Tech innovation comes in all shapes and sizes, but one of the most difficult questions for tech designers today is how their tech can be integrated into our lives unobtrusively. This is especially true of things like cell towers, air conditioners, power lines, etc. Everybody wants to enjoy cell service and electricity, but nobody wants their view ruined by unsightly signal boosters or their walk to work cluttered with tangled power lines. Sometimes, the integration of a piece of tech requires as much innovative thinking as the actual design of the product.
China is full of the mini cellular signal towers that are used to boost mobile phone reception around buildings. They’re not very attractive, and they can make a residential area look industrial and messy — not what a good designer is going for. So how did various builders integrate these things into their designs? It varies, and some clearly put more thought into this than others. Being a former teacher, I thought I’d take the time to sit down and grade their efforts. You’re welcome, guys!
Tough to spot from a distance, isn’t it? This pathway light is actually not a light at all. Surprise! It’s not going to make your garden any brighter at night, but now at least you can get five bars out there no matter what time of day it is. Not bad. B.
This one genuinely looks like a rooftop solar water tank. Bizarre paint job aside, it seems pretty well disguised. Why it’s better to have an ugly solar heater on your roof than an ugly signal booster is unclear to me, though. B-.
More street lights. I have to say, these ones look fairly convincing. I suspect they even light up. Well done. A.
This one’s meant to look like an air conditioner, but it actually looks better than the real ones it’s next to because it’s cleaner. Still, I don’t think this is going to fool anyone for more than a few seconds. C+.
To be fair, I can see what they were going for with this. But why would a building have random blocks sticking out of it? And why is the color of their fake brick so different from the color of actual brick? These look like they were built using those cardboard brick-patterned blocks they have in kindergarten rec rooms. D.
Clearly not even trying. No one is ever, ever going to confuse this with an actual palm tree, and having this abomination in your yard is clearly worse than just having a regular pole with a signal booster on top. Back to the drawing board, guys. F.
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