In the future, vegetables can taste like chocolate, towels can be cleaned in seconds, and fashion can be created from plastic bottles. At least, that’s what contestants shortlisted in the Electrolux Design Lab competition believes the world could look like.

The final six entrants was revealed by Electrolux last week, and includes design students from around the world who have created solutions to three categories: Culinary Enjoyment, Fabric Care, and Air Purification.

The competition, run by Electrolux, seeks to showcase the future of home appliances, with this year’s theme being ‘Creating Healthy Homes’. Over 1,700 submissions were received in 2014, with the winner to be announced after the finalists present their concepts to a jury in Paris on November 12.

The first prize will be awarded to the student the judging panel highlights as creating a “ground-breaking design solution of the future”. This student will receive 5,000 euros and a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design centre.

The final shortlist includes:

Air Purification concepts

UrbanCone by by Michał Pośpiech from Poland creates healthy microclimates outdoors as it can purify the air around an entire city, as well as homes. The device lifts up and flies in the air thanks to ultra-light construction and photovoltaic solar panel wings, which mimic the movements of a jellyfish.

Lotus by Fulden Dehneli from Turkey is an air purifier with three portable and rechargeable air cleaning balls. While the main body offers a general purification, the balls can be taken anywhere according to need.

Culinary Enjoyment concepts

Set To Mimic by Sorina Răsteanu from Romania is a set of smart kitchenware that recreates tastes and smells of food to your preference. By placing a non-invasive transparent gel patch with a microchip on your head, the plate and glass communicates wirelessly with your brain to make you experience a taste or smell from the past by tapping into your memory.

FUTURE HUNTER-GATHERER by Pan Wang from China/UK is a virtual grocery shopping experience inspired by nature. It projects a hologram that lets the user play a game to gather food by fishing, hunting or gathering the food from nature. The food the user collects in the game is then transmitted to the local grocery store or market, which in turn gathers the goods and delivers them to the user’s door.

Fabric Care concepts

PETE by Kovács Apor from Hungary merges plastic bottles and creates garments from them according to your taste. The consumer only has to choose the required clothing type, colour and cutting, while the machine gives the amount of PET bottles needed for the fabrication and turns the bottles into polyester and prints the garments.

Pure Towel by Leobardo Armenta from Mexico is a smart towel hangar that instantly cleans your towel after usage, creating a cleaner and healthier bathroom. Using an ultra violet ray and high speed dryer fan, it purifies and dries the tower in only a matter of seconds. This process eliminates 99.9 per cent of the bacteria in a towel and reduces humidity.

Geraldine Chua

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