Students from Rotterdam’s Piet Zwart Institute presented their project. Altered Appliances this month during the 2013 Milan Design Week. This collection of four low-tech hand powered kitchen utensils were shown during a live demonstration where they explained the making process of each object.
Rollware is a set of laser cut rolling pins which can be used to make decorative, edible plates. First of all the pastry is rolled out with one set of pins and then another set is used to cut the pastry into shapes of various sizes, thus creating a set of edible plates and dishes as a wonderfully decorative alternative to plastic ones. If bowls are required then the answer is the Extrudough is a set of woven like vessels which are created from soft dough tubes formed by putting the dough through an old fashioned meat grinder. The dough is allowed to fall over moulds and allowed to set at room temperature, resulting in a set of biodegradable tableware. Another item is the Flip Food Box, a sturdy, origami like folded box inspired by the traditional brown paper bag. The various sections may be made waterproof by the insertion of a reusable plastic interior section. Finally, the CONE formation measuring set is a stand through which a predetermined mound of salt is poured, sprayed with water to harden it then a layer of runny clay is poured over resulting in an accurate set of measuring cups when set.
This project was carried out by the students as a suggestion against the current trend to turn a household kitchen into a space which is constantly being bombarded with automated gadgets and equipment, which will ultimately make it resemble a factory production line instead of a family space.
