living sofa by francesco zorzi from italy

LivingSofa is a way in between a proper sofa and a mattress as it can be used both ways.
It has a rectangular shape and it’s made up of many soft triangular modules linked together that
let people decide which shape give to the sofa, how to bend it, where to bend it and how
many times. A zipper allows to “open” the shape of the mattress in order to have a more
diverse and varied configuration. It has a cardboard core with printed foldings that define the modules shape; on top of it a long piezoelectric (PVDF) wire is put, linked to a battery placed in one of the corners of the mattress.The piezo wire and the inner core are covered both sides by triangular latex modules, then textile.
Many shapes for different purposes.
Every action produces vibrations and impacts on the sofa, converted through the PVDF wire into electrical power (piezoelectric properties) and stored in a battery.
After a while, the energy can be used to charge small electrical devices.
The more the vibrations, the more the energy.

A sofa is not the typical energy producing product; it’s to underline that energy is all around us and can be harvested everywhere using alternative technologies and new ways of collecting energy, understanding that very efficient ways of doing it are not the only possible ones.
Two solutions to the energy problem are forecasted: “improve efficiency” & “don’t waste energy”. They’re irrevocably linked and will happen at the same time in different contexts: diverse energy production on different scales and efficiencies (from the very powerful and efficient power plant for public energy to less efficient devices that people use on a personal level), society will be self sufficient, energy will be collected all around us and we’ll participate producing the energy we need.
The future will be driven not only by technologic innovation but also by small choices
of ordinary men and women on a large scale.
Working “together with technology and people” shows them how to be more eco-friendly and change their energy habits.
The project is part of a discursive design: It’s a tool for thinking, its primary purpose is to communicate ideas.
The practical use of Living Sofa is important but it is not the most important thing in the project.

The project on the long run will have pedagogical outcomes.
If people are shown that alternative technologies available today can be used in everyday life,
they could become small scale energy producers, not just energy consumer, for a greener and more sustainable future.
If we design simple and desirable objects that collect some energy as the piggybank collects money, they can be an alternative choice to the non-objects that are fellows of ours in our lives, teaching people to have a different attitude to the world: more independent, sensible towards environmental issues, recycling wastes, re-using, saving water and electricity everyday etc.
Radical little changes if followed by many people could really make the difference.