eco-chic design

repurposed lighting for sustainable living

The Sea Urchin Chandelier by HelenBilt caught my eye as part of the silent auction at the Green Drinks Holiday Party last week since it fit beautifully with the intricate details of The Prince George Ballroom. I love its modern take on traditional chandeliers and that it turns outdated technology into modern eco-design by repurposing incandescent light bulbs.

Helen Gifford is the founder and designer of HelenBilt based in South Hampton. Most of her designs are hand-built and customized to the client’s needs. The Urchin Series comes in many different designs like the Goldfinger Pendant that’s created out of amber spun flame-tipped bulbs or the Prism Pendant that’s made out of elongated conical bulbs. The bulbs are arranged into organic yet modern shapes that serve as lighting pendants and are lit by a single compact fluorescent light bulb. This cluster of incandescent light bulbs is built around a skeleton of recycled steel and creates a beautiful pattern of light and shadow on its surrounding when illuminated. The best part is that the Urchin Series does all this without using unnecessary energy that would be needed to light up each individual bulb. All designs are locally manufactured for the lowest impact on electricity and water. Let the green holidays begin.

eco-smart home and office design

What I’ve always loved about the EcoSmart Fireplaces from Australia is that they look as great at minimalistic eco-homes as well as office spaces. And then there are of course the environmental benefits that they are fueled by the renewable energy denatured Ethanol. As we all know Ethanol is produced through the fermentation of sugar from products such as sugarcane, potatoes or wheat. It needs to be de-natured with various substances since it can’t be sold in its purest form (100% alcohol) to avoid human consumption. The benefit of denatured Ethanol is that it’s completely composed of biological products making it greenhouse compliant. Its combustion results in a clean emission of heat, steam and carbon dioxide which means you’ll be able to breathe freely. The environmentally-friendly EcoSmart Fireplaces don’t require any installation or utility connection for fuel supply so that you can easily move them around. They come in a variety of stylish settings that range from modern to retro. My favorites are the Vision or Fusion that also work well as a visual separator for lofts. The Retro is a fun alternative for smaller studios or creative office spaces. Either one would definitely warm up any eco-modern space in a cool way.

designed with sunlight in mind

The lack of sunlight at many light-deprived offices in Manhattan can be quite depressing especially when it’s beautiful outside. Not only is it a waste of energy but also of human productivity. Swedish company Parans states that exchanging half of a building’s electrical lighting to their fiber optic solar lighting system can lower energy costs by 20% – 25%. Who wouldn’t want to run their office more efficiently while saving money and the environment?

The technology combines my love for modern design and nature since nothing beats natural light when it comes to lighting. First Parans Solar Panels that can be installed on roofs or facades collect the sunlight. It then travels through fiber optic cables to Parans Luminaires that are specifically designed lighting fixtures to recreate the feeling of sunlight. The designs range from spotlight to ambient light and look great at any modern eco-office. There’s even a hybrid fixture available that combines natural light with electric light for buildings with not sufficient sun exposure. The collected sunlight can travel 20 meters from the outside of a building to its inside destination. What I love the most about the whole concept is that it elevates the human energy level. Studies have shown that productivity increases up to 6% - 16% when natural light is added to a workplace. And that adds to the happiness index of not only the finance department but also employees.

high-tech, high-touch lighting

Since I’m currently researching how to green an office I wanted to feature Yves Behar’s LEAF lamp even that his most recent sustainable project is the PACT underwear collection. You might want to check out the designs via treehugger, dezeen or inhabitat. Well, at least you’ll know what to wear while sitting in an eco-friendly Aeron office chair working next to the LEAF light designed by fuseproject for Herman Miller.

Fuseproject in an award-winning industrial and branding firm founded by Yves Behar. I’ve always admired the humanistic approach to his iconic designs like the XO laptop for Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization. The development of the LEAF lamp took about 4.5 years and created a completely new experience of lighting. Fuseproject not only designed a new light but also a new light bulb. The user can choose between warm mood light and cool work light that can be adjusted through simple touch sensitive controls. I love how the design brings a human touch to the office environment while taking care of our eco-system through energy-efficient lighting. The LED task light use 40% less energy than an equivalent compact fluorescent for the same light output. The sleek and organic design comes in black, white, red, nickel, or polished aluminum and is designed with a sustainable future in mind. The LEAF light is part of Herman Miller’s Be Collection that uses Herman Miller’s Design for the Environment protocol (DfE) for material selection and product design.

spark your eco-imagination

Originally I was attracted to Lichen’s Squib felt lamp as part of the sustainable display at NYIGF last week with its modern take on eco-friendly felt design. It utilizes LED bulbs that use one-tenth of the energy of the equivalent halogen and last for twelve years until the next replacement. But ultimately it led me to the discovery of Lichen’s Adaptation that's a playful and eco-modern interpretation of the traditional glass vase.  I love how the designer Brandon Perhacs makes the user part of the creative process with his eco-smart design. Several glass vessels are held in place through an invisible force at the base that’s made of the eco-friendly material PaperStone, so that you can move them around based on your mood or desired flower arrangement. It’s a great way to green your home décor and makes for fun interactive design.

PaperStone is an FSC-certified composite made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper that’s saturated with a resin based on cashew nut shells. The design and manufacturing studio Lichen strives to use materials that are either recycled, sustainable, or are recyclable themselves. Make sure to check out the designer’s videos where he shows how his imaginative eco-designs work like his bracelet eweCUFF made from 100% Merino wool felt.

sustainable furniture stories at ICFF

Visiting the IKEA booth at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York felt like exploring different cultures and continents until the little price tags with the IKEA logo gave it away. That’s when I realized that the designs were part of IKEA’s 2009 PS collection with the theme that each design piece tells a story.

The new IKEA PS collection combines good design, affordability and sustainability. It includes 71 pieces by 20 designers that will be available on August 1st in the US. The collection was originally founded in 1995 to strengthen the company’s focus on design. It’s great to see that sustainability made its way into the design mix. From a sustainable point of view I applaud IKEA for teaming up with UNICEF to create the IKEA PS collection wall hangings to benefit women and children in India. Or I love how the designer Maria Vinka combines banana fibers, seagrass, cotton and steal to create her IKEA PS HÄLLAR stool that looks like a 3-D map of a mountain range. But since I’m a big fan of modern eco-design I was especially smitten by the IKEA PS VÄVA pendant lamp made out of palm leaves and powder coated steel designed by Wiebke Braasch and the IKEA PS MASKROS pendant lamp made out of paper and steel designed by Marcus Arvonen. Both designs are visually inspired by nature. The IKEA PS MASKROS resembles a dandelion. You have to put it together yourself since it arrives flat packed to reduce fuel consumption. Assembling your own furniture never felt better.

lights up modern eco-homes

At NYIGF this year I felt instantly attracted (or forgive me if say electrified) by these gorgeous Electric Firefly lightshades introduced by Design Abroad. Australian based Simon Goldstein is the brainchild behind Electric Firefly Design & Creation. His geometric designs are in its 3rd year. Now he teamed up with Melbourne-based Friendly Savage for his first edition using recycled materials.

The Electric Firefly series consists of the Nimbus, the Orbital, the Sol and the Daisy lightshade. All lampshades use Australian made heat-consistent polymer plastic that is 30-50% recycled. It’s biologically inert (non-reactive) and non-toxic. No plasticisers, chlorine, leachable components or heavy metals are used. The factories that produce the Electric Firefly lightshades recycle their own waste and that of their costumers. The lightshades arrive flat-packed in recycled packaging and are easy to assemble. You can use them as pendants, table lamps or put them on a floor or shelf. They are great for any home or office with their nature inspired designs. The standard color is white, but other color options are available. Please don’t forget to buy matching energy saving CFLs.

think outside the cardboard box

Who would have thought that scraps of corrugated cardboard could look this modern and beautiful? Meet the scrap lights designed by the two architects Seth Grizzle and Jonathan Junker of graypants.

I love the whole idea of taking something so mundane as used cardboard boxes and turning them into a functional piece of art that doubles as a light. My favorite design is the very symmetric and circular light entitled “disc” since I’m a big fan of anything simple and clean. Especially during the winter months it’s beautiful to watch the poetic play of light and shadow that these lamps create. So what makes them eco-friendly? Simple, all scrap light shades are made entirely from repurposed cardboard boxes. Make sure to check out their scrap chairs as well that are made out of wood, paper, and cardboard scraps. I think I just got inspired to always carry my scrap book. Thank you guys for that!

modern eco-lighting

Luceplan is an Italian company that has been focused on great design and sustainability for quite some time. Their StarLed Light was developed in cooperation with the designers Alberto Meda and Paolo Rizzatto in 2001. Since then the duo also created the desk lamp Berenice LED which is being used in Renzo Piano’s New York Times Building mentioned in an earlier post.

I love that the StarLed Light is a nod to traditional candlelights with a modern twist. It doesn’t need an electrical wire since it uses three rechargeable batteries to power a single LED that generates a bright white light. This way you’re free to move around which is great for outdoor dining. Fully recharged it allows for about 4 hours of illumination. Reducing energy consumption never looked better.

design from a bird’s eye view

What I like most about these campy planters by Brooklyn based perch! is that they look equally cute for indoor or outdoor plants. They are perfect for gardens or balconies and make a great centerpiece on a table with their clean and colorful design.

These planters and all other products designed by Amy Adams are hand-made using low impact materials and processes with non-toxic finishes and byproducts. Now I just wish I could decide on a color combination. Other products designed by Amy include bird inspired ceramics like her early bird pendant light or her perch birdfeeder made of white earthenware. I like that her designs have a sense of humor about them like her vessel entitled beak, which is a quirky looking ceramic container with a beak and a tail.