Inhabitat » London Design Week 2007

ONCE A DOOR Recycled Door Chair by Claire Danthois

by Richard, 10/10/07

Claire Danthois wowed us with her chair made from a recycled door at the [re]design stand at 100% Design this year- her Once A Door chair turns a reclaimed door into sculptural chaise that is as environmentally friendly as it is thought-provoking. Driven by an interest in people and their relationship with the world around them, Claire is fascinated with the story embedded in reclaimed materials, and custom makes all of her pieces for a specific individuals, using materials found in that person’s life.

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SPECTACLE CHANDELIER Made From Recycled Eye-Glasses

by Ariana Mouyiaris, 10/10/07

Salvage pioneer Stuart Haygarth has created an eye-catching eyeglass masterpiece, turning discarded glasses into a gorgeously green glowing chandelier. Spectacle is an optical chandelier assembled from 1020 pairs of discarded prescription glasses, with a smaller size constructed from 620 pairs. The refracted light from the lenses makes fluid shadows that play across walls creating an aqueous lighting effect that shimmers as much as it delights.

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Stuart Haygarth’s Recycled Lighting Design

by Ariana Mouyiaris, 10/10/07

Stuart Haygarth’s talent lies in re-imagining waste into striking lighting design. As a London based designer, his work falls into an increasingly present design movement that is part salvage, part make-do-and-mend, and 100% stunning. This approach to more sustainable product ranges seems to be a recipe for success, as both the Deptford Design Market Challenge and Trash Luxe at London’s recent Design Festival centered around recycled materials. Stuart’s fixtures have long been an Inhabitat favorite, including his Disposable wine glass chandelier and his beach-waste Tide chandelier.

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MODERN SUSTAINABLE WALLPAPER: Graham and Brown

by Richard, 09/29/07

Known for their exquisite wallpaper and collaborations with well known designers, Graham & Brown have taken wallpaper one step further with their eco-chic range of sustainable wallpaper. The 60-year old wallpaper company is turning walls green thanks to their collaboration with students from Central St. Martins University in London, sustainable materials and production processes.

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[Re]design Chair Exhibition At 100% Futures London

One of the most popular stands within the 100% Futures exhibition at 100% Design London this year was the [re]design Sit Up exhibition which displayed an array of sustainable seating that were as green as they were gorgeous. Expanding on last year’s installation, the [re]design collaborative design crew returned with sixteen items that epitomized good seating design- comfort, quality, style, and of course, sustainability.

RECYCLED HANGER LIGHTS BY ALI SIAHVOSHI

Next time you pick up your dry cleaning and think about disposing of the hangers, think again- they may have a second life as a gorgeous light fixture. Lighting Designer Ali Siahvoshi has done exactly that with his blue Cascading Hanger Light. This light was featured at 100% Design London this year and, along with his hanging silverware chandeliers, is another stunning example of the Iranian designer’s approach to contemporary lighting design, exemplifying the beauty of recycling objects for new purposes.

100% DETAIL: Alternative Energy – Wind and Sun

During the Alternative Energies seminar as part of 100% Design, we caught up with two of the leading experts within the commercial field of alternative energy. Robert Webb from Quiet Revolution / XC02 and Christoph Behling from Solarlab Research + Design were explaining their design philosophies, latest projects and recent conquests in the world of wind and sun powered energy.

TOP TEN GREEN FINDS FROM 100% DESIGN LONDON

London’s big annual furniture fair,100% Design took place this weekend at Earl’s Court, and the London Inhabitatters spent countless hours walking the trade show floors to try to find the latest green design trends and the best new eco-design picks for you. From green lighting to furniture, Tom Dixon’s installation to the ReDesign exhibit, here are our top finds:

METAPHYS INDOOR GRASS PLANTERS FROM TOKYO

With the goal to bring the lawn indoors, Tokyo based product designer Chiaki Murata of Metaphys has designed a stylish product range of stackable white mod grass planters. The Factory product range brings the natural world indoors in style. The individual planters can be stacked, hung or laid on your coffee table.

SILVERWARE CHANDELIER BY ALI SIAHVOSHI

British based lighting designer Ali Siahvoshi exhibited work at 100% Design this week, and is the designer behind Fabbian’s line of super-cool chandeliers made from knives and forks. Born and raised in Iran, Siahvoshi has a unique approach to contemporary lighting design. Using previous everyday objects, from table legs, coat hangers and cutlery Siahvoshi has designed a range of light fixtures that exemplify the beauty of recycling objects for new purposes.

GREENPEACE LAUNCHES DIMMABLE ECO BULB in London

The UK’s first fully dimmable energy efficient light bulb was launched today, as part of a Greenpeace initiative at 100% Design London. Greenpeace commissioned top designer Jason Bruges to create an interactive garden of light, which responds to human movement through “touch pads” dotted around the installation. This is the first lighting project of its kind in the world to use fully dimmable, compact fluorescent bulbs.

MISIAK RECYCLED TEA-SETS MAKES TEA TIME GREENER

England is the land of tea, and as once would expect, there are tons of old, unwanted tea sets in London sitting in charity shops and landfill. Fortunately British product designer Christine Misiak has arrived on the scene to turn old tea sets into new, hip, contemporary products that are as gorgeous as they are eco-friendly. Exhibiting at 100% Futures during at the London Design Festival, Misiak makes tea time greener with this thoughtful form of adaptive reuse.

TRASH LUXE: Reclaim, Rework, Reuse

Trash Luxe, an exhibition for the London Design Festival at Liberty’s, celebrates the creativity of reworking/remastering unwanted goods into desirable products. With the concept of luxury being increasingly rethought and redefined, using objects with a sub-narrative: vintage materials, material/packaging waste and other disposable items, gives layered meaning and added value to otherwise overlooked commodities. Here are some of our highlights, including a new chandelier from Stuart Haygarth and some very cool Zulu bowls made from telephone wires!

TOM DIXON: THE GREAT LIGHT GIVEAWAY

Yesterday evening saw the final day of Tom Dixon’s low-energy light installation, in London’s Trafalgar Square, and the day ended with a bang when the designer gave away 1000 of his eco GLOWB lights to 1000 lucky Londoners. The whole London Inhabitat team was there (and 8th in line to score a GLOWB!) for the 5pm light-giveaway. Powered by a renewable energy source the lights have been lit for 3 hours per day from 7pm – 10pm Monday and Tuesday, and yesterday Wednesday 19th from 5pm – 10pm. See more photo’s from The Great Light Giveaway!! over on Flickr.

TOM DIXON FREE LIGHT GIVEAWAY TOMORROW!!!

As part of the awesome installation of eco GLOWB lights currently at Trafalgar Square in London for the Design Festival, Tom Dixon will be giving away 1000 lights TOMORROW, Wednesday, September 19th from 5-10pm! The “GLOWB” is a low-energy, CFL light that will be displayed in a chandelier cluster- get there fast to get your hands on some free green design! First-come-first serve! And stay tuned for a full report after the giveaway from our London team.

DEPTFORD DESIGN CHALLENGE: A 2nd Life for Objects

If you are looking for great examples of objects born into a second life, Deptford Design Market Challenge is just the ticket. As part of the London Design Festival’s green schedule of events, The Royal Festival Hall on London’s Southbank is housing The Deptford Design Challenge until 25th September. Twenty-six international designers, including Conran and Partners, Stuart Haygarth, Martí Guixé, and Based Upon, were invited to redesign discarded objects from Deptford Thrift Market, turning market bargains from a broken desk fan to a dirty sofa into new and functional designs. Challenging the preconceptions of usefulness and beauty, the designers were asked to use their talents to re-work the item; creating something unique, desirable and functional.

LONDON DESIGN WEEK KICKS OFF!!!

The London Design Festival 2007 has just kicked off, and Inhabitat is on the scene… We’re frantically scouring the streets of London looking for the best and the brightest in green design, and will be reporting from different shows and exhibits all week, through Tuesday the 25th September. This year looks to be more exciting than ever before, with a whole selection of sustainability-focused events. Keep it tuned to Inhabitat to see the newest and best green designs, and please get in touch with us if you plan on attending!

SUSTAINABLE DIY STYLE: London DePLOY WorkSHOP

To kick off our London Design Festival Coverage our London Inhabitant Ariana Mouyiaris took a trip out to DePLOY; a sustainably and DIY-focused fashion line. Open to the public until September 25th, DePLOY WorkSHOP allows visitors and shoppers alike to come in and watch the designers at work: altering, customizing and developing garments, while perusing wares and potential purchases. We love their DIY approach to sustainable style- they have a core collection that is infinitely customizable with secondary elements and continually cool as the seasons change!

TOM DIXON’s GLOWB Eco-Light Giveaway on Wednesday!

In conjunction with the London Design Festival 2007, leading British Designer Tom Dixon will take over London’s Trafalgar Square with a large lighting installation. But it gets better than just an installation: following the success of the 2006 “ChairGrab,” Dixon will give away 1000 lights on Wednesday, September 19th! The “GLOWB” is a low-energy, CFL light that will be displayed in a chandelier cluster- get there fast to get your hands on some free green design!

KOIVU Sculptural Lighting – 4D Designs

Exhibiting at 100% Futures London next week, KOIVU sculptural lighting products from newly formed 4D Designs are a glowing sensation to behold. Each of the lighting products are made using laser-cut birch plywood, giving them a glowing tree trunk aesthetic that recalls the appearance of the material from which they came. “Grouped together, these freestanding lights take on the appearance of a mystical forest,” says 4D Designs’ founder, Michael Radford. We love how the aesthetic links back to the material, giving the lights a sense of re-interpreted history.