Forgotten Power 2085.
This year, the final year IAD designers have been imagining what our futures may hold. Projecting 60 years ahead of the present day, the brief explores what it might mean to contend with large scale societal changes in response to some very real contemporary conversations.
Prelude.
In the early 2020s, the world stands at a critical juncture. The rapid rise of generative AI systems and virtual production is transforming every aspect of society, from work to social interactions. Governments and corporations are racing to adopt AI-driven solutions, promising efficiency, economic growth, and answers to long-standing global challenges. However, these AI systems, despite their potential for progress, are energy-hungry — consuming vast amounts of power to operate. As society grows increasingly dependent on these technologies, a new challenge emerges; the need for sustainable energy sources to fuel the escalating demand for these AI-driven systems.
2024
In 2024, the UK government, under the new Labour administration, launched GB Energy — a national initiative aimed at accelerating the country’s shift to sustainable energy. Hailed as a bold step towards energy independence and environmental sustainability.
Throughout the following decades, political instability — fuelled by disinformation, employment uncertainty, and extreme political polarisation — has led to the collapse of major large-scale infrastructure projects. As centralised systems failed, localised energy production and sustainable practices emerged as the only dependable sources for sustaining daily lives and generative AI-dependent production.
Introduction
It is the year 2085, and the world has changed in ways few could have predicted. While technology has solved many of humanity’s problems, it has also left society disconnected from the physical and tactile elements of life. The widespread reliance on generative AI systems has left society increasingly detached from the physical and cultural experiences that once defined human existence.
Amidst this shifting landscape, the Department of Human Remembrance was created to ensure that the essence of human life—our interactions, crafts, and rituals—would not fade into obscurity. In a world dominated by AI and virtual experiences, the department’s mission is to create Places of Human Remembrance that invite people to reconnect with the physical world, honour human history, preserve cultural practices, and human experiences.
Each Place of Human Remembrance is inspired by a forgotten object—an artefact that once held great significance to human civilisation but has since been lost to time.
You have been selected to reimagine a symbolic, disused structure—once vital to human life—as the inaugural Place of Remembrance. As you explore its weathered walls and grand architecture, you’re invited to envision how this place might once again become a beacon of human connection and cultural memory inspired by and in memory of the forgotten object; a space for existence (energy production); a space for introspective remembrance; a space for collective remembrance; and a space to house the original forgotten object.
This brief invites you to think beyond the ordinary. You are encouraged to take inspiration from the past, but also to push the boundaries of what a Place of Human Remembrance might look like in 2085. Your design should embrace both the practical (energy production) and the poetic (memory and experience), giving visitors a sense of connection to their shared humanity.
Forgotten Objects
A crucial element of your research is to undertake a series of meticulous visual and interpretive studies on your chosen object. Through this exploration, you’ll become an expert on it. Armed with comprehensive knowledge, you’ll then be able to imagine a compelling future narrative—a place of remembrance inspired by the object and reconnects with humanity. Finally, you’ll design a place of remembrance and associated spaces that sustain life and humanity in the neo-2085 world.
Objects are chosen from the following list:
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Aeolipile (Hero’s engine)
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Astolabe
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Camera Obscura
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Clepsydra (Water Clock)
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Kinetoscope
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Letterpress
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Pendulum
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Phonautograph
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Orrery
Functional Requirements
The spatial and functional requirements will depend on your project narrative and your own interpretation of the subject matter.
As a minimum, the proposal will include:
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Energy Production
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Introspective remembrance
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Collective remembrance
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Storage of the Forgotten Objects
Site.
The Papplewick Pumping Station, a Victorian-era structure once vital to water management, has been selected as the site for the inaugural place of remembrance. The station stands as a reminder of an era when buildings embodied the spirit of their time, reflecting human ingenuity and resilience. The station will be reimagined into a space where energy production, memory, and cultural practices intersect, offering a new way to engage with both the past and the future.
