SPD Scuola Politecnica di Design, a design school in Milan, Italy, recently won the top SMAU Industrial Design Award, a design competition for schools and universities. The winning project, Cristian Riccardi's "Mushware," done in conjunction with Microsoft Italia, is a Wi-Fi access point inteded for public spaces. Mushware is a symbol and icon of wireless access to new-generation services; with its unusual shape of an imposingly large mushroom, the object harkens back to the telephone boxes of the past. Mushware takes on a unifying social role as well: each aerial has small spots which can act as microphones, webcams, monitors, sound speakers, image and light projectors. These spots capture the action going on around the Mushware, and allows the user to transmit this information to other people and places on the network.
According to Mr. Riccardi, Mushware "dematerializes" the office by allowing instant network access in pulbic spaces, while also supplying "all those interconnectional and entertainment services that have now become absolutely essential."

More info: http://www.scuoladesign.com

Date Posted: November 02, 2003
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