Oppressive Tension, exciting Pressure
How we can change what’s there and dare to try something new
This work uses a furniture design to demonstrate how, with the help of new manufacturing methods and strategies, design work can contribute to a more sustainable way of consumption.
On the one hand, I am attracted to the craftsmanship involved, but on the other hand, my work is intended to represent an alternative to existing systems and processes. I want to contribute to ensuring that we, my generation, but also those to come, can live in a more sustainable and healthier society.
| student: | Milan Behrens |
| mentored by: | Prof. Mareike Gast |
| year: | 2024/2025 |
| level: | Master Thesis |
In recent years, the secure structure in which we in Northern Europe are fortunate enough to live has increasingly dissolved. Financial and political crises, supply shortages, a pandemic, and a war have increasingly weakened our sense of inviolability. In countries that stood for freedom and democracy, autocrats were elected as leaders, and in terms of climate, many things are simply getting worse. I feel very fortunate to live in a country at a time like this, where I am privileged to be able to think about things like my mental and physical well-being, creativity, and self-realization. As terrible and frightening as all the things that are happening now and in the last few years are, perhaps we can still draw something positive from them. In my opinion, the feeling of security has also spread a kind of lethargy.
There is less experimentation and risk, fewer failures and rebounds.
Now I have the impression that change is taking place and will take place now and in the coming years. The scarcity of raw materials and the fact that we can no longer allow mobility to continue as before, because in doing so we would destroy our own living space, are forcing us to develop greater flexibility, adaptability, and willingness to experiment.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the reality we’ve built for ourselves over the past decades won’t last much longer. We must prepare ourselves to be more flexible in our expectations and needs, while simultaneously taking a clearer and more decisive stance, as the political and social challenges are becoming ever greater and more threatening.