A “habitable” exhibition to reason about the housing crisis Design Week

During Milan Design Week 2024, DOPO? space presents the RUNAWAYS project, a collective experiment on precarious living. More and more often, indeed, there is questioning about the influence of this major showcase on the city’s biorhythm. According to a study by AbitareCo, in 2023: prices have increased by +245% compared to the rest of the year and +16% compared to 2022, with an average price of 3,770 euros per week. Furthermore, many people leave their homes to be able to rent them out.

DOPO?’s program for Milan Design Week 2024 aims to reflect precisely on these processes, combining forms, images, and languages of design with its critical potential. Through exhibitions, a dedicated public program, and experimental spatial practices, the effects of Milan Design Week on the ongoing housing crisis in Milan will be addressed, with a focus on the role of platform capitalism. The result will be an exhibition-event that, in addition to hosting product design exhibitions, will stage an experiment in temporary cohabitation.

Runaways is indeed a livable exhibition. Four designers will create temporary structures that will be inhabited by a community of runaways, who will find refuge in DOPO?’s spaces. The runaways will receive hospitality in exchange for contributions or performances based on their skills and interests. A sort of “barter” intended to produce hesitation within dominant economic mechanisms. Throughout the duration of Milan Design Week (April 15-21, 2024), the main garden of DOPO? will host various events: talks, performances, concerts, workshops, dinners, and of course parties. What DOPO? aims to propose is not just a simple hospitality service, but an active reflection on the precariousness of contemporary living and the potential of collective solutions.