The 100 Mile Design Challenge Asks Students To Think Local With Their Designs

Our coverage of <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/new-york-design-week">New York Design Week</a> has highlighted some of the most exciting new green products</a>, furnishings, and materials from designers all over the world. And while these sustainable designs really honed in on implementing green measures such as <a href="http://inhabitat.com/humanscales-horizon-led-task-light-uses-low-profile-to-meet-high-design-standards/" target="_blank">energy efficient lighting</a> and recycled post-consumer materials, no designers went as far in their search for holistic sustainability as a group of students from the University of Washington and Maryland Institute College of Art. Under the direction of professors Domenic Murren, Inna Alesina and Gavin Stewart, this young bunch showcased their fresh take on traditional craftsmanship with projects created for the '100 Mile Design Challenge', which asked students to design and manufacture locally, using only materials and processes found within a 100-mile radius of their hometowns. The results gave way to pieces that not only managed a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/the-carbon-footprint-of-the-royal-wedding-is-6765-tons-of-co2/" target="_blank">reduction of embodied energy</a>, but pieces that were also able to evoke the natural and cultural environments of the cities of Seattle and Baltimore.

Cindy Jian's Oyster Soap is mixed from organic honey and oatmeal, with finely ground oyster shell particles mixed in to improve skin quality with its amino acids and calcium.

A warm welcome.

As Jian's Oyster Gardening Tools are used, small pieces of shell break off and into the soil, their high mineral content helping fertilize the soil.

Renee Shen's Crab-To-Go seafood takeout container is a stylish, reusable wood and recycled canvas bag that recalls the shape of a Blue Shell Crab, a local delicacy.

Crab-To-Go has small pockets along the sides of its canvas lining where the user can insert bamboo charcoal to diffuse some of the fresh sea scent of its contents. Once the delicious meal is finished, composting of the shells is facilitated by the high mineral content of the charcoal.

With the help of The Conservation Department at The National Aquarium and Weed Warriors, MICA students formed a local environmental army to collect unwanted bamboo and vine from fragile marshlands. The collected material was used in some projects.

Hair Rollers by Ann Louise Markison simply use small hollow sections of bamboo with minimal slices and holes to create a natural styling tool.

The Poe Pen, Garrett O'Brochta's homage to the famous local poet, encases a marker within a stylized carved bamboo body and cap, its graphic quality reminiscent of a Crayola marker.

Some students used the bamboo's core, as in this sample of weaved bamboo pulp fabric.

Vines were also collected from the Maryland marshlands, resulting in rope and framing for this canvas bag.

Another group of College of the Arts students preoccupied themselves with industrial and post-consumer materials.

The Ringed Corner Chair by Taryn Delinsky consists of a web of circular sections of manila rope tied together in linen string; its fibrous ropes recall Maryland's fishing and textile industry past.

Each piece of Hyeji Jun's Album Quilt Tote is a reused piece of fabric taken from clothing and linen at local thrift stores, the designs chosen specifically due to their specific ties to the city of Baltimore.

John P. McGlew's Tree Stump Bowl consists of low-impact materials (reclaimed wood) and finishing techniques (controlled burning).

Sohroosh Hashemi's weatherproof hunting cap is made from hemp fabric, beeswax, and cattail.

A majority of University of Washington projects consisted, at least partially, of home-made plastics, rosins, or dyes.

Kay Heekyung Kim produces her own bioplastic from milk and vinegar for use in her Milk Plastic Candle Holder.

Baking soda is the main ingredient in Frances Tung's Convertible Flower Planter, acting as a fungicide and soil pH balancing agent.

The city of Baltimore has grown through its interaction with the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding marshlands, and raw materials that can be found in the region range from oyster shells, to invasive bamboo and vine species, and even driftwood and other industrial rubble. From this material palette, 100 Mile designs from the MICA contingent focus on creating products that capture the innovative spirit of this historically entrepreneurial trading port. The final product from these prodigious Environmental Design majors hint at the cultural and material variety of this Mid-Atlantic creative center....<br><br><a href='https://inhabitat.com/the-100-mile-design-challenge-forces-students-to-think-local-with-their-designs/'>READ ARTICLE</a>

The city of Baltimore has grown through its interaction with the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding marshlands, and raw materials that can be found in the region range from oyster shells, to invasive bamboo and vine species, and even driftwood and other industrial rubble. From this material palette, 100 Mile designs from the MICA contingent focus on creating products that capture the innovative spirit of this historically entrepreneurial trading port. The final product from these prodigious Environmental Design majors hint at the cultural and material variety of this Mid-Atlantic creative center....<br><br><a href='https://inhabitat.com/the-100-mile-design-challenge-forces-students-to-think-local-with-their-designs/'>READ ARTICLE</a>