HAWK Hildesheim - Using design elements intelligently to shape open spaces

The students of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen (HAWK for short, after its German acronym) see physical places as open spaces – blank canvasses – that people can shape through clever design. In their philosophy, schools and universities should look to create environments that students and teaching staff can identify with. A group of students from HAWK will be running two installations in the NuThinkers zone at DOMOTEX 2020 that will shed light on how this transformation of open space through interaction and communication can work.

In preparation for developing their installations, the students analyzed the interior spaces of the university’s design faculty with reference to the criteria of space, color and light, as inspired by the keynote theme chosen for DOMOTEX 2019: ATMYSPHERE. The aim was to set up an effective interplay between these three design aspects which could then be staged in the NuThinkers zone as a showcase of the Color Design, Lighting Design and Interior Architecture components of their design course.

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Scaling Nature - Wrinkling

Curling lettuce leaves, shrinking skin or wrinkling biofilms are in the focus for bio-inspired textile design concepts at the weißensee kunsthochschule berlin. Students of the bachelor's programme in textile and surface design researched material activity in natural structures and developed new design strategies for active surfaces. Selected works of the design studio will be presented at DOMOTEX.

Through experimental material studies on formation, flexibility and elasticity, natural phenomena of wrinkling were investigated and translated into textile structures with new mechanical, energetic and functional properties. The exhibition shows shrinking fabrics, sensitive and overtwisted yarns, pleats made of lacquer and bistable textiles, opening up new approaches for the design of surfaces in a spatial context.
The haptic, optical and mechanical properties of the exhibits render new functionalities: paper screens open up with humidity, woolen fabrics become elastic without synthetic additives and three-dimensional textiles form into tactile patterns.

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Alexander Marinus - "Hey Jute"

Under the name "Hey Jute", Alexander Marinus' project focuses on changing the perception and appreciation of natural fiber jute - simply by using the actual properties of the raw light jute fiber in its purest state. He noted during his jute study that the jute fiber is used in production processes and other applications mainly "behind the scenes", e. g. as a base in carpets and linoleum or in a potato sack. In the framework of ATMYSHPERE and the idea of sustainability, Alexander Marinus' installation attempts to demonstrate that jute production seems to respond adequately to the need for materials that require no additional chemical elements and can be reused. An ecological and sensitive textile for upholstery, wall coverings and floors could become a powerful player in the world of interior textiles.

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Hochschule Hannover - "myMood"

The concept "myMood" by Lisa Behnke, Julia Linden and Fabienne Pult, which sheds light on the wellbeing aspect as well as the sustainability aspect of ATMYSPHERE , also originates from the University of Hannover. MyMood is a modular floor system that creates individual, cooling or warming oases in private and public spaces and is also largely recyclable. Based on the analysis of existing systems, the floor construction was redeveloped according to the idea and together with the sustainability aspect. The floor, which consists of two coverings, consists of heat-resistant and thermally conductive clay tiles on the heating elements and of pleasant, insulating cork coverings in the remaining areas. There is also the possibility of adding different usage modules to the floor, e.g. a seat module with integrated towel warmer that makes it possible to create your own area with a spa atmosphere both in the private and the public sector.

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Hochschule Hannover - "Warm-Up"

With the project "Warm-Up", the students Anna Marczinke, Isabelle Senft and Nicole Sibenlist of the University of Hannover make the keynote theme ATMYSHPERE visible by dealing with the questions of how a floor can contribute to an individual atmosphere of a room. Warm-Up turns the idea of underfloor heating upside down and lets the plastic hoses of the heating system grow out of the ground into a room-separating sculpture. It is a new and sensational underfloor heating system. The hoses of the heater leave the horizontal dimension and form a room divider, where the flow of water can be observed. This creates an exciting atmosphere and creates a new kind of eye-catcher. The heating hose winds around a simple metal frame. Warm-Up can be used as a room divider and sculptural heating for leaning on. The heating system serves to bring the heat in concentrated form to where it is most needed. Unnecessary heating of the entire room is thus spared. A microclimate is created.

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Dirk Pieper - "Paprfloor"

Another contribution comes from a startup called paprfloor – a company born from an impulse to create more sustainable and environmentally friendly floor covering alternatives for exhibition halls. By teaming up with a paper manufacturer, the founders (based in Weil der Stadt, Germany) literally laid the groundwork for customizable, paper-based floor coverings now used at trade shows throughout the world.

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