Videos
Why Design Now?: MIT Next Billion NetworkThursday July 12, 2012Why? Another billion people, mostly in the developing world, will acquire access to cell phones in the next three years, unleashing a revolution in communications. The Next Billion Network partners students and local organizations to create mobile technologies for this population, expanding opportunities for self-reliance. For example, Mobile Care enables cell phones to become medical diagnostic devices for health workers in remote areas, and Interactive Alerts use mobile phones to track childhood pneumonia in Pakistan. MIT Next Billion Network, mobile technologies, mobile care, diagnostic device, health, Why Design Now, Exhibition, interactive, alerts |
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Why Design Now?: Z-20 Concentrated Solar-Power SystemThursday July 12, 2012Why? This solar technology is distinguished by its use of mirrors to capture light and focus it onto a small generator to produce electricity and thermal energy. The parabolic optical dish follows the sun from dawn until dusk, harnessing seventy percent of the solar energy that hits it, making it much more efficient than conventional flat photovoltaic panels. z-20 Concentrated Solar power System, mirror, parabolic optical dish, Why Design Now, Exhibition |
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Why Design Now?: Living with RobotsThursday July 12, 2012Why? This device reduces the load and stress on the lower body, reducing fatigue and injuries and enabling a broader range of activities among the elderly as well as workers who spend extended periods of time on their feet, climbing or descending stairs, or maintaining semi-crouched positions. Weighing less than fifteen pounds, the device supports the wearers weight—when a user bends his or her legs, the assist force adjusts accordingly. Living with Robots, device, stress reduction, Why Design Now, Exhibition |
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Why Design Now?: Lin 94 ChairThursday July 12, 2012Why? Flax is a light, natural fiber used to make linen cloth, but in the hands of François Azambourg, it transforms into high-performance, recyclable furniture. Lin 94 is a composite chair made from 94% renewable materials and an 80% plant-based epoxy resin. Lighter than glass fiber and similar in strength to carbon fiber, flax requires less energy to produce and is recyclable. Lin 94 Chair, francois azambourg, Flax, composite, Why Design Now, Exhibition |
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Why Design Now?: LA Earthquake: Get Ready Campaign, Preparedness NowThursday July 12, 2012Why? A major earthquake could strike Southern California at any time, causing widespread injury and death, property loss, and disruption of services. Each individual and household must prepare for this disaster. Thats the message of the L.A. Earthquake: Get Ready campaign, organized by Designmatters, at Art Center College of Design. Los Angeles, LA, California, earthquake, Get Ready Campaign, Preparedness Now, DesignMatters |
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Why Design Now?: Eco-LaboratoryThursday July 12, 2012Why? Vertical farming is a new approach to fresh-food distribution that provides urban centers with healthy food grown within the controlled environment of a multistory building. Eco-Laboratory successfully merges a neighborhood market, dwelling units, a vocational training facility, and a sustainability educational center for the public into a financially viable downtown residential development. Eco-Laboratory, vertical farm, urban, cities, environment, Why Design Now, Exhibition |
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Why Design Now?: Ripple EffectThursday July 12, 2012Why? Over 1.3 billion people worldwide drink unsafe water. Ripple Effect, a collaboration between the Acumen Fund, IDEO, and Indian and Kenyan water organizations, stimulates innovation among water suppliers. In Indias Thar Desert region, the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation developed a new business model to convince communities to purchase treated water. In the Andhra Pradesh region, WaterHealth International has used entertainment-based education to encourage the community to use clean water. Ripple Effect, collaboration, Acumen, IDEO, Kenya, India, business model, water, treatment, education |
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Why Design Now?: FurumaiThursday July 12, 2012Why? Water, the medium of life, has myriad manifestations. Furumai, meaning behavior or dance in Japanese, was an installation created for the Water exhibition at 21_21 Design Sight in Tokyo in 2007. The project consisted of paper plates treated selectively with an invisible water-repellent coating. As visitors interacted with the plates, beads of water danced about the surface, creating surprising visual effects. In one, drops gathered in a babys eye, while others formed abstract, three-dimensional patterns. Furumai, water, Japan, Tokyo, 21_21 Design Sight, interact, Why Design Now, Exhibition, interactive design, interaction |
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Why Design Now?: Medellín, ColombiaThursday July 12, 2012Why? A team of architects and urban planners, social workers and citizens has transformed Medellín, Colombia, from the most violent city in the world into a community whose architecture carries a powerful message of social inclusion. Public buildings, parks, libraries, schools, and museums were inserted in the most desperate neighborhoods to provide crucial public services. The Orquideorama, an orchid canopy in the Botanical Gardens, exemplifies the citys renaissance. Medellin, Colombia, collaboration, transformation, social inclusion, Orquideorama, Why Design Now, Exhibition |
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Why Design Now?: IF Mode Folding BicycleThursday July 12, 2012Why? Most folding bicycles are heavy and difficult to collapse. Conceived as portable luggage, the IF Mode is made of lightweight materials and eliminates oily chains, complex tubes, hidden dirt traps, and much of the clutter of conventional bicycles. As mobility systems become more interconnected, portable, folding designs like this will facilitate transfers between different modes of transportation. IF Mode folding bicycle, portable, lightweight, materials, Why Design Now, Exhibition |
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