![hardgraft:
TWIG bench designed and made by Pinch
I’m thrilled to see more and more green designs making the Tumblr rounds these days, including the above Twig Bench by London’s Pinch Design. For more pix and info on this and more of their eco-friendly pieces [including cubes and wall panels], check out my April of ‘08 posts on Pinch and the “modern organic” home décor trend.](http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l1peefxflq1qzoo1po1_500.png)
TWIG bench designed and made by Pinch
I’m thrilled to see more and more green designs making the Tumblr rounds these days, including the above Twig Bench by London’s Pinch Design. For more pix and info on this and more of their eco-friendly pieces [including cubes and wall panels], check out my April of ‘08 posts on Pinch and the “modern organic” home décor trend.
Synapse Side Chair by Teknion at IIDEX/NeoCon 2008.
I recently touched upon the Canadian green loving folks at Teknion when I wrote about my meeting with their team and the Green Solutions crew at IIDEX/NeoCon.
If you’re an Interior Designer and/or Architect actively working the field, you’re undoubtedly familiar with Teknion’s solid reputation as one of the leading international designers, manufacturers and marketers of office systems and related furniture products. However, are you aware of how fiercely green these folks are? And that they’ve been upping their sustainable status for a long time [way before “green” became a buzz word]?
Well, I was actually in the dark about how committed they are to their eco-conscious philosophy, so I was thrilled to hear all about it first hand during my meeting with their amazing PR team [a finely tuned marketing machine if I ever saw one; and hey, I worked in Public Relations for years, so I know good PR!]. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Teknion’s Loraine Buyar, Cynthia Kirkland Odell and Christine Krokker — all of them super friendly and passionate about green design and sustainable solutions. It was quite inspiring to hear about Teknion’s green efforts and to be introduced to their amazing Synapse creation, which made its Canadian debut at this Toronto edition of IIDEX/NeoCon. I was also extremely pleased to hear that Teknion is the first furniture manufacturer to partner with Green Solutions.
Of course, I also won’t soon forget the experience of sitting in their mind-blowing, award-winning booth for our meeting, or attending one of their annual legendary trade only bashes later that evening [they’re green AND they know who to throw a fabulous party, thus scoring them even bigger points with me!]. Sadly, my camera’s flash wasn’t enough to illuminate the festivities, but trust me, it was unforgettable. Complete with a live band and Teknion’s very own President, David Feldberg, belting out some great tunes on stage [and deservedly so, as the company is celebrating its 25 year anniversary!]. People danced their design loving booties off ‘till the wee hours and I was thrilled to be a part of it.
Teknion’s eco-friendly Synapse side chair made quite the splash at the trade show, not only with its sleek and modern look, but also with its strong sustainable story. Industrial Designer Carl Gustav Magnusson explains: “My design inspiration was a conflux of the 1960s work of the Danish architect Borge Mogensen and today’s advanced metal-to-wood connection techniques, [resulting in] a modern wooden side chair that combines traditional wood joinery and unique construction to meet today’s increasingly demanding seating sustainability requirements.”
Synapse’s minimal frame is made with sustainably sourced solid Solid Beech or Maple, but what skyrockets its eco-status in my books, is the responsible thought put into its design aimed at low-impact transport and quick installation. Since it can be shipped flat in a carton, the chair requires only one-third the space, thus maximizing shipping and installation efficiencies and ensuring that it assembles on site in less than five minutes. For a detailed diagram of Synapse in its dismantled state, check out the vivid images in their brochure here.
Synapse also minimizes its use of materials by being comprised of only five parts, all of which are replaceable or interchangeable, thus allowing quick replacements in the field, or the option of having independent pieces recycled. From an aesthetic point of view, it also gives one the opportunity to combine different finishes on the same chair if desired. To top it all off, the chair’s non-anodized aluminum seat frame can easily be removed for reuse or recycling.
Smart, flexible and super green. What’s not to love? I’m already looking forward to what they’ll wow us with next year.
NorthOnSixty @ IIDEX/NeoCon ‘08
[Reception Desk designed by Cohos Evamy. See next photo for info.]
One of the product highlights for me at last week’s IIDEX/NeoCon Canada in Toronto was discovering the exquisitely crafted works of NorthOnSixty, an eco.passionate team who work and design with the environment in mind.
Based in Dwight, Ontario, three hours north of Toronto and a few minutes from the majestic Algonquin Park, NorthOnSixty is an efficiently run woodworking and furniture making operation nestled on 100 acres of land. They sustainably manage their wood and also mill, dry and finish lumber. True to their their eco.friendly philosophy, the entire site is heated using their own scraps and sawdust while keeping a goal of zero waste in mind [impressively sending less than two garbage bags of waste to the landfill each week]. You can read more about their smart green operations here.
What caught my eye at the show was a binder full of beautiful images of their handcrafted furniture, most of it made using their own reclaimed wood, with the remainder being FSC-certified virgin wood from their own sustainably managed forests. NorthOnSixty offers their own designs, from modern to traditional, but they also create custom-made and built-in furniture.
For customized work, you can choose from a grand selection of over 20 in-stock Canadian species of wood. I personally love the concept of reclaiming wood and other objects, so I was excited to hear that they often collect and use materials salvaged from rivers, lakes, barns, factories and other types of structures. To complete your customized pieces, they offer the option of using low-VOC finishes such as milk paints, waxes, natural latex and oils.
NorthOnSixty has a great selection of other furniture and home décor items, beyond the gorgeous tables that I’ve posted here, so you can expect to see more of their eco.beauties on Green Design Girl in the months to come.
Another view of the Reception Desk designed by Cohos Evamy, this one featured in the foyer of the design firm’s Toronto office. Made using FSC-recycled Douglas Fir, the strips of wood are laminated using water based glue and splined at the corners with FSC-recycled Elm.
The beams for this Reception Desk “were salvaged from the old Alcatel wire factory at Eglinton and Laird [in Toronto] in 1996 when approx. 2 acres of buildings were demolished.” Making me love this piece even more, “the steel veil was fashioned from salvaged steel taken from the mezzanine floors during the Demolition of the Nelson Brothers Hamilton Steel Refinery in 2005.” Green, clean and modern, yet rich with so much history. I’m in reclaimed Heaven.
The contemporary Trestle Table. The above one features a table top made from Hemlock “thrashing floor boards”, circa 1855 [I was amazed to find this 1882 New York Times article on the subject]. The wood is finished using mineral oil and wax. The steel base is made of hollow steel tube with welded joints, all finished by hand and then waxed.
The Trestle Table is available in a variety of FSC-certified wood species and finishes.
This Trestle Table top was made using a recycled slab of Oak, giving it a more rustic and organic feel than the previous two versions.
Granger Collection @ Nienkämper
Green Design Girl first featured David Granger’s green and curvy collection back in January. I am now pleased to hear that the Australian line has been made available internationally via Nienkämper.
The Granger Collection will make its North American debut this week in Toronto at IIDEX/NeoCon Canada, where the legendary Klaus Nienkämper will be honoured for essentially being a “furniture design genius” and for creating what is today one of Canada’s top and pioneering furniture firms, 40 years and still going strong. I’m looking forward to attending the tribute to this long time industry visionary.
So what makes the Granger Collection eco.friendly? To start, the fluid designs are constructed from a plywood shell that’s been sourced from sustainable plantation grown timber. The plywood pieces are then bonded together using low level formaldehyde glues. Furthermore, Granger’s sleek leg frames are made of a non-toxic, polished stainless steel. To up the eco.creds on this collection, the cushioning is made of CFL-free commercial grade upholstery foam. There is also the option to go without upholstery altogether.
The palette for this collection is versatile, in that it ranges from natural wood finishes, to neutral whites, to the fun and eye popping orange. I particularly love the upholstered armchair in orange, as it reminds me of some of Karim Rashid’s work and his signature bright colour schemes. Everyone needs a shot of orange now and then. For so long, it was a feared and under-used shade, but we’re now starting to see it more — in everything from fashion to interiors. When thoughtfully placed in small doses, it can really pack a punch and totally make a room.
The Granger Collection is perfect lounge furniture for a variety of settings, but its individual pieces can definitely stand on their own and make an impact, fondly reminding me of iconic pieces by two of the ultimate modern masters, Marcel Breuer and Le Corbusier.
A padded topper version of the above armchair is also available.
InModern: Surfin Collection
I love the clean lines and bold colours of the Surfin collection by InModern. In fact, all of their products have a contemporary aesthetic and are truly eco.friendly, making them a perfect fit for Green Design Girl.
The folks at InModern use only North American sourced FSC-certified woods to create their products and take their eco status even further by ensuring that they are completely formaldehyde-free, using non-toxic water-based stains. They also explain that their pieces have a “UV cured finish to minimize greenhouse gases.”
InModern’s furniture is designed for fast and easy assembly and disassembly, touting a “no tools or hardware required” patented method. Furthermore, their products have the eco bonus of being able to ship flat, which conserves packaging and reduces waste — an area that is often overlooked in product design.
The above Surfin Desk/Table is multi-functional and works perfectly as a desk, but it can also easily accommodate two people for an intimate dinner arrangement. InModern’s pieces go on to include other furniture collections for adults, teens and children — all maintaining the same playful, eye-catching style. Stay tuned for more of their eco.mod designs here on GDG.
The Surfin Coffee Table in the Slate water-based finish. I appreciate the contrast made by exposing the natural wood edges in all of their pieces. The dark Slate finish is stylish, but the wood contrast and retro feel keep the look light and fun.
The Surfin End Table in Leaf.
The Surfin Stool in Slate.
The Surfin Magazine Rack in Fire [I like the cool names they’ve given their finishes]. Apart from the Surfin Desk/Table, this is my fave piece from the collection. I instantly thought of butterflies when I saw it.
![canühome at The Green Living Show 2008 in Toronto.
Impressively standing out in a crowd of over 400 green exhibitors, canühome was definitely one of the visual and conceptual highlights for me at the Green Living Show in Toronto. Designed by a progressive Toronto think tank called the Institute without Boundaries, canühome is essentially a kit-based system that lets you affordably create a sustainable, universally designed, smart and healthy home for yourself.
In 2006, the folks at IwB adapted housing designs that had been created by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation for non-profit and affordable housing groups. The partnership between the two continued as IwB incorporated CMHC’s research into their World House Project in Costa Rica. Before long, the IwB brought together an eco-passionate team to create canühome, which they describe as an “exemplary home environment that re-imagines how we may live in the future.”
canühome is constructed using Forest Stewardship Council [FSC] certified wood products and meets LEED standards. The 850 square foot home contains a kitchen, bathroom, living room, dining room and bedroom and is intended for young couples, seniors, singles and/or small families as either a “starter” or “finisher” house. It has cleverly been designed to fit into the rear gardens of homes in the city or suburbs, on the rooftops of buildings or even out in the countryside, where amenities may not be readily available. Looking for something larger? canühome is modular, so you can add a whole other unit to one end of it to double its length [see pix below].
I really enjoyed walking through this popular exhibit and taking in all of the intelligent design choices and features. I was quite impressed to see that their responsible design had included an uninterrupted floorplan, thus providing universal access. Also included were transformable furnishings that could adapt to meet the changing needs of the home’s occupants over time. In addition to the FSC-certified wood used throughout, canühome’s creators utilized non-toxic materials to promote good health.
The use of solar, wind and vibration energy collection elevates canühome’s eco.status even more by further reducing its environmental impact. To top it all off, they’ve equipped this eye-catching space with “an intelligent network of sensors, tuned to give the homeowner a better understanding of the relationship between their lifestyle and their carbon imprint.” So it educates you while you live in it? Is there anything this smart home can’t do?
I was seriously impressed. The temporary tattoos they were giving out with green symbols that read “Using Less, Enjoying More” were a fun touch, too.
If you missed canühome at The Green Living Show, you can catch this cool mobile exhibit in Toronto again at Yorkdale in June and at IIDEX/NeoCon Canada in September. If you’re a floorplan junkie, you’ll love the detailed tech drawings of the space here here. A full colour brochure can be accessed here. Toronto Architect Lloyd Alter was also at the show and reviewed canühome in his Treehugger article, with a focus on the engineering and CNC technology used to build the structure.
An exterior view of the canühome exhibit at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto, where The Green Living Show took place.
An interior view, while standing in the living room and looking towards the kitchen, bathroom and the bedroom at the other far end.
An interior view of the kitchen and dining area, a workspace on the left and the living room with eco.friendly fireplace at the far end.
A view of the entrance, complete with miniature garden.
A view into the kitchen and dining area from the entrance. The rounded wall on the right conceals the shower/bathroom and laundry room areas.
A close up of the sleek and modern kitchen, featuring FSC-certified wood, energy-saving appliances and eco.friendly countertops.
I love the fact that IwB designed a universally accessible kitchen, which included moveable cabinets and adjustable countertops and trolleys for recycling and cutting. The accessible appliances were also equipped with wide grip handles and lever taps.
Premisys provided the kitchen and cabinets, which were made using locally harvested FSC-certified Maple plywood and urea-formaldehyde free, low VOC finishes.
The eye-catching countertops were CaesarStone by Ciot, a product that is made from 93% crushed quartz and is non-toxic and hygienic, meeting Environmental Standard Certification.
The refrigerator and wall oven with convection microwave combo were Energy Star qualified and were provided by Bosch. The smart kitchen boasted an induction cooktop, which saves 30% energy and heats up two times faster than conventional ceramic cooktops. They also included an energy saving dishwasher and a built-in gourmet coffee machine which blended in seamlessly into the cabinetry. All of these appliances were by Bosch.
Of course, a green kitchen wouldn’t be complete without low flow taps [7.6 L/min]. Cabano Bath provided these for both the kitchen and bathroom [including a low flow shower].
The final touches were the accessories and eco.friendly bamboo cutlery and cutting board, which are all available at The Bay’s Home Outfitters.
Another kitchen view.
A side profile view of the bedroom, with the circular shower/bathroom stand in the background.
I love this image, partly because I have a thing for water tanks… but mostly because I love the idea of utilizing wasted space on rooftops in an eco.friendly way.
An image depicting what various canühomes would look like, set up and illuminated in the suburbs.
A drawing illustrating canühome’s modular capabilities. Here we see two 850 square units attached to each other, maintaining one uninterrupted floorplan.
~
[photos from canühome web-site]](http://26.media.tumblr.com/JEVcJTTe68ytubsg4ISQBTR3_500.jpg)
canühome at The Green Living Show 2008 in Toronto.
Impressively standing out in a crowd of over 400 green exhibitors, canühome was definitely one of the visual and conceptual highlights for me at the Green Living Show in Toronto. Designed by a progressive Toronto think tank called the Institute without Boundaries, canühome is essentially a kit-based system that lets you affordably create a sustainable, universally designed, smart and healthy home for yourself.
In 2006, the folks at IwB adapted housing designs that had been created by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation for non-profit and affordable housing groups. The partnership between the two continued as IwB incorporated CMHC’s research into their World House Project in Costa Rica. Before long, the IwB brought together an eco-passionate team to create canühome, which they describe as an “exemplary home environment that re-imagines how we may live in the future.”
canühome is constructed using Forest Stewardship Council [FSC] certified wood products and meets LEED standards. The 850 square foot home contains a kitchen, bathroom, living room, dining room and bedroom and is intended for young couples, seniors, singles and/or small families as either a “starter” or “finisher” house. It has cleverly been designed to fit into the rear gardens of homes in the city or suburbs, on the rooftops of buildings or even out in the countryside, where amenities may not be readily available. Looking for something larger? canühome is modular, so you can add a whole other unit to one end of it to double its length [see pix below].
I really enjoyed walking through this popular exhibit and taking in all of the intelligent design choices and features. I was quite impressed to see that their responsible design had included an uninterrupted floorplan, thus providing universal access. Also included were transformable furnishings that could adapt to meet the changing needs of the home’s occupants over time. In addition to the FSC-certified wood used throughout, canühome’s creators utilized non-toxic materials to promote good health.
The use of solar, wind and vibration energy collection elevates canühome’s eco.status even more by further reducing its environmental impact. To top it all off, they’ve equipped this eye-catching space with “an intelligent network of sensors, tuned to give the homeowner a better understanding of the relationship between their lifestyle and their carbon imprint.” So it educates you while you live in it? Is there anything this smart home can’t do?
I was seriously impressed. The temporary tattoos they were giving out with green symbols that read “Using Less, Enjoying More” were a fun touch, too.
If you missed canühome at The Green Living Show, you can catch this cool mobile exhibit in Toronto again at Yorkdale in June and at IIDEX/NeoCon Canada in September. If you’re a floorplan junkie, you’ll love the detailed tech drawings of the space here here. A full colour brochure can be accessed here. Toronto Architect Lloyd Alter was also at the show and reviewed canühome in his Treehugger article, with a focus on the engineering and CNC technology used to build the structure.
An exterior view of the canühome exhibit at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto, where The Green Living Show took place.
An interior view, while standing in the living room and looking towards the kitchen, bathroom and the bedroom at the other far end.
An interior view of the kitchen and dining area, a workspace on the left and the living room with eco.friendly fireplace at the far end.
A view of the entrance, complete with miniature garden.
A view into the kitchen and dining area from the entrance. The rounded wall on the right conceals the shower/bathroom and laundry room areas.
A close up of the sleek and modern kitchen, featuring FSC-certified wood, energy-saving appliances and eco.friendly countertops.
I love the fact that IwB designed a universally accessible kitchen, which included moveable cabinets and adjustable countertops and trolleys for recycling and cutting. The accessible appliances were also equipped with wide grip handles and lever taps.
Premisys provided the kitchen and cabinets, which were made using locally harvested FSC-certified Maple plywood and urea-formaldehyde free, low VOC finishes.
The eye-catching countertops were CaesarStone by Ciot, a product that is made from 93% crushed quartz and is non-toxic and hygienic, meeting Environmental Standard Certification.
The refrigerator and wall oven with convection microwave combo were Energy Star qualified and were provided by Bosch. The smart kitchen boasted an induction cooktop, which saves 30% energy and heats up two times faster than conventional ceramic cooktops. They also included an energy saving dishwasher and a built-in gourmet coffee machine which blended in seamlessly into the cabinetry. All of these appliances were by Bosch.
Of course, a green kitchen wouldn’t be complete without low flow taps [7.6 L/min]. Cabano Bath provided these for both the kitchen and bathroom [including a low flow shower].
The final touches were the accessories and eco.friendly bamboo cutlery and cutting board, which are all available at The Bay’s Home Outfitters.
Another kitchen view.
A side profile view of the bedroom, with the circular shower/bathroom stand in the background.
I love this image, partly because I have a thing for water tanks… but mostly because I love the idea of utilizing wasted space on rooftops in an eco.friendly way.
An image depicting what various canühomes would look like, set up and illuminated in the suburbs.
A drawing illustrating canühome’s modular capabilities. Here we see two 850 square units attached to each other, maintaining one uninterrupted floorplan.
~
[photos from canühome web-site]
![Slingback Chair by Stephen Becker @ Fernwalla.
I’m starting to catch up on the many e.mailed tips that I’ve received over the last few weeks and I was pleased to hear from Alec Uitti of Fernwalla, a Colorado based furniture firm with a great philosophy. “The day when someone sells a product made from old-growth clearcut timber and we all scratch our heads and ask ‘why?’ will be a great day.” I couldn’t agree more.
Fernwalla’s web-site is an example of what green design retailers and manufacturers should be doing on-line: offering consumers clear information on what exactly makes their products green. I found their materials guide helpful and very easy to understand, which is vital during a time when people are starting to take a real interest in green design and are looking for quick and easy access to accurate info.
I instantly fell in love with Fernwalla’s Slingback Chair, designed by Stephen Becker. Not only is it modern and graphically bold [fitting in with GDG’s criteria nicely], but I find that it also has a bit of an Asian feel to it. Those who have seen my work on HGTV’s Design To Win, know that I’m big fan of Asian design.
The sexy Slingback is made from FSC-certified Maple Europly and its frame is available in shades of Antique White and the pictured Ebony, using eco.friendly milk paint. The chair earns even more eco.points by having a seat cushion that’s made from organic cotton and natural latex and covered with “PVC-free degradeable urethane”. The cushion is available in shades of Cream, Saddle and Graphite.
The final green touch? The chair is capped off with a natural wax oil finish made from “sunflower, soybean and thistle oil, plus two hard, natural waxes—carnauba and candelilla.” Modern, beautiful and eco.smart.](http://30.media.tumblr.com/JEVcJTTe68032v5mAXnKqsTn_500.jpg)
Slingback Chair by Stephen Becker @ Fernwalla.
I’m starting to catch up on the many e.mailed tips that I’ve received over the last few weeks and I was pleased to hear from Alec Uitti of Fernwalla, a Colorado based furniture firm with a great philosophy. “The day when someone sells a product made from old-growth clearcut timber and we all scratch our heads and ask ‘why?’ will be a great day.” I couldn’t agree more.
Fernwalla’s web-site is an example of what green design retailers and manufacturers should be doing on-line: offering consumers clear information on what exactly makes their products green. I found their materials guide helpful and very easy to understand, which is vital during a time when people are starting to take a real interest in green design and are looking for quick and easy access to accurate info.
I instantly fell in love with Fernwalla’s Slingback Chair, designed by Stephen Becker. Not only is it modern and graphically bold [fitting in with GDG’s criteria nicely], but I find that it also has a bit of an Asian feel to it. Those who have seen my work on HGTV’s Design To Win, know that I’m big fan of Asian design.
The sexy Slingback is made from FSC-certified Maple Europly and its frame is available in shades of Antique White and the pictured Ebony, using eco.friendly milk paint. The chair earns even more eco.points by having a seat cushion that’s made from organic cotton and natural latex and covered with “PVC-free degradeable urethane”. The cushion is available in shades of Cream, Saddle and Graphite.
The final green touch? The chair is capped off with a natural wax oil finish made from “sunflower, soybean and thistle oil, plus two hard, natural waxes—carnauba and candelilla.” Modern, beautiful and eco.smart.
