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Multidisciplinary prototypes on display at the Otaniemi campus

Published: 30.8.2022

How do innovations of the future emerge? One way is when science meets design.

Muotoilija Irene Puraschitin kukkajätteestä tekemä nahkamainen materiaali on voittanut useita palkintoja. Kuva: Mikko Raskinen — Designer Irene Puraschit's waste-based flower "leather" material has won several prizes. Photo: Mikko Raskinen

Every year, a lot of new ideas, mindsets and prototypes are generated at the Aalto campus. Some of these remain as wild ideas, but some will end up as growth companies or even lead to system-level business changes.

The Designs for a Cooler Planet exhibitions showcase research-based ideas in Otaniemi from 7 September to 12 October 2022. All 20 projects are, in their own ways, shaping the direction for a more sustainable everyday life and the business that supports and enables it.

We invite everyone to explore the projects and continue the conversation around the unconventional perspectives they offer.

Take a look at these three picks from the exhibitions:

Shimmering Wood sneaker designed by by Noora Yau & Konrad Klockars. Photo: Kalle Kataila — Designer Noora Yau and chemist Konrad Klockars have developed wood-based, shimmering non-toxic colour. Photo: Kalle Kataila

A sustainable garment collection

Aalto's researchers and designers want to make Finland and Europe a pioneer in the sustainable fashion industry. The exhibition pinpoints some of the critical components of the fashion ecosystem and value chain. We have curated a collection of state-of-the-art textiles, clothing and fashion innovations for display. These prototypes are not design science fiction, they’re already well on their way to becoming a reality.

Wardrobe of the Future

Hands holding a shiny pillowcase open, filling coming out. — Textile industry could use cattail plant growing on peatlands as a sustainable filling material. Photo: Anne Kinnunen

A plant-based alternative to down fillings

Cattail beats feather and polyester in ethical and ecological comparisons. We could restore dried peatlands by cultivating cattail that could then reduce Finland's greenhouse emissions and support biodiversity, says Fluff Stuff, a student-led company developing fluff stuffing - a textile filling from fluffy cattail seeds.

Fluff Stuff

Image of three building blocks — Sustainable construction requires lower emissions and renewable building materials. Photo: Anne Kinnunen

Steps towards more sustainable buildings

Production of building materials – such as cement, steel, aluminium and plastics – cause enormous emissions. Extraction of raw materials accelerates global biodiversity loss. This exhibition showcases scale models of different wooden buildings and bio-based and recycled material samples.

Building blocks of better future

Feedback from last year's guided tours:

"A great tour of radical ideas."

"All of us Finns can be proud of Aalto University's achievements. The tour explained how 'outside-the-box' thinking had been applied. I believe that some of those start-ups will still go far. My interest increased tremendously."

"It's good to see that the merger of different universities starts to be visible even in studies. The ChemArts professor nailed it when she said that they want to make students from diverse fields understand different ways of thinking and work better together."

Welcome, see you in Otaniemi!