Better living environments the Aalto University theme for the World Design Capital Helsinki year 2012
27.01.2012
Aalto University’s programme for the World Design Capital year, called Living+, creates better living environments in the spirit of sustainable development. By combining art, business and technology, Aalto University has a unique ability to create new solutions for global challenges.
Living+ presents different ways of improving our everyday life with new solutions, in Finland and globally. Below are some examples of events and projects included in the Aalto University programme. More information is available on the new website living.aalto.fi. On the website, Aalto Talk blogs discuss interesting views on design and observations about our living environment.
The invitational seminar Designing New Realities!, organised 6 March 2012, challenges participants to think about the meaning and importance design has in society. The seminar opens up the history and current trends of responsible design through concrete examples and creates perspectives into the future. The language of the seminar is English, and the Chairman will be Alastair Fuad-Luke, Professor of Emerging Design Practices at Aalto University. The seminar day will begin with a press conference that includes the opportunity to take a closer look at the Living+ projects. We will send separate invitations to the seminar and the press conference.
The Base of the Pyramid project targets emerging markets, such as India and Peru, by promoting the creation of innovations aiming at decreasing global poverty. The objective is to find socially and ecologically sustainable products, services and business models. At the same time, the project identifies new markets for Finnish companies that are interested in innovation.
365 Wellbeing presents design as a socially active and responsible field of expertise. The objective of the project is to design functional, pleasant and better living environments and discover ways to promote healthy lifestyles. 365 Wellbeing aims at developing municipal health and welfare services and patient-centred health care solutions, employing the methods of service design and critical design. For example, experts and students will design a service concept for cultural services at the Villa Breda service home for the elderly in Kauniainen and develop the health care environments and practices of a psychiatric care unit. The work and results of the project are presented to the public in workshops, for example at the DesignWorld exhibition at the Design Museum, opening on 27 January.
The Wooden Pavilion is designed by Aalto University students. The temporary pavilion with a wooden structure will be located between the Design Museum and the Museum of Finnish Architecture. The pavilion opens in May 2012 and serves as a World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 hub, meeting point and event venue until autumn 2012.
The Aalto Otaniemi Garden challenge invites students to create a new campus garden area that meets high visual standards. The campus garden located in Otaniemi will include land for cultivation and an area for outdoor events. It will also serve as a learning environment for students in the field of Environmental Art and Landscape Architecture[L1] . The project is a part of the overall development process of the Otaniemi campus and the T3 area. Sofia Tigerstedt's entry, Uomapuisto, won the competition, and will soon become a new green space on campus.
MoA (Masters of Aalto) is an international festival showcasing next generation ideas and innovations. MoA includes events, seminars, discussions and an exhibition of the work of graduates from the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, the schools of technology and the School Economics. The exhibition opens on 9 May and is curated by Professor Maaretta Jaukkuri.
In the exhibition Happy End? Helsinki Art Museum and the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture join forces to consider the kinds of futures that are available to us. Will our future life be easy and beautiful or tragic and destructive? Will we succumb to the destiny decided by others or will we create an alternative future for the whole humankind? The exhibition opens on 31 August.
Wastelands is a festival for students of architecture from 42 countries organised in July in Suvilahti, Helsinki.
More information:
Producer Anna Varakas
anna.varakas [at] aalto [dot] fi
tel. 050 5124657
Project Manager Kaisa Kivelä
kaisa.kivela [at] aalto [dot] fi
tel. 050 564 9253
See also
Living+ site (Living.aalto.fi), our umbrella for all the Aalto projects during Helsinki's World Design Capital 2012.
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