blog:proleno

There are islands of plastic debris the size of Texas floating around in the Pacific and other oceans. Electrolux is going to turn them into vacuum cleaners.

“Our oceans are filled with plastic waste. Yet on land, there is a shortage of recycled plastic. The supply of sustainable raw material, such as recycled plastic, is crucial for making sustainable appliances, and assisting consumers in making their homes greener. I, therefore, hope people will join us in raising awareness about the threat plastic poses to marine habitats and the urgent need for taking better care of the plastic that already exists” said Hans Stråberg President and CEO, Electrolux

To inspire people into solving the issue and bring awareness to the situation, one of the world’s largest home appliance makers, Electrolux, will go to the scene of the crime and gather plastic from the plastic islands and, from the material gathered, turn it into vacuum cleaners.

The global initiative is called “Vac from the Sea” and aims to bring attention to the issue of plastic pollution and at the same time combat the scarcity of recycled plastics needed for making sustainable home appliances.

What an environmentally friendly and stunningly cool way to make use of recycled shopping bags!

Recycled sustainable clothing that is art in its own right. Germany based KATSU DESiGN art objects are recycled from used materials (LDPE shopping bags) in combination with unbleached, formaldehyde-free cotton. A subtle daily reminder to our ecological conscience.

They say “We do not want plastic bags. We want sustainable design.”

Their mantra is “reduce, reuse, recycle.”

used by you… Armadillo is an art object intended to be used by you. Hot stuff for cool people!

Ok, it’s more funky than functional but I just spotted this from Dutch designer Tim Vinke.

The Office on Wheels, or het Kruikantoor which is a combination of the Dutch (I think) words for wheelbarrow and office which seems apt! It certainly brought a smile to my face.

Manufactured from polystyrene with a hotspray polyurea coating and available in a wide variety of colours it pretty much does what it says on the tin. The image speaks for itself I guess.

Practical? Probably not. Amusing? Certainly. Clever? Absolutely.

What do you think?

News reaches me from Paris based designers Aki and Arnaud Cooren of the A+A Cooren Design Studio of the launch of this very limited edition vase with just 21 pieces in production.

The designers tell me that the vase is the result of a meeting between computer technology and high quality French craftsmanship.

The vase is composed of two parts in borosilicate glass, the main vase part and a small cup which receives water.

The image speaks for itself. Outstanding. And I want one!

New from Italian design company, Insilvis, is a selection of stunning new hook designs.

Seawater

The SEAWATER coat hook appears to arise from the corolla of a flower, of which it takes the pretty delicacy that crystallizes in the density of stainless steel. The structure consists of two opposed conical volumes: the first one allows the fastening of the coat hook to the wall, the second one is the actual rounded knob. The ring engraved on the fastening cone measures and modulates the surface, anticipating the theme of the circle, which characterizes the entire composition. The outer cone, while keeping well-measured proportions, finally opens itself to contemplation, exposing to the light its major base, slightly connected to the lateral surface.
The circular crown catches the eye in a turning movement that ends in the embedded Swarovski. The luminous vibrations of the crystal facets, iridescent and unpredictable as those of a smiling eye, dissolve the formal rigidity and the physical consistence of the material in a rain of enchanted reflections.

Bolt

BOLT is literally a standard object, as a mechanical part. Lightly modified in order to warrant a perfect fastening and utilized as a coat hook, it becomes a readymade object. Strength and formal settlement come from its nature: endowed with an exaggerated vigour for the actual use, it promotes a sort of perceptual short-circuit. BOLT S (pictured) is characterized by an embedded Swarovski.

More details of all Insilvis design innovations can be found at their website at www.insilvis.com.

Building new homes in back gardens can actually bring positive benefits to a community says Jason Orme, Editor of Homebuilding & Renovating magazine, in response to yesterday’s Government announcement that councils in England are to get greater powers to stop developers building homes on gardens.

“While it’s fair to say that many gardens end up being turned into large apartment blocks, an equally large number end up being turned into modestly-sized, appropriate, sustainable individual homes that meet the direct needs of local people.” said Jason. “Building homes in this way increases housing stock and protects our countryside.”

There is concern that restricting the ability to build homes on gardens will further impact on the housing shortage, reported to be at crisis point by the Home Builders Federation in March. The rapid growth of the UK population – estimated to reach 70 million by 2029 – means there is a continual and urgent need for more housing stock. The biggest problem is where these houses can be built. Planners say that stopping ‘garden grabbing’ could mean more development on greenfield sites. “If its garden grabbing out, then it may be countryside grabbing in.” said The Planning Officers Society.

It was only in December that Grant Shapps, the Housing Minister, said that he wanted to tap into the vast number of people who are now willing to build their own homes. “Whilst house-building in general has been suffering, the self-build community has been growing. Most people will be surprised to learn that last year the second largest home builder wasn’t one of the big household names but an army of individuals who call themselves self-builders.”

Julian Owen, from Nottingham based Julian Owen Architects and member of the Association of Self Build Architects, comments “We find that self builders tend to be more sensitive about the build process, focussing on sustainable homes that are environmentally friendly and that blend appropriately with the local architecture.”

“The majority of self build homes are built on garden land” says Michael Holmes, spokesperson for The Homebuilding & Renovating Shows. “In simple terms, making it harder to get planning permission to build new homes on gardens means it will be more difficult for ordinary people to build their own home.”

To find out more about building your own home or how this new policy could affect your building plans, visit The Homebuilding & Renovating Show, on at Sandown Park, Surrey on 26 & 27 June. For more information and tickets visit www.homebuildingshow.co.uk or call 0844 5811377.

Designed by Valentina Trimani. A leaf of light. As thin as a page of a book, to enlighten rooms and tents, maps and books. Wireless, rechargeable, autonomous.

With adjustable brightness, A leaf of light offers private or shared light, for those who read and travel everywhere.

Strategically placed, the Spout Lamp, from German based Russian designer Jan Schreiner, has to be the funkiest lamp so far this year.

Practical? Well time will tell but for pure fun and a great talking point the Spout Lamp has style in bucket loads!

What a great talking point if used in, say, a contemporary kitchen diner.

Take a look at Jan’s website. It’s a stylish site, as you would expect, and you can also see some of his other designs.

12 radically temporary structures will be built in New York’s Union Square Park this September.

Biblical in origin, the sukkah is an ephemeral, elemental shelter, erected for one week each autumn, in which it is customary to share meals, entertain, sleep, and rejoice.

The sukkah’s religious function is to commemorate the temporary structures that the Israelites dwelled in during their exodus from Egypt, but it is also about universal ideas of transience and permanence as expressed in architecture. The sukkah is a means of ceremonially practicing homelessness, while at the same time remaining deeply rooted. It calls on us to acknowledge the changing of the seasons, to reconnect with an agricultural past, and to take a moment to dwell on–and dwell in–impermanence.

Sukkah City: NYC will re-imagine this ancient phenomenon, develop new methods and propose radical possibilities for traditional design constraints in a contemporary urban site. Twelve finalists will be selected by a panel of architects, designers, and critics to be constructed in Union Square Park from September 19-21, 2010.

One structure will be chosen by New Yorkers to stand and delight throughout the week-long festival of Sukkot as the Official Sukkah of New York City. The process and results of the competition, along with construction documentation and critical essays, will be published in the book “Sukkah City: Radically Temporary Architecture for the Next Three Thousand Years.”

If you plan to be in New York in September this is well worth a visit and it’s certainly something that is off the usual tourist grid!

Once considered a ‘hard’ city, Seoul is taking strides towards becoming a ‘soft’ city. Seoul is about to be reborn as a soft city by embracing design concepts that will re-define its urban environment.

The Seoul Cycle Design Competition is part of Seoul’s city-wide effort at improving its design brand and image. The primary goal of the competition is to help build a design oriented city that focuses on its people.

The competition is divided into three categories: cycle design, cycle fashion & accessories design, and cycling infrastructure. All three categories emphasize environment-friendly ideas, with the hope that the contest will contribute to establishing a healthier cycling culture.

Cycles have become an icon of eco-friendliness & health and are part of a major urban lifestyle trend. Nearly everyone can enjoy riding cycles. Therefore just about everyone will be able to enter the competition. It is hoped that all participants will share their visions for a new Seoul, a city that has embraced change through design.

Fancy making a difference? More details at the competition website.