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We just joined the twitter bandwagon, like so many others. So now get (mini-) updates as it happens, when it happens!!! And soon, we’ll be all over the web, reaching out to fellow drunks on design. So that’s really something to look forward to. But in the meantime, add us up to your list of twitter friends. We’ll be waiting…

AIFF Picks (Part 1 of 2)

THE EDGE at the Australian International Furntiure Fair was truly an inspiring experience. As promised, here are some of the winners of the Awards (Thanks Uli Hasel!):

 

STACK-IT Stool

Winner THE EDGE 2009 Concept Award for Best New Prototype by Luke Leenders

Bach Industrial Design

NSW Glebe

Mobile: 0401 249 196

Email: luke_leenders@yahoo.com.au

 

Since his graduation in 2003, Luke Leenders has been working for a Sydney based joinery company. In his spare time, he designs and constructs furniture prototypes, including chairs, stools and light fittings. Recently, Luke has been using computer aided manufacturing techniques such as CNC routing to develop design prototypes.

 

Stack-It Stool, (one of DOD’s faves!) requires minimal components, no screws or glue. The design is said to be compatible with any sheet material, e.g. recycled plastic, eco-ply. A flat-pack- design that nests efficiently. Made Down Under by designer and is available from the designer.

 

TABLE AND SEATS

Winner, THE EDGE 2009 Student Award for Best New Work by a Student, Jacob Wong

Lidcombe TAFE

NSW Sydney

Mobile: 0416 724 888

Email: Jacobi.designs@yahoo.com

 

Jacob Wong is a Furniture Design student at Lidcombe TAFE. These pieces are made from GVA White Birch Plywood, foam, and fabric. (Actual photos of the prototypes will be available next week. But since we wanted this out, we show you the rendition. It is the concept that counts!)

ZEOPOD.01 Pouf

Winner THE EDGE 2009 Green Award for the Most Sustainable Product by Wilma van Boxtel

Deseos Design

WA Swanbourne

Phone: 08 9384 6610

Mobile: 0431 919 632

Email: Wilma@deseosdesign.com

URL: www.deseosdesign.com

 

ZEOPOD.01 is a low seat made of biodegradable plastic. The shape is inspired by natural seedpods. There are two sizes, medium 620Ø and large 720Ø. Zeoform (Zelfo), eco-foam, eco-wool. Made in Australia by Zeoform and is available from www.deseosdesign.com.

 

Wilma van Boxtel is a Dutch industrial designer who has made Australia her home. Deseos Design, Wilma’s business, specializes in developing attractive and functional products for commercial success while using sustainable practices.

It’s the Furniture Fair Season

 

The Australian Furniture Fair closed yesterday. We saw some interesting furniture by design students in various materials and with different sensibilities. Watch out for our picks next week!

Meanwhile, we hear from our friends from BVZ Asia that Thailand is gearing up for TIFF and sent us this refreshing invitation.

Who knows, we might see you there.

Korean Green City

Green is IN

Resembling a hybrid between an ancient Mayan citadel and a far-off space port from Star Wars, the Gwanggyo Power Centre is actually an award winning design for a self-sustaining city that is moving towards reality in Korea.

Designed by Dutch architecture firm MVDRV, the planned high-density town or “Power-center” will support 77,000 inhabitants will act as a central node with a view to encouraging further developments in the area, an approach used extensively in Korean town planning. This development consists of a series of circular, terraced buildings that look like hills covered in greenery, and will be located in a forested area 35km south of Seoul. It will incorporate a mix of public amenities, retail, housing, office and parking space.

The vertical terrace gardens not only bring outdoor living in a high-density enironment but are also designed to improve climate and ventilation and will feature a centralized irrigation system. Inside the “hills”, hollow cores form atriums linked by voids which provide natural light and ventilation, and on lower floors, public spaces connect the atriums and link the towers.

A consortium lead by Daewoo will develop the project. The budget and timeframe are not yet not finalized, but a concept plan and feasibility study by the Gyeonggi provincial authority’s Urban Innovation Corporation is expected to be completed in 2011.

We can’t wait for it.

A Designer’s Workspace

Sometimes as designers (or designer wannabies), we forget the basics of what design is all about. We chanced upon this photo somewhere in the web, and we thought we’d share it with you…

photo from www.designyoutrust.com

Sky High Living

Miami may just have more than their beaches and babes to be proud of now. Already, the city is setting new records with One Bayfront Plaza, a 70-story mixed-use tower. The $2-billion development by Florida East Coast Realty, Inc. (FECR) is slated to be the 7th tallest building in America and number 28th in the world.
Adjacent to the site is a 43-storey hotel, the first to be built north of the Miami river in 25 years. This brings the whole project area to a staggering 4-million square feet. Unique to the project will be its steel structure with fluid dampers to absorb wind gusts. FECR is pursuing Silver level LEED certification for the buildings. One Bayfront Plaza will also feature the fastest high-speed elevators in the country, ascending at a rate of 2,000 feet per minute.

One Bayfront Plaza is setting new records for the Florida State

Tats Started a Joke

Eduardo Sicangco, a world-renowned scenographer, will be staging his first ever exhibition at the Ground Floor Gallery of Ayala Museum on October 26, 2008. Entitled From Inspiration to Illusion: The Scenography of Eduardo Sicangco has been chosen as Ayala Museum’s offering to this year’s Zero In series of exhibitions.

Sicangco’s original works–drawings, photographs, scale models of stage designs, costume plates and actual stage costumes will be on display at the said exhibition. And what is actually very fascinating about his works is that everything is done manually. Though he acknowledges the advantages computers have brought to the world of design, he chooses to work manually with his hands. “Technology brings a very cold look to a design, but when a design is done manually, it has a heart,” Sicangco explains.

When exhibition curator Tats Rejante Manahan was asked how they came up with the idea of Sicangco’s first Philippine exhibition, she gladly exclaimed “It all started as a joke. Then, everything just fell into place.” Co-curating the show is Sicangco’s former student at NYU, Gino Gonzales.

View Sicangco’s 32 years of scenographic journey through design. And be amazed that this humble designer chose to maintain his Filipino citizenship even with all the international projects at his hands.

Check out www.ayalamuseum.org for details.

Five for Fighting

Sustainable design is a concept that grew its hype during the recent years. Even design students have begun incorporating its principles with their works. And for every learned student, there is a knowledgeable teacher guiding him/her.

Mapua’s School of Architecture, Interior Design and the Built Environment instructor for Interior Design, Mr. Jerome David is one such teacher. He directed his furniture class of 2008 to design and build prototypes of chairs that abide by RA 9003 or Philippine Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. Through recycling, his class of five were able to produce efficient but edgy chair designs.

Erika Constantino’s BNW Chair is made of recycled telephone cords and cable wires woven in recycled wrought iron frame.

Grace Santos’ Pedxing Chair that takes its name from the famous “pedestrian crossing” signs found along Espana street, is made of recyclable “plehe” straps that may be used as a material for woven baskets or folding beds.

Diana Porcalla’s Grid Chair uses recycled metal bars and wrought iron mesh. Aptly named, the chair’s base also acts as a magazine rack.

Lilibeth Arao’s Clip Chair takes its concept from a bent paper clip. Its materials consist of recycled metal frames and sheets.

Michael del Mundo’s WC Chair stages humor with its water closet-inspired form. Woven GI wires give this piece a contemporary look. Its base alse serves as hamper.

We hope that Jerome David’s advocacy to sustainable design rubs off to a wider audience of teachers. And to the student designers, congratulations!