Designs for the Future at EDIT: Expo for Design, Innovation and Technology

The Grade 11 Green Industries class went to the Expo for Design, Innovation and Technology (EDIT) at the former Unilever Soap Factory on October 6. The Green Industries class involves understanding the design process and focuses on finding solutions to real life problems. EDIT was a great opportunity to showcase the real potential of unique design, as it intends to prove that “design is not just about aesthetics, but also about finding solutions to complex problems.”

EDIT focuses on the Sustainable Development Goals launched by the UNDP (United Nations Development Program) in 2015. These goals include ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combatting climate change and protecting oceans and forests by 2030. The Expo showcases the unique designs that are used to fight these causes, like the use of drones, vertical gardens and food waste as renewable energy.

The Grade 11 class explored the various projects on their trip, from vertical and rooftop farming to virtual reality and 3D printed skin, even tasting some cricket bolognese. Students were able to identify the problems the world is facing and the unique solutions that are being proposed to fix them. This was a great opportunity for students to understand how design impacts the world in ways far beyond the aesthetic.