Tag Archives: pollution

Sustainable glass desk creates a stunning visual metaphor for water pollution

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We are all probably aware of how polluted our waters have become, but that fact doesn’t always sink in until we’re faced with images or videos of disgusting examples. While unsettling imagery relies on the shock factor to give us a wake-up call, it starts to lose its effectiveness once the images are gone. We could always have these visuals within view, but always seeing these unpleasant things can also have negative effects on our psyches. If one needs a constant reminder of the sad state of our planet’s waters, it might be better if it came in a way that’s less unnerving but just as attention-grabbing. That’s what this elegant desk is attempting to accomplish, and it uses our tendency to keep messy desks to get that message across.

Designer: Nicola Morelli

Although they don’t need to be immaculately clean, we do need a certain amount of free space on our desks in order to be productive. Clutter blocks the flow of our work, and the mess only piles up over time unless they’re cleaned up. As it turns out, this is the exact same situation with the pollution in our rivers, seas, and oceans, and the in.water concept design ties to associate these two different but related ideas in a subtle yet captivating way.

On its own, the desk is already striking in its minimalist beauty. The piece of furniture is flat-packed and easily assembled, composed of nothing more than two pairs of aluminum legs and a plexiglass tabletop. The table has a translucent gradient that goes from blue to frost white, creating an interesting visual even when it’s devoid of anything on top.

That choice of color is, of course, intentional, and it is meant to convey the image of a clear body of water partially reflecting the blue sky. Once you start piling things on top of it, however, that pristine beauty is immediately shattered. You can no longer enjoy the clarity of the table’s surface, and the translucency of the material only serves to highlight the role of these objects as “clutter.” For even better emphasis, you could try slipping pieces of paper between the top and the metal legs, indicating “trash” that is so deep that they’re not easily removed.

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The in.water concept, however, isn’t just a visual metaphor of sustainability that loses its message at the factory. It can be made from 100% recycled plexiglass and aluminum, and its flat-pack design produces less carbon footprint during transportation. With its simple beauty and meaningful design cues, this table design concept sends a more impactful message of how water pollution can be reflected in our daily lives.

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The post Sustainable glass desk creates a stunning visual metaphor for water pollution first appeared on Yanko Design.

Prototype can release mushroom spores to remove toxicity in wildfire-hit areas

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If you live in the area where wildfires are a constant problem and threat, things like pollution and a toxic environment are things you have to deal with in the aftermath (aside from the obvious dangers of the fire of course). And with global warming continuing to wreak havoc, it’s also become dangerous for places not normally affected by things like this, like when we saw the rising heat levels in parts of Europe this summer. There are product designers out there thinking of solutions to somehow help make life better for those who are affected by wildfires.

Designer: Suzie McMurtry

The Living with Wildfire system is a yet untested prototype for a mycelium pod that cant withstand fire and has water and dormant oyster mushroom spores inside. The idea is that when a wildfire happens, the water will evaporate and bring pressure inside the steel vessel that is sealed with a cork. When the cork finally launches into the air, the spores will be spread out into the area and then take root in spots when the fire is finally over and reduce toxicity in the soil and air. The system uses an experimental method called mycoremediation which uses fungi to remove pollutants from a toxic environment.

The system looks like a lamp on a stand and multiple ones need to be set up in areas where there’s a likelihood of wildfires occurring. The pod itself or the spore canon is like an upside-down water or perfume bottle with the cork facing the ground. It is made of mycelium, the vegetative part of the fungus which has fire retardant properties. The prototype has oyster mushroom spores and the pod uses a minimalist, naturalist design. The system is actually modeled after the fireproof seedpods of trees like the lodgepole pine and Australian banksia.

The pod has tags with the Latin name of the mushroom spores inside and it is made from quick-melting pewter. Once fire hits it, it will melt into the steel rim of the frame that holds it. People can also pile branchs and brush under the pod to hasten the process of the spores being released once fire hits it. And even when there’s no fire, the Living with Wildfire system can serve as a reminder to people who see it that there’s always the danger of wildfire in that area.

The post Prototype can release mushroom spores to remove toxicity in wildfire-hit areas first appeared on Yanko Design.

Revolutionary microplastic collecting tire could reduce air pollution to acceptable levels

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Microplastics are the most common source of plastic pollution wreaking havoc on planet earth. The nature of microplastics is such that they are hard to detect for the naked eye, and have tormented marine life beyond belief. The toxic nature of this material has disrupted the food chain, and is also suspected to trigger a number of ailments in humans and other land animals and birds. So, common logic suggests, we should do anything and everything possible to suppress this nemesis.

A recent study found that airborne microplastic pollution is turning into a major contributor, and vehicle tires are to blame for that majorly. Andreas Stohl, from the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, said that an average tire loses 4kg during its lifetime. To top it off, the electric vehicle revolution is making things worse. Such vehicles are much heavier than their internal combustion engine counterparts, leading to more tire and brake pad wear. The solution is to design a tire in such a way that it doesn’t emit any microplastics into the environment. Unless tires are made out of some other revolutionary material, the only other way to prevent the dire situation is by collecting the microplastics in the tire itself.

Designer: Cheolhee Lee, Seongjong Kang and Lee JH96

Pureback Nexen Tire is a concept envisioning the prevention of air pollution primarily caused by tire wear. The eco-friendly tire separates and discharges the microplastics while driving. The harmful airborne plastic not visible to the naked eye is pushed through the inlet between the tire treads where the hazardous material is stored in the central capsule. The sides of the tire are made out of steel to create safe housing for the collected material. Designers suggest that the collected microplastics will be compressed and deposited at hydrogen charging stations by connecting to the hydrogenation system. The users will consequently be eligible for corresponding rewards and benefits. Logically, this radically designed tire is good in functionality, solving a serious problem for us all, while also being aesthetically pleasing to look at.

The grooves of the Pureback tire and the wheel cover housing have a connected LED lighting system on the side walls. When the tire is collecting microplastics it illuminates in blue color, and as soon as the collection capsule is reaching the full limit, it turns red. This indicates the time to deposit the toxic material at the next hydrogen filling station.

The post Revolutionary microplastic collecting tire could reduce air pollution to acceptable levels first appeared on Yanko Design.

This puffer jacket is filled with single-use masks and shows the pandemic-related environmental issues!

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The pandemic has led to a huge lifestyle shift and in the bid to stay safe, the environment is suffering from the excessive use of plastic to wrap items, chemicals to sanitize, and the millions (or billions) of single-use PPE that eventually contribute to pollution. There are photographs of medical masks floating in the ocean with the animals and washing up on beaches is a heartbreaking sight. To bring this issue to light, designers Tobia Zambotti and Aleksi Saastamoinen created Coat-19, an icy blue puffer jacket made of discarded single-use masks, organic wool, and transparent recycled laminate.

The designers are based in Iceland that still has a mask mandate. Icelandic winds can be very strong so masks that aren’t carefully discarded blow from the streets into the otherwise pristine environment. To prevent this from happening they collected around 1500 light-blue masks from the streets of Reykjavík, thoroughly disinfected them with ozone gas, and shipped them to Helsinki where they became an unusual filling for “Coat-19” – a modern puffer jacket that highlights this absurd pandemic-related environmental issue.​

Most of the disposable masks available in the market are made with a thermoplastic called polypropylene which is also used to produce poly-fill, the most common acrylic stuffing for cheap down jackets – same material, same function, different look. Some of the light-blue masks were partly filled with organic cotton wool in order to create the puffy silhouette of the trendy oversized jacket.

The outer layer is a semi-transparent breathable and waterproof laminate based made from bio-sources that let the disposable masks be visible.​ There are about 1500 masks that make the filling along with organic cotton wool. While the sight is jarring, it is a reminder we all need to practice safety sustainably. We may come out of this pandemic or learn to live with it, but the climate crisis is not something we can solve with a shot. This is a plea to use alternatives if possible so that your safety in the present doesn’t compromise on the future of the planet.

Designer: Tobia Zambotti and Aleksi Saastamoinen

This recycled stool is created from 4000 disinfected and hand-spun disposable face masks!

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Those blue and white face masks have become the unofficial icon of the pandemic era for all the wrong reasons. Seeing the disposable face mask worn by people has become just as common as seeing them on littered city sidewalks and street corners. Caught up in tangles of twigs and plastic waste, disposable face masks end up as floating marine debris since they cannot be recycled due to the potential risk of indirect infection and viral transmission within the recycling system. UK-based designer Joe Slatter noticed the blue and white litter all over the streets of London and decided to do something about it, weaving disinfected masks from the streets into what he calls the Veil Stool.

After collecting close to 4,000 masks from the streets of London, Slatter disinfected them by coating them in ozone spray and leaving them out in direct sunlight for four weeks. Once they were sanitized and prepared for the next step, an experimental period followed that led to Slatter discovering that 3-ply face masks, the blue and white disposable ones, could be spun into a soft yarn or melted down into a dense polypropylene structure. The stool’s final form finds a threaded, cushioned seat made from facemasks spun into a yarn mounted on top of three short stool legs hardened from melted face masks. Slatter’s recycled stool highlights not only the soft, cottony and dense, supportive nature of face masks but also the beauty that can come from confronting such a destructive issue as pollution.

For Slatter, this project goes beyond a simple recycled design, noting both the environmental and cultural significance of spinning disposable face masks into a stool, “The name ‘Veil’ comes from the notion of a veil being a fine material used to conceal the face, similar to that of a face mask. Veils are generally considered beautiful and therefore the name implies that it can be possible to see beauty in an object that is often disregarded, such as a face mask.”

Designer: Joe Slatter

By melting some of the face masks, Slatter created a three-leg base for the soft cushion, made from hand-spun face masks, to mount.

Following a period of experimentation, Slatter found out three-ply face masks could be spun into soft yarn.

4,000 masks were taken from the streets of London to create one stool.

The blue and white gradient is reminiscent of the iconic face masks but can stand alone just as well.

The yarn looks and feels familiar, but its hand-spun from three-ply face masks.

Materials used to build Veil Stool all derive from blue and white face masks.

NASA backs studies on environmental effects of COVID-19 lockdowns

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You’ve probably heard stories of skies and water clearing up while most people stay at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, but how much have things improved, really? Scientists are about to rely on NASA technology to find out. The space agency is fund...