Finalist for the Australian Design Award James Dyson Award, the ‘Ajiro’ is a personal mobility vehicle that can literally be grown by its user.
Based on the practice of arborsculpture, student designer Alexander Vittouris found that by utilizing bamboo to form Ajiro’s structure he was simultaneously unlocking the door to clean footprint transport that, within time, could be accessible to all.
Intervening with bamboo at initial growth stage and moulding it over a reusable skeletal substructure, Vittouris learnt that the plant would maintain its shape and form a sound base for an urban vehicle.
“It was about rethinking current manufacturing processes, to approach construction as a natural growing process and let the plant itself achieve more of the fabrication,” he explains.
He chose bamboo for its rapid growth rate (incredibly, it bears the potential of growing as much as one metre every 24 hour period) and for its structural stability.
Added to this, the broad range of species available means that this concept can be adopted and utilized locally.
The very act of growing one’s own vehicle and being part of its development process, results in a level of bonding between vehicle and rider.
In turn, Vittouris hopes that people will learn that “material worth is beyond that of ‘discardability,’ [and that] one’s own efforts, witnessing growth, creates a tangible link to the very history of the product.”
See Vittouris’ Australian Design Award application at:
Australian Design Award James Dyson Award