The Concept

What makes us feel we belong somewhere? Is it the taste of food we grew up with, the way our apartment smells, the people we talk to every day? Is it all of these?

When we move, we try to fit as much as possible into a single container—a suitcase, an IKEA bag, a cardboard box. And when something really matters, we mark it: FRAGILE. A warning label that says: _this is important, please handle with care._

In our project we explore which object do people take with them when changing apartments, cities, countries? What fits in the box, when home doesn't?

The Process

Through many comprehensive discussions about belonging and the loss thereof, common ground was found through shared experiences. Every member of the group was closely familiar with the intersection of migration and belonging. 

The passionate discussions which initially stagnated progress soon turned highly productive. Many expressions of the concept were explored, to name a few:

• Integration board game where immigrant characters navigate the emotional and cultural challenges of adapting to a new environment
• „Hostile“: create a space to simulate the feeling of alienation
• Graduation book that includes recipes from each person's culture

After a select few of these were developed, feedback led to reconsidering how well the core intention shone through. From here, an entirely new concept was developed:

A digital archive of the physical fragments of our lives that makes us feel belonging, intending to foster community and reveal commonalities.

The group was aligned and execution proceeded at a healthy pace.

The Website

The digital archive and website were inspired by the aesthetics of the early internet; slightly eclectic yet clean. Our goal was to create an archival feel while staying true to the delicate visual language of '****Fragile'. We envisioned the platform as a space that sparks conversations, offering users an intuitive and accessible experience while encouraging exploration.

LINK TO THE WEBSITE

The Exhibit

For the Design Show, we transformed our digital archive into a tangible experience. The website collects objects tied to belonging and memory; the exhibit aimed to materialize this idea and invite visitors to step inside.

From the start, the Fragile concept guided us — reflecting not only the delicacy of the objects and their stories, but also the vulnerability we feel when moving to new places, suspended between loss and belonging. Entering the box was meant to evoke this feeling, as if visitors themselves became one of the archived objects.

We invited classmates and other semesters to upload their objects and stories — anonymous or named, with origins and destinations noted. To bring this archive into physical form, we built a 2.03 × 2.03 × 2.03 m wooden cube structure, covered it with cardboard, and sealed it with fragile tape. Different cardboards of varied thickness and color were patched together, creating a layered aesthetic.

Inside, printed labels of the objects were displayed: some hung from the ceiling, others rested on raised cardboard platforms. A few physical objects, borrowed from their owners, added intimacy to the space. During the show, visitors could also write or draw their own spontaneous stories on blank tags and attach them, allowing the archive to keep evolving throughout the exhibition.