Delight Cloth is a light-emitting textile comprised of thousands of fiber optic strands. With a diameter of only 0.25 to 0.5 mm, the optical fibers are woven into a large translucent tapestry that can be hung vertically or horizontally. The material may be used for wall or ceiling treatments, as well...

Morphotex is the world’s first optical coloring fiber, inspired by the chromogenic principle of Morpho butterflies that inhabit areas along the Amazon in South Africa. Called “living jewels,” the cobalt-blue wings of Morpho butterflies impart vivid color although they have no pigmentation. Teijin...

With the aim of developing interactive environments, Gianfranco Barban and Gregg Brodarick of B.lab have created a series of tabletop surfaces and floor tiles, which are made of layers of plastic sheets encapsulating nontoxic liquids. These liquids move and bubble in various ways based on touch, depicting...

Hoberman Associates developed Adaptive Fritting in order to imbue an established architectural treatment with expanded functionality. Similar to standard fritted glass, this invention utilizes a graphic pattern surface treatment in order to control heat gain and modulate light, while allowing sufficient...

Matthias Demacker’s design for the Plug.table represents the ultimate reduction of an object to its essence. The table is made of three parts, a high-pressure laminate tabletop and two stainless steel legframes, and it may be assembled and modified without any tools. Plug.table may be configured to...

The leaves of the lotus plant are immaculately clean after every rainfall because dirt and microorganisms are unable to obtain a hold on the microstructured, non-wettable surfaces of the leaves. Dirt particles, algae, and fungal spores do not become firmly attached to the leaves, merely lying loosely...

Barcelona-based Nanimarquina addresses the problem of waste directly in their carpets. Bicicleta gives a second life to discarded bicycle inner tubes from the city of Panipat, in northern India, where this rug is produced. Its ingenious hand-crafted design makes it possible to transfer rubber from the...

Origins one hundred percent postconsumer recycled polyethylene panels provide an alternative to virgin polyethylene versions. Origins panels possess virtually identical properties compared with virgin panels, and they are available in numerous colors and patterns, including custom patterns. Origins material...

Designed by William Sawaya, Bella Rifatta is a stackable chair made of recycled PET. It is available in white, gray, and black with a matte finish. The chair is appropriate for outdoor as well as indoor use and is stackable up to twenty pieces. The Bella Rifatta is also available in semitransparent polycarbonate...

Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec’s Algues (French for “algae”) is a biomimetic sculptural system based on a multibranched plastic module that can be attached to other modules with plastic pegs through its nineteen ringlets. Algues may be used to create flexible room partitions, curtains, sculpture,...