Beijing Design Week During National Day Holiday

Low carbon and environmental friendliness 1 are never outdated 2 themes when it comes to designing products for everyday use. At this year's Beijing Design Week, designers from all over the world have not only brought many innovatively designed products, but also have enlightened people that contemporary designs should have a greater aim to protect the environment.

Let's take a closer look with our reporter Liu Min.

 

Can clouds be transformed into ice cream? Well, such a fairytale thought has now been realized with an ice-cream machine that produces ice-cream snowflakes using nanotechnology. Facing the mounting global warming problem, the machine's designer, Zoe Papadopoulou of London, says she wants to remind people that if we don't protect our planet, then one day we probably will no longer be able to eat ice cream.

"This proposal we invented will modify the clouds to snow-ice-cream flavored snowflakes - so that we can engage the general public in more specific scientific research (in this area)."

This year's Beijing Design Week and the first Beijing International Design Triennial are running from September 26th to October 3rd. The organizer says Beijing is expected to move towards becoming a culture-enriched capital with better developed technology-driven design industries, while Chinese design brands will play a more influential 4 role on the world stage. The ultimate goal is to help "Made in China" transform to "Designed in China."

As part of the Design Week events, a Beijing Design Exhibition is being held at the National Museum of China. A design team called Good Buddy 5, consisting of 45 designers from all over the world, is displaying works ranging from home appliances to fashion products. The exhibit organizer, Qiu Chunlai from Tsinghua University, says all the designs reflect one concept—recycling.

"Take a look at the fashionable purses behind me. In fact, they are made of waterproof 6 cloth which is used on trucks. Every year, the designers collect the old cloth from truck companies in Europe, and then they come up with new designs annually 7 using these materials."

Designers from China have also expressed their own ideas through innovative 3 works. For example, a collection of ground lights covered by empty mineral water bottles with a small note inside has impressed many visitors.

"I hope that the small lamps can light up every adult and child's hope for the future. These notes are written by students who live in remote villages in China. I hope more people can reach out to help these kids realize their dreams through joint 8 efforts."

A bunch of plastic bags are designed to be ground lights, and above them is a piece of grass. The designer says it simulates a bad environmental situation underground, which in turn calls for a low-carbon lifestyle.

"This is a scene that I want everyone to take a look at. Tearing up a piece of grass, you'll find the soil is no longer as clean as we thought. It may be congested with all kinds of trash. I hope people can pay more attention to the details in their lives so that we can have a better environment in the future."

Low carbon is one of the themes of the Beijing Design Week campaigns. More than 130 activities will be held with more than 30 international events and over 90 Chinese exhibitions.

The festival venues 9 include about 100 design landmarks 10 in Beijing, such as Tsinghua University, Yonghe Park, China Design Market, Dashilan and Sanlitun Village. The central focus will be Tiananmen Square which will house a large-scale installation to be unveiled on October 1st in recognition of the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

For CRI, I'm Liu Min.