We return to the Madrid Design Festival with an urban oasis, talks and creative workshops

Avant-garde design has once again found its home in the Spanish capital thanks to Madrid Design Festival. Finsa is participating in this event by proposing an urban oasis that encourages you to take a break from the hectic pace of everyday life: CONNECTIVE NATURE BY FINSA.

You already know how much we care about connections at Finsa: with the wood chain, with people and, of course, with nature, the source of our essence as a company. With CONNECTIVE NATURE by FINSA we aim to reactivate these connections through a sensory and interactive installation consisting of eight sequential stages. The studio of architect Izaskun Chinchilla, known for its advocacy of inclusive urban planning, was commissioned to design the following route with Finsa:

Interaction 1: #listentoabirdfinsa

Listening to birdsong for five minutes a day helps to combat the lack of light, which causes emotional issues. Following this recommendation from the environmental association National Trust, we offer a chair with a special backrest that forms a small nest where you can appreciate this invaluable sound.

Interaction 2: #createbeautyfinsa

Create something beautiful and share it. That is the essence of this second interaction, where we will display a sort of pond with various geometric shapes inspired by the tangram. Each visitor will be invited to create beautiful images as a way to manage thoughts and feelings in a positive way.

Interaction 3: #swingyourbodyfinsa

Remember the feeling of swinging? This exercise helps to awaken creativity and calmness, recovering awareness of your body. We encourage you to relive this experience in the third stage of the route, where we offer a swing so you can feel the benefits of swinging again.

Interaction 4: #tellmeasecretfinsa

Sharing secrets releases adrenaline and creates a connection between people. This fourth scenario presents a space where we can lean in and focus our attention to listen to a good story.

Interaction 5: #lyeoverthegrassfinsa

How do you feel when you lie on grass? This direct contact with nature activates our emotions and the feeling of safety. In this installation you will be able to lie down in a small corner, protected from any bad weather.

Interaction 6: #readapoemandsmilefinsa

This space in the hall offers seats that generate a sequence of floral colours in a gradient, where you can read a haiku, which is a short Japanese poem related to nature. Those who listen to the haiku will need to sharpen their senses, as it awakens their emotions and makes them smile.

Interaction 7: #scanyourbodyfinsa

Here we invite you to sit down on a sofa composed of inflatable elements that yield unevenly to the weight of each body part. This enables you to become aware of your physical presence, which is common in meditation exercises.

Interaction 8: #shareamememoryfinsa

The finishing touch is in a space created to share a pleasant memory by writing it in chalk on a circular table. These collective memories are essential to the cohesion of communities.

The whole CONNECTIVE NATURE by FINSA experience is woven around hashtags, which we encourage visitors to use to share their visions on social media.

Talks on the future of construction and creative workshops at Finsa21

Our participation in the Madrid Design Festival also includes involvement in the Madrid Design Pro talks programme and creative workshops at our wood innovation space Finsa21.

Co-developed construction: at this talk we will discuss how technology can be used to work in a more collaborative way, by developing better products and construction systems. This will take place on 17 February.

Integration of lighting and wood into the outdoor spaces of shopping malls: an approach on how lighting integrated with wood mimics outdoor spaces. This will be held on 23 February.

At Finsa21 we will be holding online and in-person workshops: a basket weaving session by the artisan Idoia Cuesta on 3 March, and a moodboard workshop developed by our Design team on 10 March.

Will we see you at the design capital?