cool :):):)

Reinventing the Dish and the Drainboard to Make Dishwashing Easier

Collin is convinced that dishwashers are greener than handwashing, but I am not so sure; one or two people can take a long time to fill one up, and his calculations don't take into account the embodied energy making the dishwasher, the space it takes up and the cost of buying and maintaining the thing. We have a Bosche that needs a $500 repair and are washing by hand these days, and I have found that the standard dishrack could use a bit of a redesign. H2O Visions shows a few ideas that might make the job easier. Above is a new dishrack design from DBA.

H2O visions describes it as:

a unique design that employs a gradation in the spacing of flexible rods for holding dishes of all sizes and shapes. On one end of the rack, the rod spacing is denser, providing enough support for cutlery and more delicate items. The sparser arrangement on the other end leaves enough room for larger bowls and pans. Made entirely from recycled polypropylene, the dish rack rods are connected by a flexible mesh, allowing the rack to be twisted open and rinsed. A minimal and lovely addition for the counter-top landscape, this rack could be just the thing for a tired routine.

I saw a similar idea at ICFF from UK design company Black + Blum; their new "High and Dry" has soft fingers to support wineglasses.

A contemporary and highly functional dishrack inspired by architecture. The sculptural shape folds down to a flat compact shape for easy storage. The wave of spikes can be used to hold even your most delicate champagne glasses upright. There is a drainage tray which has an ingenious flip up spout so that you can chose to drain or not, depending on your kitchen set up.

It was an editor's pick at Metropolis, who noted that "Sometimes the best designs at ICFF aren't furniture."

Another interesting approach is to redesign the plate and the cup so that they don't need a dishrack at all. Treehugger favourites Giffen Termeer created drip-dry dishes:

The Drip-Dry dish set-comprised of a plate, bowl, and cup-come equipped with a handy little stand of their own, based on fragments of tree branches. After washing, the self-sufficient dishes can be stood up on end and placed on a towel to dry, sans rack.

More at H2O Visions

Last year we wrote about Studio Gorm's Flow2 kitchen:
Rethinking the Kitchen: Flow2 kitchen by Studio Gorm.