In pursuit of Imperfection: Designers in Residence

Do you love good design as much as we do? Have what it takes to impress Peter Kelly (Editor of Blueprint) and Deyan Sudjic (Director of the Design Museum)? Then get your thinking caps on for the following brief:

In Pursuit of Imperfection

For a century and a half mass production has done all it can to make perfect objects in large numbers that are all exactly the same. But now we have the ability to make objects, or messages, or experiences in quantities that are not ‘perfect’, but rather are unique, or particular, or responsive to their users and owners. We would like product / furniture / graphic/ interactive / furniture designers to explore the idea of the imperfect in an object, an environment, or an experience.

For previous winners, further details on this year's entry and to download the application form, visit the Design Museum site. Deadline for submission is 5pm Monday 28th February so there really is no time like the present!

Sustainable Kettle Mug: The coolest way to heat up your water

It's no secret that boiling a kettle takes an enormous amount of electricity, but did you know that the energy required to boil this amount of water is sufficient to power 50 light bulbs?

Designer Rio Soetanto has been tackling the issue and created the ingenious 'Sustainable Kettle Mug' based on induction heating which conserves energy. This innovative kettle is apt for everyday users and is personalized with six mugs for the entire family. The kettle is made of lightweight, not-toxic, recyclable ABS plastic and can withstand very high temperatures of 105 °C (221 °F), while the induction system helps in improving the boiling time.  As the water is boiled in the mugs themselves you don't even need to pour anything. Eco friendly and uber cool, putting the kettle on has never been such a good idea.

Breathing some fresh air into TV

Channel 4 are taking on a new lease of life as they put a breath of fresh air into, well outside of, their offices. Hannah Gourlay's iconic new scultpture was inspired by yoga paced breathing exercises with the intention of creating 'a brief moment of calm for passers-by and Channel 4 staff, a moment to pause for relaxation, reflection and renewal.'

Gourlay and FreeState collaborated with structural engineers Atelier One and Architen Landrell, a tensile architecture specialist to create the installation. Each section of the Big 4 has been wrapped in a fabric from Dartex Coatings Ltd, which is more commonly used for NHS bed mattresses but chosen here for its ability to stretch sufficiently and then revert to its natural shape. The creative review highlights more of these technical details.

At night, the 4 will be lit from within to give a golden glow in colours reminiscent of those used in the first idents created by Martin Lambie - Nairn.

Best of British Buildings

When strong architectural design meets strong cultural significance, there will always be an element of excitement involved.  The future does indeed seem bright for architectural design as The Department of Culture NI has now begun to view architecture as a leader of the creative industry sector and that achieving design excellence is embedded as an ambition in Northern Ireland.

With restorations of old buildings taking on a modern new shared design, and significance, it appears that NI seem truly ready to look to the future. For further details on the buildings undergoing re-design and restoration please visit http://bit.ly/f0SGPs

© Copyright 2010 World Market Intelligence

Archetto Seating

Look no further than London for an answer to all our creative yet practical seating requirements, epitomised in the Archetto Seating design.

The balance between functionality and open spacing enables this design created by Sybarite, to be used in arenas from leisure, hospitality, entertainment and business alike. Seeking to create privacy without a barrier is the key concept underpinning this creation. Sybarite, together with leading metal and stainless steel company Marzorati Ronchetti, have created enough flexibililty to enable the seat to take on a variation of different colours and technology, ensuring it really is able to cater for diverse purposes.

To view the full press release click here http://bit.ly/hplBzY

 

i think therefore i can

Is there anything that cannot be made touch screen these days? The ipod, iphone, ipad are all now commonplace so what's next? Prepare to welcome the ichef, the most powerful computer controlled system to be used in an oven. Premiered at LivingKitchen 2011, Gorenje+ will be launching this unique ichef+ module to the European markets this spring. For other innovative designs in 2011 get design spotting here.

2011: The Year of the Mobile

2011 seems set to be the year of the mobile with apps being created faster than ever before. With a prediction of nearly two-thirds of retail shoppers soon to be using their mobiles for shopping, it would seem as though apps can't be created fast enough.

ForeSee Results have utilised data from the Christmas shopping period to create a benchmark for shopping trends. Such were the results that they have made the bold statement that 'any retailer not actively working to develop, measure, and refine its mobile experience is leaving money on the table for competitors."

Historically trends that hit the consumer market will at some point be on the table for discussion in the business market in the near future. At what point the B2B market will seriously look into this as a touch point in their marketing strategy we shall have to wait and see but it will inevitably be yet another medium for the market to get its head around. For more information on the rise of the mobile follow this link  http://bit.ly/gYeHop

Michael Hill Clubhouse complements the landscape

The client’s brief was to design a place that reinforced the game of golf, operating primarily as a “private box” whilst also providing the capacity to transform into a gateway headquarters for large competitive events.

Contemporist says 'Hunkered into the earth with less than a third of its volume penetrating above the ground plane, The Michael Hill Clubhouse seeks to integrate and intensify the experience of golf’s primary relationship with the landscape. An integral truss system creates a skewed form, and supports a green roof planted in native tussock.'

The Clubhouse was design by Patterson Associates and is well worth taking a look at on the Contemporist web site.

Dali Museum opens in Florida - Designed by HOK

The Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida opened this week. Designed by architects HOK the building replaces the original Dali Museum that was built in 1982. It utilises free-form geodesic geometry and triangulated glass organically flows around and attaches to the rigid unfinished concrete box.

According to Arch Daily this is the first use of this type of free-form geodesic geometry in the United States. As visitors enter the museum they are greeted by a coiled concrete form at the reception desk.

Read more on Arch Daily

© Moris Moreno

Green fingers with a blue and red view

Going green is nothing new. From domestic appliances, fashion, food and transport, the emphasis on sustainability and eco-friendly, has never been more relevant and certainly shows no sign of lessening its grip on our behaviour as we march into 2011.

The construction industry is no exception and looks set to be going green, blue and red with designs being made for residential housing to include water conservation orientated fixtures and on- site solar energy generators as predicted by Jerry Yudelson. How these new features will be incorporated into the design of future residential buildings remains to be seen, but it will certainly be exciting to see what ideas the architects come up with to make these new houses consumer friendly. For a brief summary of Yudelson's key trends to watch out for in 2011 take a look at  Jetson Green's site or for more in depth detail about what Yudelson describes as a 'revolution'  click here to be taken directly to his personal website.

Bethnal Green Town Hall Hotel

Combining careful restoration and computer led parametric design, the Bethnal Green Town Hall Hotel looks set to open its doors to the public this November. Led by the design team at rare architecture the aluminium skinned extension to this historic building may polarise opinions but its use of digital is, at the very least, intriguing.

The patterning in this aluminium skin varies according to what is situated behind it; opaque when covering bare walls and perforated where let needs to be let in. This pioneering use of computer modelling has led the project to be used as a teaching case study at the AA, whilst the digitally crafted wall panels within the buildings interior formed part of the furniture range showcased by rare at the London Design Festival.

For a further insight into this innovative building visit Blueprint Magazine.

The Poets way of Reading

The unveiling of Erik De Nijs' 'The Poets' at the Dutch Design Week recently held in Eindhoven is most certainly a novel idea indeed. De Njis has designed foldable reading chairs that can be neatly stashed away and doubled up as additional lighting, an end to all our 'spare' chairs storage  concerns over the festive period.

De Nijs himself has stated that 'The Poets Emerged from the idea of really taking time to read your children a bedtime story. A foldable chair with the perfect reading light.no matter the environment. done reading? just store it against the wall,and you’ll have some extra light. W. Blake is the green chair with the light on the right side, just like the right handed poet William Blake. The white chair is called J.W. Goethe with the light on the left side, just like the left handed poet.'

With the plummeting temperatures here in London however, it may be that we need to use our own poetic licence and design some under seat heating. Perhaps the next creation?

Read more at Design Milk: http://design-milk.com/the-poets/#ixzz18elPvcUV

Evolution Means Exhibition opens in New York

Evolution Means exhibition is located in Brooklyn and features work by Chandler Ahrens and John Carpenter. It opened during the ACADIA 2010 LIFE conference that was hosted by The Cooper Union. It is billed as examining concepts, tools and technologies that implement responsive and generative aspects of information in the design process.

Read more on ArchDaily
© Chandler Ahrens, John Carpenter

British Council launches new design blog

The British Council has launched a new blog - Back or the Envelope to celebrate design, achitecture and fashion.

They say, 'Back of the Envelope is a chance for us to share the development of our international projects and to profile exciting work here in the UK. Everyone in our team contributes and you’ll also see content from our collaborators – architects and designers from around the world.'

Worth a look as some interesting design work and up and coming events - backoftheenvelope

PR Account Manager Position Available

We are looking for an experienced PR Account Manager for a hands-on role which will involve media relations and events support in the UK and Europe. This position is initially for six-months but will be reviewed.  Knowledge of working within the b2b sector and preferably the built environment is preferred.  Would you appreciate an opportunity to work with a team that likes to achieve great results? Please email your CV and a brief covering letter to Samantha Dawe, Director, at samanthad@thinktank.org.uk.

B2B Marketing Awards video takes no prisoners!

B2B Marketing magazine has posted a video of the awards held last week. Very entertaining and some of the filming was quite late in the evening with guaranteed results.

A great evening was had by all, as demonstrated by the video, especially as The Think Tank received the award for Best Product Launch.

Take a look and enjoy!

Centre piece of Russia's Silicon Valley

Blueprint says 'Identified flying objects: the school’s hovering disc and glass-fronted towers espouse ‘openess, cohesion and lack of hierarchy’, unlike the student body. One of its rooftop towers, a patterned glass finger, may point towards the city centre but Moscow School of Management sits incongruously on a 26.5ha green site encircled by forest.'

Apparently this building is the trailblazer in President Dmitry Medvedev’s Skolkovo project to emulate the USA’s Silicon Valley. It was designed by David Adjaye and funded by $320m of public finance and private investment. Various Russian corporate giants and oligarchs are paying to import scientific talent and technical specialists to study in Moscow and Ukranian oligrach Viktor Vekselberg, Skolkovo’s project leader, envisages further investment of around $6.5bn over the next three years to realise this ‘prototype of the city of the future’.

Read more on Blueprint

Foster + Partners unveils Zayed National Museum, Abu Dhabi

Foster + Partners has recently unveiled designs for the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi. It is presented as a monument and memorial to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding president of the UAE. The aim is to architecturally create a contemporary form with elements of traditional Arabic design and hospitality that creates a museum that is sustainable, welcoming and culturally of its place. Read more on ArchDaily

The Think Tank wins Best Launch Campaign at B2B Marketing Awards 2010 for OKI Printing Solutions

At a fantastic night of mobsters and 1960's gangsters, The Think Tank secured the Best Product Launch Award at the B2B Marketing Awards 2010 for its EMEA launch campaign for the OKI MC860 multifunction printer.

Communicating the benefits of A3 colour printing at a price comparable to other A4 products, the campaign featured visuals demonstrating that you see the bigger picture with an A3 printer. This media neutral idea was used across the marketing material, both on and off line, and then executed by operating companies across the EMEA region to great effect.

This was one of the first campaigns that The Think Tank had developed for OKI Printing Solutions since winning the EMEA creative account in a competitive pitch.

Liam Bateman, Director at The Think Tank, commented, 'This is great news and testament to the hard work of both the OKI EMEA Marketing Team and my team at The Think Tank. Well done to all.'

The Think Tank was also shortlisted in the B2B Marketing Awards 2010 for its promotional work with AkzoNobel in the Most Commercially Successful award category.

See all the winners here

Hottest new pop-up shop to open in Brompton Road

The Temporium is set to be London's hottest new retail space. It will open next month for 10 days only on the prestigious Brompton Road from 9th to 19th December and according to Dezeen, 'the Temporium is set to excite, inspire and delight in equal measure.'

The store will bring together some of the UK’s most exciting design-led brands. From fashion and fine jewellery, to watches, ceramics, glassware, books, furniture, lighting and more, The Temporium will offer a diverse range of stylish and innovative products for the discerning shopper.

Get down to Brompton Road for some great design in December.

See more on Dezeen