Vitra Summit 2020 // a case study in the new world of virtual conference events

Photography: courtesy of Vitra

Nine months ago, virtual conferences and summits were nearly unheard of. Now, event organizers, firms and manufacturers of all sorts are embracing this larger scale form of gathering people together – simply because it has been the only safe option available.

We’ve temporarily replaced the convention center and onsite CEU gatherings with our desktop, laptop and tablet screens, and it’s certainly not the same. However, there’s something satisfying about clearing your schedule, channeling your inner hygge, and sitting down with a mug of coffee to tune into a day of engaging speakers. The social aspect of in-person gatherings is greatly missed, but virtual conferences, if executed properly, can offer an intimacy and comfort that in-person conferences do not.

Because event organizers are a bit – or very much – strapped in arranging the types of experiences that typically elevate conferences, retreats and events into memorable itineraries, the one thing virtual conferences absolutely need is engaging session content – relevant topics that people care about but aren’t tired of, and delivered by people we want to hear from.

The second quality an exceptional virtual conference has is its ability to create a true “escape” for its attendees. Normally, attending a conference would mean getting out of the office, meeting up with friends old and new, and recharging our professional batteries a la learning new things and having experiences out of the ordinary during the work-week.

A virtual format makes this “escape” quality near-impossible, but a few virtual events have knocked it out of the park in this respect.

In this way, we found the recent Vitra Summit 2020 worthy of attendance. Hosted as a livestream event by the team at Vitra, over Thursday and Friday, October 22nd and 23rd, the event promised to be “an immersive platform to discover the changing landscape of shared spaces, and is a forum around the impact of this year’s pandemic to the future of how we work, live and play. The Vitra Summit will feature films, conversations and presentations from a wide range of disciplines including scientists, creatives and business leaders – including speakers Konstantin Grcic, Google’s Ivy Ross, Esther Perel, and Ilse Crawford, just to name a few – all of whom will be sharing their insights on the road ahead. What is the future of interiors? What makes a great workplace? How can we demand more from our homes?”

“New Dynamics in the Home” session

Of course, the subject of the pandemic in general is tired; we’re living and breathing pandemic life every minute of every day. But…the pandemic is still here. Speculation as to the future of work has been hashed and rehashed more times than we can count. However, it is our position that we must not grow tired of keeping abreast of the discussions large and small, philosophical and pragmatic – because the challenges and concerns associated with the pandemic are not retreating.

By all means, each of us must strike our own balance in engaging with topics related to COVID-19; taking a breather and doing things that separate our minds from the pandemic, are healthy and absolutely critical to our mental health – collectively and individually.

“New Dynamics in the Office” session

Over the course of the two days, we found intimate discussion, exclusive learning opportunities, and moments of respite at the inaugural Vitra Summit 2020 sessions – all things that felt like real experiences.

In addition to sessions dedicated to the focus on what’s to come in contract interiors and furnishings – with subjects including Designing the Club Office, New Dynamics in the Home, New Dynamics in the Office, Remote at Work, and The Home as a Hub – there were many moments of whimsy, intrigue and practical knowledge exchange.

Wellbeing Rituals for the Home and the Office. The “Home as a Hub” session included an animated graphic introduction.

In the “Wellbeing Rituals for the Home and the Office” session, attendees enjoyed a cooking lesson from London-based chef Asma Khan, followed by a yoga session by internationally trained yoga instructor Steph Cusack.

A session titled “A History of the Impact of Crises on Interiors” featured a blend of experts coming together to share their thoughts on the topic, accompanied by imagery that successfully broke up the “zoom” meeting drudgery that we now experience regularly.

In a session called “The Cantilever: a Historical Review & World Premiere of a New Design by Jasper Morrison”, we followed Rolf Fehlbaum, Chairman Emeritus of Vitra, and Mateo Kries, Director of the Vitra Design Museum, on a lively walk-through of historical insights into the cantilever chair typology and the innovation potential of cantilever seating.

Rolf Fehlbaum, Chairman Emeritus of Vitra, and Mateo Kries, Director of the Vitra Design Museum.

In a session titled “Aesthetics After 2020?”, a wide swath of design minds took turns sounding off on what aesthetics will look and feel like after 2020, including Virgil Abloh, artist, architect, engineer, creative director and fashion designer; Beatrice Galilee, executive director of The World Around; Kvadrat CEO Anders Byriel; and Monica Khemsurov, co-founder of Sight Unseen; among, many, many other voices.

We even heard from mentalist and consultant Rémi Larrousse, who offered tips and tricks for mastering the art of successful video-conferencing.

The Vitra Summit was available for free to anyone who wanted to sign up, and assumedly to create an aspect of exclusivity, replay videos of each session were only available to registered attendees for one week post-summit.

“Designing in the Club Office” session

In its own post-event recounting, Vitra event staff said: “With more people than ever currently working from home, the very existence of the office as a workplace has been called into question this year. The past two days have been a unique opportunity to examine and reflect on the different ways in which the new normal impacts our lives – at home, in the office and on the go.”

“Under the guidance of specialist panels – including architects and designers, business executives, government officials, scholars, IT experts, journalists and even chefs and athletes – we discussed and examined how the new situation affects our living environments, our interactions with colleagues and our general wellbeing.”

“Remote at Work” session

While the event has drawn to a close and isn’t available to us moving forward, we encourage our readers to engage with pandemic-oriented content thoughtfully, carefully, cautiously, and in a way that makes sense for you…but to continue to engage!

Bravo to the entire Vitra team and its support staff in creating a thoughtful, extremely well-curated virtual conference event that felt as if we might be right on the Vitra campus in Germany itself.