The Microbial Home by Philips Design

With a strange but suggestive name, the Microbial Home attempts to bring new standards in our homes. The Microbial Home is a concept home created by Philips Design and what it does is connect machines into cyclical system of input and output in order to minimize waste. This results in an amazing biological machine that filters, processes and recycles everything that’s considered to be waste. The Microbial Home was part of the exhibition at the Piet Hein Eek Gallery during Dutch Design Week 2011 in Eindhoven,Netherlands.

Microbialhome philips eco firendly10

The Microbial Home includes a series of systems, all with suggestive names. For example, the “bio-digester” is a kitchen island that features a chopping surface with waste grinder and gas cooking range. In this case, gas-generating bacteria are being produced using organic waste. The gas produced in then used for cooking and lightning or sent through water pipes.

Microbialhome philips eco firendly10
Microbialhome philips eco firendly10

methane bio-digester

Microbialhome philips eco firendly10

Other interesting elements are the “larder” which is a dining table that can also be used as a food storage system and evaporative cooler. The piece provides spaces of diverse temperatures thus allowing the user to store different kinds of food.

Microbialhome philips eco firendly10
Microbialhome philips eco firendly10

Larder

Microbialhome philips eco firendly10

Paternoster

Microbialhome philips eco firendly10

Urban beehive

The “paternoster” is a unit that breaks down plastic packages and bags and using the resulting materials to grow edible mushrooms. The “urban beehive” is for bee-lovers. It can be installed outside and it features an integrated flowerpot below and an entry tunnel for the bees. The bees will find inside a preexisting honeycomb structure on which they can build their wax cells.

Microbialhome philips eco firendly10

Bio light

Microbialhome philips eco firendly10

Filtering squatting toilet

Another interesting element are the “bio-lights” which use either bioluminescent bacteria or fluorescent proteins to generate light for the home. The system requires no electricity. Finally, the “filtering squatting toilet” is able to save water by using a special flush mechanism that turns residues into energy. This system also requires no external energy.{found on designboom}