Super Solar

Absolutely love this, and it's definitely going on my wish list... A self sustaining floating island, designed by Michele Puzzolante. This solar floating resort is: hotel, yacht, submarine (sleeping six), has an underwater observation room, a jacuzzi and photovoltaic thin-film skin panels, which if implemented properly, could produce a third of the worlds energy by 2060.

That aside, the development of clean solar energy technologies combined with the vast electrical energy created by the power of the sun, could translate into an unlimited, non-polluting energy for the future. It could also be part of the solution to our current problem of global warming as well as other environmental issues.

Via Inhabitat

The Future We Choose

As contributor, I am excited to announce the London book launch 
of 'The Future We Choose' An initiative of Think Act Vote 

The Launch is today at The Arch Gallery - 14.00 Wednesday 25 July 
& continues to 02.00 Thursday 26 July.

Press Release

18^th July 2012

 Now is the time to create the future that we choose for the world. 

New book launched by Think Act Vote (?!X) shows us how. 

As we stand in 2012, many of the ideologies running our world systems have failed. Some of us fear there is no other belief system that has enough strength behind it to succeed. Yet, we have a plethora of solutions and ideas amongst us that could lead to a brighter future, argues Think Act Vote in their book ‘The Future We Choose’.

The Future We Choose brings together over 200 forward thinking voices, from the general public mixed in with those well known, from fashion designers to historians, campaigners to presenters. Here they share the vision of the world they want to live in with their ideas of how to create it. The book revolves around ‘The Futures Interview’, which also asks for a Future Soundtrack and five all time favourite weblinks. Launched by radical think-tank Think Act Vote (?!X), it was founded to create a new conversation around democracy and how we create the future we choose.

‘An idea that could send a transforming fire to the future.’ 

Ben Okri, Author and Poet.

The Future We Choose features contributors including Wayne Hemingway, June Sarpong, Kriss Akabusi, Katharine Hamnett, Lynne Franks and Dan Snow sharing their answers to these questions. It is a personal, political exploration of what we value, and how we can live these values in our everyday lives. It aims to provide a space for the reader to stop, think about the world they choose to live in and how we then create it. Input was gathered from music festivals, social media and the corridors of parliament. It ends with an afterword by campaigner and activist Sam Roddick, who poignantly encourages us to believe that anything is possible.

The project began with a fashion design competition back in 2010 in the run up to the UK general election. Think Act Vote founder, Amisha Ghadiali said: “If politics were a fashion brand, you wouldn’t wear it. We want to use creativity to create a community around the choices we make for our future.”

The book was previewed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during the Rio+20 Earth Summit with an event at the Hub Culture Pavilion. In the UK, it launches officially on Wednesday 25^th July with an event at The Arch Gallery in East London. This will bring together many of the contributors for an afternoon of talks, workshops and live music.

The Future We Choose is supported by a variety of people including Tim Smit from The Eden Project who said, “I feel a new form of democracy stirring and it is exciting and vital. Go make a difference I say. Read this book and start now.”

1. The Futures Interview: http://alisondaydesigns.blogspot.nl/2011/12/futured-interview.html

2. Video: http://alisondaydesigns.blogspot.nl/2012/01/futures-exhibtion-think-act-vote.html

3. Futures Calender: http://alisondaydesigns.blogspot.nl/2012/02/futures-calendar.html

Alison Day Designs 

The Futures Exhibtion - Think Act Vote

An exciting project, up and coming book, and the brain child of Think Act Vote. Follow the links to find out more. 

My illustration includes the fish, which can be seen at the start of the video
Indie Gogo info: here


Other Links:

1. The Futures Interview: http://alisondaydesigns.blogspot.nl/2011/12/futured-interview.html

2. Futures Calender: http://alisondaydesigns.blogspot.nl/2012/02/futures-calendar.html

3. Book launch and press release: http://alisondaydesigns.blogspot.nl/2012/07/the-future-we-choose.html

Alison Day Designs

What's Hot, What's Not! - Sky Cars - The Only Way is Up

Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly,
but the bumblebee doesn't know that so it goes on flying anyway.  

~ Mary Kay Ash

Mid-flight to England this summer, trying to take my mind of the nausea provoking turbulence, I noticed in the in-flight magazine an interesting addition to the gadget section. Nestled on the page in between this years ‘must haves’, of a pair of Skull-crusher headphones, a weird USB stick and an ugly suitcase cover was a cherry red PAL-V (Personal Air & Land Vehicle).

For one horrible moment, I thought that the makers of the Reliant

Robin (a 3-wheeled car from the 70’s, infamous for toppling over whilst cornering) was trying to make a 21st century come back. Upon further inspection, it became apparent that this is far more superior. Intended to be the world’s first practical ‘flying car’, the PAL-V is a single seated, three-wheeled vehicle that can fly as a gyro-copter, drive as a regular car and handles with the diversity of a motorbike. Now how cool is that, in these days of increasing gridlock and road rage! Its fold-able rotor means that it can be driven from your doorstep and then flown to your destination of choice. This could revolutionize personal air travel, as just getting to the airport and one’s flight is a nightmare these days.

The PAL-V is due to appear in 2012. Conceived by John Bakker working with Spark design (amongst others), it has taken 6 years to develop a vehicle concept that can fly as well as drive. The PAL-V has a possible speed of up to 125 mph on land and 120 mph in the air, as well as being able to soar to heights of 4,000 feet.

With transport going vertical, our highways may soon look like something out of the film ‘The Fifth Element’, with Bruce Willis. But it’s not all plain sailing or should I say flying? In order to be able to drive/fly one of these you will need a plethora of licences. For starters, an aircraft certification: “Small Rotorcraft”, road certification: Three wheeled Motorcycles, Class L5e, car drivers license, 20-40 hours of flying experience and approximately $ 7000 to pay for it all! That’s all before you have bought the aircraft, which will only set you back a paltry $75,000.

The PAL-V on the other hand is ‘cheap’, compared to the middle of the range priced, Terrafugia at $194,000. This one looks rather like a plane and has been dubbed ‘not a true skycar’, by its critics. Then there is the top of the range (not on sale just yet) Moller Skycar M400 at $526,634.35. This can comfortably seat four people and travels up to speeds of 380 mph.

Of course in order to fly with the happy abandon of a Jetsons cartoon, (Hanna Barbara), a foolproof GPS navigation system will also have to be implemented for transport that is going to be land-air, at a moments notice, otherwise it could be disastrous. But all said and done, I must admit I like the idea of this mode of transport and should I decide to invest in one, it’ll land nicely on the roof of my vertical garden!

Sources: Pal-V   Moller   Terrafugia

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #25 Autumn 2009 

Intelligent Fridges

Are the new ‘must have’ techno inventions of today really necessary or are we just being manipulated into believing that we need all this?

I remember the uproar when the old vinyl disc was replaced by the compact disc, and the perturbed few who realized that they could never ‘not be at home’, any more with the introduction of the mobile phone. But what seems to have followed is a conveyor belt of new inventions, which I doubt the necessity of. Added to the blackberry, iPod, Mp3 player and iPhone there is also an intelligent fridge!

Well I suppose it could well be true. This mammoth fridge, not only keeps your food cool, makes ice cubes, is self-cleaning, and due to a cunning little strip underneath each product knows how much milk is left. It then tells you when to buy a new pack. Pretty handy, one may never have to write another shopping list again. It also has a built-in screen for TV and Internet—Hooray! I may never have to leave my kitchen again.  

Don’t worry about not having ever to think again, this will be compensated for by the fact that one regularly trains ones brain with the brain trainer programmes offered by a Nintendo DS Lite.

For those of you as cynical as me there’s a super short story called ‘The Machine Stops’ by E. M. Forster, which shows what could happen to the human race if we continue along this tack. But having said that, in a couple of years I will probably be the proud owner of one, once I’ve bought a bigger house of course.

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #21 Autumn 2008