Unique Upcycling

There are many designers out there pushing the bondaries when it comes to the material of choice in their furniture designs. Here are a few cool finds from designers around the world who have taken recycled materials to create some of the most unique eco friendly furnishings. For tips and ideas on making your own DIY upcycled furniture and lighting, "DIY Furniture" by Christopher Stuart, which I have mentioned in a previous post is a great book.



Annie the Trolley Chair by Reestore



Chair designed by Bike furniture



Cutlery Chair designed by Osian Batyka-Williams



Chiquita Banana Chandelier by  Anneke Jakobs



Barbie Doll Chandelier





Wooden Hanger Lighting designed by Organelle Design 



Street Wise

It is not only domestic furniture which has taken a very important place in our lifes and how we live over the last couple of decades in regards form,material and aesthetic, this attention to design and detail has flooded the streets around the world also. From the U.S to Hong Kong more attention to our streets and how the public interact with it has become an important focus for some furniture designers. Street Furniture has inabled the incorporation of public art and design into the urban landscape.
Below is a list of some of the most creative and succesfully designed street furniture installation.



Red Ribbon Street bench designed by Shigeru Uchida in Toyko



Street Bench designed by Ron Ard in Toyko



This street bench was designed by “ModelArt Studio” and was created
 in collaboration with the Faculty of Technical Sciences
 in Novi Sad and the municipality of Dimitrovgrad.



A street bench and street lamp combination from BD Barcelona Design.

This contemporary city bench is the work or Rocker Lange Architects.
The “Urban Adapter” was designed as urban street furniture for Hong Kong.



Street furniture by Naho Matsuno Japanese designer



Street Installation designed by Karim Rashid in Tokyo



Street Installation in Toyko designed by Jurgen Bey for Droog Design 





Top Design Destinations

Its that time of year again where many of us are planning our summer holidays. After scouring through the pages of budget travel and the likes,over the last couple of days, I have decided to embarking on a design destination instead. The world is full of inspiring destinations for travellers wanting to discover the creativity which has shaped many countries throughout he globe. From scuba diving in an amazing underwater art installation in Mexico to staying at a modern designer hotel that towers over NYC’s iconic High Line park to meandering the world’s largest wooden structure recently designed and constructed in Seville.

Below is my list of the top design destination around the world well worth a visit this summer.





Scuba divers in Mexico have always had much to delight in. The colorful marine life, mammals, fish and foliage are top on any divers list at any time of year. However, off the coast of Cancún there is a little more than fish and foliage to see. "The Silent Evolution" is a unique must-see underwater art installation by Jason deCaires Taylor, consisting of more than 400 pieces in it.



 

Parc Guell is an architectural garden complex situated on the hill of El Carmel in the Gràcia district of Barcelona, Spain. It was designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí and built in the years 1900 to 1914. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí".

The Las Pozas sculpture garden is a Surrealist fantasy that lies hidden near Xilitla, Mexico. Constructed in 1962 by English poet,artist and patron of the Surrealist Movement Edward James.

The Metropol Parasol in Seville, Spain was designed by Jurgen Mayer H. Architects. Located at Plaza de la Encarnaciont, it is the world's largest wooden structure. The 3 dimensional form is made up of a series of undulating parasols. Metropol’s interlocking honeycomb of wooden panels rise from concrete bases, which are positioned to form canopies and walkways below the parasols.

The Light Fantastic

The Malthouse Designer Centre in Dublin will showcase the work of 16 new,up and coming Irish designers in its latest exhibtion "Light Fantastic" running from the 17th - 31st of May.  The design centre is hosting this event to show new projects and products from their latest collections from the in house designers, two of which I am very proud to mention. Emerging Malthouse Designers, Kathryn Payne and Aislinn Lynch, graduate designers and friends of mine, from Dublin Institute of Technology will be launching their new ranges for the very first time to the public. Both graduate designer are part of a support programme that the Malthouse has set up to encourage innovation and creativity in the Design Sector of Entrepeneurship. Best of luck girls!

See you all there,

Grainne

Mercedes-Benz Do Furniture

Mercedes-Benz showcased their first collection of furniture at this years Milan Furniture Fair, Salone del Mobile. The furniture designed by Mercedes is part of their “Style” collection designed and produced for Italian design company Formitalia. The various pieces of furniture reflect the progressive, dynamic design of their current show cars and concept vehicles, offering an exclusive, emotional experience outside their vehicles and into seating for the domestic and commercial inetrior sectors.

Lenny Kravitz Interior and Furniture Range

Singer, songwriter and actor Lenny Kravitz has collaborated with Italian furniture company Kartell to create a collection of chairs influenced by the Phillippe Starcks iconic "Mademoiselle" armchair. The Kartell and Kravitz collection was showcased at this years Milan Furniture Fair, Salone del Mobile. The iconic armchair has been given a rockstar edge by using materials such as python, leather and fur highly influenced by Kravitz own style.
Aswell as collaborating with Kartell, Kravitz has also designed a range of black and white tiles inspired by water drops and waves for Lea Ceramiche. These tiles were also showcased at this years Milan Furniture Fair.

Stools shaped by Magnetic Fields

Dutch graduate designer Jólan van der Wiel showcased an incredible set of stools shaped using magnetic fields and the force of gravity at the "Transnatural" exhibition during the Milan furniture Fair. The stools were made by placing a combination of iron and plastic between strong magnets that pull the material into unique and organic shapes.
"The Gravity Stools" take their unique shape thanks to the cooperation between magnetic fields and the power of gravity. Inspired by the idea that everything is influenced by gravitation, a force that has a strong shaping effect, he intended to manipulate this natural phenomenon by exploiting its own power of magnetism. The positioning of the magnetic fields in the machine, opposing eachother, has largely determined the final shape of the Gravity Stool.

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Liquid Wood Furniture

Liquid Wood is a new furniture material promising to be environmentally friendly using readily available raw materials that are renewable and is said to be 100% recyclable. Italian furniture maker Calligaris has introduced a chair made from this Liquid Wood material, a composite biomaterial consisting of polymer and wood which was showcased at last weeks Milan Furniture Design Fair 2012.
The Liquid Wood is moulded like a normal thermoplastic polymer allowing for versatility and high performance in terms of durability, resistance and flexibility within the product. The material is mainly composed of lignin and cellulose, which are found in the cells of plants. SKIN is Calligaris first product made of Liquid Wood. The collection of chairs that make up SKIN feature a simple and minimalist design which are easily stackable and suitable for outdoor use.

The Origami Influence On Lighting

Sculpture lights designed by Richard Sweeney

 

DIY Origami light by Thomas Hick

Origami Solar Lamp designed by Joonsoo Kim



Ori Lamp designed by Lukas Dahlen



 

Dragontail designed by Luisa Robinson



The Origami Influence On Furniture

The goal of origami art is to transform a flat sheet of material, varying now in the later years from paper to metal into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques. Many origami folds can create funcational objects not only with aesthetics in form but by capturing the viewers attention with what appears to be a finished product complex in design,structure and construction.  Here is a look at some of the best know furniture influenced by this simple but effect Japanese paper folding art.Next post, the influence of origami on lighting.

Enjoy,
Grainne

Pleat Table by Arktura




Cardine designed by Sooin Kim

  

Origami Table by Tian Zhen



TLF03ALU designed by Tobias Labarque



The Sputnik Coffee Table designed by Sander Muldar



The Origami Wall Unit designed by Reflex Angelo




Origami Table designed by Neal Small



The Origami Influence

I am obsessed with origami right now and its many uses outside of being just paper sculptures.

Origami is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding which started in the 17th century and was later popularised outside of Japan in the 1900s.

It has since then evolved into a modern art form and has influenced many designers artist and architects in creating fascinating forms through its simple folding techniques. The goal of origami art is to transform a flat sheet of material, varying now in the later years from paper to metal into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques. Many origami folds can create funcational objects not only with aesthetics in form but by capturing the viewers attention with what appears to be a finished product complex in design,structure and construction.  Here is a look at some of the best know architecture influenced by this simple but effect Japanese paper folding art. Next post, the influence of origami in furniture design.

Enjoy,

Grainne

Klein Bottle House in Rye Australia
designed by Architects Mc Bride,Charles, Ryan.

The Musuem of Origami designed by Rojkind Architects



Origami House in its conceptual stage



The Health Department Building in Bilbao Spain
designed by  Coll-Barreau Architects

Origami House
designed by Japenesse Architect Yasuhiro Yamashita

Infosys Mysore Development Cente office building