Habitare Pro programme published
The theme of the 2019 Habitare Pro, which is targeted at design, architecture and spatial design professionals, will be Mindspaces. The programme will explore spaces and spatial design from the perspectives of the senses, new technologies and balance. The international keynote speakers at the event will be Alastair Kean, development director at the British brand agency Dalziel & Pow, and the strategist Martin Stenberg from the Swedish design agency Kurppa Hosk. Habitare Pro will be held as part of the Habitare event, from 11 to 13 September 2019, at Messukeskus in Helsinki.
The Habitare Pro programme explores spaces and spatial design from the perspectives of the senses, new technologies and balance. Although the environment is changing, natural human needs remain the same. So how do we design spaces that generate emotions and experiences, while at the same time safeguarding the well-being of people and the environment?
In her speech, the architect and interior designer Susanna Kallio from Kohina Oy will discuss human-centred design and how spaces can be made experiential without compromising on their fitness for purpose. The textile designer Johanna Blom from Wanted Interior Oy will focus on textiles and their role in our sensory perception of spaces. Textiles bring an acoustic and tactile dimension to spaces, as well as providing a new material for art and adding a different perspective to the interior. After all, art speaks to us in a way that is directly linked to our emotions and to our bodily memory.
Artificial reality challenges the sense of security
We live in a contradictory time in which we can visit virtual reality, but at the same time, we long for touch, presence and face-to-face encounters. Different spaces, products and services are expected to generate experiences rather than just serve a specific functional purpose.
In his speech, the British brand expert Alastair Kean from Dalziel & Pow will discuss building a comprehensive brand experience. Today, it is no longer enough to focus on the external aspects of a brand, such as how a product feels or looks, but it is about an emotional bond throughout all the stages at which a customer is in contact with the product, from buying it to using or consuming it.
In the second keynote speech, the strategist and partner Martin Stenberg from the Kurppa Hosk design agency will discuss the importance of memorable experiences from the perspective of the experience economy. Stenberg has more than 15 years of experience working with leading brands, including Procter & Gamble, Volvo and Estée Lauder.
Public meets private
The balance between the public and the private is especially challenging for designers of public spaces. How is it possible to design a space in which people are meant to be among others, while at the same time having the option of maintaining privacy and their own peace? This is particularly challenging when faced with the multiple requirements of an international chain hotel. The design of Holiday Inn Helsinki – Expo sought to break free from the anonymity of a chain hotel, but the personal interior also succeeded in respecting the brand guidelines. The interior architect and partner Tiina Närkki, from Interior Architects Fyra, will tell the story of the redesigned hotel.
The new Habitare exhibition design to play with light and shadow
Contrary to earlier information, the Habitare Pro exhibition design will be by the in-house designer Mirjami Rissanen. The title of the exhibition design, Ideas Climbing Up – Ideas Taking Root, illustrates how an idea finds form in light and shadow: now climbing up, now taking root under your feet and supporting you, now spreading like spilled liquid.
Visitors enter the Habitare Pro exhibition through a dark tunnel, guided by occasional strips of light that now cling to the floor, now climb onto the walls and the ceiling. A large screen, which is framed by strips of light shooting upwards from floor level, introduces light into the central exhibition area where programme events are held. A dark, shady carpeted area spreads out underneath the screen, tying together the programme area and the champagne bars flanking it, to form a single lounge section.
Check out the full Habitare Pro programme https://habitare.messukeskus.com/habitare-pro/. Professionals can access the event for free with registration.
To be held in conjunction with Habitare, Habitare Pro is an exhibition, a specialist programme and a B2B buying event for architecture, design, spatial design and lighting professionals, from 11 to 13 September 2019 at Messukeskus in Helsinki. Free admission with registration, for professionals only. | habitarepro.fi | #habitarepro |