Moss Table

, 27 September 2011
news

Last Sunday was the last day (officially) of London’s Design Fesival, but there are still 1002 events & exhibitions still taking place throughout the next few weeks. We didn’t talk or give it a lot of buzz besides makingbelieve because we consider it already has enough, although we forgot to mention last weekend’s Designersblock event was a not-to-be-missed section of it.

One of the key shows which always brings the best emerging design to some great locations, this year was at the impressive Farmiloe Building, home to some of London’s best exhibitions. With a focus on Korean & Swedish design students this year’s edition brought us some  of the most imaginative decoration (some of them functional too) pieces around. Take Feix&Merlin Architechs’ flying “high tea” chairs, or Alex Driver and Carlos Peralta’s Moss Table (also with the participation of Paolo Bombelli).

Moss Table by Alex Driver and Carlos Peralta
Moss Table by Alex Driver and Carlos Peralta from Cabridge University (IfM)

Certainly one of the most eye-catching works in the building thanks to the mix of futuristic design and eco-friendly features. Although after a brief talk with Alex he confessed the emerging technology called biophotovoltaics (BPV) behind the concept is at a very early stage and the little lamp wasn’t actually powered by the moss pots (boooo).

BPV uses the natural process of photosynthesis to generate electrical energy. Researchers are exploring how moss, algae and plants could be used as a source of renewable energy in the future and the Moss Table is still a nice dream that we may see one day (Alex told us to wait a few years to make something truly viable with it… and become an alternative to conventional renewable technologies such as bio-fuels).

Moss pots
Moss pots