Names
Australian Design Awards - Powerhouse Museum Collection
IDs
1981
Descriptions
The Powerhouse Museum has been building the country's first collection of contemporary product design selected from the prestigious Australian Design Awards. There are approximately 100 design objects in this collection dating from 1992.
Since 1992 the Powerhouse Museum has recognised excellence in Australian product design with its own award as part of the annual Australian Design Awards program. The winning products have been displayed in the Museum and some have been added to the Museum's collection. The Powerhouse Museum is the only Australian museum that actively collects and records contemporary Australian industrial design, and the Powerhouse Museum Selection is a key part of building this collection. When collecting contemporary design the Museum considers the entire process of product design, not only the final product. The Powerhouse Museum Selection is made from the DesignMark finalists each year. The Museum's selection criteria include good design, innovation, and the significance of a product to Australia's material culture. Products must demonstrate innovation in design, technology or materials used. They must also show potential to become important in the life of Australians, be significant to Australian industry or provide an opportunity for Australian design to be recognised in the global marketplace. The first Powerhouse Museum Selection in 1992 included the HPM Fanlight and Surgeguard power surge protector, products that were still in the marketplace fourteen years later. Since then the selection has ranged from simple everyday items such as the Clark sink plug to specialised technologies such as the Mine Site Integrated Communications Cap Lamp. Design for sustainability has been of constant interest throughout the selection, represented by products such as the Kambrook Axis kettle, Rainbank pump controller and Caroma Smartflush toilet. Medical technologies have also featured strongly, from the Bionica ambulatory drug infusion pump to the VentrAssist heart pump and Cochlear implant
Some items in this collection may be subject to copyright
By appointment
Subjects
Australian Design Awards; Industrial design; Product design; Sustainability
Design drawings; Design models; Domestic equipment; Health and medical equipment
Coverage Spatial
Australia
Coverage Temporal
1992
Related Collections
Dates
2012-05-30 23:40