SAFE: Design Takes on Risk

Every day, everywhere in the world, there is danger and anxiety. The causes for unease are dramatically different depending on political, socioeconomic, and geographic conditions. The objects in this exhibition offer a sampling of some of the creative responses to these fears by designers all over the world.

In the United States, the accoutrements of safety range from door chains to seat belts, from advisory stickers on baby strollers to polystyrene padding for shipment boxes. In Japan, they include surgical masks worn by civilians infected with the common cold, electronic breath-checkers, and key holders specially equipped with a static-electricity discharger. In India and Bangladesh, people use disposable covers on pay phone headsets to contain infectious diseases, and terra-cotta jars to filter arsenic out of drinking water. In Cuba, bicycle bells are made out of old squeaky toys, raincoats are devised from sugar sacks, and home fences are made from discarded refrigerator grilles. Designers internationally are addressing the perception versus the reality of danger and making the best of the resources at hand, without losing sight of local culture and customs.

These objects read like a catalogue of fears that we encounter in routine, normal situations: fear of shattering our bones in a car accident or of an object breaking in the shipping process; fear of unsanitary conditions, diseases, bad smells, and hot handles; fear of ageing; fear of what smoking and overeating will do to us; fear of wasting water. There is no end to this collection of fascinating anxieties. Especially in everyday life, especially in the First World, safety is an industry in constant expansion: because there is no end to what could go wrong, there is also no end to the creative and commercial possibilities that design can offer.

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Throughout the world, danger and anxiety are a part of daily life. The causes for unease are dramatically different depending on political, socioeconomic, and geographic conditions. There are many fears we encounter in our daily lives: for example, the fear of getting hurt in a car accident; the fear of unsanitary conditions; or the fear of what smoking can do to the body. The objects in this section offer a sampling of creative responses to these fears:

Within the current trend for larger, heavier cars, Pininfarina's Nido (prototype, 2004) concept reexamines the safety of small automobiles and proposes a safety alternative that is comprised of three main parts: a chassis that supports the mechanical components, which includes a rigid safety cell that surrounds the occupants; a shell that holds the driver and passenger and works like a sled; and two energy-dissipating absorbers consisting of honeycomb sections that connect the chassis and the sled. In the event of a frontal collision, the sled shifts forward and compresses the honeycomb absorbers, allowing for a gradual and controlled deceleration of the passenger compartment.

A child's safety is a parent's primary concern. The Stokke Xplory baby stroller [2003, Bjørn Refsum (Norwegian), Hilde Angelfoss Øxseth (Norwegian), K8 Industridesign (Norway, est. 1998), and Bård Eker Industrial Design (Norway, est. 1994)] situates the child high off the ground away from everyday dust, heat, and fumes.

Cindy van den Bremen (Dutch, b. 1972) created Capsters Sports Headgear for Muslim Women (1999) to give girls and their gym teachers in the Netherlands a safe alternative to the traditional hijab during gym class. This range of head accessories can be worn for different sports activities as well as to protect against wind or cold weather.

In some areas, drinkable water is hard to come by. The Watercone (1999) is a simple, inexpensive way to make contaminated water drinkable. Invented by Stephan Augustin (German, b. 1967), the Watercone is able to float on water or rest securely on moist ground. With the sun shining on it, salted water evaporates beneath the cone and condenses on the inside surface. Water droplets gather in a drain rail, allowing the user to either pour the water out or drink the water right away. This condensation process automatically purifies the water in a single-stage distillation procedure.

Fakhrul Islam (Bangladeshi, b. 1939) invented the Shapla Arsenic Removal Filter (2001) for International Development Enterprises (Bangladesh, est. 1981) to remove arsenic from drinking water in India. The low-cost filter, which contains a mixture of crushed brick and ferrous sulphate, can supply 32 liters of drinking water per day.

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