The view through the display window of our Solarium satellite was definitely one of the highlights of VIENNA DESIGN WEEK 2020. It wasn’t so uncommon here to catch sight of someone asleep on the other side of the glass. Decked out in striped pajamas and felt slippers, Rafael Gil Cordeiro spent much of the festival lying in the hospital bed that had measured his own sleep and printed this out live in the form of 3D ceramic objects for his final project at ZHdK. Then, when he was wide awake, he also answered questions from festival visitors about whether and how sleep can be optimized.

In the Solarium itself one could then follow up on further fascinating questions regarding design and health in the exhibition DESIGN FOR HEALTH by Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). As part of the format DEBUT, the exhibition presented twelve diploma projects and one research project from ZHdK’s renowned Department of Design, all of which investigated new solutions and perspectives in the field of healthcare design. The young designers from Switzerland addressed the subject through a diverse range of research and design approaches. These included, for example, a set of cards that use colorful Illustrations and quotes from nursing practice to answer questions related to death (Selina Fässler). Conversely, Vasili Skoromnik presented a modular prosthesis system for use in war zones. And the digital card game “Sanatorium”, which Sebastian Riedi brought to Meidling, allowed one to learn about historical psychiatric diagnoses and institutions. 

The well-attended exhibition DESIGN FOR HEALTH in the Expositur Solarium was expanded in the shape of several positions in the Virtual Festival Headquarters. These were presented in a virtual version of Zurich’s Toni complex, which houses the ZHdK campus.

The works on show came from: 

Analog: Selina Fässler, Vasili Skoromnik, Sebastian Riedi, and Rafael Gil Cordeiro

Virtual: Alessa Fanzoi, Anais Nüssli, Anncharlott Berglar, Benjamin Josi, Claudia Buck / Randy Chen, Elisabeth Suter, Judith Mair / Francis Müller, and Leida Viviana Leonhardt.