The Ideas competition 'Adream 2012 – Architecture and design using renewable and ecological materials' – is a European project under the joint auspices of the Regional Council of Picardie (France) and the Free State of Thuringia (Germany) aimed at giving impetus to new developments.

The potential of renewable and ecologically sound materials is still substantially under-exploited. Through this competition, the partner regions have therefore invited and promoted innovative proposals for developing a sustainable economy by means of contemporary designs which make well-considered use of such resources.

Entrants from all over Europe submitted a range of creative and innovative projects. Here are some of the winning projects.

Coffee ground pots - Sanam Viseux - France
1st prize Design/Student

Modular thatch panels - Ratia Rabemananoro - France
1st prize Architecture/Professional
Modular thatch panels for insulation and exterior wall

Eco Bell - Camille Courlivant - France
2nd prize Design/Student
Storage bells

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Norway has perhaps the best conditions in the world for utilizing offshore wind power. Its coastline is the longest and windiest in Europe and largely unsaturated with turbines. The oil industry has given the country vast expertise in offshore foundations, as well as immense investment capital. It has half of Europe's hydropower to couple wind power.

The EU commission has committed to deriving 20% of its total energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020. Norway has the capacity to surpass this goal and become an exporter of the EU's newest tradable good, renewable energy.

Norway has already begun speculation on such venture, yet offshore wind farms are meeting strong resisitance, mainly due to misinformation and ungrounded skepticism. What Norway needs to propel wind power is a flagship wind farm to promote and celebrate its newest investment.

Possible typologies

Location: Off the coast of Stavanger, Norway - 31,500 sq. meters (hotel, museum)
Project by Joao Vieira Costa, Leon Rost, Don Lawrence, Tudor Vlasceanu
OnOffice is an international practice, based in Porto, Portugal.

The Carbon Trust, a United Kingdom-based nonprofit set up by the British government, has awarded $720,000 to Lomox to develop OLED lighting (Organic Light Emitting Diodes).

© Jeroen Joosse

OLEDs use about half the power of fluorescents for a given light output, or about 1/9th the power of a traditional light bulb.

The OLED materials have a wide variety of potential applications and when coated onto a film could be used to cover walls creating a light-emitting wallpaper which replaces the need for traditional light bulbs.

As well as being flexible, OLED film will require a very low operating voltage (between 3 to 5 volts) so it can be powered by solar panels and batteries making it ideal for applications where mains power is not available such as roadside traffic warning signs.

	The Welsh company aims to have the first lighting products using its technology available in 2012 and also plans to use the same technology to create more energy efficient television screens.
© Newlaunches.com

Via Dexigner 

The Solar Bus stop (SBS) is a sustainable and innovative system of informational boards for public transportations that functions integrally with solar energy. The SBS increases the quality of the service, since the user, upon arriving at the stop, will be punctually informed of the time of arrival of the buses from different lines, until six. The information updates every 30 seconds and also offers other informations of interest for the user.
This is the first solar bus stop in the Spanish territory, that is totally self-sufficient, that uses only its own energy resources and doesn’t need wiring.

The solar bus stop has been developed by 4 students of the Investigation + Education (I+ ED Barcelona) under the supervision of Horge Perez. This team worked in collaboration with the urban furniture company Capmar, specialized in the production of urban furniture.

Featuring more than 100 contemporary design products and systems - safer baby bottles, a high-tech waterless washing machine, low-cost prosthetics for landmine victims, Braille-based Lego-style building blocks for blind children, wheelchairs for rugged conditions, sugarcane charcoal, universal composting systems, DIY soccer balls - this book makes the case for design as a tool to solve some of the world's biggest social problems in beautiful, sustainable and engaging ways - for global citizens in the developing world and in more developed economies alike. Particularly at a time when the weight of climate change, global poverty and population growth are impossible to ignore, Emily Pilloton challenges designers to be changemakers instead of "stuff creators." Urgent and optimistic, a compendium and a call to action, Design Revolution is an exciting design publication to come out this year.

Clay Water Filters by Tony Flynn

A grassroots alternative to higher-tech filtration systems, Tony Flynn’s three-ingredient filters take advantage of the inherent properties of locally available materials to provide clean drinking water in the simplest of manners. Flynn, a materials scientist and ceramics lecturer from The Australian National University, combined terra-cotta, coffee grounds (or other organic material), and cow dung to create personal-use water filters that remove common pathogens including E. coli. The filters provide a free, do-it-yourself alternative to the commercial options, which often use the same ceramic filtration process but are financially inaccessible to developing communities.  The filters can be made by anyone with access to crushed terra-cotta, organic material, and sufficient water to create a thick mixture that can be formed into a self-supported pot. The shaped pots are sun dried until hard, then fired on a bed of dry cow dung and leaves for 45 minutes. During the firing process, the organic material and agricultural by-products in the demographics for which DIY filters are most urgently needed. The filters  safely remove 96.4 to 99.8 percent of all E. coli bacteria and can filter .25 gallon (1 L) of water in two hours. Several filters may be used in sequence for particularly contaminated or dirty water. Perhaps the system’s only drawback is the difficulty of perfecting the mixture, wall thickness, and shape of the pots, all of which can require some practice. Those with previous ceramics or craft experience will be better equipped to produce higher-quality filters.  

Sugarcane Charcoal by D-Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

In Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, the primary cooking fuel is wood charcoal. The fuel is notoriously dirty when burned, and many children in the country die of respiratory infections due to inhalation of indoor cooking fumes. Despite the charcoal’s detriments, Haitians are dependent on it, which is additionally problematic because Haiti is 98 percent deforested. As a potential solution to these issues, a team of engineers and students, led by Amy Smith from MIT’s D-Lab, looked to agricultural waste as a viable resource for the production of cleaner, more sustainable charcoal that could simultaneously create jobs and fuel. The charcoal the team developed is made from dried bagasse, the primary waste product from sugarcane processing. This fibrous material is left after the juice has been squeezed from the cane. The bagasse is burned in a 55-gallon (208-L) oil-drum kiln, where it carbonizes. It is then mixed with cassava root as a binder and compacted using a press designed by D-Lab to form briquettes. The charcoal burns clean, creating no smoke and making it healthier to use and  produce. As it requires no wood, it also preserves the little forest Haiti has left. Though the sugarcane has been successful, D-Lab continues to research and explore other agricultural waste products, such as corncobs, that could be cooking-fuel alternatives. In its new use, sugarcane charcoal gives waste products a function and creates jobs to support its continued production, while using local materials and skills to support new enterprises and sustain emerging economies. Since its initial implementation in Haiti, the use and production of sugarcane charcoal has been field-tested and expanded into parts of Brazil, Ghana and India, places where sugarcane and its agricultural waste are widely available.

Rapid Deployable System (RDS) by Hoberman Associates, Inc. and Johnson Outdoors’s Eureka!

Developed primarily for use by military and crisis-relief workers, the RDS provides “quick-up” structures for modular expansion that are durable, efficient, and easy to assemble and disassemble. The systems can also connect to existing shelters to add space for short-term needs. The RDS comes in a variety of sizes and is  comprised of articulated parts such as arches, legs, leg sleeves, and a connecting hub. A separate floor and cover complete the shelter’s construction. The RDS is made from extreme rugged materials and has a weather-proofed surface, making it durable in the harshest environments and allowing it to be used as a long-term structure in the developing world. Its PVC-coated, high-tenacity fabric can sustain winds of up to 65 miles per hour (105 km/h) and 2 inches (5.1 cm) of rain per hour. The system also has passive ventilation systems and components that are interchangeable with other RDS units. The structures can be erected in just minutes for use as medical suites, operation centers, food service locations, and areas for first responders. The largest RDS shelter measures 695 square feet (64.5 sq. m) when assembled and collapses to a 3-by-3.5-by-6-foot (0.9-by-1.1-by-1.8-m) bundle.

Whirlwind RoughRider by Whirlwind Wheelchair International

In the 1980s, paraplegic engineer and wheelchair designer Ralf Hotchkiss traveled the world, working with doctors and patients to design and build wheelchairs from locally available materials. He found that in many areas the need for the chairs was urgent and severe. In an effort to continue his work and bring reliable, affordable mobility to the handicapped in developing countries, Hotchkiss founded Whirlwind Wheelchair International with Peter Pfaelzer, an engineering professor at the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at SFSU. The organization works to create and support enterprises for local wheelchair production, in order to make it possible for every handicapped individual in the developing world to have access to a chair that is affordable, durable, and empowering. Their RoughRider wheelchair fulfills the group’s mission through an open-source design that makes the end-user central during the production process. RoughRider is a low-cost wheel-chair that is optimized for the needs of users and the limitations of manufacturing facilities in developing countries. While most wheelchairs are designed to maneuver only on smooth surfaces, the RoughRider’s wheels, frame, and mechanics make it suitable for more rugged conditions in both urban and rural areas, enabling the user to be independently mobile. The wheelchair is collapsible to fit in small spaces and includes functional features like low armrests, toe protectors for barefoot riding, a curvilinear frame to better fit the body and discourage the visual stigma of clunky chairs, and multiple rear axle positions to optimize stability. Its front set of smaller, caster-like wheels allow for increased durability, balance, and maneuverability over rough terrain. Its versatility enables a range of everyday activities including working, playing, traveling, going to school, and doing household chores. Additionally, its frame and components can all be assembled by anyone with basic manufacturing skills and materials. The need for parts, joints, and skilled labor is kept at a minimum to ensure both quality construction and easy maintenance.

Playground Fence by Tejo Remy and René Veenhuizen

Dutch designers Tejo Remy and René Veenhuizen are known for their clever designs that encourage new user experiences and create connections between people and objects. When commissioned in 2004 to transform the playground space at the primary school De Noorderlicht in Dordrecht, The Netherlands, their goal was to inspire new interactions while adding no new material to the space. With those objectives in mind, they looked to the existing infrastructure of the school’s standard metal fence as an opportunity. Remy and Veenhuizen reimagined it not as a two-dimensional barrier, but as a three dimensional, inhabitable space that would create new experiences for students and passersby on either side of it. By altering the shape of the vertical fence, adding convex and concave curves to the bars, the designers created meeting places, seating, and play spaces within its structure. Distortions to the traditional rhythm of the fence yield new geometries that are both aesthetically appealing and functional. As a result, the fence becomes a part of the playground for the children rather than an exclusionary element, and provides an opportunity for parents and other community members to engage with students.

Emily Pilloton, author of this book, is the founder and Executive Director of Project H Design, a global industrial design nonprofit with eight chapters around the world. Trained in architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and product design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Pilloton started Project H in 2008 to provide a conduit and catalyst for need-based product design that empowers individuals, communities and economies. Current Project H initiatives include water transport and filtration systems in South Africa and India; an educational math playground built for elementary schools in Uganda and North Carolina; a homeless-run design coop in Los Angeles; and design concepts for foster care education and therapy in Austin, Texas.

'Design Revolution: 100 Products That Empower People' for sale on Amazon

UW Design Show 2009 is an event showcasing the work of the 2009 graduating students in the University of Washington Design department.

 Courses of study balance creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and historical analysis with innovative approaches and solutions to the needs of society.
The discourse is multi-disciplinary and collaborative in nature, and content reflects social responsibility, user experience, emerging technology and experimentation.

'Guiano' by John Deluna The Guiano is a device that documents your musical inspiration anytime and anywhere. A part slides out from the body to reveal guitar strings. How about some piano playing? Flip open the guitar fret interface to reveal a screen and piano keys which slide up from the body.
'Bio Buddy' by Ben Guthrie A biodiesel processor for the home that allows people the convenience of making their own clean fuel, without having to resort to huge and expensive industrial processors, or the dangerous method of constructing it themselves. Concentrating on self-sufficiency, safety, clean aesthetics and a user-interface comparable to successful home appliances.
'Pastry Pen' by Calvin Ku The Pastry Pen is a redesign of a kitchen gadget for Chef'n. The design is made of two different grades of silicone: the top part is made of soft silicone cone and bottom, hard silicone. Pastry Pen is designed for both general and more precise cake decoration.
'Makao' by Jennifer Margell Makao is a modular shelter designed for the slums of Nairobi Kenya. It can be assembled in a number of ways and sizes depending on user need. It collects and filter gray water from the roof, opens to release heat, is affordable, it has an optional bathroom and kitchen module, and the hollow plastic walls are filled with mud on site for insulation.

University of Washington
School of Art
Jacob Lawrence Gallery
Exhibition from June 9 to 20 2009