Vitra Summit 2020

This year has radically changed our perception of space: We began avoiding places we share with strangers or any environment that could subject us to chance encounters. We were ordered to remain in our homes by governments worldwide. Companies were forced into the mass experiment of remote working. Our homes suddenly became a place in which to work, spend time with the family, learn, celebrate, grieve and more—all at the same time.

Over the two days of the Vitra Summit, a streaming event hosted online on October 22 and 23, Vitra intends to go beyond the obvious implications. Vitra believes that surroundings continually shape our thoughts and feelings. Interior spaces can shift corporate cultures, lift spirits and impact the wellbeing of their inhabitants.

Architects and designers as well as business and opinion leaders will discuss the following topics:

The human and the office
Zoom, Skype, Teams. In just a few months we have become experts at using diverse online platforms to see our colleagues, friends and families. But does this new meeting mode bring us the same satisfaction and outcome? Will we miss the office when it disappears? And how to redesign workspace interactions to include more digital interaction? These questions will be tackled during the first part of the Vitra Summit. This session includes conversations with the interior architect Sevil Peach, designer duo Barber Osgerby, Editor-in-Chief at Metropolis magazine Avinash Rajagopal, and others.

Design matters
Is there such a thing as a good or bad material? Or only correct and incorrect use? What impact have past crises had on interiors throughout history? This session will include participants like allrounder Virgil Abloh, Princeton Professor Beatriz Colomina and architect Francis Kéré.

Dynamic spaces
The past few months have proven that office environments with a flexible design and a philosophy of change have a clear advantage: they can be easily adapted to changing health considerations and work patterns. At the same time, new functions have been added to our domestic spaces. This session will include conversations with Ivy Ross, Vice President of Design for the Hardware organization, Google, Ilse Crawford founder of Studioilse, Nora Fehlbaum, CEO of Vitra and many others.

Remote world
We have come to expect a lot from our homes over the past months. As we retreated into these safe havens, they had to function as our office and school, playground and gym, restaurant and cinema. We will continue to spend more time at home: some level of remote working is here to stay, at least for the time being. Will our freedom to work remotely result in an urban exodus? In this part of the programme we are investigating the new work-life balance and the impact of remote working on cities, companies and homes, with guests such as New-York-based curator and critic Beatrice Galilee, Maurice Cox, Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development, City of Chicago, architect and urban planner Stefano Boeri and others.

The Vitra Summit is free of charge and open to all.
Register here for your free ticket www.vitra.com/summit