The modular toaster, designed by Hadar Gorelik, is sustainable by virtue of its intended long-term use.
Sustainable design is often thought of in terms of upcycled or organic materials, but it is also about what happens to the designed object in the long run. Cardboard furniture, for example, is sustainable not only because it is made from recycled materials but because it is easily recycled in the future as well. Beauty is said to increase sustainability as well, and designer Gadi Amit believes that “objects have a cultural meaning, and objects that are lovable, that are well integrated into culture, won’t be trashed after five years, and so are sustainable.”
But the ability to reinvent and come up with new uses for a product also obviously demonstrates sustainability, since users’ needs change all the time. Israeli designer Hadar Gorelik’s modular toaster does just that, and is sustainable by virtue of the fact that it takes the user’s present and future needs into account and avoids the possibility of becoming obsolete.
The inspiration for the toaster design came from a scenario many of us are familiar with: a big family breakfast and only one toaster. The existent solutions – to either make a bunch of toast before and serve it cold or continually make toast throughout breakfast – were not appealing to Gorelik and so she decided to come up with a solution.
Gorelik’s idea is fairly simple:
“Each member of the family has their own toaster, this way the toaster is as big as your family. While connected to one another, the toasters can work together and can work separately.”
The concept of the modular toaster is not stagnant, however, and is the individual toasters are not intended to be stuck together forever. Gorelik states that “this toaster grows and changes with your family. When a child moves out, he can take his toaster to his new apartment and start there a new toaster family of his own.”
Read more about sustainable design::
Krooom Makes Recycled and Recyclable Cardboard Furniture for Kids of All Ages
Beauty Increases Sustainability, According to Designer Gadi Amit
Interview with MiKlum Studio, Designers of Furniture Out of Nothing
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
