One of the most interesting developments in the way we talk about the design of buildings in recent years is how the issue of wellbeing has found an overlap with environmental concerns.
In Time for NeoCon, Vitra Predicts Material Trends for Post-COVID Offices
The Swiss manufacturer makes some surprisingly transparent forecasts, including that fewer chairs will be necessary.
Material Bank, a logistics platform for sourcing architectural and design samples, raises $28M
Choosing Responsibly: Healthier Materials In The Workplace
In honor of Earth Day, Vickie Nicola of Stantec shares why workspace designers have a responsibility to fill spaces with products made of healthier materials.
Copper kills coronavirus. Why aren’t our surfaces covered in it?
In the face of an unavoidable future full of global pandemics, we should be using copper in healthcare, public transit, and even our homes.
Pantone’s 2020 color of the year is the new black
Digital Knitting: Bringing Fashion to Furniture
Millennial Pink is dead, and Pantone’s Color of the Year killed it
Meet Living Coral. It’s the color of resistance, of tech company rebrands, and of 1960s Americana–a familiar and energizing hue that you’re about to see everywhere.
You’d never guess these gorgeous lamps are made from bioplastic
Many high-end lamps with thin elegant forms are made of metal. But a new lighting series from the London-based design studio Industrial Facility is composed of a bioplastic derived from castor oil.
Global Trends Influence Seven New Colors
Steelcase’s SILQ Is The Office Chair Of The Future
The SILQ chair has only 30 parts–and was designed so that anyone can sit comfortably without adjusting it.
Formica (Yes, It Still Exists!) Enters The 21st Century
the company announced a partnership with ConvenientPower Systems to develop a system of scalable, wireless charging infrastructure for residential and commercial applications—with the first releases targeted to launch this calendar year.
Suzanne Drake And Mary Dickinson: How Did You Get Here?
Suzanne Drake and Mary Dickinson lead Perkins+Will’s Material Performance Lab, through which they distill the latest healthy-materials research and share the findings across the firm.
The 6 Coolest Material Breakthroughs Of 2017
Materials are a designer’s paint and canvas–and for the most part, they’ve remained pretty static in recent decades.
Perkins+Will Relaunches Its Building Product Transparency Website
The aim of the project is to help designers and others make more informed decisions about specifying, maintaining, and disposing of the products in their buildings.
Watch: This Furniture is Made From Trash
Sustainable furniture start-up Pentatonic is releasing a new line of furniture that is made entirely from re-purposed trash. The company will be launching its first collection of chairs, tables, glassware, and individually sold furniture components this month at the London Design Festival, which opens on Sept. 16 and runs through Sept. 24.
At the Summit Foundation, Form Meets Function
The high-end, complex materials used in pursuit of this elegant space had one thing in common: They were all the product of dedicated research until simple moves in the right places resulted in big change.
INSPIRING DESIGN: HOW CUSTOM MATERIALS ENRICH THE WORKPLACE
Space designs that integrate personalized colors, patterns and materials can greatly influence how the space affects those who work there. And carefully curated materials can carry benefits that closely align with many clients’ strategic goals.
This modular solar panel system can be embedded just about anywhere
Joining the buzz is Platio, a Budapest-based solar paver company that’s already installed public projects in Hungary, Sweden, and Kazakhstan. Platio’s modular solar panel system can be embedded in everything from sidewalks to street furniture and beyond.
Steelcase bringing more color, choice to office chairs
The chair has a glass-filled nylon frame with upper back support provided by what Steelcase calls a "flexor": horizontal plastic ribs tucked behind the knit backrest. A separate plastic panel provides lumbar support. Along with a choice of two frame colors, Steelcase is offering 11 different colors of knit and flexor/lumbar plastics so buyers can mix and match to fit their personal style.