Lexus Design Award 2018
The theme for the 2018 Lexus Design Award is 'CO-' meaning with or together in harmony. Explore this year's winning entry and finalists as they are showcased during Salone del Mobile.
Established in 2013, the Lexus Design Award's sixth-year theme centres around the theme of 'CO-" meaning with or together in harmony. Targeting up and coming creators across the globe, this year's award asked designers to create concepts and designs that seek a harmonious coexistence of nature and society through sustainable design.
Having the incredible opportunity to experience this year's Lexus design award first-hand during Salone del Mobile, I was able to meet with the designers and judges to discuss the concepts, and prototypes and discover more about this prestigious award. What surprised me was just how different each entry was from one another, covering a broad spectrum of ideas, passions and concepts. See below the four finalist entries along with the 2018 winner 'Testing Hypotheticals' directly below by Extrapolation Factory.
Testing Hypotheticals - Extrapolation Factory
A collaboratively imagined test site that explores speculative relationships between society, technology and the environment.
Extrapolation Factory proposes to set up a futures workshop in which they work with locals in neighbourhoods to envision spaces that communities could use as test grounds for new ways of living and working. This studio will work with participants to identify key aspects and issues that concern the neighbourhood, developing ideas on how these issues could be explored and changed through development within the testing site. Over the course of the workshop, Extrapolation Factory will help participants to construct prototypes that bring the ideas to life, assembled to form an immersive test site.
Recycled Fibre Planter - Eriko Yokoi
This project came from the idea of creating a substitute for soil called fibre soil by recycling old clothes made from polyester fibre. The goal is to combine materials with low recycling potential with more recyclable materials to increase the chances of reuse. The colours of the fibre soil come from the sorting and mixing of the colours of the old clothes collected. In order for plants to grow, the material was formed through compression so that it contains adequate moisture and air. Layering different colours of the thin sheets of fibre soil’s recycled batten cotton material also creates more complex colours. This planter is very soft to the touch, which is one of the features of textile products people tend to focus on. “CO-” is a fusion of textile and plant. In addition, to attract people’s interest in the sustainable use of resources, this planter can change the way people and plants interact.
Honest Egg - aesthetid
Connecting technology and a new design interface to show egg's edibility.
Honest egg is an intuitive and simple indicator of when an egg has reached its recommended consumption date. To overcome the problem of ambiguous dating or whether the egg is safe to consume, the user can observe a graphical image or word on the eggshell to determine the egg's edibility. Honest Egg goes through a process of eggs being printed with an intelligent ink pigment that has the capability to change colour in response to a pre-calibrated time period. If a cracked egg-shell or a sudden change in CO2 levels or temperature is detected, the Honest Egg indicator can reduce the edibility date period significantly.
CO-RKs - DIGITALAB
A generative system by DIGITALAB connecting cork thread; a sustainable material and computational process that generate design products. The system can create beautiful forms such as lamps, chairs, tables and spaces with examples of the intricate textures and surfaces created on display for the public to see during the exhibition.
With design and the environment such a hot topic, it is refreshing to see such an internationally recognised brand as Lexus use the Milan stage to highlight and showcase the works and concepts of new designers, introducing fresh talent and new perspectives into the design world, giving them the leverage needed to help transform our world for better. This year's entries are all incredible in their own unique way. Whilst there can only be one official winner, it is certain that the concepts from all the designers of this year's exhibition have the talent and promotion to come to fruition.
