Have you ever had the feeling that somebody is watching you? Well, you can definitely get that feeling with these lamps by a French Design Group called 5.5 Designers. These designers are into object cloning which to no one’s surprise was inspired by medical cloning technology. They offer a custom lamp service where they make eyeball lamps based on YOUR eyes. Yes, they clone your eyes! Or to put it in medical terms, you become the “donor”.

What you have to do is fill in a form which is available on their website, indicate which is the predominant eye color and submit a close-up picture of your or someone else’s eyes. The lamps which mirror your eyes are then made to order by glassblower, Livio Serena. The lamps will watch over you or watch over somebody else’s shoulders and totally creep them out! - Via

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Cloned Eyeball Lamps To Watch Over You

Nanimarquina, the Spanish textiles company recently launched this global warming rug for the Valencia International Furniture Fair. The striking design created by the Mexican collective NEL depicts a polar bear stranded on an ice floe in the vast expanse of the Arctic sea. Polar bears as we know are at risk for global warming will melt much of the sea ice they need to get to their hunting areas.

The NEL collective consists of designers Ricardo Casas, Alejandro Castro, Héctor Esrawe, Emiliano Godoy and Cecilia León de la Barra who focus on innovative and thoughtful designs. Rugs have long been used as a cultural record so their polar bear rug sends an important message for our time. Their polar bear rug definitely fits perfectly with Nanimarquina’s new catalogue theme, global warming. - Via

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Global Warming Polar Bear Rug

Inspired by Jason Santa Maria's "If you were a Typeface", I thought it would be cool if we did a similar rendition but relate it to products? So consider this, if you were a product, what sort of product would you be? You could just list your favorite product, but it would make more sense to list a product that best describes your personality, tastes or interests etc. Along the same lines as Jason's post, perhaps you could also expand the the product description to include some background on the designer who designed the product and any other tit-bits such as the year it was designed or the materials used. Let me go first: ----------

I am a Lamy Dialog 1 by Richard Sapper!

This beautiful ball point pen was designed and launched in 2003 by Richard Sapper who is also known for the IBM Thinkpads and the iconic Alessi Melodic kettle. In 1959, Richard Sapper together with Marco Zanuso was hired as consultants to Brionvega. Their resulting series of radios and televisions ushered in an aesthetic known as techno-functionalism. This limited edition pen has a Matt titanium triangular body and a stainless steel clip. I relate to this product as it does reflect my style or the sort of style I would aspire towards. This style would be clean, functional but still edgy. What I also like is that the Dialog 1 is able to differentiate itself from most pens, but still have a pen like typology, an association that is very important in my mind. Furthermore, not only does the Dialog 1 function well, it is simply a joyful experience to use. I finally managed to get mine on Sale at 40% off in, or all places, Thailand! ---------- What about you? Which product do you most relate to or associate yourself with? I look forward to your replies!

our second sneak peek features a 1930’s residence at the historic grasmoor in cincinnati, ohio. the goal of rebekah sigfrids and her design team of aubrie hensler, mike dereix, mom - donna sigfrids (as favorite antiquing partner)  - was “to create an earthy femininity by balancing soft modern furnishings with time worn primitive finds.” you can click here for more images of rebekah’s condo, and as always, all the sneak peeks can be found here for inspiration (and if you still need help, call on rebekah sigfrid’s studio). [thanks to rebekah for showing off her latest project! ] -anne

[above: I love the contrast of the classically modern black marble Saarinen table against the raw wood chairs. The chairs pull out the color of the very old and clearly adored buffet. I love the feminine modernity of the silk screened canvas by Jenny Sauethat is paired with a photograph by Lightleaks.]

I am not ashamed of my love of watching a little television (mostly Barefoot Contessa) after a long day. We composed the television with a clouds canvas, a photograph by Lightleaks (purchased on Etsy) and rustic antique finds on top of IKEA media storage units.

The last time my sister was in town we spent an entire day on this B&B Italia sofa: reading, napping, chatting, watching Darjeeling Limited and drinking coffee that later shifted to cocktails. The photo above the sofa is by Madelaine (purchased on Etsy).

We wanted the bedroom to have a barefooted sense of elegance. The long primitive church pew is where I sit to put my shoes on? and, I’ll be honest?it is also a great collector of all the clothes I considered wearing but then decided against.

Light filters beautifully through the big old trees outside the windows of this room, so the space required little more than a beautiful modern bed (Elemento) with a billowed duvet (anthropologie) and an old trunk that holds lots of books.

I was originally attracted to this 1930’s residence at the historic Grasmoor in Cincinnati, Ohio because of the elegance of its formal layout and its’ petite but gracious size. We sanded down the original parquet floors to reveal their natural color and protected them with a custom white tinted sealer. Throughout the residence this washed effect on the floors is paired with foggy shades of white.

The bath combines modern plumbing with herringboned white carrara marble and gold accessories. The bird painting in the foreground was created by my Mom; the bird sketches in the pair of gold frames are by the very talented Mike Dereix.

I received an email from Professor Sunny Cai, who teaches architectural design at a college in Beijing , China. He mentioned his interest in ancient Chinese architecture, especially the earthen buildings called ?tulou,? and he sent me some pictures of these rammed earth buildings.

I had never seen anything quite like them, so I queried him further about how they were made and used. He replied, ?The foundation was built with rocks, 2 feet high all around. The juice of glutinous rice and some lime is mixed into the earth for strength, and then sliced bamboo, reeds, and sometimes pieces of wood are also used.?

This picture was taken in front of a rammed earth building with Sunny Cai and his students.

I did some further internet research and found out more about these interesting structures. Tulou are traditional communal residences in the Fujian province of Southern China, often of a circular configuration surrounding a central shrine. Some of these vernacular structures were constructed of cut granite or had substantial walls of fired brick. The end result is a well lit, well-ventilated, windproof, earthquake resistant building that is warm in winter and cool in summer.

There are more than 20,000 tulou in southern Fujian, and these were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008 as ?exceptional examples of a building tradition and function exemplifying a particular type of communal living and defensive organization, and, in terms of their harmonious relationship with their environment".

Actually the Tulou were built by a minority called the Hakka, who were originally Han who fled south to escape war and famine during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). As they gradually moved they changed the local architecture by incorporating Han styles and that produced the tulou. Not only were the high walls built for defense but they were also the result of traditional Han architecture. Tulou were mostly built between the 12th to the 20th centuries. The oldest one was constructed over 1,200 years ago and is regarded as a ?living fossil? of the construction style of central China.

There are three types of Tulou. The Wufeng has three halls and two side rooms and are said to be the result of a redesign of the Han courtyard. The oldest tulou are the rectangle ones, and the most emblematic ones are round. They are typically designed for defensive purposes and consist of one entrance and no windows at ground level. The biggest round one can have up to five stories with three interior rings. The largest houses cover over 40,000 m² and it is not unusual to find surviving houses of over 10,000 m². Most round tulous are three or four stories, with family kitchens and livestock on the ground floor. The next floor becomes a storage room for food and furniture (with no windows), and above that are the bedrooms.

These structures are exemplary of sustainable architecture in that they are built of local, natural materials with simple techniques. They have good thermal attributes, with the massive earthen walls to help buffer temperatures. They are obviously built to last, and house many of the necessities for life. And they embody a communal life style that conserves energy and resources; these represent a form of ancient co-housing.

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.

When I initially designed www.greenhomebuilding.com I intentionally avoided advocating the use of much wood in building, because of my concern for the health of our forests and their ecosystems, with all of the over-harvesting of timber that has occurred around the globe. There is also the fact that forests help sequester CO2 (a greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere.

This was a difficult choice for me, since my father was a wood worker and I grew up learning many of these skills; I love working with wood and I worked for years as a carpenter. It is certainly one of the most versatile of all building materials, and is a renewable resource, when harvested sensibly.

I have finally come to realize that building with wood (at least partially) can still be a sound ecological choice, which is particularly true in regions where forests have regenerated to the point that they can be harvested sustainably. This means that the trees are carefully monitored to make sure that the health and character of the forest is maintained; only certain trees are culled periodically, leaving the remaining trees to grow and contribute to a healthy ecosystem. It is possible to buy wood that has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), but if this means that you are buying wood shipped great distances, then this becomes a less ecological choice; use local materials!

Furthermore, with timber framing it is possible to use large wooden posts and beams in such a way as to create strong and versatile load-bearing structures, which can then be completed by either in-filling between the wooden structural members, or completely wrapping the timber frame structure with a variety of other materials (as is recommended in colder climates). Since this method of building has been recognized and approved by most code authorities, it is a way of approaching a natural building project that would otherwise be difficult for the authorities to sanction.

So I have now created a page about Timber Framing, greenhomebuilding.com/timber, with lots of media resources and informative links listed. I have also enlisted the gracious assistance of a preeminent timber framing specialist to answer questions from the public about this ancient art.

Will Beemer is a charter member and co-Executive Director of the Timber Framers Guild, and is owner of the Heartwood School for the Homebuilding Crafts in Washington, MA. For over 30 years, this school has been offering students a chance to improve their woodworking and timber framing skills. Will helps teach many courses at Heartwood and has been designing and building houses for over 35 years. He was a construction foreman at the Arcosanti project in Arizona, and design instructor at Cornell University. He has organized and taught building workshops around the world, including timber framing courses through the Guild and at Palomar College in San Diego, the North House Folk School and at the Colorado State University Mountain Campus. He has written for Fine Homebuilding, Joiner's Quarterly, and Timber Framing magazines.

You are invited to visit the new page about Timber Framing and to seek guidance about this art from Will Beemer.