ICFF 2009 was smaller than last year, surely due to the economy, but there was no shortage of imaginative, thoughtful designs.
Indeed, the amount of sustainable design at the show was greater than ever, and the pieces showed a great deal of both creativity and maturity. Below, here are 11 green designs, from floors to ceiling lights, that I think are especially noteworthy.
Scrap Lights from Graypants Scrap Lights, designed by Seattle-based architect/designers Jonathan Junker and Seth Grizzle, aka Graypants, are made from repurposed cardboard boxes. The pieces are handmade, so their slightly irregular pattern creates playful shadows on the walls. When the Scrap Light’s lifecycle is up, it can simply be recycled into something new. |
MIO Naked Cabinets MIO Naked cabinets are made with Formaldehyde free particleboard made from independently certified 100% pre-consumer recycled wood fibers. It’s then assembled, but not painted, turning what is normally thrown away into an aesthetic statement. |
Greenplay Greenplay is a modular play system made from “recycled, renewable, and low-impact materials”. They’re painted in low- or no-VOC paints, meaning they’re safe for both your kids and the planet. Which is the point of all this, isn’t it? |
Izm There are no recycled or recovered materials for Izm’s Visualizm AV unit. Jerad Mack and Shane Pawluk’s idea of sustainability works a bit differently. Working with the knowledge that it takes 100 years for one walnut tree to grow to maturity, they use age-old construction techniques to ensure that their furniture will be passed down from generation to generation. So when it’s ready to be replaced, that tree’s grown back. |
Pieter VanTuyl There’s no chance of calling Pieter VanTuyl’s Illuminated Shelf cold. This beautifully crafted shelf, made from sustainably-harvested walnut, with it’s illuminated glass shelf, is a striking example of green modernism done right. |
MissPrint Fireplaces are considered fairly environmentally unfriendly, what with the wood or gas burning. EcoSmart Fires, fueled by clean burning denatured ethanol, don’t need a flue or a connection to a utility, giving you the warmth of a fireplace and the flexibility to install it where you’d like. |
Anne Kyyrö Quinn Anne Kyyrö Quinn‘s striking three-dimensional wall panels, made with 100% renewable wool felt, suggest dramatic movement and help absorb sound in a space. It’s that they are constructed with such a simplicity of design that truly shows Quinn’s talents. |
Lulan Artisans Eve Blossom, Lulan Artisans‘ founder and CEO, takes a whole-Earth approach to sustainability: She and design partners Laura Guido-Clark and Michael Koch design textiles, which are then woven in Cambodia, India, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam using centuries-old techniques. These techniques help ensure each country’s culture remains intact while providing economic opportunity for them. Their new Diamond Cut line is made of 100% organic cotton, hand-woven, hand-dyed and hand-spun, and is available in six colors. |
MissPrint UK-based MissPrint, the mother-daughter team of Yvonne and Rebecca Drury, produce their own lines of wallpaper. Each midcentury-inspired design is hand-drawn, touched up in Illustrator, then hand-made from PEFC-certified paper and low- or non-toxic dyes. |
Iannone Design Michael Iannone uses a variety of sustainable materials, including cork, reclaimed and FSC-certified lumber, bamboo, and Kirei (Soughum board). But the materials aren’t the only thing to take notice of: His innovative styles create eye-catching pieces that would right just about any interior. |
Lift soap dish by Steph Mantis What if we could make something that would let us use the ordinary, everyday things we buy last a bit longer? That, and how to make if for only a dollar were the questions Steph Mantis of Pratt Institute’s Department of Industrial Design answered with her Lift soap dish. The dish is designed to save soap by lifting the bar up off the surface. Not a huge problem, yet a very real one at the same time. |
No single piece was the furthest reaching or most radical attempt as sustainable design, but taken as a whole, they reflect the wide range of options avaiable for green living.
With the continued push of designers, both large and small, into green design, I look forward to the day when “sustainable” is no longer a feature, but a standard.
