VIENNA DESIGN WEEK - Ekohunters

Vienna wakes up today with a new festival in town! From the 29^th September to 8^th October Vienna becomes design capital and city full of inspiration thanks to the 11^th Edition of the Vienna Design Week.

The program is structured around two geographical focus points that change every year to highlight different design and sources of inspiration from home and away: one Viennese district (that also hosts the festival headquarters) and one guest country.

This year the spotlight will be on Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus, Vienna’s 15th district – a rapidly changing spot, a clash between past and present, old and new, young fresh businesses and abandoned old buildings – and Romania, – a dynamic country rich in history, art and natural beauty.

The festival aims to foster a renewed awareness of design, not only in its aesthetic function, but as a profound and elemental component of life.

With this goal in mind, the festival agenda places a special focus on industrial design – specifically the connection of design and industry –, familiarizing the broad public with the innovation of industries and businesses in interaction with designers, and showing a broad range of themes in industrial design: the challenges, the work methods and the problem-solving expertize.

Vienna Design Week has established itself as a growing network of creative people, with an undeniable ability to bridge the gap between experts/specialists and visitors by means of national and international projects, productions and educational initiatives, framed within an experimental approach to architecture and design in all fields – graphic, product, and furniture.

To help you make your way among 10 days of exhibitions, workshops, participatory projects, talks, collaborations and guided tours, from Ekohunters we want to present our line up for ecodesigners and sustainable businesses to look out for in Vienna Design Week 2017:

Feinedinge*

Austrian label that produces hand-made porcelain tableware, home-living accessories, and lighting objects. Characterized their minimal design, high-level functionality, and plain, reduced forms in finely structured surfaces and delicate structures.

TON

Manually bent wood furniture, following a technique that has been in place since 1861.This Czech firm redefines traditional furniture making technology and imbues it with contemporary design. A combination of quality, innovative shapes, and the legacy of “understanding” wood.

BUY SOCIAL DESIGN

Social initiative created by four brands combining the work of international designers with the craft skills of disadvantaged people : GOODGOODs (products with a social signal), zerunianandweisz for MBQ (traditional Roma crafts), NUT & FEDER (furniture by people with a refugee background), and MAGDAS DESIGN (design products with character).

Glein

Founded by designers Sebastian Leitinger and Lukas Novak, Glein offers contemporary wooden furniture made of high-quality, long-life materials produced in cooperation with traditional Viennese workshops.

Meșteshukar ButiQ (MBQ)

București-based social enterprise revaluing traditional Roma craftsmanship using a blend of centuries-old techniques and contemporary design. The product is developed from selected natural materials – such as wood, copper, leather, wicker, and fabrics – and addresses the increasing need for handmade goods, manufactured in a responsible way by a real person.