d-talks – discuss sustainability in studio atmosphere

But how do you approach the complex topic of sustainability in innovation processes? Our new program format, "Design Thinking Studio Sustainability," helps to shed light on complex issues and shows how they can be integrated into the solution-finding process. One building block towards this goal is the d-talks. These are discussions in a studio atmosphere with people who have made a name for themselves in the field of sustainability, for example – inspiring, committed, and, above all, visionary. The studio discussion with architect and visionary Van Bo Le-Mentzel marked the start of the d-talks. Our design thinking coach, Jochen Nünning, moderated the discussion.

It all started with the Harz IV furniture project for Van Bo Le-Mentzel. He studied architecture at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. By chance, he took a weekend course in carpentry at the Berlin Adult Education Centre, where he devised the idea for his first product – the "24-euro chair" made mainly from sustainable materials. Well-known Bauhaus design luminaries inspired him to design the subsequent collection.

Van Bo Le-Mentzel consistently focuses on sustainability: in 2017, he presented the "100 Euro Apartment" at the Bauhaus Campus Berlin. This has just 6.4 square meters. It is not about people living in the smallest of spaces. He is concerned with other questions: "Given the planetary boundaries, where will it lead if we continue to consume so much living space (45-46 sqm/person in Europe)?" And if living space has to be reduced, "How can we build and construct a democratic coexistence?" For Van Bo Le-Mentzel, sustainability also explicitly means thinking about social interaction.

Van Bo Le-Mentzel was a guest at the d-school as part of the d.confestival in 2017. We were pleased to continue the exchange with him in the relaxed studio atmosphere of the d-talks.