A non electric toaster
A solid and low-tech toaster for existing home hobs.
How does it work?
The toaster is made from a single piece of cast aluminium, with an enamel finish to make it food safe and easily cleanable. Two stainless steel handles allow it to be moved in complete safety. The toaster is optimized to transmit heat evenly on both slices of bread, it can be placed on all the heat sources present in the house: electric hob, wood stove and more. All types of bread can be used in the toaster, just need to cut a suitable slice into the opening. Toast is cooked in quickly minutes without timer, so you need to be careful with your toast. The enamelling allows a choice of color, the red which blends in the food universe.
Why is it needed?
This project raises a current issue that concerns us all: the lifespan of our everyday objects. The current lifespan of the toaster is three to five years according to ADEME, while its use is daily and dates back more than two hundred years but in other forms. The three quarters of the French have one and in half of the cases if there is a breakdown, it’s thrown away. It seems important to us to offer a low-tech toaster and not only a repairable electric model. Only three robust and durable parts against more than two hundred fragile parts for an electric model. This drastic simplification of the object allows us to significantly extend its robustness, to bring its production closer while keeping a reasonable price permit by low number of componment.
How does it improve life?
This toaster tries to reconnect a link with the user, that of keeping an object in time. Beyond the material robustness we try to design endearing objects, which user want to keep longer as possible or even pass it on. With the climate challenge, we believe that the designer must reduce the consumption of energy and materials necessary for everyday objects, but without drastically upsetting the habits and comfort of users. With this toaster we try to find a balance between reduction of materials and comfort of use, by allowing two slices of bread toasted simultaneously, with an object that takes up less space than a classic toaster but which requires attention when cooking. We will hope to draw a real Domestic Transition, so that our objects are more robust but desirable.