The habitat

Looking for ways to preserve food in natural ways, the habitat was developed based in deep research and inspiration in ancient methods of food preservation. For this team project in collaboration with ID grad students Aisha Iskanderani and Jiekun Qian, the first step was to understand the science behind traditional preservation methods. The conducted experiments included trying different materials, ventilation arrangements and natural cleaning methods. The project focused on preserving produce without the use of electricity or synthetic materials.

After the research and experiment phase was concluded, the team decided to focus on two main concepts: ventilation and material properties.

The ventilation system focused on preventing the ripening effect of ethylene gas on produce, while the materials that were selected had particular physical properties such as thermal conductivity, that made them ideal to preserve certain types of produce. 2D and 3D ideation was conducted to understand proportions, ergonomics and modularity. The final concepts include a preserving and a cleaning system. The habitat provides 4 containers with metal, wood and glass lining that provide 3 ideal environments (cool/dry, cool/moist, warm/dry). Pure is a cleaning system that provides a measuring cup to apply the right proportion of vinegar to a washing container. The system also includes a strainer and a brush to remove residue from produce. Both concepts were developed in CAD and prototypes were built.