Hasta La Ideas sid lee Archives

Nov 09

3D-printed perfume tools by Unfold and Barnabé Fillion

Belgian design studio Unfold has created a set of 3D-printed ceramic tools for diluting and diffusing the scents of French perfumer Barnabé Fillion (+ slideshow).

The Peddler by The Peddler by Unfold and Barnabé FillionUnfold and Barnabé Fillion — Photography by Marie Taillefer

Using a ceramic 3D-printing technique the studio originally developed in 2009, Unfold produced a series of objects to dilute the perfume plus a diffuser that absorbs the liquid and dissipates the scent.

The Peddler by Unfold and Barnabé Fillion — Photography by Marie Taillefer

“The whole setup is an olfactory installation that explores the extraordinary way in which ceramics absorb, store and release a perfume’s head, heart and base notes over a prolonged time,” Dries Verbruggen of Unfold told Dezeen.

The printed tools include a carafe that holds distilled water, a smaller receptacle for alcohol and a high-necked flask, pipette and funnel used to dilute and mix the perfume.

Diluted perfume is then poured into the central core of an unglazed diffuser and gradually spreads through the multiple compartments, which create a greater surface area to absorb the liquid.

“The inspiration here was taken from fruit cut-throughs,” said Verbruggen. “When you cut through a lemon for example, you release its essence in the atmosphere but you also expose the intricate inner structure of the fruit.”

Although the diffuser will naturally release the perfume’s scent over time, the designers created an apparatus that spreads it around, “to give it an extra punch and to add a conscious gesture.”

Any of three different diffusers can be attached to an oak and aluminium contraption and are counterbalanced by a weight. Turning a handle causes the diffuser to rotate, releasing the scent as it spins.

The items are printed from fine layers of ceramic that produce a stratified surface. “The technique is very suited for intricate and complex ceramic shapes like the diffusers,” Verbruggen explained. The vessels have a layer thickness of one millimetre that results in a rough surface, while the more precise diffusers are formed from 0.5 millimetre-thick layers.

Unfold created the installation for the launch of Barnabé Fillion‘s perfume brand, which is called The Peddler and focuses on the experience of scent through temporary events and exhibitions. Their machine was one of several collaborations Fillion undertook with artists and designers, and he presented the results at Maison & Objet in September.

The post 3D-printed perfume tools
by Unfold and Barnabé Fillion appeared first on Dezeen.

Mar 20

Design award contender exhibits copies of rivals’ objects

Posted in: copying, Daniel Charny, Phil Cuttance, Postlerferguson

News: a nominee for the Design Museum’s Design of the Year award has caused controversy by presenting 3D-printed copies of two of the other finalists’ work.

Antwerp-based designers Unfold presented replicas of projects by fellow nominees Phil Cuttance and PostlerFerguson as part of their Kiosk 2.0 project that went on show at the London museum yesterday.

“Some people have reacted very strongly to it,” said Daniel Charny, a curator who nominated Unfold’s project for the exhibition. “This is part of what’s going to happen with 3D printing. Is it a cheap fake or is it a new piece? When is it okay, when is it not okay?”

Designs of the Year award contender Unfold exhibits copies of Faceture Vase by Phil Cuttance and Papafoxtrot boats by Postlerferguson

Kiosk 2.0 is a mobile 3D printing laboratory modelled on Berlin sausage-vending carts. The replicas were displayed on the cart alongside copies of design classics including Marcel Wanders’ Egg Vase, Alvar Aalto’s vase and Charles and Ray Eames’ wooden blackbird.

Unfold’s Claire Warnier and Dries Verbruggen created versions of Cuttance’s Faceture Vase and PostlerFerguson’s Papafoxtrot toys by watching online movies about how the products were made and downloading drawings from the internet.

“A lot of the classical stuff like the Eames bird, you can just download,” says Verbruggen. “A lot of designers are putting a lot of information about their designs online. A lot of brands, especially in furniture, publish all the digital files because they want architects to use their renderings so they specify their furniture. They don’t understand that a lot of that is production data. You can just replicate it.”

Designs of the Year award contender Unfold exhibits copies of Faceture Vase by Phil Cuttance and Papafoxtrot boats by Postlerferguson

To generate their version of the Faceture Vase, Unfold watched an online video of Cuttance making the product and then wrote a computer script to achieve the same effect with a digital file.

“We didn’t have access to the vases so we couldn’t scan them,” said Verbruggen. “So we reverse-engineered them. Phil has this really nice movie where he details the whole process, so we started counting how many triangles he uses, how many cuts he makes. We translated that into a computer script and we made a programme that generates them.”

Cuttance makes the vases by hand-scoring a sheet of plastic with a triangular pattern, then rolling the sheet into a tube and manipulating it by hand to create a unique shape. This is then used as a mould for a vase, which is cast in resin.

After his initial surprise that his design had been replicated, Cuttance feels that Unfold’s project proves how much harder it is to copy craft objects compared to mass-produced items. “In trying to copy my vases they proved what I’ve been trying to achieve – that a slightly different product comes out each time,” he said. “In craft there’s an inherent value that is hard to copy.”

Designs of the Year award contender Unfold exhibits copies of Faceture Vase by Phil Cuttance and Papafoxtrot boats by Postlerferguson

The process of creating versions of PostlerFergurson’s wooden boats was much simpler: Unfold simply downloaded PDF drawings of the products. After that “an intern modelled it in a couple of days,” Verbruggen says, adding that PostlerFerguson were “kind of flattered” to see their object replicated at the museum.

“This is a project that’s both critical and speculative,” said Charny. “It questions intellectual property, the ego of the designer, authorship and authenticity”.

Verbruggen said: “The kiosk is a platform for us to learn what are the characteristics of digital design and digital manufacturing and how does it differ from physical design. It’s about our role as designers in a post-digital era. We want people to see opportunities, not only threats.”

He added: “We want to visualise things that are brewing up on the fringes and put them in a recognisable scenario.”

The Designs of the Year exhibition is at the Design Museum in London until 7 July. The winner will be announced on 17 April.

The post Design award contender exhibits
copies of rivals’ objects appeared first on Dezeen.

Oct 20

Filter for Open Source Water Boiler by Unfold

Posted in: 3D printing, Istanbul Design Biennial 2012, open design

Istanbul Design Biennial: Belgian design studio Unfold have created a 3D printed ceramic filter for an open source water boiler and purifier that was developed by Jesse Howard in collaboration with Thomas Lommée for use in the developing world.

OpenStructures WaterBoiler by Unfold

The machine was first devised by Howard and Lommée of Intrastructures, a design studio that makes and uses components from the OpenStructures open source construction project. Read more about the OpenStructures system in our earlier story.

OpenStructures WaterBoiler by Unfold

Unfold developed the original design by replacing its plastic bottle with a glass bottle, which has been cut in half to hold the water filter. The ceramic water filter has extruded pockets filled with activated carbon, which acts as a natural purification device, and attaches to the OpenStructures system via a 3D-printed adapter designed by Fabio Lorefice.

We recently reported on another Unfold project presented in Istanbul, which explored how 3D printed objects can be as unique as handmade ones.

See all our stories about Unfold »
See all our stories about 3D printing »
See all our stories about open design »

Here’s some more information about the project:

The OpenStructures WaterBoiler, originally designed and composed by Jesse Howard in collaboration with Thomas Lommée, was passed on to the Antwerp based design studio Unfold.

The WaterBoiler is based on the OpenStructures design principles. In Unfold’s adaptation, the water recipient, a salvaged, PET bottle, was replaced by a cut-through glass bottle that holds a ceramic water filter 3D printed using one of the machines that they developed. It further contains OS compatible parts designed by Fabio Lorefice (3D printed adaptor piece).

The water filter is a prototype, part of a recently started research project on the potential benefits of ceramic 3D printing for the production of water filters in the developing world.

The post Filter for Open Source Water Boiler
by Unfold appeared first on Dezeen.

Oct 20

OpenStructures Water Boiler by Unfold

Posted in: 3D printing, Istanbul Design Biennial 2012, open design

Istanbul Design Biennial: Belgian design studio Unfold used open source components including a filter made of 3D printed ceramic to build this water boiler and purifier, which could be used in the developing world.

OpenStructures WaterBoiler by Unfold

The machine was first devised by designer Jesse Howard in collaboration with Thomas Lommée of Intrastructures, a design studio that makes and uses components from the OpenStructures open source construction project. Read more about the OpenStructures system in our earlier story.

Unfold developed the original design by replacing its plastic bottle with a glass bottle, which has been cut in half to hold the water filter.

OpenStructures WaterBoiler by Unfold

The ceramic water filter has extruded pockets filled with activated carbon, which acts as a natural purification device.

We recently reported on another Unfold project presented in Istanbul, which explored how 3D printed objects can be as unique as handmade ones.

See all our stories about Unfold »
See all our stories about 3D printing »
See all our stories about open design »

Here’s some more information about the project:

The OpenStructures WaterBoiler, originally designed and composed by Jesse Howard in collaboration with Thomas Lommée, was passed on to the Antwerp based design studio Unfold.

The water filter is a prototype, part of a recently started research project on the potential benefits of ceramic 3D printing for the production of water filters in the developing world.

The post OpenStructures Water Boiler
by Unfold appeared first on Dezeen.

Oct 17

Stratigraphic Manufactury by Unfold

Posted in: 3D printing, Istanbul Design Biennial 2012, slideshows

Istanbul Design Biennial: this project by Antwerp design studio Unfold explores how 3D-printed objects created from identical digital files can be as varied and unique as hand-made objects (+ movie + slideshow).