Historically Germans are known to be very efficient. Also Germans are known to be clean – designwise you can see it in the “form follows function” feever that was born in Germany’s Ulm School, but today Germans have a good reputation in sustainable engineering and alternative energies.

Additionally Germans are known to be the world champions in waste separation. Here is a good example for an “invisible design” in the sense of Lucius Burckhardt. The task here was rather “we need a container to collect the separated rubbish” then “we want to offer our residents an environment of sustainablility”.

The outcome is this monumental trash grading device that I found near Neumarkt in central Cologne. Designs like this (some would call it no-design indeed) happen everyday and are made by administrators who are not able to see the full picture and integrate one object into a whole system of things.