Looking back on Dutch Design Week 2022

Dutch Design Week 2022: University of Twente was there and it was hard to miss us. Exhibitions, presentations, talks, workshops and even a Mini with a mushroom and a taxi driver. Have you missed it? We have got you covered (digitally). Below you will find a summary of our presence within the programmes Transitions by 4TU's Design United, Embassy of Health and the DRIVE festival.

Embassy of Health

This year, the Embassy of Health focused on how and especially which mindset contributes to moving towards a chronically healthy society.

How do we change our attitude about health? It’s time that we look for other routes and perspectives to make society healthier and prevent healthcare from becoming too expensive and unattainable. We know what is coming our way, and we feel the pressure on the labour market, on the waiting lists and on our wallets. However, it’s hard to change the reality. It requires adjusting our way of thinking, acting and working together. During Dutch Design Week, visitors discussed the different topics at the exhibition inside the Klokgebouw, in the EDUBox at the Ketelhuisplein and during the Embassy of Health Conference.

Citizen Science to Design for Health is recognised as an emerging research field. Let’s join forces to bring the ideas behind Chronic Health one step further through Citizen Science.

Monuments for future m/otherhood

With this speculative experience, DesignLab's designer-in-residence Lisa Mandemaker wanted to spark new ideas about future reproductive scenarios and family ties. Can we think beyond the current family tree? And how do we experience new forms of kinship and the sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves? The installation will travel around the world, but at the moment it can be visited at DesignLab! Photo credits: Max Kneefel (view more pictures)

THE EDUBOX AS A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

DesignLab, THE BMS LAB and the Humanitarian Engineering action of University of Twente engaged the passersby in jointly discovering and shaping the future of chronic health inside and outside the EDUBox at the Ketelhuisplein. EDUBox enables knowledge exchange in an accessible way, even in places where this is lacking. Thanks to its design, this fully equipped, self-sufficient container is easy to transport to different places around the world. 

UT researchers, PhDs and students of the different faculties made people aware of their own influence on health, by showcasing their design research projects in an interactive way. They engaged visitors in data, new technnologies and especially sparked interest in other people’s perspectives.
The AgriBox was one of the projects, showcased inside the EDUBox. Read more about the other projects on the website of UTxDDW. 

AgriBox by Silas Nethe

Especially in developing countries, local food
production is increasingly challenging due to
climate change and conflicts. AgriBox aims to
improve food security and nutrition in underserved communities. Its design makes it easily to be transported and adapted to different locations supporting and empowering small-scale farmers.

Mycelium | Mini Design Ride

Using the mycelium as a metaphor for a people’s network, this installation depicts the societal stakeholders and how they should stay connected. In a forest, the mycelium helps the plants in sharing nutrients. In society, we should share knowledge to create futures in which we can flourish together!

For nine days ‘our mushroom’ roamed the city of Eindhoven on a Mini Cooper. It made people turn their heads and they even stopped the Mini to take a picture. In the EDUBox visitors could find out the story behind the mycelium. It turned out to be a great way to talk about the bigger picture and the goals UT is aiming at.

Transitions by Design United

The Transitions programme was organised by Design United (4TU). This year, the technical universities of Twente, Delft, Wagingen and Eindhoven explored what role design can play in tackling different themes: More than Human Design, Futuring, Politics of Design, Entanglements with AI and Neo Craftsmanships. These themes were highlighted during the exhibition in the Klokgebouw, the afternoon programmes in Microlab and in the eMagazine.

Dutch Design Week is a fantastic platform for Design Research at Twente and 4TU. Very nice to see a growing community of 4TU researchers jointly working on important themes.

If you didn’t get the chance to visit Transitions: watch the video below that shows a fantastic recap, or view the photo album.

DRIVE

The annual Design Research & Innovation Festival, organised by CLICKNL and 4TU's Design United, brings you state-of-the-art knowledge and inspiration from the design sector. DRIVE 2022 focuses on the great opportunities for the creative industry. Opportunities to become stronger as a sector, opportunities to advance society and opportunities to help other sectors innovate. From developing immersive experiences to generate awareness to new business models for a circular world, and from the effect of good design in the city to providing space for experimentation.

This year, specialists and other interested parties deep dived into different topics, by being part of the audience during talks and contributing to work sessions. From Social Innovations to Circular Design to Experimental Environments; each day a different topic was highlighted. DesignLab was asked to talk about the theme Experimental Environments. DreamTeam family member Dianneris Diaz gave a talk about DesignLab and Responsible Futuring. Go look at her shining on the stage if you didn't get the chance already! Photo credits: Cristina Ionas

Journey of the process

A few UT projects were made at DesignLab University of Twente. Watch the exciting video below to find out about the process: from building and collaborating at DesignLab to presenting the final results in Eindhoven. 

See you next year?