Style of Design

The idea of furniture made from sustainable materials is catching on fast, but as with many products that use recycled materials, they often tend to work out more expensive than the non-sustainable variety, which can be a little frustrating to say the least.
However there are alternatives and these bar stools made from off cuts of wood is prime example of how scrap materials can be made into something wonderful and practical too! The wood had been used in the furniture trade, but these pieces are left over and ordinarily would have been discarded as waste. It was a firm of architects that came up with the idea of bundling off cuts of wood together and these bundles were sanded down before filling the gaps with wood putty, followed by a coating of linseed oil before a wax sealant is applied. The design came from a challenge laid down as part of the State of Design Festival in Australia, where architects were asked to use recycled materials to make design features for a developed bar.

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When first seeing the photos of this unusual briefcase desk, we hoped it was made from recycled materials. But apparently it was created using leather. All in all, the idea is interesting and worth showcasing. We don’t know if this desk was meant for nomadic souls and wanderers, or if you can pack it up once you are done working. Still, its practicability is obvious: the improvised luggage can be used as drawers for storage and there are definitely a lot of things one could store in six briefcases. The opening system is fun and could remind one of traveling every time a drawer is opened. Its color choice is interesting, not too sober, nor too playful, just fine for an office with a personality.- via Recyclart

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There are not many building styles more traditional than the log cabin, so it is always refreshing to see a new idea take advantage of the humble tree trunk. It’s a bonus when the design boasts efficient prefab construction and contemporary finishes. Commissioned by the entertainer Hans Liberg and designed by Piet Hein Eek, this music studio has a hide-and-seek exterior and bright work-all-day interior.

Read the rest of Modern Log Cabin Hidden in a Stack of Woodhttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed

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Read the rest of Droog Gives Liquidated Products New Life at Milan Design Week (224 words)

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No matter how cool you think your childhood science projects were, Sam Todo, a student from the Togolese Republic in Africa, has probably one-upped you with his humanoid robot made almost completely out of old TV parts! Sam named the robot SAM10, and is working on making it perform feats like saying hello to people and avoiding objects in its path – ambitious goals considering that many similar robots needed to be constructed in fully-staffed, million dollar labs.

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London’s Thames will feature one extra attraction:  the new PricewaterhouseCoopers office building rated “outstanding” by BREEAM, the most widely used “environmental assessment method for buildings”. This means we are dealing with a modern, sustainable office building, first of its kind in the world of Economy giants. Its final rating took in consideration a few factors, such as use of recycled materials, water and energy consumption, natural lighting and fresh air. Placement was also an important aspect. It seems that more and more corporations these days go for green buildings which is appreciable. Still, knowing London’s architecture, do you think this construction fits in?-via Inhabitat

If your wardrobe is looking a little lackluster these days, then you’ve gotta get wrapped up in these colorful scarves. From eco-fashion company GreenSewn, we’ve got $100 worth of their sari upcycled scarves for one lucky reader to win. So enter now to earn yourself a little shopping spree in GreenSewn’s online shop!

ENTER NOW AT ECOUTERRE >

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Read the rest of Efficient & Affordable Wood House Made From Shipping Pallets!

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Blindspot Cycles hits two high points of green design with their line of reconditioned electric motorcycles. These discarded beauties are first found at junk yards and then converted with a rack of batteries, electric motors and controls. Think of it as Mad Max meets Tesla. I spent an afternoon at their shop talking with the owner Chris Ravana about not just bikes but how we can rethink sustainability from the ground up – read on for an exclusive report!

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© AnL Studio

Architects: AnL Studio / Keehyun Ahn, Minsoo Lee
Location: Song-do New City, Incheon, South Korea
Planning & Producing: Chang Gil-Hwang, Kim Yong-Bae
Construction team: Ju Kwon-Jung, Choi Hui-hyun, Kim Chung-bong, Lee Seung-Ho, Park Kwon-ui, Kang Jung-Tae, Ham Yun-Ki
Client: Incheon Metropolitan City, South Korea
Site area: 350 sqm
Building area: 91 sqm
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: AnL Studio

Architecture+Interior Designers, AnL Studio(Keehyun Ahn & Minsoo Lee) have designed a public observatory deck, called Oceanscope, in Incheon, Korea made of recycled materials, including old shipping containers.

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The used containers are re-purposed and recycled for a temporary shelter in many rural areas in Korea simply because it is inexpensive.However, indiscreet uses of these commercial metal-box products that don’t have harmonious relationships with their surroundings are causing an unsuccessful outcome in rural environments.

Click here to view the embedded video.

With these issues in mind, OceanScope is an initiative from the Mayor of Incheon City, which has one of the biggest ports in Korea. OceanScope aims to find unused containers’ potential of practical re-use for public space and to provide the bleak containers with new functional aesthetics that can be assimilated within rural landscapes.

© AnL Studio

Oceanscope consists of 5 recycled containers, which provide Observatory deck(3 containers) as well as temporary exhibition space(2containers). Rather than standardized stack and linear alignment of Container, AnL Studio envisioned an architectural and sculptural landmark embodying various features and function ranging from architectual framing/capturing view and aesthetics associated with the site and the vision of the Incehon City, which is flying.

© AnL Studio

To this end, the OceanScope, located in the historic sunset place of Incheon city, expresses the dream of establishing an observatory deck purposed on sustainable design by renovating the least expensive unused containers.  In order to overcome the limitation of a building site where ground level is too low to view a beautiful sunset, the containers’ structure can be leaned at various angles (10′ 30′ 50′). This will allow citizens to ascend the stairs within different frame and sequence and meet higher positions with diverse viewpoints towards Ocean, New Incheon Bridge and Sunset.