The Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts (mudac) presents Soleil·s, a landmark exhibition in the second Solar Biennale. Running from the spring equinox to the autumn equinox of 2025 (March 21 to September 21), this event focuses on a dynamic exploration of creativity and innovation.
Curated by Rafaël Santianez and Scott Longfellow, the exhibition will feature immersive installations, cutting-edge design projects, activities and evocative storytelling, all powered by a discourse around the Sun.
“Soleil·s explores the symbolic and transformative potential of the sun, inspired by the vision of the Solar Biennale. As curators, we aimed to highlight how solar design goes beyond energy innovation, challenging us to rethink our relationship with health, politics, urbanism, and inclusivity. This collaboration underscores the power of design to shift mindsets and inspire collective solutions for a brighter, more sustainable future,” said Rafaël Santianez and Scott Longfellow, curators of the exhibition.
Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, mudac stands as a prominent institution which explores design, art, and applied creativity. Nestled in the bustling Plateforme 10 arts district, the museum is renowned for its cutting-edge exhibitions and unwavering dedication to fostering interdisciplinary conversations on contemporary challenges.
Launched in 2022 by designers Pauline van Dongen and Marjan van Aubel, the Solar Biennale serves as a global platform to address the challenges of solar energy. For its second edition, mudac expands this vision, bringing together designers, curators, activists, and researchers to explore the ecological transition and examine the symbolic, political, practical, and aesthetic dimensions of the sun, pushing beyond traditional perspectives on sustainability.
TAKK’s mind-boggling Fellaria’s Time Capsule (2024), for instance, is a time-traveling machine that allows a piece of biodiversity to travel to a probable (imagined) future. The two-meter-diameter sphere integrates technological equipment capable of creating the conditions that a plot of land might experience in 2070 – in this case, a piece of territory located under the future former Fellaria glacier in Lombardy. Between adaptation and disappearance, between death and vitality, the simulation raises the debate: should we watch the glacier disappear, or the meadow settle in?
The 2025 edition centers on three key themes, energy, politics, and popular culture. These inform ten newly commissioned projects by pioneering design studios such as Common Accounts, Ecologic Studio, and Joanie Lemercier, each offering innovative insights into a solar-powered future.
Complementing these commissions are works by renowned artists and designers like Ólafur Elíasson, Liam Young, Andreas Gursky, and DISNOVATION.ORG, alongside contributions from collectives such as Solar Protocol and academic institutions including EPFL, HEAD, and ECAL.
Mischer’traxler Studio’s The Idea of a Tree (2008 – ongoing), is a mechanical machine that creates just one object per day. It draws inspiration from trees, which grow and adapt in response to available light. Powered by the sun, the machine starts working at sunrise and stops at sunset – emphasizing a truly sustainable way of creation by man. At a steady rhythm, it deposits thread and a binder layer by layer around a core, forming a shape that will become a bench or a lamp. The size of the furniture varies with the season, and the outcome also reflects the day’s weather. When the sun shines bright, the layers are thick and the colour is pale. A cloudy sky results in thinner, darker layers.
Soleil·s emphasizes design’s ability to inspire and engage communities in shaping a solar-powered future. The exhibition showcases creative solutions to raise awareness of ecological challenges and drive behavioral change.
Offering a more practical, utilitarian solution is Nathanaël Abeille’s Reflexions (2021-2023), whose devices redirect natural light from sunlit areas to darker spaces, on both an urban and domestic scale. It transforms spaces and the way we experience them. Mr. Abeille, in collaboration with various craftsmen, has developed the precise skills for enhancing the reflective capabilities of daily materials such glass, ceramic and metal.
Complemented by activations like architecture exhibits at EPFL’s Archizoom and artist films at EPFL Pavilions, Soleil·s highlights how design can accelerate solar innovation and reimagine material culture. Most often, luxury stems from innovation. And this exhibition, as both a celebration and a call to action, envisions a sustainable, solar-driven future, which can fuel future luxury ideas and projects.
*Cover image: A screengrab from ‘Staring at the Sun’, a documentary by Alice Bucknell, showcased at mudac
