I found these two takes on the same idea in two separate articles today and I thought they made a great statement about resources versus results.
They're both new products that disguise solar energy units as small indoor plants for aesthetic effect. One of them was created by French designer Vivien Muller and the other was made in a three-pronged Japanese joint-venture between the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Mitsubishi Corp and Tokki Corp.
I'll let you compare the two and make your decision about which one you'd rather have in your home:
They're both new products that disguise solar energy units as small indoor plants for aesthetic effect. One of them was created by French designer Vivien Muller and the other was made in a three-pronged Japanese joint-venture between the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Mitsubishi Corp and Tokki Corp.
I'll let you compare the two and make your decision about which one you'd rather have in your home:
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Assuming they both have the same solar energy gathering and storage capabilities, I'd go for the first. If it's smaller (it's hard to tell) then that's good, and it looks pretty non-descript. People are less likely to notice a plant in the corner of a room or on your balcony or whatever.
The second one is an inefficient use of materials and just horribly gaudy and oversized. It's trying to gain visual attention, which is really not the point of this. It's like putting disco effects and a gold metal cover on a power socket. Why?
I don't want my solar energy gathering device to try and be a centrepiece of my home. I just want it to be small, subtle and practically invisible.
I'd want both.