MILAN 2009: Best of the Well Tech Awards
by Lea Bogdan, 04/27/09
The Well-Tech Awards are one of our favorite annual exhibitions at the Milan Furniture Fair, showcasing an assortment of innovative projects that push forward the realm of green design. The year’s exhibition featured a variety of projects that focused upon integrating sustainable solutions into our daily lives. From products that pare down the resources we consume to innovations in energy-efficient lighting and projects that monitor our resource usage, we were thoroughly impressed with the designs on display. Read on for our favorite finds!
The Watercone is a cheap, mobile, and self-contained solar still that uses the principle of water condensation to render sea water and brackish water potable.
Damian O’Sullivan’s Solar Lampion is a hanging garden lamp that is covered with solar cells. Inspired by forms found in nature, the lantern is modeled after the geometric spirals found in plants and pine cones.
The Dobpler LED Wall by Skjelvig Design is an energy-efficient lighting system that creates an interactive LED wall. When an object or person passes by the wall the led’s simulate the silhouette.
This bike sharing system by Trevigiana was launched last year at Universitia IUAV of Venazia in the province of Treviso, Italy.
The Eco Navigation System by Magneti Marelii features a variety of eco routing functions to optimize your route, and lets you select criteria so you can monitor your fuel consumption and emissions.
Oppent is an automated system for the collection and storage of waste in buildings. It comprises a network of ducts that collect and transport waste automatically, which presents considerable advantages for the urban environment over traditional waste collection methods.
The Showerdrop is a low-cost universal shower meter that shows how much water your shower dispenses.
The Biowash Ball is a laundry ball composed of a sturdy casing filled with ceramic pellets that eliminates the need for detergent.
the secondary industry of ‘eco’ or ‘green’ products doesn’t really seem to do anything to mitigate the primary industry of ‘brown’ products. there’s just even more stuff now. both industries encourage ever-expanding consumption (desire/anxiety) which we know has led to living beyond the capacity of the landbase. recycling is largely greenwash and myth, and is often as toxic in its methods. perhaps the ideal green product is the product imagined, but never materialised, let alone purchased or commissioned.
the bLOGOSphere is a perfect world site for conceptual ‘material’; so let’s keep our innovative design digital and compost everything else.
The Garden of Self Defence