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Are nuclear trains and cars made of skin the future of travel? Are nuclear trains and cars made of skin the future of travel?
(5 months later)
Belching cars made of skin and bones, nuclear-powered trains in the shape of mountains and arrow-like formations of joined recumbent bicycles are just some of the ways we might travel around the country in the future, according to designers Dunne and Raby, whose new exhibition at London's Design Museum opens this week.Belching cars made of skin and bones, nuclear-powered trains in the shape of mountains and arrow-like formations of joined recumbent bicycles are just some of the ways we might travel around the country in the future, according to designers Dunne and Raby, whose new exhibition at London's Design Museum opens this week.
United Micro Kingdoms: A Design Fiction imagines an alternative version of England governed by four extreme lifestyle tribes, with disturbing echoes of our own society – and where we might be heading.United Micro Kingdoms: A Design Fiction imagines an alternative version of England governed by four extreme lifestyle tribes, with disturbing echoes of our own society – and where we might be heading.
The designers have devolved the country into four new counties, each conceived as an experimental zone with its own form of governance, economy and lifestyle. Might you be a Digitarian, driven by a blind faith in technology to join a world where tagging, tracking and total surveillance reign supreme? Or would you rather hang out with the Bioliberals in the rural southwest, producing your own energy, growing your own products and driving a farting biogas vehicle?The designers have devolved the country into four new counties, each conceived as an experimental zone with its own form of governance, economy and lifestyle. Might you be a Digitarian, driven by a blind faith in technology to join a world where tagging, tracking and total surveillance reign supreme? Or would you rather hang out with the Bioliberals in the rural southwest, producing your own energy, growing your own products and driving a farting biogas vehicle?
These fantastical worlds are depicted through models and props, arranged on a big table in the exhibition like fragments of evidence from alternative societies. The objects – which range from model vehicles to slices of landscape – provide intriguing glimpses into this parallel universe without giving the whole story away, like physical teasers to an (as yet) unmade film.These fantastical worlds are depicted through models and props, arranged on a big table in the exhibition like fragments of evidence from alternative societies. The objects – which range from model vehicles to slices of landscape – provide intriguing glimpses into this parallel universe without giving the whole story away, like physical teasers to an (as yet) unmade film.
"We are interested in how institutions like the British Museum and Wellcome Collection use objects to piece together stories about ancient, almost fictional societies, leaving space for the viewer to fill in the gaps," says Anthony Dunne, who founded the Design Interactions course at the Royal College of Art with Fiona Raby, exploring the future interface of science, technology and design. The godparents of the critical design movement, their work weaves speculative narratives around objects, producing designs that extrapolate current trends and offer witty critical commentaries on contemporary culture."We are interested in how institutions like the British Museum and Wellcome Collection use objects to piece together stories about ancient, almost fictional societies, leaving space for the viewer to fill in the gaps," says Anthony Dunne, who founded the Design Interactions course at the Royal College of Art with Fiona Raby, exploring the future interface of science, technology and design. The godparents of the critical design movement, their work weaves speculative narratives around objects, producing designs that extrapolate current trends and offer witty critical commentaries on contemporary culture.
"How can small objects speak of much bigger things?" asks Raby. "We're using these props as a catalyst for the visitor's imagination.""How can small objects speak of much bigger things?" asks Raby. "We're using these props as a catalyst for the visitor's imagination."
At one end of the table, a series of bright orange figures stand to attention like spot-lit specimens on a lab bench. Closer looking reveals that one has vast thighs, while the other is tall and willowy. They are a cyclist and balloonist from the Anarcho-Evolutionist tribe, a group that uses bio-hacking and self-experimentation to maximise their own physical capabilities – adapting themselves to exist within the limits of the planet, rather than modifying the planet to their needs.At one end of the table, a series of bright orange figures stand to attention like spot-lit specimens on a lab bench. Closer looking reveals that one has vast thighs, while the other is tall and willowy. They are a cyclist and balloonist from the Anarcho-Evolutionist tribe, a group that uses bio-hacking and self-experimentation to maximise their own physical capabilities – adapting themselves to exist within the limits of the planet, rather than modifying the planet to their needs.
Ever conscious of their carbon footprint, the Anarcho-Evolutionists travel as one on the Very Large Bike, a group of recumbent bicycles welded together to form a red arrow, like a permanent incarnation of Critical Mass.Ever conscious of their carbon footprint, the Anarcho-Evolutionists travel as one on the Very Large Bike, a group of recumbent bicycles welded together to form a red arrow, like a permanent incarnation of Critical Mass.
Next door, an extended strip of mountainous landscape runs almost the whole length of the room. Split into 75 carriages, interspersed with fish farms, swimming pools and bookable isolation cabins, this is the nuclear-powered train, home to the Communo-Nuclearists. The 3km-long artificial landscape trundles at 4mph in perpetual motion up and down the centre of the country: under constant threat of accident or attack, no one wants to live near them. It is a no-growth limited population experiment, inhabited by "voluntary prisoners of pleasure", with a one-in-one-out policy – for life.Next door, an extended strip of mountainous landscape runs almost the whole length of the room. Split into 75 carriages, interspersed with fish farms, swimming pools and bookable isolation cabins, this is the nuclear-powered train, home to the Communo-Nuclearists. The 3km-long artificial landscape trundles at 4mph in perpetual motion up and down the centre of the country: under constant threat of accident or attack, no one wants to live near them. It is a no-growth limited population experiment, inhabited by "voluntary prisoners of pleasure", with a one-in-one-out policy – for life.
3D-printed with the lo-fi aesthetic of an early computer game, like a background landscape from Super Mario Land, the mountain has a dreamlike quality, an empty stage set for us to project our own reading of what life on board might be like.3D-printed with the lo-fi aesthetic of an early computer game, like a background landscape from Super Mario Land, the mountain has a dreamlike quality, an empty stage set for us to project our own reading of what life on board might be like.
"We wanted to divert attention away from the technical feasibility of these proposals," says Dunne. "We have consciously resisted designing elements in detail, or telling too much of the story." Raby describes the pursuit of an "aesthetic of unreality" in all their work, using materials and forms that allude to other things – the bubbles of the biogas cars, for example, are made from a tea-based starch, giving the appearance of a grown object, already scarred and patched up."We wanted to divert attention away from the technical feasibility of these proposals," says Dunne. "We have consciously resisted designing elements in detail, or telling too much of the story." Raby describes the pursuit of an "aesthetic of unreality" in all their work, using materials and forms that allude to other things – the bubbles of the biogas cars, for example, are made from a tea-based starch, giving the appearance of a grown object, already scarred and patched up.
In contrast to these globular sacks of gas, the Digicars of the Digitarian tribe stand nearby like slick Jetsons spaceships. Rendered in ice-cream shades, these robot vehicles are configured to always take the most economic route, navigating an impenetrable quagmire of changing tariffs and markets as they glide along endless planes of tarmac. They are designed for passengers to stand up, minimising the vehicle's footprint, and providing an experience close to that of a budget airline: maximum efficiency in a world where citizen and consumer are one, literally guided by market forces. It is perhaps the most painfully familiar of all the kingdoms – and it should come as no surprise that Digiland is located in the south-east.In contrast to these globular sacks of gas, the Digicars of the Digitarian tribe stand nearby like slick Jetsons spaceships. Rendered in ice-cream shades, these robot vehicles are configured to always take the most economic route, navigating an impenetrable quagmire of changing tariffs and markets as they glide along endless planes of tarmac. They are designed for passengers to stand up, minimising the vehicle's footprint, and providing an experience close to that of a budget airline: maximum efficiency in a world where citizen and consumer are one, literally guided by market forces. It is perhaps the most painfully familiar of all the kingdoms – and it should come as no surprise that Digiland is located in the south-east.
So what are we to take from all this? Are these scenarios intended as a cautionary tale about where we will end up, or something of a Utopian ideal to strive towards? A table of books at the back of the exhibition, featuring writers such as JG Ballard and Margaret Atwood, Will Self and China Miéville, might provide some clues.So what are we to take from all this? Are these scenarios intended as a cautionary tale about where we will end up, or something of a Utopian ideal to strive towards? A table of books at the back of the exhibition, featuring writers such as JG Ballard and Margaret Atwood, Will Self and China Miéville, might provide some clues.
"We are very suspicious of the idea that designers should think on behalf of people," says Dunne. "Historically there has always been the master architect or designer, showing us what the world should be. But we see our role as sparking thinking about the future.""We are very suspicious of the idea that designers should think on behalf of people," says Dunne. "Historically there has always been the master architect or designer, showing us what the world should be. But we see our role as sparking thinking about the future."
"We don't see our work as pessimistic or dystopian," says Raby. "We're trying to put both sides across and show that there are trade-offs to be made, whichever lifestyle you choose.""We don't see our work as pessimistic or dystopian," says Raby. "We're trying to put both sides across and show that there are trade-offs to be made, whichever lifestyle you choose."
Dunne and Raby are both children of the 60s, when visionary ideas about the future were not in short supply. These days, they feel there is a dearth of big thinking: "Dreams have been downgraded to hopes," says Dunne. "Thatcher's TINA legacy remains: There is no alternative."Dunne and Raby are both children of the 60s, when visionary ideas about the future were not in short supply. These days, they feel there is a dearth of big thinking: "Dreams have been downgraded to hopes," says Dunne. "Thatcher's TINA legacy remains: There is no alternative."
By suspending reality for a moment and indulging in speculation, with a very English sense of humour, United Micro Kingdoms provides the very lens we need to make our contemporary social, political and environmental predicament all the more clear. It is beautiful, funny and clever – and may just change the way you look at the world.By suspending reality for a moment and indulging in speculation, with a very English sense of humour, United Micro Kingdoms provides the very lens we need to make our contemporary social, political and environmental predicament all the more clear. It is beautiful, funny and clever – and may just change the way you look at the world.
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