Hasta La Ideas

This lapel pin by Israeli designer Omer Polak incorporates a miniature vase to hold tiny blooms (+ slideshow).

Polak‘s Boutonnière, French for buttonhole, the design allows the wearer to attach a real flower to their clothing with enough water to keep it looking fresh all day.

Each blown-glass vessel has a curved bottom and is attached with a simple brass pin and the user can choose their own combination of flowers or herbs, for visual appeal but also in order to wear a particular scent.

The accessory is a continuation of Polak’s graduation project called S-sense, which was based on the story of a person who has never experienced the sense of smell before.

“Smell is vital in our everyday lives,” said the designer. “It is a major component in our sense of taste and it has a wonderful ability to create memories and bring them to the forefront of our consciousness.”

Here’s a movie about that project:

Here is some more information from the designer:

Lapel pin for flower which is a side effect of my Graduation project S-sense – a project that combines designing and neuroscience. The project introduces a research on the sense of smell and its uses. Many case studies in this field were gathered into a story of anosmic character, who’s never experienced the sense of smell before.

First, she learns to smell with an odour-learning device that operates as biofeedback. Subsequently, she combines smells in her own world and amplifies them by designated jewelries in order to influence social situations. Moreover, she studies her past by restoration of her memories through smells. 

Since the beginning of mankind, flowers were used for various purposes including decoration and camouflage. Many flowers and their scents have gained recognition and appreciation and were attributed to different qualities. A decorative flower in a breast pocket is a cultural characteristic that traveled to the early twentieth century as a manly decoration symbolising wealth and male fertility.

Boutonnière – a lapel pin for flower made out of glass and brass – contains water to keep the flower fresh all day long. Apart from being pleasing to the eye, the flower also spreads its smell while being worn. It’s suitable for a wedding, prom or any special event. By choosing the flowers you can give your own interpretation and you can use different variations of colours and odours in the flowers’ arrangement. It’s also nice and unique to use some herbs for decoration and perfumes.

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by Omer Polak appeared first on Dezeen.

For those who want to green up their homes without the hassle of repotting and getting soil everywhere or simply don’t have the extra space in an already cramped apartment, air plants (or tillandsia) are an excellent option. Just as the name suggests,…

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Tomato vines suspended over conference tables and broccoli fields in the reception are part of working life at this Japan office by Kono Designs (+ slideshow).

New York firm Kono Designs created the urban farm in 2010, in a nine-storey office building in Tokyo to allow employees to grow and harvest their own food at work. Dezeen spoke with company principal Yoshimi Kono this week to hear more about the project.

“Workers in nearby buildings can be seen pointing out and talking about new flowers and plants and even the seasons – all in the middle of a busy intersection in Tokyo’s metropolitan area,” Kono told Dezeen. “The change in the way local people think and what they talk about was always one of the long-term goals of the project.”

The creation of the new headquarters for Japanese recruitment firm Pasona consisted of refurbishing a 50 year old building to include office areas, an auditorium, cafeterias, a rooftop garden and urban farming facilities. Inside the 19,974 square metre office building there are 3995 square metres dedicated to green space that house over 200 species of plants, fruits, vegetables and rice.

Kono told Dezeen that all of the food is harvested, prepared and served on-site in the cafeterias – making Pasona’s Urban Farm the largest farm-to-table office scheme in Japan.

Pasona employees are encourage to maintain and harvest the crops and are supported by a team of agricultural specialists.

“My client has a larger vision to help create new farmers in urban areas of Japan and a renewed interest in that lifestyle,” Kono told Dezeen.

“One way to encourage this is to not just tell urban communities about farms and plants, but to actively engage with them through both a visual intervention in their busy lifestyle and educational programs focusing on farming methods and practices that are common in Japan,” he added.

The building has a double-skin green facade where flowers and orange trees are planted on small balconies. From the outside, the office block appears to be draped in green foliage.

“The design focus was not on the imposed standards of green, where energy offsets and strict efficiency rates rule,” said Kono. “But rather on an idea of a green building that can change the way people think about their daily lives and even their own personal career choice and life path.”

Inside the offices, tomato vines are suspended above conference tables, lemon and passion fruit trees are used as partitions for meeting spaces, salad leaves are grown inside seminar rooms and bean sprouts are grown under benches.

Plants hang in bags surrounding meeting desks and there are vines growing within vertical cages and wooden plant boxes around the building.

Ducts, pipes and vertical shafts were rerouted to the perimeter of the building to allow for maximum height ceilings and a climate control system is used to monitor humidity, temperature and air flow in the building to ensure it is safe for the employees and suitable for the farm.

“It is important not to just think about how we can use our natural resources better from a distance, but to actively engage with nature and create new groups of people who have a deep interest and respect for the world they live in,” said Kono.

“It is important to note that this is not a passive building with plants on the walls, this is an actively growing building, with plantings used for educational workshops where Pasona employees and outside community members can come in and learn farming practices.”

Yoshimi Kono studied architecture in Tokyo and was a chief designer with Shigeru Uchida at Studio 80 in Tokyo and later became partner at Vignelli Associates in New York. He founded Kono Designs in 2000.

Plants growing on the outside and inside of buildings have been popular on Dezeen recently. Other features include the news that botanist Patrick Blanc has unveiled his latest green wall during Paris Design Week yesterday and we reported on Blanc’s collaboration with French architect Jean Nouvel to create the world’s tallest living wall in Sydney.

See more plant features »
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See more green design »

Photographs are courtesy of Kono Designs.

Here’s a project description:

Pasona Urban Farm

Located in down-town Tokyo, Pasona HQ is a nine story high, 215,000 square foot corporate office building for a Japanese recruitment company, Pasona Group. Instead of building a new structure from ground up, an existing 50 years old building was renovated, keeping its building envelope and superstructure.

The project consists of a double-skin green facade, offices, an auditorium, cafeterias, a rooftop garden and most notably, urban farming facilities integrated within the building. The green space totals over 43,000 square feet with 200 species including fruits, vegetables and rice that are harvested, prepared and served at the cafeterias within the building. It is the largest and most direct farm-to-table of its kind ever realised inside an office building in Japan.

The double-skin green facade features seasonal flowers and orange trees planted within the 3′ deep balconies. Partially relying on natural exterior climate, these plants create a living green wall and a dynamic identity to the public. This was a significant loss to the net rentable area for a commercial office. However, Pasona believed in the benefits of urban farm and green space to engage the public and to provide better workspace for their employees.

The balconies also help shade and insulate the interiors while providing fresh air with operable windows, a practical feature not only rare for a mid rise commercial building but also helps reduce heating and cooling loads of the building during moderate climate. The entire facade is then wrapped with deep grid of fins, creating further depth, volume and orders to the organic green wall.

Within the interior, the deep beams and large columns of the existing structure are arranged in a tight interval causing low interior ceiling of 7′-6″. With building services passing below, some area was even lower at 6′-8″. Instead, all ducts, pipes and their vertical shafts were re-routed to the perimeter, allowing maximum height with exposed ceilings between the beams.

Lightings are then installed, hidden on the bottom vertical edge of the beams, turning the spaces between the beams into a large light cove without further lowering the ceiling. This lighting method, used throughout the workspace from second floor to 9th floor, achieved 30% less energy than the conventional ceiling mounted method.

Besides creating a better work environment, Pasona also understands that in Japan opportunities for job placement into farming are very limited because of the steady decline of farming within the country. Instead, Pasona focuses on educating and cultivating next generation of farmers by offering public seminars, lectures and internship programs.

The programs empower students with case studies, management skills and financial advices to promote both traditional and urban farming as lucrative professions and business opportunities. This was one of the main reason for Pasona to create urban farm within their headquarters in downtown Tokyo, aiming to reverse the declining trend in the number of farmers and to ensure sustainable future food production.

Currently, Japan produces less than one-third of their grain locally and imports over 50 million tons of food annually, which on average is transported over 9,000 miles, the highest in the world. As the crops harvested in Pasona HQ are served within the building cafeterias, it highlights ‘zero food mileage’ concept of a more sustainable food distribution system that reduces energy and transportation cost.

Japan’s reliance on imported food is due to its limited arable land. Merely 12% of its land is suitable for cultivation. Farmland in Pasona HQ is highly efficient urban arable land, stacked as a vertical farm with modern farming technology to maximise crop yields.

Despite the increased energy required in the upkeep of the plants, the project believes in the long term benefits and sustainability in recruiting new urban farmers to practice alternative food distribution and production by creating more urban farmland and reducing food mileage in Japan.

Using both hydroponic and soil based farming, in Pasona HQ, crops and office workers share a common space. For example, tomato vines are suspended above conference tables, lemon and passion fruit trees are used as partitions for meeting spaces, salad leaves are grown inside seminar rooms and bean sprouts are grown under benches.

The main lobby also features a rice paddy and a broccoli field. These crops are equipped with metal halide, HEFL, fluorescent and LED lamps and an automatic irrigation system. An intelligent climate control system monitors humidity, temperature and breeze to balance human comfort during office hours and optimise crop growth during after hours. This maximises crop yield and annual harvests.

Besides future sustainability of farmers, Pasona HQ’s urban farm is beyond visual and aesthetic improvement. It exposes city workers to growing crops and interaction with farmland on a daily basis and provides improvement in mental health, productivity and relaxation in the workplace. Studies show that most people in urbanised societies spend over 80% of their time indoors. Plants are also known to improve the air quality we breathe by carbon sequestration and removing volatile organic compound. A sampling on the air at Pasona HQ have shown reduction of carbon dioxide where plants are abundant. Such improvement on the air quality can increase productivity at work by 12%, improves common symptoms of discomfort and ailments at work by 23%, reduce absenteeism and staff turnover cost.

Employees of Pasona HQ are asked to participate in the maintenance and harvesting of crops with the help of agricultural specialists. Such activity encourages social interaction among employees leading to better teamwork on the job. It also provides them with a sense of responsibility and accomplishment in growing and maintaining the crops that are ultimately prepared and served to their fellow co-workers at the building’s cafeterias.

Pasona Urban Farm is a unique workplace environment that promotes higher work efficiency, social interaction, future sustainability and engages the wider community of Tokyo by showcasing the benefits and technology of urban agriculture.

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by Kono Designs appeared first on Dezeen.

Cacti, gravel, concrete floors and a wooden bridge feature in this Brussels fashion boutique by JDS Architects (+ slideshow).

Danish architect Julien De Smedt of JDS Architects created the raw industrial interior for the two-storey Siblingsfactory shop, which opened last week in Belgium’s capital city. The store sells clothing and accessories for men and women, vintage furniture and a selection of homeware, plus the design team has also created a small magazine library where customers can sit down and have a cup of tea.

Raw concrete and white painted walls surround the retail space. A fibreboard footbridge spans diagonally across the double-height store entrance, while rows of thin cacti are planted in gravel along the edge of the mezzanine.

The ground floor features rows of clothing rails and a long wooden reception desk. Box-like shelves are hidden under a staircase and display products such as lamps and footstools.

Two white shelves are fixed to the concrete wall behind the reception desk and used to display accessories such as bags.

On the second floor there additional clothing rails and a selection of furniture pieces, including a bookshelf made from five stacked wooden boxes.

The architects positioned vintage furniture pieces around the store, alongside new products designed by Julien De Smedt and lamps by French lighting designer Marine Breynaert.

Siblingsfactory opened last week to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of clothing label Le Mont St Michel. Other brands on sale include A Peace Treaty and Studio Nicholson, and the store plans to donate a portion of its annual profits to children’s charity Afghanistan Demain.

Last week De Smedt launched Makers With Agendas – a new design brand with products ranging from solutions to natural disasters to coat hooks and tea sets. Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs spoke to De Smedt ahead of the launch. Read the full interview »

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Photographs are by Nico Neefs, courtesy JDS Architects.

Here’s a project description:

SiblingsFactory concept store

A concept store of 230m2 invented by the Belgian architect Julien De Smedt, pleasant and welcoming, ideal for beauty, quality and excellence in the heart of the Dansaert district in Brussels.

In Siblingsfactory one finds a coherent and intelligent mix of fashion, design and contemporary art. One can enjoy a sophisticated selection of fashion and accessories for men and women, exhibitions, vintage furniture and design, a cup of tea and a library with art magazines.

To realise the project, co-founders Aymeric Watine and Marie de Moussac worked closely with the JDSA architects and its founder Julien De Smedt. The agency consists of young architects and designers who are known for projects such as the ski jump in Oslo and their collaboration with Muuto.

About Aymeric Watine:

After his studies at the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne (ECSCP), Aymeric worked for several French fashion houses.

About Marie de Moussac:

She studied communications at the EFAP (Ecole Française des Attachés de Presse et des Professionnels de la Communication). Marie then spent eight years working at a communication agency in Paris as a project manager. Marie is passionate about contemporary art and design and has a thorough knowledge of the art market.

In 2007, she works for an advertising agency in Kabul in Afghanistan and met Mehrangais Ehsan, founder of the association Afghanistan Demain, which aims to get children off the street and into school. A portion of the proceeds from the new Siblingsfactory concept store will be donated to the charity.

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JDS Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

News: a 21 metre high living wall containing 10,000 plants and 16 tons of soil will help reduce flooding in London, according to its designer.

The huge green wall, designed by Gary Grant of Green Roof Consultancy and covering an entire facade of a hotel, covers 350 square metres – making it the largest wall of vertical plants in London.

The permanent feature is located on the exterior wall of the Rubens at the Palace hotel in Victoria. It is made from a range of different plants that are all recommended by The Royal Horticultural Society as the best pollinators to attract wildlife such as bees, butterflies and birds to the urban environment.

The wall, which was unveiled this week, has been designed in an attempt to reduce local environmental issues such as surface flooding and air pollution. The 10,000 plants are irrigated by harvested rainwater that is caught in dedicated storage tanks on the roof, which Grant claims will reduce surface water flooding.

“The living wall is irrigated using rainwater harvested from the roofs and stored in tanks before being fed through the wall, from which it evaporates,” said Grant. “In this sense the project is a sustainable drainage system.”

London mayor Boris Johnson is promoting sustainable drainage systems – or SUDS – to combat flooding in the capital, Grant said. “Victoria suffers from surface water flooding because of the preponderance of sealed surfaces such as roads and roofs. Occasionally when there is heavy rain the surface water drains are overwhelmed and flooding ensues.”

The project was undertaken as a result of an audit to identify new locations for green space, carried out by local organisation Victoria Business Improvement District (Victoria BID). The wall will be maintained by green wall compnay Treebox.

Here’s a time lapse video of the installation of the wall:

Other green walls we’ve featured include: a family house that conceals a three-storey wall of plants behind its slate-clad facade and a leisure centre in Amsterdam that was designed as a fortress covered in plants.

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Photographs are courtesy of Rain Communications.

Here’s more information:

Victoria BID and the Rubens at the Palace Hotel unveil London’s largest living wall designed to reduce urban flooding in Victoria

Standing at 350 square metres with over 10,000 ferns, herbaceous plants and 16 tons of soil, Victoria welcomes the unveiling of London’s largest living wall designed to reduce urban flooding.

The Rubens at the Palace Hotel living wall, on the doorstep of Buckingham Palace, reaches over 21 metres high. It will be packed with over 20 seasonal plant species including buttercups, crocuses, strawberries, spring bulbs and winter geraniums.

The flowers have been chosen to ensure the wall is ‘in-bloom’ all year round, attracting wildlife such as birds, butterflies and bees, and the permanent feature will provide a vibrant focal point for the local area. The living wall will be one of London’s most visually impactful and colourful vertical gardens, brightening the popular tourist walk from Victoria station to the Royal residence.

The ground-breaking green project came to light following a Green Infrastructure Audit, a mapping process that sought to identify new locations for green space in Victoria that was carried out by the Victoria Business Improvement District (Victoria BID), the body representing over 250 businesses in the Victoria area including the Rubens at the Palace Hotel. As a result of the audit, the hotel commissioned concept designs for the wall in recognition of the environmental benefits the wall will have for Victoria.

The wall’s unique design enables it to capture rainwater from the roof of the building in dedicated storage tanks. A key environmental challenge in Victoria is the risk of flooding during periods of heavy rain, due to the low absorbency of urban surfaces. According to the Environment Agency, there are now around 534,000 properties in London on the Thames floodplain, and one in four in London are at risk of flooding.

Water collected by the tanks is channelled slowly through the wall, nourishing plant life and helping to reduce the risk of surface water flooding in the area by storing up to 10,000 litres at any time.

The project has received support from the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, through his Greening the BIDs programme (co-ordinated by the regeneration agency Cross River Partnership).

In addition, the wall will improve the air quality in the area, deaden noise and help to keep the hotel cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. The vegetation can trap microscopic pollutants known as particulate matter (PM10s), high levels of which have been shown to cause respiratory illnesses.

The wall was designed by Gary Grant of the Green Roof Consultancy Ltd and installed and maintained by TreeBox Ltd.

Ruth Duston, CEO of Victoria BID, says; “While green infrastructure inevitably improves the aesthetics of the area it also has a substantial positive impact on the long-term environmental sustainability of an area. The Rubens at the Palace Hotel has demonstrated a huge commitment to the delivery of a sustainable agenda, their appetite to engage and lead on such an iconic project really showcases the greening agenda overseen by Victoria BID to deliver a model of best practice for London.”

Jonathan Raggett, Managing Director of Red Carnation Hotels, of which the Rubens at the Palace is a part of, said; “We’re excited to be unveiling the Living Wall on the side of the Rubens at the Palace. It was a project we bought in to from the very beginning and thanks to the belief and investment of our owners, it’s not only been brought to fruition but significantly enhanced from the original concept stage. We take the issue of sustainable tourism very seriously across the entire Red Carnation Hotel collection, and this wall will minimise the hotel’s impact on the environment and also improve the air quality and aesthetic in this part of London.”

Armando Raish, managing director of Treebox, said: “Due to the variety of plants used in its construction, we expect the living wall at the Rubens at the Palace to significantly increase the number and variety of bugs and bees in this part of Victoria, helping to promote biodiversity and return nature to this urban environment. The wall will also help improve the respiratory health of the people who live and visit Victoria by absorbing pollutants, an important feature of the wall given the mounting evidence that shows just how harmful particulate matter can be to human health.”

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will “combat flooding” appeared first on Dezeen.