Belongings - Affection as a Design Strategy explores how our emotional relationships with objects can become a powerful driver for more sustainable consumption patterns. Starting from a simple premise—that we take better care of what we already possess—the exhibition reframes design as more than form and function. Design can contribute to extend an object’s lifespan and create meaning in everyday life.

The exhibition unfolds as a sensory, immersive installation that invites visitors to bring a personal object with them. Through an interactive experience supported by AI technology, the object is given a voice and a character. What emerges is an intimate conversation—part dialogue, part therapy—between human and thing. This encounter opens space for reflection on attachment, care, and the often-overlooked emotional dimensions of the things we own.

What if durability is not only about materials, but also about emotions? If we love our things, will they last longer? Belongings explores the concept of emotional durability: the idea that products, materials, and relationships endure because they matter to us. By engaging the senses and emotions, the exhibition turns circular economy from an abstract concept into a lived experience.

The exhibition space is calm and tactile, filled with warm materials, soft light, and gentle voices. It invites you to slow down, listen, and rediscover the stories embedded in familiar objects—stories of hands, time, effort, and care. By placing your object on the podium, you are invited into a moment of dialogue and reflection, not on what you lack, but on what you already have.

Alongside the installation, talks, workshops, and a digital archive expand the experience, allowing visitors to explore others’ relationships with their belongings. Created in collaboration with DDC - Danish Design Center and artist Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm, Belongings is placed in the intersection of design, technology, and emotional sustainability—pointing toward a future where care and connection are essential building blocks of sustainable design culture.