The design models of the students of the Bachelor in Product Design Unife on show in September 2022 in Wien at the Wien Design Week, with #Openfurnishings manifesto. Department of Architecture Unife, in collaboration with The Italian Cultural Institute in Wien (Das Italienische Kulturinstitut Wien) and Euroinnovators.

#Openfurnishings is a manifesto on self-produced furniture, open production, shared knowledge and responsible use of resources, which provides information in order to make available seating systems.

The project, curated by Ivano Vianello and Laura Bortoloni, professors of the Degree Course in Industrial Design at the University of Ferrara, updates Enzo Mari’s famous proposal by inviting people to make furniture with their own hands. Through self-construction, the goal is to stimulate a responsible and critical view of the products we use, implementing a process that enhances practical intelligence and talent in the design of the proposed prototypes. 

Open access to technology offers us the opportunity to use production processes nowadays that were previously inaccessible outside the industrial contexts. The furniture projects proposed in this initiative are the result of an integrated course of product design and communication. Professors Ivano Vianello and Laura Bortoloni have directed the students of Unife Product Design Bachelor to develop functional models that could be produced by users using the resources of a local digital production laboratory, such as FabLab, with 3D printers and CNC cutting machines and to create the graphic instructions for their self-production.

The main features of the project are universality of the users, simplicity of construction and availability of materials. People develop and share knowledge based on the principles of open design, generating digital models that are freely available on the web to be recreated, exchanged, modified and improved to support a design process based on the use of accessible resources, with techniques and tools suited to their particular needs (cultural, social, material, etc.). A downloadable design (download design process) and editable by the user himself. 

#Openfurnishings aims to educate citizens as agents of transformation, putting technology at their service and favoring local production and resources, creating active and productive cities and territories with a look to the future from a sustainable perspective. 

#Openfurnishings is a constantly evolving initiative that will develop with the aim of creating a community in which design students from different universities can interact to create instructions for new seats and other accessories that will be made available to final users. This design community will also aim to collect useful information for the new design, thanks to the comments of the end users. This design community will also aim to collect useful information for new projects, thanks to the comments of the end users.

#Openfurnishings for Wien Design Week is an exhibition promoted by:

Bachelor in Product Design of the Ferrara University Department of Archiecture

The Italian Cultural Institute in Wien (Das Italienische Kulturinstitut Wien)

Euroinnovators

#Openfurnishings is an educational concept curated by:

Ivano Vianello

Laura Bortoloni

#Openfurnishings Exhibition Wien is curated by:

Ivano Vianello

Laura Bortoloni

Dario Scodeller

Wien Design Week 16.09.2020 > 25.09.2022

Esterhazygasse 22, 1060 Wien