The depth of designer Kazuko Akamatsu’s Lumi-Line tabletop is only 1/8 inches (.3 centimeters), thanks to engineering ingenuity and a synergistic combination of materials. Akamatsu adhered bundled fiberglass threads to a nonstructural, translucent plastic sheet with a translucent liquid glue. The pattern of the reinforcing “strings” is not random, but rather the result of a structural study to determine how to construct the thinnest tabletop possible. The table surface, reinforcing, and legs all act together as one system in order to resist loads and allow the legs to be placed away from “expected” locations.
While Lumi-Line allows light to pass through its milky surface by day, it assumes an entirely different character at night. Akamatsu imbued the fiber strands with phosphorescence, thus rendering the strings as sharp glowing lines floating midair in the dark. [Contact:
CAt, Tokyo, Japan.]
Labels: 12, light, plastic, recombinant, table
Furore is a porous, synthetic-fur fabric inspired by expanded-metal technology. Designers Yvonne Laurysen and Erik Mantel developed the product for LAMA Concept using a special cutting technique. Furore is soft, light, and very flexible and is available in long- and short-hair formats as well as in various colors. The Interior collection includes plaids, bedspreads, and cushions, while the Fashion collection includes scarves, hats, and hair bands. [Contact:
LAMA Concept, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.]
Labels: 12, fabric, recombinant
When Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec received a commission to create a rooftop shelter in Paris, they devised a system based on a tiny three-dimensional motif. Like their Algues product, Twigs is comprised by an aggregation of polypropylene units resembling small branches. The Twigs clip together on supporting cables, creating an extensive, irregular, and colorful tapestry. A Twig wall approximates camouflage, with a visual complexity resulting from the repetition of simple units. [Contact:
Vitra, Birsfelden, Switzerland.]
Labels: 12, multidimensional, plastic
Traditional Japanese shoji are sliding doors made of washi paper supported by wood crosspieces. The paper offers privacy and protection from wind but requires the lattice structure for support. For the Takeo Corporation’s Haptic exhibition, Japanese architect and materials researcher Hiroshi Ota set out to rethink the traditional Japanese architectural feature. After researching the Japanese papermaking technique called kami-suki (paper-scooping), Ota hypothesized that it would be possible to make self-supporting paper screens.
Ota formed a stainless-steel screen with a dimensional basket weave–type pattern using a rolling press. He molded two sheets of paper with this screen and attached them together after allowing them to dry. Once paired in this way, the paper sheets formed a truss capable of supporting its own weight and functioning as furniture. Although Japanese washi is typically appreciated for its lightness and delicacy, here Ota has used the paper to create stability and strength in a new sliding door. [Contact:
Hiroshi Ota, Tokyo, Japan.]
Labels: 12, door, paper, screen, ultraperforming
Andrea Valentini’s Bump material is a sculptural textile made from various fabrics bound to closed cellular foam. The foam is extremely lightweight and durable, imparting sophisticated Bump-clad bags and furnishings with a notable resilience. Bump is also flame retardant and resistant to ultraviolet light, making it even more durable. [Contact:
Andrea Valentini, Inc., Pawtucket, RI.]
Labels: 12, fabric, multidimensional, textile
Erwin Hauer Continua is a series of designs for perforated and light-diffusing architectural surfaces. Originally developed in 1950, Continua screens were made of masonry materials painstakingly cast in complex molds. With the advent of current digital fabrication technologies, Continua screens are now easier to fabricate and mass produce, and Erwin Hauer’s sensual, multidimensional shapes may now be realized in a variety of materials.
Developed in cooperation with Enrique Rosado, Continua screens are available in CNC-cut medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and stone, as well as precast concrete and high-strength gypsum cement. Panels may be shop-fabricated up to 4 x 8 feet (1.2 x 2.4 meters), and larger sizes must be assembled on site. [Contact:
EHR Design Associates LLC, New Haven, CT.]
Labels: 12, multidimensional, process, screen
Ikuko Iwamoto’s work is influenced by the microscopic world, and she is infatuated with cells, spores, and pollens. Iwamoto’s Tactile Ceramics are simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary in nature. They are vehicles to make visible an invisible, microscopic realm. According to the artist, her art conveys a world “of intricacy and detail, of mathematical pattern and organic chaos, of beauty and repulsion.” Although her previous conception of porcelain was cool and sharp, she found that porcelain could be rendered to have a smooth and warm quality in order to convey these influences in her sculpture. [Contact:
Ikuko Iwamoto, London, UK.]
Labels: 12, ceramics, multidimensional, porcelain
Clampology is a family of informal objects designed to increase functionality of interior spaces. Manufactured by London-based designer Jorre van Ast of plastic and spring steel, the collection of adaptive utensils for the domestic environment include a bookend accompanied by a “book finger," a book display, a hook and a rail that clamp onto the side of horizontal surfaces, a hook to clamp onto electrical pipes, a candle holder, and a cable manager that can be clamped onto a table leg. [Contact:
Jorre van Ast, London, UK.]
Labels: 12, intelligent, plastic, support
Lauren Moriarty's Noodle Block Cubes represent intriguing experiments in digitally fabricated three-dimensional cellular structures that may be compressed and return to their original form. Moriarty designs the pieces in a digital environment, and they are then laser cut and hand finished. The cubes may be used as decorative seats, cushions, sculpture, or playthings. [Contact:
Lauren Moriarty, London, UK.]
Labels: 12, multidimensional, rubber
The value of paper is typically measured by the value of the information it carries; once the information is deemed useless, the paper is discarded. Robert Buss of PUSH> reuses paper in the service of a longer-lasting function: furniture.
Disposable Office takes the most common material of workplace communication and transforms it into the workplace itself. Disposable Office furniture is comprised of recycled paper, with the addition of glass and felt. Individual items are named after various paper functions, such as the Security Documents Chair, Menu Table, or Bank Statements Shelving. According to Buss, Disposable Office is "furniture made from information for the information age." [Contact:
PUSH>, Osnabrück, Germany.]
Labels: 12, furniture, paper, recycled, repurposed
Dow Corning's Active Protection System is a "smart" textile that remains soft and flexible until it is struck by high-impact force, in which case the material instantly stiffens to help protect against injury. When the collision has passed, the material immediately becomes flexible again.
The active ingredient in the fabric is a dilatant silicone coating, which is a shear thickening fluid (STF). The viscosity of this coating increases with the rate of shear, therefore defining it as a smart material as it responds to changes within its environment.
The Active Protection System is breathable and flexible for outstanding comfort and freedom of movement, and it can be stitched directly into garments, eliminating the need to insert and remove components. It is less bulky than hard armor, allowing for many creative and fashionable design possibilities. The washable fabric can be layered to provide customized levels of protection for specific areas, and it integrates easily into existing manufacturing processes.
Independent testing shows that the Active Protection System exceeds certain European Standards' impact protection requirements for sports apparel by as much as 40 percent. The fabric’s superior effectiveness is due to its ability to both absorb and distribute impact force, providing protection that is activated earlier and lasts more than twice as long as rigid protective systems. [Contact:
Dow Corning, Midland, MI.]
Labels: 12, fabric, material, transformational
Voiceprints is an experiment in the translation of audio information to visual imagery. Artist Pierre Proske records a person's voice into a microphone, analyzes the audio file for frequency content, loops the sample, and then generates a variety of textile patterns arranged according to the individual's vocal frequency imprint.
The basic acoustic unit in human speech is called a phoneme. The visual equivalent is called a "viseme," a basic speech unit in the visual domain. Interested in the audio to visual translation, Proske developed software that describes sound using basic visual units to represent recorded frequencies.
Proske reminds us that the use of computing in textile design is nothing new. Woven textiles actually form part of computing history, through Joseph Marie Jacquard's automated patterned textile weaving machine in 1804 which led to the use of punch cards in computing devices. [via Pierre Proske; suggested by Clayton Whitman, Seattle.]
Labels: 12, audio, fabric, interfacial, translation
Paper softseating is made entirely from kraft paper, utilizing a flexible honeycomb structure to fan open into stools, benches and loungers. Each of the sizes and types of softseating can compress like a big book for storage. The seating is available in natural, unbleached brown kraft paper and kraft paper that has been dyed a deep black with bamboo charcoal ink to emphasize the geometric pattern of light and shadow. Paper softseating can be used creatively and interchangeably as seating or low tables, and the elements can be stacked playfully as building blocks.
Paper softseating is not intended to be disposable or thought of for short-term use. According to the manufacturer, the paper actually improves with age, as the surface texture of the paper edges softens with use over time into a pleasing natural patina. When one sits on the paper stools or loungers, the edges of the paper will gently soften and crush, creating irregular facets that catch the light and form a unique organic pattern within the crisp honeycomb geometry of the structure. As the surface of the paper softens, the stools and loungers maintain their structural integrity, because the honeycomb geometry lends the paper strength and enables this economy of material resources. Paper softseating is flame-retardant treated and 100% recyclable. [via Molo; suggested by Tom McCollum, Oakland, CA.]
A video demonstration of paper softseating may be viewed here:
http://www.glumbert.com/media/foldingchairLabels: 12, furniture, multidimensional, paper
Alog is a modular shelving system made from MDF and ash which features a wall-mounted modular block and easily detachable shelves that require no fittings. The nature of the design allows for various combinations and compositions of shelves, allowing the user to create his/her own customized system. Developed by Johannes Herbertsson & Karl Henrik Rennstam, the design has strong roots in the language of graphic design and functions as both shelving and a visual wall display. Alog is 648 x 648 x 200 mm in size, and the shelving provides a playful solution to storage requirements with simplicity of use built in. [via Vujj; suggested by Clayton Whitman, Seattle.]
Labels: 12, intelligent, shelving, wood
The depth of designer Kazuko Akamatsu’s Lumi-Line tabletop is only 1/8 inches (.3 centimeters), thanks to engineering ingenuity and a synergistic combination of materials. Akamatsu adhered bundled fiberglass threads to a nonstructural, translucent plastic sheet with a translucent liquid glue. The pattern of the reinforcing “strings” is not random, but rather the result of a structural study to determine how to construct the thinnest tabletop possible. The table surface, reinforcing, and legs all act together as one system in order to resist loads and allow the legs to be placed away from “expected” locations.
