Taking Green Design to the Next Level...

The JWT Advertising Agency, in tandem with the interior designer, Mathieu Leihanneur, and the architect, Ana Moussinet have truly created a "green" environment. Not only does this space use environmentally friendly materials, but it incorporates biomimicry and living elements as well. This a striking commercial interior that would make anyone want to hire JWT for their advertising any day. The whole concept behind the space was to create a "digital plant station". This space was designed to tie the high tech and cutting edge design world back to the roots of nature. This overall aesthetic creates a striking contrast between the rocky edged and interior grass elements with stark white materials, clear glass doors, and cement structural supports. This space truly creates a harmony between the natural and the industrial.

One of the main features in the space, besides the pod like structures that are designed to look like large rocks, is an over-sized "black tar meteorite". Okay, so this sculpture really isn't made from black tar, but it is surely making a statement in this space. This sculpture, commissioned by the interior designer, is showing the juxtaposition between the beauty of nature and the filth of pollution. The "black tar meteorite" is used as a bar or a place to set one's food while in the incredibly unconventional employee breakroom. This sculpture can be seen throughout the space and it represents the ever-growing problem of waste in the world today. This design, created equally by the architect and interior designer, is truly stunning. This space is almost a shame that it is located in a building and not in an open field or courtyard somewhere for everyone to view. Being a lover of all things that are sustainable, this space not only delivers on the end of using environmentally benign materials, but it also delivers on sending a message of the cold, hard truth about the amount of waste littering this world. Truly successful design puts an idea in your head, even if it as simple as a mere thought, without you even knowing that it got to you.

Vacation Time!

So who isn't dying to go skiing in the Swiss Alps? Well next time the opportunity arises for me I know where I am staying! There is this amazing "hotel" in Les Cerniers, Switzerland where it is only $430/night to rent your own little eco-pod! This is seriously the cutest place I have ever seen. Not only do the white, dome shaped structures blend in with the landscape so as not to detract from the natural beauty of the Swiss Alps, but they are also made partly from recycled plastics! Adorable, eco-friendly, and functional? I'm booking mine today.

If the lure of the beauty of the natural surroundings isn't enough to draw you in, just look at the inside of this place!

Each eco-pod has their own fireplace, observatory deck, and an amazing view! This $430/night is actually beginning to look like a steal! Can you imagine waking up ON the Swiss Alps every morning? Even if I can only stay for one night, I have to experience this. The views are breathtaking. I could just lay in that bed all day with the fireplace on, looking out the window. Is this what Heaven looks like? Probably. These eco-pods are a reflection of the times and they are popping up all over the world. The geometric shaped dome made from rotated triangle figures also got its shape from nature. Scientists have been studying the art of the bee hive for years and have finally unlocked the answer to why they are perfectly insulated, thriving habitats. The geometric shapes combined together not only allow the eco-pod to trap the heat inside, but the alternating triangles also give the structures an added strength if, heaven forbid, there was an avalanche on the mountain. Regardless of the risk of staying directly on the mountain in a structure that resembles a tent, I would gladly risk my life to stay here. If I die, at least I would die happy. Now I am off to book my trip to the Swiss Alps and reserve my eco-pod..... well maybe one day!

Need More Green Space?

Are you like me and live in an apartment with no outdoor space to call your own? Being a true Cancer, I like to surround myself with living things like plants in order to feel comfortable in my home/apartment. I never realized how much I appreciated the live plants all over my childhood home until I moved out... an apartment without plants is not a very happy place! Besides, my boyfriend, who loves to cook, is constantly burning himself... so we now just keep an aloe plant in the kitchen.

 
Getting back to the point, I love having plants in my apartment! I actually collect vintage planters. In particular, on of my most prized possessions is my vintage deer planter. Funny story actually... when I was about 10 my mom and I were going "garage sale-ing" while we were in Tucson, AZ and I found this vintage deer planter and fell in love with it. It was only $6, but my mom talked me out of it. This would come back to haunt her. Over the next few years we kept seeing this planter at antique stores and the prices kept going up and up! So the wonderful planter that I originally saw for $6 was now selling for $50-$75. Regardless of the price, I was still so in love with it, and finally for my 19th birthday I got my deer planter! Thanks mom, I will stop rubbing that story in your face now. :)

Another great way to have plants in apartments is by getting wall mounted planters! They are usually meant for the outdoors, but they can easily be installed inside as well. I am tempted to get some and create my own "living wall" by planting ivy inside of them. That would be amazing! Here is another great wall mounted planter:

So precious. Enjoy!

Fashionable, Sustainable, Fabulous Showroom

Carlos Ortega is an up and coming fashion designer in the heart of Mexico City, Mexico. Due to the overcrowding and high population of Mexico City, the city is high on diversity, but very low on livable space. This has proved to be a challenge that Ortega and a popular interior design firm in Mexico, ROW, have embraced with ingenuity and innovation. Oh, did I also say they did it with a tight and i mean TIGHT budget too?

Ortega and ROW were able to create a polished, modern space that has a raw feeling of deconstruction for all under $5,000. It is almost unheard of to create a custom space for such a small amount of money. Money was hardly the only obstacle though. Another huge challenge for the design was the space, or lack there of. The overall square footage of the fashion showroom is 700 square feet. They managed to create enough display space for Ortega's garments, a dressing room, and a small seating area for customers within the limited square footage. Interestingly enough, the modern, sleek lines of the space juxtaposed with the raw, rough face of the exposed plywood truly reflects the aesthetic of Ortega's overall fashion collection. Though there is a marriage of modern and deconstruction in the space, there are also classic, vintage elements that are seen in the furniture pieces in the space. These classic lines again reflect the aesthetic of Ortega and his designs. The overall space is a prime example of an innovative design created by the ingenuity of the combined forces of a fashion designer and an interior design firm.

(Ortega and RAW's design utilized every inch of the space including the corners of the room for unique and custom shelving displays. They also used different stains on the plywood surface to create more depth and contrast in the space.)

Not Everything "Pretty" And "Shiny" Has To Be New...

Re-claim, Re-purpose, Re-awesome. There, I coined a new term. Re-awesome. It is truly amazing what designers and artists are creating with re-purposed material. The art of re-purposing material is gained by taking a discarded material and manipulating it to serve a new purpose and for a new application than its previous life. It is really just a fancier term for recycling. When most people think of recycling, they imagine a rustic, sort of rough-hewn and patchwork-y look. Well that is an accurate "stereotype" for this new art form.

Who said patchworks and a rustic feel had to be tacky? That is a serious misconception. Especially in recent years, the art of eclecticism has become the most popular and versatile aesthetic around. Who wants to be tied down to one specific image? Through reclaiming materials and the "mix and match" approach of recycling goods, interior spaces can be given a new life through little to no investment. Discarded items can easily be manipulated to fit into an interior space. For instance, in the room pictured, the beautiful parquet wood floors are actually made from recycled shipping palettes. These palettes are used, destroyed, and thrown away without a care for the perfectly good and usable wood that still exists. This room also uses over one hundred discarded, white, restaurant plates as a focal wall treatment.

Never underestimate the beauty of an item or material that has seemingly met the end of the road. I am a true believer in the reincarnation of materials and everything deserves an afterlife in a beautiful interior.

Who Killed The Incandescent Light Bulb?

As most of you may have heard by now, in the next few years the incandescent light bulb will vanish into thin air. This source of light has already been outlawed by many countries including Great Britain and the United States. So with this form of light bulb about to disappear into thin air, scientists and engineers have been working overtime to find suitable replacements that are more environmentally friendly. The ever growing in popularity CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp) is much more sustainable than the incandescent, but it can still be improved. This is where the wonderful LED comes into play.

LED's or light emitting diodes are a newly found technology that creates a bright, pure light while using less than half of the Watts an already eco-friendly CFL uses. Those of us involved in the interior design world have known about this LED technology for quite some time, but frankly it is still a new technology and can be quite expensive. With the ever adapting consumer industry, LED's were first really introduced to the mass market in the form of high definition LED television screens. These screens produce a large, clear resolution image and spectacular color rendering. Now the LED technology can be even more attainable in a new, compact LED light bulb that is design to replace not only incandescent light bulbs, but CFL's as well. This light bulb, though a few dollars more than the inferior products, is about to flood the market with its presence. Though somewhat of a steeper initial investment, LED light bulbs are a great long term investment not only for energy preservation and smaller energy bills, but for their un-comparable light quality and longevity.

Your Roots Are Showing... In a Good Way.

Right now at Israel's Design Museum Holon there is a ground-breaking exhibition that is a true show of our current time. This exhibition highlights the work of over 60 designers and artists worldwide going back to the roots of all art, nature. All of the sculptures, pieces of furniture, and other works of art on display are pieces that were handcrafted by natural, abundant materials.  Many materials used were found objects such as twigs, leaves, mud, and other organic materials. This exhibit highlights the beauty of nature and puts into focus a world of materials that has been somewhat ignored and unappreciated for the past 50 years.
 

One of the highlights of the show, and centrally located in the exhibit, is a large scale sculpture of a bunny rabbit. This sculpture is made up of found, dead twigs that have been shaved down to the "raw" wood and slightly powder-coated with a white wash. This stunning piece along with the other pieces of the exhibit has gained a lot of attention from the art world. Many are speculating a true shift in modern art to truly rely on and center around that of "Mother Nature". This means that there is an expected shift from the bold, graphic modern art that currently flanks our museums to a more simple and rustic aesthetic like that of environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy. Whatever the future holds for art, this exhibit is truly a showcase of the beauty of nature and the natural world and promotes the importance of saving the environment.