“Biotik Design: Territories for Life,” the 10th edition of Bilbao-Bizkaia Design Week
Bilbao is a city we adore, with countless reasons to visit whenever we can. Culturally and artistically, it is a very active city, and a great example of this is its design week, BBW24, celebrating its tenth edition this year.
This inspiring initiative is promoted by the Bilbao City Council and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, aiming to boost creative industries as a factor for economic development and for enhancing Bilbao-Bizkaia’s international profile.
“BBW24 is an opportunity to showcase how design can guide society toward a more ecological, inclusive, and diverse future.”
A space for meeting and exchange among diverse design and creativity agents in Bizkaia
Among the main objectives of BBW24 is connecting companies, professionals, academia, students, public administrations and clients from Bilbao and Bizkaia, and especially its design agents, with international trends, as well as highlighting the design sector in both regions.
Primarily, it’s evident: there is an abundance of talent, and among other things, Bilbao is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in design.
As if that weren’t enough, BBW24 will also invite us to engage in a collective reflection on design and this year’s theme: “Biotik Design: Territories for Life”.
Biotik Design: territories for life
This year, the concept revolves around promoting life through the practice of design. It arises from an urgent need to reorient design toward a life-centered approach.
Thus, under the curatorship of Pez Estudio — a team of architects founded in 2006 specializing in Urbanism, Architecture, Design, and Action Research — “Biotik Design: Territories for Life” is a call to collectively reflect on how to transform the way we design, build, and use our environment to address current challenges, learning from past lessons. Because, although it may seem obvious, design does not always promote life today.
This approach suggests that design should embrace a transformative and collaborative perspective, adapting to an increasingly complex context. By shifting perspectives, design can aim for harmony with the environment and foster inclusive collaboration among diverse identities, cultures, and abilities.
An intergenerational knowledge network
This year’s theme also speaks to the relationships forged in this transformative gathering. In the tenth edition of Bilbao-Bizkaia Design Week, biotic design—centered on life—takes on a profound significance. This is largely due to the intergenerational knowledge network created by bringing together design practitioners from past editions with new generations. It’s an excellent way to link the legacy of design with the challenges and opportunities of the future.
A commitment to change
Through transformative ideas that question the status quo, we can envision moving toward a new paradigm, where objectives and voices are different, or at least aligned with current needs.
1. What would feminist and multicultural Bizkaia and Bilbao look like if they were designed by diverse profiles, beyond the traditional middle-aged white male perspective?
2. How can architectural and interior spaces be designed to reflect and accommodate a plurality of genders, ages, and cultures, promoting safe and welcoming environments for everyone?
3. How can urban planning and landscape design create resilient cities and spaces, foster biodiversity, and be designed for the well-being of an aging and diverse population?
4. In the era of the digital revolution and artificial intelligence, how can user experience and interaction design facilitate universal access, promote inclusion, and support climate change mitigation and adaptation?
5. Considering the ability of games to influence perception and behavior, how can game and video game design create experiences that generate new ecological imaginaries and foster a culture of inclusion and diversity?
6. In a sector traditionally shaped by restrictive beauty standards, how can the fashion industry promote diversity in bodies, genders, races, and cultures while also minimizing its environmental impact?
7. Given the role of visual communication in shaping perceptions and attitudes, how can graphic and communication design promote a shift toward more responsible and sustainable global practices?
These are some of the questions raised by BBW24, inviting us to reflect not only during Design Week but beyond. They are questions that challenge all of us and should be on the minds of every designer and individual, as design is interwoven with life.
10 design disciplines and 5 narratives
BBW24 spans 10 design disciplines: architecture, art, craftsmanship, video games, design, communication, digital and audiovisual content, interior design, and fashion. It is structured around 5 key narratives, each aimed at redefining design practices in a transformative way. These themes invite us to envision inclusive and multicultural Bizkaia and Bilbao, designed with diversity and focused on sustainable cycles of resources and energy, as well as the creation of an environment that integrates greater biodiversity.
Promoting a Sustainable Future: Encourage responsible and conscious designs that optimize resources, minimize externalities, and foster a harmonious relationship with the natural environment.
Building Equality and Diversity: Create inclusive and equitable environments that value and promote equality, dismantle traditional paradigms, and encourage diversity and reciprocity.
Fostering Collaborative Communities: Promote collaboration and co-creation in urban and community design, valuing the needs and expectations of all those involved and enhancing collective intelligence.
Embracing Open Creativity: Develop open-source design solutions that ensure free access, distribution, and reuse, fostering community resource management and the creation of common goods.
Exploring Experimental Innovation: Explore and experiment with new ideas and technologies in design, promoting curiosity, critical thinking, and social transformation through creative and speculative approaches.
A comprehensive program of activities
Here is an overview of the main activities, which include spaces for exploring references and concepts, as well as opportunities to generate concrete examples that put these narratives into practice in the region.
Each activity has been designed to inspire the creative community to adopt an integrated and sustainable perspective in design, promoting practices that respect the environment, value diversity, and advocate for open innovation.
KAIXO!
Date: Thursday, November 14 · Place: Ensanche Building · Time: 6:30 p.m.
Kaixo! is the inaugural event of the tenth edition of BBW24 and an open invitation to explore this year’s theme: Biotik Design, a way of designing and thinking about the world in a more sustainable, fair, and innovative way.
During this session, several international speakers with transformative careers will share key ideas: Gabriela Rendón, a New York-based architect and urban planner known for her disruptive approaches, will discuss challenging imaginaries and practices for urban transformation. Domestic Streamers, a creative agency specializing in transforming data into emotions, will give an interactive talk on eco-social transformation from an experimental perspective. Martí Guixé, a pioneer in Food Design Fiction, will explore how food can become an “influencer” and a catalyst for change. Maider López will talk about “Balcones”, the action and installation she is presenting at BBW24.
Additionally, throughout the event, the audience will have the opportunity to contribute interactively to the creation of a Decalogue of Biotik Design, defining key criteria and concepts to create “Territories for Life” that will guide the rest of the week. The event will be hosted by Maitena Salinas, with an introduction by Elisa de los Reyes from Pez Estudio on behalf of the curators.
Masterclass and gathering
Date: Friday, November 15 · Place: Bilborock · Time: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This gathering will bring together professionals from all design disciplines in Bizkaia for a day of learning and exchange.
The session will begin with an inspiring Masterclass by Gabriela Rendón, a Mexican architect based in New York known for her disruptive projects linked to social justice. Rendón will invite us to explore ways of thinking and acting that challenge current ways of understanding and inhabiting the world. From a transdisciplinary approach, we will delve into ideas and practices that promote collective transformations in favor of social, economic, urban, and environmental justice.
“Gabriela Rendón will invite us to explore ways of thinking and acting that challenge current ways of understanding and inhabiting the world.”
Following this, Pez Estudio, the curators of BBW24, will lead a collaborative activity where participants will co-create around the principles and vision of Biotik Design, generating recommendations for sustainable design in the region.
Diseñatón: territories for life
Date: Friday and Saturday, November 15 and 16 · Place: Ensanche Building · Time: Friday (4 to 8 p.m.) and Saturday (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
This event will bring together students from various universities and design schools who will work collaboratively to devise solutions to real challenges defined by five local companies—IHOPE, GRUPO SSI, IBILKARI, H-ENEA, and GOIENER—through the lens of design. Some of the challenges presented include:
1. How can local governments make it easier for consumers to choose and purchase repairable/repaired products?
2. How could we design a physical/digital social network to foster intergenerational connections around interconnected kitchens, helping people who don’t know how to cook to learn while also reducing unwanted loneliness?
The event will be facilitated by the Tipi Cooperative and will feature expert mentors who will provide support and advice to participants.
Three winners will be selected in the Diseñatón through participatory and popular voting. The winning proposals will be presented at the BBW24 closing ceremony.
PARTEKATU!
Date: Thursday, November 22 · Place: Ensanche Building · Time: 6:30 to 9 p.m.
On Thursday, November 22, we’ll hear about the challenges and results of the Diseñatón directly from the participants.
Additionally, the emerging art collective Heréticas will offer a performance exploring the principles and vision of Biotik Design in Bizkaia, in collaboration with professionals who attended Gabriela Rendón’s Masterclass along with Pez Estudio.
BALCONES
Date: Exhibit (November 17–22) and urban action (November 17) · Place: Ensanche Building · Time: Urban action at 11:30 a.m.
This project involves relocating plants from specific city balconies to the room in the Ensanche Building, recreating the configuration and arrangement of plants from real balconies. This shift and decontextualization of a familiar element invites people to observe the city and focus on the plants and gardens people create on their balconies. A participatory action will be held to transport the plants by walking through the city, with a group of participants forming a procession from the balcony location to the Ensanche Building, accompanying the plants.
The week also includes collaborations with major festivals. Selected brings together professionals and students around the latest trends in creativity and international design, while Espacio Open’s Maker Faire combines technology and art, highlighting the creative use of technology and digital culture in a collaborative setting. The Media Attac International Digital Art Festival and Develop Association add a focus on audiovisual media and digital art, offering talks and workshops that promote innovation in the local scene.
We’ve included a link to the program and activities so you can select what interests you most. We invite you to attend this major edition of Bilbao-Bizkaia Design Week. It offers not only a unique experience but also a more reflective and less market-oriented vision, thanks to the support of entities like Bilbao Ekintza and BEAZ, which focus BBW on exploring design from a socially and environmentally conscious perspective.
Attending Bilbao Bizkaia Design Week is a way to join a movement that promotes design not only as a creative discipline but as a transformative tool that puts life at the center, leaving a lasting impact on the region and all who participate. Save the date!
(*) Graphic material provided by Bilbao-Bizkaia Design Week.
