Swedish Style

And the winner of this year's Electrolux's design lab was the "flatshare" fridge. A clever idea to have separate compartments for those flatmates who always take your last slice of bread or your precious red-beer... that's much better than the big-brother approach which would be to install a tiny webcam inside the fridge. That way you could search the security video and tell your mate: "I saw you taking my cheese!".

- Flatshare fridge, with separate, portable modules powered by a single base station has won first prize in the Electrolux Design Lab 2008 competition. Conceived by Stefan Buchberger of the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Flatshare also won the media award and the people’s choice award. “I got the idea to create the Flatshare fridge because in many shared flats there is a problem with the refrigerator, says Buchberger. “It gets filthy because no one person feels responsible for cleaning it.” College students, grad students and young professionals, for examlple, often share living spaces…and kitchens. With Flatshare, never again will they have to endure another person’s moldy cheese or old leftovers. -

From October 18 to 25, 2008, Swedish Style New Zealand will take place in Auckland as an initiative of the Embassy of Sweden to showcase contemporary Sweden in the fields of design, art, music, gastronomy, travel and sustainability. Design: The Value Connection, a three hour symposium will look at how New Zealand companies can translate Sweden’s acclaimed ability to add value through design. The symposium presenters are experienced and inspiring designers including Anders Breitholtz, industrial designer and entrepreneur; Bjorn Rietz, design advertising “guru” and entrepreneur; and Brian Richards, Brand Strategist, BRR. The session will be moderated by commentator and financial journalist Rod Oram. (via)

Date: Monday 20 October 2008
Time: 12.30pm to 4pm
Venue: AUT University, Conference Centre, Wellesley Street
Tickets: Free of charge.
Registration: Go to the Swedish style page or click here.

ciao