All posts from 3rings

Designer Mauro Canfori is probably best known for his work with colleague Emanuela Destro and the collaboration they call Teracrea. The objective was to create new paradigms for interior landscaping, or “to introduce greenery into internal architecture and offer new solutions to traditional pots for outdoor plants.” In their efforts to work with containers of materials besides terracotta, they enlisted the services of none other than The Bouroullecs, the Campanas, and Konstantin Grcic, among others. Canfori’s latest endeavor is a different kind of indoor adornment, but no less auspicious, and one nearer and dearer to my heart, in fact: TEEbooks is a simple shelving system that lets you line your walls with books in all sorts of unconventional arrangements. Any shelves facilitating library configurations like “Symétrique,” “Grande Mixte,” and “Linéaire” are sure to be on any bibliophiles watch list.
Buren. Designed by Mauro Canfori.
The genius of TEEbooks is that the shelves allow horizontal and vertical expansion via an interlocking modular system of asymmetrical units. Horizontal shelves connect with “L” or “T” shapes (they’re actually closer to an “F” without the top line), which enables the deceptively precarious look of a tower of books—ascending the wall like the sight line on a skyscraper. The structure of the shelves remains hidden behind the displayed books, creating the logorrheic illusion of books and nothing but books upon your walls: criss-crossing like intersecting streets with “Chicane,” arranged in a perfectly symmetrical suspension of disbelief with “Judd,” or inscribed on the wall as an arcane spiritual symbology with “Double Croix.”

Linéare. Designed by Mauro Canfori.

Chicane. Designed by Mauro Canfori.

Domino. Designed by Mauro Canfori.

Double Croix. Designed by Mauro Canfori.

Grande Mixte. Designed by Mauro Canfori.
Another option with TEEbooks is to forge a perfectly conventional pattern—minimalist and spare as in “Buren,” or shabbily chic as shown by “Linéaire.” Canfori designed the concept with versatility in mind. So whether you prefer to eschew art in favor of a mural-sized picture in books, or use the birch plywood and metal shelving to complement your reading tastes as well as your assorted knick-knackery, Teebooks has the look you’re after.

You’ll remember that last week we examined how a burgeoning Australian technology to process a sustainable crop resulted in a House Made of Hemp stateside in Asheville, NC. Today we’re going back down under to profile Yamba, Australia’s Zaishu. The company was launched by designers Matthew Butler and Helen Punton back in 2004 at Melbourne’s Center for Contemporary Art. They focus on producing functional, ecologically-sound, sustainable, and aesthetically engaging furniture. And just like the literary Oulipians before them, the ostensible constraint is actually an inspiration: “We believe the things with which we surround ourselves can be made sustainably without compromising their design or quality.” A case in point is Zaishu’s series of flat-pack stools/chairs/tables. As the word “Zaishu” originated as a Japanese term for a seat without legs, these versatile, five-piece, easy-to-assemble, easy-to-transport works of art derive from the iconography of the traditional Kimono. The Zaishu Stool. Designed by Matthew Butler and Helen Punton.
Like a deconstructed Rorschach image, Zaishu appears in Kimono form only in its unassembled incarnation. Laid flat, the five components of the slot-together piece outline the Kimono’s basic shape, but when fully assembled, the Zaishu Stool is solid, versatile, easy-to-move, rife for creative use, and beautifully adorned. The decorative aspect of Zaishu is owed to design commissions with “traditional Indian sign-writers, graffiti artists, school kids, tribal artists and many more.” The look of the four pieces is somewhere along the continuum between Chris Rucker and Basquiat; they have a street-savvy that’s nicely counterbalanced by an elegant touch and an imagistic simplicity.

As to the environmental aspect, each stool is made of Native Australian Hoop Pine from sustainable forests. Zaishu sources all materials locally and assembles every stool at their own studio following comprehensive guidelines for ethical manufacture. Paints and varnishes are water based, and the five pieces are packaged for shipping in a re-usable and sustainably harvested cotton bag. And their screw-less, nail-less, glue-less, and tool-less assembly saves further resources—all of which translates to an effective and beautiful blueprint for how to go green.

Multi-functional sleepers that don’t require a set a swimmer’s lungs to inflate or a posh extra bedroom are often the most gratifying choice for both houseguest and resident alike. So in honor of the 2010 Habitare fair in Helsinki that recently came to a close, I am reminded of the 2009 standout Sofabed design - literally, that is its name - by Harri Koskinen that boomed after it’s debut at the 2009 Habitare fair and 2009 Salone in Milan.
Sofabed. Designed by Harri Koskinen.
Featured in top design blogs Apartment Therapy and Dezeen following its presence in the trade show circuit, Sofabed’s ability to stretch out or contract was an attractive feature to modern design enthusiasts. The clean lines and intuitive folding system comfortably seats three. For sleeping however, the Sofabed can handle up to four guests. The large backrest unfolds into a double-thick bed that looks like a thick bench on four wooden legs, or can be removed completely and made into an extra floor mattress for those more-the-merrier nights. Any way you swing it, the sleeper never looks like a bed pulled out from underneath its sofa haunches. In fact, the pieces come apart and fit together in a dignified manner, with not springs or lumpy mattresses to speak of.

Besides the 2009 fervor it created as the featured piece in the front room of the Harri Koskinen and Friends of Industry Studio booth in Helsinki, Wallpaper magazine awarded Koskinen’s Sofabed the 2010 Best in Domestic Design Award. It comes as a sequel to the Finnish designer’s previous sleeper sofa that he designed in 2000. The dimensions of the upholstered sleeper sofa are 240 x 110 cm (94.5”W x 43.4”D).
Whether you keep it as a sofa or pull it out into its multiple resting possibilities, the Scandinavian-designed Sofabed by Harri Koskinen is a stress-free sight for your living area’s sore eyes - and those of weary, traveling friends.

I love it when a design company concerns itself with story. Two of the most creative narratives have come from wallpaper makers Grow House Grow and Jill Malek, who gather inspiration from literature, history, and philosophy. Now Austrian trio Pudelskern is joining fishing from the primordial soup of fiction, admitting, “We like to tell stories with our objects.” Composed of Horst Philipp, Nina Mair, and Georg Öhler, Pudelskern (pudel means poodle in German, in case you were wondering; see their logo, in which a show poodle makes up the nucleus of an atom) brings together members that specialize in architecture, design, and cabinet-making. Two of their products will be exhibiting at Mint during London Design Festival: Saddler and Mrs. Robinson.
Saddler. Designed by Pudelskern.
Saddler is a two-toned wooden chair with a molded leather seat and back that features ovals of varying sizes “to soothe the curves of the rider.” The easy chair uses ash and nut wood beneath its sheath of textured leather that forms “a smooth landscape of valleys and hills.” While the leather is doubtless sexy (Pudelskern points out that the material itself is made of skin, making sitting on Saddler a meeting of skin on skin), it does not detract from the “artful details of joinery being assembled by mortise and tenon.” Wood and leather, smooth and rough, curved and edgy, beast and man, horse and rider—Saddler revels in the tension of opposites.

Saddler. Designed by Pudelskern.

Saddler. Designed by Pudelskern.
Another piece to be exhibited at the Mint interior design showroom is the enigmatic Mrs Robinson, named after that heavenly vixen from The Graduate, so well-played by Anne Bancroft. This alluring chest of drawers, made of maple and MDF, “knows how to dress—and she very much knows how to keep secrets.” On the surface, Mrs Robinson is smooth and hard to read, but inside she has a lot to hide: the drawers reveal “colourful patterns” on the sides that are only visible when the rectangles get opened via a push mechanism (no handles, since Mrs Robinson is the only one doing the manhandling). Tapered legs intensify the cabinet’s feminine profile, as do the fine outlines of the drawer fronts. Both Saddler and Mrs Robinson illustrate Pudelskern’s process of creating a life behind an object—and the backstory makes the final product that much more intriguing.

Mrs Robinson. Designed by Pudelskern.
Via Arbitare.

The Norfolk benches of Wales & Wales have been assigned to the new seafront regeneration project called “Next Wave” of the Bexhill-on-Sea on the southeast coast of East Sussex. Skillfully designed for the contract furniture industry - and manufactured right in the UK by CS Contract Furniture - the benches are modern in appearance and completely functional.
The Norfolk Bench. Designed by Wales & Wales for CS Contract Furniture.
The modular benches will be used jointly with two or three in groups together, as well as in their original state as a solid singular bench with an arm rest. According to the CS Furniture website, “the project seeks to reconnect the town center with its seafront promenade, incorporating an improvement to the public realm quality of the promenade and the landscape setting of the iconic De La Warr Pavilion.”

Although the Next Wave project is going to be made with luscious strips of Iroko wood, other timber options are also available. Aluminum or powder-coated stainless steel componentry with a textured silver finish compliments the warm wood and keeps it looking new as they survive the great outdoors. You can opt for a full bench with or without arms, backless, or a wall top bench. Additionally, the table arms can come straight or curved with or without wooden capping.
Wales & Wales is a company with thirty years of experience designing exclusively in wood. Their work has been featured in national collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Crafts Council, among others. Meanwhile, the Norfolk bench manufacturer, CS Contract Furniture, creates their products from start to finish on-site. This includes their timber cutting, machinery, assembly and finishing with the highest level of quality.

Appliances have just become a whole lot more interesting than dimensions or freezer to refrigeration ratio. Using over 300 colors from the popular RAL color directory, or whichever Pantone color code you desire, Summit Appliance is the first in the industry to offer complete color-matching on undercounter refrigeration. “The custom color feature is something bound to change the face of the appliance industry,” states Paul Storch, Vice President of Summit Appliance. “Now customers have full control over enhancing their kitchen in any way they wish.”
Summit Appliance.
Choose the shade and style of your new refrigerator, freezer, wine cellar, or even beer dispenser and appreciate the new fusion of design and technology that has emerged out of a 40+ year old family-run business (with no outside investors) from the Bronx, New York. Their legacy in the appliance world began back in 1969 with the founding of Felix Storch, Inc. and has been a household name ever since. In fact, the product range has grown so much that a large selection of their major appliances are now sold internationally as well as nationally - and in their own Summit trucks, if you’re located in the Northeastern United States.
Your choice of paint coats a stalwart 304 grade stainless steel surface that will endure the daily run-ins with the action in your busy kitchen environment for decades. According to Summit, the custom coloring is available for most of their appliance’s built-in, commercially approved, ADA compliant, and outdoor models designed for undercounter use.

As a whole, their residential market’s product line consists of ranges, microwave ovens, cooktops, combination kitchens, washers and dryers, beer dispensers, and wine cellars. But since they’ve been known as a reliable brand in the market - recently known for a huge colleciton of weather-proof outdoor refrigerators - they have also been contracted to create specialized compact products for offices, schools, restaurants, hotels, and the medical field.
A brand that has always catered to the consumer looking for quality, Summit’s latest adventure into custom coloring the door and accents shines a bright future for the mom and pop brand.

Seems we’re getting a feast for the eyes (and the stomachs—see Very Good & Proper) of London designers this week. This is apropos given that we’re about a month away from 100% Design London. Today’s lineup of UK Wunderkinds are brought together courtesy of Decode London. This partnership between Londoners Ryan Malone and Giles Massie-Taylor began in October of 2007 with a very clear objective to “showcase the creative talent of London based designers… taking inspiration from London, they look to bring together many diverse elements with the vision to present a unified collection of progressive design that echoes the creativity of the Capital.”
giant Wire Light. Designed by Viable London.
So what does Decode have in store for the onset of Autumn A&D? Something old and something new, as the saying goes… Though in this case old is actually a handful of intriguing updates to proven designs by Viable London (giant Wire Light); Voonwong&bensonsaw (Tripod Stool); and the selfsame Mr. Malone (ReSpun Range). These products (in reverse order) are segments of industrial aluminum that are re-tooled into super-light and super-cool lampshades; a maze of 8 mm U-shaped steel rods fashioned into a perspective-defying kitchen stool; and a cage lamp that (depending on your mood) resembles a sculpture of spaghetti or a talismanic icon from The Arabian Nights.

Tripod. Designed by Ryan Malone.

ReSpun Range. Voonwong&bensonsaw
On to the new… The eagerly anticipated Shell by the aforementioned Voonwong&bensonsaw is a simple light-weight (this seems to be a theme) multi-purpose chair combining high-tech materials science with a slim and sleek aesthetic. Samuel Wilkinson’s Vessel is low on energy but high on style—the series includes the beautiful Plumen Handblown Lampshade (looks like a perfectly-realized version of a millennial mouse) and Wilkinson’s limited edition Plumen Bulb, “the first production designer low energy light bulb.” Last but definitely not least, Decode will feature an installation by digital/graphic design/textile artist Cristian Zuzunaga. The Barcelona-based artist is historically intrigued by the pixel and the cityscape, so, while no info. is currently available on the forthcoming installation, we can certainly hope for an exploration into this mesmerizing duality: “his graphic patterns derive from zooming in on images he has taken of cityscapes until the image is broken down into these infinitesimal geometric shapes. He is interested in the subtlety and uniqueness of color combinations that allows each image to exist, and in the unexpectedness of the patterns the pixels create.”

Vessel. Designed by Samuel Wilkinson.

Shell. Designed by Voonwong&bensonsaw.
Via despoke.

In my work for 3rings it’s often my pleasure (and sometimes my curse) to come across science technalese that might ordinarily befuddle someone who hardly excelled in high school chemistry. Terms like “exponential fractalification” and “stereolithography” (Fractal Table), or “Ultradur High-Flow Injection Molding” (Myto) would have once sent me straight to the empty solace of TV, whereas now they motivate me to get the encyclopedia off the shelf… or, rather, to consult the on-line virtual version of such, where I’ve just found that “pyrolitic-applied metal oxide” refers to a binary compound of oxygen and metal that has been decomposed or transformed and thus made malleable through intense heat. But that may be more than you want to know already. Suffice it to say that Stopsol’s metal oxide glass coatings are scratchproof and resistant to the elements; they discriminate against certain varieties of solar radiation; and they’re available in an exciting array of tints and shades—meaning you can dress up your building’s exterior exactly as you see fit.
Stopsol Supersilver Grey Glass Coating.
All of this might seem a touch dry to the layperson, but I guarantee you’d stop in your tracks and gaze all the way to the top of the Moscow Administration Building, or the Kunstennmuseum in Stuttgart, or even the Torre Gas Building in Barcelona, each of which features one of Stopsol’s awe-inspiring reflective glazings. Offered in Classic, SilverLight, and Supersilver styles, Stopsol’s coatings come in shades of bronze, grey, green, blue, and clear (if clear can be said to be a “shade”). The product not only facilitates privacy while reducing eye strain, it also controls heat transmission by reflecting infrared radiation. Because one line can be used for multiple applications—single or double-glazed glass, laminated glass, toughened glass, or enameled glass—it’s a godsend for architects. And as the accompanying photos attest, it brings a new uniformity, resilience, and beauty to the concept of the glass curtain. No wonder Stopsol has gained favor with international projects from Brussels to Barcelona, from Stuttgart to Seville.

We spend a lot of time talking about energy conservation, energy star appliances and lowering our carbon footprint. ConEdison has a series of advertisements on the subway that I’ve always liked, which give tips for how to save energy in simple ways throughout daily life. The problem with this is the audience, we’re a society of people who like tangible results. We like grades, scores and voting results. The question is how to relay the benefits of energy saving practices in a way we can relate to.
Conserve Insight Energy Use Monitor. Designed by Belkin.
Belkin has come up with a solid solution to this problem with the Conserve Insight Energy Use Monitor. It allows you to find out how much energy your devices actually use, including the cost of operation, the amount of carbon dioxide produced from the generation of the electricity consumed, and watts. The company recommends some experiments that can be done easily at home to demonstrate the environmental and economic effects of energy usage.
“Using a lamp plugged into the Conserve Insight Energy Use Monitor, measure the cost to operate a regular bulb, as well as the CO₂ produced and watts. Then change to a Compact Fluorescent (CFL) bulb, and compare to find out the difference in energy used, CO₂ and cost. Plug your cell phone into the charger and plug the charger into the Conserve Insight Energy Use Monitor. See how much energy it takes and how much it costs to charge your phone. Then, leaving the charger plugged in to the monitor, unplug the phone from the charger. See how much energy the charger alone still uses—and how much it costs!”

One surprisingly wasteful group of appliances are remote controlled appliances. A TV can use more energy waiting to be turned on than when its actually on. Power strips are a great way to reduce energy consumption, but how many of us turn them off? Dorky as it may seem, I can’t wait to start testing out my energy usage at home.

If the word “Toto” immediately provokes you to think, “we’re not in Kansas anymore,” you’d be speaking more truth than you know. When it comes to millennial technology in the bathroom, the Japanese company with the name Americans associate with a little dog is leagues away from the U.S.A. This doesn’t mean that Kansans—or denizens of any of our fabulous 50—don’t have a thing or two to learn from products like Toto’s NC Series/S Counter Cabinet. The stand-alone vanity/counter/washbasin instructs us to turn tradition on its head, or, better said, turn it inside out.
NC Series/S Counter Cabinet. Designed by TOTO.
Rather than sporting the conventional array of under-vanity drawers and/or cabinetry, the NC Series wears its storage on its sleeve, so to speak. Its pedestal base rises up and between alternating tiers, thus hiding the plumbing while creating NC’s unique open-shelving system. The design makes great use of space while keeping bathroom essentials “hiding in plain sight”— my rotating toothbrush, for one, would camouflage nicely against the glossy white. If, however, you prefer to showcase your daily grooming accoutrements, choose facing in wenge or oak veneer. The third option is to just hide everything in the NC Series’ nifty upper drawer (each of which hides, in its turn, a convenient power outlet) and use the shelf space to show off beloved trinkets and knick-knacks… or just relish in the clean and spare geometric contours.

We’ve heard a lot from Toto lately. Last April, we looked at the hygienic functionality of Washlet, and about a month after that, we examined their luminous Luminist Sink. The manufacturer is recognizable for its distinctive aesthetic, but they’ve also made a name for themselves as purveyors of “Clean Technology.” Never more crucial than in the bathroom, the notion builds upon the excellent hygiene of Toto’s products to reach towards an environmental cleanliness that could be a guide for us all: “Other eco-friendly effects are achieved with our products—our custom ceramic surfaces require fewer chemicals for cleaning; one of our technologies breaks down pollutants in the air, similar to the way a tree breaks down carbon; and some of our fixtures are powered by water pressure alone. All of these features are sustainable.”

According to the philosophy of Swiss carpet manufacturer Ruckstuhl, “the art of weaving - the creation of carpets and textiles from natural fibres - is one of the oldest cultural activities of the human race.” Not that we’d object, but to those who haven’t seen or understood the Frisian Wouw carpet by Claudy Jongstra, they haven’t experienced a truly artistic, sustainable product come to life.
Frisian Wouw. Designed by Claudy Jongstra for Ruckstuhl.
Designed as part of Edition Ruckstuhl - a limited edition series of twelve carpets by nine designers from canada and europe - the approximate 240 x 330 cm shape of this particular felt carpet resembles a fallen autumn leaf or perhaps a golden flake of paint from centuries past. Claudy Jongstra, the Dutch designer behind the weave of marigold-tinted felt, was trained as a fashion designer who found her calling in using felt back in 1994 after witnessing a Mongolian yurt (tent) on display in the Nederlands Textielmuseum. Since her discovery, Jongstra’s textiles have been used by leading fashion designers such as John Galliano, Donna Karan, and Christian Lacroix. Since then, her work has been dedicated to creating the soft wool fabric with a combination of either silk fibers or transparent silk organza - something that had never been seen before.

From start to finish, Jongstra believes in pure sustainable wool and materials. Beginning with raw materials the entire process is built on an environmentally-friendly, cyclical process. In fact, she tends her own flock of rare Drenthe Heath sheep to make sure their unusual breed from the Netherlands maintains itself, and continues to produce the best wool. Additionally, her website describes that Jongstra “keeps her own hortus botanicus where national historic varieties of dye-plants grow.” Recently, she was awarded The Prins Bernhard Cultuurfondsprijs, a prestigious Dutch prize for applied arts and architecture.
With Ruckstuhl’s dedication to natural goods and quality, Jongstra’s Frisian Wouw carpet comes to life after the delicate processes from start to finish that set it apart from anything ordinary.

Despite the urgings of certain party-going compatriots and their attendant kegs of PBR or Keystone Light, I never joined a fraternity, so I’m not too well versed in the significations—arcane and otherwise—of the letters of the Greek alphabet. Good thing for me that most products come with their bit of requisite self-edification; just so, the Tau Wall Lamp by Rodolfo Dordoni for Flos shares a certain symbolic vocabulary with its Phoenician namesake. As I quickly discovered in my brief research, every Greek letter has multiple meanings beyond their function as place-holder for a specific sound, and Tau is no exception. The meanings that seem most apt for Dordoni’s sconce include those of “continuity in electro-flux resonance,” “a measure of opacity, or how much sunlight cannot penetrate the atmosphere,” and “the lifetime of a spontaneous emission process.”
Tau Wall Lamp. Designed by Rodolfo Dordoni.
Of course there’s also the matter of Tau’s shape—Τ (upper case) or τ (lower), each of which bears a resemblance to the cruciform yet fluid profile of Dordoni’s light. The idea behind Tau is several-fold: 1. to synthesize the look of an ancient wall-bound illumination with that of a modern, energy-efficient light; 2. Provide a dual-source for focused and ambient light; and 3. create an eye-catching design with textural and visual contrast. All of these objectives are well-served by Dordoni’s die-cast aluminum alloy, halogen bulb, and two-tone tint.

But back to the metaphoric linkage between the two Taus… The lamp exudes an appealing fluidity that’s apropos to the evolution of the Greek alphabet. It illuminates an entire space or highlights certain darkly appealing contours; it captures the effect of sunlight poured through a sieve or a focused light thrown to the far end of a cave; and it evokes the crucial icons of the rise of ancient Greece: the epics of Homer and the first Olympic games. Apropos of this last, if in certain installations and particular color schemes it captures the perpetually-burning flame of the Olympic Torch, I wouldn’t chalk it up to mere coincidence.
Via NostraForma.