Antonia is a London based writer, photographer & researcher interested in cross-disciplinary sustainable design practice. With a background in casting for film & tv she can usually be found engaged in lengthy conversations with strangers. Other interests include buying raincoats from car boot sales, and working on collaborative projects such as Urban Typhoon, Initiative & Institution & Shoot Nations. Covering Milan during the Salone Internazionale del Mobile will be Antonia's first assignment for Inhabitat. Her work has previously been published in several issues of Blueprint Magazine.
The world’s very first Sustainable Dance Club recently let partygoers loose on its energy-generating dance floor to the sound of Iggy Pop & The Stooges! Originally rumored to be opened by Amy Winehouse, club Watt, features a LED-laden dance floor that is lit up solely by the kinetic energy generated by dancers. The new nightclub will also feature a variety of efficiency standards established by the Sustainable Dance Club group that allow it to save 30% on energy consumption, 50% on water use, cut CO2 emissions by 30%, and reduce waste by 50%.
Hulger’s beautiful Plumen bulbs explore the possibilities of the energy-efficient CFL, reworking its staid form into fluid light sculptures that dare to be covered up or hidden from view. Named for the plume-like forms that spiral and descend from the light’s pendant fitting, these brilliant bulbs celebrate and encourage the use of CFLs. We caught sight of them at (re)design’s Lighten Up exhibit at this year’s 100% Design.
One of the most stunning pieces at this year’s 100% Design was this gorgeous recycled plastic bottle chandelier by Michelle Brand. Composed entirely from cut-off bottle bases, it lit up the floor at (re)design’s Lighten Up exhibition, which showcased a selection of innovative lighting designer-makers who are ’switched-on’ when it comes to tackling domestic lighting design solutions.
This year’s London Design Festival was an incredible event that showcased some of the world’s most acclaimed designers in addition to a host of upcoming talents. From innovative furnishings and lighting solutions to clothing and accessories, this year’s event featured a variety of cutting-edge concepts in sustainable design. Read on for our highlights from the event!
We are excited to announce that one of our favorite contemporary furniture design teams, Molo, just launched a brand new fold-up paper lantern called ‘Urchin’. Molo’s Urchin Softlights are a series of gorgeous expandable lamps composed of flexible-yet-durable honeycomb craft paper. Urchin embodies Molo’s versatile design philosophy and is as adaptable as their paper walls or stacking blocks, allowing the user to lift or push the softlight into any desired position. Watch designer Stefanie Forsythe styling her Urchin softlights in a flash intro here.
Raw and exposed with a distinct rural Romanticism, UllmayerSylvester Architects’ updated version of the terrace house, called the Whatcotts Yard or ‘In-between‘ project, is best known as an independent award-winning collaboration with Annalie Riches and Barti Garibaldo. The project, located in Whatcotts Yard, Stoke Newington won several awards in 2004 for its unique and direct approach to building sustainable homes. Since then, Silvia Ullmayer and Allan Sylvester opened their practice and have since gone on to work on innovative projects such as The New Summerhouse and Minihome Nursery, both in Hackney, London.
We’re great fans of Ryan Frank’s work here at Inhabitat, and we can’t wait to get a firsthand glimpse of his new stackable Isabella stools at this month’s fast-approaching London Design Festival! The Isabella stool provides eco-ergonomic seating in addition to a sculptural storage solution inspired by hand-carved African designs. Rather than using the exotic hardwoods featured in traditional African seating, the innovative designer chose to work with 100% felted wool and ’strawboard’ - a sustainable, formaldehyde-free material made entirely from compressed straw.
Zurich-based Postfossil Design Collective has been capturing our imagination this year with a host of eco-minded ideas that challenge convention. Postfossil designer Annina Gaehwiler’s Torre plant pot is one such example, and demonstrates a beautiful hands-on approach to plant-rearing. Individual earth filled units are attached to the base of the pot allowing seedlings to grow and flourish with freedom to stretch their roots.
With a design which would easily fit in a 1970’s Stanley Kubrick film, Postfossil’s award winning First Light reading lamp is certainly cinematic. Powered entirely by a cog and wheel mechanism, the light remains lit once ‘wound’ by pulling the weighted cord. While the illumination relies on a relatively continuous input from the user, Postfossil’s Anna Blattert and Daniel Gafner have found a way to remind us of our energy consumption though the tried and tested method of action and reward.
The re-brandedLondon Festival of Architecture is now in its second week of it’s calendar of over 600 events. The Grow Bags: Urban Allotments installation, produced by What If Projects, showcases a ‘formerly inaccessible and run-down plot of housing estate land transformed into a beautiful oasis of green. Seventy 1/2 tonne bags of soil have been arranged to become a space for growing food, socializing, picnics and BBQs.’
Smooth, sleek, sharp, and made entirely from paper, Inga Sempé’s Double Stray Lights for Artecnica, require no assembly and arrive flat packed. There’s not much we don’t love about these elegant paper lamps. Their ability to be so incredibly sophisticated, while retaining a tactile, vulnerable quality, has us absolutely captivated. Arriving compact, the Double Stray unfolds accordion-style to light up interiors with an intentional moiré pattern that gives both structure and ambiance.
Zurich-based Postfossil Design Collective came together to create a platform for exploring how design can influence responsible, and adaptable behavior. Earlier this year, at Milan’s furniture fair, they excused themselves for ‘deviating’ from a focus on the use of sustainable materials and production methods, yet Postfossil presented an impressive eco-conscious collection at Salone Satellite. Their thought-provoking designs garnered the Design Report Award for unique ideas that challenge our post-fossil perception.
The upcoming 2008 Olympic Games are inspiring some show-stopping buildings and technologies, among them the Greenpix Zero Energy Media Wall by New York based architecture & media firm Simone Giostra & Partners. Visible from up to a kilometer away on one of Beijing’s most congested main roads, the 20,000 square foot bright light facade of the Xicui entertainment complex is more than stunning, it’s surprisingly strong in its green credentials. The Greenpix Zero Energy Media Wall is the world’s largest color LED display, and has a self sustaining energy life-cycle. Harvesting sunlight collected during the day via photovoltaic solar cells, the wall uses stored solar energy to light up the LED’s for a spectacular nighttime show.
WIS Design’s Decades chest of drawers stopped us dead in our tracks at Salone Satellite. Dramatically positioned before a hot pink background, its combination of drawers were selectively rescued from local Stockholm flea markets. “Decades” was first launched at last year’s Casa Cor exhibition in Stockholm, where WIS Design are based and have a showroom. This is the first time the products have been shown at an international exhibition such as Salone Satellite and the debut made some seriously sustainable waves throughout Milan.
We are enchanted by Kelp Constructs, the new work from UK-based designer Julia Lohmann who has been experimenting with kelp, and exploring its potential as a sustainable material. Following an artistic residency at S-AIR in Sapporo Japan, Lohmann was in Milan this year conducting the Kelp Constructs workshop at the Nilufar Gallery. The final products, a collection of wonderfully tactile lighting designs, were on display during the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, bringing this rapidly renewable material into a new design realm.
Celebrated Dutch design collective Droog Design pushed green design ideas to the forefront this year with their ‘A Touch of Green’ presentation in Milan. Echoing this Inhabitant’s focus on the boundaries of sustainable design, Droog brought together a whole host of designers - some new, some familiar - to showcase a range of approaches in an effortlessly curated, but typically stylish show complete with a buzzing 48 hour shop. Among our favorites are Tejo Remy’s furniture made from collected components, SMAQ’s take on thermal comfort and Jens Praet’s functional, waste-diverting pieces, but the Droog show offered exciting new design perspectives at every turn. Read on for more highlights!
Is it a giant stuffed animal? A piece of furniture? Both? These cuddly hand knit woolen poufs were one of the first things to catch our eye on opening day of Salone Internazionale del Mobile. Promoting transparency in natural materials and production as their ethos, Dutch knitwear brand ‘FLOCKS’ is the brainchild of Rotterdam based designer Christien Meindertsma. We went nuts for these cozy ‘Urchin’ plush chairs which were on display at the Tuttobenne exhibit in Milan this year. We love the look, the playful attitude and the way that an Urchin owner can trace the path of their soft seat’s origins.
Starting last week on April 16th, Milan Design Week, the world’s biggest contemporary furniture event, has drawn to a close, but we still have lots of pics and coverage yet to come! The memories of brilliant Milanese sunshine seem so distant now, with steady rain all day festival goers are starting to wear down after a few too many parties! Nevertheless, your Inhabitants are stopping off for extra espressos every day, to ensure that you get your daily design fix! We attended Designersblock over the weekend, and here were some of our favorite designs.
The entrance to this year’s Salone Satellite show welcomed all with a huge sign commanding ‘Go Green!’. A positive start, although we were surprised to hear that the ‘green’ theme was a last minute decision announced only a month earlier! Much too short notice for many designers to alter their Salone line up. We took the opportunity to put the Satellite exhibitors under the green spotlight, questioning them about their work and whether they would consider it sustainable. This resulted in some flat out ‘no’ responses, some confused looking faces, and a series of interesting conversations on the nature and boundaries of what is considered sustainable design today. Read on for highlights from the show!
We had an exciting first day here at the Milan Furniture Fair, there’s been so much to feast our eyes upon! We hit the main Salone buildings today to see how mainstream design is reacting to the growing demand for sustainable design and, although not everything we’ve found is rooted in green, there were definitely some eco-gems. David Trubridge, Tej Chauhan and Andreu World were just a few of the designers at Milan this year who are moving the notion of luxury one step forward with an eye on energy-efficiency and sustainable materials. Read more for highlights from opening day at Salone 2008.
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