Hasta La Ideas

Maison&Objet 2013: London designer Benjamin Hubert has created a range of terracotta pots with rubber lids for Danish homeware brand Menu.

The collection, called Pots, was created by Benjamin Hubert and Menu using the contrast between traditional terracotta and industrially produced rubber lids.

Each pot has a natural exterior and a glazed interior, while the lids are injection-moulded silicone.

The collection comprises a tall and top-heavy pot for spaghetti, a container with a wide spout for dispensing pasta or grain, a small pot with a long neck for controlled pouring, and a wide cookie jar that rotates on its angled base for easy sharing.

Last year we published a rustic restaurant interior in Copenhagen by Menu in collaboration with Norm Architects.

We’ve featured lots of products by Hubert, including a ceramic lamp, also launching at Maison & Objet, and a lighting collection made of underwear fabric – see all designs by Benjamin Hubert.

Other designs from Maison & Object we’ve reported on this year include a speaker shaped like a volume icon on a computer and whimsical wallpapers by Fornasetti – see all products from Maison & Objet 2013.

See all stories about containers »
See all stories about homeware »

Here’s some more information from the designers:

Pots by Benjamin Hubert X Menu

Pots is a series of storage jars launching at Maison & Objet in January 2013. The project is a result of a close collaboration between Benjamin Hubert and Danish brand Menu. The storage jars stem from the studio’s “materials driven, process led” industrial design approach, researching the typologies and language associated with ancient and contemporary methods of keeping products cool and dry utilising terracotta.

Pots feature an exterior of natural, raw terracotta contrasting with the gloss glazed interior and soft rubber lids, providing a multitude of experiences for your senses. The collection represents an uncompromising contrast between the ancient traditions found in terracotta and the industrial modernity embedded in the mass-produced rubber lids.

Pots provide an earthen landscape of sculptural but functional objects for your kitchen table, desk or windowsill. The series consists of four vessels, each holding a specific function – or ingredient – of your choice:

1. A tall djembe-like sculpture with a distinct waistline, whichgris holds your spaghetti or grissini so you can easily grasp it without lifting the pot.
2. A container with a wide pouring area making it easy for you to control the dispensing of pastas and grains.
3. A small pouring device with a long neck allowing for controlled dispensing of seeds, grains and sugar.
4. A stout cookie jar that can be twisted and turned to encourage sharing. This contains biscuits, tea bags, bonbons etc.

Materials:
Terracotta ceramic
Injection moulded silicone

The post Pots by Benjamin Hubert
for Menu appeared first on Dezeen.

Sustainable “aquaculture” in a shipping container

by Anton Crone Among a number of sustainability initiatives underway in the townships of Cape Town, one of the most innovative we’ve discovered is “The Fish Farm,” a patented micro-intensive farm in a 40-foot shipping container. Containers have become synonymous with third world development. They are converted into houses, schools,…

Continue Reading…

Modular design makes for a stackable, easy-to-clean drinking bottle

The first product from Nice Reusables, a new company devoted to the idea that sustainability should be simple, the Alex Bottle is an easy-to-clean water bottle. Alex stands for “Always Live Extraordinarily”—a statement that may seem extreme out of context, but makes perfect sense when you learn that enterprising Oakley former team manager Chris Hotell and his wife, champion pro snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, founded the company.

In this case, the extraordinary feat comes in the form of a new way to get gunk out of your drinking bottle. Most of us clean narrow-necked BPA-free bottles with a combination of despair and ingenuity, involving multi-step processes that include everything from simply scrubbing mold off caps to shaking a combo of lentils and dish soap or buying specialized cleaning solutions. No matter how hard you try, a well-used water bottle—filled regularly with coffee and smoothies and tossed in gym bags or the backseat of cars—can develop a funky aroma and thriving bacterial growth.

Alex’s solution makes cleaning the bottle a breeze. The cap and lower half of the bottle detach and are dishwasher-friendly. Simply unscrew the bottle apart and stack it next to plates and silverware. The modular design also makes it easier to swap out tops and halves for when you want a smaller or larger bottle with mix-and-match colors. When it’s empty, the bottle can pack inside itself for saving space in your bag or purse. All that cleverness earned Alex recognition as one of the finalistsin the 2011 Housewares Design Awards for Tabletop & Beverageware.

Next year should see further developments in the Alex design, with a sports top and a sippy cup attachment for kids. The Alex retails for $26 and sells online from the Alex Bottle shop.

Tkaro‘s cylindrical glass design not only eliminates the expendable plastic bottle (and the leached taste and BPAs that go with it), but doubles as a cup for a civilized way to stay hydrated on-the-go. The durable glass construction may weigh a little more than other aluminum or plastic reusables out there, but the “pureness of form and material allow the contents of the glass to be visible, assuring no residue and resulting in a continuously clean taste and smell.” Its wide-mouth form makes additions like lemon and ice cubes easy and, because it’s dishwasher-safe, cleaning is a snap too.

Founded by two Canadian sisters, a former real estate developer and ad salesperson, the pair also had health in mind when they came up with the bottle alternative. It holds about two cups of water, making it compact enough to carry but large enough to really quench thirst.

The Tkaro bottle sells online for $30, or $35 for a custom-engraved version.