Fan Bricks

red dot
red dot award: design concept 2008

design:

Dai Ziyi

Bringing fun and flexibility to the fan, as well as
a way to decorate the room, Fan Bricks are a
new take on domestic cooling.

The fan is a more energy-efficient means of cooling than the air conditioner. There is not a lot of variety in the shape of most fans,
however. Fan Bricks have been designed to
bring some fun into the equation. They can be
stacked and assembled according to the user’s
preferences, much like toy blocks. Safety has
been considered, with “soft-safe-fan-leaves”
being used for the blades. These will not injure the hand if it comes into contact with the
rotating fan blades due to an “auto-terminate-
safe-motor”, which switches the rotation direction if the blades are touched. A result of
this safety feature is that the breeze strength
is less than that of ordinary fans. The use of a
series of Fan Bricks can compensate for this.

There is a socket on each of the four sides of
the Fan Bricks. These sockets can be used to connect with another brick, to join with the stand, or to plug in a special power cord. This
allows the bricks to be assembled in various
configurations.

One set of assembled bricks needs only one
power cord. Three bricks, one stand, and
some fittings compose one set of Fan Bricks.
Larger arrangements can be made by adding
more sets. Every socket has its own cover
and every cover has its own place to rest on
the stand. If there are children in the house,
a mask can be applied to the Fan Bricks to
prevent the perception that all fans are as safe
as this one. The dimensions of the parts have
been optimised for packing and shipping.