Press Relations for IronmongeryDirect

The Think Tank is delighted to announce that is will be working with the UK's largest multi-channel supplier of ironmongery products, IronmongeryDirect, to provide PR services for this evolving business.

The Think Tank will work on both business-focused and trade-focused media communications for IronmongeryDirect, which over the past few years has achieved many awards for its customer service and business growth, despite the tough economic times. The Think Tank won the account in a competitive pitch.

Robots invade Trafalgar Square

A new installation will be placed in Trafalgar Square during the London Design Festival. Outrace, includes eigth industrial robots borrowed from Audi and both visitors to the square and users of the project's website will be able to take control of them, each of which have a reach of over three metres. Users will be able to write short messages and the robots will 'write' using light heads. "As a user’s message is drawn, the light trace will be simultaneously recorded through a system of high definition, long-exposure cameras, encoded as a video and relayed back to be shared across social media,"  The project is the brainchild of KRAM/WEISSHAAR, artists Reed Kram and Clemens Weisshaar - See more here or visit the Outrace site.

7 Rules of Design

Ever wished you could get to grips with the way designers think - Harmonie Interieure has a 7 point guide to aid understanding.

Clerkenwell’s Premier Golf Tournament is ready to tee off

There is only one week until London's premier urban golf tournament tees off. The Clerkenwell Showroom Open will be held on 26th August.  

Last year's inaugural event was a great success and again this year many showrooms across the area have signed up to accommodate a hole of golf.

The Clerkenwell Open is a concept developed by The Think Tank to give architects and designers the opportunity to explore the showrooms of Clerkenwell whilst having a bit of fun and raising money for charity. Nine showrooms house an indoor hole of golf and the golfers travel around the showrooms to complete the course.

The tournament is open to individuals and teams and consists of nine holes within walking distance of each other, and finishes at an awards ceremony (party) in the evening.

Many architects and designers have already signed up for this year's Clerkenwell Showroom Open. If you are interested in entering a team or individually email Dragana at showroomopen@thinktank.org.uk.

Celebrating the 'After Hours Athlete'

Puma has launched a great ad in the US celebrating the 'After Hours Athlete'. It's created by Droga5 ad agency in New York and directed by Ringan Ledwidge. Worth a watch!

An industrial look for any interior

Want that industrial look in your office or home - now you can get concrete wallpapers from Concrete Wall. Have a look at their web site for more designs and details - Concrete Wall.

The Think Tank

© ConcreteWall

A great hideaway in the Swiss Alps

The Villa Vals is in the Swiss village Vals and combines 'Dutch Design' with 'Swiss Quality'. Their web site says 'Villa Vals is a freestanding dwelling directly next to the famous Therme of Peter Zumthor. The luxurious villa is extremely quiet, offering breathtaking views of pristine nature.

The house – approximately 160m2 – is completely dug out of the mountainside and is surrounded by a spacious. A large glass façade opens out onto the terrace (60 m2) and offers a spectacular view of green meadows (snow-covered hillsides in the winter) and mountaintops.'

Looks like a great place to get away from it all.

Find out more about the villa and its designers on their web site

The Think Tank - Marketing Communications

Spray on Solar Panels deliver electricity

Norwegian Company EnSol AS has developed a remarkable new spray-on solar film that allows windows to generate solar power without clouding the view. Consisting of metal nanoparticles embedded in a transparent composite matrix it can be easily sprayed - but not just on glass but on other building materials as well.

Find out more on Inhabitat

IKEA unveils Surrealistika sculpture at Barbican

IKEA has unveiled their SURREALISTIKA kitchen sculpture, a piece created to celebrate creativity in design. The sculpture takes center stage as part of The Surreal House exhibition at the Barbican, London. Bringing fantasy and imagination to life, the sculpture incorporates the natural beauty of the Silver Birch tree intertwined with elements of an everyday kitchen. It depicts a surreal vision of the future when environmental concerns will be ever more at the core of kitchen design. The Silver Birch was chosen because it has always been a source of inspiration for Swedish designers and artists.

Find out more on the Barbican web site

Pop-Up Finnish restaurant for London Design Week

A Finnish pop-up restaurant and concept space, Hel Yes!, will be created for London Design Week. It will blend the tastes and sights of Finland and is created by former HIM keyboard player Antto Melasniemi and London-based Finns, Mia Wallenius and Klaus Haapaniemi.

Hel Yes! will be open from 15 September-3 October 2010.
For more information visit Hel Yes!

 

MOMA displays works on iPhone App

MOMA, New York,  has released a free iPhone application feature 32,000 works of art plus audio tours of the museum and event calendars. Combining art and content the app brings some of the worlds most famous works of art to your iPhone.

Download at iTunes

Cementing your love for coffee

Shmuel Linski has designed a fantastic coffee maker using concrete. Not a very portable machine but a great addition to any urban kitchen, the Expresso Solo machine only makes expresso but will certainly look great in the kitchen. See how it was made on Yanko Design.

Beetle's House for V&A Museum

Artist Terunobu Fujimori has created a tiny building for the Victoria and Albert Museum as part of the exhibition “1:1 Architects Build Small Spaces”. Web Urbanist says, 'Looking like a prop from a Tim Burton film, the little structure lives up to its name: Beetle’s House. It stands on four slightly off-kilter legs presenting its charred pine wood exterior, like the protective shell of an insect, and seems as if it could get up and walk away at any moment.'

See more here

The Think Tank - http://www.thinktank.org.uk/

George Logan puts African Wildlife in Unusual Locations

A project by photographer George Logan, Translocation puts African wildlife into less predictable settings. Logan has been developing this photographic series for five years and they have recently been published as a book, which will be sold with 100% of the sale price going to the international wildlife charity, the Born Free Foundation.

See more at Translocation

The Think Tank - http://www.thinktank.org.uk/

 

New Kinetic Sign for V&A by Troika

Troika has unveiled a kinetic sign directing visitors to London's V&A Museum. The sign is installed in the tunnel from South Kensington tube station and uses Alan Fletcher's identity for the museum to create Palindrome. The piece features a revolving V&A monogram suspended in a cylindrical ceiling-mounted capsule. According to Troika "the logo decontructs and reconnects itself with each half turn forming a playful palindrome legible from either side, while the wheels produce a gentle ticking sound reminiscent of a Victorian automaton clockwork."

Read more on Creative Review

The Think Tank - http://www.thinktank.org.uk/

Honda goes Hipster with Australian Ad

New Australian 'Hipsters' ad for Honda - great fun and quite amusing but not sure about the message?

Quirky Solar House Design by IAAC

The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) has designed the Fab Lab house as their entry into the 2010 Solar Decathlon Europe. The goal of all the houses in the competition is to communicate the benefits of using renewable energies, especially solar energy, in a domestic environment.

This is very quirky and an interesting use of renewable technology and sustainable construction.

See more on Contemporist

Stunning installation in Diesel Tokyo using Aluminium

The ROLLS installation at the Diesel Denim Gallery Aoyama in Minato-ku, Tokyo has been design by Japanese designer Chikara Ohno of Sinato. The designer describes the installation - 'The characteristic of the material used for this installation, which is aluminium, is that it is very thin and easily bent by hands, yet harder than cloth or paper. Therefore it possesses both soft and hard qualities. By winding and sometimes extending this single, long strip of aluminum from the entrance to the back-end of the store, it creates a beautiful waving form, changing its function and features as the material strength changes. This flexible quality of the material represents a gentle connection betweenthe softness of clothes and hardness of architecture.'

See more on Contemporist

New Retreat for W Hotels off Puerto Rico

W Hotels Worldwide has unveiled W Retreat & Spa on Vieques Island, off Puerto Rico. This is its 37th hotel worldwide and is created by Spanish-born Patricia Urquiola of Milan-based Studio Urquiola. 'W Vieques boasts 157 stylish guestrooms and suites with private patios and balconies offering unparalleled views of soft sandy beaches and crystal clear waters; an exciting epicurean experience at miX on the beach inspired by Alain Ducasse, featuring organic, local ingredients handpicked from the island’s growers.'

View more on Contemporist