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!).

We received an envelope over the weekend with photos from one of our customers, somebody who had purchased plans but never corresponded about their progress. Much to our surprise their Plat House was complete and on the market as it was built as speculative project.



The house has been significantly modified for its site. The window arrangement has been altered and the floor plans also appears to have been changed, with the bay areas joined and some additional space added to the master bedroom.

The clerestory windows have been changed from a uniform window band into smaller windows at private spaces and larger windows at common areas of the house. The views from the living/dining/kitchen area show how nice this has turned out. They have a very cool italian kitchen, and some very nice light fixtures in the room which really looks like it has turned out well. Click through for more photos in a photo browser.




Serenbe
Redbone Construction

Technorati Tags: house plans, modern design, modern house, Plat House

The Freewheelin story.

Bike sharing was a hit when launched in Paris in 2007. It was cheap, convenient and eco-friendly. End of story? Not so fast. A U.S. health insurer changed the game and wrote a new story. Humana promotes its business agenda - lower health care costs - through a state-of-the-art bike sharing program tested during the 2008 U.S. political party conventions in Denver and St. Paul.

Freewheelin promotes its social and business agenda through communication - made possible by wireless/mobile and social networking technology. When you ride a Feewheelin bike, wireless networks track your mileage and calories burned. Social networking tools help individuals track their personal successes and, by calculating reduced carbon emmisions, their contributions to the shared health and wellness of their community and the planet.

Andra bloggar om: cykla, motion, träning, miljö, hållbarhet

Today is Blog Action Day, a single day for all bloggers to post about one important issue, the environment. Most people think that Future House Now is a green site. It isn't. My primary focus is interesting modern homes, particularly those that are in the realm of realistic affordability for real families. But having said that, I frequently post about "green homes," and today is a good day to clarify my views on the subject.

First of all, why do I often post about green homes, even when my site is not purely focused on green issues? Well, for starters, green makes a lot of practical sense. It's laughable how much emphasis we put on greening our cars when we spend way more energy in our houses. It should be obvious every week when we take out the trash that our homes are the epicenter of our consumption habits. And I care about my family's health. I want them to live in a safe household environment, not one that is riddled with toxins and allergens.

Second, green isn't that hard to do anymore. You don't have to live in an Earthship made of tires pounded full of dirt, and old aluminum cans to be green (though that's pretty cool if you ask me). You also don't have to be an eco-warrior living off the grid in Northern California, growing all your own food and living off $10,000 worth of yearly organic produce sales. I guess what I mean is that being "green" isn't really an extreme lifestyle choice, it's part of everyday life for everyday people all over the USA. We have to stop treating green as extreme. Frankly, I think that alienates more people than it attracts. That's why I try not to overplay my green views, just as I don't downplay them either. To me, the important thing is that we're all constantly raising our awareness and incorporating green practices in our lives one little step at a time.

There are so many good ways to green any home, any style, old or new, anywhere. How about more efficient appliances, compact fluorescent light bulbs, better insulation, and low-VOC paints? These are pretty easy things that can make a big difference. How about not using those toxic cleaners in your kitchen and bathroom? Use good ol' white vinegar - it works great and is non-toxic. Inexpensive too. And great technology is here, with real strides in renewable energy being made every day. The reasons for not taking advantage of better technology for greener homes are becoming fewer and fewer. We're pretty much at the point where going green isn't about making tough choices, it's about making smart choices. The difference now isn't as much about toughness as it is about awareness.

I like to show interesting modern homes, and some of them are not particularly green. But lots of them are, in lots of different ways. Some are green just because they are compact. Some are green because they have a broad sheltering roof and good insulation. Some are green becaues they make good use of recycled materials, or new materials like steel framing that will last a long, long time without a lot of costly maintenance, and that can be recycled someday if need be. Maybe they aren't all perfect, but we can learn something from them. My site is about ideas. Some of the good ideas I like to show are about environmentally friendly homes, and some of the ideas are about other things. They're not mutually exclusive. And we have to stop thinking in those terms. Green fits with modern because they are both about good design. Good design has logic, economy and beauty all rolled into one. I see green as a part of that, not a whole unto itself.

Don't get me wrong, I don't take green for granted. I accept green as a matter of fact. That's how it should be - a natural part of life, not a radical philosophy. I view the recent mainstreaming of green as a sign that we've finally turned the corner. It won't be long now before we build the momentum to make lasting positive change. The challenges are real, but humanity, in spite of itself, is a problem solving species. We can do it.

Mainly through the efforts of Illiac Diaz, a charismatic entrepenuer/actor/model/athlete, the Philippines has been home to some very innovative public works utilizing earthbags. Illiac discovered the benefits of this technology several years ago at Nader Khaili’s CalEarth Institute in Hesperia, California, and has been promoting earthbag building in the Philippines ever since.

Diaz is the Executive Director of My Shelter Foundation which has collaborated with various other governmental and industrial organizations to build new schools and clinics throughout the Philippines. He is quick to point out the many economic and sustainable advantages of this method of building, since the main component is abundant and natural earth. In hurricane-prone areas, such as the Philippines, earthbag buildings can withstand the ravages of nature better than most other systems. And with thicker walls, they are more thermally stable.

Here are several pages where you can find out more about the humanitarian works of Illiac Diaz: earthbagbuilding.com/articles/filipino, earthbagbuilding.com/projects/school, earthbagbuilding.com/projects/clinic.

October 15, is Blog Action Day 2008! This is where bloggers from around the world get together to talk about a common theme or topic. This year’s topic is about Poverty, and as Design Sojourn is a design blog, it will be about Poverty and Design. I’ve decided to do something different, rather than [...]

on now at the instituto tomie ohtake, sao paulo is the first solo exhibition of designer karim rashid in brazil.
it is the institute's hope that by showcasing rashid's work, they will generate a discussion about the aspects
of contemporary design and its impact on daily life. upon entrance into the exhibition you are greeted by a large
painting-like, computer graphic, 300 square metres in size which acts as a backdrop to the furniture on display.
this virtual component within the exhibition gives visitors the opportunity to encounter the designer as a
life-size avatar, playing between reality and the artificial, something which is prominent in rashid's work.

the exhibition is an international cooperation with munich's design museum, die neue sammlung. it is curated by
german art historian and critic dr. albrecht bangert in collaboration with brazilian-born designer and architect
camila tariki of karim rashid's new york studio and organized by instituto tomie ohtake. most of the pieces on
show are from the munich collection.











designboom interview

karim rashid
karim rashid at milan design week 2008

rashid global: http://www.rashidglobal.net
instituto tomie ohtake: http://www.institutotomieohtake.org.br
die neue sammlung: http://www.die-neue-sammlung.de

Outside of Rio de Janeiro, on a beautiful little beach with amazing blue water, sits a little house with a flowering roof that shades and protects like a big tropical banana leaf. Designed by Mareines + Patalano, the open air abode is meant to encourage interaction and connection between man and nature. With verandas and open spaces in between rooms and no corridors, the tropical beach house is an ideal place for social gatherings and parties. The open layout also takes advantage of trade winds that blow in from the sea, providing natural ventilation and passive cooling.

(more…)

Florian Weiss (no linking possible due to 100% flash on their end :-( over from our friends at PARK just dropped me a note sharing some closer information about the upcoming Design Management forum to be held (again) in Cologne in November this year. Chances are that you might meet me there physically as well ;-)

Interestingly the topic of Service Design (no link to the Wikipedia entry here as it seems to be reasonably promoting KISD and their stakeholders in the topic) seems to follow some sort of pig cycle as from my perspective it makes its way to the top 3 topics every now and then. Funnily enough my very own doctoral thesis that I’ve started back in 1998 dealt with Service Design and I’ve been investigating the mechanisms (usability) as well as benefits (usefulness) from investing into proper Web Based Service Design.

Needless to say that after the collapse of the Internet Bubble in early 200 nobody (in my specific case one insurance and a bank that funded my research at that time) was interested any longer in the topic so I’ve dropped it later on … In any case a quick Google search suggests that the topic is still up-to-date ;-)

After all a good (academic) resource to surf after is ‘Designing for Services‘ a project led by Lucy Kimbell in late 2006/2007. In contrast to other similar initiatives that are poorly documented this one shared insights and stuff via a blog and I greatly appreciate this!

—– snip —–

5th Design Management Forum at 07th & 08th November 2008 in Cologne

For businesses the customer satisfaction is a permanent challenge, because the wishes and demands of people grow continuously with the technical progress. Companies that pro-actively identify the interests of their customers open up new and profitable opportunities if they develop performance and service offerings that create good and pleasant experiences for the customer. Systematic and strategic management of service design helps the business to gain competitive advantages and to conquer new markets. Experts from the economy, who have gone new and innovative ways in the conception and design of experience worlds and services, present their knowledge and experience at the 5th Design Management Forum for further discussion.

This year lecturers from Germanwings (DE), Molecular (US), Aliagroup (UK & IN), Isobar (UK), Deutsche Bank (DE) and McDonald’s (DE) will provide corporate insights and present innovative approaches to Service Design Management.

Further information and application: http://www.design-management-forum.org

—– snip —–

Mr. Kanner speaks about his award-winning 26th Street low income housing project and about the importance of "green architecture." (via kcet)

This article reflects on a phenomenon I stumble across more and more. While for most companies the question of having a Chief Blogger is not 1st priority the fact to think about the impact of social media is very often neglected not only in the DM domain.

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.

Awhile ago I was driving down one of our main local roads and noticed a house in the middle of it. I didn't remember a house being there and thought that I was seeing a strange mirage. The closer I got, the more real it appeared, until I was forced to slow down and drive around the thing, at which point there was no doubt about its authenticity.

A big truck tractor was towing this entire 1200 square foot house balanced on two huge steel I-beams and a bunch of wheeled dollies. Progress was slow but steady as it inexorably moved toward its next incarnation. Just that morning it had departed its original home where it had been seasonal housing for migrant workers.

The owners of this seeming mirage had searched for just the right orphaned house to adopt as their own, lovingly place it on a new foundation, and refurbish it. Many houses would not be suitable for such a trip; generally only well-built wooden structures can withstand the stress of such a move. This house had all the qualities they were looking for: charm, integrity, and affordability. The entire cost of the house and having it moved was $10,000.

By the time they have it completely fixed up with new plumbing and electric service, an insulated stucco exterior, new energy-efficient windows, a metal roof, a completely rebuilt front porch, all of the interior walls resurfaced, and miscellaneous repairs, they estimate that the total cost of the project will be about $50,000, including the land. Not bad for what in most regards will be as good as new!

Of course new is not what they wanted; they bought this early twentieth century house (it's actual date of construction is unknown) precisely because of its special vintage quality. It reminds one of the owners of the house his grandmother lived in, with 9 foot ceilings, three smallish bedrooms, tongue and grooved fir flooring, cast-iron radiators, built-in cabinets, drawers and even ironing board, and the intangible quality of a by-gone era. They plan to retain the original floor plan intact, only altering a walk-in closet to become the mechanical room and turning a room off the kitchen into a dining space.

The house made the entire trip with just a few places where the plaster cracked in one corner, which is easily repaired. This is one very solidly-built house, made from the sort of fir that no longer can be bought. There was only one place under the kitchen sink that had suffered leak-induced rot over many years; everything else is as straight and true as any carpenter would want.

Another late twentieth century vintage home of about 800 square feet came from property leased from the Federal government and the house needed to be moved. With local help, the buyer of this little home added an additional room onto the original to comply with the homeowners' association square foot minimum. She has thoroughly enjoyed the process of remaking this simple cabin into her charming home, imbued with the wonderful quirky qualities that spring from her fanciful mind.

Once a house is moved it must comply with current plumbing and electrical codes, so these elements were completely redone. Most of the windows were replaced with second hand units that gave her just the views that she wanted. The exterior was resurfaced with rough-sawn lap siding and a new metal roof was installed. The original interior plastic paneling was replaced with sheetrock, and decorated with lots of natural wood trim. The whole feeling of the place is one of lovingly crafted touches wherever the eye lands. The new owner says, “I would much rather live in something recycled than buying something brand new which has no character. I let this house come together…it just evolved!”

Creating new life for old or abandoned houses has got be one of the most sustainable ways of making habitation. This is the ultimate form of recycling, where most of the basic components of a house are utilized intact instead of being tossed into a landfill or burned. There is a tremendous savings in the embodied energy of the house (in both materials and labor), so that all that needs to be done is to repair and polish the original dwelling to create a whole new life for it. Hoorah for these people who have the vision and willingness to take on these projects!

We decided quite early in the process to excavate under our garage and take advantage of the 200 sqft that would have otherwise sat unused. I don't believe this is particularly common, but it's a relatively inexpensive way to maximize the space on a small lot. Our original intention was to use a product called Insul-Deck to support the garage floor, however we've since had to abandon this approach in favor of a straightforward concrete & rebar structural slab.

+ 360winnett.com

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.

marieke staps is dutch product designer who is the creator of the ‘soil lamp’. unlike most lights, staps’
uses free and environmentally friendly energy sourced from mud. the metabolism of biological life
produces enough electricity to burn the led light on the top. by adding a touch of water to the base of
the lamp, the natural life force in the dirt conducts electricity through copper and zinc, powering the
small bulb.

http://www.mariekestaps.nl

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

Architecture by TEZUKA ARCHITECTS
Location: Japan
Specialty: Residential, Educational, Commercial
Project Highlights: Floating Roof House
Interior Photography: TEZUKA ARCHITECTS

To view more images of their work, see slideshow.

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!

“As real as it gets” by advertising firm, Bates 141 Jakarta. A very clever representation of, I dare say, one of our design software’s most recognizable user interface. Even the tag line is great. I love it! Check out their production process and the full size (obviously photoshopped) final print image on their [...]

There has been a lot of reaction in the blogoshpere concerning our latest report called “5 Key Design Trends“. That’s fun, we like the discussion to continue and evolve. Below I’m posting a few of them. Check them out, they are all an interesting read.

Apartment therapy, Psfk, Home rejuvenation, Dexigner, Hi-id, Design Milk, Designophy, Mocoloco, Martin Koser, Trendbites, Desire to inspire, Live modern, Trendbird, Gems Sty, bwl zwei null, Frizzifrizzi, A ghost of daisies, Will it brand, Das Kulturmanagement blog, Addidea, Daidesignblog, Moneyfoxs, Foxerus, Yourtail, Daymoon design, Heyho, polymerclay daily, Docstoc, Design Latvia, Change the thought, Ffffound, Designcentre, Fav.or.it.

Andra bloggar om: design, trender, inspiration, kultur, framtid

Each year the Society for Environmental Graphic Design sponsors a contest to recognize the best in environmental graphic design. This year’s Juror’s Award went to Norman Lee and Charles Houser for their Billboard Earthbag Project.

The designers say: “Because most conventional sandbags are fabricated from polypropylene, they are very vulnerable to UV rays and quickly begin to deteriorate when exposed to the sun. Consequently, earthbag shelters need to be plastered to maintain their durability during extended use.The Billboard Earthbag Project envisions using billboard vinyl as an alternative material for earthbags. Polyvinylchloride (PVC) or vinyl, a virtually indestructible, UV-resistant material that cannot be incinerated because of the toxic gases it would emit, represents a substantial portion of the PVC in the world’s overburdened landfills. Because of its durability and imperviousness to the sun and other elements, billboard PVC is an ideal material for reuse.”

“The reuse of billboard vinyl in earthbag construction mitigates the impact of global warming in two ways. Transforming this landfill-bound material into another useful product helps lessen landfill overflow worldwide. It also eliminates the need to protect earthbags from UV rays, resulting in more robust emergency shelters that can be used longer to lessen the human suffering caused by natural disasters.”

“As a visual concept, each billboard shelter stands as a symbolic gesture of sustainability. Beyond its environmental benefits, the strategy of reusing billboard vinyl visually recontextualizes the nature of billboards, which are symbols of mass consumerism and a pervasive form of visual pollution in our world. This concept does not seek to generate imagery, but instead appropriates existing commercial imagery as a metaphor for global recycling and reuse. Assembled together into a shelter, the earthbags create a dynamic and vibrant pattern of collaged images and text from around the world, dramatically suggesting a unified, international gesture of sustainability, hope, and humanitarianism.”

According to the jurors, they "were intrigued by this project as an example of ‘cradle-to-cradle’ design pertinent to the signage industry. Utilizing intrinsic qualities of billboard PVC—UV resistant and near indestructible—this concept proposes the creation of dwellings from recycled material and imagery. The idea takes the recycling of billboards, street banners, and print graphics—already employed by art museums in the creation of second-use products—to another level. Truly inventive!"

This all sounds pretty good, and might well work if the billboard material were cut and sewn into bags. One obvious disadvantage of the idea is that since PVC is toxic when burned, this would present a potential hazard to the occupants, but of course this is true of many modern building materials. PVC poses a great risk in building fires, as it releases deadly gases long before it ignites, such as hydrogen chloride which turns to hydrochloric acid when inhaled. As it burns it releases yet more toxic dioxins. Additionally, vinyl does outgas highly toxic VOCs over time. Fortunately most of this danger would have passed with the use of recycled signs, but this could also be an issue.

I am very pleased to announce the launch of my new website, www.earthbagbuilding.com. Actually this is a cooperative project between myself and Dr. Owen Geiger of the Geiger Research Institute of Sustainable Building (www.grisb.org). Owen and I have known each other for several years and have much respect for each other's work and for the potential of building sustainably with earthbags. To find out more About Us, see this page.

As the banner proclaims, our main attitude is that of sharing information and promoting earthbag building. We expect this to become the premeir site for learning about how to build with earthbags. While the site will be expanding over time, it already has a wealth of information.

Under the heading of Projects and Pictures we have already featured 17 earthbag projects from around the world, and we have plans to show many more. These pages are quite rich with photos and text that explain the nature of the projects, which range from residences to studios to walls to public buildings.

We have already posted 11 Articles about earthbag building, some we have written and some by other authorities on the topic. I have written a short History of earthbag building as well. So far we have 3 articles about Testing earthbag technology.

We have posted 4 pages devoted to the use of earthbags for Emergency Dwellings, and feature several other Plans that are available for more lasting structures.

There is a lengthy section with FAQs gleaned from my years of answering questions from the public at www.greenhomebuilding.com.

Our page of Resources features links to other related sites, books and DVDs that might be purchased, and where to buy supplies for building with earthbags. If you are looking for ways to get involved through Workshops, this page might help you find one.

If you are seeking specific information about this technology, we have provided a couple of Search engines to fascilitate this. One of these is set to search a selection of content-rich resources.

And finally, we are launching a Blog that is specifically about building with earthbags, where both Owen and I will be posting more information and provide a way for you to share information with us through your comments.

I hope you enjoy browsing and benefit from this new resource!

Every year I update all of the listings for media at www.greenhomebuilding.com and I am doing that now. Last year when I got to the topic of our environment and books about global warming I was astounded to notice that nearly half of the new titles were nay-sayers trying to cast doubt in the public perception of the issue. Most of these writers were associated with conservative think tanks or corporate interests.

As you might imagine there are many new books written about global warming and its consequences; I noticed over twenty five that were published in 2007. This time, the ratio of nay-sayers has diminished to about a quarter of the volume. I take this as an encouraging trend, in that the real science and public perception are obviously coming closer together. To see a listing of some of new media see this page.

According to a University of Chicago study, architects rank #4 on the happiness scale when broken down based on profession. Now we just have to let the architects know that they are happy... (via yahoo)

as part of the second nature exhibition held at 21, 21 the campana brothers created 'cristalina'.
curated by tokujin yoshioka the exhibition focusses on fusing nature with technology.


'cristalina'
image © designboom

for 'cristaliana' the brothers used the idea of nests of birds to create a seat with branches interwoven.
craftsmen worked for hours using various wood structures to create this unusual design.


sketch of 'cristalina'


the making process


craftspeople weaving the seat


image © designboom


image © designboom


branches woven into the seat
image © designboom

more:
http://www.campanas.com.br

designboom interview with campana brothers