Eco-friendly Dino Sofa

by Ami Kealoha on April 30th, 2006

Rome-based Central Unit Design, a four-person architect-design collective, introduced their sectional Dino Sofa at Milan’s Salone Satellite earlier this month. Designed for indoor and outdoor use in public places like museums, airports, and parks, the animalized seating is made of Waterlily and Framefoam, both eco-friendly materials. Though not yet in production, each vertebrae-like section is intended for two people and makes the transition outdoors with a new method called “oven painting.” Check out another image showing the Dino’s whimsical possibilities after the jump and a close up on Mocoloco.

TAGS: Design, Furniture, Housewares, Milan,

Gutterland JargonWatch™: Precrime Edition

by The Gutter on April 19th, 2006

We’re not so caught up in our martial moment to forego a party. Any party. And we’d love it if you would join us. So while you’re prepping and primping for tomorrow’s no-holds-barred Bachelorama—perhaps a quick chemical peel?—consider, if you find yourselves in town, a wee drinky spin by the recently decapitated Storefront for Art and Archispeak. The powers that are managed to keep the jargon in check in their release for the event, a party to celebrate boy wonder Eric Schuldenfrei (who left dbox under the very darkest clouds) and his lover Marisa Yiu’s installation of electronica—gee whiz!!!!—in Chinatown, but we’re sure it (the jargon) will be flowing freely, with the acidic white wine, at 8:00 this evening when Storefront throws open its many doors and panels and greets the spring as only dufus hipsters can. In black.

· The Gutter Salutes: Sarah Herda [The Gutter]

Lasentiu’s Storage Solutions made from Syntrewood

by admin on April 19th, 2006

Last week at Vinçon’s, the Zig-Zag caught our eye. It’s a bottle rack that at first seems just grey but when you get to know it better you realise it’s actually green. That’s because it’s made from Syntrewood, a 100% recycled and recyclable material that’s not only ecological but also low-cost. Syntrewood is a product of the Spanish company Lasentiu, who use discarded material from urban plastic waste collection (the yellow containers here in Spain) that would otherwise end up as landfill or be burnt. So with 85-90% of Polyolefin (from bottle caps, bags or detergent bottles) and 10-15% paper, board, fabric, PET and aluminium such as from Tetra-bricks, Lasentiu created Syntrewood, a plastic material free from PVC that is ‘water-repellent, unchangeable to environmental conditions and non toxic’. Apart from the simple V-shaped modular bottle rack Zig-Zag that fits different sizes of bottles horizontally, Lasentiu have also designed a series of chairs, component seats, stackable boxes, drawer units and other storage systems that allow for easily assembly and your own distribution. Maybe it is too grey for your living room but will do nicely in any workshop, cellar or garden shed. ::Lasentiu