THE STUDIO: HOW TO ENVISION THE FUTURE OF LIVING AND WORKING IN TIMES OF CRISIS?

During the spring semester of 2022, seven students of the Master in Interior Architecture (MAIA) at HEAD-Geneva developed their own studio space through prospective scenarios on living and working in 2050.

It had been a while since the group noticed certain changes in their surrounding world. Everything approached discreetly, making it hard to distinguish one day from the next. As they tried to treat the world as usual, they quickly understood it was not the same. Thus, they faced an exceptional level of consumption which eventually led to ecological disaster on one hand and emotional exhaustion on the other. Choosing between the catastrophe of the mundane, they disagreed on which was worse. The only shared point of view appeared to be a firm belief that something should be done. Finding their soulmates, each squad chose its own way to cope with the modern world. What happened next? By revisiting daily rituals that construct reality, they focused on its initial qualities and the transformations that took place. Excited to find the cure, they explored casual activities like sleeping, mealtime, and gathering together. Each squad aspired to find solutions for daily issues. Some chose to fix it through close interaction, some through alienation. Did they manage?