Young innovators designs shoes that vacuum

Shivangi Ambani-Gandhi

SYDNEY: In 2020, you could slip your feet into Dustmate — a pair of shoes with compact vacuuming engines that clean your house as you walk. Or fold up your ‘Soft-Refrigrator’ and take it with you on a picnic. Or ‘Airwash’ your dirty laundry without using detergents or water.

These are some of the award winning designs from the Electrolux Design Lab competition 2005, on display until August 20 at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

The display is part of the 10th International Sydney Design festival, which covers the breadth of design, ranging from product design and interior design to graphics, textiles and architecture. Running across 40 venues, the annual festival features over 70 events including exhibitions, seminars, film screenings, designer markets, walks and tours

The design lab competition, which challenged students from across the world to design household appliances for the year 2020, received over 3,000 entries from 88 countries — with India making it to the top six countries. Among the 12 finalists invited to participate in a six-day design event in November 2005 in Stockholm, was 23-year old Sandeep Pradhan from Rourkela, Orissa. His ‘Umbi Fridge’ consists of two refrigerators — mother and child. Sometimes connected by cable, the mother unit is kept in the kitchen, while the smaller one can be toted to different rooms, or to the terrace or garden.

“In 2020, it’s back to the basics, and what could be more basic than mother and child?” explains Pradhan who graduated from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bangalore after completing the accessory design course.

“This was my first entry into a design competition and my first air travel — so you can imagine what the experience was like. Designing has given me a sense of freedom and I would like to pursue it further, especially automobile design,” says the youngster.

‘Dustmate’ designers, Sebastian Alberti and Gustavo Maggio say, “With time at a premium, why not combine two necessary activities: cleaning and exercise?” They add, “Normally shoes track dirt throughout homes. But with ‘dustmate’, shoes suck dirt as you walk, run or dance through your home.” 

The competition wasn’t simply about some geeks fantasising on paper. Pradhan along with the other finalists worked with model making experts in Stockholm to design
prototypes of their ideas. “It only took me about five seconds to come out with the idea, but three weeks to do my research and another four weeks to finalise my design,” said another finalist Wang Sin Ee. This student of the University of New South Wales, Australia, designed the ‘Kaionwave’, which uses ultra-violet light, instead of water to wash clothes.

The finalists also had the opportunity to present their designs to a distinguished international panel of jurors and media representatives. A special workshop during the first four days of their visit included an overview of the Electrolux design processes as well as presentations from world-class speakers, designers, engineers and visionaries.

“I think the best experience was the design workshop, knowing there are others who share the same passion for design,” says Sin Ee. The Electrolux Design Lab 2006 competition seeks solutions for ‘healthy eating habits in 2016’. For more information visit www.electrolux.com/designlab.