Icelandic designer Jón Helgi Hólmgeirsson has created a paper gramophone that actually plays records! Dubbed Jónófón, the biodegradable design is made from a thin plywood base and a paper horn, and it can be powered by a 9 Volt battery or an external power supply.

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In the past, Icelanders told time using a traditional measurement system called Eykt – the day was split into eight Eyktir consisting of three hours each. Inspired these traditions, designer Jón Helgi Hólmgeirsson created a 24 hr Eyktir clock entirely made from biodegradable layered cardboard.

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Mixing traditional Japanese woodworking techniques with modern design, Ryosuke Fukusada has created a functional wooden light bulb! The unusual design was made using a technique called Rokuro, and it consists of an LED light bulb wrapped with a very thin layer of wood. Topped with a recyclable aluminum socket, this wooden LED light shines beautifully through the grain.

+ Ryosuke Fukusada

It’s a pretty old trick to take a simple steamer or colander and use it as a light shade, so designer Nadia Belalia upped the ante with her series of transformed and customized steamer lamps. Belalia has deconstructed the lowly kitchen utensil into a series of lamps with a steampunk sensibility – rivets pin petals of folded stainless steel, giving each design a kinetic punch.

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The taxi light is recognizable in great cities around the world, and now designer Guilhem de Castelbajac has immortalized the iconic item with his series of repurposed LED lamps, “Off Duty No More.” Made from an international array of recycled cab-toppers, the lamps caught our eye at this year’s ICFF.

Waterlevel Photo by Shutterstock

A study published in Nature Geoscience concluded that the global demand for fresh water is contributing to the oceans’ rise faster than the impact of global warming on melting glaciers. The trillions of tons of fresh water pumped out of underground aquifers, and then used for irrigation and to keep cities watered and fed is seeping into oceans faster than those underground water supplies can be replenished. The researchers leading the study insist that the impact of humans’ unquenchable usage of water over the past 50 years has been grossly overlooked.

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We loved the colorful airy grouping of Tomomi Sayuda’s Daydream Lamps at this past weekend’s ICFF. The paper lanterns are crafted from handwoven Japanese paper, with the delicate swirls of color which softly infuse a room with light in the form of a cluster of flower blooms in Spring.

A team from Stanford University have released a report that states ecological chains worldwide are being damaged by human influence. Mankind’s impact on the natural world is a subject of constant debate and controversy. While there are those that believe we are fundamental in destroying the world around us, others believe the planet and survive and adapt to anything we do to it. But this recent study, conducted in a remote area of the Pacific, found that our interventions in nature lead to significant losses of population in different ecosystems.

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OMA's largest project ever, the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing, is now complete. Rem Koolhaas' folded tower reinvents the skyscraper and combines China Central Television's entire production and offices into one multi-purpose facility. One tower provides space for broadcasting, while the other is dedicated to services and the two meet in the middle in a puzzling display of building perspective. The energy-efficient tower features local and environmentally-friendly materials and a broad landscaped garden underneath creates a pleasant public plaza for employees, visitors and residents of the city.

 

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British artist Ben Long uses a surprising medium for his reverse graffiti artwork – the grime that builds up from exhaust emissions on traveling cube trucks. Using only his finger, the artist has created a series of ephemeral drawings of children, birds and other animals in the layers of dirt. The project, called “The Great Traveling Art Exhibition,” is an ongoing series that takes over the back of commercial trucks, which are usually emblazoned with advertisements.

The world’s first Solar-Geothermal Hybrid power plant has been inaugurated in the town of Fallon, Nevada. Just ten months ago Nevada Senator Harry Reid announced that the addition of solar panels to the existing Stillwater geothermal plant would create the pioneering hybrid renewable energy facility, which can now produce 59MW of clean power, enough to power thousands of homes.

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Designers across the city have been attracting furniture and art-lovers with their work during New York Design Week, but a series of sculptural installations by Takeshi Miyakawa caught some rather unwanted attention – the NYPD’s. The I LOVE NY shopping bag-shaped sculptures caused a real stir over the weekend when they were mistaken for bombs by the cops. The ironically very peaceful bags were adapted into glowing sculptures to light up the city’s streets but instead of garnering praise for his thoughtful installation, the Brooklyn-based designer was arrested late Saturday night for “planting false bombs.”

French designer Philip Starck is exhibiting his elegant recycled Broom Chair at this year’s bustling ICFF. Made from 90% recycled industrial waste, the Broom Chair made its debut at Milan Furniture Fair, where we first spotted its classic, sustainable form. Designed for Emeco — the firm who made the 111 Navy Chair from recycled plastic bottles back in 2010 — this gorgeous piece is creating a quite stir at the NYC Design Festival.

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