Our view of the future is open

Located in the very heart of Berlin, Futurium will open its doors to the public on 5 September. The institution’s first- floor exhibition on the future will also then be on display for the first time. Androids, green high-rise buildings, social commerce: there are endless ways to think about the future. The exhibition showcases five topics from the visitors’ lives: food, health, energy, work and urban living. The three major thinking spaces – humans, nature and technology – present different ways we can influence the future. The topics there revolve around the greatest challenges of our present. For instance, when thinking about the future of the energy supply, we must also consider climate change and consumption. Digitalisation and new forms of cooperation also play a major role in the future of work.

“There is no ‘one’ future. There are as many conceivable futures as there are people on this earth who dream about tomorrow and beyond. Our decisions in the present point the way forward to one future or another,” explains Dr Gabriele Zipf, Head of Exhibitions. “This thought is the foundation for all of our work at Futurium. That is why we don’t want to present finished future scenarios for the world of tomorrow, instead showing building blocks for many possible futures.”

All of Futurium’s concepts were developed by a scientific team. Many expert researchers and members of civil society advised us on the range of contents, helped us make the final choices and finally reviewed the concepts and texts.

Fluid permanent exhibition

Futurium’s exhibition is designed as a fluid permanent exhibition, with change being an inherent part of the exhibition design itself. The initial topics will be modified and expanded gradually to do justice to the variety of possible futures. Visitors will be involved in choosing the new exhibition topics.

Launch publication

Publishing house Sandstein Verlag will be bringing out the catalogue ‘Futurium. House of Futures’ to mark the launch of Futurium. The book presents the institution’s work, as well as a collection of short essays by philosophers and futurologists. It also guides readers through the exhibition and the Futurium Lab. And, because the future affects all of us, it includes plenty of activity pages to colour in, think about and try out.

Futurium. House of Futures
Editors: Futurium, Berlin
104 pages, 94 mostly colour illustrations.
24 x 16 cm, gatefolded cover
Publication date 5/9/2019
ISBN 978-3-95498-498-5
€ 15.00

For a review copy or if you have questions on the book, please contact: Heike Bojunga, Sandstein Verlag, Tel. +49 (0)351 4407823, bojunga@sandstein.de.

Further information

• Launch publication: www.sandstein.de/futurium
• Look inside the book: https://verlag.sandstein.de/re...