'Cream' de la crème on show at design exhibition

Amanda Powell

6 December 2010: A design for a solar powered car won the inaugural ‘Michael Bryce Award for Design Excellence' at the opening of a new exhibition of the best work by graduating design students.

The ‘Cream’ exhibition has officially opened at the Gallery of Australian Design (GAD) and showcases the top student projects for 2010 across the disciplines of architecture, graphic design, industrial design and landscape architecture. Other designs on show include calorie-controlled tableware, an innovative electric drill and a tram station for Gungahlin.

Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker presented the award to Marco Chan, for ‘Origin,’ a solar and pedal powered concept vehicle, which took six months to make. Mr Chan was chosen from graduating students exhibiting in Cream by a panel of academic staff in conjunction with an external member.

“I did a lot of research and found that the transparent and flexible solar cell has great potential to be used in the car industry,” Mr Chan said.

“The linear pedaling charging system, on the other hand, provides us with the chance to exercise and is a much safer option for cyclists.”

Marco Chan (left) with lecturer in industrial design Chris Hardy. Photo: George Poulakis

Fellow student Julian Lombardo said he chose to study design because he felt it provided a unique balance between being creative and practical thinking.

His latest work is a set of tableware designed to subtly reduce people’s calorie intake.

“I found that portion control is one of the biggest challenges to weight loss management and the area in which most people abandon their weight loss endeavors. The tableware that I created alters the perception of the portion size,” Mr Lombardo said.

“I came up with the concept because I was interested in weight loss as an issue that many Australians struggle with and I could see an opportunity to make a positive impact through design.”

Julian Lombardo in front of his work. Photo: George Poulakis

The exhibition also features urban design proposals for West Basin, Woden Town Centre and Belconnen foreshore as well as conceptual designs for a library and community centre in Sydney and for a new embassy for the Netherlands.

The exhibition runs from 3 December to 29 January.

The Gallery is open 10am-4pm Wednesday to Saturday.