Scale matters
Scale Matters is a conceptual exhibition proposal. The project imagines a collaboration between Kvadrat and Tacchini, exploring how scale influences our perception of space, objects, and identity. Through spatial installations, furniture, textiles, graphics, and sensory experiences, the exhibition challenges conventional understandings of proportion and invites visitors to reconsider their relationship to objects, interiors, and the universe at large.
Design concept and exercise explanation
This exercise investigates scale not only as a measurable dimension, but as an emotional and narrative tool in interior, furniture, and textile design. Inspired by Kvadrat’s material innovation and Tacchini’s storytelling approach to furniture, the exhibition uses exaggerated contrasts in size, quantity, and proportion to provoke awareness of how scale shapes our daily experiences. From oversized furniture to miniaturized objects, the project highlights how shifts in scale can evoke feelings of comfort, pressure, intimacy, or disorientation.
The concept draws parallels between the scale of everyday domestic objects and the vastness of the universe. By referencing planets, galaxies, and microscopic materials used in textile production, the exhibition places the human body within a broader cosmic hierarchy. This comparison is meant to destabilize familiar assumptions about “normal” size and encourage reflection on how relative and contextual scale truly is. Visitors are invited to experience spaces that feel both monumental and intimate, reinforcing the idea that scale is perceived rather than absolute.
Spatially, the exhibition is designed as a sequence of atmospheres rather than a linear display. Curtains made from Kvadrat textiles create enclosed, cozy interiors, while open areas emphasize emptiness and disproportion. Furniture and décor are intentionally oversized, undersized, or repeated in excess to exaggerate spatial relationships. These scenographic choices heighten sensory engagement, allowing visitors to see, touch, hear, and feel scale through their bodies rather than only understanding it intellectually.
Ultimately, Scale Matters communicates that scale is deeply connected to identity, lifestyle, and values. The project suggests that the way we size our homes, furniture, and objects tells stories about who we are, just as much as materials or aesthetics do. At the same time, it subtly addresses sustainability by reminding visitors of humanity’s smallness in contrast to the planet and the responsibility that comes with the impact we have on it. Through this lens, scale becomes both a design strategy and a philosophical reflection.
