
Still image from the film set of Star Trek, 1968
© CBS Photo Archive

Verner Panton, Fantasy Landscape at the exhibition Visiona 2, Cologne, Germany, 1970 © Verner Panton Design AG, Basel

Georges Méliès, still image from the film Le Voyage dans la Lune, 1902
© Public Domain

Joe Colombo, Living Center, 1970/71 © Ignazia Favata/Studio Joe Colombo Photo: Rosenthal Einrichtung
Numerous science fiction films – from Star Trek to 2001: A Space Odyssey to Blade Runner – are populated by classic designs that have shaped our image of the future. In reverse, many designers of objects destined for some type of imagined future seek inspiration in the genre of science fiction. The fascinating dialogue between science fiction and design is the subject of the new exhibition “Science Fiction Design: From Space Age to Metaverse“ at the Vitra Schaudepot. Staged in a futuristic design by artist Andrés Reisinger, over 100 objects from the museum’s collection ranging from examples of early twentieth century design, literature and film to the so-called Space Age of the 1960s and ’70s, as well as contemporary design and digital objects will be on display.