Led by design director Mitsuhiro Shoji of Uchida Shanghai

This 47 sqm apartment was designed to maximize space while creating an open environment by using traditional materials such as bamboo, laminated wood, and iron. How the materials are paired with custom furniture allows the space to capture the essence of Shanghai design.

The first floor serves communal purposes by featuring a bathroom, kitchen, and living room. Up the cleverly hidden staircase in the corner of the living room can be found the bed and Japanese inspired Tatami rooms. The inclusion of a Tatami room is a signature of Uchida Shanghai, which is a Chinese based firm with a rich appreciation for Japanese design.

mitsuhiro shoji completes a 47 sqm two-level apartment in shanghai

Philippe Starck partners with Cassina

Italian based furniture brand Cassina wanted to explore new materials and found inspiration in bio-based waste while collaborating with French designer Philippe Starck. They upholstered the Volage EX-S sofa, Privè collection, and the Caprice + Passion chairs with Apple Ten Lork.

This material is produced by Italian Frumat and sourced from the skins and cores of apples, which makes it a sustainable alternative to leather. It is available in three colors of orange, black, and white.

Philippe Starck covers furniture for Cassina with apple-based vegan fabric

Kris De Decker demonstrates how to reduce web related energy consumption

This Barcelona self-hosted and powered website features an interesting minimalistic aesthetic while championing energy efficiency. Using only solar power for operation adds immediate striking differences from other websites. Some of these features being that prolonged cloudy weather affects if the site will be operational, thus there is a battery life and weather forecast display to help users know when the site may go offline.

At a time when technology companies are battling for user attention, some are beginning to consider whether content and browsing can be designed differently.

 Holly Friend and Livvy Houghton, LSN Global

Other aspects that decrease energy consumption are color tinted compressed images and default typefaces, which decrease the site’s average page size.

https://www-lsnglobal-com.meredith.collegeforcreativestudies.edu/news/article/22958/this-solar-powered-website-goes-offline-when-it-s-cloudy

Débora Mesa Molina talks about work with her team at Ensamble Studio

Molina walks viewers through her team’s process and sources of inspiration for their unconventional approach to modern architecture. They are a team that searches to utilize the unwanted and to create beautiful designs using the most basic materials.

The world around us is an infinite source of inspiration if we are curious enough to see beneath the surface of things.

Débora Mesa Molina

They also love to experience the design process first hand, such as visiting the quarry where material was sourced for the first project covered in the video. Building mockups and experimenting with the material is another pivotal point in their process that helps spur creative solutions.

New policy will be in full affect by 2020

The tech giant made the announcement this Sunday that they’d be switching to use recycled or bio-based plastics and papers in their packaging by mid 2019. The policy will apply to phones, tablets, and wearables.

They will also be applying material changes to home appliance packaging by using recycled plastic or bioplastic to wrap products such as washing machines and TVs.

https://mashable.com/article/samsung-electronics-plastic-paper-packaging-waste

Supported by Label/Breed in collaboration with Enkev, experts on natural fibers

Meindertsma initiated a project to work with the versatile plant based material Flax in 2010 by purchasing a harvest from a Dutch flax farm, which lead to an impressive range of sustainable products.

After developing an environmentally mindful textile from flax the project produced damask napkins, table cloths, carpets, and most importantly the Flax Chair.

It features four layers of the woven flax fabric as well as five layers of a new type of felted flax textile.

Gessato, Dec 19th of 2018

Lightweight, but durable and strong the design finished in 2015 is made from separate layers of flax fabric and textiles then heat pressed with biodegradable plastic. It’s produced with only 3 parts that come from the same sheet maximizing waste prevention and adding to the ingenuity of this sustainable project.

https://www.gessato.com/flax-chair/

Her journey approaches a new beginning after embarking to paint the last of Earth’s five major oceans

Over the past 20 years Eubank has created an impressive body of work consisting of over 200 pieces while logging 30,000 nautical miles through her travels around 4 out of 5 of Earth’s major oceans. She will visit the Southern Ocean surrounding Antartica come February, marking the completion of her travels.

Along with the immense natural beauty she’s seen, she’s also witnessed pollution in every location she’s visited. This has been a driving inspiration to embark on extensive trips and experience environmental impact globally.

Through painting she aims to create emotive abstractions utilizing unconventional colors and compositions to capture water, along with reflections from objects or sunsets. She also wants to inspire mindfulness of how our actions impact the planet, especially our oceans.

“Phoenicia Reflection III” pictured above captures the reflection of a Phoenician ship on the Atlantic ocean and “Mozambique IX” is a depiction of oily waters in Beira, Mozambique in the Indian Ocean.

https://earther.gizmodo.com/these-abstract-earths-oceans-are-spellbinding-1832054785

Acting like a PH strip to measure dehydration and electrolyte loss

This little sensor has been developed by a research team including John Rogers, who also worked on the previously debuted L’Oreal skincare sensor at CES, 2019.

It’s designed to keep water out while testing the levels of sweat production from the wearer which is then displayed through a color indicator similar to a PH strip.

Dehydration affects performance and can lead to cramping in the pool, but you don’t have any idea how much water you need.

Jeremy Kipp, Northwestern University swim coach

This allows athletes to increase performance by being better equipped to monitor their sweat and electrolyte loss. By knowing how much they’ve lost they can know when and how much to replace in order to maintain peak performance.

https://www.wired.com/story/an-underwater-skin-sensor-lets-swimmers-track-their-sweat/

Atlanta pop-up Nakamura.ke re-invents the dining experience

This colorful project was brought to life by design company Zoo as Zoo in collaboration with Bompass & Parr in order to add more depth to dining experiences that are constantly searching for new ways to encapsulate diners.

The pop-up features luminescent ramen, sake, and shochu cocktails all in vibrant variations. Diners are only given thirty minutes to enjoy the immersive experience paired with Japanese folklore actors in order to imitate the hustle and bustle of dining in Tokyo.

Nakamura.ke will open in Atlanta for two weeks at the end of January before moving around globally to spread this unique dining experience.

http://www.stylus.com.meredith.collegeforcreativestudies.edu/ndnjvm

Diller scofidio + renfro design a center of culture, education, and especially music

The proposal has reportedly received public funding of £2.49 million to further development and potentially conclude the first phase by 2020. The venue would create a center for music with the entry of the building being open and free to the public.

Stunning design paired with the goal to connect the people of London through the musical arts will make this potentially a globally renowned site for music enthusiasts.

diller scofidio + renfro’s concept design for major london music venue