A new exhibition showcasing sustainable design examples created by students of the Riga Technical University (RTU) Institute of Design Technologies has opened at the Innovation and Scientific Achievements exhibition space RTU and Origo Future Stop. The exhibition will be open until the end of August.

The exhibition space is located on the second floor of the new Origo shopping centre building at Stacijas laukums 4.

“The Institute of Design Technologies of RTU’s Faculty of Materials Science and Applied Chemistry is the place where technology, design and research meet. A small part of the Institute’s students’ work can now be seen at the RTU and Origo Future Stop. There you can also watch a short film about the students’ design works from different years, which reflect the diversity of products and ideas, from clothing and design elements to the exhibits of the science centre Futurimo Rīga,” says Ilze Gudro, lecturer at RTU Institute of Design Technologies and the exhibition’s creator.

The exhibition illustrates the different directions in which future design and designers are evolving. For example, a part of the outdoor furniture collection made from recycled tyre pellets by Sindija Medne, an award-winning student at the Institute of Design Technology, offers a design-led solution to the problem of worn-out car tyres. The exhibition also includes several exterior design products that can also be used indoors, such as a modular structure for storing household tools and accessories (by Kristiāna Spriesle) and garden plant support structures (by Maija Aļeiņikova). These are the students’ bachelor thesis works in the Materials Technology and Design programme.

The exhibition also offers a glimpse into Evija Lipšāne’s clothing collection Unknown, which tells the story of the ability to survive and abstract oneself from the outside world while staying in the enchanting underwater realm, where silence and peace reign. Also on display is a collaborative work by Reinholds Švarcs, Agnese Sauska, Unigunda Meijere and Eduards Helmuts Šmits – interactive exhibits for the RTU Curiosity Centre Futurimo Rīga. It shows the creative process of the designers in designing and making very practical everyday objects – ergonomic seating. Before the final product is made, a 1:5 scale model is developed. Some of these models are on display in the exhibition.

“One of the core values of Origo is sustainable and functional design in terms of architecture and environmental accessibility, as well as efficient management and energy saving. Through the exhibition, we are drawing attention to the latest work of RTU students, which is a testament to their creativity and ability to solve today’s problems through intelligent design. It also demonstrates the increasingly close link between modern design and sustainability. It is important for entrepreneurs to integrate sustainable design practices into their business and at the same time encourage the younger generation to take an interest in it, as it is our future,” says Evija Majevska, Commercial Director of Linstow Baltic and the Origo multifunctional centre, about the latest exhibition in RTU and Origo Future Stop.

The exhibition space was created last autumn by RTU in cooperation with the Origo multifunctional centre, to introduce the general public to the latest technological solutions, scientific discoveries, and achievements of RTU students, engineers and scientists.