Australians are by definition sports crazy, so naturally sports architecture should play a significant role in the nation’s psyche. Sport clubs dot the suburbs like fire stations, but none has the kinetic punch and environmental acumen as Templestowe Reserve Sporting Pavilion. The new sport center packs a lot of solar technology on the roof to support the many hot showers taken inside. It also uses the thermal mass from the deconstruction of the previous building buried below, which acts as a heat sink for incoming fresh air to help cool down exerted bodies. The charged design is the real story because it acts as an active participant in the games. Read the rest of this entry »

A residence this small is no longer a house but too large to be considered furniture. The intention is fully practical by condensing function to elements. It is small enough to be carried to a location—urban, industrial, natural—and support one person’s need as a full-service shelter. At 27 cubic meters, 3 meters to a side, the design relies on portative elements. Read the rest of this entry »

The story of Garden Santa Fe starts with a parking lot. While not usually how a sustainable project initiates, the immense underground parking structure bottoms out at 33 meters beneath the street, placing the ubiquitous automobile where it belongs, well below human and natural habitation. Set above is a typical mall, only its three stories are also subterranean. Lastly, there is the park. It is modest in scope for an urban center but as the surrounding area has been swallowed whole by development, the vegetated refuge will become a core social asset. Read the rest of this entry »

eVolo Magazine is pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 VMODERN Furniture Design Competition. The award recognizes innovative design and creates a forum for the discussion and development of the discipline. What is the future of furniture design?

eVolo Magazine received 233 entries from 34 different countries. The Jury selected 3 winners and 20 honorable mentions.

The first place was awarded to I-Ting Tsai, Xixi Zheng, Yiru Yun, and Somdatta Majumdar from the United Kingdom for the design of Fabric Chair. This project is an investigation on the use of fabric as a structural material in furniture design. A special resin was developed to harden fabric placed on a rigid mold. The resin hardens the fabric to become structural while retaining its softness in specific locations.

Studio La Cube from Spain received the second place for their project Simmis Chair. This simple and elegant design is a study on symmetry and proportions. The goal was to create a dialogue between visual lightness and the strength and heaviness of wood and steel.

The third place was awarded to Open Source Workshop from Italy and the United States for the design of Helix, a diffuse furniture system that generates a continuous interior space by adapting simultaneously to any vertical and horizontal surface while defining an immersive spatial atmosphere.

The honorable mentions include materials explorations, the use of digital design and manufacturing processes as well as studies in ergonomics and experiential possibilities.

The members of the Jury are: Ammar Eloueini [principal Ammar Eloueini Digit-all Studio], Joel Escalona [principal Joel Escalona Studio, NONO], Mitchell Joachim [principal Terraform ONE], Po Shun Leong [principal Po Shun Leong Design], and Alexander Lervik [principal Lervik Design AB].

First Place - Fabric Chair

Second Place - Simmis Chair

Third Place - Helix Furniture System

Pen Uno: space grey, gold, silver, rose gold

Pen Uno is a most minimal pen designed by award-winning studio ENSSO to be both a pleasure to write with and beautiful to see. With only 5.3mm (7/32in) in diameter it is one of the slimmest pens ever manufactured, yet it is very comfortable to use because its holding barrel is slightly wider. This barrel also serves as a twisting cap that protects the pen tip when not in use. Pen Uno is precision-machined out of space-grade aluminum and anodized in four distinct colors: space grey, silver, gold, and rose gold.

Pen Uno uses the widely available Hi-Tec-C Coleto gel ink cartridge. This cartridge writes exactly the same as the regular Hi-Tec-C cartridge but it is much slimmer in diameter because it was designed for a multi-color pen system.

Pen Uno is available on Kickstarter until December 18.

Pen Uno

-> Available on Kickstarter until December 18

Se’Paar is a series of hanging lighting fixtures designed by Taeg Nishimoto made of Buckram fabric. Buckram is a resin impregnated mesh fabric that sustains the form when they are manipulated with water and left to dry.

Two sheets of white and black fabric were first laminated to make a double layer of sheet for the stability. This double layer fabric was then cut into a specific proportion of a rectangle. This single sheet goes through the operation of first folding in the center, then cutting into certain length on both sides of the fold, and finally pulling the cut part together to make an overlap that forms two triangles at the overlap. This process results into a sheet that warps on both sides of the central fold. The black fabric is placed for the outside and inside is in white. Depending on the positioning of the fold and the length and direction of the cut, exactly the same operation results into different configurations. Read the rest of this entry »

eVolo Magazine is pleased to invite designers around the world to participate in the 2015 VMODERN Furniture Design Competition. The award was born from the desire to create a forum for the discussion, debate and development of innovative design. Our goal is to discover and promote the most creative pieces of furniture that will transform the way we live and interact with our environment. What is the future of furniture design?

This is an ideas competition and designers may submit pieces in production, prototypes, and/or concepts. Projects will be evaluated based on creativity, originality, feasibility, function, and aesthetics.

Participants may submit designs in any of the following three categories:

• Seating: armchairs, benches, chairs, lounge chairs, recliners, stools, etc.
• Planes: beds, coffee tables, desks, shelving units, tables, etc.
• Lighting: ceiling, floor, table, wall, etc.

SCHEDULE

August 10, 2015 – Competition announcement, registration begins
October 6, 2015 – Early registration deadline
November 10, 2015 – Late registration deadline
November 24, 2015 – Submission deadline (23:59 hours US Eastern Time)
December 15, 2015 – Winner’s announcement

JURY

Ammar Eloueini [principal Ammar Eloueini Digit-all Studio
Joel Escalona [principal Joel Escalona Studio, NONO]
Mitchell Joachim [principal Terraform ONE]
Po Shun Leong [principal Po Shun Leong Design]
Alexander Lervik [principal Lervik Design AB]
Zhang Zhoujie [principal Zhang Zhoujie Digital Lab]

AWARDS

1st Place: US $2000
2nd Place: US $1000
3rd Place: US: $500

For more information and to register for the competition please visit:
VMODERN.COM

Airy is a lamp that uses laminated Japanese rice paper as a main material. Lamination on the surface makes the paper prone against tearing, tarnishing and fire-retardant. A simple slot-in assembly is required to complete the kit consisting of five- and six-sided panels with finely cut perforation pattern. This allows Airy to be shipped flat-packed to save on packing materials. The finely cut perforation pattern in each panel allows the end users to extrude each panel into a desired form.

Available in four sizes (small, medium, large, and medium sphere) and two styles (pendant and floor lamp), Airy kit also includes a laminated Japanese rice paper ceiling cap, shade holder, and socket.

While maintaining the characteristics of the rice paper that provides soft diffused light effect, geometrical pattern brings unique experience to the space when Airy is lit.

Airy Lamp Series exhibited at Milan Design Week at Ventura Lambrate (April 8 – 13, 2014 Milan) and 2014 Tokyo Designers Week (October 25 – November 3, 2014 Tokyo). Airy was also one of the winners of SHADE – International Lighting Design Competition (Canada) and received a Special Jury Award.

The products will be available at the online webstore at store.24d-studio.com. Read the rest of this entry »

Ecocapsule - Photo: Tomas Manina / Juraj Fifiki

Ecocapsule designed by Nice Architects is smart house powered by purely the solar and wind energy. It allows people to reach the frontiers with the luxury of the hotel room. It can serve as cottage, pop-up hotel or even as charging station for electric cars.

Extended off-grid stay
Ecocapsule is equipped with dual power production system bypassing periods of low energy production and massive battery capacity allowing to store surplus energy for later usage.

Spherical shape of the Ecocapsule is carefully formed to maximize collection of the rain water and morning dew. Membrane water filters installed in the Ecocapsule are devised to purify 99,999% of the bacteria and rendering any natural water source suitable for drinking.

Low-energy design
Spherical shape of the Ecocapsule was purposely designed to minimize energy losses. Hollow walls filled with hi-performance thermal insulation are protecting inhabitants from harsh environment and helping to achieve near passive house performance. Low consumption system and energy recuperation are helping to reduce energy consumption and extend life span.

Easy mobility
Ecocapsule is optimized for easy transportation. It can fit into standard shipping container therefore it can be easily shipped globally with lowest shipping fees possible. Mobility of the Capsule can be extended via additional undercarriage which will turn Ecocapsule to the fully functioning caravan. Read the rest of this entry »

The chair that embodies design, ingenuity and meticulous American craftsmanship.

Maximillian Chair

Los Angeles based industrial designer Armen Sevada recently launched his Maximillian Chair. Seven years in the making, the chair combines meticulous attention to design proportion and craftsmanship.

“Fine-tuning a timeless chair that needed to be built like a watch was perhaps the hardest part of the process. My goal is to design objects that are timeless and complete in and of themselves. For me, this is the true test of sustainability; designs that are not governed by style or frivolous form. I wanted to create an object that for me embodied meticulous attention to design proportion and craftsmanship. I believe the Maximillian embodies design, ingenuity and meticulous American craftsmanship. I wanted to create something that could be as close to a perfect chair as possible” ~ 
Armen Sevada

The Maximillian Chair took seven years of design and prototyping to create, and is a true testament to American manufacturing. Each piece is welded from stainless steel sheets that are cut with laser precision. It takes six weeks to produce one chair. The chair’s hollow structure is meticulously designed like a building, and is manufactured in Los Angeles, handcrafted meticulously by expert artisans. The chair is designed to withstand the effects of moisture, and will not rust or tarnish.

“I believe that furniture has become a commodity. The general public may spend thousands of dollars on their clothing, but care less how they live behind closed doors. I believe the handcrafted approach is important to show that there are objects that are built with care and precision rather than mass production. Hermès bags are also handmade and I think this is one of the reasons why they are valued as they are. I think it is important to make things that have a personal touch, and there is a beauty in subtle imperfection. We are too used to identical objects that are manufactured by machines”

The chair is a real investment piece, with only 100 available worldwide. Each chair comes with a numbered plaque and signature, priced at $25,000. The first one went to Armen’s son, Maximillian, the inspiration for this project.

Armen Sevada Gharabegian, designer and producer of the Maximillian Chair, is an accomplished industrial designer based in Los Angeles. He is the founder and principal designer of Lounge22, a modern furniture design and fabrication company, as well as the founder and CEO of Ethos Design, a production company involved in global exhibits and events worldwide. He is an accomplished artist, sculptor and published author who continues to pursue all his passions. A graduate of the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, he holds a Master’s degrees in industrial design and has taught furniture design for several years.

The complete story of the chair can be found at http://maximillianchair.com Read the rest of this entry »