Features revealing the design and development of the world’s most innovative building-products.
Quick! Name three ways to improve a building’s energy efficiency. While the most obvious solutions a re often expensive and highly visible — upgrading windows, replacing old kitchen appliances, and installing a building automation system — the biggest gains often run just below the surface. Closed-cell spray foam insulation products, like Icynene’s ProSeal, are just that:…
Designing with streaks of light that seemingly cut through a space or define edges is becoming more sophisticated as luminaires and the technologies behind them do. The effects can be anything from ethereal to edgy and futuristic (regarding the latter, think “Tron,” the original 1982 film). Whatever the ambiance or energy you’re trying to imbue…
Some of the most memorable graphic works by midcentury architect and designer Alexander Girard live on in upholstery textiles, etched glass, and art panels. Starting today, they’re also being offered in a customizable stationery line, both printed and digitized, through Paperless Post. The popular etailer of invitations, greeting and holiday cards, and notecards has launched…
Recognizing that one can’t compare apples to oranges, Marvin Windows and Doors expanded the scope of its annual Architects Challenge, now in its seventh year: six distinct categories were formed to include both residential and commercial as well as traditional and contemporary projects. “Marvin’s products complement diverse design styles, given their flexibility,” says Christine Marvin,…
Over the last 26 years, the Brick Industry Association (BIA) has been honoring outstanding U.S. proj ects that deftly — and prominently — incorporate clay brick with its annual Brick in Architecture Awards. The judges of the 2015 competition have spoken, and 49 projects spanning 21 states were recently awarded in nine categories for their excellent…
In Chicago, during NeoCon 2015, Allsteel demonstrated its forward-thinking adaptability to a changin g workplace by unveiling its reconfigured 14,000-square-foot Chicago Resource Center. Designed in collaboration with a team from IA Interior Architects, a series of 16 vignettes was laid out over the 11th floor of the city’s Merchandise Mart like a neighborhood of city blocks…
From regal Queen Mum to cheery flowers, beloved silkscreen imagery by Andy Warhol made an easy trans ition into the wall-coverings market when, two years ago, Flavor Paper launched its Andy Warhol x Flavor Paper collection. Initially, it comprised the aforementioned along with other best-known works such as Shoes and The Last Supper. Following that success,…
The first Mario Batali restaurant to open in Boston, Babbo Pizzeria boasts a comfy, casual environme nt designed by Batali’s creative director, Lisa Eaton, in collaboration with David McMahon of McMahon Architects. Together they crafted the 160-seat venue using a warm, Mediterranean-inspired palette and a smattering of custom touches — such as pendants whose shades evoke…
Color can energize any space, whether in a home or commercial setting. But if you’re looking to desi gn with just pops as opposed to large swaths, check out these five recently launched products that do the job to varying degrees. (And serve other functions, to boot.) Italian company Fontanot transforms the ordinary, utilitarian metal-spiral stairs…