Ambiente: Giving and Living

Tours of Ambiente with design professors Hansjerg Maier-Aichen and Mark Braun

Innovation versus mainstream – which products are simply variations on familiar designs and which are really innovative? A thought that runs like a common thread through the guided design tours of Ambiente given by design experts Hansjerg Maier-Aichen and Mark Braun. At the same time, the two university professors will examine a variety of other significant issues of current interest on the design scene.

Pietro Sutera

This year, Hansjerg Maier-Aichen, Professor at the University for Design in Karlsruhe and founder of the Authentics brand, will conduct the tours of the Giving and Living sections of the fair. An important aspect for him is the question, “What does a clear product message oriented towards durability, authentic design quality, environmentally friendly technologies and material ecology look like?” In discussions with representative exhibitors and young designers, he will look at the ambivalent nature of the design market between the tried and tested and the extraordinary, and point out examples of outstanding design.

Pietro Sutera

Mark Braun, who is professor for product and industrial design at the Saar University of the Visual Arts in Saarbrücken and also runs a design studio in Berlin, will focus on the Dining section of Ambiente. During his tours, he will introduce selected exhibitors and their latest collections. For Braun, the subject of producing less but better is also very important.

Rosenthal Image Petra Welzel

Additionally, he will look at the question of what exactly distinguishes successful products. Is it the story telling the background to the product, or new technologies and optimised functionality? What strategies are there for sustainability in product design? And, how do some companies manage to be successful in the market despite the fact that they have never changed their DNA? Contact: Ambiente