Zaha Hadid Architects brand identity by Greenspace 5:16 PM

Design and brand strategy specialists Greenspace have developed a new identity, bespoke typeface and website for Zaha Hadid Architects.

Transmaterial: Lumisty 2:37 AM

Lumisty first drew widespread attention when it was used on the windows of Pleats Please, Issey Miyake’s clothing boutique in SOHO.

Upon first encountering the product, people are often struck by what seems like an optical illusion. Walking past a window with Lumisty applied, a perfectly clear, transparent glass surface becomes partially fogged. Two or three steps later, the same window is completely fogged. As the viewer’s angle shifts, so does the transparency or translucency of the film.

NYC Port Authority Bus Terminal: The World’s Largest Media Façade 1:02 AM

All images courtesy of GKD Metal Fabrics

One of the New York City’s most forgettable buildings has been transformed into a model of modern technology. The Port Authority Bus Terminal (PABT), located in midtown Manhattan between 40th and 42nd street, now boasts the world’s largest transparent media façade completed by GKD Metal Fabrics which effectively covers the building’s outdated steel façade. 

Transmaterial: Xposed 2:18 PM

Xposed is a refined cement-based eco-composite made from natural minerals and up to 25% post-industrial recycled content. Standard slab materials are available and can be fabricated into countertops, table tops, surrounds, or display tops using ordinary natural stone fabrication tools and equipment. Xposed is also available for custom interior and exterior applications such as furniture elements, sinks, tiles, and three-dimensional objects. Twelve standard colors are available as well as custom colors.

Tide for Magis by Zaha Hadid 6:58 AM

All images courtesy of Magis

Designing a light shaped object that expresses the transition from solid traditional furniture to the slight thickness of plastic was the starting point of 'Tide' by london-based architect Zaha Hadid.

Developed for Italian furniture manufacturer Magis, based on the idea of minimal surfaces where points have a medium radius equivalent to zero, 'Tide' is a symmetric shelving module in which one can create different compositions through various rotations on itself. It allows individuals to build and rebuild the module to fit the space around them, adjusting the components according to their needs - where full empty spaces follow each other without interruption.

Z-Chair for Sawaya & Moroni by Zaha Hadid 1:18 AM

Images courtesy of Sawaya & Moroni

 Italian furniture company Sawaya & Moroni presents 'z-chair' by london-based architect Zaha Hadid as part of milan design week 2011.

The design is a simple three-dimensional gesture that zigzags in space as part of the continued discourse between form and function, elegance and utility, differentiation and continuity. Geometric abstractions inform the design's linear loop, articulated along its path in a language that alternates thin wire streams and large surfaces to provide both ergonomic affordances and inherent stability to the overall shape.

Milan Design Week 2011: New Seating Designs by UNStudio 11:31 PM

'my lounge chair' for knoll

Amsterdam-based architectural firm UNStudio present three new seating designs during milan design week 2011. The prototype for his 'new amsterdam chair' and the final designs for 'sittable' are on show as part of 'the tortonas' exhibition at via tortona, 37.

Yumi for Fontanaarte by Shigeru Ban 7:21 PM

Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, who has always shown a special interest in materials, has designed the floor lamp 'yumi' for FontanaArte, which enhances the lightness and extension resistance of carbon fibre. The inside of the 10 cm thick stem is solid and comprised of a sequence of different materials (fibre glass, aluminum and carbon fibre), which are layered in order to obtain a single element with high structural properties. The layers are visible in the lamp, and the cables are sunk into its structure, becoming an integral part of the form. The result is an ultra-lighting fixture. Its arched shape is intended to show how carbon fibre combined with other materials produces extremely lightweight objects with high mechanical resistance.

Transmaterial: Sound Wall 4:48 PM

The NONdesigns SOUND Wall, designed by Scott Franklin and Miao Miao, is a modular system of interactive tiles used to create wall surfaces that alter their texture and light qualities based on environmental stimuli. With every sound produced by its audience, the SOUND Wall responds by opening its “skin,” allowing light to spill out across the textural surface. Each module reacts independently, causing the wall to have reflections of activity where it is closest to sources of sound. The system is expandable to any wall size and its sensitivity is adjustable to react to soft or loud sound levels. The modules are custom-built for each project, so size and color can be selected to fit the application.

OXY by MIRAGE 1:36 AM

 Scratched, oxidised metals. Craft skills and high-tech performance.

OXY is the new MIRAGE project that turns ceramics into a furnishing element. Feisty and full of character, this is a futuristic collection for cutting-edge architectural solutions. Painted sheet metals and oxidised effects create original, attractive looks, in which the ageing and corroding of the material shapes new style canons.

Transmaterials: Pneumocell 6:45 AM

Pneumocell is an assembly-kit consisting of inflatable building elements analogous to biological cell-structures, which can be connected in numerous combinations to form complete constructions. By specifying a common polygonal edge length for all of the cells, designer Thomas Herzig has ensured that all element types fit together precisely. The cells are airtight and do not require constant inflation as in other air-supported structures. If one element is damaged, the other elements can still give support to the construction, and the damaged element can be replaced—much like cells in a biological organism.

ALLOY Tile Sheets 10:00 AM

ALLOY tiles are the original metal mosaic and the metal tile of choice for leading designers and architects from around the world. ALLOY solid metal tiles deliver the authentic, seductive sheen of stainless steel, brass, copper and titanium for interior and exterior surfaces.

Transmaterial: Órgano 1:06 AM

Image courtesy of Transmaterial

Órgano is a sculpture designed by the Spanish artist Eusebio Sempere and built in Madrid, Spain.Composed of a three-dimensional array of polished stainless steel pipes, the installation rotates to filter and reflect sunlight dynamically.

Recently, researchers at the Institute of Materials Science in Madrid tested the acoustic properties of the sculpture, and found that Órgano also behaves as a phononic crystal capable of filtering and modifying sound waves. Listeners positioned on one side of the installation will hear tonal modifications of sounds projected from the opposite side—an aural analogy to the visual effect of light passing through colored prisms. Scientists at the Transport Research Laboratory in the UK are currently researching the application of Sempere’s geometry to reduce noise along rail networks and roadways.

Ergonomia 3:29 PM

Valcucine has always focused on satisfying customers’ requirements and has painstakingly researched into the use of traditional kitchens to this aim. The result has been the perfection of a few aspects that improve the interaction of Man with the whole kitchen “system”.

Transmaterial: QuaDror 11:31 AM

QuaDror is described as a new structural joint offering myriad design applications at a variety of scales. Designer Dror Benshetrit of Studio Dror unveiled this new geometrical approach at the recent Design Indaba conference in Cape Town. Recalling the strategy of the diagrid, QuaDror uses diagonal framing members to carry gravity loads while providing good resistance to lateral loads.

Transmater​ial: wind 3.0 8:34 PM

Image courtesy of Transmaterial

Wind 3.0 is an interactive wall feature comprised by hundreds of fibers which respond to a viewer's presence based on a connection between electronic sensors and ventilators. Wind 3.0 moves with the viewer—when there is a lot of activity the wall makes large fluid motions, while in other circumstances the fiber animation resembles a soft breeze. In this way, a direct relationship is made between human behavior and sculptural dynamics. Developed by Netherlands-based Studio Roosegaarde, Wind 3.0 plays with the similarities and differences between nature and technology.