South African entrepreneurial firm Headboy Industries has developed a germicidal gel product called DryBath that is formulated as a solution to the dual problems of hygiene and water scarcity faced by destitute populations worldwide. Headboy says DryBath is non-toxic, hypo-allergenic, and safe for the whole body. Besides killing 99.9 percent of germs, it has a strong residual effect, moisturizes the skin, and does not have the unpleasant alcohol smell associated with waterless hand cleaners.
Two new lighting products were recently introduced by 3M Architectural Markets, the company's interior products division, embodying their ongoing commitment to develop LED and OLED lighting solutions. The expanding LED and OLED market presents an interesting challenge for interior and lighting designers and we look foward to seeing fresh solutions in the near future.
AIR is a lightweight hoop fixture available in 3', 5' and 7' diameters and a wide range of color outputs from white light to RGB. The LED lights are dimmable and replaceable.
FLEX is a linear modular lighting system that can be curved along walls or ceilings. The system can be fully customized and is manufactured of a lightweight aluminum enclosure with a slender profile of only 1.72 in. thickness.
by: TreeHugger Transportation, 2012-09-06 13:34:48 UTC
Made from TigerBamboo and hand sculpted flax fiber composite joints, the bikes weigh around 1.75 kg, and, according to the designers, “have a ride quality similar to high end steel, but with better vibration absorption”. And they look funky!
by: Designboom - Weblog, 2012-09-05 13:55:00 UTC the ceramics collection exposes the beauty of ceramic clays instead of hiding the raw substances under a thick layer of enamel glaze. read more
"It costs absolutely the same amount of money to make a car look ugly as it does to make it look beautiful."
Laypeople may not know his name, but auto design fans among you surely do: Frank Stephenson, the legendary designer and Art Center grad behind the Mini revamp, BMW's X5 and more Maseratis, Ferraris and Fiats than you can shake a bastone at, is currently McLaren's Chief Designer. Stephenson uttered the quote above at this year's Concours d'Elegance, where the guys over at Road Testament captured an awesomely meaty 18-minute interview with him.
As you would expect of a man who has been raised all around the world, speaks seven languages and is fascinated with biology, evolution and the animal kingdom, Stephenson's got a lot of interesting things to say. It starts with him fielding questions about relatively mundane things like paint textures, the benefits of carbon fiber and how you manage to cram luggage space into a supercar, but stick it out and you're treated to the questions Stephenson asks himself during the design process: Why is a sailfish faster in the water than a cheetah is on land? How is it that the peregrine falcon is not the fastest bird in standard flight, but becomes the fastest when going into a dive? Why are multimillion-dollar military aircraft designed without windshield wipers?
I got so excited to see the interview, I almost forgot to mention Stephenson's reason for being at the Concours in the first place. That screaming yellow car in the video is Stephenson's latest, the Spider version of McLaren's 12C supercar. Its microsite is here.
With Labor Day come and gone, there are only a few more viable weekends left for beach and camping excursions, assuming you live in the northern hemisphere (and assuming you enjoy camping). The Cuissential SlickBoil is clever little collapsible kettle for outdoor brewing--though with its punchy colors and sleek silhouette, it’s got crossover appeal for anyone living in a cramped apartment, too. And what SlickBoil lacks in a palatable name, it more than makes up for in functionality.
When it’s in use, the SlickBoil is much like any other tea kettle: It brews 5 cups of hot water at a time, and works on electric stoves and campfires alike. When it’s not in use, though, the silicone body collapses into its stainless steel base, rendering it only 2.5 inches thick. Which is pretty useful, given the premium on space in both hatchbacks and urban kitchens.
Cuissential, a kitchenware company that’s almost two years old, says that SlickBoil plays into their mission of bringing economical and environmental kitchen products to American consumers. “We noticed that many Asian and European nations were really making use of versatile, natural, and sustainable materials such as silicone,” says Cuissential rep Alex Cacciamani. “SlickBoil was brought to market especially for the younger consumer which has been hit with the recession and is sick of unsustainable products.”
In its natural form, silicone is one of the most plentiful materials on earth--it’s found in everything from minerals to beach sand. As a manufactured synthetic, silicone is increasingly found in consumer products, from breast implants to shampoo, offering an alternative to potentially toxic rubbers and plastics. Cacciamani explains that Cuissential is banking on the trend, as the cost of consumer-grade silicone decreases and fears about BPAs increase. “The SlickBoil will hopefully be a step in making consumers in this country more aware of how versatile and naturally safe silicone is as a material,” he adds. Of course, there are also dissenting voices: Some argue that long-term testing is needed, while others note that while the stuff is recyclable, it’s not biodegradable. But since the FDA classifies silicone as "inert," meaning it doesn’t degrade, those concerns seem largely unfounded. Still, more on that controversy can be found here.
At this month’s Venice Biennale, you’ll find a building whose walls vibrate, a room wallpapered in QR codes, and a pavilion that changes every five minutes. What do they have in common? Each requires a certain amount of participation from us humans to be complete. The same holds true for Al Aire, an installation by Spanish architects SelgasCano, who have filled a gallery with cutting-edge agricultural technology. The architects hope to demonstrate how quickly agricultural technology is evolving, and how humans will soon be able to cultivate plant life with little or no access to the earth.
In a side room of SPAINLAB’s pavilion, the Madrid-based architects worked with biologist Josep Selga to set up a system of irrigated Air Pots, a type of super-efficient planter that’s covered in perforations, exposing plants’ roots to sunlight. The process is calling “air pruning,” and it encourages plants to grow axially instead of vertically, increasing the ratio of surface area to necessary soil (Al Aire means between air). In other words, more plants--and healthier plants--with less space.
The plants are fed hydroponically, which also cuts down on the amount of soil needed. A system called POREC delivers water and nutrients through a fabric tube full of tiny holes, meaning water is distributed evenly through the cylindrical planters. A hanging canopy of irrigation tubes are joined by dozens of wires that monitor and analyze the plants’ health.
SelgasCano have plumped the intersection of technology and nature before--look no further than their own office, which is embedded in a woodland grove outside of Madrid (Iwan Baan's images of the space are stunning). The duo, who both graduated from architecture school in 1992, are known for what come critics have called “pop architecture in the truest sense," a reference to the office’s crowd-pleasing aesthetic. With Al Aire, they suggest that architects should pay attention to seemingly mundane technologies developed by industries peripheral to design. The central premise of the installation is to demonstrate the remarkable changes taking place in agriculture, sure, but it’s also a subtle criticism of the building industry. “Architecture tends to be, out of its own nature, a slow field in terms of innovation,” write the architects.
“Out of all this, a new movable agriculture emerges, and we will draw conclusions both in the botanical and architectural fields,” say the duo, adding, "by using a wide variety of plants and by working on a new paradigm of elastic, adaptive architecture."
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-09-07 08:01:28 UTC
The Ahrend 360, an ultra-light visitors' chair with a magnesium frame and a one-piece seat shell, has won a Red dot Award from the internationally ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-09-06 06:43:37 UTC
The IFA Berlin, on of the worlds biggest appliances fairs is coming to an end today. And how about sustainability in the latest offerings. Not bad ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-09-04 12:31:57 UTC
Amy Prieto, Colorado State University assisting professor, re-imagines the lithium-ion battery in a 3D solid state form, with no liquid electrolyte ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-09-04 09:58:41 UTC
A few years ago, while living in Shanghai, I stood in a supermarket to buy sparkling water. Since not many chinese like to drink the stuff, they also ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-09-03 09:10:03 UTC
And the winners are ...... again Philips for its Smart TV and Sony for its Smart Phone. Smart seems to be the clue for sustainability nowadays! :) ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-09-03 07:29:01 UTC
You can cut wasted standby power switching off TVs and connected appliances at the power source (and back on again) with your remote control and the ...
Made from TigerBamboo and hand sculpted flax fiber composite joints, the bikes weigh around 1.75 kg, and, according to the designers, “have a ride quality similar to high end steel, but with better vibration absorption”. And they look funky!
Containers are popping up all over as permanent, and semi-permanent buildings.
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