Great Article: Generation Green

Watch out Boomers & X/Y gens.  Millennials are entering the workforce and ready to make a positive impact.

Follow the link below to read a great article about the greenest generation: the Millennials and how they intend to transform the planet for the better. 


TED talk: David Kelley: How to build your creative confidence

If you have 11 minutes and  47 seconds to spare, watch this video on building creative confidence.











Can't see the video?  Watch it here.

Designing for the Aging Population

With over 77 million Baby Boomers nearing retirement age, all industries are working on making their designs more accessible to the aging population.  Interior Design and architecture are no exception. More and more seniors are choosing to age in place, rather than move to a retirement or assisted living facility.

And if they chose to move to a community, the "old folks home" no longer exists.   In it's place are vibrant communities of seniors, that rival some of the nicest resorts.  Amenities may include salons, golf course, gourmet dining, and a variety of exercise and social gatherings for active adults. 
 
Regardless of where your client decides to age, a  supportive interior environment should not only be  combination the knowledge of the aging process, durable materials, and residential appeal, it should also reflect compassion and understanding. 

There is no skill more valuable to a designer than  the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes.  Which is why I am sharing this speech given by Mary Maxwell at the 2009 Home Instead Senior Care.  It seems like a prayer at the start, but stick with it, Mary gives some funny insight on what it's like to become a senior citizen.  


If there is one thing you should remember from this speech, it is statement, "This is the first time I've ever been old... and it just sort of crept up on me."

Also check out this link to see how GE, Boeing, MIT & Volvo are learning to Design for the Retirement Boom.

Product Love: ASI Lamellux

Showing some product love to the Lamellux Collection of Wood & Resin and Carved Wood Panels distributed by Architectural Systems Inc.    The wall panels combine translucent or opaque resins, in a variety of colors, with exotic and domestic wood species, which can be backlit.

Lamellux229
Chez Gerard, London, UK
Featuring Lamellux® - Vibrato - WPLMX047

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE DETAILS: 

  • Sheet size is 48" x 102" nominal
  • Thickness: 
    • Quertec: 10-40 mm
    • Vibrato: 12-20 mm 
    • Inclusion: 15-30 mm
  • Finishes:
    • Satin varnish standard
    • Species: Oak, Beech, Ash, Sipo Mahogany, Maple-Sycamore, Cherrywood, Bubinga, Walnut, Padouk, Iroko, Teak, Wenge, Zebrano
  • Edge treatments: Machine-dressed
  • Applications include tabletops, doors, walls, partitions, furniture, and bar fronts and customized to your specifications. Custom capabilities on all patterns, additional thickness available.Variations in color and texture may occur due to the nature of the material

There are 3 sub-collections:
 Inclusion: combining honeycomb, resins and wood

Quertec: linear patterns of bold colors and texture
Vibrato: 11 groups of abstract, kinetic designs (a selection from this collection shown below)



Griffe

Gouge
Alveole
Cric
City
Wave
Mini-Parrot


I can't wait to get my hands on a sample!  But this new product is so popular, they are currently out of samples.  Le sigh.

12 Solid Surface Fabrications That Will Blow Your Mind

Solid surfacing is great for commercial applications, especially healthcare and food industry, because 1)  it's non-porous, 2) With proper maintenance, it does not promote the growth of mold, mildew or bacteria, 3) it meets all of the 18 preferred characteristics outlined in the 2006 Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospital and Health Care Facilities as an ideal healthcare surface to help facilitate improved infection control, and 4) it's Class Ι (A) fire rated. 

When you think of solid surface, you probably think about countertops, restroom vanities and partitions,  and wainscoting and wall cladding. Zodiaq is nonporous and when properly cleaned does not promote the growth of mold, mildew or bacteria.  

And you'd be correct, but you're a designer, why limit yourself?

Solid surface can be thermoformed into custom shapes and contours, sandblasted, routed, carved, and laser etched.  CNC machines can be  used to engrave solid surfacing to the most intricate detail.  It can be thermoplastically molded to create raised textures and patterns and three-dimensional shapes. Certain colors and thicknesses of solid surfacing become translucent when exposed to light.

With a little imagination and a great fabricator (the fabricator is key here), solid surfacing has nearly limitless applications.

Check out these amazing projects that prove solid surfacing isn't just for countertops:
 









 























Project | Raiffeisen Bank portrait wall panels
Location |  Zurich, Switzerland 
Design |   NAU Architecture, Drexler Guinand Jauslin Architekten
Product |   HI-MACS
Fabrication Method |   Thermoforming  & CNC Precision cutting
Fabricator| Keijsers Interieurbouw Horst
Photographer| Jan Bitter
Wallcovering patterns design: ROK, Rippmann Oesterle Knauss
Wallcovering patterns fabrication: Rosskopf & Partner AG
Wallcovering and joinery: Glaeser Baden AG
See more here.
 
 
Project | DuPont Corian Design Studio conference table
Location |  Philadelphia 
Product |   Corian
Fabrication Method |   Thermoforming
See & read more here.


Project | EUROSHOP
Location |  Amstelveen, Netherlands 
Design |   Yasmine Mahmoudieh
Product |   HI-MACS
Fabrication Method |   Thermoforming, Backlighting
See & read more about the show here.

http://www.himacs.eu/dynamo/files/modules/newssystem/bar2_OomCQIqX_f.jpg

Project | KPMG Office
Location |  Amstelveen, Netherlands 
Design |   Marcel van de Schalk
Product |   HI-MACS
Fabrication Method |   Carving, Backlighting
Fabricator| Keijsers Interieurbouw Horst
Photographer| M.B. Simons Fotografie


HI-MACS® Milan Design Week 2012 Urban Nes(x)t 

Project | “Home of the Future”
Location |  Urban Nes(x)t Show
Design |   Italian architect’s studio Bestetti Associati
Product |   Partition walls made from LG HI-MACS
See & read more about the show here.


 

Project | Cantilevered Bar @ “Cafeneaua Veche” (The Old Café)
Location |  Bucharest
Interiors |   Sebastian Barlica
Product |   LG HI-MACS
Fabrication Method |   Thermoforming
See & read more about the project here.

 
 
Project | Hogatec Fair, Germany
Location |  Zurich, Switzerland 
Design |   JOI-Design, Germany
Product |   HI-MACS
Fabricator| Klöpfer Surfaces, Germany
Photographer| Tobias D.Kern
See more here.




Project | Leaf Collection for Avanzini Group
Design |   Giancarlo Zema
Product |   Corian Eco-Concrete


Project | Peacock Chair, Colors + Lines, a feature at IDS12
Design |   UUfie & DuPont Corian
Product |   1 sheet of Corian!
More here.



Project | Corian Light Ball
Design |   soliDline
Product |   Corian
Fabrication Method |   Thermoforming
Watch this video to see how it's made.


 

Project | Bubblegum Chair
Design |   Stuart Melrose
Product |   Corian 
Fabrication Methods |   Thermoforming, Inlaying, & Seamless Bonding
More here.





Project | Seating
Location |  Bronx Museum in New York 
Design |  Acconci
Product |   Corian  
Fabrication Methods |   Thermoforming 
More here.


Which one of these projects is your favorite? 

Want to see more amazing solid surface fabrications? 


Visit these links:
Corian USA Design Studio
Corian Design Inspiration
LG Hi-Macs Design Contests
LG Hi-Macs Project Archive