Austria-based designer David Pompa has designed a collection of office furniture called Surreal Minimalism. The collection comprises eight chairs constructed from different combinations of metal bases and upholstered seats. “These chairs are a response to mental and physical needs of people in their office environment,” says Pompa. A recent graduate from Kingston University in London, Pompa deve..
Caged Message vases by Cypriot designer Alexis Themistocleous contain a secret message that can only be revealed when they are smashed. The message is laser-cut from stainless steel, meaning that the words can alternatively be read through an X-Ray machine. The vases themselves are cast from bubble-wrap. Themistocleous has also cast vases from hollowed-out peppers and pumpkins (see below). The f..
Here are more images of the Second Nature exhibition at 21_21 Design Sight in Tokyo, featuring work by designers including Ross Lovegrove. Makoto Azuma and the Campana Brothers. The exhibition was directed by Japanese designer Tokujin, who invited eight other practitioners to contribute to the exhibition: Japanese artist Noriko(top image), flower-artist Makoto Azuma, designers Humberto and Ferna..
Tokyo Bench by Gehry Partners Gehry Partners, the architecture office of Frank Gehry, presented a snaking bench as part of Design Tide in Tokyo over the weekend. Called Tokyo Bench, the maple bench was installed in the lobby of World Co Aoyama Building. Design Tide is a series of exhibitions that took place in Tokyo form 30 October to 3 November, concurrently with Tokyo Designers Week. The bench..
Dutch designer Jan Van Hoof exhibited a wall made of cut-up books at the Design Academy Eindhoven graduation show as part of Dutch Design Week earlier this month. “Books like this tell us a lot of stories, the story in the book, the story of the book itself as a product you own with a history and the story as a collection of books,” says Van Hoof. “With my project storyboard I tried to give the ..
An ARQUISET project, in collaboration with HANGAR Sponsored by Philips HANGAR Oct 2-8, 2008 As part of ARQUISET’s second Architecture Week, ARQUINFAD organized a workshop with James Clar & Scott Fitzgerald in developing interactive lighting projects, aimed at architects, light and space designers, programmers and interactive designers. The workshop forms part of the LIGHTSCAPES programme, a seri..
Dutch designer Maren Hartveld presented a soft bathtub at the Design Academy Eindhoven graduate show in the Netherlands earlier this month. “Bringing a new meaning to sinking into one’s tub,” says Hartveld. “A free-standing soft bathtub made from polyurethene coated foam rubber; not cold and hard like the average bathtub, but soft and warm, and comfortable like a sofa”. Above image by Marjan Hol..
An exhibition directed by Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka called Second Nature has opened at 21_21 Design Sight in Tokyo. The exhibition includes Venus chair (see our previous story), created from crystals that form on polyester mesh left in a mineral solution for over a month. Yoshioka also created an installation called Clouds for the exhibition, which consists of overlapping transparent fi..
At the Design Academy Eindhoven graduate show earlier this month, designer Hung-Pin Hsueh presented a system for using Taiwan Cypress driftwood as an architectural building material. Hsueh proposes that small pieces of timber - usually discarded as unsuitable for architectural purposes - could be used in construction to reduce the need for intensive logging. “The forests are logged in search for..
With winter just around the corner, it's time to pack away your air conditioner and bust out the humidifier. Luckily, the Japanese seem to have a small obsession with moisture and have produced several devices we wouldn't mind keeping out all year. The latest to join this lineup is the Middle Colors humidifier, which is not only attractive and available in a range of colors but will help save yo..
