Gensler and Milliken respond to Surge’s challenge: Design for a Better Future
January 2021
Surge for Water is a charity that invests in communities through safe water, sanitation and hygiene solutions to help end the cycle of poverty. Milliken supported Surge for Water as one of the headline sponsors (along with Acoulite and Surface Eleven) at its 7th Annual ‘Design, Dine, make a Difference’ gala in Dubai during December 2020.
As part of the event the UAE’s leading interior design houses are asked to respond to a design challenge, where designers battle it out in a competition to create the best, most unique piece of lighting or furniture. This year the brief was for a team collaboration towards a creative, innovative solution and the challenge: “Design for a Better Future.” Gensler was partnered with Milliken who were selected as the Overall Competition Winner and Most Impactful Winner.
Gensler and Milliken’s winning entry is a minimal, modular and prefabricated living art farm pod. The vision is to provide these pods for communities to be able to grow their own food and in so doing connect people with one another and with nature by nurturing fresh produce. The hydroponic (growing plants, usually crops, without soil) method employed uses less water and can occupy small spaces. The pods are made using advanced material developed by Milliken: Tegris® – with characteristics similar to carbon fibre at 10% of the cost. It’s lightweight, indestructible and 100% recyclable. Tegris thermoplastic composites provide impact resistance and stiffness at a lighter weight than traditional thermoplastics and composites.
Julijana Mitic and Diane Thorsen of Gensler talk about their winning entry: “As the world’s largest architecture and design and planning firm, we are uniquely positioned to address the challenges our local communities are facing — and be a part of the solution. We know that design has quantifiable impact on the human experience, and we are committed to tackle the most pressing issues in our cities. It is our opportunity and our responsibility. Having conversations with the R&D team within Milliken about the concepts and the research they have done was so much fun. The concept is around growing food and connecting different groups of people, for instance social groups with kids and helping them to grow food together. So there is a centralised aspect, there is an economic aspect and of course, with very little use of water, the Surge aspect.”
Shilpa Alva, founder and Executive Director of Surge, explains her motivation behind the charity: “It began when I was a child visiting extended family in India. Issues related to the water crisis were so prevalent that I saw children my age who didn’t have the luxury of playing; instead many were fetching water for their family’s survival. Children should not bear the responsibility of a family’s survival.” In 2008 Shilpa founded Surge and in 2014 she gave up her job to commit to running the organisation full time. Today a global team of talented staff volunteers operates Surge. “Together, we are making a life changing difference for hundreds of thousands of people — changing the world, one drop at a time,” concludes Shilpa Alva.
About Surge
Surge for Water invests in communities with safe water, sanitation and hygiene solutions to help end the cycle of poverty.
About Us – Surge (surgeforwater.org)
For more information about Surge, please contact:
Shilpa Alva, Founder & Executive Director
M-USA: 443-629-4432
M-UAE: 050-593-4375
About Gensler
Gensler is a global architecture, design and planning firm with 50 locations and more than 6,000 professionals networked across Asia, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and the Americas. Founded in 1965, the firm serves more than 3,500 active clients in virtually every industry. Gensler designers strive to make the places people live, work and play more inspiring, more resilient and more impactful.
For more information about Gensler, please contact:
Khushbu Domadia-Bains, Marketing Specialist
Mobile +971 566.53.5198 Direct +971 2.696.3427
About Milliken
Milliken is a leading supplier of floor coverings, with a rich history of delivering dynamic carpet and luxury vinyl tile collections from its award-winning design studios and manufacturing facilities in Wigan, UK. Combining global insight with national expertise and proprietary technologies, Milliken is at the forefront of innovation and design, offering high-performance, expertly-engineered products. Founded in 1865 Milliken has achieved an amazing 150 years in the textiles business and is now one of the largest privately owned companies in the world, providing expert solutions across a range of disciplines, including specialty chemicals, floor coverings, and performance materials. With over 100 years of environmental stewardship, the Milliken family of companies is one of the world’s most responsible manufacturers.
Designing innovative products and solutions for our customers is of the utmost importance. Through meaningful design, deep science, and unique insights, we advance product development to the next level, while supporting Milliken’s efforts to increase sustainable results and minimise environmental impact of all products. Milliken’s holistic approach to innovation encompasses all stages of the life cycle – from material sourcing and manufacturing practices to end-of-life management. Our commitment to transparency, health, safety, quality, and sustainability allows us to put our customers, associates, and communities first. In 2020, Milliken was named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute for the fourteenth year running.
For further press information, please contact:
Lucie Parkin at Parkin Whitman Marketing & Communications E-mail: [email protected], 17 Avenue Road, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire NP7 7DA Tel: 01873 850 913 / 07980 649 308