14/08/2019
Carlos Peralta wins the “Beyond the Bauhaus: Prototyping the Future” international award on the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus with his “The Moss Table” project.
To commemorate the 100 years of the Bauhaus and as part of the official programme of the Bauhaus Association, the “Germany - Land of Ideas” initiative organised the international design competition “Beyond the Bauhaus: Prototyping the Future”.
The competition was looking for “ground-breaking design ideas and concepts that address a socially relevant topic and provide creative answers to the pressing questions of our time”.
Twenty projects have been selected for the award out from 1500 applications from 50 countries and a range of disciplines. The Moss Table is one of the selected award winners, designed by Dr Carlos Peralta (a design lecturer and researcher at Brighton University) during his PhD at Cambridge University as part of the research programme Design in Science at the IfM, in collaboration with Alex Driver and Dr Paolo Bombelli and the support of professor Chris Howe from the Biochemistry department at Cambridge University.
The Moss Table is a conceptual design intended to demonstrate the potential of Biophotovoltaic technology and how it might be applied in the future. Biophotovoltaic (BPV) devices generate renewable energy and other useful by-products from the photosynthesis of living organisms such as algae and moss. The Moss Table suggests a future in which hybrid natural/artificial objects are utilised at home. The design of the table was kept deliberately simple so as not to draw attention away from the moss and the technology. The silhouette of the Moss Table echoes that of an archetypical table and lamp, whilst the soft curves and neutral colour help to focus attention on the beautiful moss. The Moss Table really keep the Bauhaus principle of “Form follows function” with a semiotic quirk and a futuristic outlook.
The award ceremony and exhibition opening will be held on 16th August at the Aufbau Haus in Berlin.
Please have a look at the awarded projects:
https://land-der-ideen.de/en/competitions/beyond-bauhaus/award-winners
