“Currently the only way to monitor a Bathroom’s water consumption is by taking an educated guess using the household’s external flow meter as an indicator. The connection between instantaneous water usage and short term consumption is invisible. If this information could be readily and accurately available to the user, a greater appreciation, understanding and saving of water could be achieved. With this in mind, 51% of all water used in a typical suburban home is used in the bathroom[1] therefore the most savings can made here.

 Koolhaus is a tap ware variant that integrates Bathroom water consumption information with a contemporary and functional aesthetic. Koolhaus allows users to monitor the accumulative water volume that each Bathroom appliance has dispensed during the day. Each bathroom appliance has its own flow rate device installed which relays inflow water volume data back to the Koohaus. The Koolhaus faucet displays this usage information from its convex LCD. Detailed usage data can also be routed to the haus’s computer. This allows the users to keep a detailed water log and review past usage figures.  

Whilst bathroom appliances/components themselves can be modified to provide low flow rates and adhere to sustainable water standards, water usage at the end of day still rests with the user. By educating the user and displaying consumption information, they are able to enjoy their bathroom and the water provided from it – responsibility.”

[1] Government of Victoria, “Target 155 Campaign 2010”, Victorian State Government, Melbourne, http://www.target155.vic.gov.au, (accessed June 6th 2010).

 Model was Rapid Prototyped and hand sprayed.

This concept placed 4th from1300 entries submitted to the Electrolux Design Lab Competition 2010 themed towards compact living within the year 2050.  The following images outline the presentation that was given at the 100% Design London Exhibition during the competition final.

The Home Base creates the user’s own computer generated kitchen. It also provides a Viewport so the user can see their virtual space from reality. The Head Set allows the user to enter their Kitchen Hideaway and cook their own surreal virtual meal. The virtual actions of the user are accurately transmitted to an automated food factory within the building where the meal is prepared with real ingredients. The final meal is then delivered to the user. In addition, by handling the building’s occupant meals in bulk, space and energy savings can be optimized. It also eliminates the wasted energy that would be used shopping for groceries. 

The Kitchen Hideaway creates a virtual food preparation area that occupies no physical space so the clutter, energy costs and maintenance of your own physical kitchen don’t exist anymore. Everything inside this space is indistinguishable from reality. It allows the user to fully customize their own virtual kitchen and share it with others. It also gives those with physical disabilities a chance to cook in their Hideaway without restriction. The user’s personal recipes can also be saved and replicated on demand – when the user doesn’t feel like cooking – ‘virtually’.”  

Check out the video below to see the other 7 Finalist Concepts.

The Aerodynamic-Dashboard is a multipurpose storage device for commuter cyclists.  It provides quick access to small essentials (within its main storage compartment) without getting off the bike. This design configuration also provides a dashboard surface for the rider to place small items such as a phone or other hand held device. 

Frontal lighting and turn signalling are unified whilst the aesthetic appeal of the once skeletal pushbike has become elevated. Lighting/signalling controls are located at the rear, above the handlebar and night riding visibiltity is also increased via the reflective decals. The Aero-Dash creates a streamlined/drag resistant presence at the front of the bike, guiding laminar airflow over and below the rider rather than through the rider.

 The product is attached via a quick release handlebar mount, the front nose handle aids during mounting. The Aero-Dash PET visor can change connection points to allow for compact handling and storage. 

This project really morphed from my previous ‘Eco-Chic’ assignment however key inspirations proved to be planar bodies and existing motorcycle nose cones.

This assignment’s brief required the product be developed to a prototypical stage, therefore a final model was constructed as shown below.  

The two product designs shown here (in situ.) were a result of a quick three week design assignment looking for products to help commuters in times of climate change and high fuel prices. I focused in on cycling and looked at ways to increase safety and decrease user effort. The ‘Hear Stream Helmet’ blocks the hissing noise of wind turbulence over your ears to allow traffic sounds from behind to be clearly interrupted.

The ‘Aero-Dash’ is another potential product that minimises aerodynamic drag and incorporates lighting and storage capabilities. Both scenes were quickly rendered up in Photoshop. Some sketch pages are included.

  This brief required a new design proposal for a multifunctional Automatic Post Machine. The machine would be collocated with Australia Post Stores and help take the load off counter staff. Therefore the machine had to be capable of performing all the functions of the store in an automated, user guided fashion. Before the ideation process even began a large amount of research went into existing ATMs, Train Ticket machines and Post-box design/user interaction. A lot of anthropometric data and user profiles were investigated before the first sketch ideas were dimensioned out. 

  The final design was a wall mounted ’booth’ like unit which allowed the user to send domestic & international letters/satchels/packages of all sizes and weights. The user could also use the APM as a drop box for Australia Post’s Courier Service. Auxiliary functions of the machine included: purchasing of consumables (stamps, envelopes, POSTpak satchels, bags and boxes [the biggest parcel box available was the POSTpak BT/A3 430x305x140mm mailing box- it was dispensed by the machine in folded form]), POSTbillpay, Bank@POST, mail redirection and article tracking.  

  To allow for these functions the machine was fitted out with: an OLED touch screen, physical desktop with printed rulers/parcel sizes and weight scale,  projection barcode scanner, ink writing pen, electronic stylus pen, envelope/satchel/parcel dispense slots, card readers, electric roller shutter parcel bins, auto-adjust input letter apertures,  paper waste bins, postage label printers and error sticker, sticky tape and bubble wrap dispensers. Cash, coin and receipt slots were also integrated. Most of these components either needed their deposited mail cleared or their consumables replenished every so often. As a result the APM was designed with a service/replenishment housing room connected at rear (within the store).

This assignment made use of scenario building to forecast future needs in times of extreme climate change. The task required consideration and demonstration of future possibilities for innovative travel networks. Transport and the way in which we move about our urban environment were aspects of our assigned scenarios which were investigated.  A poster expressing  my predicted products, services and systems is shown.