New interdisciplinary collaboration

Housing the Human

Forecast is pleased to announce the kickoff of Housing the Human, a collaborative interdisciplinary project involving leading European institutions and organizations that revolves around the question what might it mean to house the human—today and in the future.

Housing the Human focuses on developing methods for practical futurology—a semantic paradox that the project seeks to address by producing prototypes that can be experienced and tested, and presented to the public throughout the year-long process of their development.

Conceived as a catalyst for experimentation, the project brings together art, science, and technological innovation. In its first phase, Housing the Human invites 14 participants—pioneering and ambitious initiatives, offices, and individuals who excel at working across disciplines—to propose new prototypes for future lifestyles, social spaces, housing, and concepts for coexistence. In the following phase, the artistic directors of Housing the Human will handpick five concepts and enable the first stage of their realization in the form of mockups and 3D simulations, video works, installations, exhibitions, as well as performative and discursive engagement.

The 14 invited participants will convene at the innovation festival Demanio Marittimo near Ancona, Italy, on July 20, 2018, and put their working hypotheses to the test during a night of discussions with architects, designers, curators, and futurologists. They can then fine-tune their concepts according to the experts’ feedback and submit them for final selection in August 2018.

The artistic directors of Housing the Human will subsequently decide on five prototypes to be realized within one year. During the development process, the participants will have access to transdisciplinary expertise and assistance. Throughout various stages of the year-long process, the collaborating organizations will provide a stage for sharing the prototypes with a broader audience: In October-November 2018, the proposals will be presented to the public in a series of lectures, performances, and workshops at the Forecast Festival at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin and at the 4th Istanbul Design Biennial. Between April and September 2019, the Copenhagen Architecture Festival (CAFx), Demanio Marittimo in Ancona, and Z33 in Hasselt, Belgium will unveil the finished prototypes. The project will culminate in a multidisciplinary conference held by Forecast in Berlin, taking place in October 2019.

Artistic Directors: Freo Majer, Jan Boelen, Josephine Michau, Pippo Ciorra
Cooperation partners: Copenhagen Architecture Festival CAFx, Demanio Marittimo. Km-278, Forecast, iKSV, Z33

Find out more at housingthehuman.com.