Noon
Noon has been designed as a product to be released in 2036 in California. It is a delivery box that can either be ordered or brought with you to your garden, to the beach, to a park, or anywhere else where you would like to spend some time with your family or friends. NooN contains everything that is needed to enjoy a meal out in the sun.
Californa 2036 Scenario
Due to climate change regulations and evolving technology, most people in 2036 are working from home.
People’s lifestyle has changed rapidly into something where most of the socialization with people is done through technology, where they can reach anyone at any time. People are no longer physically seeing and meeting their peers, but are hyper-connected through the opportunities made available by enhanced technology and digital platforms.
Being remotely connected with colleagues and friends facilitates people to stay inside and escape the rising temperatures of California. Social contact is limited, and physical appearance is close to non-existent, even for families living in the same household.
Personas
Our persona, Sarah, is 35 years old. She is a mother of two children and is working full
time as a tax agent, where she has been working from home for the last 5 years. Sarah is hardly seeing her kids anymore, due to every family member working from home at different times of the day. When Sarah gets off, her kids have already connected with their friends digitally, or will have a late night class. Even for dinner they are separated, as everyone in the household is just ordering their own food.
Problem definition
Researching about the challenges California is facing in the year of 2036 and the scenario of Sarah made us understand two main issues. The first one is the problems and regulations that climate change will bring. Most people's homes will function as their workplace.
The other one is a social issue, where everyone is remotely connected to friends, family, work and school. Almost any kind of physical interaction is substituted with digital interaction. It is in this intersection between climate and social issues that is the target of our innovation.
The barbecue culture
To address these problems we were inspired by one of the most socially engaging activities which most families practice, eating together. At dinner time family members disconnect from technology and this sets up the space to exchange stories and experiences family members had during the day. Most American households are moving towards a take-away culture, where, unfortunately, this interaction no longer exists.
We were inspired by different dishes that naturally let people interact with each other and gather them. Some of the meals we researched were raclette, fondue and several asian dishes. We started looking into barbecuing, which californian families gather around while they enjoy nature and interact with friends and family.
The traditional barbecue
Inspecting the activity of barbecuing there are three main problems relevant for the future of California
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The use of fossil fuels or electricity to generate fire to cook the food.
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The large consumption of meat.
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And lastly, usually there is only a single individual being responsible for cooking and preparing the food.
The Noon Barbecue
With noon, we create a new way of experiencing barbecue. We have taken these weaknesses, seen them as opportunities and transformed them into advantages of the future:
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Our concept uses solar energy to heat up the food.
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We use plant-based products that do not need to be cooked, but just slightly heated.
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We make it a collaborative experience and let everyone socialize around the food and the cooking device.
Our solution
Therefore we created Noon, a food delivery service, focusing on the delivery of our culinary experience with a 3-in-1 product solution:
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Our product is first of all a food container. This delivery box is made of paper with a reflective inner surface. The box contains plant-based strips of food, which the customer is able to heat and consume afterwards. The packaging is designed in a shape that supports the weight of the food and prevents the thin paper from collapsing.
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The second configuration is the solar cooker that uses the energy provided by the sun to heat up the provided food.The simple solar cooker is not supposed to cook any food, but rather use the reflective panels and shape of the container to direct enough californian sun onto the food at the center plate to warm it before eating.
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The third configuration is a preparation and dining station, where families and friends can gather around and interact with the food and each other.
So our product is a new way of gathering family and friends to not just eat together, but act as a mediator for social gatherings and make use of the california climate. Unlike traditional ways to heat food, no fossil fuels or electricity is needed to create power, as the sun is all the power we need. Customers need nothing else, than what is provided to them.
Product details
Noon ensures a new way of interacting with your family. It lets you disconnect from the daily use of technology and gathers family members in a new way.
We make use of the properties that paper offers, as it is easily foldable and can be constructed from a flat piece of paper. This makes noon lightweight, and best of all, It is fully recyclable. Making a cooking device out of paper. You wonder about flammability. No worries. The food is heated, not cooked. Temperatures will never get close to the point where it will catch fire.
Inside the box there are rolls of plant-based food. These rolls are on detachable paper plates. The customer can select from different types of flavors to create their own favorite combination. The menu is a set of plant-based meat, vegetables, sauces and bread. The menu is unique for every week, where the customer receives a combination of well-known flavors, while also being surprised with mysterious new unknown flavors that our service provides them.
Everything is plant-based, which gives us the power to design the shape, consistency and flavor of the food. The food is shaped like thin strips that will easily obtain the heat from the sun. The strips can be combined into a sandwich-like structure and made into delicious rolls. Each user assembles their own roll, combining the different flavors of their likings. When the roll is ready, it is put into the center.
Promotional video
The shape of the box is configured into the solar cooker and placed into direct sunshine. After a few minutes the roll is ready to be served. Once done, the container can folded into a flat surface again, where the rolls can be eaten and the next rolls can be prepared.
We have designed noon for families and friends to spend time together and take a step back from a busy week filled with technology. We combine the opportunities of the sun and evolution of plant-based meat to do our duty as designers and take care of our planet. The properties of paper make the product not only have the function of delivering food, but also preparing it, eating it and heating it, all with a product that is fully recyclable. This is noon.
Project overview
Academic Project: Politecnico di Milano - Master degree
Duration: 5 months
Design Team: Nina Zanarelli, Siddharta Saxena, Bo Cheng, Denise Pong, Beatrice Margutti, Tobias Aupke