Given the overwhelming success of the HauteGREEN show this year, and the increasingly large numbers of designers participating, we felt it was time to apply our ‘editors-choice-awards’ model to HauteGREEN and give a shout-out to the designs that really stood out as shining examples of good green design. Given how many designers participated in this year’s HauteGREEN, it’s hard to narrow down all the awesome green designs to just a few worthy of a Best In Show award, but a few do stick out in our mind as truly exceptional.
Here are our Inhabitat-editor-chosen awards for HauteGREEN 2007 Best In Show…
MOST GROUNDBREAKING DESIGN PROCESS: Cohda’s RD4 Chair
Codha’s brilliant RD4 Chair is made by melting and crushing recycled plastic bottles down into a thin plastic ribbon, which is then wrapped around a mold, roughly “sketching” the shape of a traditional chair. This gives the RD4 Chair its name: RD stands for “roughly drawn”. These surprisingly comfortable chairs are made from 100% recycled waste plastic and bring an interesting new concept to the idea of recycling. Definitely one of the stand outs of the Haute GREEN show, we applaud COHDA’s Richard Liddle and Sarah Blood for their truly future-forward design concept.
+ CODHA DESIGNS
MOST USEFUL DESIGN INNOVATION: XDesign’s ‘Green Light’ Plant Lamp/Air Purification System
We had our eye on xDesign’s ingenious ‘Green Light’ Plant Lamp ever since we got a sneak peek of the work back in April. We were totally taken with the brilliant idea of combining indoor illumination with plant growing and air filtration, and think that xDesigns have done a fabulous job at turning what could be a somewhat complicated idea into a simple and elegant design solution. The ‘Green Light’ plant lamps on display at Haute GREEN were more varied and more beautiful than the early press photos indicated, and we were thoroughly impressed by how well the conceptual idea translated into a beautiful and useful design object. We can’t wait until these puppies come to market.
+ xDESIGNS
MOST BEAUTIFUL RECLAIMED DESIGN: Michelle Brand’s Cascade Lamp
Michelle Brand’s gorgeous Cascade Chandelier was one of the highlights of Haute GREEN for us – in part because it totally caught us off guard. We never imagined that something so simple, cheap and ordinary such as reused plastic drinks bottles could be so easily turned into a such a stunning and elegant piece of interior design. More than any other piece in the Haute GREEN show, Michelle’s Cascade Chandelier fully embodies the DIY spirit of Reclaimed Design, as well as eco-chic ethos of the Haute GREEN show. Well done Michelle! We can’t wait to see more from you.
+ Michelle Brand
HONORABLE MENTIONS
CRAFTIEST CRAFT: Unblossom Doily Bowl by The Home Project
We love the intersection of nostalgia and modern-day design, and these salt-crystallized doily bowls are a perfect example. We’re seeing more and more references to traditional craft in design these days, and The Home Project does a great job of making your grandmother’s doilies into something truly stunning.
+ The Home Project
BEAUTY IN SIMPLICITY Paul Loebach’s Mirror Mirror
Who’s the fairest of them all? As far as mirrors go, Paul Loebach’s Mirror Mirror may very well take the cake. Its intricate design is secondary to its clever and uber efficient use of wood, which produces two mirror frames in a single cut (one is the removed piece of the other).
+ Paul Loebach
Hello, I just found your fabulous site. Well done! How would one go about submitting a green, recycled, multi-functional object of art for review by the editors. I think it could when a choice award.
Thanks in advance,
Russell