NEWS: Amazon Has a 3D Printer Section Now
3D printers just got a little more mainstream. Amazon has now opened its own 3D Printer page for the sale of printers and filaments so you can get all that jazz shipped right to your door with the greatest of ease.
Amazon is peddling the MakerBot Replicator 2, Afinia 3D Printer H-Series, 3D Systems’ Cubify (not available), fabbster 3D Printer, Airwolf3D, and a couple of Chinese models as well as well as filament—both ABS and PLA varieties. You can also pick up books, CAD software, and other assorted parts there too.
It’s just one small step to bigger 3d printer adoption; this doesn’t make them any cheaper. But it’s never been easier to pick one up if you’re in the market. [3Ders via Ed Lewis]
(Source: Gizmodo)
MATERIAL: World’s First Carbon Negative Building Block Unveiled in the UK
by Lidija Grozdanic, 06/09/13
The Carbon Buster is the world’s first building block to capture more carbon dioxide than is emitted during its manufacturing (14kg per ton). The high-performing masonry product, developed by British company Lignacite, Ltd. in partnership with Carbon8 Aggregates, is made up of more than 50% recycled material – including Carbon8 pellets (which are made of thermal residue from waste to energy plants), water and carbon dioxide. The resulting aggregate is incorporated into the company’s products to create the carbon negative building block.
For its other products Lignacite used sand and gravel combined with recycled materials such as wood shavings, glass and shells, creating products that had a minimal carbon footprint. Through partnership with Carbon8 Aggregates, the company managed to produce a new masonry product that boasts negative carbon content.
The product idea is based on a research carried out at the University of Greenwich’s School of Science, which focused on the reuse of thermal residues from waste to energy plants. By mixing the residue with water and carbon dioxide, the Carbon8’s experts were able to transform the residue material into an environmentally friendly substitute for conventional building aggregates. The company’s carbonation plant was erected in Brandon, Suffolk, next to Lignacite’s masonry plant. Two companies joined forces to manufacture the Carbon Buster block which is made out of carbonated residues, mixed with binders and fillers.
Read more: World’s First Carbon Negative Building Block Unveiled in the UK | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building
SATIRE: Sleep in Donald Judd’s Flavin-Lit Loft, Now Available on Airbnb for $2,000 a Night
The Judd Foundation appears to be bucking authority by potentially violating New York’s short-term rental laws, and putting Donald Judd’s spectacularly renovated former Soho home and studio on Airbnb for $2,000 a night.
The Airbnb posting lists the $23-million restored loft with a minimum stay of 2 nights, accommodating up to 7 guests. As for amenities, there is a long list of No’s, barring pets and kids, and providing only a bed sans kitchen — though it looks like smoking is allowed.
If this isn’t a joke (like we suspect it is) then lay back onJudd’s floor bed and enjoy a cigarette while being lulled to sleep by the gentle humming of Dan Flavin’s permanently installed fluorescent sculptures, and just be aware that you may be costing the Judd Foundation a fine of $1,000-$5,000 if they get caught by the city.
— Alanna Martinez
(Photo Credit: Josh White. Donald Judd Art © Judd Foundation. Licensed by VAGA, New York Artwork © John Chamberlain. © Lucas Samaras. Dan Flavin © Stephen Flavin/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Donald Judd FurnitureTM© Judd Foundation.)
LECTURE: Le Corbusier/New York (SATURDAY, JUNE 8 - SUNDAY, JUNE 9)
SATURDAY, JUNE 8 - SUNDAY, JUNE 9 — More Information
At the Center for Architecture, Museum of Modern Art, and United Nations Headquarters
Le Corbusier/New York
Saturday, June 8, 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday, June 9, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
(note new Sunday start and end times)
Held in conjunction with MoMA’s exhibition Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes, “Le Corbusier/New York” is a two-day international symposium that will examine this illustrious French architect’s ideas on the city before and after his first trip to the United States, along with his influence on generations of American architects.
The journey through Le Corbusier’s work will begin on Saturday morning, June 8, with an exclusive preview of the MoMA exhibition led by its curator Jean-Louis Cohen.
Engaging lectures at the Center for Architecture will follow. Speakers, including the architect Peter Eisenman, FAIA, Yale Professor Stanislaus von Moos, Columbia Professor Mary McLeod, MoMA’s Chief Curator of Architecture and Design Barry Bergdoll, and Jean-Louis Cohen, will discuss how Le Corbusier’s ideas about New York City influenced his work and how, in turn, Le Corbusier’s legacy impacted the city’s built environment.
The second day, Sunday, June 9, will be dedicated to a tour of the United Nations Headquarters. Led by Assistant Secretary-General Michael Adlerstein, FAIA, and Public Information Officer Werner Schmidt – both from United Nations Capital Master Plan – participants will explore the building’s architectural history, including Le Corbusier’s contentious collaboration with the project’s main architect Oscar Niemeyer. The guides will also highlight the recent restoration of the Secretariat, which houses the UN’s working spaces, and the historic renovation of the three Chambers of the Conference Building.
Organized by: Center for Architecture and the Museum of Modern Art, New York
Co-sponsored by:AIANY Interiors Committee, AIANY Cultural Facilities Committee, and AIANY Historic Buildings Committee
AIA CES: 8.5 LU over two days
Registration Information
A program of the exhibition Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes
Special thanks to the sponsors of Le Corbusier/New York:
ENERGY: Indoor Vertical Farm ‘Pinkhouses’ Grow Plants Faster With Less Energy
by Bridgette Meinhold, 05/23/13
Indoor farms need light—and a lot of it—to grow crops, but that energy adds up big time in terms of cost and environmental impact. A Pinkhouse is a new type of indoor farm that grows crops using pink-colored light. Rather than bathing plants with white light (which has all the colors of the spectrum), a Pinkhouse uses a mix of red and blue light. By not using all the other colors, indoor vertical farms can cut down on their power bill with low-energy LED lights that emit just the right shade of magenta.
To grow sufficient quantities of food and produce in an indoor farm, crops have to be stacked. But this also means that each shelf has to have its own light source in order for the plants to grow. All these lights add up quick and so does the power bill. A new wave of research shows that “pink” light – a mix of red and blue wavelengths is all that a plant really needs to grow. In the whole spectrum of ROYGBV, the O, Y, G and V aren’t really necessary for plant growth, just the R and B. Besides reducing the amount of power for the lights, the LED lights are cooler, which also reduces the cooling load.
Researchers at Purdue University are currently studying the use of red and blue lights on plants, but it’s already being used in a real-world indoor farm. Caliber Biotherapeutics grows plants for medicinal use and they have a 150,000 sq ft indoor farm in Texas that relies on this pink light. Stacked 50 ft tall, their indoor farming system grows 2.2 million plants with the red and blue LED lights, which was designed by EEA Consulting Engineers. “A photon is a terrible thing to waste,” says Barry Holtz, at Caliber Biotherapeutics. “So we developed these lights to correctly match the photosynthesis needs of our plants. We get almost 20 percent faster growth rate and save a lot energy.”
Via NPR
3D PRINTING / ROBOTICS: mataerial anti-gravity 3D printer by petr novikov + saša jokić + joris laarman
all images courtesy mataerial
Mataerial Introduction from Mataerial on Vimeo.
in a collaborative research effort between petr novikov, saša jokić from the institute for advanced architecture of catalonia and joris laarman studio, ‘mataerial’, an anti-gravity additive manufacturing process is conceived. the printer allows for creating 3D objects on any given working surface independently of its inclination and smoothness, and without a need of additional support structures. similar to the doodle pen featured earlier on designboom, the robotic device utilizes innovative extrusion technologies that neutralize the effect of gravity during the course of the printing process.
the approach provides flexibility in creating natural objects by producing three-dimensional curves instead of two-dimensional folds. unlike 2D layers that are ignorant to the structure of the object, the 3D trajectory can follow exact stress lines of a custom shape.
the printer allows for creating 3D objects on any given working surface independently of its inclination and smoothness
the robotic device utilizes innovative extrusion technologies that neutralize the effect of gravity
the approach provides flexibility in creating natural objects by producing three-dimensional curves instead of two-dimensional folds
a 3D trajectory can follow exact stress lines of a custom shape
horizontal 3D printing in real time
anti-gravity in effect
material detail process
ART: Bradley Hart Creates Hyper-Realistic Portraits by Injecting Recycled Bubble Wrap with Paint
by Wendy Watson, 05/22/13
Where most people see packing material to be discarded after use, artist Bradley Hart sees a blank canvas waiting to be filled with pops of color. The New York-based Toronto native has been creating astoundingly realistic portraits of celebrities and friends using bubble wrap injected with paint. Besides people, Hart also has depicted some of his favorite places, like a square in Amsterdam, and brought to life more abstract ideas. The painstaking process involves filling each tiny air-filled bubble with acrylic pigment, making it appear as if the finished product is made up of thousands of pixels. On average, it takes the artist about 150 hours to finish each of his works. But even before he approaches his unusual canvas, Hart spends two-three days loading the paint into the 1,200-1,500 syringes needed to complete a single creation. One of his most famous works to date depicts the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. To complete the incredibly lifelike portrait, Hart injected over 16,000 individual bubbles with 89 different hues of paint to spectacular effect.
Via Cybergazing
DESIGN: Annie Evelyn Creates Reclaimed Cypress Chairs with Springy, Geometric Seats
by Ana Lisa Alperovich, 05/22/13
Designer Annie Evelyn from New Colony Furniture creates weird and wonderful seats using a technique she developed herself. Her “upholstered” chairs are made from hard materials but can be “squished” to provide for comfy seating. Her latest design, the Scotty Chair, is an elegant outdoor seat made from reclaimed Cypress wood.
We recently caught a glimpse of Evelyn’s seats during New York Design Week. Out of her NYC studio, the designer has been developing her own technique for making tactile furniture since she was a student. Her first job as a professional upholsterer gave her the chance to work closely with foam and inspired her love for the craft.
To date, she has developed a series of chairs and even sofas employing the same technique, but with different materials—including concrete, wood sticks, and now, eco-friendly reclaimed Cypress.
Photos by New Colony Furniture
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN: Hong Kong’s First Pure-Electric Taxis Begin Service, Revolutionizing Public Transport
2013-5-16
Hong Kong, May 15th, 2013: Today, BYD announced the launch of Hong Kong’s firstall-electric taxi fleet, BYD e6 electric cross-over sedan at a launch ceremony held at the Hong Kong Science Park. BYD closely collaborated with Sime Darby Motors Group (Sime Darby), Hong Kong Taxi & Public Light Bus Association Limited, the Link Management Limited, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited and the Hong Kong Electric Company Limited to place into service the first batch of 45, BYD e6 Taxis.
BYDalso announced that the e6 “Taxi version” and e6 “Premier” sedan were now officially on sale in Hong Kong. Mr. John Tsang Chun-wah, the GBM, JP, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regional Government welcomed BYD to Hong Kong and reaffirmed his commitment to “promoting environmental sustainability by laying the foundation for Hong Kong to become a zero emissions city.”
Mr.Wang Chuan-fu, Chairman and President of BYD Company Limited affirmed, “As a leading innovator in the green-energy market sector, BYD uses best-of-breed EV technologies for our e6 Taxis and e6 Premier sedans launching in Hong Kong. This not only asserts our green vision for promoting environmental sustainability for a better world, but is also a significant step for us in bringing green transport to benefit all people — we greatly appreciate of the presence of the Honorable Mr. Tsang at the ceremony today, as the support of the Government is of critical importance to the promotion and implementation of EVs in any country or region.”
“The support of the taxi industry is essential to the mass-adoption of EVs”,remarked Mr. Wong Chung Keung, President and Chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi& Public Light Bus Association. “We fully support BYD and Sime Darby’s introduction of pure electric taxis in Hong Kong. Our association will embrace this trial project with enthusiasm. We believe our upcoming co-operation with BYD for the promotion of electric taxis in Hong Kong will successfully upgrade the taxi industry and our efforts will not go in vain. We aim for a more pollution free environment and our target is full replacement of our present vehicles with electric ones in the near future.” Sime Darby offers Hong Kong drivers an eco-friendly transport supporting the development of a sustainable Hong Kong. Mr. Peter Goh, Managing Director of Sime Darby Motors Group said, “We are delighted to work with BYD in bringing the e6 Taxi sand Premier sedans to Hong Kong, offering even more unique, eco-friendly driving and transport experiences. Today’s launch is another testament to our commitment to providing top quality and high price-performance-ratio vehicles to our customers.” The BYD e6 is a spacious, 5-passenger, crossover vehicle (EV) powered by the BYD Iron-Phosphate (or Fe) batteries — it has a very long battery life with the highest safety level in the industry. It takes only two hours to fully charge the e6 using AC charging equipment developed by BYD. This pure EV can then travel for an unprecedented range up to 300 km, providing both the driver and passengers with an incomparable driving experience and zero emissions/ zero pollution.
The availability of charging facilities is also critical to EV customers — in conjunction with the introduction of Hong Kong’s first pure electric taxi fleet and the e6 Premier sedans, BYD is setting up 47 chargers in 9 charging locations near car parks throughout Hong Kong as the first phase of deployment. To address the anticipated growth of EV adoption, BYD plans to increase the number of charging facilities as adoption rolls out. These charging stations are now dispersed across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories and Lantau Island. The selection of these locations was optimized with the taxi-driver, shift-change locations, while taking into consideration the distance between each station and forming a reasonable coverage network for convenience. In addition, it is only anticipated that a one-hour recharge would only be needed per shift (during arest or lunch break). Pure electric vehicles are becoming a major trend in the world, especially in densely populated cities like Hong Kong, where many vehicles are driven in a compact area day and night — it is a pressing imperative that this public transportation becomes cleaner. The launch of the e6 Taxi and e6 Premier sedan underscores BYD’s commitment to its “three green dreams” strategy in new energy,which is comprised of; solar energy generation made relevant by environmentally-friendly energy storage, and responsibly using this green energy in electric vehicles. The BYD e6 isa key piece in the BYD vision Zero-Emissions-Eco-System, with this zero emission transport Sime and BYD help bring Hong Kong and its eco-conscious public closer to their goal of sustainability. For more information,please visit www.byd.com,www.facebook.com/bydcompanyor email pr@byd.com.
About BYD
BYDis ranked #1 at the top of Bloomberg’sand Business Week’s 2009 Tech 100 List is the leading manufacturer of advanced, environmentally-friendly battery technologies like the Iron Phosphate battery used in BYD electric vehicles and electric buses. BYD’s solar panels and LED Lighting systems have CEC, TUV/CE and UL listings, and the company enjoys rapid growth in the consumer electronics space and electrified transportation sector, manufacturing under its BYD brand. BYD is the fastest-growing Chinese automotive and green energytechnology enterprise. The company trades on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange(HKSE) under the ticker numbers HK.0285 – BYD Electronics and HK.1211 – BYDCompany Ltd., as well as on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange under the ticker number 002594 – BYD Company Ltd.
About Sime Darby
Sime Darby is a Malaysia-based diversified multinational involved in key growth sectors,namely, plantation, property, motors, industrial equipment, energy &utilities and healthcare. Founded in 1910, its business divisions seek to create positive benefits in the economy, environment and society where it has a presence. Sime Darby is committed to building a sustainable future for all its stakeholders. It is one of the largest companies on Bursa Malaysia with a market capitalization of USD 18.6 billion as at 30 June 2012.
CRAFT: Shibori - A Short History
Shibori is a Japanese term for several methods of resist-dyeing cloth to make a pattern by binding, folding, twisting and compressing, from the verb root shiboru meaning to wring, squeeze, press. There are an infinite number of ways to manipulate fabric for shibori, each way resulting in different resist designs and patterns.
Various forms of resist-dyeing techniques have been used all over the world for centuries, but no culture has perfected it quite like the Japanese. In Japan, the earliest known example of cloth dyed with a shibori technique dates from the 8th century. Natural indigo dye was primarily used on fabrics like silk, cotton or hemp. The end results are random patterns than can be tight and geometric or loose and free-flowing.
The Japanese concept of shibori recognizes and explores the pilancy of a texture and its potential for creating a multitude of shape-resisted designs. The word itself refers to the act of manipulating the fabric and giving it a three-dimensional form rather than treating cloth as a two-dimensional surface. The Japanese term shibori has no English counterpart, and in fact refers to a whole family of techniques, often lumped together in the Western world as tie dye.
Arashi Shibori, also known as pole wrapping shibori, is also the Japanese word meaning storm. In this technique, cloth is wrapped diagonally around a cylindrical object like a pole or pipe and tightly bound with thread or wire. The cloth is then scrunched down on the pole and dyed, resulting in diagonal slashed patterns mimicking rains from a heavy storm.
Kumo Shibori is a pleat and bound resist technique of shibori. Small sections of fabric are pleated very finely, or wrapped around small objects such a pebbles and bound very closely. Kumo results in a specific spider-like design.
Itajime Shibori is a shape-resist shibori technique in which cloth is folded like an accordion and sandwiched between two pieces of wood and held together with string or clamps. Dye is prevented from penetrating the covered fabric, and patterns can very depending on the type of fold used or binding placement.
Nui Shibori, or stitched shibori, includes a simple running stitch that is pulled very tightly to gather the fabric. A wooden dowel can be used to help pull the thread highly, and each thread is secured with a knot. This technique is the most time consuming, but also allows for greater variety and control over the final pattern.
Miura Shibori is also known as looped binding. For this technique, pluck sections of cloth with a hooked needle and loop thread around each section twice. The thread is held together with just tension, making it very easy to bind and unbind. The result is a fluid water-like design.
Kanoko Shibori is most commonly referred to as tie dye. Random sections of fabric are folded and bound to achieve patterns, which vary depending on where and how tightly this is done. Though traditional use requires thread to be used for Kanoko, today rubber bands are most commonly used for binding.
