Features revealing the design and development of the world’s most innovative building-products.
“Transparency” has been a buzzword for some time in architecture and design, now that sustainability is much more mainstream. However, in the last few years, the definition of the word has been expanding to include disclosure of how materials and products can affect health. Announced today, The Quartz Project is a new database aimed at…
Chairs are pivotal to the existence of most manmade spaces. Arguably so, architects tend to agree, a s they themselves were the first furniture designers of the early 20th century. The call to duty was out of necessity; the market simply didn’t supply enough decent seating to fill the buildings that architects built. Surely enough, the…
A prize of $10,000 worth of Duravit product was at stake for the company’s third annual Designer Dre am Bath competition, which invites architects and designers to reimagine their own baths outfitted with Duravit’s new products. But, to shake things up a bit, the manufacturer opened the competition to built projects for the first time, so…
Pioneering young architect Tatiana Bilbao has made waves at the inaugural Chicago Architecture Bienn ial with her radical new model for sustainable housing in Mexico. Bilbao’s design is an adaptable reinvention of the traditional pitch-roofed dwelling that can be adapted to expand its footprint, offers a flexible material palette in response to different contexts, and can…
Grouping individual pendants to create a custom chandelier isn’t a new concept. But a spate of LED-b ased products that lend themselves well to such applications are making it possible to design more efficient installations. Pablo’s Cielo fixtures at the Héctor Esrawe showroom in Mexico City. At the Mexico City, Mexico, showroom for designer Héctor Esrawe,…
When a project calls for a little something out of the ordinary, it is most often achieved via color palette, playful furnishings and wall finishes, or kitschy objects and art — probably not so much wood flooring. But some recent products from two European companies might sway some minds in this regard. Medoc Three of…
An unusual relic beckons passersby inside this street-level store in Times Square: a section of an a ctual subway-train car appearing circa the 1970s, complete with graffiti tags and retro advertising. The client, Japanese athletic footwear and sportswear brand Asics, desired “a contextual, New York City-specific environment while still maintaining the look and feel of the…
Utter the name Porsche and one instantly thinks sleek, sporty, modern, and luxurious — all phrases t hat sum up all of the products associated with the brand, whether automobiles, watches, or apparel. So, when Eric Styer of DXU Architecture conceptualized a fashion boutique for Porsche Design in an upscale retail development of Oak Brook, Ill.,…
In its 13th year, the American Lighting Association’s “Lighting for Tomorrow” competition once again sought out innovative new residential products — from bulbs and fixtures to controls — that bridge the gaps between consumer expectations, design, and energy efficiency. Among the submissions, some of the noticeable trends included an uptick in fixtures and kits that…