Category: Design

The New Look of Solar Panels: SMIT’s Tensile Solar Structures

The New Look of Solar Panels: SMIT’s Tensile Solar Structures

SMIT is a brother and sister design team, Samuel and Teresita Cochran,  who have been working with architectural designer Benjamin Wheeler Howes to develop new innovative solar applications.

Their new design called Tensile Solar Structures are lightweight, modular systems that produce solar power and have a new look.

Usually the use of large solar photovoltaic panels are considered to be an eyesore, and a necessary evil of clean energy.  Providing solar with a new look, Tensile Solar Structures are light, have a patterned appearance, and look like a piece of modern sculpture.

Tensile Solar is inspired by the intersection of fabric architecture, modern composite materials, and thin film photovoltaic technology.

The panels are supported by posts and high tensile stainless steel cables at their edges, Tensile Solar Saddle structures are free standing canopies and awnings. They span areas up to 850 s.f. and can deliver up to 3 kw of power.

Possible uses for the solar panels could be a shade cover in a backyard, a cover for a parking lot, or in other locations.   The designs are patented, and both preconfigured and custom structures are available.

Image Source:
www.tensilesolar.com

Links:

www.tensilesolar.com

Lights made of Real Dandelions

Lights made of Real Dandelions

Lights made of real dandelions?   Studio Drift has made electrical light sculptures with dandelions that combine nature and technology. These module light installations are made of modules, each of which is made of 3 “dandelights,” and can setup with just a few modules, or up to 500.  The lights are made with real dandelions that are suspended on a three-dimensional geometric component.

The designers behind the dandelights, Ralph Nauta & Lonneke Gordijn,  often use light as a medium.  On their website they write, “We are curious about the future, not only the new technologies that are changing design, but also the evolutionary developments in nature and human culture. We strive to find the perfect combination of knowledge and intuition, science fiction and nature, fantasy and interactivity.”  They have a variety of light designs that they have made, and do custom sculptures and installations.

Currently, they have an installation on view at the Israel Museum as part of the Curious Minds Exhibit.  Curious Minds explores the social, cultural, and ethical consequences of new technologies and reconsiders the issues of human behavior that have so pervaded art and design since the dawn of the industrial revolution.

Image Source:
Studio Drift

Links:

Studio Drift

Curious Minds

Barbie has a Dream House … with Solar Panels and a Meditation Room

Barbie has a Dream House … with Solar Panels and a Meditation Room

This past summer, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) sponsored a competition for architects to design their own interpretation of a Barbie® DreamHouse™.  Five finalists were chosen, and then they were put to a public vote.  The winning design, which was submitted by Ting Li, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP and Maja Paklar, Assoc. AIA,  features solar panels, a landscaped rooftop and irrigation system, operable shading devices, bamboo flooring, and low flow toilet and sink fixtures.

It also has a meditation space, a home gym, and a 1,500 square foot entertainment area.  Spaces in the house include a computer-controlled tower closet and a 1,500-square-foot space for entertainment facilities and a chef’s kitchen.  The house is designed to be built on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The contest coincided with the launch of a new Barbie doll – “Barbie I Can Be… Architect Doll” with Mattel, in an effort to engage and inspire young girls to experience the world of architecture and design thinking.  Architect Barbie is promoted with the phrase, “Your daughter can play out her dream of being an innovative, creative architect!” and the doll has a outfit featuring the bold colors and clean lines of the city skyline, has black rimmed glasses, a hart hat, and a carrying case for her latest designs, and a model Dream House.

The winning Dreamhouse is not planned to be built, so it seems like Barbie will still be living in her old place for now.

Image Source:
www.artrick-playground.com
American Institute of Architects

Links:

Architect Barbie Dream House Competition – AIA Contest

AIA Declares Winner of Architect Barbie Dream House Contest – Design Taxi

www.icanbe.barbie.com

 

 

 

 

 

A Piece of Cleveland (APOC) – Upcycling Wood and Re-Making History

A Piece of Cleveland (APOC) – Upcycling Wood and Re-Making History

APOC – A Piece of Cleveland- is a design company that turns unwanted materials into furniture and other products.  The materials they use are from deconstructed buildings in the Cleveland area.  APOC partners with private owners and developers to professionally salvage Wood, glass, and metal from buildings that are being renovated or demolished.  These materials are then used to make new items that include tables, counters, cabinets, furniture, and other items.

“Upcycling” is a term for the process of repurposing old materials in new ways to increase their value.  APOC practices upcyling by using materials that would usually be thrown into a landfill, and give them a new purpose as furniture and other products. Behind APOC is the partnership and leadership of Chris Kious, the material recovery partner of the business and P.J. Doran, the designer/fabricator.

APOC uses environmentally-friendly stains, paints and finishes on all works, and also makes a “Re-birth certificate”  for pieces that explains the history of the materials of pieces which is often displayed on-site at businesses that have APOC pieces.

I heard P.J. Doran present at the Designers Accord Cleveland event earlier this Fall, and I was interested in learning more about APOC.  A couple of weeks ago, I went to two places that have APOC pieces – the Starbucks at Fairmount Blvd./Cedar Rd.,  and Nighttown on Cedar Rd.

At Starbucks, the counters and wooden tables were APOC pieces.  The tables ranged in size, and fit 2 to 10 people.  The tables looked like typical cafe tables, but the woodgrain and staining of the wood looked unique from other cafes.  Each table was subtly branded with the woodburned APOC logo – either under the table, or on the edge.

The Re-birth certificate on the wall at Starbucks listed the materials source as being from 2036 E. 71st St. and Stanard School.  The certificate states, “ The Standard School buildings sat empty for 25 years fell into such disrepair that it could not be saved.  In 2008, The City of Cleveland decided to deconstruct the structure and to recycle the historic buildings.  APOC was asked to assist in the coordination and recycling of these structures…The lot where Stanard school once stood will return to its agricultural roots, and will become a farm with youth programming, local produce, and become a attractive looking property.”

I went to Nighttown, just down the road on Cedar Rd., and talked to the Brendan Ring, owner of Nighttown,  about the APOC tables.  He showed me an experimental piece in the back, an outdoor table, that APOC is trying out and is in the corner of the patio, to see how it will weather.  The larger rooms at Nighttown have darker oak tables that have been there for a number of years.  The Moose room has some newer tables made from heart pine in the Moose room.

The heart pine tables have a unique look to them since they are made of the actual heartwood of the pine tree. Since pine trees used to be quite large when it was logged some hundred years ago, the pine trees were able to grow large enough to develop heartwood. Now that is not the case, as pine trees do not grow as big because they are harvested at an earlier age.

The Re-birth certificate stated, “Antique Heart Pine Tables for Nighttown, Material Source: Stanard School, 5360 Stanard Ave. Cleveland. “ The re-birth certificate had some facts about the school which included, “On June 3rd, 1964, Stanard School was hit by lighting and 350 students were evacuated from the building when the chimney fell.  Kind neighbors invited entire classes into their homes.”   The certificate also said that the school is reputed (but not confirmed) to be the site of the beginning of four-square.  I did some search on the web – and did not find any confirmation of this.

Ring told me about how great it is to work with APOC, and that there was a deconstruction project  by the City of Cleveland and APOC off of Euclid Avenue near Eddy Rd.  I drove over to the location and watched as a truck pulled off the site filled with stacks of wood.

If you want to see some of APOC pieces – you can check out images of pieces on their site, or check out the interactive map on their blog, which indicates locations of their work around Cleveland.  The map has been recently updated, and you can check out if a Piece of Cleveland is near you in Cleveland.  It might be at the coffee shop that you visit regularly.

 

Links:

http://apieceofcleveland.com/

APOC Sitings – Interactive Map

 

 

Occupy Design – Building a Visual Language for the 99 Percent

Occupy Design – Building a Visual Language for the 99 Percent

Occupy Design is a grassroots project that connects designers with demonstrators in the Occupy Together movement. The goal of the project is to create freely available visual graphics around a common graphic language to unite the 99%.   A common set of used universal icons, logistical signs, and infographics can help support the communication of the movement’s messages and the data surrounding them across the world.

The Occupy Design site has a gallery of existing designs, a how-to guide for demonstrators, a graphic toolkit for designer who want to contribute graphics for the project and a interactive form for the community to suggest ideas for designers.

The project was created in less than 24 hours in October by a team of designers, programmers, artists, and demonstrators in San Francisco as part of three concurrent creative hackathons across the country to support Occupy Together. During the planning process, the team spoke with demonstrators who described their needs.  The three main areas of the project are infographic protest signs, logistical signs, and visual icons around social justice themes. The focus on infographics is to support bringing graphic representation of statistical evidence to the front and center on the ground – rather than just on computer screens.

Currently the magazine/website GOOD has partnered with Occupy Design to encourage designers to create a design, icon, or infographic that shares the unifying spirit of the Occupy movement.   Individuals and organizations can participate.

All submitted designs will be voted on by the online community. $750 from the GOOD Fund will be used to support Occupy Design to print and distribute the winning design, and the winner will receive their design printed on a vinyl weatherproof sign, several 11×17 prints, and get an Occupy Design t-shirt.

In addition, you can download the Occupy Design Design Toolkit which includes digital templates, logos, and fonts.

Are you a designer and part of the 99%?  Take some time today and get working on a graphic for Occupy Design today.

Image Source:
Occupy Design

Links:

Occupy Guide for Designers

Occupy Design

Call to Design: The GOOD + Occupy Design Challenge

Occupy Together