'Shared Warm Space' Design Grand Prize Winner: Heating with Bamboo and Aluminum

Japan's Ministry of the Environment and Design Association NPO, who jointly organized the Low Carbon Life-Design Award 2009, announced the award winners on February 2, 2010. The award aims to propose low-carbon lifestyles for achieving the national goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020.

Under a theme of "Shared Warm Space," the organizers collected new designs from the public for a space where people voluntarily gather to share warmth without over-dependence on heaters during winter. There were 407 applications from professionals, amateurs, individuals and companies.

The Grand Prize from the Minister of the Environment went to a proposal by an associate professor and a graduate student of the Kanazawa Institute of Technology. Heat produced by fermenting thinned bamboo chips is transmitted through a large aluminum wall to a space, which is then surrounded by an aluminum-evaporated net, similar in structure to a mosquito net. The space is kept warm by heat reflected by the net in a similar manner as the nests commonly seen in nature.

The Second Grand Prize of the Design Association was given to a plan to make homes warmer by changing the position of air-conditioners and furniture. The Jury's Special Award went to a plan to create an eco-space with trees and benches and warmed using geothermal energy. Eighteen other proposals received honorable mentions.

Ministry of the Environment official website
http://www.env.go.jp/en/

Posted: 2010/04/26 06:00:15 AM