2Modern Design Talk - Modern Furniture & Design Blog

Light Transmitting Concrete

Concrete you can see through?  As light streams through concrete who would have thought it could be done.  Is it paper thin or an illusion? Invented by Hungarian architect  Áron LOSONCZI in 2001,  LitraCon is a combination of optical fibers and fine concrete and glass.  It can be produced as prefabricated building blocks and panels.  Due to the small size of the fibers, they blend into concrete becoming a component of the material like small pieces of aggregate.    The material can also come in different thicknesses with load bearing strength.

Beautiful as a room divider or as an architectural feature. 

During the day a concrete wall….at night it adds ambiance while acting as a light when backlit. 

Phenomenal!

Wish I knew about this before I built my loft. 

For more information visit    www.litracon.hu

Have an infinitely modern day!

The Living Wall Project

The Living Wall project, led by Leah Buechley at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, uses magnetic and conductive paints to create circuitry in attractive designs.

The electronically enhanced wallpaper promises not only eye-pleasing designs, but also the ability to activate lamps and heaters – and even control music systems.

When combined with cheap temperature, brightness and touch sensors, LEDs and Bluetooth, the wall becomes a control surface able to "talk" to nearby devices. You can touch a flower to turn on a lamp, for example, or set heaters to fire up when the room gets cold.

To create the wallpaper, the team started with steel foil sandwiched between layers of paper that are coated with magnetic paint – acrylic paint infused with iron particles. Over this base they paint motifs such as flowers and vines using conductive paint, which uses copper particles rather than iron. The designs form circuits to which sensors, lights and other elements can be attached.

“It really is just a sheet of paper, and could be produced with existing printing and construction methods,” Buechley says.

Having exposed circuitry on your wall might sound dangerous, but Buechley says the system runs at 20 volts, drawing around 2.5 amps when fully loaded with devices. “You can go up and touch the wall and not even feel a tingle,” she says.

I Love Lamp...

We all love flat pack objects! They are eco-friendly with reduced packaging and we can assemble them ourselves and feel more involved in initiating the life cycle of the object. Not to mention, I'm obsessed with seeing how things are put together.

Check out the Flat Lamp...

"The lamp arrives at your house flat, with the few components ready to be assembled by your skilled hands. Within minutes, your world is illuminated not in 2D, but in wonderful, round, living 3D. You have the option of choosing what kind of light to see your world in - Light Veneer, Dark Veneer, White or Red."

Material - Stainless Steel, Veneer Polypropylene

You can grab it here.

via

--sdot--

Sustainable products

These products are some of the finalists of the Planeta Casa Awards, a Brazilian award that recognizes the best in sustainable design, interiors and architecture. They all have one thing in common: they`re good for us and for the planet.

Tupi Chair, by Lattoog Design

Sao Joao Bench, by Ronaldo Edson da Silva 

Eco Pipa Lamp, by Bruno de Avila 

Maack Bench, by Paulo Dias 

Cricket Poli Lamp, by Andre Wagner 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Caruaru by Marcelo Rosenbaum

marcelo Rosenbaum`s new range of furniture for Brazilian shop Micasa was inspired by Caruaru Fair (Caruaru is located in Brazilian northeast and is famous for its traditions) and it just looks gorgeous. I like the "clutter" thing going on, and as a Brazilian I can really see the influence and the similarity.

 

 

 

 
 
 

Alienology

Like all good sci-fi movies, aliens are inspired by super-sized sea creatures or insects.  Some of Alienology’s   lamps could be interpreted as such with long flowing tendrils.  However it has a more practical use other than dominating humanity.  In fact they are eco-friendly, energy efficient, well thought out with a touch of retro thrown in.  

Alienology’s intriguing forms are an exploration of using modern manufacturing method (laser-cutting) and attempting to minimize the material waste by optimizing the design pattern.  The lamps were designed from the start to be shipped flat-pack and assembled by the final user (doable in about 15 minutes).  It is made out of nesting set of curvy ribs perfectly interlocking on a flat sheet.  Lamp simply slots together. No glue or any fasteners are needed.

The Spore Lamp  is made out of Birch Plywood., and it can be assembled in about 10 – 15 minutes.

The Bloom Pendant lamp is also available in acrylic

Now, that is an alien I can live with.   Available through Ponoko.

Have an infinitely modern day!

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Organelle Design and their recycle material lamps

The Organelle Design studio, have created a very creative lamp collection using recycle material like wood and plastic clothes hangers.  They also made a beautiful lamp with 50 empty plastic bottles.  Among other stuff, like furniture, architecture and installations.

Interesting, don't you think?

Via Roc21. 

A Little Sketchy

As much as I love the straight lines and right angles of Modernism, there's a time and a place for sketchy, imperfect interiors, and it appears that the time is now. I mean 'now' loosely of course, as we've been seeing some delightfully scrappy designs for the last few years, particularly from those crazy lighting kids.

Thout launched their Scribble Lamp back in 2007, crafting a sketchy statement piece out of little more than extended electrical cord, a bit of steel and a whole lot of love.

These quirky little neon lights from Covello Reesor also get an honourable mention, and though they appeared on the scene only a little after the Thout designs, they sadly appear to have disappeared in the meantime. Anyone who happened to snap up any of these lights from the Toronto-based designers have a piece of sketchy history in their happy little hands!

Luckily for us, the scribble is currently undergoing a resurgence of sorts! Classic Marimekko designs are being reborn as wallpaper thanks to a collaboration with Italian company Sirpi, and my favourite is undoubtedly the floral/pinwheel sketchy hybrid goodness of Joonas, designed by the iconic Maija Isola.


A close second is Harri Koskinen’s Frekvenssi design - slightly skewed, sketchy straight lines? Be still my beating heart! If they somehow find a way to convert Miaja Louekari's 'Moments' design into wallpaper, my life will be complete...

Well, right after I get this Black on White Rug. Designed by Javier Mariscal for nanimarquina, it's like a Persian rug, but cool. Not that I have anything against Persian rugs* mind you.

There's never been a better time to be completely inept with a ruler - it's my time to shine!

*Okay that's a lie, I have an indescribeable aversion to Persian rugs and you normally couldn't pay me all the money in the world to let one into my house. It's nothing personal, Mr. Persian Rug. Really, it's not you, it's me.

Artemide's Fall Promotion!

Love Artemide lighting products? Been dying for a Tolomeo light fixture but it's just been a bit out of budget? For 15 days, from September 15th to September 30th, Artemide is marking down the prices of their popular Tolomeo and Logico families of lights. You can purchase Artemide products through their online store, but the good news is that these savings are being expanded to all participating retailers of Artemide products!

 

 

 

Playing with light

As I`m a big fan of lighting, a friend of mine emailed me a few pictures of Alê Ferro`s new work. What I like the most about these pieces, is that they`re fun and innovative. And they only cost R$120,00 (around 60 american dollars), what makes them even better! If you`re interested, Alê`s email is quitandaurbana@gmail.com

Light Hamburger!

Light BBQ ! 

Light Pill ! 

 

To make your home a funnier and colourful place!