From space technology and shimmering wood to shapeshifting textiles – explore world-changing research in the brand new Marsio building

The sixth annual Designs for a Cooler Planet festival showcases the potential for a sustainable future when research, arts and design join forces.

Designs for a Cooler Planet gathers innovative, experimental, and creative concepts rooted in Aalto University's research, showcasing ideas aimed at transformative change. The projects on display encompass a range of developmental stages, from speculative concepts and prototypes to pilots and commercially viable solutions. Seemingly impossible challenges are addressed with multidisciplinarity, creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit.

Experience eye-opening research projects that answer these questions:

• Can a textile change its shape or self-clean?
• What kind of health technology and services can be created in a multidisciplinary education program that utilizes design processes in a healthcare environment?
• How we replace synthetic pigments with non-toxic colors?
• Can we create biodegradable optical fiber from wood?
• How can we transform hard-to-utilize roots, trunks, or branches into usable materials?
• Can we replicate the outdoor nature experience that’s known to enhance well-being indoors, where we spend the majority of our time?
• How can we embrace and preserve nature's biodiversity while considering the welfare of other living beings?
• What are the methods used to study the sun?
  
   

Experience tomorrow – Welcome to Marsio!

The Designs for a Cooler Planet festival is one of the three main events of Helsinki Design Week. The festival's exhibitions will be showcased on campus and in the new Marsio building from 6 September to 3 October, 2024. Information about open events and guided tours will be available at the beginning of August on Cooler Planet's main page.

The Marsio building, set to open in the heart of the Otaniemi campus in September, is a tribute to the creative pioneer, architect, designer, entrepreneur and Aalto alumna Aino Marsio-Aalto. Aino and Alvar Aalto's architectural firm triumphed in the Otaniemi site plan design competition in 1949.

The new building not only offers exceptional facilities for teaching and research but also for hosting events.

In September at Marsio, visitors can explore seven groundbreaking examples from the first 15 years of Aalto University under the same theme "Makers of the Impossible." How does one build a quantum revolution, sustain a growing population within planetary boundaries and provide access to university education for all Finnish children — essentially making the impossible possible? After encountering the quantum garden and witnessing Finland's first satellite, guests can relax in a cozy cafe or drop by the Aalto Shop.