#arcticdesignweek

[vaana2017-blog]

Arctic Design Week – the first appearance!

The interactive Ice Rug got its inspiration from the cracking of ice. It is made of pure wool felt and it reacts to touch by creating light paths all around the rug. The visitors at the opening party were clearly excited to be able to touch and try the rug and its interactivity. And that’s really what we are aiming for: to create new experiences and to tell things about the Arctic and its wonders!

The first appearance for our Vaana 2017 Interactive exhibition was at the Arctic Design Week here in Rovaniemi, Finland. We were a part of the Taival – Journey exhibition in Arktikum, which presented the work of the students and alumnae of the Faculty of Arts and Design at the University of Lapland.

The opening party of the exhibition took place in February 20th. The house was full and people clearly enjoyed the evening. We got to test our prototypes in real action during the opening party and during the exhibition, so we were excited too! At this stage we got three prototypes ready to be admired: the Ice Rug, the Breaking of the Dawn jacket and the Frozen Table.

The Breaking of the Dawn jacket is a wearable computing design concept that combines user interaction, clothing design and high-end technology solutions. Besides that, it’s also a beautiful piece of clothing and the visitors were marveling it throughout the evening. Also the Frozen Table was admired: beautiful and exact woodwork combined with lights and transparent surfaces is something you won’t see every day.

[petrastaav]

so the @arcticdesignweek is over and I want to thank all the participants and projectmanager for fun and active days in #rovaniemi and a big thanks to the creative momentum for travel, accommodation and super nice company 😃I'm so greatful 🙏p.s the picture behind me, is the image of Alvar Aalto's urban planning of Rovaniemi in the form of a raindeer head 🦌 #mycreativeedge #arcticdesignweek2017 #arcticdesignweek #mishmash2017 #finland (på/i Hostel Café Koti)

[vaana2017-blog]

A closer look

What is Vaana exactly? Our group wanted to show a side of Lapland that is different from Santa Claus and reindeers. Winters are long and freezing and short summers can be quite chilly. During the darkest time of the year the daylight lasts for only 2 hours and during summer the sun doesn't set at all. We live in a absurd environment where everything can’t survive.

 But when you look closely, life here is extremely beautiful; the restless and yet calm nightless nights during summer and the multicolored bright fall days. During silent polar nights our whole world is sleeping under a blanket of snow and spring is filled with sunlight and the noise of multiple small brooks rushing to wake everyone up. Life here is a constant journey. Nature is in a state of constant transformation, already in the current season but still en route to the next.

 Nature is something that we could not live without. Nature, forest and wood is what we have used originally when creating our infrastructure, culture and identity. Wood, traditional Finnish construction material is insulating and thus protective from the coldness. It is typically sculpted into stiff and rigid forms, when the actual source, forest, is ignored in design. Trees, before sculpting, remind us of the nature’s impact on our surroundings. Polar night makes our surroundings seem scarce, but the trees and rich forests illustrate our unlit landscape. The trees have been the source of inspiration to the Lappish people for thousands of years.

 These are the key elements that inspired us in the beginning of Vaana’s journey. Our rigid seasons and nature are an endless source of inspiration for us and through technology we can show a little piece of it to the world. In the furniture exhibitions Vaana will present interactive furniture and decoration trough minimalistic, Lappish design. The Naked Project and a variety of talented design students from University of Lapland are currently helping us bring this message to you. Trough interactive means we can present the beauty of 8 seasons to the world.