green life design competition exhibition

a view into the exhibition

designboom co-organized the iida award 2009 under the theme of ‘green life’, an international design competition hosted by incheon metropolitan city, korea. there were three categories: green design for humans, for the landscape and city and green awareness communication. see the 280 shortlisted entries here. 3709 designers from 96 different countries participated. the award ceremony of the iida ‘incheon international design awards’ 2009 took place at songdo convensia, in the heart of incheon city.

a view of the green life exhibition that featured all 280 shortlisted entries

first prize winner rochus jacob with a scale prototype of his ‘murakami rocking chair’

‘murakami chair‘ by rochus jacob from USA is a rocking chair with a reading lamp that is powered by the rocking motion itself. it uses nano-dynamo technology built into the skids and OLED lighting. a scale prototype has been realized and exhibited. the young german designer has developed the chair during his university studies in USA. he and all the winners were invited to attend the award ceremony in incheon city, korea.

rochus jacob is explaining the technology to members of the incheon government

‘thermodynamic cooler’ (prototype) is a second project by 1st prize winner rochus jacobthe ‘thermodynamic cooler‘ is a second project by 1st prize winner rochus jacob. it is a small refrigerator that works without electricity and consists of two pots, one placed inside the other. the space in between is filled with glass foam, a waste product of the glass recycling process. the design is an excellent example of technology transfer  – from an existing clay device used in developing countries to an industrial and environmental friendly product. the new material soaks in the water much quicker than clay and is more lightweight. the cooling effect of evaporating water is used to preserve food.

detail of the ‘thermodynamic cooler’

during his visit to incheon, rochus jacob met high interest from the korean industry to produce the ‘thermodynamic cooler’. hopefully we will see this refrigerator on the international market soon.

‘tree ring web’ by zhang jian + ma lian lian from chinathe entry ‘tree ring web‘ – won a second prize. circular trunk wood veins are printed on toilet paper and are a shockingly-clear-everyday-reminder to save paper. intended to enhance awareness, this graphic project describes the origin of the material and alludes to the world’s shortness of trees and forests.

‘save water brick’ by jin-young yoon + jeongwoong kwon from koreaanother second prize was given to the young korean designers jin-young yoon and jeongwoong kwon for their entry ‘save water brick‘. they state that ‘only in korea more than 20 tons of wasteful leaves are discarded and that the bricks are made of these dry leaves combined with recycled plastic waste. the project foresees canals within the bricks to collect the rainwater for reuse.

a third prize was given to the entry ‘balloon’ by bart baccarne from belgium

‘balloon‘ was award with a third prize. the wind turbine has a vertical axis and with the words of the belgian designer can be described as ‘more silent and safer’ than the traditional ones with wings. when turning, the 3 vanes appear as a single spherical corpus – a balloon.

in the exhibition also statistics of participation in the designboom competition ‘iida awards 2009’ were featured…

… and all the names of the designers of the 280 shortlisted entries (plus countries of provenience) form the word ‘iida’

close-up

members of the the incheon city government are visiting the exhibition

1st prize winner rochus jacob from USA during the award ceremony

two 2nd prize winners : the chinese zhang jian + ma lian lian and the korean jin-young yoon + jeongwoong kwon.

three 3rd prize winners: from left to right – david veldkamp from usa, bart baccarne from belgium and chun sic park from korea

apart from receiving the cash prizes, all foreign winners were invited to incheon (flight and hotel stay offered by the iida 2009 organization), meanwhile the korean designers received a stipend for a study trip to a foreign country of their choice.

birgit lohmann (CEO designboom) and hyuk um, CEO of alt-c, a seoul-based company which organizes design exhibitions in korea and publishes a design supersite in korean language designflux, featuring among other info the authorized translations of designboom’s articles.

designboom has given a presentation of the ‘green life’ iida award 2009 and of the printed catalogue.

birgit lohmann of designboom at the ribbon cutting ceremony of design korea 2009 event

all images © designboom

a brand new design competition is calling for participation – ‘the intelligent hand’, designboom and macef home show are co-organizing the 6th edition of collaboration for the design award massimo martini. we seek out for contemporary and innovative small furniture and home accessories, tableware, utensils, tools,  … free participation for applicants from every country in the world, for professionals, students, and design-enthusiasts.

be quick, register now as application registration will be accepted only through january 02, 2010. see how to submit your work here.