Meet a Researcher: Miko Laakso

“Design Factory brings together researchers from various backgrounds, cultures and disciplines. One could say that the Factory functions as a sort of a melting pot of expertise, methods, approaches and phenomena. Especially with interdisciplinary research interests, it would be hard not to benefit from the setting.

Beyond the field of research, the Factory supports communication, networking and building contacts to the industry and students – both essential for flourishing and sustainable research. Unplanned encounters have sparked ideas and collaboration. These ‘chance encounters’, with both residents of the Factory and visitors, have already proved valuable in both professional and personal level. And while, in effect unplanned, these encounters would not happen randomly without the proper setting.

The flexibility of the physical spaces offers a vast amount of opportunities for different kinds of research uses. There are facilities for user observation, prototyping, all kinds of teamwork imaginable, workshops and seminars — all under the same roof. At the same time, the continuous development of the environment poses excellent opportunities for developing the preconditions for research. The collaborative development philosophy provides everybody the opportunity to participate in the ideation of the entire system ranging from practices to physical spaces. This approach enables the research parties to actively shape the environment to meet their needs ever better.”

The Factory is without a doubt a leap forward from the traditional surroundings for research I have experienced. A multitude of benefits have already been realized but, what’s best, there still seems to be masses of untapped potential, and we can all take part in unleashing it.”

Miko Laakso
Product Design Research