Design + change students

Nature's forces shine at this years furniture fair

With their exhibition "Facing Nature's Force", the students from the Design + Change program want to elicit discussions about how we in today's society deal with climate change. They will present their showcase at the Stockholm Furniture Fair which takes place next week. The goal is to spark dialogue and to give the visitors new perspectives on how climate change can be solved.

The students explain that innovation and technology are often presented as solutions to climate crises, they are frequently used to manage the consequences rather than address the root causes. What they mean is that society tends to focus on mitigating the immediate effects, developing better defenses against wildfires, floods, and storms, while the systems and behaviors that fuel these disasters remain largely unchanged.

Haitham Al-Shawafi and Boglárka Vági are two of the students who created the showcase which has a dark interior; the floor, chairs and walls are all in black tones. On the walls there are colourful and thought-provoking messages. One corner is decorated with umbrellas of varying conditions, where some are broken by the wind. To further enhance the feeling of the forces of nature, the showcase also has sound effects inspired from a storm, carefully designed and composed by Haitham. 

Haitham design student at Linnaeus University

We want to invite the attendees to the showcase and hope to give them insight on climate change. Our goal is to challenge the established ways of thinking as well as the products that are marketed as part of the solution.

Haitham Al-Shawafi

He says that it was both fun and challenging working on this project. The project was collaborated on by all 14 students of the class.

Boglarka design student at Linnaeus University

Everyone has contributed in their own way and we have really managed to create something great under the time pressure we had. We developed and completed the exhibition in less than ten days.

Boglárka Vági

 

Now they are both looking forward to going to the Stockholm Furniture Fair to show off their exhibition to the attendees. The fair is being held between 4-9 February.

Stockholm Furniture Fair

Read more about the Design + Change program