The Double Death of Welfare and the Nation State The title for this workshop is The Double Death of Welfare and the Nation State. We have this workshop just after the Scottish referendum. At the same time, the Catalan, like the Scots, also want a referendum on independence. When we take a closer look of European regions, it is not hard to find several regions who want to be independent from their existing nation state. The trend of decentralization becomes a cross-cut theme of Design as Politics. In the studio we emphasize the current progressive dispersion of the services once centralized by the welfare state, and the utopian thinking needed to create an alternative to that. We were divided in 3 groups to explore the Utopia visions, basing on hypothesis of independence of Scotland, Catalonia and Veneto. The workshop took place in Venice Biennial, we were also asked to be more sensitive and get some inspiration from the exhibitions. Our work will be part of exhibition in Swiss Pavilion, build up a relation between our work and Cedric Price’s Fun Palace is another requirement. This booklet contains: 1. Our Utopian ideas for a “non-existent” independent state; 2. An idea of a pavilion for the independent state.
Catalonia Republic Catalonia is one of the most known and productive regions of Spain, with a rich culture and history. The regions constantly fighting for its independence and culture identification. During this workshop we tried to build up an Utopian plan for the independent state of Catalonia, with an exaggeration and the main focus on enhancing the identity and culture of Catalonia. The main driving force that was chosen for this state of Catalonia is education. In terms of enhancing the culture, language and history. Based on this, the system of “School of life“ is proposed, where everyone in Catalonia Republic have to participate in theoretical study and practical production. In order to provide for the local needs and for exporting goods & culture worldwide.