Healing

Healing is an exhibition of Finnish and Scandinavian design for purposes of recuperation and healing from the 1930s to the present day. It considers health, illness and healing as a broad phenomenon of various levels from the perspective of design.

Healing considers both the physical and mental dimensions of regaining health, presenting in further detail how recuperation can be affected by architecture, the design of objects, choices of materials and technologies.

It is based on Design Museum’s large collection of objects from the Paimio Tuberculosis Sanatorium designed by Alvar Aalto in 1929 –1933. In his work, Aalto considered healing and recovery as a complex phenomenon affected by the functioning of both mind and body along with technological solutions and choices of materials.

The chronological span of the exhibition extends from history to the future. Exhibits will include samples of patient clothing from the new Children’s Hospital currently under construction in Helsinki.

Humans are social, corporal and mental beings. This entity can be taken into account in design so that it may support healing and well-being. The exhibition poses the question of how the designed environment affects us.

Press-Release_Jan2018_Healing_Design_Museum_Helsinki

Image courtesy of Design Museum, Helsinki. Photo: Sergio Urbina.