Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 31. (Budapest, 2017)
Piroska NOVÁK: New Acquisitions in the Museum of Applied Arts’ Collection: Clean Water in the Glass - Product Family of Ceramic Water Filters
The prototype of the double-wall cooler (inv. no. 2016.8.1.1-4), designed by Gyöngyvér Varga, keeps food fresh for several days or even weeks beyond the expiration date during warm summers, without electricity. The designer relied on her precise knowledge of the characteristics of the material - unglazed, porous earthenware ceramics. Wet sand placed between the walls of the vessels acts as an insulator, while evaporation, a process that absorbs heat, cools the material in the interior. This system of cooling and conserving is based on technology developed by Mohammed Bah Abba of Nigeria.9 Varga combined this with water filtration by replacing the inner container with the water filter; thus the different pieces can be varied and their functions expanded. (Fig. 4; Figs. 6-7) The designers never saw the Clean Water in the Glass family of products as merely their response to a university design task. From the start, their long-term goal was to create a self-sustaining project that includ5. Gyöngyvér Varga: Prototype of a double-wall cooler Photo by Anita Boldog ed communities in need, relied on local raw materials, and employed a local work force, thereby offering a solution to a highly complex social problem.10 Achieving this goal would have required the support of non-governmental organizations willing to organize the manufacture of filter press moulds, send volunteers to teach members of disadvantaged communities how to use the filters, and finance the purchase of plastic components. Despite numerous appearances in the press, the designers were unable to find committed investors willing to support their endeavours; thus unfortunately the project never advanced beyond the preparation of prototypes. Despite all this, the acquisition of the Clean Water in the Glass family of products by the Museum of Applied Arts can be viewed as positive. It reinforces one of the fundamental missions of the institution: conveying value and presenting examples worth emulating. The ceramic water filters do not fit the traditional collecting guidelines of the museum as they are not made of valuable or exotic material, were not made with artistic or intricate techniques, have no historic value and cannot be linked to any important collector or collection. Nevertheless, they are representatives of the holistic design concept, of those products that support sustainable development. Although prototypes, these objects are not merely examples of tolerant, socially responsible design but also superb examples of systems design, as the ceramic filters can be freely interchanged with containers made of various materials and used for a variety of purposes. Containers of plastic and glazed and unglazed ceramics, for instance, are suitable for garden use because the favourable qualities of the earthenware material allow them to function as coolers. In other words, these are not just 156
