Lonneke Gordijn on Post-Human Design at Milan Design Week 2026
At designboom's ROOM FOR DREAMS during Milan Design Week 2026, Studio DRIFT co-founder Lonneke Gordijn argued that design must move beyond human control and acknowledge the agency of materials and machines. In an interview with designboom Managing Editor Claire Brodka, Gordijn described objects as 'emotional carriers' and 'dream machines' with their own ecological and political desires. She cited the project 'Drifter' as an example where concrete is allowed to 'dream of being air' through technology, facilitating a non-human entity's expression of freedom. Gordijn urged designers to become facilitators of ecosystem agency rather than commanders of materials. The conversation centered on decentering the human and respecting the life-force of machines and ecosystems equally.
Key facts
- Lonneke Gordijn is co-founder of Studio DRIFT.
- The interview took place at ROOM FOR DREAMS during Milan Design Week 2026.
- Gordijn stated: 'If we decenter the human, design is no longer a monologue of control.'
- She described objects as 'emotional carriers' and 'dream machines'.
- The project 'Drifter' (2019) was referenced as a machine with its own agency.
- Gordijn called for viewing design as listening to the 'desires' of materials.
- She concluded: 'The Master of the future is not a commander of materials, but rather one who can facilitate the agency of the ecosystem.'
- The interview was conducted by designboom Managing Editor Claire Brodka.
Entities
Artists
- Lonneke Gordijn
Institutions
- Studio DRIFT
- designboom
- ROOM FOR DREAMS
- Milan Design Week
Locations
- Milan
- Italy