I often browse the comments under e-zine articles even though the things that people post can get upsetting sometimes.  Online forums and comment sections are notorious as places for people to voice their opinions which naturally lead to many disagreements.  These two fish tanks were similar enough to spark the age-old argument of who’s copying who.

The one on the left, designed by Benjamin Graindorge, is a straightforward fish tank with a natural purification system and does not need to change water.  The tank on the right was designed for raising fish at home to be eaten, according to designer Mathieu Lehanneur.

On the left: A reused jar with a screw on lid by Jorre van Ast.   On the right: Biodegradable plastic lids for reused standard cans by Jack Bresnahan at New Designers, a graduate art show.

Both of these products are aimed at children, both use paper pulp and have similar construction methods.  The chairs on the left, named The Parapu chair, were designed by a Swedish architecture studio called Claesson Koivisto Rune.  The playful stone-like seats and tables on the right are by Latvian designers, Merci Design and are meant to be moved around to form letters and numbers.

The question that I pose is that are these pairs too similar to each other to be individually relevant in the scheme of eco-art?  Is it worth arguing who’s came first?

Personally, I think these are all pretty nice designs that reduce our impact on the earth in a creative way.  They all fill a specific niche and have slightly different purposes.  For example even though one could use a jar and a can for the same thing, they are two different materials and come from different waste sources.  Metal might be better at storing one thing, glass another.  It’s similar to how Motorola came out with the first “modern” cell phone, and then other companies took that concept and improved on it.  Now everyone has one.

Back to talking eco, there does come a point where a particular resource or method might become trendy and overused while there are plenty of other kinds of wastes waiting to be reclaimed and upcycled.  But for now I think anything that helps reduce waste and brings us closer to living greener is good, unless you create something good and original, later only to find some blatant rip-offs.

Via Dezeen also here and here here here

Via Inhabitat

Related Posts

1. 8 Green Water Bottles
2. iPowerplant: Electric Design