Pre-built homemakers extraordinaire, Marmol Radziner Prefab were in the news this week once again introducing their newest custom prefab home. High up in the hills above Los Angeles sits the new Hollywood Hybrid, a 2576 sq. ft. sustainable, modern prefab home with killer views and a minimal carbon footprint. Inhabitat went up to the site where the home was being built for a peek.
We’ve seen designers recycle airplane parts to create desks, tropical eco-hotels and a hostel, and now we can add couches and beds to the lofty collection! MotoArt is a team of designers who transform airplane parts into sleek, highly polished modern pieces of furniture. Based in Los Angeles, the 6 person design crew creates an impressive line-up of upcycled furnishings, sure to please every airplane enthusiast’s flight of fancy.
Imagine inviting a dinner party of six into a formal dining room with only 3 chairs. The horror! Well, it’s really no problem with the Guarda Inside-Out Chair by Zanic Design. At first glance it’s a sleek, modern piece that is so slim, it can’t possibly have room to hide a box of chocolates, let alone a whole other chair. That is unless the other chair is molded right around the first chair like a second skin - hidden in plain sight. When you slide the white outer chair off, it “gives birth” to the inner one nesting doll-style. What a great way to psych your dinner guests out!
We all know that food and water are basic human needs, but what about something as simple as a place to sit? Right now, there is a pressing need for nearly 2 billion basic, low-cost seating units for schools hospitals and houses in underdeveloped countries around the globe. In response to the shortage, students Alon Tal and Fabio Alvarez teamed up with Zilca, a company that specializes in recycled materials, to find a solution. First presented last September at design fair Habitat Valencia in Spain, their senior thesis, the Reverse Project, makes cushions from re-purposed car foam for seating that is easy on the eyes, earth, and the behind!
There is nothing we love more than good design meeting up with a good cause. That’s why we love this student humanitarian design project on the Thai Burmese border: it combines beautifully designed (and super efficient) vernacular-inspired architecture with social responsibility in aiding the plight of Karen refugee orphans. Five students in Thailand are using architecture to make new lives for 24 orphans by providing them with homes to call their own.
Scrap Lab is a group of designers based out of Bangkok’s Kasetsart University’s Architecture program that creates fun and innovative furniture out discarded industrial scraps. The group makes an eclectic variety of furniture, from a funky shaggy lamp to a lounge chair with a quilt-block pattern — all masterfully re-purposing materials that were once considered waste. While their list of materials includes traditional materials such as wood and metal, it also includes less traditional items such as foam and rope. The purpose of the group’s work is to not only create physical products, but also to collect research on how discarded materials can be used effectively to design functional and aesthetically pleasing pieces.
Talk about bringing the outdoors in! This Chaise Lawn Chair is perfect for citydwellers who want that fresh cut grass feeling without the hassle of a full lawn. Designed by Deger Cengiz, the lounger is sure to elicit a chuckle from your friends. And if you really want to show them a good time, cart them around and take full advantage of the human transporter (wheelbarrow) functionality. Note: It is not recommended for use on stairs.
In certain cultures, it’s customary for the dead to be buried with their possessions. For a change, how about being buried in your possessions? That’s the twist that William Warren put on his cheeky Shelves for Life, which function as sleek storage space during a person’s life and transform into, well, an equally sleek coffin for the person when this life comes to a close. Talk about the gift that just keeps on giving!
When we first saw this living, growing Garden Chair we quickly found ourselves captivated by its whimsical nature and perfect union between pure green design and functionality. But don’t be confused. What looks like something straight out of Narnia, is in fact the product of an ingenious method of tree shaping developed by a couple of artists at Pooktre!
In the ongoing quest to dovetail sustainable style with carefully sourced materials, it is refreshing when a designer makes it easy to fall in love with and feel good about soulful green design. Add to this, lyrical lines and soft contours that envelope and rock your world, and you have the perfect home furnishings solution. Northumberland designer Jolyon Yates has mastered the art of design poetics and visual lullabyes with his latest Series 3 ODEChair and Stingray Stools. Exquisitely handcrafted from renewable wood that the artist lovingly selects, these are elegant design pieces meant to last for generations, in an ode to form and function.
Austrian designers mischer’traxler have created a solar powered machine that makes an incredible array of furnishings that vary based on how much sunlight it receives over the course of a day. Titled “The Idea of a Tree“, the machine spins spools of thread into stools, benches, containers, and lamp shades that wax and wane as the available sunlight shifts. Variations in weather, the time of year, and other environmental factors create pieces of different shape, color, and size, instilling the furniture with growing, seasonal qualities that mimic photosynthesis.
As one of Tel Aviv’s most thought-provoking new companies, Junktion, a young, edgy and innovative design studio, is breathing new life into the trash their city has cast aside. Junktion began in 2008 and has made their presence know in the contemporary furniture market with their unique approach to function and unwavering conviction to challenge how people regard junk.
With the chaotic lineup of professional design events that take place throughout the year, student shows are always such a refreshing reminder of the raw talent and ingenuity that future designers bring to the table. The 2009 Pratt Student Show in New York was no exception, and several clever kids designs caught our attention. From a smart children’s chair made out of a slide to a colorful stacking chick …
More ironic than practical, Swiss designer Michel Bussien’s Growing Chair evokes pertinent ideas for the 21st century: nature trapped within the confines of man, manicured at his whim, or a specimen preserved behind glass - like fossils in a museum. On the other hand, when I look at the Growing Chair, I see the proliferation of life despite artificial boundaries. But, perhaps it’s something much simpler than that - a lush little greenhouse with a seat to enjoy it?
London-born designer Tom Price was commissioned by Arts Co. to produce a piece of work for ‘From Now to Eternity’, an exhibition celebrating design, and focusing on plastic as a versatile material. Addressing concerns over our increasing piles of wasted throw-away plastic products, he chose to create an ingenious series of chairs formed by strategically melting piles of polyester fleece.
If you just can’t get enough of computer keyboards during the work day, the Text-ile chair might be for you. Created by designers Dante Bonnucelli and Lamm for UMUL 2009 (Use More, Use Less), a workshop focusing on re-use in design, Text-ile is made out of discarded computer keyboards. It may not be your ‘type’ of lounge chair, but we dig the concept.
If you’re looking for unique home accessories that are environmentally friendly and have a clean and elegant design quality, you’ll want to check out Corque’s new collection crafted with - you guessed it - cork! From the fun Rolha candle holder which allows users to turn old bottles into candelabras, to funky Topography placemats, which bring rough terrain to the table, their “Designing Living Objects” line truly showcases the versatility of cork.
Office furniture often gets sent to die in a dark, damp landfill, where it remains for much longer than we care to admit. It tends to be cheap, molded, made from particle board and sometimes includes formaldehyde. Since we can’t unmake these items, the next best thing is to recycle them into useful pieces of eco-furniture, just like Naomi Dean does. Dean is a UK-based furniture designer who finds inspiration in smart design and cast-off items like unwanted office furniture.
Swedish designers Charlotte Ryberg and Johanna Strand created their Whatchawant stool as a fun piece of furniture that would inspire the imagination. They built this timeless piece, made of plywood, and containing no screws or superflous parts, with an eye on sustainability and a desire to do away with the …
For parents living in small dwellings in the big city, furniture that is aesthetically pleasing, highly functional and compactable is a must… especially when it comes to making room for kids and all their accouterments, either by expansion or hideaway tactics. The Offi Paket Table and Chairs set is an eco-friendly masterpiece that comprises all of the aspects mentioned above. It stylishly houses a table and four chairs in a compact storage …
We’ve all heard of pieces of furniture that act as conversation pieces, but how about a table that not only starts conversations but actually looks like a giant speech bubble? Brilliant! Constructed entirely of scrap pieces of cardboard, Leo Kempf’s conversation table is sturdy, witty, and an excellent option if you’re looking for a coffee table that will get your guests talking every time they come over.
When we first spotted this lovely piece by Test Collective at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, we were quite taken with the streamlined form and minimalistic look. The unit is aptly named Volume, because of its generous size and because it considers the storage, display, and celebration of vinyl records - a unique sole-purpose for a piece of furniture which we found intriguing! While we certainly applaud the use of Corian and bamboo, we think it is equally important to point out that the concept behind the piece - collecting old LPs instead of purchasing new CDs - is just as sustainable as the materials, making Volume all the more appealing to green music-lovers.
Designed by Mario Bellini for Meritalia, an Italian furniture maker, the Via Lattea furniture line looks like a collection of homemade marshmallows. Light as air, these chairs and couches are made from steel mesh combined with recycled fiber sacks formerly used to transport grain, stones, and sugar. Bellini and Meritalia showed their new line this year at the Milan Furniture Fair and we’re fascinated by the glowing chairs and air-filled sacs.
Far and away our favorite exhibit at this year’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair was Design For A Dollar. With one dollar to work with, students from the Pratt Institute of Design in NYC were challenged to design something worthwhile. Through the design process not only did the students from the Department of Industrial Design learn the meaning of a dollar, but many incorporated cast-off items upcycled into new and intriguing designs. 80 undergraduate and graduate students entered the contest and 15 of the best designs were chosen to exhibit at ICFF this year. Here we highlight our favorites for their eco-friendly design, creative reuse and their affordability.
DRIP PLATE by Catherine Merrick
The Drip Plate by Catherine Merrick is an ingenious reuse of an antique ceramic plate. Originally featuring a winter scene in blue, Merrick renewed the thrift store find by dripping wax onto the plate and then sandblasting the rest away to create a new design. The diner will ponder while cleaning his plate, what the design used to be. The cost depends on the price of the plate and patience of the shopper.
For the sake of sustainability, we normally hope that our furniture will last a long time in an effort to conserve resources and energy. Ate Atema of Atema Architecture, however, ponders whether this philosophy is truly the correct path to eco-enlightenment. With his Auto-Cannibalistic Table, which is intended to be a temporary object, he embraces sustainability in a less conventional way. The table was constructed with paper egg cartons and wheatpaste glue, which is made from flour and water, and then planted with herbs. The herbs can be picked as they grow, creating a place where food can both be eaten as well as grown–over time, however, the plants are intended to “eat away” at the table.
We’ve been bringing you the best of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair’s most sophisticated offerings all week, but what about the more playful side of this seriously massive trade show? If you’re on the lookout for fun and functional kids furniture and accessories, we’ve got you covered. From baby robot seal pups to a plane-shaped playbench, there were so many colorful goodies to choose from! Read on …
The Elephant Chair, by Barcelona-based Medio Design, is a wonderful example of both efficient crafting and clean, classic lines. Modeled from Ray and Charles Eames’ Lounge Chair Wood, the Elephant Chair is assembled from laser-cut wood and then fit together like a puzzle.
Designed by Evan Dublin, this brightly-hued slide chair is sure to give any room a brilliant pop of color. A slick example of found design, the chair is crafted from a deconstructed playground set reclaimed from a New York City salvage yard. Evan set the slide on end, upholstered it with cushy padding, and finished it with a wood base for a playful …
We came, we saw… and now we’d like to share with you our favorite green designs from this year’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair. This annual furniture fair takes place every year in NYC in May, and is always a great place to spot brilliant new designs and emerging trends in the design world. This year’s show was smaller than usual (due to the soggy economy no doubt), but that made the stellar designs from this year’s show stand out even more.
This weekend team Inhabitat took the International Contemporary Furniture Fair by storm, seeking out the freshest green designs amid this year’s crop of over 2,500 exhibitors. From sleek and chic chaises to eco-efficient products to the patently bizarre, we were wowed by the wealth of designs on display. Read on for our favorite finds from the show, stay tuned for more coverage, and don’t forget to check out our photo album for more eco-friendly furnishings, lighting solutions, and products!
For city-dwelling parents living in close quarters, streamlined family furniture that blends in with existing decor is key. That’s why we are so impressed with Kalon Studios‘ sleek and modern IoLine Dresser. Made of 100% solid bamboo and zero formaldehyde ply and finished with natural wood oil and low-VOC paint, the IoLine appeals to both grown-ups and kids, and is designed with safety and sustainability in mind. This lovely dresser is so appealing …
The passionate Uhuru design team launched several new products at BKLYN Designs last week. It is hard to select a favorite from all of their sophisticated, yet quirky furniture designs, but we can say that their new stools made us do a double take. All of their work is produced from sustainable materials such as locally reclaimed wood and steel, but it is unexpected and inspiring to see scrap metal look so inviting to sit on. It is commendable that they have made such a mechanical material take on such natural form.
Extraordinary green designers Object Interiors unveiled their new Live Earth collection at this year’s BKLYN Designs, and we were particularly struck by their Coup d’Grace Media Console (such a fitting name!). Made from a formaldehyde and VOC-free MDF shell, the console reflects the mission of the collection “to connect all the raw, natural elements that make up the construction of a finished piece” and provide “a sensory connection with live things reflected in the furniture around you.” Dried grasses are embedded into the console’s front sliding doors, which are translucent panels comprised of 3Form eco-resin. The patented material is constructed using 40 percent post-consumer recycled waste and is an increasingly popular, PVC-free alternative to plastic. Even better, eco-resin can be returned to 3Form for recycling at the end of its lifespan.
Some really great designs for kids are debuting at this year’s BKLYN Designs, like this toyChaise by Iglooplay. We think parents will appreciate it even more than the kids though, because of its storage capacity and multiple uses. It’s perfect to play on top of, use as a desk, or lean back and rest …
Whether you’re an advocate of low-footprint living or a space-restricted city dweller looking to get the most milage out of your dining room, Ecosystems‘ brand new transforming Bada table may be just the piece you’re looking for. Crafted entirely from reclaimed walnut, the slick table features an ingenious design that transforms into a loveseat with a flick of the wrist, saving on both the space and materials consumed by multiple pieces of furniture.
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