Five architecture and design events in March from Dezeen Events Guide

Melbourne Design Week 2021, a virtual edition of SXSW and Forward Festival 2021, which will feature a live-streamed talk by 3D makeup artist Ines Alpha, are among the architecture and design events listed in Dezeen Events Guide this March.

Other events taking place in March include an exhibition about the impact of monsoons on the built environment and an online showcase of experimental design from Denmark.

Read on for details and visit Dezeen Events Guide for more architecture and design events around the world.

Monsoonal Municipalities
4 to 29 March

This online exhibition will showcase the results of a five-year research project looking at the impact that changing monsoon climates have had on cities in Bangladesh, India and Myanmar

Funded by the European Research Council and organised by the University of Westminster’s School of Architecture and Cities, the exhibition explores the rainy season as an “atmospheric force” that organises local life, landscape architecture and the built environment.

An accompanying events programme will look at how this topic intersects with issues of climate change and colonialism, as well as posing the question of whether London is itself a monsoonal city.

Forward Festival Munich 2021
12 and 13 March

Maverick graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister and 3D makeup artist Ines Alpha feature in the wide-ranging speaker lineup of Munich’s Forward Festival, which will be live-streamed and available on-demand throughout March.

Through a series of talks and online workshops, the event is set to investigate the increasing digitisation of society and how this process has been accelerated due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Seminal British photographer Martin Parr, who has documented the idiosyncrasies of modern life for more than 50 years, will be discussing what it takes to have a long, successful and enduringly creative career before answering viewer questions as part of a live Q&A.

SXSW Online
16 to 20 March

Austin’s annual South by Southwest conference is going virtual this year but its programme of keynotes and discussions remains similarly expansive and star-studded.

Several of this year’s sessions are focused on life beyond earth, with Harvard professor Avi Loeb weighing up the existence of extraterrestrial beings, NASA astronauts discussing what it’s like to go to space and Tim Ellis, founder of aerospace manufacturing company Relativity Space, extolling the benefits of 3D-printed rockets.

Elsewhere, DJ Steve Aoki is set to predict the impact of 5G on live music experiences while one-time US presidential candidate and current transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg will explore how technological innovations are transforming mobility.

The Mindcraft Project
17 March

The Mindcraft exhibition has been a reliable fixture at Milan design week since 2008, returning every year to present the best experimental design and architecture from Denmark.

This year’s online edition will highlight projects from 10 different studios that utilise both craft techniques and modern, digital fabrication methods. Contributors include Stine Mikkelsen, architecture studio Archival Studies and design duo Frederik Nystrup-Larsen and Oliver Sundquist, whose work is featured in Noma, one of Denmark’s most famous restaurants.

This is the second virtual edition of The Mindcraft Project, following last year’s Virtual Design Festival showcase featuring a chair made from mushroom mycelium and another designed by an algorithm.

Melbourne Design Week 2021
26 March to 5 April

More than 300 exhibitions, launches, workshops and films are part of what Melbourne Design Week is calling its “largest programme to date”.

Under the topic Design the World You Want, the event will look at how designers can help to create a better future for the planet and its people by focusing on issues of community, care and climate.

Highlights include an MPavilion exhibition exploring Melbourne’s alternative housing models, featuring Assemble and Nightingale Housing, as well as Open House Melbourne, which will host a programme of tours and talks celebrating local architecture.

About Dezeen Events Guide

Dezeen Events Guide is our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year.

The guide is updated weekly and includes virtual events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks, as well as up-to-date information about what events have been cancelled or postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Inclusion in the guide is free for basic listings, with events selected at Dezeen’s discretion. Organisers can get enhanced or premium listings for their events, including images, additional text and links, by paying a modest fee.

In addition, events can ensure inclusion by partnering with Dezeen. For more details on inclusion in Dezeen Events Guide and media partnerships with Dezeen, email [email protected].