A NEW exhibition showcased how students from University of Limerick are striving to create a better society for now and into the future.
Design@UL, an exhibition of over 70 projects from final year students at UL’s School of Architecture and Product Design, is open at Limerick’s Istabraq Hall until June 4.
The theme of this year’s showcase is ‘Resilience’, reflecting on how individuals, communities, environments, and systems respond to challenge, uncertainty, and change.
Amongst the innovative products on display at Design@UL include a testing and recovery system for concussion injuries in sport, an at-home cervical screening test, a handheld device to detect subtle changes in breast tissue, and a device designed to redefine allergy patch testing for people with eczema.
Architectural proposals on display at Design@UL include a new housing model that challenges the isolation of traditional refugee accommodation, a ‘miniature city’ model that interweaves elderly accommodation with a primary school, and an integrated wetland park that aims to reconnect society to the systems that sustain human life.
Speaking at the launch of Design@UL, Professor Leonard O’Sullivan, Head of UL’s School of Architecture and Product Design, said: “Design@UL showcases the opportunities for creativity by Architecture and Product Design students to create a better society for now and into the future.
“In our busy lives we often tolerate challenges in the built environment and in products used. But the opportunities are in being resilient to researching these challenges and creating innovative solutions that will have long lasting and transformative impacts.”