Off the Grid 2019

An exploration of what it means to live off the grid.

The initial brief from IKEA was to build on their idea of democratising design – improving everyday life for the many people – with a focus on sustainable life. Whether by choice or circumstance, a life where people can be independent from existing systems in their own homes, a.k.a. living off the grid.

The concept yields a multitude of design directions depending on context; is it:

Voluntary or involuntary?
Temporary or permanent?
Prepared or improvised?
Technological or social?

The multitude of possible interpretations is equally reflected in the result; Off the Grid? A diverse collection of proposals, ranging from a portable hammock for urban dwellers to a concept for waste management facilitation for Palestinian camps in Lebanon.

Lund University
School of Industrial Design
with IKEA