Press: Living solutions of tomorrow

December 5, 2019

Bayern Design, the center of competency for design sponsored by the State of Bavaria, is presenting a new exhibition at Munich Airport. The Smart Living exhibition is all about where and how people live: Our homes should be efficiently networked, but must also be a comfortable space that protects our privacy. Making this a reality will require holistic ideas, high-performance communications channels and innovative design concepts. Along with smart devices developed for intelligent houses, the exhibition presents the latest trends from the internet of things (IoT) as well as concepts for innovative and sustainable neighborhoods and homes, both in urban and rural settings. 

Smart Living is the fifth and final exhibition in the series "Bayern Design – Lifestyles of the Future". The exhibition will continue until January 31, 2020 in Terminal 2, Level 04 (south check-in area) at Munich Airport.

New forms of housing in urban and rural areas

Among the featured exhibits is the UPSIDE sustainability project, which is working to create a self-sufficient community in the Siebentischwald district in Augsburg. This car-free area is adapted to its natural surroundings, with open spaces set aside for agriculture and fields with scattered fruit trees. The residents work together to harvest the crops. Houses are built using regional materials, with greenhouses on the ground floor and greenery on the walls and roofs. In all of the housing, a sophisticated energy concept is implemented with sustainable insulation and natural heat sinks.

For the urban environment, "büro für bauform", a design office in Nuremberg, has created PlantHouse. It is based on the principle of sustainability and changing lifestyles in response to climate change. To implement the project, a war-scarred 19th-century building at the heart of Nuremberg was chosen as the site for an integrated rooftop garden. Apart from serving as a location for urban gardening, PlantHouse is also a pleasant space for city residents to enjoy the outdoors.

Space-saving futuristic design gardens

But not all great ideas have to be big: With the Plantcube by Agrilution (Munich), people can enjoy their very own futuristic design garden in their own kitchen. In a glass box the size of a small cupboard, they can grow herbs or lettuce in bowls, producing a fresh and healthy harvest all year round. The Plantcube is a fully automated growing box used in closed spaces and providing perfect growing conditions for plants. 

Smart networking in building systems

The starting point for iHaus, developed by the company with the same name in Unterföhring, was the desire to implement smart networking in building systems. Another concept for combining multiple functions in a single unit was created by S. Siedle & Söhne OHG, a manufacturer of interior communication technology from Furtwangen. With the company's central control unit, users can make phone calls, answer the intercom and unlock the door. They can also talk using a hands-free device or make video calls.

Intelligent home heating and camera-equipped vacuum cleaners

Smart systems exist for home heating, too – for example the one designed by EBERLE CONTROLS from Nuremberg. It integrates all of the radiators in the home into an intelligent, user-friendly control system that lets the home owner set up and control up to 16 user-defined heating zones using a smartphone or tablet.

Another technology becoming increasingly common in smart households is robotics. The automated Roxxter vacuum cleaner by Bosch uses an intelligent system to keep the entire home clean. Controlled with a smartphone or tablet, the Roxxter –designed by BRANDIS Industrial Design in Nuremberg – can even clean individual rooms and respond to voice commands. The integrated camera, combined with an app, lets the user see what is happening at home anywhere and anytime. If the cat upsets the feeding dish, for example, the user only has to send a command to the Roxxter – and will later come home to a clean floor.

LabCampus: a fully networked environment for developing innovative solutions

LabCampus provides the perfect environment for smart living spaces, innovators and experts, global players, hidden champions and outstanding young companies. All under one roof, benefiting from the most modern of environments, companies and experts can jointly develop innovative solutions, products and services and present them directly to an audience on their doorstep: an international transport hub. LabCampus will combine working worlds with sports and wellness facilities as well as restaurant and event concepts. 

Detailed information on LabCampus is available at:  www.labcampus.de