In my definition, design means the artful care for our tangible environment and for our tools and objects. The task of design covers conception (what a thing is) to concrete form (how a thing is). Thus, design is both inventive problem-solving and aesthetic form-giving; yet not more one than the other. Artful care transcends both form and content.

Design creates meaning. Design articulates the practical world. Design is the poetics of the practical.

To me, the task of design comes with an ethical demand, since designing necessarily raises a question of almost existential character: How should we humans inhabit this (still) blue and green planet? In this regard, I think we should furnish our world so that it becomes beautiful, poetic and in tune with other sentient beings. I can see no compelling reasons to set our goals lower than to try to recreate the paradise we once lost.

We, the people of the privileged world, face only one, real problem, which is that the lifestyle we have created cannot continue. There is not much left that does not need to be fundamentally changed in order to be relevant for the future. Therefore design is fundamental in equipping the population so that we can have a future at all.

Anders’ practice has covered a broad range of architectural scales, from urban design to design of furniture and objects, and his works have received a number of prizes and recognitions. Through writings, he has contributed to the theory and discourse of design, mainly on topics pertaining to design philosophy and the primacy of aesthetics. He has presented works on numerous conferences across the world, and been a researcher-in-residence in Kyoto, Japan.