DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: KRANEN/GILLE

“Wacky industrial” might best describe the creations produced by the Dutch design duo Kranen/Gille.

Even in the collaboration’s infancy, their creative output is prolific and diverse. They have worked with the likes of Philippe Starck on the Istanbul location of the design-conscious Mama Shelter. They are a craft-focused and environmentally conscious pair; their submission to the 2012 Green Design Competition manages to take the least sexy of products, the dehumidifier, and make it one of the coolest things we’ve seen all day. A ceramic pot, a natural shell made of coconut fibers and clay, some seeds and a few chemicals are the elements that make up this radical dehumidifier. It absorbs water and then uses the moisture to grow gorgeous mushrooms on the outside of the device. Harvest mushrooms, replace chemicals, and repeat. The function determines the form, and it looks good.