Futures Lab, Global

CONTEXT

Swiss furniture brand USM, as we know it today, was established in the 1960’s by Paul Schärer Jr and Fritz Haller on a vision of future flexibility and innovation, designed to evolve with a rapidly developing business. In 2024 we are seeing rapid development across all aspects of our day to day lives, in everything from climate impact, to social impact, the economy, Artificial Intelligence and beyond. Fondation USM established 'Futures Lab' to explore, envision and advocate for solutions that will tackle the challenges we face today and help build a brighter and more resilient future. 

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COMMISSION

The Place Bureau collaborated with design practice For Everyday Life to shape an innovation programme, informed by our Collaborative Place Futures Toolkit. The team assembled an advisory panel drawn from a global network of academics, founders, industry leaders, creatives, technologists and innovators and worked with them to shape two future world scenarios. These scenarios informed briefs for four design studios to explore. The programme culminated in an inspiring and collaborative event at the USM headquarters in Munsingen, Switzerland where the outcomes were shared with the advisory panel and plans for future funding and support were considered.

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