Articles By: Blaine Brownell

Quantum Dots

With the demise of the incandescent bulb, scientists continue to seek alternative, efficient sources of illumination. Pure white light is especially important, and not easy to produce efficiently. Discovered in a lab at Vanderbilt University, white light quantum dots are micro-scaled fluorescent beads...

May 18th, 2012 | feature, light | Read More

Woven Stone

Woven Stone is part of the ASI Specialty Products Magna Mosaic Collection. Earth tones combined with dimensional, geometric features create a powerful and sculptured look, lending an artistic element to any space. The continuous, controlled texture of Woven Stone creates a sense of movement, suitable...

April 27th, 2012 | feature, mineral | Read More

CarbonCure

CarbonCure is a precast concrete technology developed to sequester carbon dioxide. The CarbonCure Block System has been installed across North America at concrete manufacturing facilities to store CO2 within concrete masonry units during the production process, permanently locking away the greenhouse...

April 20th, 2012 | concrete, feature | Read More

Terrazzo Lumina

Terrazzo Lumina Slabs and Tiles are refined concrete surfaces designed to propate and emit light. Illumination travels within the concrete via embedded light-guides and is emitted in pixelated form. The manufacturing process is quite flexible and various geometries and configurations of light terminals...

April 6th, 2012 | concrete, feature | Read More

Coco Tiles

Made from reclaimed coconut shells, low-VOC resins and sustainably-harvested wood backer material, Kirei Coco Tiles may be used as decorative tiles or panels both horizontally and vertically. Featuring multiple pattern and color combinations and available in light, dark and mixed textures, the coconut...

March 30th, 2012 | feature, wood | Read More

Mercury Glass

Silvered glass “Mercury Glass” was invented in the nineteenth century as a decorative substitute for more expensive silver tableware. Where traditional Mercury Glass has a thin glass wall, however, Suzan Etkin Enterprises creates hand blown silvered glass with thick, undulating walls and deposits...

March 16th, 2012 | feature, glass | Read More

Power Felt

Scientists at the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest University have developed a thermoelectric fabric that converts body heat into electricity. The material is made of layers of interlocking carbon nanotubes and plastic fibers, and feels similar to felt. The thermoelectric...

February 24th, 2012 | feature, textile | Read More

ExoSkeleton

ExoSkeleton is a quilted concrete panel made from organic duck cloth canvas and cast concrete. Two layers of the canvas are quilted using reinforced stitching in a structurally stable configuration. The reinforced stitching is engineered to withstand the fluid lateral forces specific to the amount of...

February 17th, 2012 | concrete, feature | Read More

Flight Assembled Architecture

Flight Assembled Architecture is a demonstration project that exhibits research conducted on flying machine enabled construction by ETH Zürich professor Raffaello D’Andrea and architects Gramazio & Kohler. The first installation to be built by flying machines, Flight Assembled Architecture...

January 20th, 2012 | feature, interactive | Read More

Textures

R-Cast Textures acrylic material weighs half as much as glass but is 17 times stronger. It is also four times stronger than concrete. Textures are acrylic panels that feature customized patterns sculpted deep into the surface. Without any special illumination, the panels reflect available ambient lighting...

December 29th, 2011 | feature, plastic | Read More