Have you ever wondered if you can knit and braid a building and if it could be lightweight as air? The myThread Pavilion by Jenny Sabin was commissioned by Nike Inc. for the International Nike FlyKnit Collective due to its innovative concept which works on the edge between art, architecture, design and science. Fusions of science, art and technology open the door to new ways of thinking about structure and the relationship of the body to technology, while bio architecture and digital architecture deliver solutions, new understandings, new forms and a way for mathematics and generative systems to investigate the complexities of natural form and internal geometries.

Sabin states that she is very interested in probing the human body as a bio-dynamic model that can give us new ways of thinking about issues of performance and adaptation at an architectural scale. In her own words, performance, lightness, formfitting, sustainability become immediately relevant in terms of what we are doing. The body in motion — pure performance itself — is the starting point of Sabin’s New York collaboration for this project. Read the rest of this entry »

Port to Port, Advanced Data Visualization Project courtesy of SIDL (Spatial Information Design Lab, Columbia University)

THE POLITICS OF PARAMETRICISM is an international conference to be held at REDCAT, in Downtown Los Angeles, California, at 7-9pm on Friday 15th & 10am-6.30pm on Saturday 16th of November 2013.

A range of international guest speakers from the industries and academic spheres of architecture and urbanism, including Phil Bernstein, Benjamin Bratton, Christina Cogdell, Teddy Cruz, Peggy Deamer, Andrés Jaque, Laura Kurgan, Neil Leach, Reinhold Martin & Patrik Schumacher will explore urgent questions that concern the social and political ramifications of the spreading influence of parametric scripting software as the potential standard industry tool for architecture, urban planning and many other aspects of design.

PARAMETRICISM has recently been heralded as the new avant-garde in the industries of architecture, urban design, industrial design, and digital information modeling: the natural heir to the passing out of favor of Postmodernist and Deconstructionist models. An increasing number of architecture projects and industrially manufactured products are now designed and realized using digital software based on parametric or algorithmic scripting platforms. These platforms have the capability to process large quantities of data for the development of complex topological structures and environments, as well as new understandings of space, both real and virtual. Read the rest of this entry »

AIM, designed by brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, is an incredibly unique design from Italian Lighting Company, Flos. Since 1973 Flos has partnered with world-renowned designers, like Philippe Starck and Marcel Wanders, continuously producing one-of-a-kind products that bring much more to a room than just light. Each is created with a specific purpose, which is further strengthened by each designer’s distinctive style. Pictured below is one of their most well known pieces, Arco, designed in 1962 by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, and now holds a permanent place at The Museum of Modern Art.

Arco Lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni

AIM (pictured below) brings a garden-like tranquility wherever it is placed, with a 9-meter long cable allowing the light fitting to be suspended 3 meters from the ceiling. In the words of the designers themselves “We have developed a new type of lamp that is naturally positioned in space – like a plant – with long cables providing maximum freedom to adjust the direction and height of the light source.”

AIM by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

Flos designs are made famous by their iconic simplicity, and AIM is a perfect example of this. The designers of AIM sought to create a light that had infinite adjustable abilities, which can be mounted in a variety of ways depending on the room and preference of the owner. AIM and other Flos pieces can be explored and purchased at usa.flos.com

Sonumbra is a light project by Loop.pH, London based art and design studio, intervening at an urban scale to re-imagine life in the city. For its very beginning, studio’s design practice aimed to reach beyond specialist boundaries, mediating between digital and biological media and facilitating urban crafts and participatory design. As Loop.pH specializes in the design and fabrication of ephemeral textile architecture and living environments, they create successful urban interventions informed by ecologically based parametric design and principles of community engagement.

Sonumbra is an outsize parasol, that could easily be planted in African village. During the day, it would offer shelter from the sun and by night it would shed light for the local community, using the energy collected in solar cells of the canopy. This smart design explores a new  role for textile while showing serious concern for the planet. At Loop.pH state that they were driven by the present situation in Africa,  where almost 80 percent of population lives without electricity. Read the rest of this entry »

Talo Acoustics Mark One Esscerion Tower Speaker

Every once in a while a creation comes along that is so in tune with the inner human spirit that interacting with it transcends the physical world into a visceral emotional experience defiant of complete logical understanding. It could be said that the Talo Acoustics Mark One Esscerion tower speaker, is an example of such a creation. The experience begins with its design, which in itself, is an example of form following function done the right way. The fluid shape of the body is the result of years of acoustic resonance studies resulting in a sound that is likely more full than any other tower speaker you have ever heard. The degree to which this blend of visual and acoustic art is holistically achieved within Esscerion is conspicuously absent within the world of speakers. How could something so elementarily self-evident take this long to come to us? Given this shape the primary build material of a wood composite would likely come as a surprise to many. It is achieved through the layering of about 80 robotically cut slices. The design would all be for nothing if it weren’t for the unbelievable sound quality and power. I suppose this aspect is what completes Esscerion’s emotional experience. When your favorite songs and movies come alive with this new level of realism, one cannot but help re-live the pain and joy of those memories as this sound pierces straight to the heart and soul.

A nice touch Talo Acoustics offers is custom metallic paint finishes. Rather than settle on black or some wood grain, they offer to finish your system with any color under the rainbow. An interior designer’s dream come true. Available now at TaloAcoustics.com for $1,800 a piece, but expect to wait. They are reportedly already under a 4 month backorder.

Talo Acoustics Mark One Esscerion Tower Speaker

Talo Acoustics Mark One Esscerion Tower Speaker

Talo Acoustics Mark One Esscerion Tower Speaker

Talo Acoustics Mark One Esscerion Tower Speaker

The Parabola Chair designed by Carlo Aiello Design Studio in Los Angeles was recently named an “instant classic” by Fast Company Magazine. The chair won the 2013 ICFF Studio Award and has been recently selected by the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design for the exhibit New West Coast Design 2 opening on October 26, 2013.

If you are in Southern California, the Parabola Chair will be exhibited at the West Edge Design Fair in Santa Monica October 3-6, 2013. The show is open to the trade and public and is expected to become a major destination for design connoisseurs.

The design intention of the Parabola Chair was to create a simple and porous yet highly sculptural chair. The challenge was to achieve a single surface that serves as seating, armrest, and backrest supported by a minimal structure. Although the chair exhibits curvatures in two directions (hyperbolic paraboloid) all its components are straight and easy to manufacture. In order to achieve perfect comfort both curvatures were carefully calibrated to hold the body in the best position.

Material: Brushed stainless steel
Dimensions: W= 35″, L= 40″, H= 37″

The Parabola Chair is in production and can be order at: www.carloaiello.com Read the rest of this entry »

A design experience to engage, entertain and inspire with exhibits from leading names in the industry, plus educational programs & workshops, networking events and more.

WestEdge Design Fair makes its debut October 3-6, 2013 in Santa Monica, California at the Barker Hangar. This newest destination for modern design showcases a curated selection of over 150 leading national and international brands, many new to the West Coast. Attendees will find design inspiration, and be able to shop from leading manufacturers of furniture, lighting, kitchen, bath, outdoor furnishings and other products for the home. The show caters to trade, press and consumers alike, and offers a complete experience for attendees, including panel discussions and workshops, custom installations, a series of special events, and an opening night party to benefit Heal the Bay. Read the rest of this entry »

Mondaine New Classic

The Mondaine New Classic is personified by its straightforward and unadorned case and crystal shape, its luxurious genuine black leather strap with red accent, and, of course, the famed red second hand modeled after the signal paddle used on the Swiss Railway. Available with the wearer’s choice of a brushed or polished stainless steel case, the Mondaine New Classic is also available with a Big Date function at the 3:00, or a Day Date function at the 3:00.

Our increasingly demanding schedules and busy lifestyles require us to keep a close eye on the time. Enter the unique Evo Alarm watch from renowned Swiss watchmakers Mondaine. Form meets function in this innovative design, which combines the iconic “analog” aesthetic of a classic Mondaine timepiece with the decidedly “digital” addition of an easy-to-use alarm. The Mondaine Evo Alarm features a quartz movement with a 40 mm case and a genuine leather strap. The face is available in either black with a stainless steel brushed case or white with a stainless steel polished case.

eVolo has teamed up with Mondaine to give away one Mondaine Evolo Alarm to a lucky reader. Please send your comments to magazine@evolo.us by November 30, 2013 to be entered into a raffle. Read the rest of this entry »

Plasma Studio was invited to contribute to a radical new design concept centered on the question of what would a hotel, where each floor was designed by a different firm, look like? Their answer is the fourth floor of the Hotel Puerta America in Madrid, Spain where the fragmentation of space evolves as guests move through it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Perpetuum Mobile conceived by O + R is a system of mobile smoking point units that proposes an alternative relationship between smokers and non-smokers in open public spaces in the city of Tokyo. The project generates a new platform of social interaction capable of adapting to different urban situations that creates unpredicted distributions on the site according to sites’ needs and seasonal changes.

Each unit is composed of 3 main elements:

A. Inner Garden Core of 2,70 x 2,70 meters of 1 meter height, that integrates: 9 seats, 9 cigarette disposal units, 4 planters, and a main bamboo central planter with a water outlet system. Each seat and back has a smoking add printed finishing. The garden is composed of Bamboo Trees, Aromatic Plants (Japanese local Variety of Mentha arvensis) and Chrysanthemum. The use of local varieties facilitates the maintenance and survival of this small landscape system. Cigarette Disposal Units are integrated on the unit with a top aluminium center chute and a metal lined Container. Cigarettes are contained and extinguished inside the metal lined container. The disposal units can be removed for cleaning, maintenance, and recycling.

B. Shelter System. Composed of a triangulated aluminium mesh structure with a variable thickness of 10 to 50 mm approx., and a recycled glass finishing on both sides with colours in gradient from black – yellow – green, and a total height of 5,00 m. The structure is connected to the core by a system of tubular columns in which a system of rings provides stability to the system. This design is inspired by the traditional Amigasa hats and developed after different operations of manipulation according to the project.

C. Motion and Support System. The complete unit is supported by wheels of 6’’diameter, tire rubber and swivel bracket with one brake per wheel and a brake control for all the wheels of the unit; each wheel is estimated to support up to 300 kg load. Read the rest of this entry »