Dutch Design Week (DDW) is an annual event in Eindhoven and it is the largest design event in Northern Europe. The event is a platform that presents projects and ideas made by thousands of designers. University of Twente participates in several programmes as part of one of the four technical universities of 4TU.Design United, DRIVE festival and a unique experience at the Ketelhuisplein. It takes place from the 21st until the 29th of October 2023.
At Ketelhuisplein, there is an installation in which you as the visitor will use the concept of ‘cooking’, to reflect on and contribute to solutions for societal challenges. The name of the experience is: Design for transition: What’s on your Menu? In this interactive exhibition, you will explore how your values interplay with presents and futures and discover the role of design for societal transitions.
The names of the people in the video are: The Explanation of the Cookery: Alexandru Amarei - DesignLab Coordinator. Second, Design United floor manager: Charlotte Hak (UT student), Third, UT Researcher: Jodi Sturge part of project Age-Fi, Fourth, UT Student and Design United Floor Manager: Pim van Everdingen from project MAACQ Oase Birdhouse, Lastly, Design: Estefania Jiminez Moras from project New Earth.
Design for Transition acknowledges the evolving relationship between society and technology, using design research to envision and shape the future. The Responsible Futuring approach promotes collaboration and knowledge sharing among stakeholders to collectively explore inspiring potential futures.
Cooking your future
“Inspired by cooking, our metaphorical approach to societal challenges involves gathering values like ingredients and using them to create dishes symbolising personal stories in today's context. In the kitchen table, visitors collaborate to reflect on shared and diverging perspectives, envisioning inspiring futures. This process of collaboration and co-speculation fosters positive societal change and drives collective action”, says Alexandru-Lucian Amariei, coordinator DesignLab.
Each day, there is a new societal challenge on the ‘menu’ to explore. These challenges have been submitted by researchers and students all across University of Twente. The overview of challenges can be found on the website UTxDDW.
Exhibition and Dialogues
4TU.Design United is an exhibition in the Design x Tech hall in the Klokgebouw overviewing the latest and the best design research performed at the 4TU's. Expert meetings around contemporary topics in design research. Organised by 4TU.Design United, the centre of design research of the four technical universities in The Netherlands: University of Twente, TU Delft, TU/e and Wageningen University & Research. The UT presents NewEarth by Estefanía Morás Jiménez.
NewEarth leverages play as a means to touch the politics of urban futures. Casting participants in the role of city stakeholders and urging them to collaborate, negotiate, and reimagine future cities, this design challenges participants to reflect on the evolution of cities and emphasizes the significance of diverse perspectives in urban planning.
Also the UT presents Age-Fi : Age Fiction(s) Investigations Francesca Toso (UT), Jodi Sturge (UT), Maarten Houben, Rens Brankaert, Janna van Grunsven, and Marco Rozendaal) it is a design probe that explores the role of technologies for aging in place. Through speculative scenarios developed in collaboration with visual artist Lotje van Lieshout and displayed in a living room-like interactive environment (courtesy of Pleyade Innovation Team), it challenges the conventional tech-driven narratives around aging, alternatively advocating a collaborative and public-involved reflection on desires for later life.
The UT also presents The MAACQ Oase Birdbead of Pim van Everdingen (UT). The MAACQ Oase Birdbead explores new and sustainable ways in which we can use design to address nitrogen induced soil acidification. With novel 3d printable materials it is possible to craft tailored solutions that can throw nature a lifeline. As the Birdbead degrades it releases calcium into the soil to create a local ‘oase’ of biodiversity. How can we help species survive our changing climate?
Talks and workshops
DRIVE festival facilitates knowledge and collaboration within the creative industry, leading to innovative solutions for national and social challenges. Organised by ClickNL in collaboration with 4TU.Design United. The talks are also possible to join online.
One of the speakers is Jodi Sturge. She is a health geographer and design researcher. Jodi is an assistant professor in interaction design with the Department of Design, Production and Management in the Faculty of Engineering Technology at the UT.
Supporting Dignity in Dementia Care Through Design
The architecture and design of residential care environments are critical in supporting the health outcomes of patients, residents and staff. In residential care environments for people with dementia, interior designs and technologies are often put in place to keep residents safe from harm by restricting mobility and distractions. However, relying on such measures can violate human rights and impact the dignity and well-being of residents. Based on a scoping review and design ethnography fieldwork, Jodi will discuss how interior environment design features work in practice to support and restrict the mobility of people with dementia. Plus, she will discuss how the field of human-building interaction (HBI) can provide valuable insights to inform future designs and design technologies that promote novel interaction, inclusivity and the well-being of people with dementia.
- Research partner: UNO-UMCG
More information
Visit the page of Dutch Design Week. Or visit the website UT x DDW and read the full overview of programmes in which UT is involved.
