Alfredo Häberli, an established Swiss designer and mentor at Studio Industrial Design at the Institute Integrative Design l Masterstudio, FHNW Academy of Art and Design, took this attitude as a starting point for a workshop with the Masterstudio students. 

The iconic Italian designer – Enzo Mari published in 1974 Mari Autoprogettazione, a milestone in contemporary design history. In the book, Mari called for the democratization of design and for people to make their own furniture when required. Sedia 1 is the first design from Autoprogettazione to go into production with Artek. In line with the original idea of the project, delivery comes complete with a set of pre-cut pinewood boards, nails, and instructions on how to build the chair. As Mari says, «Design is always education».

Mari’s Sedia 1 chair served merely as the starting point for students’ designs. The students embarked on a journey to reflect on their practice, production modes, materials, consumerism and most importantly on their own point of view resp. their influence on the present and future culture.