Deer Park’s Rodrigo Capati is one of the 35 finalists in a global design competition that attracted more than 1700 submissions.
The 24-year-old industrial design graduate entered the Electrolux Design Lab competition earlier this year and is preparing for the last hurdle.
The contest challenges students to think about issues society may face in the future.
Mr Capati designed a “lotus flower air purifier” that filters dust, odours and harmful pollutants.
“People close to me have suffered from asthma and allergies and that’s why I decided to do an air purifier,” he said.
“The design competition is a conceptual exercise, but I wanted to think about the feasibility and add a sense of realism.” Students are competing for a six-month paid internship and 5000 euros.
A final six will be chosen in October and invited to an awards night in November.
