Hasta La Ideas

Berlin-based product designer Dirk Winkel created this slim black desk lamp to show that plastic can be as solid and tactile as metal or wood.

“One of the greatest things I was missing in typical designs made of plastic was a significant impression of substance, of materiality,” said Dirk Winkel. “Therefore the next step could only be a design that celebrated the actual material as it is, straightforward, solid and honest.”

Created for Swedish lighting brand Wästberg, the Winkel w127 is made from a fibreglass-reinforced bioplastic containing 60% castor oil from the castor plant, making it recyclable and more environmentally sound than crude oil-based plastics.

The lamp also has a multichip LED, which distributes light more evenly than separate LEDs, and comes with either a flat base or a clamp base.

It was launched at Orgatec in Cologne last month, where Danish studio KiBiSi showed an adjustable desk that’s a cross between a car jack and an ironing board, and Dutch architects UNStudio launched clusters of triangular tessellating sofas. See all our stories about products launched at Orgatec.

Other lamps designed for Wästberg include architect David Chipperfield’s brass and rubber task light and designer Inga Sempé’s bowl-shaped LED pendant lamps.

See all our stories about lamps »
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See all our stories about Wästberg »

Here’s some more information from the designer:

Designer’s statement

When I started thinking about the design, I had the desire to challenge the perception and the common preconceptions of a material that is normally known to people just as ‘plastics’. I knew that I would like to go further than what’s the norm not only in terms of function and the look, but about the feel and tactility of the material as well. Soon it was clear that one of the greatest things I was missing in typical designs made of plastic was a significant impression of substance, of materiality. Therefore, the next step could only be a design that celebrated the actual material as it is, straightforward, solid and honest, with a concept of hiding nothing, but showing its innermost values to the outside. No second skin, no paint coat, the true, bold material in its pure form.

Technically, there was an equal desire to go for a high performance material that delivers the mechanical strength and rigidity for this product to last a long life while offering the possibility of doing large, solid cross-sections which are normally next to impossible in our chosen process of injection molding. The material that was finally fulfilling all these needs in an excellent way is a new development, giving us the desired tactility, the needed technical characteristics and the freedom of design.

Last but not least, making products out of plastic also involves being conscious of the responsibility for our environment. And the chosen material does not stop here: in this lamp, we are using a plastic that is based on over 60% biologically sourced material, which is castor oil, taken from the castor plant which does not compete with worldwide food production due to different agricultural requirements. Therefore the design makes a step ahead by setting the course for producing independently of mineral oil based plastics.

Technical description

Winkel w127 is manufactured of solid fiberglass reinforced biopolyamide. The material is recyclable. The mechanical solution is based on micro gas springs, widely used in the automotive and electronics industries. The gas springs have a lifespan of more than 50,000 compressions and give exceptionally good movement patterns. The shade is adjustable for universal direction of the light. The light technology is based on a highly energy-efficient multichip LED solution. This consists of a cluster of diodes instead of several separate diodes. By using multichip LED, so called multi-shadows are avoided and a very even light pattern is achieved. The diode is cooled efficiently with an advanced cooling construction. The fixture is equipped with both a reflector and a diffuser lens, to give optimal light distribution and light quality. In addition, there is a glare protection system to minimize both direct and indirect glare. Winkel w127 is equipped with a seamless dimmer that is operated by an IR-switch; a built-in timer automatically turns the lamp off after five hours. Winkel w127 is avaiable with base, clamp or pin.

Technical information
Material: fiberglass reinforced biopolyamide
Light source: 1–9 W LED
Light output: lm/W 84
Colour temperature: 3,000 K
CRI: > 90
LED life-span: 50,000 h

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for Wästberg appeared first on Dezeen.

Oslo designers Andersson & Voll paired a bright yellow moka pot with a cooking hob sculpted from a slab of marble for an exhibition of Norwegian design at the Design Tide Tokyo trade fair this weekend.

The Good Morning moka pot updates the classic tiered coffee maker with reference to traditional Japanese teapots, designer Espen Voll of Andersson & Voll explained to Dezeen.

“Water and ground coffee beans rise from the basic solid of the cylinder and transform into coffee in the more carefully shaped top part. The materiality is refined in a similar way, going from crude aluminum to enamel and polished wood,” he said.

The Tuamotu cooking hob is set in a solid marble base “to emphasise the sculptural qualities of the object,” the designers said.

The objects were shown at Design Tide Tokyo from 31 October to 4 November as part of Food Work, a collection of objects for cooking and eating produced by eight Norwegian designers.

Other unusual coffee makers we’ve featured include an espresso machine made out of concrete and a kettle that uses a light bulb to heat water.

See all our stories about coffee »
See all our stories about cooking »

Here’s some more information from the designers:

Food Work – 8 Norwegian designers on objects of culinary experience.

FoodWork is an independent project initiated by 8 Norwegian designers to be shown at Tokyo Design Tide 2012.

As the title indicates, the topic of the project is food: storage, preparation, presentation, and eating. These objects spring out of simple and ordinary, yet essential and vital, actions that tie people together across cultural differences. The objects are designed for everyday situations in Norway – they are Norwegian. However, we have been inspired by Japanese culture – or rather, by our particular understanding of Japanese culture. In other words: we have attempted to make Norwegian objects that could also be relevant to Japanese living. Our goal is to draw inspiration and knowledge from how our work is experienced in Tokyo.

Tuamotu cooking top

Tuamotu cooking top. The small gas top is your atoll of gastronomic cooking pleasures. The solid marble base and cast iron details are elements of a rustic and contemporary attitude. These are classic and basic materials adjusted to a personalised and compact way of living. Everyday luxury with high quality materials and a timeless expression.

Good Morning coffee pot

A morning without coffee is like sleep. A good morning is fuelling up with your own, home-brewed espresso. This is our dream pot: a hybrid of the classic Italian pots, traditional Japanese handicraft, and Norwegian cravings for extra strong coffee. The pot is made in aluminium, with a walnut handle. The way the pot is divided tells the story of the transition from the crude to the refined – from beans and water to pure pleasure.

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by Anderssen & Voll appeared first on Dezeen.

Interieur 2012: objects that seem like half-finished sketches of candle holders, vases, bowls and bottles won British designer Maya Selway second prize in the Object category of the Interieur Design Awards at the Interieur design biennale in Kortrijk, Belgium, last week (+ slideshow).

Each object in the Kishu collection is carefully weighted at its base to support its lopsided structure. “I worked for a long time to get the balance just right,” Selway told Dezeen.

The delicate pieces are made from oxidised copper, and the vase also has a shallow silver dish for holding water.

The bottles and bowls are purely decorative, but the candle holder and the vase can be used as shown.

Selway trained as a silversmith and jeweller at Camberwell College of Arts in London and Bishopsland near Reading, and has also worked making props and building sets for theatre and film.

Other unusual candle holders we’ve featured on Dezeen include one with a sandpaper base for striking matches and a series of stackable candle holders made from copper, steel and lumps of concrete.

At Interieur 2012 we also reported on a concept car by Ross Lovegrove that invites a primitive emotional response and a table, lamp and bookshelf made from concrete by Matali Crasset – see all our stories about Interieur 2012.

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Maya Selway appeared first on Dezeen.

Dutch Design Week: designer Doreen Westphal has created a lamp with a metal stem that can be positioned upright or at an angle against its magnetic concrete base, currently on show at Dutch Design Week.

A copper-coated iron tube containing the power cable is held in place by magnets embedded in the poured concrete base.

“People keep trying to figure out how it works but they see no mechanism,” Westphal told Dezeen. “They don’t believe that it works by magnetism because I covered the tube with copper leaf.”

The lamp is available as a table or floor lamp, which have slightly different bases.

Each allows the tube to attach upright, but when resting at an angle the table lamp balances at 45 degrees, whereas the floor lamp must sit at 60 degrees from horizontal to prevent the longer, heavier tube from tipping it over.

The power cable length can be adjusted so that the bulb points upward or hangs down from the end of the tube.

Concrete is also used as a base for the flick switch that sits further down the cable.

The lamp comes with either a white tube and orange cable or a copper-coloured tube and black cable.

Westphal is displaying her work at the On The Road exhibition at Studio Lieverse as part of Dutch Design Week, which continues until 28 October.

See all our stories about Dutch Design Week 2012 »
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See all our stories about lamps »

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by Doreen Westphal appeared first on Dezeen.

This office desk by Danish design studio KiBiSi is a cross between an ironing board and a car jack – simply turn the handle on the corner to raise or lower the surface.

Called XTable, it has mechanical parts hidden in its tabletop that connect the handle with the adjustable scissor legs.

“A threaded rod connects the two top parts of the steel frame and is directed to the front via a 90 degree gear,” explained creative director Jens Martin Skibsted. ”When the handle is turned the distance between the two top points will change and the table will lift or lower.”

“[It’s] a piece of office machinery that accommodates multiple working positions and daily reshuffling,” the designers added.

The desk is accompanied by an optional storage box for office supplies.

The XTable was launched at Orgatec trade fair in Cologne this week by Scandinavian brand Holmris.

Earlier this week we featured another piece of mechanical furniture – a cabinet that opens like a giant sewing box. Other pieces by KiBiSi we’ve published previously include a sofa that looks like a rolled-up mattress and a pair of rainproof and snowproof headphones.

See all our stories about KiBiSi »
See all our stories about desks »
See all our stories about furniture »

Here’s some more information from KiBiSi:

XTable is a manually height adjustable desk.

XTable uses manual kinetic power instead of electricity for height adjustments – saves energy and keeps users active. All technical features are constructively integrated in the table top. It uses a century old principle known from carjacks, ironing boards and other iconic tools. The principle coupled with a desk is a radical redesign of the traditional office desk. XTable is designed with an optional storage solution for office supplies and other belongings.

XTable leverages the production knowhow and crafts heritage from its manufacturer, Holmris. Holmris is a Scandinavian family owned business that has delivered quality office furniture for 3 generations.

With XTable Holmris is set to redefine the office furniture market with a highly competitive, compact and efficient workspace that will be launched at Orgatec, October 23 – 27, in Cologne.

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by KiBiSi appeared first on Dezeen.