Time for an Engineering Biennale

Guru Madhavan’s “Creative Intolerance” (Issues, Summer 2023) is exceptionally rich in compelling metaphors and potent messages. I am enthusiastic about the idea of an engineering biennale to showcase innovations and provoke discussions about specific projects and the methods of engineering.

The Venice Arts Biennale Architeturra 2023 that the author highlights, which impressed me with its scale and diversity, provides an excellent model for an Engineering Biennale. Could the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon be scaled up? Could the Design Museum in London play a role? Maybe multiple design showcases—such as those at the University of British Columbia; the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley; or the MIT Design Lab—could grow into something larger?

The support for design could expand the role of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine by building bridges with an increasing number of researchers in this field, ultimately leading to a National Academy of Design.

Ben Shneiderman