TOKYOFIBER09 – SENSEWARE, #01
During the design week in Milan at La Triennale di Milano one of the most impressive exhibitions took place under the title TOKYOFIBER09′ SENSEWARE, directed by the Japanese designer Kenya Hara. Japan’s artificial fibers are a new SENSEWARE. In the Stone Age, stone tools triggered human creativity. Similarly, the medium paper, particularly in combination with printing technology, made a massive body of knowledge available, stimulating further creative desire. Imagine how the new artificial fibers that have evolved through the application of high technology will sour humans to a new wave of creation. Some of these fibers are as fine as individual cells, some are more pliant than rubber, and some are electrically conductive like metals. This exhibition was an attempt to visualize some of the domains that the new SENSEWARE can open up. Ideas were sought from architects, designers of all ilks, automobile and electrical appliance manufacturers, media artists and even a flower artist. It was fascinating to see how many new possibilities emerge from this initiative. The exhibition represented an intersection of technology, materials and talent, all oriented towards future manufacturing.
Via & more: Yatzer
Como Loft by JMA
When an old monastery located around the city of Como, Italy, was being remodelled and converted into a residential complex, two adjacent units have been connected to form this duplex apartment. The shape of the original units is clearly enhanced by the different pitched ceiling direction as well as by their different heights. The main idea was to keep the shell intact, maintaining the entire length of the unit open and invading the space minimally.
Via & more: ArchDaily
The Wavy Bookcase by Giuseppe Bavuso for Alivar
Italian designer Giuseppe Bavuso has created the Wavy bookcase for Alivar. WAVY is a bookshelf system that rigorously combines design and function. It is a minimalistic product in which the thin structure and the wavy design, both vertical and horizontal, gives the ensemble an image of great solidity and lightness. With its extremely characteristic accuracy of detail and use of materials, Wavy is made entirely of “HI – MACS Natural Acrylic Stone” by LG in S28 Alpine White colour. Composed of blocks that can be laid one upon another and combined, Wavy conceals any kind of joint, thus becoming a highly elegant furnishing element with an extremely formal linear nature.
Via & more: Contemporist
The Phenomena Room Divider by Sang Hoon Kim
Designer Sang Hoon Kim has created the Phenomena Room Divider. Characterized by an organic and pleasing appearance, this room divider is about the phenomenon of light. Light is always moving, and due to reflection, refraction and shadow, leaves behind a fantastic impression. To make one feel the movement of light, I divided the wavy sides into many layers so that they reveive light from different angles and reflect it at different angles. As a result, the fixed mass feels like it is changing and moving according to the position from which the viewer sees it.
Via & more: Contemporist
Big Table by Alain Gilles for Bonaldo
Brussels designer Alain Gilles presented a table for Italian furniture brand Bonaldo in Milan last month. The table legs slope out from the centre under the wooden top. Each is made of laser-cut sheet steel, folded and painted in different colours. The design was launched under the name Big Foot Table, but has since been renamed Big Table – “the name ‘big foot’ had already been officially registered by someone else,” Gilles exlains.
Via & more: Dezeen
Flat.C by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia
As we all have size requirements in our homes, we need furnishings that, despite their size, can be positioned in areas of limited space. This is where the concept for Flat C comes from. Designed to house books, a television, and hi-fi accessories in the smallest amount of space possible, it also provides a convenient solution for electrical wiring in cableways. Flat C is only 25 cm (9.8 in) deep. The thickness of the shelves and sides has been extremely reduced, and there are no visible joints. Flat.C by Antonio Citterio, for B&B Italia.
Via & more: DailyIcon
Alta One bike by Blees, Norway Says and Frost Produkt
The Alta Bike was designed as a collaboration project between the Norwegian designers Bleed (Graphic Design), Norway Says (Furniture Design) and Frost Produkt (Industrial Design) in 2004. It was initially meant to be a project with a limited production of 50 bikes but Alta soon got so popular that it became the first serial production single speed bike on the marked. The initial idea behind the Alta Bike was to make a light, timeless, fast and durable bicycle that was designed for city use, in contrast to the mountain bikes mostly used in the cities at the time. The handlebar, The Alta Bike’s signature feature, is designed to give you the power needed to deal with hills and obstacles and the construction of the aluminium frame enhances the drive train efficiency.
Via & more: Alta Bikes
Mr. light series by Tomás Alonso
Mr.1, Mr.2 and Mr.3 are the first three of a series of lights designed around the new LED T8 tube light bulbs. Aside from being radically more energy efficient and durable than standard fluorescent bulbs, these newly developed light tubes allow for more flexibility with the design by reducing the number of components needed to power them as well as by not needing a reflector shade. These lights explore the formal continuity between the bulb and the fixture while playing with the way the materials come together to produce a series of unexpected characters.
Via & more: Tomás Alonso
Philip Michael Wolfson’s second donation for the Make it Right Foundation
Philip Michael Wolfson in collaboration with Phillips de Pury & Company is pleased to announce that part of the proceeds from the sale of Wolfson’s Genoa desk at the Phillips de Pury & Company Design Sale on June 3, 2009 will benefit the Make It Right Foundation, New Orleans. The Make It Right Foundation was founded in 2006 by actor and New Orleans resident Brad Pitt to address the needs of the Lower 9th Ward’s original residents. This creative-minded, socially-aware coalition seeks to build affordable, green housing in this historically underserved neighbourhood — at the highest aesthetic standards. Last year, Wolfson’s donation of the Unique LineDesk PINK to the Make it Right Foundation raised $22,500 through the Phillips de Pury & Company Design sale.
Via & more: Yatzer
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