Eight futuristic appliances that maximise living space and sustainability will be unveiled in London later this month as part of an international design competition sponsored by Swedish household appliance giant Electrolux.
The
Electrolux Design Lab 2010 competition challenged undergraduate and graduate
industrial design students to come up with washing, cooking, and cooling solutions for the
compact homes of 2050, when 74 per cent of the global population is predicted to live in an urban environment. The eight finalists came up with solutions ranging from a waterless cleaning closet to a portable dishwasher and composter.
"As cities and towns become more heavily populated, people need to find solutions that make their living space more efficient, yet comfortable and social," said Henrik Otto, senior vice-president, Global Design, at Electrolux.
Space age appliances
The 2010 competition theme, 'The 2nd Space Age,’ explored the role of domestic product
design in maximizing living space and sustainability. The final ideas were chosen from designers based in eight different countries – Australia, China, USA, India, Iran, Russia, France and Sweden.
Two new options for storing
food were presented. Russian designer Yuriy Dmitriev designed a door less, shelf less, refrigerator that stores food in green gel, keeping each item at its optimal temperature.
Nicolas Hubert of France created a refrigerator that is suspended outside the window to save space and conserve
energy.
In the area of clothes washing, two ideas emerged. Michael Edenius, from Sweden, submitted The Clean Closet, a wardrobe that cleans clothes without water, effectively eliminating the laundry basket, washing machine, and dryer.
From China, Lichen Guo created a small, wall-mountable, cleaning vessel that dispenses steam to help clean the clothes.
The remaining designers offered more options for the kitchen. Ahi Andy Mohsen of Iran, invented a portable dishwasher that uses ultrasonic waves to ionize food and convert it to reusable
waste.
From the USA, Matthew Gilbride developed the 'All-In-One Kitchen’, a wall-mounted array of shelving that provides cooking, refrigeration, and storing.
Australian Daniel Dobrogorsky invented a way for people to cook virtually, while robotic chefs transmitted the order to prepare with real ingredients.
From India, Peter Alwin designed a way to heat and cook food with a utensil called The Snail, which is powered by a high-density sugar crystal battery.
Competition winner
The winner of the competition will be announced at 100% Design exhibition at London’s Earls Court on September 23, when four respected industrial designers will consider the eight entries based on intuitive design, innovation and consumer insight.
A first prize of a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design centre and €5,000 will be offered, as well as a second prize of €3,000 and third prize of €2,000.
"With every passing year the standard of entries to the Electrolux Design Lab contest becomes stronger," said Otto. "The eight finalists have made it this far on account of their ability to recognise and respond to the challenge of the brief and should be congratulated for innovative solutions that consider efficient use of domestic space".
Like this story? Please
subscribe to our free weekly e-newsletter at the top of the page for
more content like this.
Related news:
Green design news
Related links:
www.100percentdesign.co.uk
