El Lissitzky: Armchair for the Hygiene Exhibition Dresden
This chair is painted plywood construction with solid wood seat and metal fittings. El Lissitzky taught at the Vkhutemas Moscow design institute and was a co-founder of Constuctivism. He associated with De Stijl members, Bauhaus designers and Dada artist and their influence can be seen in his designs.
I think that this chair looks too much like a movie theather chair to be placed anywhere else in public. I also think that it looks very uncomfortable because of the harsh hard plastic. One thing that I really don’t like is how far the arms are placed up on the chair it looks like that would be a pain in the butt to hold you arms way up there.

Gerrit Rietveld: Zig zag chair
Oak constructed with brass fittings. The 45 degree angle of the zig zag chair’s cantilever can be seen as a response to Theo van Doesburgs’s call in 1924 for the introduction of oblique linesto resolve the tension between vertical and horizontal elements.
This zig zag chair I don’t find very attractive, I feel like the chair would be stronger if it just stopped at the Z and didn’t have the back part of the chair on it. I also think that it would look cooler if the Zig zag chair was made out of metal or a painted plastic.

Alvar Aalto: Model No.43
This chair is made of bent laminated wood and solid birch frame with textile webbing. The model No. 60 stool and model No. 69 chair demonstrates Aalto’s interest in basic functional forms. The later model No.43 chaise lounge and model No. 406 are less utilitarian and more suited to domestic settings.
This chair looks very comfortable, I really like the reclined position that it is in. I also like the weaving effect that is on the chair I like how the dark and light strips contrast each other.

Gerrit Rietveld: Aluminium chair
Pressed and stamped aluminium contruction. This chair was probably inspired by military aircraft seats. Constructed from a bent, single sheet of stamped aluminium, the design pushed the materials technical and aesthetic limits further than ever before.
I think that is chair looks very cold, and unfriendly. I do however like the holes that are in the chair, I don’t understand the point of them as with most of the others but I like them. I don’t like the sharp edges of the chair, although they contrast the holes.

Jean Prouve: Visiteur
Bent tubular steel, lacquered oak and sheet zinc construction. Although originally retailed with an upholstered seat and back, this chair’s use of sheet zinc is most unusual. The ball foot motif became increasingly popular throughout the 1950’s.
I think that this chair looks way to hard to sit on but, I do like the zinc metal that is used in the chair. I like it because it is unusual and that type of metal isn’t used very often on chairs. I think that it looks like its too short and low to the ground as well.

Borge Mogensen: Model No. 1789
Beech frame with upholstered cushions and leather ties. The No. 1789 sofa was one of a number of designs by Mogensen, who had worked with both Wegner and Klint, that were successful reinterpretations of traditional seat types.
The main thing that drew my eye to this chair was the fact that the one side folds down so you are able to lay down on this chair that looks like a bench. I don’t however like the cloth or color of the wood I think that it is too outdated and country looking for my taste.

Donald Knorr: Model No. 132U
The innovative model No 132. U shared first prize at the “ International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design” in New York. The prototype seat shells were made from sheets of themoset plastic. Bent zinc-plated steel seating section on painted tubular steel legs.
This chair has a very unique look to it, I really enjoy the fact that it looks like either an oyster or half of a fortune cookie , the back part of the chair where the hole is taken out doesn’t really make since to me and isn’t explained why it is there but, I do think it does look esthetically pleasing to the eye.

~ This information was taken out of the 1,000 chairs book by Charlotte and Peter Fiell

Carlo Mollino: Armchair for the Minola House:
This chair and the other furninshings designated for the Minola House in Turin were produced at the height of the war. Skilled craftsmanship compensated for the dearth of quality materials. Ebonised wood frame with velvet-covered upholstery.
To me this chair looks like a praying mantis. It looks like it may be comfortable but, I am not feeling the velvet material it is upholstered in. I also think that the head piece on the chair looks uninviting and I feel like I would be closterphobic in it.

Carlo Mollino: Chair designed for Lisa and Gio Ponti
This chair was designed for Lixa and Gio Ponti. It is bifurcated form is clearly based on a cloven hoof and reflects Mollino’s life long intrest in the occult. Polished brass frame with resin-flex upholstered seat and back.
I Think that this chair is quite ugly, the color of it is really quite plan and bland, once again the seat has a crack in between it so it looks like it wouldn’t be very comfortable and the back of the seat looks like the center piece of the flower of a tiger lily.

Chair Products

Sori Yanagi: Butterfly
The butterfly stool can be seen as an elegant and harmonic synthesis of Eastern and Western cultures. Highly favored in America during the 1950’s it was easy to dismantle and transport.
Personally I do not think that this chair would be comfortable, I like the way it looks from a far but, I think that the crack in it looks like it would be very uncomfortable if you were to sit down in it.

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Sustainable design research

Tintable Glazing Saves Energy On Demand:




“The only product currently meeting that ideal in the U.S., according to Selkowitz, is SageGlass, produced by Sage Electrochromics.
SageGlass windows and skylights can be tinted to block solar heat gain without blocking the building occupants view, Once people start experiencing what it can do for them, they will wonder how they ever got along without windows they can tint on demand,” “Less fossil fuels burned means less pollution, which is good for the environment, and lower operating costs, which is good for the building owner.”

http://greensource.construction.com/tech/070404tintableglass.asp

Designing Buildings for Easy Cleaning:



“Designing a building with cleanability in mind can reduce the amount of cleaning products needed in the first place, limiting the potential for occupants or the environment to be harmed by exposure to chemicals. “The ultimate pollution-prevention strategy is to eliminate the material entirely,” says Stephen Ashkin.”

http://greensource.construction.com/tech/070404cleanability.asp

Design for a Carbon-Free Life: The Pursuit of “Net” Zero Energy:




“The phrase commonly used in the U. S. is zero-energy building (ZEB)—one that consumes no non-renewable energy, or produces more renewable energy on site on an annual basis than any non-renewable energy it consumes. Since carbon emissions are a direct result of fossil-fuel use, a zero-carbon building is necessarily a zero-fossil-fuel energy building.”

http://construction.com/CE/articles/0710ZeroEnergy-1.asp

Go With the Flow:

“Fresh air brought in from the outside can serve one or more functions, from providing adequate ventilation for occupants throughout the year and cooling them in the appropriate seasons to flushing and cooling the building itself at night. Executed properly in the right conditions, passive ventilation can improve indoor air quality and thermal comfort while reducing a facility’s reliance on energy derived from fossil fuels. It can also reduce initial construction costs by downsizing the mechanical system and its associated fan noises. Finally, natural ventilation helps occupants reconnect to the outdoors and feel a sense of ownership within their building environment.”

http://greensource.construction.com/tech/0707_Kirschcenter.asp

Concrete goes green:

“Studies show that vehicles get better gas mileage on concrete than they do on asphalt,” he says. In metropolitan areas, concrete offers the added benefit of reflecting sunlight, reducing heat and consequently, reducing overall energy costs.”

http://southcentral.construction.com/features/archive/2007/0706_feature_1.asp

Solar Memory:

“Like the tools used to simulate outdoor light, blue-sky thinking is vital to sustainable building design. Yet capturing useful sunlight is hard enough even when conditions are ideal. recent years have added new fiber optics, plastics, special coatings, and even “active” glazings such as electrochromic panels that can be adjusted for variable illuminance levels. Other glass products incorporate louvers or triangular prisms that throw light deep inside floors or up at ceilings, with some customized for latitude and climate.”

http://greensource.construction.com/tech/0704mag_solar.asp

Unique fuel source:

The use of landfill gases is projected to initially satisfy about 40 percent of the plant's energy needs, with 100 percent projected in 10 years' time. This method will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and as a result the company is being nationally recognized for being environmentally conscious.

http://southcentral.construction.com/features/archive/2007/0703_feature_4.asp

Window Makers Roll Out Cardinal's New LoE3 Glass:

“Cardinal Glass Industries, the nation’s largest manufacturer of coated glass for residential windows with an output of 700 million square feet per year, has introduced an improved low-emissivity (low-e) coating, LoE3 366 (“Low-e cubed 366”). The glass offers high visible light transmittance as well as low solar heat gain, making it appropriate in most applications except where solar gain is desirable for passive solar heating (south-facing glass in heating climates). The manufacturer recommends LoE3 366 for all regions of the country. Glass with LoE3 366 will be slightly more expensive than glass with standard low-e coatings.”

http://greensource.construction.com/tech/070207cardinalglass.asp

Design Choices Protect Birds from Building Collisions:

“Second only to habitat loss, collision with windows poses the largest human hazard to birds, according to Daniel Klem Jr. Fortunately, modifications to building designs can reduce bird collisions. The most effective change is eliminating mirrored glass. Using architectural details to break up mirrored glass visually can also help birds understand that it’s a solid surface. Tilting mirrored glass so it reflects the ground can encourage birds to steer clear. The incorporation of an etched pattern, a ceramic frit, or photovoltaic panels into a glass curtainwall may also make it visible to birds, especially if the glass is also nonreflective. Birds sometimes fly through spaces as small as a human handprint, however, so patterns have to be tight to be effective.”

http://greensource.construction.com/tech/070103BirdsGlass.asp

Robo Buildings: Pursuing the Interactive Envelope:





Gage and Will Thorne describe a hypothetical fleet of small robots they call “edge monkeys.” Their function would be to patrol building facades, regulating energy usage and indoor conditions. Basic duties include closing unattended windows, checking thermostats, and adjusting blinds. But the machines would also “gesture meaningfully to internal occupants” when building users “are clearly wasting energy,” and they are described as “intrinsically delightful and funny.” “smarter building skins automatically control daylighting, ventilation, and more to benefit occupants and enhance sustainable design quality”.”

http://archrecord.construction.com/features/green/archives/0604edit-3.asp

~My overall thought and what I have gotten out of these articles is that sustainable design is that of which non-renewable objects are limited, so things that have a green design, or a design are used in order to preserve the environment more efficiently, also it has been the “art of designing physical objects and the built environment to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability”.

Orthographic View of Time Capsule

new technology design research

Adapting Cementitious Structural Insulated Panels For Multi-Story Use: Federation of American Scientist

In this article they are talking about the impact that large construction has, trying to find efficient ways of energy and finding different options for these muti-story buildings to succeed in design. It goes through the efficiency of these buildings through disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and what about the cost and the building time. They will use different corporations to help figure out the best efficiency. The Open System fir Earthquake Engineering Simulation, helped to show them or give them the effects of an Earthquake if one were to happen so that they could design around it in order to give it more efficiency. It also “integrated structural behavior, soil and foundation behavior, and damage measures”. They used the combination of computer stimulation with the actual building elements in order to test it. To finish off the study of this they will make a comprehension guide in order to explain the different ways in which these multi-story buildings can be made efficiently.

Another new technology that is being used in todays design field is that of
residential construction they are using simple composite materials in order to make walls and roofs. This material before had been able to be used only in automobile and some airplane construction because of the high cost in production. This recent demand for all of these durable buildings this material has been lowered in price greatly and is more available to the public now. The good thing about this material is that it stays in one piece during earthquakes and any other tragic event that might mess up the building. The material can prevent mold and termites and looks good as well. Another bonus to this material is it is safe and also is very good in energy efficientcy by reducing heating and cooling bills by 1/2.Overall I am pleased to hear about this new product that will seem to help out alot!