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Architect Cord Siegel has on commission by the energy company E.ON drawn eight urban smart energy homes with an estimated annual heating demand of only 65 kWh per m2. The houses aim to combine durability with aesthetically thought through design, to achieve quality of life. Smart technology keeps the energy use low and the inhabitants will have the possibility to produce their own electricity and own water. The residents will be able to grow their own plants at home in their own heated and adjustable conservatory and enjoy swimming and bath in the common facilities, heated with pure waste heat all year round.
- Sustainability isn’t trendy anymore.” During my stay in Milan i get to hear this phrase several times. The first time I only get surprised and dismiss it. I know better. There are so many designers working toward a more sustainable production and consumption today – compare it with five years ago, it’s a world of difference.
Take for example Design For Us, a design studio showing a collection of furniture made in collaboration with brain scientists with the intention to make patients recover quicker through a friendly hospital environment. The chairs and table are soft and light in a Nordic way, it is only when looking closer at them that it is evident that the ideas behind this project go deep. Read the rest of this entry »
On 27 October and 15 November it is time for exhibitions by Considerate Design (Design Med Omtanke), which takes place at Form / Design Center in Malmo and the Gothenburg Opera in Gothenburg. About fifteen companies will exhibit prototypes developed in collaboration with Considerate Design. The starting point is public spaces but private companies may also have need for the prototypes that are developed.
- The idea of the concept is to encourage innovation with a focus on the public sector that otherwise may have a slower product development. The keywords for the products and tools we develop are: “accessibility for all”, Read the rest of this entry »
From an interview at Teknik 360.
- To meet these families who have used Solvatten for almost a year, is the biggest for me, says Petra Wadström.
Solvatten has been mentioned here before, but for those who do not know about the project: Solvatten (meaning Sun water) is an innovation where containers of water with the help of sun makes contaminated water safe to drink. This is done by unfolding the container and directing it towards the Sun where the water is heated to 55 degrees and with the help from UV light from the sun microorganisms are destroyed. Read the rest of this entry »
There are many ways that can lead to the same conclusion. Hacking is a culture not at all well known to me other than through media. The theory of hacking is Otto von Busch’s tool to pick the production and design apart and put them together again in new and unexpected ways.
His Doctoral thesis ”Fashion-able: Hacktivism and Engaged Fashion Design” is possible to read in many different ways and browse through parts and look thoroughly at others and to me the most inspirational part is where he tests his theories in the studies, most well known being the hack at Dale shoe factory.
Abundance is not the first thing that springs into mind when thinking about the Red Cross. But what they do have a lot of is clothes and textiles that they can not use and volunteers with a hack for sewing. These two assets combined with the designer Amanda Ericsson from Dreamandawake have now been formed into a fashion collection.
Designer Amanda Ericsson has visited Red Cross “kupan” in the Region Västra Götaland and rummaged through the piles of discarded textiles that were on their way to the dump. From her findings she has prepared kits to sew dresses from and delivered them to the Red Cross sewing groups. After making sure the quality is up to standard they are put to sale in the online shop at Dreamandawake .
The fantastic Peepoo is now becoming a great success in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. The Peepoo by Peepoople, is a toilet for single use that breaks down the excreta short after defecation. The toilet is a hightech product invented by a group of Swedish researchers, for people with low economy and prevents the immediate and larger environment from getting contaminated. In Kibera, the biggest slum outside of Nairobi the “flying toilet” is a common way to solve sanitation. The “flying toilet” is just a plastic bag and is a source of contamination of water and diseases.
The product has been tested and is now reported to be a great success in The Standard, newspaper in Nairobi.
