Architecture and Design, the Jakopič Gallery, and the Museum of Modern Art, and will showcase the outcomes of each team's work. Information on the progress and outcomes of each team's projects will be published in an accompanying catalogue. The international jury consisting of industrial designer Konstantin Grcic, design commentator Alice Rawsthorn, and designer and professor Saša J. Mächtig will assess the teams' work and grant an Award for Best Collaboration.

Exhibition of the Biennial's 50-year history
On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, the 24th Biennial of Design (BIO) builds on the event’s tradition and history, advancing into uncharted experimental, collaborative territory. The main show of BIO 50 will be accompanied by an exhibition of the Biennial's 50-year history, which will highlight the significant changes and shifts in society, everyday life, and, consequently, design. As Cvetka Požar, one of the co-curators of the Biennial of Design, pointed out: "Besides the Milan Triennial, in the 60s BIO was one of the most important design events in Europe and the first of its kind in the world. Designers from Western as well as Eastern European countries attended it en masse ... BIO remains a very important event in the region. Today, more than ever before, it not only helps maintain contact with the international community, but it also acts as a catalyst for the transfer of innovations, incentives, and, in particular, alternatives to the existing system into our environment."

In addition to addressing visions of the future and thinking about the past, a lively program of events, exhibits, and lectures entitled BIO NOW is set to animate the city of Ljubljana for the duration of the Biennial of Design. For news and details on the work process and project teams, as well as on events to be held during the week of the opening, follow us at www.bio.si.

Vesna Žarkovič, SINFO