EOOS has developed a prototype for a "zero-emissions utility vehicle", or ZUV, which can be 3D-printed locally rather than having to be shipped around the world.
Created by EOOS NEXT, the social design arm of Austrian studio EOOS, the vehicle was commissioned for MAK's Climate Care exhibition as part of the Vienna Biennale for Change. The tricycle is made from 70 kilograms of plastic packaging waste sourced from supermarkets.
The ZUV can carry two people on its bench seat
"We wanted to design around local, affordable production," EOOS founder Harald Gründl told Dezeen.
"Because of the high labour costs in Europe, almost every bike frame is produced in Asia. But we want a local ZUV production facility in every city around the world." Its chassis is 3D-printed from plastic waste
Created in collaboration with additive manufacturing company The New Raw, the ZUV is powered via a rear-wheel hub motor without the need for pedals or a bike chain.
To produce the simplified design, Gründl envisioned a local economic cycle, which would allow users to 3D-print the polypropylene chassis at a fab lab with large-scale robot printing.
From here, they could go to any bike workshop to bolt on a motor at its predefined position alongside the handlebars, brakes and three wheels.
Two children or an equivalent amount of cargo can fit in the transport box at the front
This would allow individual components to be repaired and replaced close to home to extend the ...