A review of Whirlpool's Project F. "A project that exemplifies multiple speed design"

Slow wash

A project by Whirlpool exemplifies multiple-speed design. Few industries are as competitive and no-nonsense as the white-goods industry, with its do-alike and look-alike refrigerators , washing machines, dryers, and the like. But Whirlpool Europe's ambitious design director, Richard Eisermann, was determined to rethink the clothes-washing process as a whole, including the aspect of its "social speed." In Project F, the notion of washing as a social event is emphasized, and a notion of "clean" has emerged that involves more that just hygiene or a process for eliminating dirt. "Clean" is linked to a feeling of well-being. "We all fee the need to slow down sometimes, to tune into natural rhythms, connect more fully with our actions, add quality to our experiences," Eisermann told me. "When we spend time over a task, it shows. If we take thing slowly, and step outside set schedules and routines to seek independent cycles, we find continuity."

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