Habitare 2025 explored the human need to "touch and feel things"
Dezeen has teamed up with Habitare to spotlight this year's edition of the Finnish design fair, examining how tactile materials and design can "provide a counterforce to our increasingly digital world".
The event took place in September in Helsinki. Under the theme of Touch, it highlighted the latest interior design, furniture, lighting and accessories.
Habitare's theme addressed the "human need to experience, touch and feel things". The fair displayed a range of multisensory spaces to encourage visitors to explore how an object's textures impact how we experience space.
Creative lead at Habitare, Päivi Helander, explained that touching materials is "essential" for creativity, curiosity and imagination, with many of the displayed items designed to evoke a sensory response.
"When the world is technical and remote, we want to have things around us that feel like something," said Helander. "The need to touch and feel is, on the one hand, something eternally human, and on the other hand, a counterforce to an increasingly digitalised society."
"When things evoke sensations, they are not just transient or disposable," she continued. "Touching is also a harbinger of curiosity. Fostering curiosity makes us imaginative and suitably adventurous."
This year Habitare's themed exhibition was curated by architecture studio Collaboratorio, which presented a diverse collection of objects designed to appeal to the senses.
Also displayed was Habitare's Neighbours area – an exhibition curated by interior designer Laura Seppänen, which aimed to evoke the "mood of a residential block".
The exhibition explored how people's personalities and lifestyles are reflected in their homes. Aligned with the event's theme, the exhibition invited visitors to touch the exhibits and experience its tactile qualities.
"Neighbours invites reflection on how personalities and life circumstances manifest themselves within the home," said the design fair.
"Habitare's 2025 theme, Touch, is expressed throughout the space through material choices, contrasts, and layering – everything may be touched, and questions about everything are welcomed."
Alongside both exhibitions, Habitare also spotlighted the latest trends in design, including a renewed focus on traditional materials, learning manual skills and increasing use of biomaterials.
The design fair also presented Habitare Pro, its trade show division, created for companies across the design industry.
Habitare Pro intended to "spark meaningful opportunities" and bring together leading designers, architects, buyers, specifiers and interior designers to discuss the future of design.
The event included an area for companies to connect, collaborate and develop business relationships, while being a central space in which to spotlight new products.
Brands that took part included Bla Station, Hakola, Forming Function, North South, all of which showcased a diverse collection of tactile furniture and products.
According to the event organisers, Habitare Pro has established itself as the "core of the design fair experience", and after being launched in 2023, Habitare saw a 100 per cent increase in professional visitors.
This year Habitare also produced its first digital edition of its Nordic Quarters publication, which brings together past issues into a digital guide designed as a sourcebook for design ideas and innovation.
To learn more about Habitare, visit its website.
Habitare took place from 2 to 6 September in Helsinki, Finland. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
Partnership content
This video was produced by Dezeen for Habitare as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen's partnership content here.
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