Hello and big ups to those of you who have followed along to my rambling this week. Thanks Grace for the opportunity — i love how D*S has created a network of people who make things, arrange things, recover things, collect things, etc. Sometimes I refer to my “internet friends,” and I’ve made many of them through this site and links from this site. I also have realized that I should use the phrase “internet friends” sparingly.

One last thing I’ll leave you with:

Casey Rubber Stamps. Its a shop in the East Village run by a man named Jon Casey. Finding him a few years back was a windfall for us…with his help we got all the rubber stamps that led to our package re-design. He has a catalog with hundreds of unusual drawings that can be made into rubber stamps. He also creates custom rubber stamps with your own ink drawings. I love visiting him, he always has the best stories about bar fights, Ireland, and general shenanigans. (In fact… if or when you go, be sure to ask him about the Mercedes that was lost in the woods.)

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

first up today we have a sneak peek into the oakland, ca “treehouse” of jean orlebeke, of obek design and the designer behind the fantastic wrapping papers by eiei-o studio (be sure to check out the awesome new digital prints too!). thanks so much to jean for opening up her home and garden for us (you can find more here). stay tuned for a second fabulous sneak peek at 2pm! - anne

The woven walnut lamp shade and the orange, white and black lacquer modular table bases are from Publique Living. I designed the fabric on the slipper chairs for Luna Textiles. I bought all of the other furniture, including the couch and table on ebay.

This is the main room of the house, the entry, living room and dining area. The house is built into a grade, so you enter on ground level, but the opposite wall is the height of a second story. Feels like a tree house!

This view is looking from the den into the kitchen. Behind the sunflowers is an Ikea wardrobe unit used as a pantry.

This is where I sit when I am feeling… overwhelmed. It’s a tiny room filled with both gifts from friends and souvenirs attached to good memories.

I am completely obsessed with collecting seeds — know exactly where each of these is from.

Mies, the A-cat…View to garden.

The Ivy collection by Paola Navone for Emu is a line of metal outdoor furniture that is meant to be overgrown with tendrils of green. Inspired by topiary art, the concept is to be as one with nature, and the collection includes a side table that houses a solar panel. Once it is dark enough the table also functions as ambient lighting. Of course the ivy growth is not a requirement, as the pieces look equally stylish without embellishment.

+ emu.it

Companies are developing new ways to energise customers by infusing natural foods with stimulants.

Companies are infusing energy-giving ingredients into food products as a new way to attract customers. Energy foods provide all the stimulation of energy drinks, whilst possibly cutting out high levels of sugar, unpleasant tastes and unnatural chemicals. This trend is further evidence of the ‘functional food’ trend, which refers to foods chosen for reasons beyond satisfying hunger.

Cases

Sumseeds – Energized Sunflower Seeds
Promising to fill the customer with energy, Dakota Valley Products use a patented process to manufacture natural, healthy seeds infused with caffeine, taurine, lysine, and ginseng. Customers are drawn to the product for the flavour and energy-giving nature of the seeds, which gives twice the amount of energy as an energy drink without the added sugar.

NRG Potato Chips
Noted by some as a strange idea for a product associated with television snacking, NRG Potato Chips are the world’s first “energy potato chip”, containing taurine, caffeine, and B-vitamins. The chips’ flavourings mask the stimulants’ bitter tastes to provide a similar amount of stimulation per serving as a cup of coffee.

Engobi Energy Go Bites
Engobi is targeting video gamers with its caffeine-infused ‘Energy Go Bites’, with the point of differentiation being the 70% higher caffeine content when compared to conventional energy drinks.

Trend impact
This trend shows that consumers may be distinguishing between somewhat unhealthy stimulants, which they desire, and high sugar content in drinks, which they do not. Stimulants could be infused into many other foods – breakfast foods may be a particularly good candidate, including energy-giving cereals, breads and spreads. There may also be an opportunity in the sports or body-building market to develop very specific functional meals, for example a pre-gym meal of chicken infused with taurine to boost performance and results.

Softbank has announced that a long-distance romance role-playing game for mobile phones, called, amusingly, the “Marginal Prince� from Serendipity will be available this month for users of the latest phone models. The game has become immensely popular since it was released exclusively on Docomo a few years ago.

What exactly is a long distance romance role-playing game, you ask? Here is the premise: Your little brother Youta is studying abroad at a mysterious all-boys academy, St. Alphonso, on the remote and secluded foreign island of the same name. Youta happens to be the only boy at school with a mobile phone (the most high-tech Japanese mobile equipped with one-seg TV capability no less) which makes him very popular with his classmates who are eager to talk to people from the outside world, especially you, most likely a teenage or 20-something girl.

As you, the user, navigate the game, Youta introduces you to these “Marginal Princes,� and if you find one to your liking you can engage in a more romantic conversation, with the goal of acquiring love points in the form of letters or love songs.

If you can think of a better way to while away your morning commute or the wait at the doctor’s office, we’d like to hear about it.

For the original post and the latest reviews on other Japanese trends please visit our CScout Japan blog.

a just found out another friend of mine is having a baby so i’ve got nursery decorations on the brain lately (which isn’t helping my baby-crazy-late-20s phase). i saw this fun mobile at spool a while back and have had it bookmarked for ages, hoping i’d find an excuse to make one. and now i have one! you can download the pattern for each fabric bird right here and then pick up some (clean, fallen) twigs from your backyard and use clear fishing wire to hang each bird. it’s a great way to use up leftover fabric (or those super-fun fabric packs from purl) and give a homemade, customized gift. click here for the full post at spool.

it’s been a hot, sticky week and i’m so glad the weekend is finally here! next week we have some seriously awesome sneak peeks coming up, a new city guide and a special guide created by one of our interns, christy kolar. until then i hope you all have a wonderful weekend and i’ll see you monday. [above and below are new designs from finnish designer tina hakala and a summary of this week’s posts.]

• new sneak peeks: something’s hiding in here (must, must see), elana of rosebud design
• affordable design: d*s on domino under $10
• new city guide: san diego!
• new before and afters: tamera’s chairs, leona’s chair, lindsey’s chair
• diy wednesdays: stamped dish towels
• new: pillow and bag sneak peek from thomas paul, textiles from tikoli, porcelain candle gourds, 20-armed candelabra, faux bois doormat, napkins from skinny laminx, erwan frotin prints, funnel papers calling cards, lacquer storage boxes
• movies i love: mamma mia and josef frank fabrics!
• just for fun: john derian plate
• for the kids: fun diy shelving idea
• wedding ideas: hand-printed invites
• thank you to sarah at saipua for her fantastic guest blog posts!

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.

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.

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

Technorati Tags: container house, modern design, modern house, modular house, prefab house

Studioilse’s design of the Aesop shop translates the company values through a loving restoration of the historic fabric, paired with modern and clean interventions. As in all her work Ilse Crawford with her Studioilse has added a lot of emotions to the interior. Simple and modern design.

A central ceramic sink to emphasise the ritual of cleansing.

Brass - the material of Mount st.

Fit for Mount st: a gentleman’s armchair tailored in tweed.

Original pitch pine floor - “poor man’s parquet”.

Ping Intressant.se

Andra bloggar om: design, arkitektur, ilse crawford, inredning, skönhet

Nine years ago on March 20th 1999, Bob Schumacher set the wind powered land-speed record in a boat called the Iron Duck, “sailing” at blistering pace of 116.7 mph. Now, since records are meant to be broken, two men are vying to beat that world record. Eco-entrepreneur Dale Vince of Ecotricity and engineer Richard Jenkins are setting up on the salt flats at Lake LeFroy in Western Australia, hoping to catch the right breeze and make history in their sleek wind-powered vehicle, the Greenbird.

(more…)

Technorati Tags: house plans, modern design, modern house

Technorati Tags: container house, modern design, modern house, modular house, prefab house

The parts arrive at the site and are craned into place, carpenter fastening the wall panels as they are off-loaded. This is important! They are not stacking them on site to be handled again when they are installed. The come off the truck and into their final resting place in one step. When the ground floor walls are up, then the drywall for the ceilings and wall patches is placed on the floor before the second floor framing goes on. The drywall is delivered with the rest of the panels from the factory, so there is no separate order of materials, and no unloading and carrying of drywall into the house. They leverage the crane for this. Here is a time lapse installation video made by Scott. As you will see the entire house goes up in one day.



Another common technique is the crane enabled delivery truck. This is a flat bed deliver truck which includes a relatively small crane for unloading the panels. We've seen similar equipment in the US. Often lumber yards will have a small lift arm on a flat bed truck for lifting drywall or lumber to a convenient spot on a construction site. Scale that up and you have the Swedish house delivery truck. Often the controls are wireless allowing the operator to get a better view of the load and place it with more ease. These trucks are commonly owned by the factory, which if you remember from earlier posts owns the entire process at the site. So unlike a lumber delivery truck in the US, the truck is not running to the next delivery. It can remain on site and assist with the remaining lifting work - this may mean spending a day at the site, vs unloading in an hour or two and disappearing. This can mean a lot to the speed of construction overall, and it is certainly convenient for delivery and assembly to be unified. Otherwise the builder must have his own equipment on site to handle the panels after delivery. That all adds extra steps which erodes the efficiency of the process.





While the house walls are going in on another part of the site the roof will be assembled. The trusses come off the truck and are placed onto a steel jig which has been previously set up to match the top plates of the walls. Roof sheathing goes on, pre-sided end panels go on, and the roof is shingled. This all happens just a few feet above the ground instead of an entire story up. This makes it easier for the workers to get on and off the roof, and carrying materials up is also much easier. From here the roof assembly is craned to the flat bed, carried over to the house, and craned in place.



It all happens very quickly, and everything that has gone before was designed to make this field install as fast and as systematic as possible. Remember this is not a curiosity there. This method has completely replaced the site based construction we do here in the US. This is the way the commercial house builders work in Sweden.



Now that the house is together what is left to do? The joints between panels must be finished and sealed on the outside, and drywalled on the inside. Ceiling drywall must be installed, and wires pulled through the conduits. Connections must be made for plumbing and electrical services, and the HVAC system connections as well. Windows and hardware must be adjusted, and the house made clean for the buyer. Buyers often add sweat equity to finish houses. Painting is common. Floor finishes sometimes as well. Plumbing fixtures as explained before are often installed like appliances after the fact.

One more entry to wrap up the series - we'll look at a range of Swedish house vendors.

Thanks to Scott for photos and video.
Previously:
Letters from Sweden - plumbing the prefab
Letters from Sweden - wiring zen
Letters from Sweden - a windows tale
Letters from Sweden - panel building in Sweden vs the USA
Letters from Sweden - Europe is different, Sweden is not, sort of..
Letters from Sweden - land of modern, land of prefab
Letters from Sweden - conversations with an expatriate builder

Technorati Tags: modern design, modern house, prefab house