Image: OLPC

As a nonprofit organization One Laptop Per Child Association, Inc. (OLPC), has created a system to make available an affordable educational device for use in the developing world. However, in its inception and delivery OLPC has faced many difficulties in fulfilling its targeted goals and dealing with new unexpected competitors. Among these drawbacks, OLPC has also been struggling with the issue of supporting an idea-based initiative within a profit-based industry.

The idea for the device was first unveiled in January 2005 by founder Nicholas Negroponte at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The design advertised a $100 laptop that would sell 100 million to 150 million in quantity within a four-year span. Its purpose is to help transform education for the world’s disadvantaged schoolchildren and to help eliminate poverty. However, one of the first developmental problems the organization faced was the $100 price target that could only be lowered to $188 without shipping by 2007. In addition, OLPC News (a blog dedicated to highlight the projects strengths, weaknesses, and possible suggestions) calculated a total cost of $972 per laptop at the end of a five-year period for the devices’ required training, continued internet, and maintenance. As a result, The Wall Street Journal article “A Little Laptop With Big Ambitions: How a Computer for the Poor Got Stomped by Tech Giants,” found that most of its potential buyers have been having second thoughts because of their concern for the lack of Windows, and that service, teacher training and future upgrades might become a problem.

Although Negroponte claims that the goal of OLPC is not to sell laptops but to sell the idea of improving the education resources of the developing nations, well-known brands such as Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. continue to take part in a competitive behavior towards the OLPC system. Instead of using the popular Windows operating system, the XO model created by Negroponte’s team at MIT designed the machine to utilize Linux and other nonproprietary, open-source software. This has lead to an unexpected competition between the XO laptop with Intel’s Classmate and ASUS Eee PC – both based on the same concept of creating a small, inexpensive, easy-to-use device. However, while OLPC has geared its device towards children in need of higher quality education, Intel and ASUS have created alternatives for children and adults.

In response to the unexpected rivalry, Negroponte has accused the OLPC opponents of trying to undermine the nonprofit initiative and has requested that they discontinue their compact models. Despite his requests, the competitors continue to utilize their operating system advantage to draw in those developing nations who are in the midst of choosing a laptop solution. Suprisingly, Intel, the biggest competitive threat so far, made a large contribution to the OLPC project and joined its board in July 2007. Unfortunately, the effort to combine forces proved unsuccessful because of conflicting interests: Intel searched for an efficient way to get involved in the new international market while OLPC wanted to improve educational resources. With Intel clearly overpowering OLPC with heavy marketing and lack of cooperation with the nonprofit organization, the two separated in 2008.

Everything we use has a purpose and process – both of which go largely unseen by society. What we do see are the products we need to carry out daily activities, usually bought from a store conveniently nearby. Since the development of mechanization during the Industrial Revolution, manufacturing these items has become facilitated by the maximization of production capacity. This means that less people are involved in the production process, while more people add to the consumer population. However, it is not until recently that the consequences of this progression have become more of a public concern. The problem is that our current way of producing for society serves a single purpose that neglects effects it may have on the surrounding environment. In addition, because most people have relatively no knowledge of how things are made, they are oblivious to the causes that have led to dwindling resources, failing ecosystems, poor industrial practices, economic inefficiencies, etc.

In attempt to further add to the current green movement, designers of different areas have already begun to approach design in more efficient ways. In Inhabitat’s HauteGreen exhibition that took place during the New York Design Week 2007, the sustainable design blog hosted a panel discussion on reclaimed materials in design. The invited panelists included Dutch designer Tejo Remy, Brooklyn-based and eco-conscious designer Matt Gagnon, Carlos Salgado of Scrapile, and Editor-In-Chief of Dwell Magazine Sam Grawe – each adding a different take on the use of recycled materials in design.

Image: Droog

As a designer whose career was launched with the help of Droog, Tejo Remy creates philosophical pieces that relate to how the human functions within society. For instance, in 1991 Remy designed “Chest of drawers” as a criticism on overproduction and consumerism. The dresser consists of nostalgic, used drawers and maple wood tied together with a jute strap.

On the other hand, Carlos Slagado and Matt Gagnon address the issues of industrial waste and inefficiency with more literal solutions. In observation of the obscene amount of waste coming from woodshops around Brooklyn, Carlos Slagado worked with partner Bart Bettencourt to collect scrap wood from local factories and reprocess it into a formatted material they could build with. As a result, they used this new material as a starting point for designing contemporary pieces of furniture. In a similar fashion, Matt Gagnon’s projects range from a coffee table made out of recycled paper to a large-scale renovation of an office, where he utilized scraps of sheet rock from the initial configuration of the space to build new walls.

While each designer on the panel has found a way to utilize the existing conditions of industrial production on a scale ranging from product to interior design, there is another group of individuals that seek to influence society on a larger scale. Pierre André Senizergues, the first professional skateboarder to own and operate a footwear brand, decided to make his enterprise greener in 1991 in order to help “spark the next wave of global greening (LA Times).” According to the article “Sole Technology skates toward green future” by LA Times writer Adam Tschorn, Senizergues states “If I can have a company that can work on the green model, it might inspire other companies and we’ll have a green revolution – like the Industrial Revolution, but only with everyone trying to reduce their carbon footprint.” As owner, president, and chief executive of Sole Tecnology (parent company of etnies, éS, Emerica, Altamont Apparel and ThirtyTwo), Senizergues has also expanded to areas outside his footwear and apparel labels. He was executive producer of Leonardo DiCaprio’s “The 11th Hour,” an eco-documentary on global warming, and his most recent project, C-PAS (Collection Pierre André Senizergues), is a high-end line of men’s tuxedos, suits, dress shirts and outerwear made from recycled materials. By expanding his line to other areas of design, Senizergues acknowledges his potential influence on the consumer and translates the use of reclaimed materials to help bring awareness to his green intentions.

While Senizergues is aware of his abilities to introduce sustainable design into different industries, he is not the only one who realizes that a larger initiative is necessary. William McDonough is an architect and founding principal of William McDonough + Partners, whose career is focused on designing sustainable buildings and transforming industrial manufacturing processes. In his article, “The NEXT Industrial Revolution,” McDonough describes our current situation as an infrastructure resembling a steamship created by the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century. He states, “It is powered by fossil fuels, nuclear reactors, and chemical. It is pouring waste into the water and smoke into the sky. It is attempting to work by its own rules, contrary to those of the natural world. And although it may seem invincible, its fundamental design flaws presage disaster…” His proposed solution is based on a “cradle-to-cradle” (C2C) philosophy that came about with the help of German chemist Michael Braungart. Instead of designing products that go from cradle to grave (landfills), the concept encourages designing products whose materials can be circulated in closed loops.

With a leading reputation for green design and a theory that is widely accepted as the future for production practices, McDonough appears to be the leader for what he has labeled as “the next industrial revolution.” However, in addition to the four C2C affiliated businesses he owns or is a partner in, McDonough could be only a man with a story to sell. Since his first interaction with Nike in 1999, he has been given many opportunities to “remake the way we make things,” as his motto goes, but his actions have translated a different message. In observation of the 2008 Fast Company publication “Green Guru Gone Wrong” by Danielle Sacks, McDonough has one main problem with his approach – a lack of transparency. According to Sacks, the Environmental Building News labeled McDonough’s cradle-to-cradle certification a “black box”: “You can see what’s going in and what’s going out, but you’re not privy to exactly what’s going on inside the process,” says Nadav Malin, the journal’s editor. Sacks also continues to list the projects that claim to follow the cradle-to-cradle methodology, and it is apparent that McDonough is more preoccupied in creating capital from his intellectual property then addressing the larger issue of poor industrial practices.

In retrospect, it is easy to see how our nation’s production practices have proved harmful to nature and the living community, but more should be expected from modern designers today. While there are a number of people working to improve sustainability in practice (like those listed above), each effort is individualized. What is needed is collaboration among the population that will help consolidate, rather than duplicate, what has been achieved thus far. In cases similar to McDonough, lack of communication and understanding has kept his opportunities from being successful and helpful to anyone else. However, McDonough has also proven to be a flourishing marketer of the green future of design. Thus, if we combine the abilities of everyone working towards the same initiative, the movement towards sustainable design will hopefully be facilitated into a single, solid, efficient effort.

What:

As part of a new glass collection for the company secondome, titled “This and that,” Sam Baron teams up with a group from Fabrica to create ten limited edition glass domes. They will be exhibited during Milan Design Week 2009.

Images:

It is interesting to see the glass dome form as a constant that is either being added to or penetrated. The sculptures vary in a way where the dome can be functional (like with he bike handles) or attacked through the penetration of a tool (like with the hammer).

Images: designboom

Concept:

“The idea of heat making a lightshade rotate is nothing new of course. Many of you probably had a bed light when you were young with a small rotating landscape scene.

One day in the near future halogen lights will probably be banned. I still don’t know if this is good or bad. Up until now there still is no good energy efficient full-spectrum replacement for the halogen bulbs. In the case of the revolving chandelier, at least the access energy (heat instead of light) is used to do something extra for the light… making it revolve silently and make the whole light twinkle like an old-fashioned chandelier.” – Bertjan Pot

Application:

Dutch designer Bertjan Pot utilizes this concept for his lighting fixture “the revolving chandelier.” It consists of one large light-shade with three smaller light-shades inside the first. Each light-shade is made up of half reflective, half transparent strips in the shape of a propeller and is balanced on a small steel tip. Within the three smaller light-shades are halogen bulbs that heat the air and propel a rotational movement from the rising heated air.

Visual Documentation:

All images: designboom

In an article by Jill Fehrenbacher, titled “Charge Your Cellphone Just By Moving – With M2E Kinetic Power,” the idea of a kinetic microgenerator is presented by a company called M2E (Motion 2 Energy). The problem being addressed is the large environmental footprint left by the charging of cellphones. Because of the diversity of cellphone types, excessive amounts of plastic cords and gadgets are produced for each model. When plugged into a wall, charging adapters suck up a large amount of energy. Cellphone batteries tend to contain 30-40% of toxic heavy matals. In addition, it is very easy to lose a charger or to forget to charge your phone while traveling.

Images: Inhabitat

M2E attempts to lower the environmental impact of cellphone production and recharging, and make charging a phone more convenient for the user. M2E has developed a technology which converts the kinetic energy from minor movement into an electrical charge to power mobile communication devices. This will allow even the slightest jostling movement to provide a significant charge.

Other alternative energy initiatives:

Sustainable Dance Club

Human-Powered Gyms in Hong Kong

VIDEO: Portable Renewable Energy

Above is the Rolling Stones traveling capsule by Slovakia-based Nice Architects. It was a submission for the Andes Sprouts Society residency program, which called for housing units representing the theme “Small is Beautiful.” The designers were inspired by gypsy wagons and created a completely mobile unit that can be towed behind a vehicle or stationary open-air studio space. The pod is supposed to resemble a rock in a meadow that blends into its natural surroundings through the use of a reflective surface.

Images: Inhabitat

Besides its aesthetic qualities, this portable home is built from environmentally friendly materials and is self-sufficient in energy, water, and waste. For instance, the exterior surface is made of recycled aluminum can tiles, while the rest of the structure is constructed from locally sourced wood and OSB panels. It also functions as an off-grid system.

Specifics:

270 sq feet area
2-6 person occupancy
1 bedroom with double bed and closet
1 bathroom with toilet, shower and sink
1 living room with kitchenette
1 reservoir on top for rainwater collection
1 solar energy system
1 wind turbine
1 composting toilet
1 electric heater for unit and hot water

Illuminant by Kristín Birna Bjarnadóttir

Components:
Reflective material (normally used for safety clothing) for the shade and hanging ribbons.
Fishing line to suspend fixture.
LED light source placed below.
Optional colored glass plate to place on top of light source.

Image: Dezeen

BLOWN

Blown Fabric by Nendo

Components:
‘Smash,’ a specialized long-fibre non-woven polyester material that can be manipulated into different forms through hot press forming technology.
Mounted on low-heat LED bulbs in machined aluminum sockets.

Image: Dezeen

INDUSTRIAL

KOZO lamps by David Benatan

Components:
Galvanized iron
Light bulbs

Image: Dezeen

FOLDED

Top lamp by Tham & Videgård Hansson

Components:
A sheet of folded metal sealed with translucent plastic to diffuse light.

Image: Dezeen

AGGREGATE

SNOG bubbling ceiling by Cinimod Studio

Components:
700 Glass spheres
LED lights

Image: Dezeen

FLOATING

UFO over Gdansk by Peter Coffin and Cinimod Studio

Components:
Aluminum UFO structure
3000 individually controlled LED lights
Onboard 6 kw generator
50m strap line
Suspended from a Mi2 helicopter

Image: Dezeen

LANDSCAPE

Field of Light by Bruce Munro

Components:
6,000 acrylic tubes capped with glass spheres

Image: Dezeen

INDUSTRIAL AS ORGANIC FORM

Pipe Light by Triptyque

Components:
Abandoned house in São Paulo
Metal tubing
Lamps

Image: Dezeen

Based in Amsterdam, Droog is an enterprise that focuses on the design of home accessories, lighting, and furniture pieces. Their mission is to design innovative products based on concepts that alter the human perspective of common household item. Each piece is said to tell a story about themes such as: memories, nostalgia, re-use, craftsmanship, and nature. In addition to their product development team, Droog collaborates with designers, artists, and architects in all areas of design. Their goal is “to substantially contribute to the international debate about design.”

The first Droog product I encountered was the Rag chair by Tejo Remy. The chair is made up of layered rags recycled from discarded clothes provided by the designer or user. It combines comfort and structure in the most minimalistic and practical way possible. Because the rags are exposed, each piece is unique and representative of a treasure-chest of memories. It makes for a nice lounge chair for gathering visitors or a solitary reader, but because of its weight mobility may pose a problem for rearranging or migrating. The design also communicates to the user the quantity of material consumption and the volume of waste it may produce. Thus, besides being a functional piece of furniture, the chair provides awareness to its users and observers.

Weight: 56.00 kg (123.2 lbs)

Material: Rags, metal strips

Size: 60 x 60 x 100 cm

Year: 1991

Another project similar to the Rag chair is this One day paper waste side table. As a reaction to document waste, designer Jens Praet took shredded confidential documents, mixed them with resin and compressed them into a strong MDF mould. This way the office waste can be brought back into the office as a useful piece of furniture.

Material: resin, shredded confidential office documents
Size: 80 x 40 x 75 cm
Year: 2008

While these products are a reaction of re-use to the habits of everyday consumption, other Droog designs seem to manipulate the human perception of basic home furniture and its fabrication process. Here are some of my favorites:

Touch wood – treasure chest by Minale-Maeda
Material: silk brocade, multiplex, beech wood
Size: 160 x 50 x 55 cm
Year: 2007

Push and store cabinet by Chung-Tang Ho / Tong

Material: wood, paint

Size: 101 x 47 x 86.5 cm

Year: 2006

Do hit chair by Marijn van der Poll
Material: 1.25 mm stainless steel, hammer included
Size: 100 x 70 x 75 cm
Year: 2000

Table tap by Arnout Visser
Weight: 1.10 kg
Material: Borosilicate, silicone
Size: 17 x 47 cm
Year: 2000

Slow glow lamp by NEXT architects & Aura Luz Melis
Weight: 2.70 kg
Material: glass, vegetable fat, cork, 25W G9 bulb
Size: 16 x 31 cm
Year: 2004

All Images: droog

Images: Jongeriuslab

What:

As part of her new exhibit at Galerie Kreo in Paris, Hella Jongerius will display a collection of handmade artificial flowers and animal tables. Titled natura design magistra, the exhibit is an exploration of fabrication techniques (handicraft and industrial) through the making of nature-emulating sculptures. According to Louise Schouwenberg of Galerie Kreo, “She has taken yet another experimental step within her career: the celebration of the sculptural quality of furniture and the ‘missing link’ of her vases, flowers. A flower has become design, a table has become frog, because they were intimately engaged with the material traces of the handcrafted production process.”

Images: Galerie Kreo

Specifics:

The flowers are made of metal, wood, plastic, leather, ceramic, glass, blow glass, and tape, and are displayed in vases made of mixed materials like ceramic, resin, wood, fabric and blown glass.

The tables are constructed out of walnut wood, transparent enamel, resins, and polished gunny (a type of coarse fabric often used to make sacks).

Images: Dezeen

Considerations:

The most impressive part of this exhibit is how she is able to imitate such delicate and organic forms in the series of artificial flowers by using materials and tools of industrial assembly. In creating each piece, she subtly meshes natural elements with the all-to-familiar industrial production process. While I appreciate the experimentation and craftsmanship of this collection, it is upsetting that this is a limited series since they would add a nice touch to any home.

Images:

Images: Dezeen

The exhibit will continue to May 30, 2009.

What:

An interface that serves as a digitized replacement of graffiti art, and operates as an add-on for the Nintendo Wii system.

This project originated from students Martin Lihs and Frank Matuse who developed Prototype One at the Bauhaus University Media Department. As part of his Master Thesis, Martin Lihs established a new prototype known currently as the WiiSpray 2nd edition. It features a user-friendly design facilitated by the “Nintendo Wii” technology that allows anyone, even children, the ability to experience this typically messy art form on an unrestrictive, virtual canvas. The Wii Spray Can has a variety of colors with interchangeable caps, and works by snapping the Wii Remote into the can. Advantages that formed the basis for this project are its ability to surpass the restrictions of space and time, and its ability to allow the exchange of thoughts and ideas with multiple users and possible observers.

Images: WiiSpray

Specifics:

- Buttonless design, easy use for left-and-right-handed persons. Wii Spray uses an input interface similar to the Montana donut system.

- Pressure sensitive valve, up to 128 Values.

- Up to 128 different caps – inexpensive technology (less than 40 cent) and build to resist!

- Interactive color display with the possibility to show the color level in six steps!

- USB port for charging the battery and load the latest firmware.

- the Wii Spray 2nd  edition controller is able to sense its distance to the wall you are spraying on.

Considerations:

In reproducing all the abilities of a real-life spray can in a digital interface, the project is simultaneously promoting graffiti art. While graffiti may be seen as a trendy element of pop culture, it is has also been considered an act of vandalism punishable by law. With the probability of having a wide-range of public appeal, the WiiSpray will likely encourage modern graffiti outside of its virtual boundaries – a type of commercialization frowned upon by many authorities. On the other hand, the WiiSpray could also promote an alternative to graffiti and work towards the legitimization of such street art.

Live Demo: