Bola Sociology Design

Design+Sustentability: Idea of a Tree

June 12th, 2009

Idea of a Tree is a machine that produces benches, boxes and lampshades. It can produce one object per day and it is inspired in the productive process of a tree, because it needs sun light to work.

The light is absorbed by panels, which start the machine when the sun rises and stop it when the sun comes down. All the energy is used to move the gears to make strings attached to it slide through a small tank full of resin and paint. After that, this little strings roll around a circling mold which is also powered by sun light.

The final product is made with these colored, resined and molded strings. The color and the shape depend only on the intensity of the light received, not on human action, just like a fruit from a tree. In sunnier days, the objects produced are thicker and have more vibrant colors, in rainy days, thin and opaque objects are made. This innovation has gained the project recognition and a prize at the International Design Festival Berlin. According to the creators Mishcer e Traxler, the idea is that the machine will work as a metaphor related to nature, because it produces things that are seeded through the day and then ripped when they are ready.