UnLimited Motxilla by Kuan-Hua Chou is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award de Bronze in Disseny de Productes Sostenibles, Projectes i Disseny Verd Competition Category.

BronzeProducte Sostenible· 2020

UnLimited Motxilla

by Kuan-Hua Chou

Client: Kuan-hua Chou

A' Design Award de Bronze Winner in Producte Sostenible Category

19,026

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #95138

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About UnLimited Motxilla

UnLimited és una motxilla reciclable dissenyada per a ciclistes urbans. La motxilla és totalment impermeable i ajustable en mida. Una estructura de fol permet que la bossa s'expandeixi per a objectes inesperats i es comprimeixi en una forma prima que millora la mobilitat. UnLimited està feta d'un sol material, un elastòmer termoplàstic reciclable amb diferents nivells de duresa, i es segella mitjançant soldadura tèrmica. La majoria de motxilles combinen diversos materials i són difícils de reciclar. La construcció d'un sol material afavoreix la reutilització i el reciclatge al final de la seva vida útil.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Bronze

UnLimited Motxilla és un guanyador del guardó A' Design Award de Bronze, un reconeixement altament prestigiós concedit a dissenys sobresortints que es distingeixen per la creativitat, l'enginy i l'astúcia. Els guanyadors de Bronze són artefactes ampliament hàbils i sorprenentment creatius que autentiquen la vasta experiència, la imaginació i el recurs dels seus dissenyadors. Es preveu que UnLimited Motxilla sigui un objecte molt apreciat, admirat i estimat, notablement professional i innovador. Aquest disseny guanyador del guardó A' Design Award de Bronze incorpora les millors pràctiques de l'art, la ciència, el disseny i la tecnologia i és excel·lent per la seva atenció al detall. UnLimited Motxilla satisfà esplèndidament les necessitats, toca els desitjos, encisa els sentiments i crida la curiositat.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: UnLimited is a recyclable, fully waterproof and size adjustable backpack tailored to the needs of an urban slow cyclist. This project aims to demonstrate the unlimited and limited requirements of space and material through a daily backpack. It can both expand to accommodate unexpected items and compress to keep the backpack streamlined to allow for better mobility.
Dimensions & Packaging: 290 mm x 410 mm x (20~150) mm, 860 g
Tags: backpack, material, exploration, sustainable, plastics, responsible consumption and production, slow cycling, commuting, unlimited, limited
Production Technology: The concept and production focus on concertina structure, material features and plastic production methods. Following the design philosophy for 'design of reduction', the backpack is sealed by heat welding and made of mono-material DuPont Hytrel, or similar recyclable thermoplastic elastomers with different levels of hardness. This feature is in stark contrast to the backpacks on the market today, which are multi-material and hard to recycle.
Design Challenge: How to bring DuPont Hytrel from industrial usages to daily life market is the first challenge of this project. Another barrier is to search suitable hardness and thickness for the concertina structure, which should provide an instantly positive user experience.
Research: The design research was conducted through material exploration firstly and discovering the target audience and market through survey, road observation and 1:1 interview.
Inspiration: Plastics that improve with age. The project is to design a product, with recyclable plastic, that is sustainable and creates a genuine bond with the user. An object that improves with age and counters some of the negative attributes often attributed to plastics such as cheap, transient and unemotional. Considering the longevity of a solution but also its place in a circular economy. What is its service life, how can it be reused, recycled or repurposed if it comes to the end of its useful life?
Project Duration: The material research started from visiting DuPont Geneva Innovation Center in October 2016. The concept development was implemented during the springs of 2017 and 2018 in London, following a release in the 2018 degree show at the Royal College of Art. The latest prototype was made in November 2019 in Tainan.
Operation Flow: Enough? Enough! UnLimited provides cyclists space depends on their needs. However, for the limitation of a bike, cyclists should not be a greedy user. They have to ensure the load they carry can keep their journey comfortable, not an obstacle. The project reflects balance and interaction between cyclists and their freedom of bringing as much as they can or as less as they can.
Patents: Copyrights belong to Kuan-hua Chou, 2018.
Image Credits: Photographer: Kuan-hua Chou

VIDEO CREDITS:
Filmmaker: Hiroki Yokoyama
Composer: Eternity Bro
Starring: Victoria Lynn-Hamilton, Anthony Fanna, Beatrice Maione