Amsterdam-based design company Droog is trekking to Canada to study sustainability in Pond Inlet, Nunavut.
It’s part of a lab exploring eight locations around the world over four years, based on the insight that “the next generation of global design will respond to contemporary issues by investigating them on a local level.”
Pond Inlet was chosen for its extreme conditions to examine how global warming is affecting the area. Sending a team of designers and consulting experts, and working in partnership with the University of Alberta, the “Luxury of the North” project kicks off at the end of June with a brainstorm session, then the team goes on location to observe day-to-day life and encounter locals for about 12 days.
The outcome of the project, which could be anything from a product to a business model to a piece of software, will be presented as an exhibition in Toronto and a publication in January 2011.