Our country is winter
This word, developed by a Quebec geologist, primarily designates a geographic reality. But besides the obvious issue of latitude, it’s important to ask: how does the relationship with winter and cold shape a culture?
After all, learning to live and thrive in a northern climate presents a series of adaptation and innovation challenges. Challenges that require solutions rooted in our specific territory.
Illuminate possible
The quantity of natural light is considerably lower during the winter. And yet, it’s crucial to our well-being. How can light be used to improve the daily life of Nordic populations?
Here are some avenues for reflection:
Intelligent design
of light to increase well-being.
Promotion
of the benefits of light throughout the year.
Intelligent application
of light to increase well-being.
Light well-being solutions
with soothing properties that synchronize with the circadian rhythm or boosts the mood.
Interior and exterior solutions
that follow natural cycles.
Apply for this
challenge
and together we will explore the world of possibilities for Canadian citizens.
Here are the challenges Looking for
inspiration?
A luminous umbrella
This Days Innbrella by the Wyndham hotel is designed to keep your vacation from being spoiled by a gloomy forecast and to boost your mood.
Urban sun
Two crucial issues, health and air quality, are explored through this installation by Studio Roosegaarde.
Lighting to counter the winter blues
At the Innovation House Finland in Helsinki, this human-centric lighting solution aims to counter the winter blues and bring some natural light into their coworking space.
Day&Night
The Day&Night lamp, designed by the artist Éléonore Délisse, oscillates over a period of 24 hours in harmony with the cycle of days and seasons.
Solution Sollum
By recreating sunlight conditions in different parts of the world, this technology allows people to grow fruits and vegetables wherever they are.
Snow-Motion
By 2050, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over will have doubled. Since the elderly have specific health care needs, especially during the colder months, what tools, products or services can bring solutions to this problem?
Here are some avenues for reflection:
Create a sense of belonging
by building communities specifically during the winter season to counter isolation.
Facilitate communication
and exchanges between generations.
Ensure safety in a preventative or compensatory way against winter hazards like falls and bitter cold.
Ensure that senses,
flexibility, dexterity and physical activity are maintained.
Apply for this
challenge
and together we will explore the world of possibilities for Canadian citizens.
Here are the challenges Looking for
inspiration?
Familia
A Studio Fantasio project, simple, aesthetic and ergonomic devices that offer older people greater autonomy.
Rendever
The best of phy-gital? This solution uses virtual reality to overcome isolation of the elderly by allowing them to share experiences.
Navettes LocoMotion
A project to overcome isolation of the elderly. Volunteer cyclists take the elderly out on historic routes and take care of the groceries with an adapted bicycle.
Frilutsliv
Unlike some animals, humans don’t hibernate all winter (with a few exceptions, maybe!).
But maintaining a level of physical and emotional comfort during the harshest months requires innovative adaptations.
Here are some avenues for reflection:
Extend the duration of objects
from a seasonal to annual approach
Adapt technologies
for performance in very low temperatures.
Optimize spaces
and reduce waste in closets, in the yard, etc.
Facilitate the transition
between inside and outside.
Make
the outside experience as comfortable as the inside one, even when it’s -30 degrees.
Liberate the movement
of extremities, even when bundled up.
Exchange about best practices,
about knowledge and the ways to approach the colder months with other Nordic regions.
Apply for this
challenge
and together we will explore the world of possibilities for Canadian citizens.
Here are the challenges Looking for
inspiration?
Keep your hands warm while reducing your footprint
Reusable hand warmers, a sustainable solution to make lower temperatures more tolerable.
Cross-country ski sharing
The city of Lahti in Finland has implemented a ski-sharing program for its citizens to enjoy the winter, do sports, and move around differently.
Warming Huts
The city of Winnipeg is host to a warming huts competition, where art, architecture, and reflections on our relationship to winter collide.
The Process
01
Générer des opportunités
Ici, nous faisons émerger des pistes concrètes à l’aide d’une méthode derecherche rigoureuse qui tire profit des divers talents et expertises.
02
Établir la cadence
Dès qu’une piste est validée, un cadre de développement et une feuille deroute claire sont établis. Le Studio, par sa structure même, assure le maintien d’une cadence soutenue et constante. Pas le temps de niaiser.
03
Tisser des liens
Pour soutenir la croissance du projet, nous assoyons à la même table différents experts, partenaires d’affaires et investisseurs dans le but d’échanger les idées et — ultimement — les poignées de main.
Entrepreneurs
Test your limits and break out of the mould: welcome to a highly collaborative space that brings together thinkers, go-getters and creators. We’re looking for someone like you who can craft a solid plan for each of our themes—and put it into action.
Creatives
We’re choosing a world where we cultivate the beautiful and the new, even in its most unexpected forms. Creative people from all walks of life, we need your ideas and artistic solutions. Together, let’s shape a world where art and entrepreneurship elegantly converge.
Professionnels
Do you have expertise in a related field? We want to meet you. By bringing together the leaders of the sector, we’re building a network of leading entrepreneurs and creatives, with the mission of accelerating the search for solutions to the major challenges of tomorrow.
