What if you could design your own lighting fixture in the time that it takes to unscrew a light bulb? That’s the premise behind Daniel Becker’s Spark system, a series of energy-efficient LED bulbs that can be linked together to form beautiful light sculptures.
An abandoned bowling alley finds a second life in this beautiful series of furniture by LA-based designer/woodworker William Stranger. Crafted from reclaimed strips of wood salvaged from a local defunct Tava Lanes Bowling alley, the collection springs to life in a variety of forms including a series of wall hangings and a low coffee table.
A lot of us can recall spending hours upon hours of stacking colorful Legos into shapes and sizes that tickled our imagination as children. While some of us outgrew that phase, thankfully some of us didn’t forget the charm of the little Lego man’s smile or the amazingness contained within every little block. As Parisian designers Simon Pillard and Philippe Rosetti have proved with their chromatic Munchausen Lego Kitchen: you’re never to old to play with Legos!
Over at TreeHugger we are saps for furniture that can slide under your door; flatpack isn’t just made by IKEA. Designers like Eric Ku are doing it with humor, inventing a flatpack alphabet – his Flatpack Chair is pretty self-explanatory. In Japan, Keiji Ashizawa channels Marcel Breuer with a steel flatpack cantilever chair that slides under the door. Read on for more examples of cutting-edge flatpack furniture.
Clothes hangers are clogging our landfills at a rate of nearly 8 billion per year. We’ve recently brought you designers who have been developing brilliant ways to tackle the problem through eco-friendly materials and innovative new designs. Now industrial designers Alex Witko and Courtney Hunt at Organelle Design have hit upon another great idea — Hangeliers, wonderful chandeliers made from off-the-shelf plastic and wood hangers.
Awe-inspiring design may not grow on trees, but it sure can dress up walls! Last year, architecture and product design group Nendo Studio completed the renovation of this gorgeous Moss House private residence in the Ebisu area of Tokyo, Japan. Taking inspiration from the plant life that scales the walls lining the nearby Shibuya River, the Nendo designers used dried moss to cover the interior walls with vine-like patterns. This custom wall treatment has a vivid color, a rich textural quality, and gives the starck white corridors a sense that the are alive.
Shortly after Al Gore debuted An Inconvenient Truth the general public started giving a damn about climate change — at least superficially. And in a massive wave of effort to show off our new enviro-consciousness, every apartment, townhouse and megamansion from Norway to New Zealand swapped their incandescent light bulbs for more energy efficient CFLs, or compact fluorescent lamps. Watt for watt, there’s no question whether or not CFLs save energy as compared to their predecessors. But with the concerns of toxic mercury and the recent developments in LED technology, CFLs may not be the smartest choice for long-term sustainability. Read on for our in-depth report!
Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) recently announced a breakthrough in OLED technology that shatters all prior efficiency standards, reducing the ultra-thin lights’ energy consumption by 75%! That’s no small number – the development stands to raise the bar for energy efficient lighting by leaps and bounds. Literally (and figuratively) a cool technology, we are already enamored by the skinny profile of organic light emitting diodes, and we can’t wait to see their further integration into our everyday appliances.
Old bequeaths new in Varian Designs‘ beautiful reclaimed furniture, which blends found materials and craftsman techniques with a modern aesthetic. Each piece in this sustainably crafted line is finished using all-natural old-world techniques, and extra close attention is paid to the details and joinery. In the Bartizan Desk pictured above, wood and steel are artfully brought together with the addition of a …
The Timberland Company, known for it’s environmental stewardship and consistent ranking as one of America’s best companies to work for by Fortune and Working Mother Magazine, has just opened a new sustainable store at 474 Broadway in NYC. The sleek interior and ample use of reclaimed wood make for an inviting and earth-friendly shopping experience.
HEY DESIGN LOVING NEW YORKERS! BKLYN Designs starts tomorrow and we couldn’t be more excited! Running from May 8-10, this awesome showcase of local furniture design kicks off NY Design Week, and is one of our favorite events of the year. We’ll be pressing our noses up against the glass bright and early tomorrow morning and – as soon as doors open – racing around to see all the fabulous eco-friendly furniture on display, so we can report it back to you guys this weekend.
This year at BKLYN Designs we’ll be doing something new: we’ll be giving out ‘Editors’ Choice Awards’ to recognize our favorite green designs from the show during our annual Mother’s Day Green Design Tour this Sunday. We’re looking forward to seeing fresh new furnishings, great green products, and energy-efficient lighting solutions, so stay tuned for more coverage to come and if you’d like to join us at the event you can pick up tickets here!
And if you’re not in NYC, keep it tuned to Inhabitat this weekend and next week for all the latest on BKLYN Designs 2009
DRUMROLL PLEASE! New York Design Week is about to begin and we’re kicking things off this weekend with our first ever Green Design Awards at BKLYN Designs! Running from May 8-10, this incredible showcase of locally-sourced design is one of our favorite events of the year, and we’ll be giving out ‘Editors’ Choice Awards’ to recognize our favorite pieces during our annual Mother’s Day Green Design Tour this Sunday. We’re looking forward to scores of fresh new furnishings, great green products, and energy-efficient lighting solutions, so stay tuned for more coverage to come and if you’d like to join us at the event you can pick up tickets here!
Where can one go to find breathtaking landscapes, artistic scenery and people with unique character? Punkaharju, Finland is one place, and PunkAlive goes to great measures to incorporate these qualities in their new furniture line that recently debuted at Zona Tortona during the Milan Furniture Fair. We spoke with Jukka Lommi and Jukka Rissanen on the opening day of the fair and learned about how PunkAlive is getting closer to nature by combining style with sustainability.
Heads up East Coast design junkies! BKLYN Designs, New York’s preeminent showcase of locally-sourced green design is kicking off next week from May 8th through the 10th, and Inhabitat will be on the scene to bring you all of the latest from the show. Based upon the tremendous success of last year’s event we’re looking forward to another weekend filled with brand new releases by an acclaimed set of sustainable designers, enlightening lectures, and our very own Jill Fehrenbacher will be hosting another Mother’s Day Green Design Tour. We’ll also be kicking off our first ever Inhabitat awards, where we will carefully vet all designs on display and give awards to our favorite green designers at this year’s show. Check out our BKLYN Designs coverage from last year and don’t miss out on this groundbreaking event – buy your tickets today!
Your favorite furniture fair is about to begin! Starting next week on Earth Day, the Salone Internazionale del Mobile will be in full swing from April 22nd through the 27th. We have a team of European design experts headed there now to bring you full coverage of the great green designs on display – from new chairs and eco-friendly furniture …
So we know MIO’s Bendant chandelier has been around for a while, but like all good things, it’s worth revisiting—especially now, when embracing well designed, American-made products is more important than ever. The idea behind this pendant lamp, which comes flat-packed and ready to customize, is simple: leaf-like petals surround a central fixture and can be moved and arranged to suit individual tastes and lighting strategies—fan the petals out completely for maximum illumination, or stagger for more shade.
Located in Mexico City, Restaurant Japonez offers hungry souls searching for Asian-inspired dishes a serene landscape seated between a stunning living wall, wood, and an incredible glass enclosure. Designed by Serrano Cherrem Architects, the double-height space allows for tons of natural lighting during the day and lets in the city at night, creating a juxtaposition that brings the city indoors into the organic nature of the restaurant’s interior.
Danish architect Knud Kapper has drawn from the tradition of handmade, mid century furniture to create the new eco-friendly Living Kitchen Architecture series which was recently unveiled in New York. The pieces are attentively hand built from solid woods that were harvested from sustainably managed forests under stringent regulations. Engaging, durable and finished with natural wood treatments, Kapper’s kitchen furnishings have a built-in longevity that embody the core meaning of the rooms they establish.
While putting your toddler in the middle of the forest is probably not the smartest thing in the world, bringing the forest to their room might just do the trick. The Amenity Nursery Collection has just been released, featuring some lovely nature inspired and environmentally friendly products to green your toddler’s crib.
This made the rounds on the blogosphere a couple of days ago, but in case you missed it, the Hot Fridge is an experimental refrigerator design by RCA student Hae-jin Kim, which makes use of the heat waste released from the refrigerator cooling process. Most normal (ie inefficient) refrigerators release heat out the back while they cool items inside.
Perfect for those moments when really wish you were somewhere else. Designed by Jason Miller, each Daydreams Mirror contains a tranquil nature image printed onto the reflective surface. When viewed, the printed image and reflection combine, transporting the viewer into an imaginary environment.
I’ve seen these puppies in the flesh, and they are really quite beautiful – whether you are looking to get away, or just bring a little bit of the great outdoors into your personal space.
Available for $399 from …
At the University of Guelph, near Toronto, green design is a literal term. The new Humber building, designed by Toronto firm Diamond Schmitt Architects, Inc., uses a wall of plants as a living air purifier for the 170,000-sq.ft. building.
The four-story biofilter is a thick jungle of ferns, ivy and other plants, working together to emit microbes that break down harmful airborne contaminants into water and CO2. The wall is self-cleaning, since pollutants are not absorbed into the plants, but actually broken down.
The biofilter was developed by biological researchers at the University of Guelph, including Alan Darlington, who now heads his own company, Air Quality Solutions, Ltd., to sell the living walls commercially.
Have you ever wanted to paint one of your walls with a tromp l’oeil forest scene, so that when you stared across your room, instead of staring at a white wall, you would feel like you were staring into a tranquil glade? I remember this aesthetic being big in the 70’s with tromp l’oeil wallpaper of birch trees and the like. The problem with the 70’s version was that you could peel off bits of the wallpaper, thus ruining the effect. I was always a big fan of this look, (I chalk it up to nostalgia) so I have been waiting for this aesthetic to re?emerge bigger and better. Low and behold, this year at ICFF I stumbled across Natura Design Solutions, a company offering hand-painted, photo-realiistic wall murals.
My favorite section of ICFF this year was the British section. As always, this area of the floor featured a lot of independent boutique designers offering unique and witty items such as this beautiful graphic ‘Imbroglio Calendar’. Rather than design a calendar which could only be used for a year, designer Jean-Pierre Vitrac wanted to develop one that can be re-used year after year.? This ?Imbroglio? calendar cleverly disguises the numbers 1-31 in the …
The hit product at ICFF this year appeared to be Molo’s softwall. This giant flexible wall made out of crenellated paper was on display everywhere. It was prominent not only in Molo’s booth, but surrounding quite a few other companies’ stands as well. The softwall’s appeal is evident ? it is totally flexible in shape and size, and can be transported and set-up anywhere to alter the space of a room at whim. It is translucent, fire retardant, modular (multiple walls can be snapped together), and the delicate honeycomb pattern evokes origami and Japanese paper-craft. Who can argue with the softwall? The two architects behind Molo, Stephanie Forsythe & Todd MacAllen, have a whole line of soft products: softlight, softroom, and even softhousing.
Have you ever dreamed about living in a super futuristic apartment with movable walls, foldable furniture and multifunction appliances? (I’m not the only one, am I?) If you have ? integrated design group AvroKO (of PUBLIC fame) has the answer to all your Jetsons fantasies. They are launching Smart.Space this weekend, an ambitious project which involves buying small Manhattan apartments and completely overhauling them ? transforming them …
Yesterday at BKLYN DESIGNS, I came across this fabulous storage systems made out of modular TETRIS-shaped blocks. This design, by Brooklyn company Brave Space, is intended for “Life-size play”, and the blocks really do have the exact proportions of the original Tetris pieces. The storage units are sold piece by piece, so you can buy as many as you want and arrange them however you want. Just think – you can recreate your own gigantic Tetris game in your living room – only without the bottom row disappearing every time you align things properly! Hopefully stacking this stuff together is as much fun as playing Tetris – cause its way more expensive. Each block runs about $350 however, so if you want more than 3 or 4 blocks, you are going to be spending some serious dough. The ten-piece set shown above is $6790.
Okay, so I know I am writing a lot about doors recently. I just can’t resist. Finally door design is becoming about more than just blocking or facilitating movement into a space. About time! Urban Rock Design’s More Doors project is essentially just a contemporary update on the classic Murphy Bed idea. Furniture that folds up vertically into wall space isn’t a new idea, but there is a surprising dearth of designers doing anything interesting and aesthetically pleasing with this concept.
Hmmm. Another rising Dutch design star, another door. I don’t usually wax this lyrical about doors, but then I haven’t seen so many interesting doors in a long time. Marjet Wessels Boer’s Door of Secrets seems to be an over-arching concept rather than a specific design. She shows 6 different door designs on her website, all featuring little compartments that can be taken …
Design Boom has recently announced the results of its Door to Paradise Competition, and the winning design is melodious. Dominic Muren?s Melody Door looks like a modernist wood version of an organ. The door is designed as a musical instrument, so that your approaching guests can knock out a unique tune on your door. This is not only a fun idea, but the execution of the …
LOTS MORE GREAT GREEN DESIGN STORIES HERE... KEEP READING!
Greentea Design sells
exclusive Asian-inspired
contemporary
furniture, kitchen
cabinets and antique pieces from China, Korea and Japan.
Their furniture is crafted
from salvaged woods
that were reclaimed from
throughout Asia.
