Situated in an defunct arms manufacturing facility in Saint-Etienne, the recently unveiled Cité du Design is a stunning international center for design. Designed by LIN, the project completely renovated the historic complex and integrated a new facility made out of triangular scaffolding. Powered by solar energy and supplemented by an efficient heating system, the energy efficient Cité du Design is a world class design center that lives up to its name.
Later this month, Médiacité, a new shopping and entertainment center with some exciting green features will open up in the center of Liège, Belgium. Located nearby the new train station, Gare des Guillemins by Santiago Calatrava, Médiacité will help rehabilitate the central city economically and culturally. With sweeping lines, advanced materials and environmentally aware design and construction, the new shopping center is an exciting new urban infill project and will surely be a big hit.
In the market for a new teapot or kettle? This new vessel may be the perfect solution if you’re looking for a functional tea kettle that looks pretty enough to serve from. Vessel Ideation is the creator of this fashionable concept tea kettle, which was designed with both boiling and serving in mind. We love the modern look, the advanced technology, but mostly the fact that it blooms beautiful blue patterns when the water is hot enough. It’s like hypercolor for tea.
MILAN 2009: The Best of Green Design
by Lea Bogdan, 04/29/09
The 2009 Milan Furniture Fair showcased an incredible assortment of furnishings, lighting, and housewares from all over the world, ranging from the well-established designers showcased in the main exhibition halls to the young designers and start-up companies exhibiting at Salone Satellite. Although in visiting the modern and contemporary halls of the fair I was disappointed by the lack of green design, it was encouraging to see that this year the fair is focusing on quality. Although the materials and construction of most of the furniture would not be considered sustainable, the intention is that the pieces will last a lifetime. Many of the designs also allowed for modularity, or reconfiguring over time. Read on for our favorite green design finds from the show!
Milan 2009: Interni Design Energies
The Interni Design Energies exhibition at the 2009 Milan Furniture Fair doesn’t open at twilight for no reason. Indeed the exhibition, which features renewable energy–themed installations from designers and planners around the world, reveals its mysterious beauty only at night; it’s an intelligent and inventive commentary on energy and resource efficiency. Located in the buildings and gardens of the majestic Università Degli Studi, the show offers visitors a moment of pure magic!
Kyocera Unveils Kinetic Flexible OLED Cell Phone
Charting the future of cell phone technology, Kyocera recently unveiled a kinetic energy-powered phone that is capable of folding up like a wallet. Designed by industrial designer Susan McKinney, the EOS phone consists of a soft, semi-rigid polymer skin surrounding a flexible low-energy OLED display. Shape memory allows the phone’s keys to pop up when in use and blend in with the surface during downtime.
Chilean High Rise Wrapped in a Living Green Wall
Lately we’ve seen some incredible projects that make great use of the insulating and air-purifying benefits of green walls. The latest to strike our eye is this clean-lined office surrounded by the rolling Bío Bío hills in the center of Concepción, Chile. Conceived by Enrique Browne Arquitectos, the building makes extensive use of locally-sourced materials and will be enveloped in a leafy green facade overflowing with bougainvillea, jasmine, and plumbago. The vegetation is now growing and it is expected to cover the entire facade of the building in two more years.
LOTS MORE GREAT GREEN DESIGN STORIES HERE... KEEP READING!
