Habitare Design Competition sought tools for togetherness – Harri Koskinen will announce the winner at Habitare

The Habitare Design Competition 2023, jointly organised by Habitare and Aalto University on the theme of Tools for togetherness, explored new typologies of furniture, spaces or objects that promote social interaction and a sense of community, allowing us to envisage a better future together. The finalist designs in the competition will be on display at Habitare from 13 to 17 September 2023. The head judge of the competition, designer Harri Koskinen, will announce the winner on the opening day of the event. 

The theme of Tools for togetherness guided the design work of entrants to the Habitare Design Competition in 2023, who are students at universities and other institutions of higher education that teach design and architecture in Finland, and at the University of the Arts Helsinki. 

Organised by Habitare and Aalto University, the Habitare Design Competition has, over many years, put the spotlight on up-and-coming design and architecture students. 

The contestants were required to design and implement new types of tools for togetherness, which should display the potential to promote togetherness and interaction on a human scale or more widely. The competition entries could include spaces, furniture, objects and other tools. The participants were encouraged to form multidisciplinary teams in order to create experientially consistent end products out of combinations of different scales and methods. 

Four designs made it to the final 

The jury for the first stage of the two-stage competition chose four designs for the final. Designer Harri Koskinen, who was invited to be the head judge of the competition, will choose the winner, which will be announced on Habitare’s Arena stage on Wednesday 13 September 2023 at 10:00. 

The Habitare Design Competition has a €5,000 grand prize, donated by the Finnish Fair Foundation. The finalist designs will be on show at Habitare from 13 to 17 September 2023. 

The finalist designs remind us of the importance of encounters and invite us to do things together 

1: Lennart Engels, Karolin Kull, Ágnes László, Julia Postrzech, Valenti Soler – Habit 

The spirit of togetherness can arise from many forms of gathering. Gathering around a fire is arguably one of the oldest rituals created to come together. Our proposal aspires to provide a refreshed approach to the timeless concept of the fireplace. The pieces are created with a low-tech process both ancient and innovative, comparable to that of Roman concrete, which enables the use of construction waste as a new material source. Taken into a contemporary viewpoint, local secondary materials are revalued and given a core position for social purposes, for community gathering in ever-changing times. 

2: Siiri Joronen – For you

The design emphasises togetherness and the importance of encounters between people, and the significance of these to individuals. An adjustable space makes collaboration and encounters between people easy and safe. The design as a whole provides an opportunity for people to meet on their own terms. Like people, communities come in different shapes and sizes. 

The design, consisting of several elements, can be adapted for different uses and scales, for both outdoor and indoor spaces. The various elements can be combined in a variety of configurations to create sculptural and functional structures and spaces.

3: Eemeli Sahimaa – Stack

This competition entry aims to create a simple system, a way of stacking or assembling things. The system is adaptable in terms of how you use it and what you can assemble using it. Being together is expansive in all its various forms, and it is impossible to limit the ways in which we are together or to contain them in frameworks. The same idea underlies the system. It allows for the adaptability of things and is extendable to forms that could support our essential ways of being. 

It was most natural for me to approach the theme of Tools for togetherness from the simplest possible starting point. Even if the beginning is simple, the end results may be very complex, as is sometimes the case with community and togetherness. I approached community through my own experiences and observations; the design itself is a externalised, physical manifestation of my interpretation of the theme. 

4: Julia Töyrylä – Common space

The Yhteinen tila competition entry is a pavilion that Habitare fair visitors themselves will assemble at the stand. The construction of the light tent-like pavilion will take place spontaneously in various groups, several times during the fair days. Each construction session will last for about 15 minutes and will only require the participants to let go a little and be playful. 

The design is a response to the situation in today’s world, where we have, in many ways, become disconnected from our environment and each other. It is important that we design spaces and objects that can be used to repair and restore these lost connections. Our experience of the environment is formed in relation to other people and other living beings. Spaces and objects are not just about material, but they are primarily about shared events, meanings and encounters. 

Instead of individualism and consumerism, we need a sense of community, as well as opportunities to act in the world in a way that increases well-being. Doing things together enhances the experience of togetherness: realising a shared goal creates bridges, making room for a willingness to understand others and act for the common good. As the participants build and hold up the pavilion, they create a space among themselves where it is possible to promote interaction and a sense of togetherness. 

More information: 

Pia Sievinen, Communications Specialist, Messukeskus, pia.sievinen@messukeskus.com, tel. +358 40 559 155

 

Habitare, the largest furniture, design and interior decoration event in Finland, will be held at Messukeskus in Helsinki, from 13 to 17 September 2023. Habitare offers experiences and ideas on interior decoration, and on the functioning and look of homes and other spaces. Habitare highlights the ideas and works by a new generation of designers, and sparks discussion. | www.habitare.fi | @habitarefair | facebook.com/habitare | #habitare2023