2005 September | Inhabitat

ECO-FRIENDLY “AIR SUIT”

I seem to have stumbled upon a theme this week: bringing industrial technology to traditional Eastern design aesthetics. Kazuhide Doi, a Japanese architect, won a Bronze award from the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction for his futuristic approach to preserving traditional architecture.

Doi’s “air suit” is a thin skin of glass and membrane that encloses a building, protecting it from heat and water. The “envelope” increases energy efficiency, decreases the need for intensive structural renovations, and provides insulation by creating a greenhouse effect. “The thin, translucent facade is also reminiscent of a traditional Japanese house,” said Doi.

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THE NEW CARPETBAGGERS

by Sarah Rich, 09/30/05

In general, I have a strong aversion to carpet. I’ve always felt that wood floors are fundamental to a beautiful interior. But if you must have carpet, Interface has inarguably become the brand of choice for environmentally-minded consumers.

Interface’s veteran product designer, David Oakey, has taken the sustainable values that define Interface one step further, giving carpet scraps another life as handbags. The New Carpetbaggers, as he has dubbed them, are produced in his Georgia design facility, Pond Studios, by in-house employees.

Taken together, these bags don’t make too much of a fashionable impression, though after looking for a while, I began to appreciate a few of them individually. I’m not convinced I’d ever carry one myself, but I applaud the waste-reduction effort.

Link: www.davidoakeydesigns.com

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KENNETH COBONPUE

by Sarah Rich, 09/29/05

Filipino designer Kenneth Cobonpue has good design in his genes. His mother, Betty Cobonpue, founded a furniture design and manufacturing company in the Phillipines in the early seventies, where she gained a reputation for her innovations in the use of rattan. Kenneth left the islands to go to Pratt Institute for Industrial Design and has been back in his native region for nearly ten years, integrating his traditional design heritage with his industrial training.

Kenneth Cobonpue uses a vast array of native, natural materials in his work, including palms, seagrasses, bamboo, abaca, and rattan. The results reflect his mixed background; certain pieces look like they belong in a thatched hut in the tropics (such as the slightly elfen Voyage Bed below), while others look ready for a starkly minimalist office or modern home (Segovia and Kabuki above, YinYang and SeeU-SeeMe, bottom).

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POLE HOUSES

by Sarah Rich, 09/28/05

With the unpleasant prediction of more devastating weather patterns over the next twenty years (and beyond), safety and resilience are becoming top priorities for builders in disaster-prone areas. A company based in Hawai’i has taken a traditional building style that traces its roots back to indigenous Polynesian, Japanese and African cultures, and applied 21st century principles to create sustainable prefab dwellings that hold up to earthquakes, hurricanes and high water. Tim Cornell began building his Pole Houses in 1988 and now offers five basic plans as well as customized plans for buyers with specific needs.

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INTERVIEW: Scrapile

I have been enamored with environmentally conscious furniture company Scrapile ever since I came across their line of recycled wood furniture during New York Design week last spring.

Brooklyn-based designers Carlos Salgado and Bart Bettencourt have created a beautiful, cutting-edge line of furniture by collecting wood scraps from various lumber mills, and recycling those scraps (which would otherwise be headed for landfill) into their stunning minimalist pieces. At this point, the Scrapile line includes tables, benches, stool, shelving, crates and lamps, all made out of their signature striated material. Recently I had a chance to sit down with the up-and-coming design duo at their shop in Williamsburg to learn how it all began >

+ Scrapile