Tag Archives: sustainable design

SPOTTED – the Exbury Egg – a floating, self sustaining piece of micro architecture

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Alternative offices are far more exciting to work in than the standard desk and partition sort of space (and we would agree as we are currently moving into our new office, which used to be a public WC in Brighton and we are nicknaming Studio Loo). Having an interesting space around you really can boost your creativity and productivity. But offices do not usually get as alternative as the Exbury Egg…

This floating, self sustaining office is a combined project between British design firm SPUD, Perring Architecture + Design (PAD), boat builder Paul Baker, naval architect Stephen Payne, and artist Stephen Turner – with Turner being the lucky person who will inhabit the space for the next 12 months. He will use this time to document the tidal creek and humans own interaction with nature.

Two years in the making, the Exbury Egg now sits atop a tidal section of the River Beaulieu, where it will rise with the tides and rest on the estuary bed when the waters recede.

The cold moulded plywood and local timber create a beautifully organic space which although sparse, feels very cocoon like. 

Exbury Egg, PAD Studio, the SPUD Group, Stephen Turner, floating egg

The space is rather minimal, with a hammock taking up most of the internal space, along with a stove and working area. A wet room style bathroom is also included.

After the 12 month residency the Exbury Egg will become a travelling exhibition – hopefully it will travel close to Brighton so we have the opportunity to visit this beautiful piece of micro architecture.

(images via Inhabitat)

SPOTTED – the ‘soilid’ chair

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The use of natural materials to create structures is nothing new – traditional buildings have been constructed from the local materials for centuries, but it is very interesting when designers create new processes from old foundations.

This is exactly what Erez Nevi Pana has created with the very innovative ‘Soilid’ chair. 

Erez Nevi Pana, Soilid furniture, Soilid, Soilid chair, fungi

Looking like an old, and even perhaps burnt piece of timber, this stool is actually constructed from a really interesting mix of a few base materials. Soil, fungi and other natural materials were combined to create a mix which actually feeds itself and rises like a dough, doubling in size.

Left overnight, the risen material can then be moulded in a wood or plaster form, then baked just like a loaf until it becomes rigid and structurally sound, being able to be drilled and cut like wood.

Given the fact that the base ingredients are so natural and readily available, this innovative process could be utilised across the world to create pieces of furniture, or perhaps even pieces of buildings themselves…

(image via Inhabitat)

Monday Musings – The Guardian – 5 Small Steps to Going Green

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A very quick post here for Monday Musings, and really a bit of a re-post from elsewhere as last Saturday, we were featured in the Guardian in their ‘Live Green, Live Better’ supplement, talking about a few steps to going green in your interior in different ways.

Andrex: Claire Potter

We are, as you can imagine, really pleased to be included. Plus, I even like the photo, which was taken by the wonderful Trent McMinn.

If you missed the Guardian on Saturday, you can read it online here. 

(image by Trent McMinn via The Guardian)

SPOTTED – more low tech green walls

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We like green façades on buildings – especially when they are slightly different from the normal, high tech green wall systems. We have looked at a few low tech green façade systems here on the Ecospot, many of which feature naturally planted foliage based climbers and some kind of mesh cladding. These kind of green walls utilise the fact that climbers actually want to climb – provide them with the structure to scramble up and they will do the rest.

The latest building we have spotted to use this low tech green wall system is The Nest by a21 studio in Vietnam – a very simple steel framed building which has lots of opportunity to be colonised by green walls and plants.

There are a series of mesh panels integrated into the building, as well as a series of internal planters which help to continue the green wall theme into the structure. There is a beautiful transparency to the building which is softened by the planting, which will eventually grow to cover the façade completely.

Another simple way of producing a green wall on a building – which could also be utilised as a productive space – kiwis are very prolific climbers and would be perfect to cover a façade very quickly in the warm months…

(images via Inhabitat)

SPOTTED – the reclaimed Grandpa Desk by Martin Davis

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The repurposing of furniture is a bit of a studio obsession – when we are faced with a project we tend to turn to the client’s existing pieces to amend, or we start to trawl through our trusted list of local charity shops, second hand stores and flea markets to source reclaimed starting points. Using something old and discarded to create something new and reloved has a lovely poetic nature as well as a solid sustainable foundation. We love to see how other designers use these principles too – and we love the reclaimed Grandpa Desk by furniture designer Martin Davis.

Designer Martin Davis, martin davis, reclaimed wood furniture, reclaimed wood, recycled materials,  Grandpa’s Desk, wood desk, reclaimed wood desk

Like lots of our own reclaimed furniture and product design projects, this piece was conceived after a client asked Davis to reuse two old wardrobes originally built by their Grandpa – reimagining them as a new piece.

The resulting desk is constructed entirely from the old wardrobes, even down to the original screws which have been cast into resin to create the drawer handles.

This is a lovely example of how an old piece of reclaimed furniture can be reinvented for a modern home, but still retain the history and memories which make it special.

So when you are looking to obtain a new piece of furniture, ask yourself – can something you already have be redesigned and repurposed? Or can you rescue an otherwise unloved piece and bring it back to life?

(image via Inhabitat)

SPOTTED – screen printed reclaimed furniture by Zoe Murphy

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There are invariably pieces and styles of design that seem to crop up in a number of places over a very short space of time – interior shoots, new spaces, ‘picks of the month’  - or are copied by the High Street very quickly. The works of Zoe Murphy are a great example of this trend. Her screen printed reclaimed furniture shows not only a great adaptation of an otherwise discarded piece, but a relevant and modern treatment also.

The varying pieces are brought together into collections – the Margate collection is our favourite as it picks up on Murphy’s own interpretations of the colours and patterns of her home town.

zoe murphy

There is a beautiful strength to the graphics which compliment the hard and defined lines of the mid twentieth century furniture that she chooses to screen print. Murphy ensures that as much of the material and furniture is reused as possible and champions the idea of ‘loving what belongs to you’. The screen printed reclaimed furniture goes from a junk shop buy to a statement piece for the home.

This kind of thought process really appeals to us – inspiration born out of location, re-use, recycling and reinvention of an otherwise discarded piece.

See the rest of the Margate collection by Zoe Murphy here.

(image via Zoe Murphy)

Weekend DESIGN inspiration – University of Sussex Product Design Degree show – Design 2013

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This week we are not talking about colour inspiration, but Weekend Design Inspiration, courtesy of the great Product Designers at the University of Sussex who are currently exhibiting their final year show – design 2013.

Ok. This is a little biased as I am privileged enough to both guest lecture and guest critique on the Product Design degree course, but the exhibition of the final projects produced by the dedicated students is well worth a visit if you are in or around Brighton this week.

A variety of projects are on show, from a conceptual product which edges into fashion and deals with personal privacy to a modern heirloom for a child which encourages imaginative play and memory attachment.

Interactive products have also been created, including a social interaction toy and a game to help combat childhood obesity, and products with great social value such as a sleeping bag / jacket product for rough sleepers.

It is free to attend and well worth the trip to the University of Sussex today or tomorrow  Check out the full design 2013 website here…

Monday musings – the Artists Open Houses, Brighton

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Each May, our home town of Brighton is put into overdrive with the Brighton Festival, Brighton Fringe and the Artists Open Houses, running all month. Even though Brighton is already an incredibly creative city, you literally cannot move for pop up theatre, comedy, exciting new venues and wonderful performances. It is as exhausting as it is exciting. And as official reviewers this year for the excellent EggMag, we are enjoying it even more.

However, there is one element to May that is a real joy and we look forward to each year – the Artists Open Houses.

Springing up through the various art collectives that scatter the city, they are all brought together under the Open House banner for the month  arranged neatly into trails in most of the major areas of Brighton.

Using the brilliantly produced (and free) Artists Open House brochure or mobile app, you can discover areas of Brighton which you perhaps had never visited – peeking into the homes of the artists themselves, purchasing a cup of tea and home made cake and having a chat with the people who actually created the art, design and craft.

And this is the real bonus to the Artists Open Houses. Not only do you find wonderful pieces which span the realms of fine art, illustration, photography, jewellery and design collected together beautifully, you will probably get the chance to chat to the maker themselves.

So much of the creative process is a personal thing – particularly with solo artists and designer/ makers  so having the ability to talk through the reasoning to a piece, their inspiration or even whether they could do you the same item but perhaps in grey is priceless. In an age of the mass produced, the personality that is poured into art, design and craft is something that we have tended to lose – it is this great collective that allows us to reconnect.

It does feel as though these wonderful artists, designers and makers have been hidden away in their studios across Brighton, all working independently and the Open Houses is where we all get to discover them, so get out there.

Find a piece, talk to the maker and treasure it.

We will be posting some of our favourite makers here on the Ecospot, so keep your eyes peeled for a variety of both art, design and craft suitable for the eclectic interior.

see the Artists Open Houses website for details on all the locations across Brighton.

SPOTTED – hand crafted lamps by Sarah Lock

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As yesterday was a Bank Holiday Monday, there were no Monday Musings here on the Ecospot, but rest assured – we were not sitting idle. The merry month of May is a particularly great time to be in the city of Brighton as we have the fabulous Brighton Festival, Brighton Fringe and the Artists Open Houses.

This is where trails across the city wind their way from house to house each weekend, stuffed full of wonderful pieces of art, craft, graphics and homewares. And often, the creators are there too, so you get the chance to chat directly to the makers.

sarah lock

So, this month we we will be spotting quite a lot of stuff that we have hunted out on the Artist Open Houses trails, starting with these great lamps by designer Sarah Lock.

Currently on show at 3 Florence Road, Brighton, we were instantly drawn to the hand turned decorative wooden side lamps, each of which was topped with a bespoke shade.

With an eclectic mix of forms, some of the wooden bases were painted in both bold and delicate bands to match the contours of the base, whilst others were left natural.

Shades are matched perfectly with each base, from oversized florals to plain and neutral, but our favourite has to be the shades created from maps.

We were very drawn not only to the balanced nature of the pieces, but the slightly eclectic nature that each piece had. They would be perfect in any eclectic interior – as a set of bedside table lamps or as a single piece on a side table in a living room.

Plus, the lamps and shades by Sarah Lock are available together (£150) or you can purchase the shades separately (from £30 each)

See them on the Artists Open Houses Trail or at www.sarahlock.com

(images by claire potter design and Sarah Lock)

a new, sustainable visitor centre for the Great Fens

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Visitor centres are funny beasts. They need to be pieces of architecture which are relatively stand out so they act as a kind of wayfinding structure for the site, yet they should be closely related to their locations and compliment the thing that people are actually coming to visit in the first place.

There can be a delicate line between these points. Stand out, yet not too shouty.

The new visitor centre which has recently been unveiled by Atelier CMJN for the Great Fens in Cambridgeshire strikes a nice balance.

Atelier CMJN, Great Fen Visiting Center, Cambridgeshire, rainwater collection, eolic turbine, fen, organic architecture, adaptation, Architecture, Green Materials, Daylighting, green Interiors, energy efficiency,

Constructed from locally sourced timber, the structure also plans to house water recycling, a water heat pump and rainwater collection.

There is also a very nice connection to place, as the side openings in the building allow visitors to see how the surrounding water levels and the landscape changes throughout the seasons.

This is exactly what a visitor centre should do – introduce the building / subject / location to the visitor in such a way that is supportive, not intrusive. The choice of the circular plan will allow this building to open to all of it’s surroundings and the material choice will give a nice vernacular feel to the structure.

A building that we would like to visit as much as the Great Fens themselves.

(image via Inhabitat)