A Portable Solar-Powered Water Distiller Wins The Lexus Design Awards 2021
Lexus hosts an annual design awards (which began in 2013) competition that is all about innovative and purposeful design. As a brand, they believe that design and innovation have the power to change the world. No, these designs are not to do with cars, but anything that can create meaningful social change.
“The Award seeks to contribute to society by supporting designers and creators whose work shows the potential to support the mass production of happiness and shape a better future, which is even more relevant during the unique circumstances presented today. Six finalists gain a rare opportunity to prototype their designs under the mentorship of leading global designers and provides global media exposure to drive professional career advancement.”
This year their theme was Design For A Better Tomorrow. Out of 2,979 entries from 66 countries, a top six were whittled down. These finalists went through a mentorship program with some of the world’s most revered creators and were then judged by an expert panel. Congratulations to the winner of this challenging global competition: Henry Glogau for his invention the PORTABLE SOLAR DISTILLER!
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“The winner was one of the designers who surprised me the most from the application to the final submission. The consistent mission of the winner persisted while the transformation in scale and social function was exemplary. The design became more refined, more functional and more open-source during the process.
The winner was one of the designers who surprised me the most from the application to the final submission. The consistent mission of the winner persisted while the transformation in scale and social function was exemplary. The design became more refined, more functional and more open-source during the process” shares competition judge, Gregg Lynn.
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The Mentors:
Mariam Kamara - Principal architect of Atelier Masomi
Sabine Marcelis - Designer and founder of Studio Sabine Marcelis
Sputniko! - Artist and designer, associate professor at Tokyo University of the Arts
Joe Doucet - Founder of Joe Doucet x Partners
The Judges:
Paola Antonelli - Senior curator for the department of architecture and design at MoMa
Dong Gong - Founder and design principal at Vector Architects
Greg Lynn - Architect and CEO at Piaggio Fast Forward
Simon Humphries - Head of Toyota and Lexus global design
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The Finalists:
Portable Solar Distiller - WINNER
Henry Glogau invented a portable and low tech Solar Distiller, which merges water production with community architecture. The Portable Solar Distiller is a low-tech solution that provides clean drinking water from polluted water or seawater, using sunlight. The portable design merges local resource production with community architecture, providing fresh water and a shaded gathering place too. This lightweight and versatile structure can be configured in different ways and made with different materials, adapting to local environments and user needs.
Henry is a New Zealander who recently graduated from the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen, Denmark. His master’s degree specialized in Architecture and Extreme Environments, where he explored present and future global challenges in expeditions to diverse locations. Henry is now working as an Architect at GXN, the green innovation unit of 3XN.
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CYBO
CY-BO is a new form of cytologically-inspired packaging material that can transform into various shapes by combining the pieces together. Infinitely reusable and rearrangeable, it can be converted into all manner of products for different applications depending on the ideas of the user.
Heartfelt
Gayle Lee and Jessica Vea invented a device that reimagines what being ‘present’ means in an isolated world. Heartfelt explores what ‘being present’ might look like during the age of a pandemic, and seeks to assist with the anxiety and emotional stresses of being in isolation.
The device reflects the heartbeat of your loved one and promotes psychological support and personal connection.
InTempo
Alina Holovatiuk created InTempo is an app and phone cover that aids people facing emotional stress (e.g. panic attacks, sociophobia) in public spaces / during public actions. Touching spots on the phone cover in time with music may help people calm themselves down.
KnitX
Irmandy Wicaksono explores the boundaries between electronics, textiles, and musical interfaces, imbuing interactivity to everyday fabrics with this design. The result is a musical cloth that responds to tactile and proxemic gestures and an interactive carpet that evokes the bi-directionality between dance and music.
Terracotta Valley Wind
Terracotta Valley Wind is an evaporative cooling system that cools subway stations during summer and reduces energy consumption. Terracotta is an inexpensive and accessible clay material; its porous nature allows water to quickly evaporate while utilizing the unused wind resource in subway stations, maximizing the value of train-induced wind. This design by Intsui Design utilises train-induced wind to function and thus is very sustainable.
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- Images Lexus Philippines