2018 is already proving to be a fruitful year for FranklinTill. The company, led by Katie Franklin and Caroline Till, specialises in providing content with context, identifying convergences in sociocultural movements, scientific and technological innovation and public mindset, and communicating its findings via a variety of platforms.
In January, the duo designed and curated the enormously popular Theme Park trend exhibition at Heimtextil in Frankfurt. Their accompanying book continues the legacy of this work, offering insight into the trends, which they feel underline the intriguing theme The Future is Urban. And today sees the launch of another new publication. Radical Matter is a book that explores the role of the designer and maker in shaping the sustainable future of the material world, something close to our hearts here at Material Lab.
In case you didn’t make it to Germany, we thought we’d share some of our highlights from Theme Park whilst we, and perhaps you, eagerly anticipate reading the book.
Image courtesy of Jeroen van der Wielen
The underlining concept for the exhibition stems from a response to recent UN statistics that shows that more than half of the world’s population lives in cities, whilst most of the other half are expected to have moved in by the end of the century. Such a shift is certain to transform the ways in which we live our day-to-day lives and the unavoidable demand for adapted and improved spaces is something designers will be expected to respond to.
Image courtesy of Jeroen van der Wielen
For The Flexible Home trend, micro-living designers Studiomama were commissioned to create a bespoke ‘micro home’ comprising of three integrated living modules. Responding to the increase in single occupancy homes and ever-increasingly nomadic lifestyles, each section is ingenuously designed to deliver a space that allows for life’s essential necessities to occur, concurrently doing so with increased flexibility in a decreased volume of space.
Image courtesy of Jeroen van der Wielen
Wellbeing matches function in The Healthy Space trend. Recognising the need to reconnect with nature when living and working permanently in urban sprawl is the primary driver, and plants are the perfect antidote. Drawing upon research showing that plants improve wellbeing and productivity, FranklinTill suggests the extensive introduction of plants in order to create living, breathing workplaces.
The Remade Space looks to tackle a growing concern surrounding urbanisation, namely that urban-waste is now being created at a faster rate than urbanisation itself. Challenging preconceptions of recycling, the trend brings to light materials that have been consciously produced from overlooked natural resources and by-products including seaweed and cornhusks.
Image courtesy of Jeroen van der Wielen
A steady increase in open source technology and maker spaces points towards a future that allows more of us than ever to get involved in craft and the process of making.
Highlighting examples such as design marketplace Opendesk, and their own open-source fashion label The Post-Couture Collective; The Maker Space takes a closer look at this trend. Within it they suggest a near-future scenario where the consumer has autonomy whilst simultaneously becoming the manufacturer of their own goods.
Image courtesy of Jeroen van der Wielen
FranklinTill was also responsible for creating five design and colour pavilions across the exhibition. Selecting from submissions made by the shows 2,866 exhibitors, these areas effectively represented a tightly curated edit of the overall fair, bringing to life the colours, materials and interior trends informing the textiles and interior spaces of 2018/19.
More information about The Future is Urban, the individual trends, the book, and the featured products and designers can be found at the dedicated website.
