The Future Fridge

What was the challenge?

Significant changes to the way we consume food will be key to achieving a zero-pollution future. Currently a quarter of global emissions come from food production – more than twice that produced by cars – and over a third of food is wasted. 

One of the key goals of the research conducted at Imperial College London is to drive change towards a zero-pollution future, and as part of this they tasked us with engaging the public on the subject of whole systems thinking – a method of understanding how elements within a whole are related and influence each other – with a particular focus on the environmental and health impacts of different foods. 

We were asked to create and prototype something that could educate and empower audiences, helping them to make more environmentally friendly food consumption choices with an understanding of the whole system involved, whilst being careful not to overwhelm or add to climate anxiety. 

What did we do?

We created The Future Fridge – a life-size activation that could support an informed dialogue experience. It was specifically designed to be mobile for use with multiple audiences, and intended for group activity to facilitate conversations between participants in a fun and provocative way.

Working with Imperial’s researchers and their community partner Nourish Hub, who are experts in food waste and environmental education, we developed compelling examples of both real and possible near-future supermarket products – such as chicken nuggets made from insect protein and meat grown in a lab – that could encourage audiences to question their daily shopping and cooking choices and consider how willing they would be to explore more climate-friendly alternatives.

These were then designed into a series of food items with embedded interactive and sensory elements to make them dynamic and memorable, and housed within a freestanding installation with doors and drawers that opened to reveal the different types of food and connected information. 

Integrated into the design of the fridge were stimulation points to encourage audiences to share their thoughts and feedback, providing valuable insights for the Imperial team’s research into what motivates and drives the choices people make about food.

Imperial’s Public Engagement team piloted The Future Fridge at the Nourish Hub’s venue in Hammersmith & Fulham over a series of events in May 2023.

What has the impact been?

The Future Fridge received high praise from community audiences during its pilot at the Nourish Hub, with feedback that the design was enjoyable, inclusive and accessible and that it was a highly effective prop to stimulate in-depth discussion.

Imperial’s researchers told us they learnt a huge amount that would be beneficial in their work. They were pleased to gather insights from the public to feed back into their research, increasing their understanding of people’s willingness to make climate-friendly decisions in the face of economic and social pressures. 

“I’m really pleased with how The Future Fridge has worked in the Nourish Hub space. It’s enabled us to collect some interesting and useful feedback from attendees and has given our researchers the opportunity to visualise and experience what public engagement with their research can look like.” – Charlotte Coales, Engagement Manager, Imperial College London.

The success of The Future Fridge’s pilot run led to its appearance at the Great Exhibition Road Festival in West London in June 2023. Imperial has plans for its longer-term use as a pop-up installation across the capital.

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COLLABORATORS

Pop-up photography: Dee Ramadan
Product photography: Nathan Joyce