IAAC and Fab Lab Barcelona collaborate with Fixing the Future by engaging in a participatory initiative aimed at repurposing discarded wood strips, granting them a new lease of life inside the Future Faire. The event will take place the 12, 13 and of October 2023 at Disseny Hub Barcelona.
Barcelona is one of the leading cities in the world in terms of the number of international conferences and trade fairs, hosting a multitude of these events throughout the year. These gatherings, however, often rely heavily on temporary structures constructed from materials like wood, metal, or plastics, only to be used for a short period of time. While certain initiatives have been initiated to enhance material circularity within the city, the efficient storage and reuse of these resources still pose significant challenges.
Following its commitment to explore circular economy principles, Fab Lab Barcelona at IAAC succeeded in recovering more than 100 discarded wood strips from the Mobile World Congress 2023, repurposing them into modular wooden exhibition stands.
This remarkable undertaking not only underscored the vast potential of urban materials but also embraced a participatory approach. Designers and interested citizens, keen to explore the skills of traditional carpentry and digital fabrication, came together to breathe new life into these neglected resources.
The wooden structures, firstly created for the Poblenou Fàbrica/ Fabrica Exhibition, which took place at Ca l’Alier in May 2023 in the context of the European project CENTRINNO, will now be used for the Future Faire.
Moreover, three projects developed by Master in Design for Emergent Futures (MDEF) Alumni will be presented at the Future Faire.
POWAR, by design innovator Pablo Zuloaga, is a low-cost climate simulator that allows small-holder farmers to experiment by growing their plants in future climatic conditions. The aim is to obtain crucial data on the impact of climate change on them which allows them to make more informed decisions, and thus strengthen their resilience.
Ongo Board, by bio designers and entrepreneurs Roberto Broce, Jessica Dias, Ignacio de Juan-Creix and Rian Davidson, is a mycelium-based surfboard that utilises fungal mycelium and agricultural by-products to create a compostable product that is harmless to the surfer, the shaper, and the ocean.
Little Big Futures, by Wen Qian Chua, Ariel Ignacio Gallardo Lopez and Jimena Lucia Salinas Groppo is an interactive board game using digitally fabricated tools, designed for children aged 12 and above to explore and express their perspectives and attitudes. The project’s wider objective is to provide educators worldwide with DIY tools for 1-hour sessions that promote constructive debates and inspire forward-thinking discussions in educational environments.
About Fixing the Future
Fixing the Future Festival creates a space where it is possible to share, inspire, ask critical questions and, most importantly, take action to change the world for the better.
During this fourth edition, Fixing the Future will bring together the best 25 future-shaping projects from across the world – from adapting AI technologies to farming innovation to drought mitigation to creative recycling.