takeovertime: Amazin Apartment | Industrial FacilityA minimal...
Amazin Apartment | Industrial Facility
A minimal concept created by London-based design company Industrial Facility. According to the designers, despite the implicit promise of digital technology to make our lives simpler and easier, there is a crisis afoot for the growing, older population. Although many household appliances are easily acquired, these same products are inherently difficult to manage and maintain over time; what was once purchased as a convenience has potential to become a burden in later life. As we age, we become less likely to navigate the conditions that shops and manufacturers require of youthful consumers. This puts the ageing population in an unfortunate position – abandoned at the exact moment when they need better products, increased assistance and servicing. Alienated by the speed of change in trade, manufacturing and technology, older consumers would benefit from a revolutionary domestic independence: the Amazin Apartment. In the installation, three segments of a typical Amazin wall have been created to demonstrate the visual and functional differences between the apartment and service sides. For example the washer/dryer has a single button with one setting, not endless interfaces. It is positioned at standing height, with a shelf below, to avoid the need for bending down. The back side of the walls house the Amazin Service corridor, organized like an advanced warehouse, so that goods and services can be passed through, historically analyzed and replaced as needed with minimal impact on the Apartment, allowing staff to repair or replace an appliance should it break – all without staff entering the apartment.