MVRDV Builds "Porous City" Exhibition with LEGOs in Cannes

If you happen to be in the South of France this March, make sure to attend MIPIM's first edition of the Innovation Forum in Cannes, March 12-15th, where MVRDV and Delft-based innitiative The Why Factory (T?F) present the exhibition, Porous City – Open the Tower. The event is part of their ongoing research on the design of skyscrapers and the potential of porosity as a European approach to urban density.

The results are presented as scale models made of LEGO bricks, recently exhibited at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale and at Business of Design Week Hong Kong. The exhibition is combined with a lecture on urban design by Winy Maas on Wednesday, March 13, at 10:00 am.

MIPIM Innovation Forum was launched as a meeting place for sharing ideas and debate for everyone involved in building tomorrow's cities. The program puts buildings and users at the heart of this industry conversation in order to highlight the entire range of innovative solutions to maximize the value of property portfolios.

Porous City – Open the Tower uses Lego towers to explore futuristic concepts of urban design imagined by The Why Factory, a research institute for the city of the future. Nine three-meter high skyscrapers will rise up during the four days of the show, acting as visual support to debates on the new processes and the role of research in Europe's urban future.

The exhibition represents the outcome of the earlier design studio “Eurohigh" at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, a collaborative project by T?F and KRADS.