Italy – Page 4 – DesignApplause

mini and airstream surf to milan 2009

Mar 17, 2009

The following words from the Minispace…She loves the ocean, is great at entertaining guests, and likes to hang out in style outdoors.

You already know the Airstream trailer from supporting roles in Hollywood films, and as a favored mode of transport for nomadic hipsters. Now, the iconic “silver bullet” is hitting the party circuit.

above: the swan and egg chair by arne jacobsen inspires the bullet’s interior.

Who’s playing chauffeur, you ask? Why, a brand new MINI Cooper S Clubman, of course! The trailer, which showcases an über-chic custom-made interior by Copenhagen’s Republic of Fritz Hansen, will be making cameos at events, exhibitions, and design fairs around the world. The first spotting will be at the Salone del Mobile show and the INTERNI DESIGN ENERGIES exhibition in Milan, Italy (April 21-30 2009).

A bit of an odd market ? Well, image is everything and this hasn’t been tried before. Upon reading the copy before seeing the images one expected the Clubman “woodie” with “bullet” in tow.

I-Lumex LED lamp for your PC.

Mar 13, 2009

Normally I do whatEVER it takes to nix lamps of all kinds in favor of recessed or trac.

I-Lumex ultra-modern lamp comes with its own USB port. Made of soft, tactile silicone in red, lavender, graphite and white hues, these versatile, multifunctional and user-friendly lamps are fully flexible and adjustable, literally bending over backwards to meet your lighting needs. Love LED for it’s low-power consumption and high light output. Delivers 50,000 hours of illumination. Will take exception to this little cutie.

Designer: Denis Santachiara
Producer: Antonangeli Illuminazione

[via]

Green business hotel. Milan.

Mar 10, 2009

Milan, design capital of the world, will soon have a new ecological hotel called Green Business Hotel.

The brainchild of architect Giuseppe Tortato and Milano Layout, will turn an old mill into an innovative four-star hotel in the heart of Milan. The “carbon free” hotel will use only renewable energy technologies.

Sprawling over 13,000 square meters, the place will comprise 120 rooms, restaurant, lounge bar, gym, spa, conference rooms, hanging gardens, courtyard, garden and a roofed parking lot 3000 square meters in size. Chief attractions of this hotel will be its lovely green area and state of the art technology. The hotel will in fact feature a complex computer network, combining hospitality, technology and love and respect for nature.

Designer: Giuseppe Tortato

via archiportale

Lexus l- finesse- crystallised wind.

Mar 3, 2009

This year at Milan Design Week 2009, a Lexus exhibition will be called ‘lexus l- finesse- crystallised wind’ and designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. Here is a preview of the exhibit.

‘Lexus l- finesse- crystallised wind’ will re-interpret the ambivalence of the Lexus design philosophy ‘L-finesse’ through a dynamic installation that combines unity in space, sound and lighting.

“Crystallised wind is the result of a conceptual interpretation of the underlying principles of L finesse design”, explains Sou Fujimoto. “The term wind addresses not only the flow of wind, but also symbolizes a flow or current in a greater sense. It is a new horizon where the natural and the artificial coexist in space. I wanted to find a way to give form to that which is formless: to take the flow of air and the passing of time and to represent them in such a way as to explain the essence of the duality of L-finesse. the result is an art form that represents movement yet stillness, and the flow of time in a timeless environment.’

The Lexus space will display an acrylic art piece based on the full-size concept car model, the Lexus super sports concept car, the LF-A as well as a specially designed piece of furniture constructed from acrylic.

The exhibition will take place in Milan’s museo della permanente art gallery, from april 22nd to 26th.

Designer: Sou Fujimoto

2009 Milan Design Week.

Mar 3, 2009

22-27 April 2009, Milano Italy. World’s largest international trade fair.

Since its start over 40 years ago, the Milan Salone has has become Europe’s largest furniture and interior international trade fair. Every year starting in mid-April the exhibition attracts the world’s renowned designers, architects, buyer, and journalists. The Milan Salone does not stop with the exhibition fair, it is an event that spreads and consumes all of Milan city. While exhibitors round approximately 1500 companies, showcased items from all corners of the fashion industry as well as various industrial goods, making it the world’s largest design exhibition. An more appropriately, call Milan Design Week, this is when the world’s brands come to hold individual events in and around the city to promote and communicate their designs to the public. Not just a simple exhibition, but a movement that transforms a city into an exciting festival.

via milan salone

Atomic coffee maker.

Feb 5, 2009

Mid–twentieth–century Milan designer Giordano Robbiati achieved a spiritual union between form and function when he devised a new type of coffee maker in the late 1940s. Ciao bella.

If you “love” retro modernism and espresso, go no farther. Loved around the world, Robbiati’s patented coffee machine is a classic design of the ‘Atomic Age'(1945–1960). Known as the ‘Atomic’ it embodies the explosive energy and creativity of the post-war era of Italian coffee machine design.

It would be impossible to improve on the organic lines and sleek modernism of Robbiati’s extraordinary machine or to find a more versatile stovetop coffee maker. The quality and simplicity of the machine ensures trouble free operation for a life–time.

The all new “La Sorrentina” Coffee Machine is the result of close collaboration between Ikon Exports, Australia and the Bellman Company in Taiwan. Our goal was to produce a new product worthy of the Atomic style machine. A love of coffee and reverence for the beauty and functionality of the original design united us in this endeavor. After years of refinement the end result is a premium reproduction of Robbiati’s patented coffee machine, manufactured to the same dimensions and high standard.

Having just visited the Wolfsonian museum’s Streamline Show, this coffee maker shoulda been there.

More info at made in england
Designer: Giordano Robbiati
Producer: Ikon Exports (?)
Retailer (exclusively) : atomic coffee house

NYC bike-rack contest. Who won?

Nov 4, 2008

New York City announced the ten finalists in their bike rack competition. One of these 10 finalists will become the official city bike rack design. Winner’s were to be announced October 24. Who won?

Top row, left to right: Next Phase Studios of Boston; Andrew Lang and Henry Dobbs of London; Federico Otero of Lima, Peru. Middle row, left to right: Stephen Jaklitsch Architects of Manhattan; Jeff Miller and Andrea Ruggiero of Manhattan; Baroni & Valeriani Architects of Florence, Italy; Ian Mahaffy and Maarten De Greeve of Copenhagen, Denmark. Bottom row, left to right: Ignacio Ciocchini of Astoria, Queens; Francis Anthony Bitonti/FADarch of Brooklyn; Open Thread Design of Brooklyn.

andrew lang and harry dobbs

baroni valeriani architetti

ian mahaffy and maarten de greeve

jeff miller and andrea ruggiero

After reviewing more than 200 entries from 24 states and 26 countries, a six-member design jury on Tuesday named 10 finalists in the CityRacks Design Competition to create new, better-looking bicycle parking racks.

The winner will be announced on Oct. 24 during National Design Week, an event sponsored by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

via new york times design addict

NOTE: station north bike rack competition baltimore, deadline november 7, 2008.

SEEN: talking heads, david byrne bike racks

water. money. power.

Mar 4, 2008

above> tu_fin

All you need is water, money, a Darth Vadar fetish. One you burn calories. One you burn 951 gallons an hour. Both burn holes in pockets.

There is little info on the Tu-fin save a link to their site. “TU_FiN Walking on Water—das Fun und Fitnessboot.” But here is a story on Wally…

118 WallyPower (above) is a high speed luxury yacht created by Wally Yachts. It is narrow and angular in design with black glass housing. It is 118 feet long and is capable of reaching speeds as fast as 60 knots (70 mph, 110 km/h).[1] It is capable of this feat due to three Vericor TF50 gas turbines generating 16,800 HP. The three gas turbines each drive a Rolls-Royce Kamewa water jet, two steerable outboard and a non-steering booster on centerline. The steerable water jets also have a diesel engine input for a 370 hp Cummins diesel hence these two wing drive trains are Combined Diesel and Gas Turbine (CODOG). The 118 WallyPower won the MYDA, Millennium Yacht Design Award,[2] organised by Seatec (the yachting and shipping technology show of Carrarafiere) for the “Layout of the Third Millennium.” The WallyPower is also being honoured by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as the sole boat in its major architecture and design exhibition, ‘Glamour: Fabricating Affluence’, which ran from October 9 2004 to January 16 2005.[3] Wally Yachts has only produced one, and it currently resides in the Mediterranean.[4] The 118 is known by most from its role as the “Renovatio” in the 2005 science-fiction film The Island.

Construction
The sleek lines of the 118 WallyPower are the result of an extensive R&D program that included the tank testing at the SSPA facility in Gothenburg, Sweden, and smoke testing in the Ferrari Wind Tunnel Facility in Maranello, Italy. The air inlets of the gas turbines were optimised to verify any turbulence and back flow of the exhaust gas on deck and living areas, and to have further confirmation of the geometry of the hull and superstructure.

The bottom of the hull is built in solid fibreglass. Topsides, from the waterline up, are hybrid fibreglass/carbon composite with balsa core. On deck this becomes a Nomex/full carbon composite. The deck superstructure is made of a carbon frame to which the glass panels are glued. The glass is composed of Lexan and a triple laminate of glass. The interior bulkheads and cabin soles carry no structural loads so they are constructed entirely of thin wood and laminate veneer skins with cores. At speed, the 118 WallyPower is comfortable and stable as a result of the deep V (22 degrees) hull shape combined with a straight stem bow designed to pierce waves. The bathfixtures and dining tables are even made from carbon composites to reduce weight.

The 118 WallyPower’s chameleon-like paint finish is metallic dark green and changes reflections and colour depending on the light and landscape. The 118’s deck, cockpit, navigation, dining and saloon areas have been conceived as one continuous element. Inside the superstructure, the atmosphere is that of a New York style loft. The open space incorporates three areas, from stern to bow: The saloon, the dining/seating area, and the navigation cockpit. Transparency is a main feature of the yacht’s interior. When dining, guests can enjoy the 360-degree view. Underneath the table, the skylight allows light to filter down to the lower corridor. The lightweight carbon fibre dining table seats eight people, and the port and starboard teak cabinets alongside serve for storage of china, silverware and glassware. The dining and lounging cockpit is forward of the superstructure, to provide maximum privacy as well as being in the coolest area at anchor, away from the engines.

Two fore dining tables can be mechanically lowered to provide a large cushioned relaxing area in the bow of the Wallypower. Inside the yacht the owner’s stateroom is forward, featuring a king size bed. Plenty of storage is provided by the side cabinets. A 20″ plasma screen is mounted in the aft bulkhead. The cabin has plenty of natural light coming from the top skylight. Two identical guest cabins feature queen size beds and en-suites. Each cabin has a 15″ plasma screen in the aft bulkhead.

The spacious galley includes the crew mess, again featuring a 15″ plasma screen. The galley (kitchen) is equipped with a professional oven and stove, as well as plenty of fridges, and is made enitrely of stainless steel, including the ceiling.

Technical specifications
The cost of the 118 Wallypower is US$24.83 million for the triple gas turbines or $16.55 million for the twin diesels only. It has a range of 1500 miles at 9 knots, or 300 miles at 60 knots. The fuel capacity of the 118 is 22,000 litres or 5812 gallons. If the gas turbine engines are all out, the 118 WallyPower uses 14 gallons for every mile at 60 knots. At this rate it uses 951 gallons an hour. The displacement of the 118 WallyPower is 95 tons. It can accommodate 6 guests and 6 crew.

via wikipedia and today and tomorrow