Planet A

Planet A is a research program investigating how societies can be organized within planetary boundaries. The program brings together design research, climate science and social science to explore how new forms of everyday life, institutions and infrastructures can be imagined, developed and tested through design-led inquiry.

The program is based on the recognition that extensive climate knowledge exists, but that only a limited part of this knowledge translates into changes in everyday practices and societal organization. Planet A therefore investigates the role of design in developing methods that make alternative ways of organizing everyday life both imaginable and practically testable.

The research is structured around a series of design inquiries into central domains of everyday life, including housing, mobility, food, energy, clothing, care and resource use.

The program is organized in three interconnected components. 

The research component develops interdisciplinary analyses that connect climate science with design and social science perspectives, while also developing and documenting design-based approaches to sustainable societal transformation.

A second component consists of practice-based research laboratories in which design-led experiments are conducted in collaboration with municipalities, cultural institutions, companies and civil society organisations.

The third component is a public platform, where research insights and experimental results are communicated through exhibitions and public debate. The first exhibition developed within the program, Hjem til Fremtiden (Home to the Future), will open at Designmuseum Denmark in 2027 and explores how housing and everyday life may be organized within planetary boundaries.

The public platform has also given rise to a series of smaller exhibitions and experimental formats, including Fashion Dreaming, The Golden Sky and The Climate Exhibition. 

Planet A collaborates with

• The United Nations initiative Entertainment & Culture for Climate Action (ECCA) which mobilizes the arts, culture and entertainment sectors in support of climate action.
• United Co-CreationLab under UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research), which explores innovation and democratic development in local communities through design and artistic practices. Methods developed within Planet A are disseminated through UNITAR’s global learning platforms for local democratic development.