Inhabitat » icff 2009

Hero’s 365 Drying Rack and Rain Collector Double as Garden Decor

Called “365,” Hero Design Lab’s newest line of functional and attractive outdoor sustainability solutions wowed attendees at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair this year with its eye-catching looks. 365 consists of an outdoor drying rack and rain collection system, dubbed DR-1 and RC-1 respectively, which perfectly illustrate Hero’s talent for morphing items that are typically quite boring into outdoor decor with flair. After all, if we are going to integrate these water and energy saving products into our homes, why shouldn’t they also be fun to look at?

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‘Whatchawant’ Stool: A Modern Spin on the Rocking Horse

by Beth Shea, 05/28/09

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 “wear out then throw out” mentality often coupled with today’s mainstream furniture. Meant to last for generations, this modern spin on a rocking horse is destined to become a classic.

Offi’s Paket Storage Cube Transforms into a Table and Chairs

by Beth Shea, 05/28/09

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 cube that opens up to provide space to share a meal. Made of laminated birch plywood and powder coated metal, the Paket Table and Chairs set should be a staple piece in every family’s home.

Airplane Activity Center by GREENPLAY

by Beth Shea, 05/27/09

GREENPLAY’s Airplane Activity Center landed at this year’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair; and we think these designers are soaring to new heights with their kid and eco-friendly, uplifting piece. Made with recycled plastics, low impact materials, and zero VOC emitting finishes, the Airplane Activity Center welcomes tiny passengers on board for good, green fun. And we’re fans of anything that accomplishes zero-carbon emissions air travel, even if it’s only in the imaginations of children.

Transformable LED Trask Lights from MIO

Philadelphia-based design team MIO has upped the ante for end-user creativity yet again with the introduction of their first LED light fixture. Called Trask because it can switch from being “track” or “task” lighting, the function of this ingenious flatpack lighting system is completely up to you! The modular units can form everything from desk lamps to linkable suspension lights, giving this eco-centric product the option to snake its way across your entire room.

Plastic Spoon Chandelier by Daisuke Hiraiwa

We’re perpetually amazed by the way that Japanese designer Daisuke Hiraiwa transforms everyday objects into striking examples of found design, and we were particularly impressed with his incredible line of Indication chandeliers – made from recycled plastic spoons. Exhibited at this year’s ICFF, each one is completely composed of clear plastic spoons that have been punctured with hundreds of tiny holes to allow light to filter through them in beautiful ways.

Volume by Test Collective: Eco Storage for Your Vinyl Records

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.

Iannone’s Sustainably Crafted Cork Media Console

Gone are the days of using cork only for corkboards and wine preservation. With the emergence of cork as a furniture-building material, designers are able to create eco-friendly pieces with a unique look. Recently debuted at ICFF 2009, Iannone Designs’s new Cork Media Console is crafted from renewable material harvested from the bark of the cork tree – a sustainable process that doesn’t harm the tree itself.

Greenworks Self-Watering Living Wall System

Green walls are not only spectacularly beautiful, but they also help enliven a space, humidify the air, and process toxins. We loved this simple and modular living wall by Greenworks, a design duo from Stockholm. The design we saw at this year’s ICFF consists of a lovely felted plant wall with a self-automated watering system and a sturdy base. Inserting more plants into a room through planting tiles, potted plants, or a living wall provides a healthier indoor air quality, as well as a more beautiful space.

Sweater ‘Sleeve’ Lamp by Sara Ebert

Would you believe that this eye-catching lamp was made for under one dollar? ‘Sleeve’ by Sara Ebert is a lampshade made from a Salvation Army sweater and a discarded apple juice bottle. Showcased as part of Pratt’s ‘Design for a Dollar’ exhibit at ICFF 2009, ‘Sleeve’ was crafted with an eye toward minimizing energy, labor, materials, and transportation costs and waste. It’s beautiful, smart, and straightforward–exactly the way good design should be.

Pratt Students Design For One Dollar

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.

The Best Green Kids Designs @ ICFF

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 …

Stunning Stamen Chandeliers Made From Toothpicks

Designed by Daisuke Hiraiwa, these elegant echidna-esque Stamen chandeliers elevate an everyday material into brilliant expressions of found design. Each one is created by gluing hundreds of toothpicks together to form a flexible disc that gives their bristling points a fluid form. The pointillist pendant lamps recently debuted at ICFF 2009, where they wowed onlookers with their complex folding curves and innovative use of materials.

Graypants Twice Recycled Scrap Cardboard Lights

Made from stacked rings of corrugated cardboard, Graypants‘ pendant Scrap Lights (which we’ve long admired) are a prime example of the transformative power of good design. The ceiling lamps‘ elegant construction utilizes leftover scraps of cardboard to create a semi-translucent shade that gives off a muted, soft glow. The overall effect is elegant, understated and as far from trash as you could possibly get.

Wind Turbine Towers Win Metropolis Next Generation Prize!

Today Metropolis Magazine officially announced the winner of their 2009 Next Generation prize! Titled Wind-it, the brilliant project aims to give our existing energy grid a much needed boost by installing wind turbines in ailing electrical transmission towers. The project is designed for France, but creators Nicola Delon, Julien Choppin, and Raphael Menard believe it could be integrated everywhere, from China’s Sichuan Province to the streets of New York City.

ICFF 2009: Highlights from the Contemporary Furniture Fair!

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.

Woven Palm Leaf Vava Lamp from IKEA

Ikea showcased its brand new PS Collection at this weekend’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair, and one of our favorite designs on display was this beautiful pendant lamp made from carefully folded palm leaves. Designed by Wiebke Braasch, the Vava lamp is inspired by an image from her childhood of dried sea urchins. Braasch wanted the spiky weave of the palm leaves to create a contrast to the soft discus shape of the shade.

Inhabitat Reports from ICFF 2009!

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!