Electrolux showcases appliances of the future

The products, going on show at Grand Designs Live next month, are creative solutions to the company’s compact living brief, which looks to the year 2050 when an estimated 74 per cent of the global population are expected to live in urban environments.

Designs on display respond to challenges posed by the preparation and storage of food and the washing of clothes and dishes.

Portable heating and cooking device The Snail by Peter Alwin – winner of last year’s competition – works through magnetic induction and can be stuck directly onto a pot, pan or mug. Powered by a high-density sugar-crystal battery, The Snail converts energy from the sugar by heating up a coil to conduct the magnetic induction process to the utensil.

Clean Closet, by Michael Edenius, is a wardrobe that cleans clothes from within. Garments are scanned for impurities and cleaned using molecular technology that removes dirt and odours.

These designs will be displayed with other 2010 finalists at House of The Future, which will run as part of House of The Future at Grand Designs Live from 30 April – 8 May.

Electrolux Design Lab 11 competition is now live and open to students of industrial design or recent graduates in the discipline. A six-month paid internship and prize money is at stake and this year’s brief seeks solutions to intelligent mobility within home appliances. Entries must be in by 1 May.