Today I'm sharing a story.
Dream 2074! A Utopia created for French luxury. This was an international competition proposed by Comite Colbert and the Ensaame to the Cumulus Association members in January 2019. My college being a part of the association, participated in the competition. A book composed of 6 stories was given to be interpreted and define what the luxury would look like in the year 2074. Three groups from our college submitted their interpretations in the form of a storyboard, a video and a note of intent.
Website : https://www.dreaming2074.com/
Taking into account the rate at which the technology is progressing and how ecology is important in the survival of the planet. We built a story interpreting the balance between technology and nature. The story is fictitious. The story intended to emphasize the importance of both technology and nature.
Here, the parallel universes show the result of an imbalance between nature and technology.
Note of intent :
The world is in harmony. Nature is a significant part of human life. Well, life is in nature. A planet is a place of co-existence. Animals have a place too here alongside vivid flora and fauna. Surprisingly, it's the best time to be alive. It's 2074! A utopian world exist.
Technology has advanced leaps and bounds since 2014. Sustainable living, which was once a concept is a living reality. Life on Earth is experiencing the universe in a way never done before. People have started unlearning, and then learning from nature. Biomimicry is a practiced problem-solving method now. Who better to learn from than nature? It came with the shift in mindset, the shift in perspective and of course the change in actions. The realization of what makes life fulfilling and content. People aren't really after money but towards the greater goods. The quality of life is enriched by the experiences people gain. Creativity is an important aspect in which all disciplines of life are placed now. It's something which comes from within which is of great importance now. Heritage and cultures are highly valued. People have become more self-aware and actions have become more of conscious decisions. We have discovered more secrets of the universe now.
People have found a balance between material and immaterial things. Technology serves as a source of un-limiting human limitations. It's a tool that has certainly has made life more comfortable. It hasn't replaced humans. People have realized it's placed. Diversity exists in freedom. Boundaries have merged in a way never before. Rooting for nature and solving global issues together made a major shift in the quality of life, both physically and mentally. It wasn't an easy road but worth the struggle. People are in a better state of mind. Seems like that was the key.
A certain balance is attained. Individually people have attained a balance between work and life. The individual shift made a bigger shift possible. Being imaginative beings, we often ponder upon the idea of "what if". Here, to depict the importance of balance between nature and technology, we asked ourselves the very same question; 'what if parallel universes exist?', what would we find in the future?.
Throwing ideas around how far we have come as a human race, we did think about the role of technology and what it meant to its very core. We thought about the 'nature of duality', meaning the concept of "yin-yang". There is always two way to go about things, but the decision lies in our hands. Conscious decision making can be a tool to take the right step. All of this had to do both from within. Being design students, we thought about the external stimuli and what role it can play to influence the internal. Nature came to mind. What massive influence it can make to the being who is an innate part of it? Seems to us, the answer lied in the balance between nature and technology. That would be the luxury to have both and the enhanced experience people will be able to live. Parallel universe allowed us to show the possibilities, both good and bad. To show the consequences of the actions we take today, in away. One possibility of how we can reach a Utopian state is by finding the balance. Once we reach today's believed Utopian state, we sure will have another place to reach them. "It's a roller coaster that only goes up.”
After all, 'Utopia is a journey, not a destination.'
Participating in such competition and many others puts things into perspective. Being a designer, this serves as an important reminder of how one wants to unfold their actions.
This project was undertaken by myself and my friend. It was appreciated in the French Comite.