Off the Grid, Sustainable
Habitat 2020

red dot
red dot award: design concept 2008

company:

Philips Design

With future sustainable housing for large cities in mind, Off the Grid explores the integration of electronics and biochemistry in the design of building façades.

Life in the developed world is very dependent on the grids of energy and water supply. Yet energy crises, clean water shortage, global warming and environmental pollution are current global problems. Thinking of cities as dynamic and ever-evolving eco-systems can help to formulate strategies for a sustainable urban future.

This project had its beginnings in a brief for developing sustainable housing for a megalopolis in China in 2020. It explores the integration of electronics and biochemical functionalities into the inert material of the built environment.

The concept fundamentally changes the current approach to buildings and habitat. Whereas building surfaces are currently inert ‘dumb’ materials only used for shielding purposes, this future habitat shifts to sensitive functional skins that are ‘alive’ and act as membranes to harness energy. A membrane creates a strong link between the exterior and interior of the habitat and can be used as a transporter, collecting and channelling the elements of air, water and light from exterior to interior. This will supply the habitat with all necessary sources to be able to live off the grid.