Students from the Master of Digital Design (MDD) program at HvA have been selected to showcase their work at  Dutch Design Week. Students Anastasia Maimescu, Nina Floor Post, Lorena Rege Turo, and Ludvig Stigell collaborated with the Visual Methodologies Collective to explore alternative ways to increase engagement around the topics of climate change and rising sea levels. The resulting interactive exhibition ‘A Visit to Emma’ presents a version of the future where much of the Netherlands has been affected by flooding and allows visitors to immerse themselves in that scenario.

‘A Visit to Emma’ gives an insight into Emma’s life in 2070. In 50 years, the sea level will be about a meter higher. In some parts of the Netherlands, living in high-rise buildings, as Emma does, is the only way to survive. ‘A Visit to Emma’ paints a picture of what the Dutch future looks like in the face of climate change. It gives an insight into how people will work, live and eat in that scenario. 

Research had concluded that people need concrete situations and relatable stories to imagine their future. For this reason, in collaboration with the Visual Methodologies collective, this group of students developed a climate fiction scenario in the form of an exhibition. 

Every October, the nine-day Dutch Design Week (DDW) takes place in Eindhoven. The largest design event in Northern Europe then presents the work and concepts of over 2,600 designers to more than 350,000 visitors from the Netherlands and abroad. Spread across some 120 locations throughout the city, DDW organizes and facilitates exhibitions, lectures, award ceremonies, networking events, debates, and festivities, among other things. This year, DDW will take place from October 22-30.