PHILADELPHIA (May 2, 2008) – With recent medical advances, the population of the United States is living longer than ever. So much so that by the year 2030, 70 million people over the age of 60 will be living in the U.S. In fact, Pennsylvania has the second oldest population state in the nation. Meanwhile, the birth rate in the developed world is dropping rapidly. “The number of people over the age of 65 is going to double over the next quarter century, thanks to the aging of the baby-boom generation,” product designer Gretchen Anderson has stated regularly.

Living longer is good. Living longer and with greater ease is better. That is the focus of “Aging with Design,” the Industrial Design senior thesis exhibition at The University of the Arts. Twenty-one students created design interventions, taking into consideration the ever-fluctuating relationships between aging people and their surrounding objects. Looked at in the contexts of “body,” “home” and “community,” design solutions range from urine-based hydroponics systems and radical three-wheel tilting bicycles to bottle ergonomics and mobility aids. Staged in inside three totally refurbished and repurposed shipping containers on a vacant lot in the heart of the Avenue of the Arts, “Aging with Design” is collection of provocative products that embrace and redefine what it means to be “timeless.” These projects are meaningful interventions for a multigenerational society.

The University’s Industrial Design program places a strong emphasis on understanding people and the lives they share with products. By learning the importance of designing for and with obsolescence, students are taught to design for how people use, evolve with and discard objects. This sensitivity is reflected in the subject matter of the show as well as the choice to utilize one of the city's many vacant lots as the exhibition site and the implementation of shipping containers as the gallery space.

Selected Project capsules:

Smooth Pour: The common one-gallon jug has been in American homes for over 40 years. And for 40 years, it has been difficult to handle and pour. The Easy Pour Pitcher brings ease and accessibility to an old packaging standard.

GrowCycle: A urine-utilizing hydroponics garden for the urban dweller. While the gardener breaths in the oxygen and consumes the vitamins from the plants, the plants simultaneously take in CO2 and nitrogen from the gardener’s urine. Both the plant and the gardener are fed by one another, creating a symbiotic relationship.

Indi Knit: A tool holder for one-armed crafters to make it easier for them to knit in a more open, social environment. It is geared toward amputees, stroke victims and temporarily-disabled knitters looking for a good recovery activity. The holder embraces and stabilizes the needle much the same way that the user’s non-functioning hand would otherwise.

EvoGlove: A glove designed for comfort and multitude of applications for those suffering from hand pain, due to over use or mild to severe carpal tunnel. With the aid of Thermoplastic Elastomer (TEP) gels, the stresses from every day objects are redistributed and dampened. Sonic welding technology allows for a seamless form that is a lightweight durable, allowing you to carry on with your daily activities without bulky hardware.

Triblean: A retrofit tricycle kit that allows the rider to have a stable ride on three wheels without sacrificing performance. The integrated tilting mechanism will allow the rider to lean into turns and corner at higher speeds while Ackermann steering delivers Formula 1 steering performance.

TransPack: A stress-reducing backpack for aging hikers to be used on established hiking trails. Reduces the strain on the back, shoulders and hips and allows active elders to travel outdoors with space for all their necessities.

Charmacy: A combination of personalized and customized charms, each with is own significant meaning, from which users create a message for themselves or for those all around. The charms are made of non-precious metals, but become precious in their own right. Through the act of ownership, each purchase will benefit organizations that specify research and promote communities among the aging population.

Xframe: A universal attachment which mounts onto various power chair designs and which enables users to perform routine tasks independently.

Stand: A device helping people sit and stand with ease under their own power. It works naturally as a cane but put in reverse so that a pull and push act happens. It is meant to be a natural act of sitting and standing and not be a forced incentive to be used.

Xtend: A device to assist in wrist flexibility exercises for those who need out-patient physical therapy or who want to prevent wrist injury during sports that induce repeated stress to the wrist.

Never Off Balance: A textured, visible, ergonomic handle that is installed underneath a kitchen cabinet and addresses the problem of falling in the home.

Domah: An lid opener that allows the hand to cup the lid, allowing for even distribution of pressure, while doubling the surface area on which to hold. These factors combine to make the lid easier to open.

Ey-Fi: A magnifying reading aid for the retail environment that introduces a new concept called “Aid-vertising” and enlarges fine print on packages.

Young Line No. 8: A new finger separator designed for the elderly who have hand tremors. The resilient quality of the finger separator contours to various hand sizes and reshapes to its original state when it’s not in use.

Aging by Design
Opening: May 21, 7 - 10 p.m.
May 22 – 30, noon - 3 p.m.; May 31, noon - 9 p.m.; closed Sundays.
331 S. Broad St. (next to Chambers-Wylie Church @ 315 S. Broad St.)

For more information, visit www.agingwithdesign.com or www.uarts.edu/go or call 215/717-6250.

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