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Extinguish/Extinct, Ciubotaru Mihaela, HEAD Geneva; Ashtree, Dror Kaspi, IED Barcelona
During Milan Design Week look out for JTI Clean City Lab at the Triennale – the 25 finalists from the international student design competition created by JT International SA (JTI).
With a brief to promote sustainable and responsible behavior in the urban environment, this is the second year that tobacco manufacturer JTI has created this competition involving post-graduates from four European design schools, the Politecnico di Milano, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, IED in Barcelona and Haute école d’art et de design, Geneva.
Extinguish / Extinct by Ciubotaru Mihaela of HEAD Geneva illustrates the serious consequences of not extinguishing one’s cigarette properly. ‘A series of sculptural ashtrays made out of cast-off tree trunks and branches (from sick or dead trees that have been cut down) are installed in public places. The wood is a metaphor of cigarette-caused fires, whereas the metal tube set inside the wooden sculpture to collect the cigarette butts prevents the embers from lighting into fire.
‘This unusual ashtray can be set up anywhere in the city. In parks its vegetal nature blends seamlessly with the surroundings. The cement pedestal enhances the ashtray’s sculptural aspect, meant to arouse the public’s curiosity, while smoke-related data gathered from regional / national / international statistics and engraved in the metallic structure exemplifies the concept of the Extinguish / Extinct ashtray.’
Dror Kaspi of IED Barcelona proposes Ashtree, an ashtray integrated into an urban planter. ‘The tendency of smokers to dispose of their cigarette butts around plants was the guideline for this design. The unusual shape of a giant ashtray is meant to create an irony that will make people more aware of their actions.’
Smokey, Pasquale Belmonte & Antonio De Bellis, Politecnico di Milano; Stub It, Qian Han, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Smokey by Pasquale Belmonte & Antonio De Bellis of the Politecnico di Milano has a ‘stylised anthropomorphic form which stretches its arms towards smokers, to accept cigarette butts hiding them from view. Once the cigarette is extinguished in the sloping surface of the arm, the butt slides directly into the inner receptacle.’
Stub It is a wall-mounted public ashtray designed by Qian Han of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design for ‘easy recognition, easy use and easy emptying. It is inspired by the shape of alarms and the colour of the fluorescent orange roadblock – not to be missed.’
The three winning designs will be announced at a ceremony at Milan’s Triennale during the Salone del Mobile 2012 and will receive a cash prize. The winner will also have the opportunity of having his/her project produced with the support of JTI.
The JTI Clean City Lab project at Milan’s Triennale is developed in in partnership with the strategic research and consulting institute Future Concept Lab.
