DESIGNRO » SUSTAINABLE

Trap the light and let it glow

Iulia Constantin — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:52:53 +0000

Remember the times when you were little, you thought and wish you could capture light in the palms of your hands. Well, Gionata Gatto and Mike Thompson, two young designers graduates from Eindhoven Design Academy, grew up and made their wish come true. They came up with an ingenious idea, and so they invented a distinct energy saving lamp: the Trap Light.

Trap Light proposes a radical new approach to lighting design. The lamp makes use of the high-quality Murano glass and it utilizes photoluminescent pigments to capture escaping light, this way converting waste energy back into visible light.

“It becomes both shade and light source, emitting, absorbing, and re-emitting light. 30 minutes ‘charge’ of recycled light from a traditional incandescent or LED light bulb provides up to 8 hours of ambient lighting.”

The designers want to illustrate the fact that, by combining traditional production methods with some fresh modern ideas and a drop of creativity, they can create “a new lightning experience whilst making the most of energy”.

Finally, when the lights are off and ambient darkness occurs, let Trap do its magic and freely glow.

Trap Light Save Energy
Gionata Gatto
Mike Thompson

Materia – lovely home accessories made of cork

Iulia Constantin — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:38:43 +0000

Imagine an ordinary day. You wake up, go to work, get bored, leave the office, go to the supermarket, buy wine, go home to watch a movie and relax. You open the bottle of wine and throw the cork into the garbage bin. Wait… Rewind your last move and think of another way of using this material. You can’t? Well, Amorim and Experimenta Design could…
Cork + Amorim + ExperimentaDesign = Materia
Materia is a collection of objects that integrate perfectly in our contemporary living environments and lifestyles. Combining cork with various materials, designers like Big-Game, Daniel Caramelo, Inga Sempé and others created these accessories to brighten our everyday life and bring a drop of humour and naivety in our houses.
Cork, one nature’s unique material that cannot be replicated by anything man-made, but definitely can be used in so many forms that we can’t imagine. Reusable and completely biodegradable, versatile and totally sustainable, cork’s potential as a leading material for the 21st century is only now being realized, with cutting edge R&D (Research & Development) pushing the boundaries of invention.
Amorim, one Portuguese company and world leader in the cork industry that felt so inspired and started using this state-of-the-art raw material for everyday usage, more precisely in the design of home accessories. And so, Amorim, in collaboration with ExperimentaDesign, a key player in the sphere of creative industries, gave birth to Materia.

Aro is a centerpiece as well as a statement, designed by Miguel Vieira Baptista

Bote is a water floater designed by Big- Game for bathtub fun time

Created by Fernando Brízio, Furo is not fulfilled being just a bowl. It also becomes a drawing device once you slide it over a sheet of paper

The Gelo ice bucket was designed by Filipe Alarcão and its materials, cork and plastic, are totally sustainable and recyclable

Lasca, a collection of cork and laquered MDF tables designed by Marco Sousa Santos

Par, the salt & pepper shakers with a design signed by Nendo

Impermeable to liquids, these two bowls are named Parte and are another creation of Nendo

Pinha, a lamp designed by Raw Edges, which consists of a cork outer shell to which one or more ultra resistant Tyvek paper shades are fastened

Designed by Daniel Caramelo, Pino is a freestanding, dual-purpose object: memo board and voodoo doll, to strike back at those on your hit list

Rufo, a collection of silent drums, was designed by Studio Pedrita especially for young percussionists to entertain them, but in the mean time keeping the peace with parents and neighbours

Senta, by Fernando Brízio, is a pack and carry stool you can assemble and use anywhere

With a fixation system thats is both straightforward and flexible, Torno is a detachable shelf created by Inga Sempé

Materia, a collection to fall in love with!

Materia
Amorim
Cork Composites
Experimenta Design

De Vorm sustainable new items at Ventura Lambrate in Milan

Iulia Constantin — Fri, 06 May 2011 11:51:40 +0000

The Netherlands contemporary furniture company De Vorm had the opportunity to present its new collection of furniture during the Milan Salone and so, it invited young talents, such as Sebastian Herkner, Jorre van Ast and Benjamin Hubert, to design new products under the company’s name, this way allowing for a widening of the De Vorm family. Therefore, four pieces of brilliant work were exposed at the company’s stand, at Ventura Lambrate, holding up their standards of comfort, quality and sustainability.

First of them all is the Clip Chair, a chair designed environmentally friendly without wasting any material during its production process. The result is a classic, detail-oriented, solid chair made of selected, high-quality ash. In addition to different colors, the Clip Chair is also available in a cushioned version. The idea behind the ‘clip’ is the use of a different material of the attachment between the back and the legs of the chair, where the color stands in direct contrast to the wooden elements. The charm and the beauty of the clip lies hidden in its functional simplicity.

Another piece of work, this time signed by Jorre van Ast is the flat-pack “Clamp-a-Leg” Table, which consists of a wooden furniture leg threaded into a simple metal clamp allowing someone to quickly transform any flat surface into a functional work surface. Less material than for the trestle is used for the clamps, as they are easy to ship, store and assemble. The legs come as an individual set of four to match any surface.

Benjamin Hurbert’s ‘Pod‘ is a large chair designed for breakout areas in offices or residential projects and produced in Sweden. The chair’s ergonomics allow the sitter to work comfortable whilst feeling relaxed and separated from the hustle and bustle of daily life. It’s almost a little room in-room solution with the perimeter of the chair around the sitter’s head. The shell of the chair is one of the largest forms ever produced utilizing pressed PET felt technology. The felt allows a distinctive aesthetic as well as offering sound dampening properties to enhance the sensation of privacy.

Last but definitely not least are the Pebble chairs and stools. The forms of Hubert’s creations are based on the rounded stones found on beaches. They were designed to guarantee high comfort, a broad range of applications and minimal environmental impact. To achieve this goal, the pebble can even be completely disassembled. Allowing for all components to be more readily recycled and transported, their volume is reduced to a minimum scale.

Thanks to its strict lines, color design and hidden features, furniture by De Vorm is surprising, contemporary and timeless: ‘We are not developing and producing a chair or a table just to sit on or at. Designs by De Vorm are also made to enjoy their use and looks, to tell a story, live their own life and develop their own character.’ All the products yell the ‘Go Green’ slogan loudly. So get these novelties and become a nature lover instantly!

JAMESPLUMB – a work in progress

Georgia Klebleev — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 09:52:59 +0000

The British designers JAMESPLUMB (James Russell and Hannah Plumb) use their shared fine art background to create evocative habitats with emotional narratives that also imbue the objects, people and places that cross their lives.
The Londoners, a duo in life and work, search for the hidden beauty in ordinary every day objects, and in damaged or forgotten furniture, wisely assembling new designs by adding functions, or by reducing to one, several apparently antithetic components.
Ingenious as well as authentic, JAMESPLUMB design on every scale – from lighting to furniture – without forgetting to redefine the borders between taste and needs. With a strong focus and passion for details, the duo create timeless, sensational and contemporary pieces: their philosophy suggests that all that we need is often already existing, and does not limit our expectation of taste and comfort in our home living. They invite a thoughtful and responsible consumerism, but without aligning themselves directly with the green recycling agenda.
For these reasons, JAMESPLUMB have been invited by Rossana Orlandi to Milan, to re-work her personal archive of vintage and industrial furniture. They have created a new collection that together with recent pieces coming from their London atelier, will have its climax in the presentation of Home from Home, their house in Milan, within the new spaces of the Gallery, in Matteo Bandello 16.
The two designers have worked at Spazio Rossana Orlandi, transformed for the occasion as a special creative workshop. The public was invited to visit the work in progress of this new collection, a unique occasion to understand and follow the starting point of each piece of work.
This is their work in progress.

JAMESPLUMB
Rossana Orlandi

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Plumen 001

Georgia Klebleev — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:14:30 +0000

It might come as a surprise for most of you but the time has come to forget all about those fancy chandeliers and lamps because the Plumen bulb is now on the market. And believe me, Plumen 001 it’s no ordinary light bulb, but rather one you’ll wanna show off.
Developed by Hulger and signed by Sam Wilkinson, it has design written all over it. Besides from the delightful sculptural shape Plumen uses 80% less energy and lasts 8 times longer than incandescent bulbs, keeps down electricity bills and is better for the environment. This makes it the first ever designer energy saving light bulb.
Beware though, low energy light bulbs contain small traces of mercury and need to be properly recycled – so don’t throw any of your bulbs in the bin!

Plumen
Hulger
Samuel Wilkinson
Energy saving light bulbs

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RGB Light by Jeongwon Ji

RGB Light by Jeongwon Ji

Mihai Gurei — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 15:19:32 +0000

Sometimes you only need a simple idea for a great design concept. South Korea born designer Jeongwon Ji thought about light and space. The former is composed of three primary colors: red, green and blue. The latter is based on three simple shapes: square, triangle and circle.

RGB Light is in fact a small collection of suspended lamps dealing with the ugly ballast you would find on most energy saving bulbs, concealed now in the shade.

The material used for ceiling cap and shade is oxo-biodegradable plastic. Friendly bulb, friendly shade.

And they look great in a bunch!

Jeongwon Ji received her BA in Product Design with First Class Honours from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London in July 2009. Born in 1984 and raised in Seoul, South Korea and now based in London, UK, she is primarily interested in creating everyday objects that reflect her own analysis as well as observation on people, urban life, and social change. Recently Jeongwon Ji opened a design studio in London where she is working on Self-Initiated & Client projects.

Jeongwon Ji

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Serbian Designers: Antipod Studio

Georgia Klebleev — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:24:19 +0000

Branko Nikolic, Petar Savic and Milan Stefanovic are Serbia’s new exported talents on Europe’s design scene. All three graduated the Belgrade Art University and after collaborating on several projects, founded Antipod Studio.

Their idea was to include consciousness as one of the key pointers in the design process – ethics before esthetics. Their work involves multidisciplinary projects in the field of architecture, interior, and furniture design and is based on certain adopted principles that they highly respect: simplicity, innovation, sincerity, adequacy, inconspicuousness, sustainability.
Alongside with other eleven exceptional projects, some of their products were showcased in the exhibit Young Serbian Designers within Salone Satellite Milan, all selected by a jury chaired by world renowned designer Konstantin Grčić .

TRIANGLE a modular table of a simple geometric form. A cube is cut diagonally, which makes it combinable. It can be placed alone or combined into larger, more diverse compositions, placed in a corner or stacked one upon the other as an improvised shelf. If painted in two contrasting colors (inner and outer surface) it becomes particularly attractive.

TEAT is a three-legged stool, a contemporary interpretation of side seating, obviously inspired by the rural. The idea was to achieve a contemporary form, but to remind us of the primeveal. The inspiration was combining symetrical forms produced on the turning-lathe. It is simple to make, eco-friendly, suitable for industrial production or simple manufacture.

Antipod Studio

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A sponge soaked with light

Georgia Klebleev — Tue, 25 May 2010 10:20:38 +0000

Coordinated by the contemporary design platform DMY Berlin in collaboration with Create Berlin, designers and creative labs from Berlin gathered during Milan week of design 2010 for the exhibition „Made in Berlin – Open Process“, revealing new prototypes and innovative concepts for future living spaces.
Set up in the environment of a garage, the exhibition provided a closer look at the design processes, going from the very first inspiration and concept, beyond various testing phases to the prototypes.
Here, we were able to have a first look at Berlin’s young design studio newest lamp collection – Malva. Ett la benn’s products stand out due to their high level of innovation and offer new approaches in terms of materials, functioning and application and Malva lamps are a fine example of their vision.

The collection is inspired by the natural qualities of cellulose and viscose: the objects are generated by the forming of moistened sponge cloth and its subsequent hardening by air drying on a mould. The translation of this customary material into individual design pieces through basic processes of forming and drying measures up to the highest demands in sustainability and eco friendliness: all objects are compostable.
Next on agenda, Malva travel to New York where there will be exhibited and sold at ABC Home during North America’s singular showcase for contemporary design, the ICFF.

ett la benn

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Woodstory@Milan 2010 part I

Andra Baltoiu — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:46:28 +0000

Quite a surprise Milan this year. Made me wonder if my reading of the latest economic and environmental events and directions was overenthusiastic, picturing a rigorous selection of novelties when it comes to brand coherence, market understanding and, should I even mention it?! sustainable materials.

From this latter perspective, Milan experience seemed a loop back in time to 50s wood keenness and feel. A pleasing scene, no doubt, to see the design richness of the period being reinterpreted again, with new interests and concerns. However, an unexpected use of materials.

Take Staffan Holm’s Wedge and Karusell stools for instance: a conversation between contemporary design and manufacturing techniques, inspired by the time limitations and constrictions made people generate ingenious and simple solutions.
Staffan Holm

Studio Juju’s Platypus chair, on the other hand, managed to create, based on behavior understanding, a chair that offers new experiences: since we carry out little things all he time, there are numerous things to do in a chair that affords an extra space by having an exaggerated arm.
Studio Juju

A kitchen rack that encourages the home growing of herbs and vegetables is clearly a salutary creation, may it even not be made out of the most sustainable wood. Sunday is Reinhard Dienes’s modular, organized storage solution for kitchen tools and appliances.
Reinhard Dienes

Speaking of kitchen and sustainable wood, here’s an interesting combination: Quinze & Milan new One Leg Down table and stool are clearly inspired by the kitchen chopping board, and they even borrow hip countertop material, Corian. The result: two extremely simple, yet striking in contrast pine wood pieces, which designer Soren Rose stresses to be excellent in sustainability.
Quinze&Milan

Our selection of well-used wood at Milan and sustainable conclusions is to be continued.

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Wishful thinking with Debbie’s Wijskamp Paper pulp cabinets

Cosmina Dinu — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:49:06 +0000

Paper furnishing is becoming a real technique, experimenting, adding on and expanding. I am almost sure that it is already taught at some universities, or at least some optional complementary classes at Innovation courses. It is a versatile and familiar material and what some would really appreaciate is that it has a natural odour and texture.

The Paper pulp cabinet by Debbie Wijskamp, is a totemic white furniture piece, constructed from various oblong boxes stacked upon one another. Some have drawers, while others are left open to function as shelves. At first glance, they look like they are made from the polystyrene containers used to pack fish, but instead each inch-thick box component has been moulded from paper pulp and assembled using simple box-jointing techniques borrowed from woodwork.

The Paper pulp cabinet was on show at Designhuis, Eindhoven as part of the second annual Talent exhibition during Dutch design week. The works of graduates from 30 European design institutes and universities were showcased from october 17th to october 24th, 2009. I was really taken down because I couldn’t answer the invitation, but surely next year I’ll be there and document the event.

Debbie Wijskamp

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