Videos

Why Design Now?: Eco-Laboratory Thursday July 12, 2012 Why? 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
Why Design Now?: Ripple Effect Thursday July 12, 2012 Why? 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
Why Design Now?: Furumai Thursday July 12, 2012 Why? 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
Why Design Now?: Medellín, Colombia Thursday July 12, 2012 Why? 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
Why Design Now?: IF Mode Folding Bicycle Thursday July 12, 2012 Why? 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
Why Design Now?: Vault201 Thursday July 12, 2012 Why? Preindustrial construction methods can provide fundamental lessons about sustainable design and environmental impact today. In this site-specific installation, thin tile vaults stretching across large spaces without formwork is part of a 700-year-old construction method that is energy-efficient, utilizes local materials, and achieves high structural strength. All of these factors have important applications in the developing world, where low-cost construction and durability are model standards for any building project. Vault 201, MIT, construction, methods, sustainable design, environmental impact, materials, developing world, applications, low cost, Why Design Now, Exhibition
Why Design Now?: Solar rechargeable battery lanterns Thursday July 12, 2012 Why? In most rural areas of the developing world, people rely on fuels such as kerosene that are dangerous and pose serious health problems. The Solar-Rechargeable lamp is both a safe, electrical lighting alternative and it reduces greenhouse gases. It is also a service-oriented solution for rural electrification: villagers rent these portable, rechargeable lanterns from central solar charging stations. sunlabob, solar, rechargeable, battery, lanterns, portable, developing world, Why Design Now, Exhibition
Why Design Now?: Cabbage Chair Thursday July 12, 2012 Why? Made from reclaimed materials, the Cabbage chair is a compact roll of paper that the user opens up and peels back, layer by layer, to create a soft enclosure for the body, requiring no finishing, assembly, or hardware. Resins added to the paper during the production process give it strength and memory, while the pleats make the paper springy and elastic. Cabbage Chair, reclaimed materials, paper, no assembly, Why Design Now, Exhibition
Why Design Now?: Mapungubwe National Park Interpretive Center Thursday July 12, 2012 Why? Preindustrial construction methods can provide fundamental lessons about sustainable design and environmental impact today. In this site-specific installation, thin tile vaults stretching across large spaces without formwork is part of a 700-year-old construction method that is energy-efficient, utilizes local materials, and achieves high structural strength. All of these factors have important applications in the developing world, where low-cost construction and durability are model standards for any building project. Mapungubwe National Park Interpretive Center, low cost, construction, durability, developing world, application, Why Design Now, Exhibition
Why Design Now?: E/S Orcelle cargo carrier Thursday July 12, 2012 Why? Oceangoing ships present significant health, pollution, and efficiency challenges. The concept vessel E/S Orcelle is designed to be propelled without oil. Made of lightweight materials, it relies on energy sources obtained at sea—solar energy collected through photovoltaic panels in the sails, wind energy obtained through propulsion sails, and wave energy from fins, which can be transformed into hydrogen, electricity, or mechanical energy. E/S Orcelle, cargo, carrier, ship, shipping, lightweight, materials, renewable energy, energy sources, carbon, emissions, reduction, Why Design Now, Triennial, Exhibition