_{Image courtesy of Habitare}

Habitare – Interior, Design & Furniture Fair
Location: Messukeskus, Helsinki, Finland
September 11 – 15, 2019

Habitare is the leading design, design and furniture event in Finland, and the even showcases annually over 400 Finnish and international companies. Habitare’s theme for 2019 is Mindspaces, and seeks to explore the spaces that exist between the material and the intangible, as well as the real and the imaginary. This year’s theme will allow Habitare to present a visually powerful display with interactivity at its heart – one in which visitors can participate, like characters in a story.

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Boasting an exceptionally rich programme, Habitare will bring international and Finnish guest speakers in front of design lovers. Since 2016, Habitare has invited a prominent and influential design figure to be its International Friend. In 2019, the International Friend of Habitare is Alberto Alessi, the president of the Italian design company Alessi. As this year’s International Friend of Habitare, Alessi will be engaging with this year’s themes across the week, exploring design directions and industry trends. Previous International Friends of Habitare include the chairman and representative director of MUJI, Masaaki Kanai and Cara McCarthy, the curatorial director at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

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To highlight future talents, Habitare has a specific section, The Block, to feature young and upcoming designers. The four designers chosen for Talentshop all get their own small booth to showcase their designs. Also part of The Block is Protoshop, where the ten chosen designers get to show their prototype of a design product for prospective manufacturers. Over the years, many pieces from Protoshop and Talentshop have found their way to manufacturers and the participating designers have started their careers in Habitare.

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In order to make design truly inclusive, Habitare has a significant area dedicated to children – one of the few design fairs in the world to do so. In 2019, Habi Kids will introduce an immersive game that is set in Helsinki and based on the well-known board game Monopoly, intended for all children and the young at heart. The board will take over the Habi Kids area, providing an opportunity for creative play as visitors roll the dice and advance through the game. The player may forget their hat on Liisankatu, go to jail, or even take a nap on Bulevardi. Created by Habi Kids partners Skidit children’s festival and the Helsinki City Museum, this year’s installation centres the city of Helsinki to this area of the festival.

more. www.habitare.messukeskus.com
                            

_{Image courtesy of Habitare}

_{Image courtesy of Habitare}

_{Image courtesy of Habitare}

_{Image courtesy of Habitare}

_{Image courtesy of Habitare}

_{Image courtesy of Habitare}

_{Image courtesy of Habitare}

_{Image courtesy of Habitare}

_{Image courtesy of Habitare}