Panasonic (‘National’ in Japan) Air Conditioner project was an attempt to make air conditioning more comfortable by indirect, ambient operation. Being directly downstream cold airflow often results in discomfort and may even cause sickness. The device was designed not to blow air out but to be the passageway for comforting current. Hidden behind the small piece of cloth is the main component of the air conditioner that generates airflow both upward and downward, and a sail-like structure stretches above and hangs over to gently direct the flow of air into the room and further. The air conditioner was prototyped in 1999 with aluminum frame and spandex fabric for the sail.
MATERIALS: Aluminum, Spandex fabric / DIMENSIONS: 275x660x245mm without the sail / PROJECT STARTED: January 1999 / COMPLETED: June 1999 / DESIGN: Shunji Yamanaka / PROTOTYPE FABRICATION: Nichinan Corp. / CLIENT: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.