What I mean by “environmental design”
Some of you have heard me fling those words around for a while now, but by the glassy-eyed stare and obligatory nod, I keep telling myself to explain it better. To me, environmental design takes design principles and applies them to ergonomic and functional (yes, functional!) products, efficient yet uncluttered spaces (to be paired with interior decorating), or policies and practices. It’s basically this: creating something usable or livable, sometimes better than its equivalents are currently doing, without sacrificing beauty. Right now, a lot of these projects are still in their concept stage and most of them probably aren’t usable… but that doesn’t mean they won’t ever be. Below are some of my favourites.
LED lights in the shape of a pear tree, by Nick Foley
With the pears charging as they “grow” and held by magnets, but you can take them off and carry it around like any little lamp. This is beautiful, clever, and energy efficient to boot. I hope it’s on the market by the time I have my own apartment. More pictures here.
iWaveCube Microwave, by the Sharper Image
Whether microwaving food is good for you or not is a different debate, but you’d probably find one in most people’s kitchens. This product is marketed poorly, as a “personal” microwave. It’s ridiculous, people don’t need a secondary microwave, but if you’re like me and you rarely use the microwave except to reheat leftovers once in a while, microwaves are efficient and this one especially will save you some counter space. Perfect for a dorm without kitchen amenities, or for small families. More here.
Roadster, by Tesla Motors
If you follow cars at all, you’ve probably heard of this beauty. It’s definitely a pricey vehicle at around $100,000, but this is what you get: a fully electric engine (which means never going to the gas station again) so you charge them like you would a battery–at your own convenience, I might add, a 0-60 mph acceleration in under 6 seconds, and a really hot set of wheels. Tesla’s also offering a solar panel to put on the roof next year, which will charge the car about 50 miles without using the grid. To be fair, the electric car is not new. It’s actually about as old as the internal combustion engine. So why all the attention? My guess: an amazing, practical, functional design. And of course marketing. More info here.
Sidwell Friends School
This is a school in Washington, D.C. where the kids of all the rich and famous attend. If my middle school looked like that, I’d definitely go in every day… oh wait, I did anyway. This school consumes 60% less energy and 70% less water, by maximizing daylight and having censors shut off lights that aren’t in use. There are PV panels on the roof. Treehugger did a great feature on this building here, so click that for more details. Me? I think it’s a gorgeous building.