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Monday 13 December 2021

Mono chairs by Note Design Studio among new products on Dezeen Showroom

A collection of oak chairs that come with an option of three different bases is among 10 new products featured on Dezeen Showroom this week.

Two Mono chairs with metal bases around a small table featured on Dezeen Showroom — The seat and backrest of the Mono chairs are slightly curved for comfort

Mono chair collection by Note Design Studio for Fogia

Designed by Note Design Studio for Fogia, the Mono chair collection comes with a choice of a solid wood base, a swivel base, or a metal base that allows the chairs to be stackable.

The chairs have a curved seat and backrest, which users have the option of upholstering in Elmo leathers and Gabriel and Kvadrat fabrics.

The Mono chair collection was featured on Dezeen Showroom this week, alongside products including marble-effect surfacing informed by the northern lights and an updated version of a midcentury chair originally designed by Arne Jacobsen.

Read on to see the rest of this week's new products:

Gio sofa in a spacious living room — The Gio sofa has a back that curves into the armrests

Gio sofa by Luca Erba for Hessentia

Consisting of three rounded volumes, Gio is a curving sofa produced by furniture brand Hessentia.

The sofa's seat stretches across the entire length in one volume, while the back is divided into two volumes that each curve to form armrests.

Find out more about Gio ›

A blue Reizen light highlighting an archway — Reizen is an uplight that creates smooth, uniform light distribution

Reizen luminaire by Meteor Lighting

Reizen is a compact lamp designed to highlight a building's spatial structure by shining light upwards, designed by Meteor Lighting.

The lighting design is available as a pendant or sconce and comes in both indoor and outdoor versions.

Find out more about Reizen ›

Pluralis table used as a meeting table in a spacious office featured on Dezeen Showroom — The Pluralis table is available in different sizes to suit different workplace needs

Pluralis table by Kasper Salto for Fritz Hansen

Suited to both boardrooms and home offices, Pluralis is an adaptable table designed by Kasper Salto for Danish design company Fritz Hansen.

Pluralis is available in six versions and can be used as desks, shared workbenches or dining tables. The user can also choose to include power outlets and cable managing systems for a more streamlined workplace.

Find out more about Pluralis ›

A side view of the Stubby chair in a white room — The metal structure of the Stubby chair is anchored by the wood log

Stubby chair by Nissa Kinzhalina

Consisting of a thin metal frame that curves around an elmwood log, the Stubby chair was designed by Nissa Kinzhalina as an ode to nature.

The black metal structure creates the back and armrests of the chair while also outlining the heavy wooden base, which was chosen by Kinzhalina to evoke a sense of natural stability.

Find out more about Stubby ›

A close view of the black Aurora surface with decorative ceramics featured on Dezeen Showroom — Aurora is a new colour range from the Marmo surfaces collection

HIMACS releases Aurora colours for Marmo surfacing

Aurora is a new colour range of marble-effect surfacing by HIMACS, consisting of nine neutral shades informed by the display of the northern lights.

The range is an extension of the brand's Marmo collection, which has been used in projects by architects and designers including Zaha Hadid, Marcel Wanders and David Chipperfield.

Find out more about Aurora ›

A large Soho booth with seating inside — The Soho booth provides both acoustic and visual privacy for workers

Soho office phone booth by Meavo

Soho is a sound-dampening office booth that provides privacy in the workplace, designed by booth and pod brand Meavo.

The booth can be customised to any colour and features a small worktop, LED lighting, and ventilation to freshen the air.

Find out more about Meavo ›

Oxford office chair at a desk in front of a large window — The Oxford chair is suitable for workspaces in both homes and offices

Oxford chair by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen

Originally designed by Arne Jacobsen, Danish furniture company Fritz Hansen has released an updated version of the midcentury Oxford office chair.

The updated Oxford chair has a simplistic yet contemporary design and, according to the company, was created to suit a "new generation of workspaces".

Find out more about Oxford ›

Allure tiles used on the floor and walls of an outdoor terrace — Allure tiles are designed to be used both indoors and outdoors

Allure tiles by Juliet McDonald for La Platera

Allure is a marble-effect tile collection that has streaks of grey and gold on a white background, designed by Juliet McDonald for Spanish tile manufacturer La Platera.

The collection is available in five format sizes including a decor tile, which has a pattern of fine grooves on the tile surface.

Find out more about Allure ›

LayRed 55 flooring used in a hotel room featured on Dezeen Showroom — LayRed 55 is designed to give the effect of natural-looking flooring

LayRed 55 flooring by IVC Commercial

IVC Commercial has created a vinyl floor tile named LayRed 55, designed to give the appearance of natural wood or stone.

The flooring is built from 12 layers, including an integrated underlay designed to dull impact noise and a lacquer top coat that prevents scratches and stains.

Find out more about LayRed 55 ›

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Sunday 12 December 2021

Vollebak tints T-shirt using carbon-storing algae ink

Algae black T-shirt by Vollebak and Living Ink

Experimental clothing brand Vollebak has used an ink derived from spirulina algae to colour this top, in a bid to show how fashion could move away from its reliance on black pigments made from heavy crude oil.

The ink is created by heat-treating algae biomass to turn it into a blackened char, which locks away the carbon that was sequestered by the algae throughout its life.

This creates a concentrated black powder pigment that manufacturer Living Ink says is carbon negative, since every kilogram produced removes 4.16 kilograms of CO2 from the atmosphere – as much as was absorbed by the algae.

Man holding up hem of dark grey T-shirt with white interior — Algae black ink is screen-printed onto the T-shirt from the outside

Mixed with a binder, the pigment is then turned into ink and screen-printed onto the T-shirt, which is made from FSC-certified linen and lyocell derived from wood pulp.

Once the garment has reached the end of its life, it will biodegrade in soil over the course of 12 weeks. But the black pigment will remain stable and continue to store the atmospheric carbon for hundreds or even thousands of years, according to Living Ink co-founder Scott Fulbright.

"The black algae-derived pigments will stay as an inert, safe, stable piece of carbon in the soil," he told Dezeen. "This is essentially storing the sequestered carbon in soil."

At the same time, using the algae ink also avoids the emissions associated with the production of conventional black pigment, known as carbon black, which is used to colour everything from garments to tyres, plastics, paints and even cosmetics.

Man wearing Algae black T-shirt by Vollebak — The T-shirt's colour is created with black algae ink

Carbon black is created by taking heavy petroleum and subjecting it to a process called pyrolysis, in which it is burned in a controlled environment in the absence of oxygen to produce a fine, highly-pigmented powder that's almost pure carbon.

This non-renewable fossil carbon generates emissions throughout its extraction and various refinement steps.

On average, Fulbright says four kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) are released into the atmosphere for every kilogram of carbon black produced.

Close-up of fabric dyed with black ink by Living Ink — The ink lies on top of the fabric rather than bonding to it like a dye

The black pigment used by Vollebak on the other hand is made from spirulina algae, which is grown by the natural food colouring industry in huge open-air ponds for the phycocyanin protein that produces its blue-green colour.

Once this colourant is extracted, the remaining algae biomass is put through a similar pyrolysis process of being burned without oxygen, which means the carbon sequestered by the algae cannot form carbon dioxide during combustion.

Instead, the carbon remains and forms a char that is purified and mixed with a water-based acrylic binder. The final result is a UV-resistant ink that lies on top of the fabric, rather than chemically bonding to it like a dye.

"Creating an entirely black garment would usually require dye rather than ink but black algae dye hasn't been invented yet," explained Vollebak co-founder Steve Tidball.

"So we used a regular screen printer to experiment with different quantities of ink. The more ink we used the darker the colour would be, but too much ink would cause the T-shirt to feel stiff."

Close up of spirulina algae in a petri dish — The algae biomass is left over from the production of natural food colouring

When the T-shirt is ultimately composted, everything save for the ink will biodegrade. While this will store the carbon in the soil, this also leaves behind the acrylic binder, which Living Ink is currently looking to substitute with a plant-based alternative.

"We are starting to work with companies producing polyurethane binders produced from algae and bacteria," Fulbright explained.

The company is also working out how to improve the pigmentation of the ink by reducing the particle size in a bid to more closely approximate the true black created by fossil-based pigments.

Close-up of black algae ink by Living ink — The pyrolysed algae is mixed with a water-based acrylic binder

To achieve significant atmospheric carbon reductions, the pigment would need to be produced and utilised at a mass scale.

"18 billion pounds of carbon black is used annually around the world," Fulbright said. "I think by using a wide range of bio-based materials a big dent can be made in this market. But more innovators and raw material suppliers are needed."

Living Ink's algae black ink has previously been used to print a guidebook for the city of Boulder, Colorado.

Other companies creating useful products from pyrolysed biomass include Berlin-based Made of Air, which has developed a carbon-negative bioplastic from forest and farm waste.

The photography is by Sun Lee.

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OG House by Omar Gandhi Architect features cedar cladding and oak interiors

The founder of Canadian studio Omar Gandhi Architect has built a brick and cedar-clad home for himself and his family in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with interiors lined in white oak.

The house for Omar Gandhi, his partner and their son is located in the historic North End of the city, and was built on a disused lot.

Cedar-clad box atop a brick ground floor — OG House was built on a disused lot in Halifax's North End

The building's lower floor was also intended to serve as a studio space for the architecture firm, but it grew too quickly, so is now used as a centre for community projects.

Its form comprises a two-storey, eastern white cedar-clad box atop a ground floor constructed from brickwork. The brick structure is continued as a thin vertical element on the side close to a neighbouring dwelling.

Main entrance via a brick courtyard — The house comprises a cedar-clad box atop a brick ground floor

Facing the street, slats of cedar are arranged to form a screen across the large windows, to protect the occupants' privacy.

A rounded corner guides visitors to the main entrance at the rear, via a driveway, then a courtyard and stairway paved in the same brick as used for the walls.

Pill-shaped steel closet in the entryway — A raw steel pill-shaped closet divides the entryway from a community studio space

"The brick podium is composed of one of two natural clay brick tones used in the region – buff, which is predominantly used for ordinary building stock including multi-unit housing in the North End," said the firm.

Inside, a pill-shaped closet clad in raw steel provides a buffer between the studio space and the corridor to the residence upstairs.

White oak panelled interiors — White oak panels cover the majority of surfaces on the first-floor living level

Up the first flight, more raw steel forms a nine-foot-tall door that hides a brick and wood-lined powder room.

On this level is the open-plan kitchen, dining and living area, where white oak panels cover the walls and ceiling, and planks form the flooring.

White millwork runs along one wall — White millwork stretches from the kitchen at the front to the living room at the back

The kitchen is located at the front of the house, partially concealed from view by the cedar slats.

White millwork forms cabinetry and conceals appliances along one wall, and continues into the living space to create additional storage.

A wooden kitchen island and large dining table each have one rounded end, echoing the pill-shaped feature in the entry, and together span 30 feet (nine metres) in length.

In the living area towards the back, a marble-clad fireplace stack interrupts the white millwork.

Living room fireplace — Marble surrounds a wood-burning fireplace in the living room

The ceiling here angles gently upwards, before turning almost vertical at the end of the building to create a double-height slither below a skylight.

"Intensive lighting studies and parametric modelling were used to form find the lightwell shape to ensure optimal natural lighting conditions throughout the length of the living space," the studio said.

Double-height lightwell — The living room is lit from above by a double-height lightwell

This lightwell is overlooked by one of two bedrooms on the upper floor, which also contains two bathrooms with full-length skylights and contrasting monochrome colour schemes.

There's also a roof space, which includes a small sitting area and garden on the street side of the house.

Bedroom overlooking lightwell — A bedroom on the second floor overlooks the lightwell void

Stairwells linking these storeys are lined with more white oak panels, and include custom-designed bronze brackets that support the handrails.

Altogether, the materials used both inside and out of the OG House create a cohesive palette that feels minimal, yet warm and inviting.

Black bathrooom — Bathrooms feature contrasting monochrome colour schemes

"Upon reaching the end of construction, the cedar-clad facade had already lost much of its vibrancy and faded gently to resemble much of the weathered wood textures of the neighborhood, all while maintaining much of its curious spirit," said the firm.

Omar Gandhi Architect and is well-known for designing private residences across Nova Scotia, although many are in much more rural locations.

They include a low-lying home on the rugged coastline, a cabin atop a remote bluff, and a hilltop house overlooking Halifax.

The studio, which has offices in Halifax and Toronto, also recently completed an accessible viewpoint at Peggy's Cove lighthouse.

The photography is by Ema Peter.

Project credits:

Architect team: Omar Gandhi, Jordan Rice, Jeff Shaw, Jeff Walker, Kelly Cameron, Lauren McCrimmon, John Gray Thomson, Kristi MacDonald, Chad Jamieson, Liam Thornewell, Stephanie Hosein
Contractor: Hewn + Barter, MRB Contracting
Structural: Andrea Doncaster Engineering
Physical model: Chad Jamieson, Omar Gandhi
Natural lighting optimisation study: Lacunae (Roly Hudson)
Specialty steel and stone fabrication: Filo Timo, Urban Handcrafts, Aaline, Nova Tile & Marble
Masonry: Maritime Masonry, Brunswick Stone
Specialty millwork: Brodye Chappell

The post OG House by Omar Gandhi Architect features cedar cladding and oak interiors appeared first on Dezeen.

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O'DonnellBrown designs outdoor play shelter for Edinburgh arts centre

The Calton Hill Play Shelter is a modular and demountable structure designed by Scottish practice O'DonnellBrown for the Collective contemporary art centre in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Located at the World Heritage Site of Calton Hill, the 25-square-metre shelter stands in a flagstoned courtyard outside the art venue, which is housed in a 19th-century observatory.

Calton Hill Play Shelter is located at the Collective art centre in Edinburgh

The observatory, which was designed in 1818 by William Playfair to evoke a Greek temple, had previously stood empty until its transformation into an arts centre by Collective Architecture in 2018.

Glasgow-based O'DonnellBrown designed the play shelter to host a variety of activities in Collective's learning programme, including loose parts play and creative events for families.

Timber pavilion for outdoor learning — The shelter was designed to support the centre's outdoor learning programme

Calton Hill Play Centre is the latest in a series of shelters by the studio that is designed to promote outdoor learning during the coronavirus pandemic. The others include the Rainbow Pavilion and the Community Classroom in Glasgow.

"The play shelter demonstrates the adaptability of the design principles employed in our Community Classroom project applied to a highly sensitive location," said O'DonnellBrown co-founder Sam Brown.

Pavilion at Collective on Calton Hill — The design nods to the classical architecture of existing buildings on the site

The core structural approach used in these previous outdoor learning projects has been applied at the Calton Hill Play Shelter, which is designed to stay in place for a minimum of three years.

"The client has been a joy to work with to knit it into the historic context, creating a harmonious built addition which also follows circular economy principles," Brown added.

Modular timber structure — It comprises a modular timber structure

O'DonnellBrown drew from the classical City Observatory opposite to determine the proportions of the whitewashed timber frame, which is constructed from bolted columns that can be easily dismantled.

"The rhythm and proportion of the surrounding 19th-century classical architecture determined the spacing of the columns and height of the roof," explained the studio.

A polycarbonate roof covers the shelter and is slightly elevated to create a clerestory-level gap.

Wooden panels infill some of the gaps between the columns, while others are left open to provide a number of routes into and out of the space.

Timber pavilion with polycarbonate roof — It is sheltered by a polycarbonate roof

To conceal Calton Hill Play Shelter's steel footings, the courtyard flagstones were temporarily removed and put back in their places to minimise the shelter's impact.

The existing stone wall around the perimeter of the observatory conceals the shelter from view to the outside, as well as protecting its open interior from strong winds on the site.

Timber pavilion — The shelter's steel footings are concealed

O'DonnellBrown is an architecture studio that was founded in Glasgow in 2013 by Jennifer O'Donnell and Brown.

Its outdoor classroom prototype, first established at the Community Classroom, is now being manufactured by furniture and design company Spaceoasis.

The photography is by Ross Campbell.

The post O'DonnellBrown designs outdoor play shelter for Edinburgh arts centre appeared first on Dezeen.

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Ten tactile home interiors featuring exposed concrete blockwork

Blockwork walls inside Mt Coot-Tha House in Australia

From a skinny house in Brazil to a pair of industrial residences in England, our latest lookbook rounds up 10 home interiors that celebrate the tactility of concrete blockwork.

Typically hidden behind plasterboard, blockwork is a common form of masonry construction that uses chunky concrete blocks to create load-bearing or non-load-bearing walls.

However, many designers from around the world opt to expose the blockwork instead, creating tactile interiors and minimalist backdrops for the owners' possessions, while also reducing construction costs and times.

This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbooks series that provide visual inspiration for designers and design enthusiasts. Previous lookbooks include homes with exposed brickwork, texture-heavy restaurants and dark and moody interiors.

Mt Coot-Tha House, Australia, by Nielsen Jenkins

The high blockwork walls of the Mt Coot-Tha House in Brisbane were designed by Nielsen Jenkins to help protect the home from bushfires.

Inside, portions of the blockwork are left uncovered, complemented by white walls and wooden furnishings. In the dining area, it forms a minimalist backdrop for a slender wooden table and a trio of black Wishbone Chairs designed by Hans J Wegner.

Find out more about Mt Coot-Tha House ›

Exposed blockwork interiors of Maracanã House — Photo is by Pedro Kok

Maracanã House, Brazil, by Terra e Tuma

Exposed concrete blocks contribute to the industrial aesthetic of the Maracanã House, which Brazilian architecture studio Terra e Tuma created for its director's family in São Paulo.

The solidity of the blockwork, which features throughout, is juxtaposed by large expanses of glass and wooden furniture, alongside indoor plants and slender staircases with metal bannisters.

Find out more about Maracanã House ›

Living room with concrete walls and ceiling — Photo is by Amit Geron

Bare House, Israel, by Jacobs-Yaniv Architects

Clerestory windows sit on top of the concrete masonry at the Bare House, which Jacobs-Yaniv Architects' founders Tamar Jacobs and Oshri Yaniv built for themselves on the coast of Herzlia.

The blockwork is revealed internally to create continuity between inside and outside, where the blocks are also exposed. The material also requires little maintenance.

Find out more about Bare House ›

Kitchen with pigmented blockwork walls — Photo is by Ståle Eriksen

King's Grove, UK, by Al-Jawad Pike

Ivory-hued blockwork is the centre of attention in this Peckham house extension, which studio Al-Jawad Pike designed on a limited budget for the brother of its co-founder.

The pigmented blocks, which also line the exterior of the dwelling, were chosen for being a robust and economical material. They were installed with a matching flush mortar and are married with white-oiled oak detailing and polished concrete floors.

Find out more about King's Grove ›

Kitchen with block walls and timber ceiling — Photo is by James Brittain

Catching Sun House, UK, by Studioshaw

Timber plank cladding offers a counterpoint to the blockwork base of the Catching Sun House, which London architect Studioshaw designed for a hidden infill site in Walthamstow.

The concrete blocks, which are joined with bright white mortar, are exposed both inside and outside the dwelling for an industrial look. They are brightened by white mortar, timber-lined ceilings and colourful furniture including five DSR Side Chairs by Charles and Ray Eames.

Find out more about Catching Sun House ›

Home with concrete masonry walls — Photo is by Pedro Kok

Villa Matilde, Brazil, by Terra e Tuma

Brazilian studio Terra e Tuma revealed the blockwork structure of Villa Matilde, a skinny house designed for an elderly woman living in São Paulo.

The masonry blocks enabled the studio to work to a strict budget and build the house quickly. Exposing the blockwork also adds tactility to the interiors, which have been kept deliberately simple with few furnishings to suit the limited mobility of its owner.

Find out more about Villa Matilde ›

Stairwell with concrete-block walls — Photo is by Tom Kahler

Twin-build, UK, by CODA Bespoke

Uncovered blockwork features throughout this pair of houses that CODA Bespoke designed for twin brothers on the site of an old corn mill in Sheffield.

The two dwellings have unique layouts but are unified by their industrial aesthetic that was achieved using a material palette of concrete blocks, plywood and steel. While being low maintenance, these materials were chosen as a nod to the site's industrial heritage.

Find out more about Twin-build ›

Kitchen with blockwork cabinets — Photo is by Eric Bossic

House K, Japan, by TANK

At House K in Tokyo, Japanese architecture studio TANK used concrete blocks to construct a series of bespoke kitchen and storage units that suit its client's "brutal taste".

In other areas of the apartment, the blocks have been used to build low partition walls. In tandem with sheer curtains, these partitions define boundaries between rooms without truncating the space.

Find out more about House K ›

Blockwork fireplace — Photo is by Shantanu Starick

K&T's Place, Australia, by Nielsen Jenkins

A combination of untreated timber and bare concrete masonry characterises this pared-back cottage extension that Nielsen Jenkins designed for an artist and art gallery director in Brisbane.

While the material palette was dictated by the client's restricted budget, the texture of the blockwork helped to create the extension's centrepiece – a statement fireplace that rises up through its centre and pierces through the roof.

Find out more about K&T's Place ›

Living room with concrete masonry walls — Photo is by Amanda Kirkpatrick

Catskills House, USA, by J_spy

Dark uncovered blockwork constructed with bright white mortar forms the monolithic lower ground of the Catskills House, a family holiday home in Upstate New York.

Architecture studio J_spy reduced the visual impact of the concrete internally by breaking it up with large windows that frame its bucolic surroundings and introducing bolts of colour with art and furniture.

Find out more about Catskills House ›

The main image is of Catching Sun House by James Brittain.

This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen's image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing home libraries, Shaker-style rooms and stylish plywood interiors.

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