DesignAndHarvestingConclusions

Intro

This research covered many aspects of Design in relation to Energy Harvesting. The idea that products, fashion architecture becomes independent of external energy is very attractive. In a layered structure of energy harvesting it should become realizable in the future. With layered structure is meant a combination of sources (wind, solar etc) and storage, from very small to local scale. Added to this should be a careful choice of interactivity and availability of the behavior.

Bachelor

The research question was to investigate if some notion of energy harvesting is important for students of the WdKA. In practice the demands in the last year of the study from the domain of specialisation (eg product design, spatial design, fashion) are already very high. The graduation projects are becoming more and more interactive, which means energy and electricity is needed. Normally either the mains (220V) or batteries are used. If "saving energy" is not a main topic of the graduation proposal, making the final design independent of external energy by energy harvesting is an added demand.
Sometimes it is possible to make use of energy harvesting, but for most projects this would mean an enormous complication of the final project in technical aspects, which are not the prime focus of the WdKA design studies.

Comparison with MA projects

Comparing the WdKA bachelor project with MA projects presented at DDW2014, like Solly of Roes, or the Nightlight of ... it can be perceived that even for MA students energy harvesting in all it's technical implications is a difficult added aspect. Solly for example is not optimized in using energy, while paradoxically it will promote energy harvesting. In a conversation with the designer Roes he acknowlegded this weakness but told me he will ask a technical expert for this. Even his MA level does not imply mastering even simple energy optimalization techniques.

Possiblities

Given this complex situation there are WdKA students who are conceptualizing ideas which involve energy harvesting. An example are the minor and the graduation projects of Otske Penin. In the minor she envisioned a bicycle which generates energy for a WIFI connection. In her graduation project she employed different sources of energy for independency of a squqre around a swimming pool in the city.

Applications of the artistic research results

In some student projects the use o the Ljusa kit was contemplated, in one project it was actually used. The Victory over the Sun has been displayed in Bremen at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen and will be displayed at the e-textile summercamp 2015 at Paillard. This artistic research result is too complex for the average student but interesting for it's internal diversity and application of different techniques.
The Flash-Knit swatch will be part of the Swatchbook 2015
These results will have its effects, but it will be limited and probably ......(work in progress)