LONDON DESIGN BIENNALE 2016 - National Participation of Albania

Albanian installation was chosen to occupy the dramatic courtyard space, the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court of Somerset House, alongside Great Britain’s, which made it one of the most prominent pieces at this pioneering and prestigious international event.

The configuration echoes the theory proposed by the French philosopher Louis Marin. Marin believed that every political system was haunted at its center by utopia, an unconscious and repressed dream of better that occasionally returned to disrupt the present.

The installation also reveals that there is a political void at the center of all political systems. You stand there in the middle wrapped up by this wall of mirrors, but from the benches that surround it, you can’t be seen – it’s inaccessible.

37 Nations from Six Continents
(The Great Arch entrance on Victoria Embankment)

The Biennale's diverse installations, artworks, prototypes and designs were curated by the world's leading museums and institutions from 37 countries spanning over six continents, each exploring the theme, Utopia by Design: Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, Cuba, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Shenzhen-China, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Referencing utopian planning of Renaissance cities, the installation is a concentric arrangement of columns and benches that are designed to encourage both self-reflection and bringing people together.

During the Biennale, a quarter of a million people visited Somerset House from all over the world, including the venue’s highest weekly visitor figures ever recorded.

Dino Korca: The Pursuit of Happiness

The Biennale featured a highly curated public talks programme, where Dino Korca was invited to give a presentation that it was titled: “The Pursuit of Happiness”.


“A map of the world that does not include utopia is not even worth glancing at,” wrote Oscar Wilde “for it leaves out the country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands there, it looks out, and, seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realization of Utopias.” In this presentation, Dino Korca talked about the idea of progress, where the Pursuit of the idea is more interesting than the final destination.

Utopia has come to mean a place of ideal perfection, for Korca, however, utopia is a journey rather than a destination. He says:

“There is no such thing as a perpetually perfect place, because life itself is but motion, always in a state of change. We are driven by a desire for an ideal life, and it is because we have within us the restlessness, a deep, innate desire to keep moving forward, evolving, progressing.”

With over 3 million visitors a year, Somerset House is one of London’s most renowned arts and cultural spaces and has been a centre of debate and discussion since the 18th-century.