National Design Triennial at the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum

MIT CityCar, prototype. William J. Mitchell (Australian, b. 1944), Ryan Chin (American, b. 1974), William Lark Jr. (American, b. 1981), Raul-David Poblano (American, b. 1979), Peter Schmitt (German, b. 1977) and Philip Angus Liang (Hong Kong, b. 1982), Smart Cities, MIT Media Laboratory, with Mitchell Joachim (American, b. 1972) and Franco Vairani (Argentinean, b. 1973), MIT Department of Architecture, and Andres Sevtsuk (Estonian, b. 1981), MIT Department of Urban Studies & Planning. United States, 2003–present. Rendering: MIT Media Lab, Smart Cities.

NEW YORK, NY.- Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum presents the fourth exhibition in the National Design Triennial series. “Why Design Now?” will be on view from May 14, 2010, through Jan. 9, 2011, and will explore the work of designers addressing human and environmental problems across many fields of design from architecture and product design to fashion, graphics, new media and landscape design. Organized by Cooper-Hewitt curators Ellen Lupton, Cara McCarty, Matilda McQuaid and Cynthia Smith, the Triennial will be global in reach for the first time, reflecting the connectedness of design practices and the need for international cooperation to solve the world’s problems.

The exhibition title asks the question “Why Design Now?” to examine why design thinking is an essential tool for solving some of today’s most urgent problems; what draws creative thinkers, makers and problem solvers to this crucial field of discovery; and why business leaders, policy makers, consumers and citizens should embrace design values. Key developments across design disciplines will be presented through eight themes: energy, mobility, community, materials, prosperity, health, communication and simplicity.