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Designs for a Cooler Planet — Helsinki Design Week 2020

Helsinki Design Week at Otaniemi showcases inspiring future designs related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Designs for a Cooler Planet 2020: Race for the Future

We are in a race for a cooler planet

The clock is counting down. Current issues concerning energy production, single-use products and packaging, aggressive urbanisation and unsustainable consumption are alarming and require radical change.

Achieving our goal of a sustainable transition requires focused, novel approaches from all areas of society.

Our community has over 30 projects that show how collaboration between designers, researchers and stakeholders can lead to better solutions for people and the environment to help us reach the Sustainable Development Goals.

It’s our future, so there’s everything to play for.

Meet our four brave teams who have important goals to meet

Farewell to fossil fuels

More than half of our energy still comes from fossil fuels. No single technology can replace our reliance on them.

Designs for a Cooler Planet Farewell to fossil fuels

Close the loops

Making things and manufacturing processes produce pollution and environmental degradation, draining natural resources.

Designs for a Cooler Planet Close the Loops

Hack our habitat

Aggressive urbanisation is straining our ecosystem. Rising construction volume causes massive demand for energy-intensive construction materials, and construction already accounts for 39 per cent of the global CO2 emissions.

Designs for a Cooler Planet Hack our Habitat

Consume consciously

Household consumption accounts for more than 60 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and 50–80 per cent of total land, material and water use.

Designs for a Cooler Planet Consume Consciously

ONLINE: Designs for a Cooler Planet — online programme

See the virtual event program.

See all virtual events
Full program
UN's sustainable development goal

Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, the General Assembly of the United Nations introduced the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at its core.

We now have ten years left to reach the SDGs. To make the necessary shifts, we need intelligent and well-designed solutions, designed together as teams.

This race isn’t won with speed, it’s won with creativity.

Designs for a Cooler Planet

The event is a part of Helsinki Design Week’s official festival programme. The largest design festival in the Nordics takes place 3–13.9.2020. Designs for a Cooler Planet is also one of the EU's Green Week 2020 partner events.

Graphic design: Olga Elliot and Milja Komulainen.

Designs for a Cooler Planet 2021

In a world of plenty, what is wise to design for the next generations? This year's theme is Resource wisdom, and a university-wide event will take place in September 2021.

Read more
Designs for a Cooler Planet logo

Cooler Planet is an event organised by the Design Inside initiative.

Learn more about what Design Inside does:

https://www.aalto.fi/fi/tutkimus-ja-taide/design-inside

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