‘creative exchange’ is a new shared workspace complex designed by 5th studio in cambridge, england.
the project was publicly funded and designed for the area’s creative workers and innovators. the building
is designed as a studio not an office, with enough room for 14 different companies. the ground floor is
adaptable, making it suitable for meetings, exhibits and other events. the first and second floors house
the private workspaces. the architects left wide common areas on these floors to encourage cross
pollination. above all this is a ‘working garden’ to further encourage interaction. the building design was
also designed for optimal sustainability, using exposed concrete for thermal mass, natural ventilation
and cooling systems and large windows for minimal need for artificial lighting.

http://www.5thstudio.co.uk

park royal proposal by 5th studio









photography by tim soar

‘good old times’ wall-carpet

mashallah design is a berlin based design studio which works in fashion furniture and wallpaper.
the studio has developed a few designs for adorning vertical surfaces which definitely don’t fit the
traditional wallpaper mould. ‘diva’ is a line of 3-d wall paper which is quite normal on the upper
portion and fringed on the bottom. their other design is ‘good old times’ a clever reworking of the
persian carpet for your walls.

http://www.mashallahdesign.lacaptas.com


wallpaper


‘diva’ 3-d wallpaper with fringes


‘diva’ 3-d wallpaper with fringes

via apartment therapy

• Deliver a Presentation like Steve Jobs
  Well, we all need to tweak our presentations from time to time, right? ;-) Anyway even though most hints are not rocket science at all it's good to have them written down in order to be remembered; take me at my word!
  (tags: steve_jobs presentation inspiration education tips steve speech)

Craig Alun Smith's WANK chair is a metaphor of the interdependent relationship between the first and third world and speaks to the war for oil in Iraq. You may have noticed the white chair is missing a leg (possibly due to a roadside bomb) and is bleeding oil....

Craig's summary of this work: "In reality WANK is a joke, a commentary on the current state of design and the trend of designers to create pointless 'one line' design objects and pass them off as art". WANK is also currently on display at the Winnipeg Art Gallery as part of the 2 Chairs exhibition.

+ othergallery.com

Edit 1: Tim is from Frog! Sorry Tim! Edit 2: Completely forgot to highlight, original seed concept “Just Plain Old Thinking” is from csven of rebang. Edit 3: Lesson: Blog when awake! Duh! Tim Leberecht, Frog Design’s VP of Marketing, has written about Design Thinking and how it is the new Marketing “Buzzword”. He goes on [...]

This is one of the designs that originated from the design phase of the suburban house project.



I have to confess that I find the space really interesting, but no doubt it won't be for everybody.

Technorati Tags: house plans, modern design, modern house

If you're into rammed earth building, don't miss this blog: Rammed Earth is for Everyone. You can't beat the enthusiasm of that name! The site highlights rammed earth projects all around the world, offers nice Youtube and Flickr finds, and has a great selection of links in its sidebar. It's proprietor is a rammed earth consultant who shares both interesting technical information as well as an intriguing and thought provoking world view. Definitely worth a look if you're an earth building enthusiast and/or you find yourself pondering the nature of man's impact on the Earth on a regular basis.

Via Earth Architecture (of course!).

There is a manufactured building system that has been gaining popularity in Europe for several years called Thermoplan or Zeigel Blocks. While I have no personal experience with this technology, I can readily see its many advantages. As far as I know this system has not made its way across the ocean to North America. From what I can gather from the websites (referenced below), here are some of the advantages:

Thermoplan or Zeigel Blocks are fired clay blocks which use about 1/3 less energy to make compared to concrete blocks, and about 2/3 less CO2. They are fast, simple and ideal for a self builder to use. About 50% of German homes are made this way and the technology is spreading to other areas of Europe.

Thermoplan systems use Ziegel blocks with a thin bed of mortar, to provide a breathing wall construction system. When combined with woodfibre board they can form a thermally and acoustically high performance shell. The Ziegel blocks come as part of a full load-bearing external and internal wall masonry system, and combine high thermal performance with robustness, speed of build and a breathing wall design.

Because of all the trapped air and the thickness of the walls, these blocks provide reasonable insulation, while at the same time do provide some degree of interior thermal mass for maintaining constant interior temperatures. This is an unusual combination of these two factors in a single wall system.

See www.burdensenvironmental.com or www.natural-building.co.uk for information for this innovative system.

Finley Residence

Architecture & Interiors by: Avroko
Location: New York, USA
Specialty: Restaurants, Hotels, Residential, Convept Development, Furniture
Project Highlights: Sapa, Quality Meats, European Union, Park Avenue Summer
Interior Photography: Avroko



Park Avenue Summer

Talk about bending over backwards to please someone! This hybrid flexible kitchen faucet from Paini is all about pleasing you with its futuristic design, ergonomic shape and utility that makes it simply delightful. This irresistible kitchen faucet is flexible enough to make all your tasks easy and simple and ensuring that you can reach wherever you want with it. The design is elegant, modern and perfect for that “space-age kitchen”. Adding to the whole coolness, it sports LED indicators that illuminate to signify water temperature. The faucet is available in black, white and gray. - via HomeDosh

a

Futuristic hybrid Faucet from Paini: Bendy and Trendy!

Recent years have seen a flourishing of organizations that gather people with common interests participate in do-it-yourself activities

In a reaction to the digital age, creative people are finding ways to build community in the real world to share knowledge, projects, and ideas. People are looking to the Internet to find outlets for active creativity, rather than merely passive entertainment or consumption.

Cases

The Make Lounge

North London’s Make Lounge brings arts and crafts into the 21st century. One-off workshops are delivered in a branded “drop-in” environment, attracting those looking to dabble in activities such as millinery, jewelery making, or knitting.

The School of Life

Located close to some of London’s top universities, The School of Life makes adult education accessible and cool. Opened in September 2008, the space features a shop that sells books, art, courses, vacation packages, and consultancy to those seeking intellectual adventure. Beneath the shop is an underground classroom that hosts regular courses across five central themes - work, play, family, politics and love.





Maker Fair

Dubbed “Woodstock for inventors,” Maker Fair is a two-day event for people who love to make things themselves. Everything from arts and crafts to engineering and science, sustainable design, food, and music are represented. The event is no small job for organizers Make Magazine and Crafts Magazine: the last Maker Fair attracted 65,000 people.

Trend Impact
Although the Internet may provide us with instant, free information, we still thrive on real-world human interactions. Creative people are going online to connect people with common offline interests.

New work by Sebastian Bergne that centres around wine will be featured in an exhibition called CRU, opening at the Aram Gallery in London on November 28 and running through January 10. Wine brings people together and the concepts presented in this show further enhance the social experience. Corked is a series of decanting and serving vessels that combine the traditional glass and cork in new formats like the Trousers glass after the jump. Geo Cork is a multi-pronged pin that serves as a connector for corks and works both as a plaything and a measure of consumption. Among the pieces on display, there is a Vintage Dip line of t-shirts, a case that can be used as a rack, a wine diary for samples and the conical Marcel wine rack above.

+ thearamgallery.org
+ sebastianbergne.com

I don’t really do this sort of thing often, but check out this worthy forehead slapping idea that really makes one say “why did I not think of that”? Stefan Buchberger, from the University of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria, has been chosen winner of the Electrolux Design Lab 2008 competition for inventing Flatshare. Flatshare is a [...]

Strawboard building panels are a kind of structural insulated panel (SIP) designed to replace 2x4 stud and drywall construction for both interior and exterior walls, as well as provide load and non-bearing ceilings, roofing, doors, flooring, and prefabricated buildings. These environmental friendly, solid panels are made of all natural fibrous raw materials, mainly wheat and rice straw. The durable panels feature thermal and acoustic insulation as well as fire and termite resistance and are available for a variety of applications to speed up the construction processes. While these have been used in over 20 countries for more than 50 years, strawboard panels have only been introduced to the U.S. in the past few years.

Strawboard panels have a solid core of compressed wheat or rice straw. High pressure and temperatures forces the straw to release a natural resin that binds the fibers together. The compressed panels are then covered with either paper liners or OSB that is adhered to both sides with water based non-toxic glue. The standard panel measures 4 feet by 8 feet by 2-1/4 inches to 8 inches, weighing from 140 lbs. to 440 lbs. each. Custom panel sizes are available ranging from 3 feet to 12 feet long.

The panel's high density and low oxygen content does not support combustion. Since the panels do not contain added resins, alcohol, or other chemicals, no flammable vapors are produced. The panels have an R-value of between 3 and 25, depending on the composition and thickness. For permanent protection against insects and fungal decay and additional fire resistance, the boron compound polybor can be factory added to the core.

The product's workability is similar to wood as it can be sawn, drilled, routed, nailed, screwed, and glued. Lightweight wall attachments such as shelf brackets, picture frames, mirrors, and towel bars can be attached directly to the panel.

Since straw is a renewable by-product of wheat and rice production that becomes available annually, it takes less acreage (by about half) to build an equivalent house than with standard lumber, and which would then potentially preserve that forest for ecological habitat and CO2 sequestration.

See www.stramit-int.com/ for panels available in Europe and www.agriboard.com for panels available in the U.S.

• P&G’s Innovation Culture
  Good case on how the idea of a 'Blue Ocean Strategy' can be applied: "The heart of a company’s business model should be game-changing innovation. This is not just the invention of new products and services, but the ability to systematically convert ideas into new offerings that alter the very context of the business."
  (tags: Innovation P&G Blue Ocean Strategy applied research)

More lights that brightened 100% Design Tokyo for us were the Boschetto Table Lamp from Di Classe, Wonderful Tonight by Masanori Kadokura and the Liquid Lamp by Kyouei Design. As well, there was cosy lighting from Sungmin Kim, the Bony B by Ryuichi Sato and the nifty Lighting Package by Sdesignunit. The Curved Desk Light by &Design was a sleek design, but the Orchid by Hiroki Takada was a real showstopper.

+ 100percentdesign.jp

The idea behind Viidrio shirt designs is to practice other options aside from screen-printing. Initially when they knew they wanted to use an aluminum tin, they were thinking about having the containers printed by packaging manufacturer. But that option would have contradicted the concept behind Viidrio.

The shirt designs have embroidery-art, and Viidrio wanted the packaging to have a cohesive design and theme. Packaging to Viidrio has a big impact on how you perceive a product at the beginning, and at the end of its use. Packaging becomes part of the product, and is a form of presentation. But it must be done correctly, the same way someone can plate a meal attractively, for one to be excited about what they are just about to eat.

The top of the tin has an embroidered design that foreshadows the design that is in the shirt. The recycled paper band that is wrapper around the tin (that contains additional graphics and product identity) is sewn together at the ends. The band around the tin is also affixed with clear stickers for easy removal.

The materials of the Viidrio shirts are 100% cotton threads, aluminum tin, 100% recycled printed matter and aluminum foil tape.

The other main concerned about packaging is the waste it produces. With this particular shirt packaging, the paper used for the band is 100% recycled paper from grocery bags (therefore making a 3rd cycle of use). After removing the band (if the consumer wishes) the tin can be reused to store any small non-perishable item. Example: jewelry, loose change, keys, paper clips, etc. If you ultimately don’t want the container, you can always take it to a recycling center. Last, but not least, you can return 5 undamaged containers to Viidrio. In exchange of a free t-shirt of your choice.

Ping Intressant.se

Andra bloggar om: kläder, mode, miljö, shopping, hållbarhet

Kevin Kelly's take on the next phase of web development that involves data sharing from the Web 2.0 Conference.

He takes us through what might happen in the next 6,500 days of the web.

Some highlights.

1. Not be anything like the web

2. Be a single machine- everything is connect to the same thing.We have one large machine with the web as its OS

3. The web will own every bit that's produced- if it's not part of the web, it will not count

4. Everything in our lives will be on this "machine"

5. The machine has and will have a global sense- see latest financial crisis

6. Move to the cloud

7. Be all about sharing- what can we do? what will the limits be?

8. Always be on- never off

9. Extreme dependence on this "machine" because it makes us smarter. Being off will feel like an amputation!

10. Lead us to continue to question- "Who are we?"

11. We will need to believe in the impossible

Click To Play

Posted by Ed Cotton

Barack Obama’s election to the presidency wasn’t the only sustainable choice on the ballot last Tuesday. Californians voted in favor of an 800 mile high speed train system that will stop in every major city from Sacramento to San Diego. According to the High Speed Rail Authority, California is the 12th largest source of greenhouse gas emission on earth, 41% of which come from transportation. Traveling at 220 miles per hour, the trains will reduce greenhouse gases by up to 12.7 billion pounds annually, the equivalent of removing 1 million cars from the road each year. Set to begin construction as early as 2011, California’s high speed rail will create 450,000 new jobs and reduce dependence on foreign oil by 12 million barrels a year.

(more…)

I should share some snippets from last Friday when I’ve joined several of my peers in The Hague, NL. However please allow for some digesting of my impressions and thoughts! I will write a follow up for sure ;-)

After all what we’ve touched in our panel discussion as well as during the ‘after show’ talks has been (amongst others) the question how to best enter the ‘Design Management Sphere’. From regular email conversations as well as face2face talks this seems to be an urgent question in particular for fresh (design) graduates.

What I usually respond (and this is not meant as ‘fobbing off’) is that independent from their focus of study (let it be design or business administration just to name the two most dominant ones) graduates should try to gain as many and rich experiences in their field of profession as possible. This enables them to comprehensively explore the pros and cons of the field and will help them to render more precisely which domain of the Design Management sphere they are most interested in: Digital, Brand, Corporate, Industrial, Consumer, Services, just to name a few.

Ultimately and this is what I truly believe in: Design Management to a large degree is to a large degree nurtured by the application of (for sure!) cross-disciplinary experiences and skills that tend to rather grow over time. This does however not mean that undergraduate BA & MA programmes in Design Management are not useful. This is however a different discussion to be discussed at another time.

So, for those of you who are seeking for these cross-disciplinary experiences delivered in a highly condensed format you might want to have a look at the MoHo Website. Here’s a snippet from their vision statement:

“Innovation is hampered by a myriad of factors in today’s globalised world. The lack of communication between knowledge centers such as engineering, marketing and design in companies, creates distortions and miscomprehensions between people that heavily penalize the innovation process.

These problems are further amplified if economic reality is brought into the picture. Too many products have been ‘invented’ in the past with little or no potential for economic success. ‘Inventors’ very easily forget the importance of market reality.”

Unfortunately I haven’t been aware of this initiative and hopefully they will share some of the findings publicly soon!

Side note:

These are the facts & figures of the event I do miss more designers here for sure:
# 7 days in Palo Alto
# June 1 - June 8
# 1 house
# 16 partners
# 15 endorsements
# 15 engineering students
# 3 design students
# 15 business students
# 10 social entrepreneurs
# 10 artists
# 5 venture capitalists
# 2 design professors
# 3 business professors

It was funny on election night to see all the networks go over the top with their data visualizations and their sophisticated touch data screens. CNN took it to eleven with their holograms, at least we know Larry King still has a future.




Posted by Ed Cotton

• B_E_E | New Zealand | Branding Cleaning Products
  More and more I find that simple, clear & intenlligently designed concepts are the most convincing ones in our world of increasingly plurivalent and confusing messages: I'll make it all white!
  (tags: brands branding brandchannel typography design)

I am very pleased to announce that there is now an extensive slide show of earthbag building projects up at www.earthbagbuilding.com. I spent several days selecting the best photos that I could find and formatting them to fluidly present a marvelous array of architectural styles and approaches to building with earthbags. There are already over sixty images assembled, and I expect to continue to enlarge the library over time.

The pictures are labeled so that if any of them attract further attention, the more detailed description of the project can be found on the projects page.

The pace of the slide show is controlled by the viewer by clicking on arrow buttons below the images, so one can browse as casually as one likes. This is a great way to become familiar with some of what is being created with earthbags. The photos depict both works in progress and completed projects.

So sit back and enjoy the show!

The handrails on the stair and all around the second floor of the New Mexico EcoSteel House are installed and they look great.



I had gotten very used to lookng at the stair without a rail, and I was afraid that the rail would somehow complicate or spoil the spare look of the stair. Well it did not turn out that way and I think this is why. The rail that was picked is a stainless tube rail with cables so its very light and transparent. Also the brightness of the stainless really separates it from the grey vertebrae and ribs appearance of the stair. If the rail had been painted steel work that matched the stair I believe it would have compromised the lines of the stair.

More photos below the fold.

Technorati Tags: 6030 House, 6040 House, ecosteel, modern design, modern house, prefab house

Some links to workshops and seminars the Hong Kong Design Centre will be offering in London in June; just in case you're around the corner.

We have an interesting Design Article contribution this week by Chris Nobles, an Industrial Designer working for HJC Design in the UK. He write today about Rapid Manufacturing and its impact on our product development process. A great read with lots of technical points, positives and negatives for our consideration should we need [...]

Modern farmhouse sounds like an oxymoron, but I've seen more than a few great looking modernist takes on the American homestead. One of my favorites is Farmhouse One, by the architecture firm of Durkee, Brown, Viveiros and Werenfels. It's a simple, traditionally inspired Rhode Island farmhouse with modern twists. Take a look.




And if you're in to modern farmhouses you'll also be pleased to know there's a great blog dedicated to the genre - the appropriately named Farmhouse Modern. It's definitely worth a look (I found it on the LiveModern Blog Directory, where Future House Now is also listed).

If you want to completely overdose on cool modern farmhouses, pick up the book Farm Houses: The New Style by Neill Heath. It features the houses I mentioned above, and many more, in 185 full color pages. Great book.



Image credits - Durkee, Brown, Viveiros & Werenfels site, Amazon.com Listing