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This lecture was only one of the many fruitful outcomes of the invaluable time I spent with Pli earlier this year. It is about the ‘Utility Scheme‘ — legislation that put design, manufacturing and trade of certain products under the strict control of the British government during and just after World War II. (You may click here to read Christopher’s review of this lecture).
Here at Pli we love lightweight designs so when I found BMW’s GINA Light Visionary Model, fabric skinned, concept car on Core77 last week I just sat there in awe. I have always admired BMW’s design department for coming up with innovative and challenging concepts, but also the way BMW aren’t afraid to translate them into production. Unlike GM for example, who bring out some great concepts but are still chucking 1970’s mechanics into their current offerings. Anyway I digress, the reason I posted the GINA concept is its the way it uses the lightweight fabrics flexible properties and an articulated space-frame to give the car life-like expression that could not be achieved out of convention metal or even plastic skins panels. The video below shows the concepts various party pieces in action, my favorite is the headlamps (2:20). Hopefully it won’t be to long before we something similar on the road.
Les Mandelbaum, co-founder and president of Umbra, is to our way of thinking. Here are his comments on his company’s sustainable product strategy from the floor of this year’s International Contemporary Furniture Show in New York. The interesting point he makes is that, once you have started down the road to sustainable design and product development, it eventually pervades the whole company and becomes an essential aspect of business and customer relations. The video chops off just when he gets into his stride.
This link came to us via Environmental Leader, a wide-ranging blog site about sustainable strategy for corporations. Worth a look.
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I heard about Yves Baher about 3 years ago. For me, the jury was out until I saw how he was involved in the OLPC (one laptop per child) project.
In this TED talk he talks about designing value into a product. The style of design was a reaction to his first job designing “skins” for computers. He has now set out to really capture the users needs when designing a product. He takes you through an interesting array of case studies showing how design shouldn’t just be an addition to the project, more a set of values that runs in parallel to the product development.
In January 08, Pli exhibited at the Interiors Birmingham Exhibition and fortunately we were able to secure a bit of air time on the show’s TV network. The clip is about strengthening the role of environmental furniture in the British furniture industry. Enjoy.
Have you ever wondered about the ’stuff’ you buy? Where it comes from, or even why you even bought it in the first place? If you have then Annie Leonard has some answers for you. Her video ‘The Story of Stuff’ is a clear and concise breakdown of how we are consuming the planet in the name of ’stuff’. Click image for the link.
The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
If I were to tell you “I have invented a mechanical animal made out of plastic tubes and that roams the beaches only using the power of the wind” you may look at me a little strange. So when Dutch artist/engineer Theo Jansen describes his kinetic sculptures he would get some odd looks indeed. They have to be seen to be believed. They are a triumph of light-weight design, alternative energy sources and of thinking right outside the square (things that we rate highly here at Pli). He has even created a simple brain that controls these graceful beasts. This is only an 8 minute talk; even if you just skip through it it is worth the watch.
The TED video is a follow up to the “inconvenient truth” presentation that catapulted Gore to environmental stardom in 2006. This new set of slides reemphasizes the urgency for action to prevent global warming. According to Gores research, things aren’t getting better but are worse than first thought. However in the face of all this ‘doom and gloom’ Gore draws inspiration, reveling in the fact our generation now has a mission worthy of its existence. He shares the idea of future generations looking back and saying that we were the generation that stood up and took action. For me personally it was a pretty inspiring talk and definitely gave me a little twitter. It is 30 odd minutes but if you have a spare lunch break I recommend giving it a watch, it will pick up your afternoon.
Lighting is a hot topic when it comes to energy conservation. There has been a big push to move to CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) energy saving bulbs: this is great step in the right direction but there are some real exciting prospects for the future of lighting.
LEDs (light emitting diodes) have had a big name in energy saving circles for a while now and they have been seen as the number-one contender to be the light source of the future. They are efficient and long lasting, if a wee bit expensive. Now, however, there is a new kid on the block, Luxim’s LIFI bulb, and if it lives up to the hype, the LED bulb’s time may pass before it ever really began.
Check out this clip or read this Treehugger article for the low-down.
This video is a really good conversation about collaborative design. Cameron Sinclair talks about projects he has worked on in Africa where creative thinking has made a big difference in people lives. His idea of ‘Open Source’ design uses the internet to create a free flowing creative environment where ideas can flourish without the restriction of geography.
Here’s the film we have made about Pli’s Reee® chair - talking about why we have created a new product from recycled computer games consoles and how the designers Sprout have approached the challenge of meeting our demanding brief. Does the original product live on in the next? Do the games you’ve played have an echo in the seat they gave rise to? We found players to reflect some of the most popular games.
Inspiration posts