A Competition initiated by KOKUYO, titled KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD 2016. Competition to attract beautifully functional product designs, taking the best of the best to the actual consumer market. The theme of 2016 was “How to Live”
Djehovan found some problems when he back to his hometown. The river near his home filled with Water Hyacinth and it’s very detrimental for the ecosystem. So Djehovan comes with the idea to make Water Hyacinth into useful things. Eichhornia crassipes commonly known as Water Hyacinth is an aquatic plant native to the Amazon basin and is often considered a highly problematic invasive species outside its native range. This plant lived in the river, lake, water disposal etc. Negative effects caused by this plant are :
- Decreasing the volume of oxygen under the water. This plant can fastly cover an entire surface of the water. So, the sunlight can’t get into the water and the dissolved oxygen will be depleted. Besides that, Water Hyacinth caused evapotranspiration for the water they inhabit
- The Water became shallow. Gradually, the dead Water Hyacinth will fall into the bottom of the river/lake and then cause silting of water
- Disrupt boat traffic in the water. This plant causes a fishing boat got stuck and difficult to move because it covers most of the boat lanes
- Disrupt the beauty of the aquatic environment. Need special treatment for this plant in order to minimize the damage of aquatic environment
Therefore, one of an option to reduce the negative impact from Water Hyacinth by making use of this plant as a material substance to make innovation product that called PLEH.
PLEH is an innovative product that stimulates the imagination of its users to create design solutions based on activities or user’s need. The solution is very contextual and varies for each user. Water Hyacinth will be used as the main material for making these products so that in addition to functioning as a problem solver, PLEH will also help reduce the negative impact of Water Hyacinth for its surrounding.
PLEH can be used by anyone, anytime and the way it works in accordance with the imagination and user’s needs. For example :
- A couple who wants to go picnic can use PLEH as a replacement for plate and table mats
- An office worker who has limited work desk can use PLEH to keep their stationery, file, book or even a tumblers
- Someone who likes to read and collect books can use PLEH as bookshelves that attach to the walls
- Someone who loves to cook can use PLEH as a place to store their cooking ingredients
- A robotic designer can use PLEH as a track to test their robot
And many more possibilities that can be generated by PLEH
COMPETITION RESULT : SUBMISSION ENTRY