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From a lamp powered by plants to smart wallpaper inspired by moths’ eyes, we take a look at what’s new in the world of product design
Researchers harness renewable plant energy in remote Peru
The Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología has developed a lamp powered by energy from plants to bring artificial light to remote parts of Peru.
The Plant lamp supplies light using energy stored in the soil which contains nutrients and microorganisms released by plants as they grow.
Ten of the lamps have been given to families in the native community of Nuevo Saposa in Ucayali, a region which has the lowest rate of access to electricity in Peru but is surrounded by vegetation.
The team of researchers developed a renewable energy generating system which harnesses free electrons from the microorganisms to ‘feed’ the low energy consumption, high illumination LED lamp.
Elmer Ramirez, leader of the Plant lamp research team at the university, told CLAD: “The energy generation system we created stores soil and electrodes capable of converting plant nutrients into electric energy.”
CLAD-kit.com keyword: Plant lamp
Open Architecture launches reuseable building system
New York and Beijing-based design firm Open Architecture has created a flexible and reusable building system for a variety of functions.
Characterised as light, industrialised, flexible, sustainable and reusable, the first prototype of Hex-Sys is being used in Guangzhou China, for the real estate company Vanke.
Hex-Sys is a building system designed to be quickly assembled then dismantled after each use and reassembled in another location, preventing the waste of resources.
The prototype is made of hexagonal cells, which can be rearranged according to site and program needs.
The basic building cell is a 40m sq hexagon module with three types of cells, indoor-open, indoor-closed and outdoor-open. Sandblasted and anodised aluminium panels are used for exterior cladding, and bamboo is used throughout the interior spaces.
CLAD-kit.com keyword: Hex Sys
Kids can play at Israel Museum illuminated tree house
Architects Ifat Finkelman of Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, and Deborah Warschawski have created an illuminated wooden-slatted tree house as part of a courtyard renewal project at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
With lighting by Hila Mayer of RTLD Lighting Design, the roofed tree house is lit up at night.
Sited at the entrance courtyard of The Youth Wing for Art Education, the structure uses a large pine tree as the central focus and is made of a series of wooden boards attached to a light steel skeleton set around the tree.
Giving the effect of hovering above the entrance to the museum, the 150m sq structure, which has a soft rubber surface, gives visiting children a place to play in the main gathering area.
Ifat Finkelman said: “As a tribute to the childhood collective memory of a tree house, a small roofed structure where children can hide and over look at, is positioned high up the tilted trunk, raised above the meticulous surroundings of the museum.”
Graphene ‘wallpaper’ to revolutionise buildings?
British scientists have discovered how graphene – the nanometre-thin material with remarkable electrical conductivity and mechanical strength – could be applied as ‘smart wallpaper’ to generate electricity from waste light or heat.
Inspired by the light-sensitive eyes of moths, scientists at the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute have used biomimicry to create ultra-thin graphene sheets that can effectively capture light for the first time.
Using a technique known as nanotexturing – which involves growing graphene around a textured metallic surface – light can be localised into the narrow spaces between the material’s textured surface, enhancing absorption by about 90 per cent.
CLAD-kit.com keyword: Graphene
Innovative and architectural photovoltaic façades put to the test
A team at Lucerne University which has developed a way of creating attractive solar panels is testing its products.
Prof. Dr. Stephen Witt at the university’s Competence Center for Envelopes and Solar Energy (CC EASE) leads the research on daylight and photovoltaics, the conversion of solar energy into direct current electricity.
As part of his project, innovative and multifunctional photovoltaic façades are being developed for a villa on Lake Lucerne, to demonstrate their architectural application.
“Our goal is that the potential of photovoltaics is better utilised,” said Dr Witt.
The Lucerne team has developed coloured and patterned solar panels which were produced by project partner Glas Trösch AG.
CLAD-kit.com keyword: Lucerne
Biobean extends the lifecycle of a cup of coffee to give more warmth
A London-based start up company is pioneering the use of old coffee grounds as a source of green energy to heat buildings.
Bio-bean Ltd makes biomass pellets from waste coffee grounds, providing a clean, cheap and locally produced alternative to fossil fuels.
The company collects old coffee grounds from waste management businesses, transport companies and coffee processing factories. It takes the waste to its recycling factory where the grounds are turned into biomass pellets to be sold to heat buildings, office blocks and supermarkets through biomass boilers.
The idea is the brainchild of CEO Arthur Kay, a former Architecture student at The Bartlett, University College London (UCL).
“Where others see waste, bio-bean sees resources in the wrong place,” says Kay.
CLAD-kit.com keyword: Biobean
Hunter Douglas curved wooden grill ceiling designed for aesthetic appeal
Architectural products company Hunter Douglas has created a curved wooden grill ceiling at a city centre dining hub.
The exterior solid wood radial grill ceiling was installed at Broadgate Circle, a £20m restaurant and leisure scheme next to Liverpool Street Station in London, designed by Arup Associates.
The 600m sq exterior grill system was installed in a series of four concentric curves and uses inspiration from similar projects in continental Europe.
Lightlink creates ambient range with fibre optics
Architectural and art lighting creator Mike Brannon of Texas-based Lightlink Lighting has developed a new fibre optic range.
The Triangulation LightFrame Series is a fibre optic-powered art lighting suspension with a triangular shape and lightness of structure suspended by chromium strings, designed to enhance the ambiance of an environment.
The eco-friendly art lighting fuses industrial components and natural fibres into ambient illuminated sculptures. Brannon says: “The pieces have echoes of Zen, Asian and industrial design coupled with the use of such diverse materials and techniques as dichroic and negative space mirroring, touch dimming, fluorescent acrylics, perforated metals, bamboo veneers, reclaimed hardwoods and hand-made art papers.”
CLAD-kit.com keyword: Lightlink
Designer carbon fibre bar stool started life as materials experiment
Moooi interior design has released a lightweight bar stool made from carbon fibres.
Designed by Studio Bertjan Pot, the 5kg (11lb) Carbon Barstool is made from individual strands of carbon, drained in an epoxy resin, interwoven to create a strong body and intricate patterned aesthetic.
Available in black and suitable for indoor and outdoor use, the 80cm high stool measures 50cm wide and 50cm deep and costs £614.
Studio Bertjan Pot works with manufacturers such as Arco, Established & Sons, Feld, Gelderland, Montis, Moooi and Richard Lampert.
The Isola delle Rose has a rich history and an enviable location. Matteo Thun knew he had to capitalise on both with the design of the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa
