BLOOMINGTON, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rickard Hederstierna from Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden is the winner of the Electrolux Design Lab 2009 competition for inventing Cocoon, the meat and fish maker.

Electrolux, a global leader in home and professional appliances, selected Cocoon as the Electrolux Design Lab ’09 winner. The only American finalist took third place with Renew, a high-tech clothing steamer concept. The announcements were made at the finals in London on September 24, 2009, at 100% Design London, the UK’s leading architecture and design event.

Cocoon is a sustainable response to the world’s growing population and its desire to consume meat and fish. Similar to heating popcorn in a microwave, Cocoon prepares genetically engineered and pre-packaged meat and fish dishes by heating muscle cells identified by radio frequency identification (RFID) signals. The signals detect the specific dish and then suggest the required cooking time. This process uses science to create food, lifting a burden on the planet by reducing the need for further intensive farming and fishing. The negative effects of this process, including the mass transportation of food around the world, clearing of land and distortion of ecosystems, are then negated.

Jury motivation

A jury of internationally-recognized designers judged the entries based on intuitive design, innovation and consumer insight.

Their motivation: “Cocoon addresses a controversial issue that is very real: humankind’s continued desire to eat meat and fish. A great design concept polarizes opinion, and this is exactly what Cocoon achieves by exploring this issue. An inviting, tactile design, Cocoon resembles a gemstone with a metal accent reflecting the heritage of the Swedish art-glass industry. Cocoon meets all of the brief’s criteria: it is daring, cutting edge and truly innovative in its focus on social and environmental issues.”

The jury

The jury included Nipa Doshi, furniture designer and co-founder of Doshi Levien design studio; David Fisher, design director of internationally-renowned product design consultancy Seymourpowell; Marisol Manso Cortina, manager of the Color Design Group at Nissan Design Europe; and Henrik Otto, senior vice president of Global Design at Electrolux.

The award

The Electrolux Design Lab 2009 award is a prize of approximately $7,000 and a six-month paid internship at one of Electrolux global design centers.

The award for second place went to “Water Catcher”, the flying rain catcher and water purifier by Penghao Shan from Zhejiang Sci-tech University, China. Third place went to “Renew”, the smart steamer by Louis Filosa from Purdue University, USA. The People’s Choice Award – as voted for online – is “Teleport Fridge”, the refrigerator that teleports food by Dulyawat Wongnawa from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.

The competition theme

For Electrolux Design Lab’s seventh edition, undergraduate and graduate industrial design students were invited to send in their home appliance ideas for the next 90 years in celebration of the Electrolux 90-year anniversary. The brief was to create thoughtfully-designed products that will shape how people prepare and store food, wash clothes and do dishes over the next nine decades. This year over 900 entries were submitted from students in more 50 countries.

The top eight finalists

• FIRST PLACE
  Cocoon, the fish and meat maker by Rickard Hederstierna from Lund Institute of Technology, Sweden

• SECOND PLACE
  Water Catcher, the flying rain catcher and water purifier by Penghao Shan from Zhejiang Sci-tech University, China

• THIRD PLACE
  Renew, the smart steamer by Louis Filosa from Purdue University, USA

• PEOPLE’S CHOICE
  Teleport Fridge, the refrigerator that teleports food by Dulyawat Wongnawa from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

• Le Petit Prince, the robotic greenhouse for Mars by Martin Miklica from Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic

• Moléculaire, the 3D molecular food printer by Nico Kläber from Köln International School of Design, Germany

• Naturewash, the waterless washing machine by Zhenpeng Li from Zhejiang University, China

• Bifoliate, the wall-mounted double dishwasher by Toma Brundzaite from Vilnius Academy of Art, Lithuania

About Electrolux Design Lab

Established in 2003, Electrolux Design Lab is an annual, global design competition open to undergraduate and graduate industrial design students who are invited to present innovative ideas for household appliances of the future.

The competition has had different themes and culminates in a new city every year at an international press event. Previous themes and venues include: Designs for the Internet generation, Zurich, 2008; Green designs, Paris, 2007; Designs for healthy eating, Barcelona, 2006; Designs of the future, Stockholm, 2005; Designs of the future, New York, 2004; User-driven solutions, Budapest, 2003.

For more information, press materials, and on-demand videos, visit www.electrolux.com/designlab.....more http://www.businesswire.com/