I'm Pulse!
Sometimes a single impulse is all that is needed to achieve something great. The world in which we live is full of different impulses and with
them profound changes that impact us and our lives on a daily basis. In an era of digitalisation and the constant flow of information we feel unrestricted and free. Yet at the same time we have the impression that time is overtaking us, awakening in us the desire to create moments that endure.
These countless alterations, transformations, aspirations and paradigm shifts are factually examined through and supported by numerous studies. The results show that we tend to return to the basics and to our traditions, but we also come up with new ways of thinking about work, innovation and technology.
Our needs and our desires confound one another and we face the challenge of uniting seeming contradictions. Consumption and minimalism, innovation and tradition, speed and deceleration. Elements that over time have become pulsing forces complementing one another. Amidst all this, we are searching for our own individual path: the constant in a world full of variables.
The pulse of the street
Today, more than half of the world’s population lives in major cities, and that percentage is ever increasing. Studies estimate that the global population will increase from 7.2 billion to 9.6 billion by 2050, of which two thirds will be living in the so-called ‘megacities’. There could be up to 43 megacities worldwide as early as 2030, offering people an attractive place to live.
But even today our flats are smart, stylised and ‘connected’, just like us. Whatever the age, we are mobile, flexible, ready for anything at any time and connected to everything. We want to learn, play and consume - and ideally do all of these at once. Is the pulse being pushed to the max? That’s how it should be. People are drawn to the very places where there is the most to experience. If we go from A to B, taking in C, D and E along the way as well. Whilst we’re doing this we pick up our smartphone about 2,617 times a day, even just briefly.
The world is our village and ‘home’ has over time become a relative term. Urban areas are information hubs, but they are also creative centres which give us the impetus for ‘analogue’ and ‘digital’ self-realisation. All these changes to the demographic structure bring the establishment many new influences, which are then mixed with local and traditional elements.
The pulse of nature
Our hectic daily lives result in a chronic lack of time and are increasingly a cause of stress and fatigue as well. We need more time to catch our breath and take a step back, away from stress, noise and anything else which overwhelms us, and towards places which ground us and give us strength. Our aspiration to self-optimisation motivates us to practise self-contemplation and listen to our inner voice. Our heartbeat calms right down to a resting heart rate, as if we were walking through the forest.
Although we are taking better and better care of our health, the average Central European, for example, spends around 90% of his/her life in enclosed spaces. This shows how important it is to create oases of peace for ourselves inside our own four walls.
Because the all-round increase in consumption and digital communication gives us the need to slow down decelerate and withdraw, the need to experience nature, and the need for authenticity and self-reflection. We want less of everything and we want to focus on what’s really important. Conscious minimalism every day and in every respect! We want to be in closer contact with nature, to experience it with all our senses and grow alongside it - in slow motion if possible. Achieving this does not necessarily mean venturing out into nature, but rather bringing nature to us, creating miniature oases that will give us energy and balance, without us losing connectivity. We breathe in quality of life and breathe out the ballast.
Urbanisation, new working environments and life models are drastically changing the needs of our environment. More than ever before, the city offers space for vision and personal fulfilment. We live predominantly in one-person households right in the thick of things, need only travel short distances, and enjoy the cultural variety, metropolitan community and diverse stimuli. Our life takes place inside and outside.
Innovation, speed and flexibility should also be ediscovered in our living spaces. Our homes should not only be “smart”, but look like it too. Smart technologies influence the interior elements and furniture. They also become multifunctional, smaller and easy to tuck away.
The use of limited space changes the demands on our living. Blurring lines: Sometimes our living quarters are our home, sometimes our workplace is. In the future we will share other living spaces with the community more and more. Again and again, new practical gadgets are created that facilitate our lives and reflect our individuality.
Dark, noble colours and elegant lines not only give visibility to this lifestyle but are also a statement: I am strong, cool and know what I want – I am Urban Rush.
We bring all the complexities of the whole world into our homes – our daily lives are ultimately a blend of cultures and networking, and precisely so are we as well. Fewer and fewer people are tied to a fixed location for work - rather, they are always on the move. Meanwhile, trips around the world have become part of modern-day life.
Unrestricted global mobility and social media are mixed with new influences. As a result of the worldwide sharing of experiences, cultures, traditions and impressions, we are more open than ever to the world’s complexity. A survey even revealed that 42% feel ‘at home’ in a different place from their permanent residence.
At the same time, this elicits a stronger awareness of one’s own culture. In this way, a melting pot made up of novel combinations of different materials, colours and patterns emerges, which likewise shows our connection to both local traditions and distant cultures.
They say: I am exotic, open to adventure and colourful – I am Cultural Vein.
Savvy consumption – environmentally conscious, sustainable and with a good conscience – that is what we are striving for. Self-realisation and ecological awareness, nature and technology need not be a contradiction. Pollution, high levels of food pollution, noise and the many everyday influences we are exposed to make us long for something natural.
Our homes too should be very close to nature and help us to revitalise and remain healthy. The design of our house therefore makes a considerable contribution to our comfort and wellbeing.
The perfection of the recreation of natural materials in look and feel as well as genuine natural elements in our living environment satisfy our need for naturalness and authenticity and ground us. It says: I am authentic and inspiring – I am Nature’s Breath.
We need an oasis to offer a haven from the information overload of everyday life.
93% of all working people indicated in a study that they are under considerable stress as a result of having to be constantly available for work. The aspiration to self-optimisation and the speed of our daily life create a seemingly sleepless world, in which we must relearn how to dream.
That’s why we long for retreats, to discard unnecessary baggage, to deliberately slow down and relax. This can be seen especially in the wellness sector, which grew a full 58% from 2007 to 2013.
We use our living space to get back in touch with ourselves and recharge our batteries, so as to emerge strengthened.
With soft pastel tones and flowing forms we learn to dream again and detox our souls. Our living space give us the necessary balance and a private sphere, whispering to us: I am intuitive, calm and unburdened – I am Harmonic Flow.
