Category — Green Design

How cool is this table made from interlocking wood panels leftover from the manufacturing process? TSUNAGU is the latest in a series of furniture from the MATE-RE-INNO line, short for Material Re-Innovation. It was launched by Label Creators, a company that believes in traditional Japanese craftsmanship and materials. They acknowledge that waste is generated throughout the design process and many of their lines attempt to recycle those remnants of design. I would love to see this table put to use with magazines, photos and other random objects laid on the shelving that is created as a result of all the panels.

Earlier this week the 100-day mark was breached, counting down to the start of the 2010 Shanghai EXPO. Japan unveiled their pavilion awkwardly titled “Eco-Breathing Architecture.” I twittered about my dislike of the structure and received a bunch of feedback confirming that I was not alone in my thoughts. So I thought I would post the pictures here to see what others thought. In short, I think it looks like a blob of protoplasm, greedily consuming everything in its path. Not a very sustainable vision. More pictures over at Nikkei Kenplatz.(login required)

Images © JETRO

It was designed by Yutaka Hikosaka, of Space Incubator, an architectural and environmental design firm. He was responsible for the Nagakute Japan Pavilion (Aichi EXPO 2005) and the Dairinkai Water Fantasium (Osaka EXPO 1990).

This weekend New York was hit with a bout of cold weather. All the stations were hyping it as the coldest temperatures of the winter so far. We figured, if not now, when do we succumb to the corrupt border-town sheriff, also known as central heating? So we reluctantly flipped on the switch and, as we heard the motor begin to hum, immediately sensed the iron hand descend, securing us from the outside frost for the price of every last penny of moisture.

We have yet to find a humidifier that we like because every crappy one becomes a cesspool of bacteria within days. And all the other ones are either too bulky, too ugly or too expensive. Until today. Meet Mast, an exquisite creation of pure Hinoki (Japanese Cypress), recently designed by Shin Okada and crafted by Masuya Koubou. Known for its high-quality timber, rot-resistant qualities and lemony scent, the thinly sliced Hinoki mast absorbs water from the hull and diffuses it, and its intrinsic aroma, into the room. And it goes without saying, but no electricity needed.  I am willing to bet money that it will look more elegant than the damp washcloth draped over my ceiling fan.

You can purchase it here (Japanese) for 6,300 yen.

Japanese architects Atelier Tekuto have updated their website with images of The Japanese Pavilion, a project to disassemble a vacant traditional home in rural Japan and transport it to Gondar, Ethiopia where it is reassembled into a working home. The joint project between several parties, which included the City of Gondal and the Society for Research on Traditional Japanese Homes was announced in August 1, 2008 and came to a close exactly 1 year later.

Before the relocation

After the relocation

According to the Society for Research on Traditional Japanese Homes – a non-profit organization who advocates the reusing of abandoned traditional Japanese homes – there are 30,000 “high-quality” homes in Shimane Prefecture alone that have been vacant for over 5 years. They also continue to argue that, on average, these homes, if destroyed, would create 30 tons of rubble. If you were to incinerate them it would release 15 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.  And according to Atelier Tekuto’s estimates, the entire process – from disassembling, shipping and reassembling – could save the environment in excess of 8.4 tons of C02.

Due to some of the infrastructure constraints in Gondar, Atelier Tekuto installed a water purification system that would convert rainwater to drinking water, as well as solar roof panels that would provide the necessary energy to power the pumps and lighting.
The space is currently being utilized for vocational training.

Exciting news! The kind folks over at Branch just emailed me to inform me that that it’s official. They have signed an agreement to be the exclusive U.S. distributor of WASARA line of biodegradable tableware. They are taking pre-orders now and expect to start shipping in mid-December.

This is especially exciting for me because I helped facilitate the introduction and initial communications between Wasara and Branch!

Related:

• the very first Wasara post
• designer of the Wasara plates here and here

Last night Suntory’s subsidiary Midorie announced the winner of their first-ever Midorie Design Contest. Midorie launched its services in 2008 and offers rooftop and wall surface greening that utilizes Puffcal, “an originally developed sponge-like soil substitute” that is lighter and more versatile than soil. The guidelines of the contest were to use Puffcal in an innovative fashion to create green-design.

The winners were the members of the design studio kenma, who proposed OSUSOWAKE (which means sharing, in Japanese) a planting system that could be grown and then divided  in order to distribute to friends and family. Recipients can then combine them with any existing Puffcal plants that they may have, creating a unique plant that becomes symbolic of the ties and connections you have with others. The proposal completely rethinks the notion of plants and goes beyond the possibilities that conventional potting soil offered which, in the end, won them the award.

Here is the official press release (Japanese PDF) where you can see some of the runner ups, which include planters that can be stored in bookshelves and planters that act as umbrella stands, feeding off the dripping rainwater.

Related:

• Suntory Midorie

The 3rd company, and the most recently established (and the most likely to succeed given their economy of scale) in the “we’ll help you plant stuff” industry, is Midorie, a subsidiary of the major beverage company Suntory.  Launched in 2008, Midorie offers rooftop and wall surface greening that utilizes Puffcal, “an originally developed sponge-like soil substitute” that is lighter and more versatile than soil. This is actually quite significant given that weight considerations and the structural capacity of the roof are at the heart of planning a rooftop garden.

Tokyo Green Space wrote them up recently but what I wanted to highlight was their online shop that just launched a few weeks ago. The store is perfect for people wanting to greenify their home without the hassle of consultations and structural engineers.

top | Midorie Cassettes
bottom | Midorie Frames

The Frame (5,040 yen) and Cassette (3,990 yen) both use Puffcal, and are infinitely customizable depending on the quantity and the different styles that you order.  Puffcal removes the weight and messiness factor from wall mounted vegetation, helping you to create your own green sanctuary within the confines of your home.

Midorie also recently launched a design contest, in which participants were asked to come up interior or product designs utilizing the Midorie products. Judges include the notable architect Kengo Kuma (who coincidentally seems to be making numerous appearances on this site recently)and the results should be interesting. I’ll be on the lookout for them sometime towards December.

Related:

• GreenFortune Streamgardens & Greenwalls
• Wa-So Design
  

The 2nd company competing in the “we’ll help you greenify” space is Wa-So, a uniquely Japanese company that specializes in greenifying your home, garden, shop, or pretty much any space you like, while maintaining – or in some cases, adding – Japanese aesthetics and sensibilities. Based out of Osaka, Wa-So offers more personalized services than GreenFortune, as they sit down with you to come up with a plan that fits your needs. Then they oversee everything from blueprints to construction (if needed) and installation. Below are some recently completed works from their portfolio.

Related:

• GreenFortune Streamgardens & Greenwalls

So last Thursday was blog action day in which you had over 13,000 blogs posting topics on climate change and basically anything eco-related. Our mission here at Spoon & Tamago has nothing to do with green design – or anything green for that matter – but  we are partial to the cause so I thought I would quietly share my 2 cents by discussing some companies in Japan who are in the “we’ll help you greenify” business.

Greenfortune’s streamgarden

Perhaps the first company that comes to mind is the internationally focused GreenFortune, who has an active Japan group. Based out of Kobe City, the company has 2 flagship products. First to launch was the Streamgarden, which provided residential clients with an easy, low-maintenance garden inside their homes. The 2nd product that they launched was the Greenwall, which was a primarily large-scale installation within a commercial space.  Inhabitat wrote them up a while back if you are interested in learning more. Below is an interior and exterior shot of NINE, a boutique shop in Aoyama, the was completed over the summer of 2009.

Their office in Kobe also does a nice job of showcasing their work.

Sasaki Kogei was recently awarded the Gift Show 2009 Eco Company of the Year award. Their commitment to sustainability is quite impressive. Their all-natural paints and oils, as well as their recycling/reusing efforts are one thing. But the fact that they have maintained an active tree-planting program over the last several years sets them apart from other eco companies. And their products are gorgeous. I love this wood-worker set, which I featured 2 years ago in my gift guide from Japan. A recent favorite is this wooden measuring stick that helps you track the growth of your toddler. But uuum, …how shall I put this? Only in Japan could a company like this get away with actively promoting smith and Wesson toy guns and gorgeously crafted cigarette holders. That’s Japan for you.

Want to know more great things about Japan? Check out cnngo’s recent article on 50 reasons why Tokyo is the greatest city in the world.