{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1331548"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1331548/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2017KB7368/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2017KB7368/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2017KB7368","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KB7370","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KB7372","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1331548","accessionNumber":"CD.99:1,2-2016","objectType":"Refrigerator","titles":[{"title":"MittiCool Clay Refrigerator","type":"manufacturer's title"}],"summaryDescription":"This fridge is manufactured by the company Mitticool, which was founded by Mansukhbhai Prajapati. Prajapati grew up in Nichimandal, a village outside of Morbi, India, where early on he was exposed to traditional clay pottery through the family trade. After a disaster involving the breakdown of the Macchu Dam, his family moved to the town of Wankaner and he began work as a trainee in a small rooftop tile manufacturer. Here, he explored using mass-produced tile manufacturing techniques with pottery, which enabled him to press 700 earthenware pans a day compared to the usual tally of 100 pieces a day by hand. After an earthquake hit Gujarat province in 2001, killing tens of thousands, Prajapati was inspired to work on a rural fridge that did not need electricity to run, and that was affordable for the masses. The result was the Mitticool fridge which launched in 2005. The company product range has since diversified to include a range of clay cookware.\n\r\nThe refrigerator is made from terracotta clay and has been described by the company as eco-friendly due to the fact that it does not use any electricity or artificial energy to run, therefore incurring no running costs. The top of the fridge is filled with water, and then the contents are cooled via the evaporation of the water in the porous clay. The Mitticool is front loading and the dual purpose water reservoir acts as a both cooling mechanism as well as a cool water dispenser. The company claims that vegetables kept in the fridge keep fresh for up to a week and that the fridge can also be used to store dairy products. In India, with its traditional joint family structures, simple access to refrigeration can mean an improvement to quality of life, as less time is needed on shopping for ingredients and preparing food for the family. The word ‘Mitti’ means clay in Hindi.\n\r\nThis object is a contemporary re-working of an age old means of keeping perishables cool. The V&A has a number of examples of jars in the Middle East collection that use a similar cooling technique of exploiting water evaporation in porous clay (for instance: 761-1902; 921-1875; 925-1875).\n\r\nThis refrigerator was acquired as part of the Shekou Project, an international partnership between the V&A and China Merchant Shekou Holdings (CMSK) to open a new cultural platform called Design Society in Shekou. The fridge was included in the inaugural exhibition, ‘Values of Design’, in the V&A Gallery at Design Society as an example of problem solving in situations of scarcity.","physicalDescription":"White terracotta clay refrigerator with detachable lid, acrylic door, metal hinges, plastic and rubber feet, removable plastic inserts","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Prajapati, Mansukhbhai","id":"AUTH348238"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Mitticool Pvt. Ltd.","id":"AUTH348239"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"clay","id":"AAT10439"},{"text":"","id":""},{"text":"terracotta","id":"AAT10669"}],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"","categories":[{"text":"Interiors","id":"THES48933"},{"text":"Household objects","id":"THES48939"},{"text":"Shekou","id":"THES279777"},{"text":"Values of Design","id":"THES279818"},{"text":"Design Society","id":"THES279819"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"DAD","id":"THES260586"},"images":["2017KB7368","2017KB7370","2017KB7372"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"76","id":"THES49548"},"free":"","case":"CA12","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"76","id":"THES49548"},"free":"","case":"CA12","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"refrigerator","id":"AAT215748"}],[{"text":"refrigerators","id":"AAT215748"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"India","id":"x29790"},"association":{"text":"manufactured","id":"x29350"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"2005","earliest":"2005-01-01","latest":"2005-12-31"},"association":{"text":"designed","id":"x29338"},"note":""},{"date":{"text":"2016","earliest":"2016-01-01","latest":"2016-12-31"},"association":{"text":"manufactured","id":"x29350"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"66.8","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"38","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"30","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Height of fridge without lid 63.3 cm. Lid diameter 17.0cm height 5.1cm","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"The Mitticool fridge was included in ‘Values of Design’ at the V&A Gallery, Design Society in Shenzhen, China in 2017.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"MittiCool clay refrigerator designed 2005 by Mansukhbhai Prajapati, manufactured 2016","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"This object sits in the \"Sustainability and Subversion\" section of the Design 1900-Now gallery opened June 2021\r\n<b>A fridge that runs on water</b>\r\nIn rural Indian communities where electricity\r\nis scarce, keeping food cool can be difficult. The\r\ndesign of this fridge revisits an age-old cooling\r\ntechnique by evaporating water through porous\r\nclay. This method, which does not need electricity,\r\nis a practical, sustainable and environmentallysound solution to the challenge of preserving fresh\r\nfood in hot countries.\r\n\r\n<b>Clay refrigerator\r\nMitticool, 2005 (manufactured 2016)</b>\r\nDesigned by Mansukhbhai Prajapati\r\nManufactured by Mitticool, India\r\nTerracotta, glass and metal\r\nMuseum no. CD.99:1, 2-2016\r\n","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null}},{"text":"Mansukhbhai Prajapati addressed the problem of refrigeration in rural Indian communities by designing a fridge that requires no electricity. Using an age-old technique of evaporative cooling through the use of clap, his MittiCool fridge is a low-cost solution to the practical problem of preserving fresh food where electricity is scarce.\n\nMittiCool Fridge\r\nMansukhbhai Prajapati\r\nIndia 2005","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null}}],"partNumbers":["CD.99:1-2016","CD.99:2-2016"],"accessionNumberNum":"99","accessionNumberPrefix":"CD","accessionYear":2016,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-03-03","recordCreationDate":"2016-02-09","availableToBook":false}}