LAUSANNE.- From the spring equinox to the autumn equinox, mudac invites you to soak up the sun with the second Solar Biennale. With Soleil·s, plunge into the heart of the Plateforme 10 arts district in a joyous, transdisciplinary exhibition featuring installations, artefacts, films, innovative materials, and immersive spaces, including original creations by a wide rang of artists and designers. The Solar Biennale will also take place on the EPFL campus, with events, parties and activities to explore the many facets of the sun, a universal symbol and source of life.

Launched in 2022 in the Netherlands by designers Pauline van Dongen and Marjan van Aubel, the Solar Biennale provides a platform for reflection on the challenges of solar energy. For this second edition, mudac will broaden the theme by bringing together designers, curators, activists, and researchers to explore expanded perspectives on how to approach ecological transition. Far from limiting itself to a single, socially constructed vision, Soleil·s will address the symbolic, political, practical, and aesthetic dimensions of our relations to that star.

Ten new commissions have been entrusted to design studios such as Common Accounts, ecologicStudio and Solar Lab (Juliette Bibasse & Joanie Lemercier). The exhibition also features recent projects and works from the mudac collection by artists and designers such as Òlafur Elìasson, Liam Young, Andreas Gursky, DISNOVATION.ORG and Solar Protocol.

A partnership with the publishing house La Volte will result in the publication of a collection of short stories. Solar Punk, celebrating the power of fiction to imagine bright futures.

“Soleil·s explores the symbolic and transformative potential of the sun, inspired by the vision of the Solar Biennale. As curators, we aimed to highlight how solar design goes beyond energy innovation, challenging us to rethink our relationship with health, politics, urbanism, and inclusivity. This collaboration underscores the power of design to shift mindsets and inspire collective pathways to ecological futures” reflect Rafaël Santianez and Scott Longfellow, curators of the exhibition.

Recognising the multifaceted nature of the sun, mudac is collaborating with several EPFL entities to foster the necessary interdiscipli- nary approach. Two events will take place: the Sun Shines on Architecture exhibition at Archizoom, and the exhibition of two projects from the Enter the Hyper Scientific programme at EPFL Pavilions - Pavilion A.

EPFL Pavilions
From Solar to Nocturnal | Halos
20.03 - 27.04.2025 | 06.06 - 06.07.2025

The exhibitions From Solar to Nocturnal and Halos present four previously unseen works: Staring at the Sun by Alice Bucknell; Interspecies Interfaces, a project in two chapters by Matthew C. Wilson & Emilia Tapprest; and Atithi by Sahej Rahal. Each work was developed with EPFL’s scientific community as part of the Enter the Hyper Scientific program. Exploring world-building technologies, AI, and cross-species sensory translation, the two exhibitions weave a narrative from the solar to the nocturnal, linking real-world scenarios with alternative visions of our relationship to the environment.

Archizoom
Sun Shines on Architecture
21.03 - 21.06.2025

The Solar Biennial advocates a holistic approach to design in which solar energy plays a central role. This current ‘solar movement’ is reinventing architecture and urban planning on a global scale, putting the sun at the core of our priorities. The exhibition presented by Archizoom on the EPFL campus shows how this source of energy, whether harnessed passively or actively, now integrates as an essential architectural element in any renovation or new construction project.

New Project Commissions

• Alice Bucknell in collaboration with the “Enter The Hyper Scientific“ (EPFL-CDH) program, Staring at the Sun
• Ala Roushan and Charles Stankievech, A Shroud Woven From Threads of Solar Gold
• Common Accounts, Have a Nice Day
• ecoLogicStudio, CryoflorE: on cyber gardening the city
• Floating Point Studio in collaboration with Nicolas Carrel, Solstice
• mischer’traxler studio, the idea of a tree
• Rocio Berenguer, BADDANCE WITH THEBADWEEDS
• Solar Lab (Juliette Bibasse & Joanie Lemercier), sun facts et Solaris lumen
• TAKK // mireia luzárraga + alejandro muiño, Kaleidoscopic Tent
• Vraiment Vraiment x Marilyne Andersen (EPFL-LIPID), Droit au jour