By Claire Reilly
SYDNEY, NSW: 3 Australians are among the 25 semi-finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab 2011 competition, announced today. Established in 2003, the competition calls on industrial design students to “present innovative ideas for household appliances of the future,” according to the Electrolux Design Lab website.
The theme for this year’s competition was “Intelligent Mobility”. The brief stated: “Electrolux Design Lab 2011 invites industrial design students to create home appliances that consider intelligent mobility. Your ideas will shape how people prepare and store food, clean and do their dishes, both within and beyond the home.”
“In particular we seek a design concept that will offer personalisation and inspires users whilst utilising existing technology to offer support and guidance. Additionally, and in keeping with the heritage of Electrolux, your concepts should reflect Scandinavian Design values – being sensitive to the environment, providing intuitive ease of use and aesthetic appeal,” the brief read.
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Speaking about the competition was Henrik Otto, Senior Vice President of Global Design at Electrolux. “The 2011 Electrolux Design Lab has drawn some very clever responses to what has been our toughest brief since the annual challenge began nine years ago,” said Otto.
“The top 25 are to be congratulated on their approach – the combination of lateral thinking and creativity is inspiring. At this stage of the contest, we present the 25 responses that offer the most interesting solutions for future living and best consider the application of intelligent mobility to appliance design.”
Australia’s offerings included a honeycomb-shaped modular induction cooking unit, a communal washing machine with laundry baskets that can be used in-machine, and a flexible ribbon-shaped heating and cooling device for food and drinks. The designs are the work of Alfred Ching and Saba Zare of the University of New South Wales, and Enzo Kocak from Monash University.
Whittled down from over 1,300 entrants, the Australians joined 3 semi-finalists each from New Zealand and Poland, with other semi-finalists hailing from Poland, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, South Korea and the USA.
A jury of expert designers will consider submissions from the top 8 of the 25, with winners to be announced in London in September. Designs will be judged on intuitive design, innovation and consumer insight.
The first prize is 5,000 Euros and a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design centre, while second and third prizes offer 3,000 Euros and 2,000 Euros respectively.
The full list of finalists can be found at the Electrolux Design Lab website.
Honeycomb Modular Induction Tiles, designed by Alfred Ching of the University of New South Wales.
Mywash, designed by Saba Zare of the University of New South Wales.
Ribbon, designed by Enzo Kocak of Monash University.