Transform. Designing the Future of Energy

An exhibit from the Vitra Design Museum presented at the Biosphere

May 15, 2025 -Espace pour la vie is pleased to announce the North American premiere of the traveling exhibit Transform. Designing the Future of Energy, a creation of the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, one of the world’s most important museums of its kind. It will be presented at the Biosphère until autumn 2026.

Energy is at the very heart our societies, and the use of fossil fuels is one of the major causes of climate change and global warming. Among the solutions envisaged, CO2-free energy sources are being explored. Taming the wind, sun and water has its share of challenges, but design offers innovative, fascinating solutions.

Design in fact plays an important role in today’s energy transition. Transform. Designing the Future of Energy, curated by Jochen Eisenbrand of the Vitra Design Museum, reveals how design, at different scales, integrates renewable energies into our day-to-day lives, whether in terms of the body, our homes, cities or modes of transportation.

Visitors will discover everyday objects using renewable energy: among others, the Sunne lamp, which capturers solar energy during the day, and lights up at night; the wind-powered streetlamp PAPILIO; the underground refrigerator from Groundfridge, which you need only bury in the ground to create a perfectly functional fridge; or the (B)pack backpack from (B)energy, which carries 1,000 liters of raw biogas and weighs just 4 kilograms. Not only is it an alternative to the wood and coal used in kitchens on the African continent, but it also offers income possibilities for small producers, since production requires nothing more than organic waste and water.

An inspired and inspiring Canadian design

Although the exhibit respects the narrative framework and the experience of the original exhibition – Transform! Designing the Future of Energy, created and presented in 2024 by the Vitra Design Museum – the Biosphère team has been able to adapt part of the content for the local audience.

Thus, close to a dozen projects (out of the more than 75 presented) come from Canada, provided by designers, architectural firms, artists, university departments and various players in the field. Among those will be Éclipse XI, the prototype solar-powered racing car from Montréal’s École de Technologie Supérieure; a kinetic-energy dress from Joanna Berzowska that harnesses energy generated by the human body; the model of a community freezer created by Blouin Orzes Architectes and inspired by the cultural tradition of Inuit communities in Nunavik; and the ThermoDrain, which uses heat from drain water to reduce home water-heating costs.

Just as dependence on fossil energies has deeply influenced our daily lives, the growing transition to renewable energies will have an increasingly greater effect on our lives in the future. The Biosphère invites you to discover just how powerful an asset design is in shaping a sustainable energy future and inspiring positive changes in how we live our lives.

Transform is also:

• A family tour booklet available during the exhibit to make the content accessible in a fun way, and to help young visitors explore and understand the connections taking place between design and the energy transition.
• An enriching, inspiring guided tour where visitors can admire first-time prototypes and innovations that illustrate the crucial role of design in the energy transition of the future.
  Every day, at 11:00 a.m. in English and at 2:30 p.m. in French.
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• A series of six meetings being held between October 2025 and April 2026 aimed at showcasing and delving deeper into certain aspects that resonate with the design communities in Montréal and Québec. The goal here is to inspire audiences towards an innovative, inspiring socio-ecological transition.

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Quotes

The Honorable Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

“Since 2021, the Government of Canada has supported the Biosphère’s cultural and scientific mandate, whose purpose is to raise awareness and inspire environmental action and commitment in everyone. There’s no doubt that the Transform! Designing the Future of Energy exhibition will help awaken the ecological conscience of visitors in search of solutions and possibilities for an ecologically sound and sustainable future.”

Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montréal

“Montréal is proud to host this innovative exhibition, which highlights the crucial role of design in the energy transition. Transform! Designing the Future of Energy inspires us to rethink our energy use and adopt sustainable solutions for a better future. In Montréal, we’re deploying a series of initiatives to make the energy transition a success, and we absolutely need the commitment of everyone—civil society and the general public—to make profound changes. The Biosphère is an excellent way of reaching people and raising public awareness of the importance of this transition.”

Caroline Bourgeois,Vice-president of the Executive Committee and responsible for sports and leisure, Espace pour la vie, the French language and the East End of Montréal

“This exhibition is a unique opportunity to discover how design can transform our daily lives by integrating renewable energy. As a unifying and positive museum in North America, the Biosphère plays a key role in raising awareness and mobilizing civil society and the general public in this socio-ecological transition. Thanks to the support of the three levels of government, the Biosphère hosts large-scale projects, demonstrating its reputation and relevance in the museum world. Through inspiring projects, we can see how Montréal and Canada are contributing to a more sustainable and innovative energy future.”

Julie Jodoin, Director of Espace pour la vie

“This exhibition will showcase the power of design to shape a sustainable energy future and inspire positive change in the way we live. At the same time, it will contribute to Espace pour la vie’s ambition to empower people to take action to protect biodiversity and the environment, with a view to a socio-ecological transition that takes into account the needs of future generations.”

Isabelle St-Germain, Director of the Biosphère

“The Biosphère is very proud to host this North American premiere in partnership with the Vitra Design Museum, one of the world’s leading design museums. This exhibition is all the more important as it positions energy as a tool for protecting the planet.”

About the Vitra Design Museum

The Vitra Design Museum ranks with the world’s major design museums. It is dedicated to the research and presentation of design, past and present, and examines its relationship to architecture, art and everyday culture.

The work of the Vitra Design Museum is based on its collection, which contains not only key objects from the history of design, but also the belongings of many important personalities in the design world. The museum creates its exhibits in such a way that they can go on tour, and they are presented in venues around the world.

About Espace pour la vie

Protecting biodiversity and the environment is at the heart of the mission of Espace pour la vie, which groups the Biodôme, the Biosphère, the Insectarium, the Jardin botanique and the Planétarium. Together, these Montreal museums form the largest natural-science complex in Canada, and each year welcome more than 2.5 million people. In light of the challenges facing our planet, Espace pour la vie is working on expanding its impact by fostering dialogue with communities and by taking actions aimed at engaging the population on the path to socioecological transition.

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Contact our team
Chloé Rossi
Roy & Turner Communications
514 652-6478
crossi@roy-turner.com

Anne Bourgoin
Espace pour la vie
438 346-0542
anne.bourgoin@montreal.ca

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