On May 14, 2009, Cooper-Hewitt opens Design for a Living World, an exhibition developed by The Nature Conservancy, one of the world’s leading conservation organizations. As part of our partnership with TNC, Cooper-Hewitt met the challenge of publishing a companion book that would emphasize the exhibition’s principal themes: sustainable design and materials, and responsible conservation...
On March 3, Cooper-Hewitt’s Members (Contributing level and above) joined the private opening of west elm’s newest location on the upper west side. Event designer extraordinaire David Stark created one-of-a-kind furniture and objects from recycled west elm packing materials and catalogs. Items were auctioned to benefit Cooper-Hewitt, and remain on display in the store throughout...
During a visit to Cooper-Hewitt about a year and a half ago, West-coast felt-maker Janice Arnold was intrigued by the form of the museum’s conservatory. Its domed roof and iron mullions resemble the radiating struts of the framework of a yurt—the circular tent dwelling of the nomadic tribes who first created felt. Next week, Arnold...
Brazilian designers Humberto and Fernando Campana will receive the prestigious Designer of the Year Award at this year’s Design Miami. Earlier this year, the brothers mined the museum’s collection and chose a diverse group of more than thirty objects, dating from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries for the Campana Brothers Select: Works from the...
An energy-efficient straw bale house is being built on the Mall, across the street from the US Capitol. Natural builders from around the country converged on Washington DC to construct the straw shelter and a bamboo shade structure. Rose Morin, a green builder from New Mexico and one of the over dozen volunteers with Builders...
GlassLab was a really unique adventure. I had been to The Corning Museum of Glass a few times and even seen glass blown there, but never had the “on-hand” experience of directing the blowers to create the piece as exact as I wanted it. Coming from a world of plastics and vinyl, it was very...
In sub-Saharan Africa, traditional building techniques are no longer feasible; due to increased deforestation use of timber for roofing and posts is not viable. Adapting an ancient architectural technique used in Sudan and Asia to West Africa, provides an affordable alternative. The Voute Nubienne (VN) or Nubian Vault technique uses local materials (mud bricks dried...
Fernando and Humberto explain their TransPlastic series as a fictional story wherein, in a world made of plastic, synthetic matter eventually becomes fertile ground for transgenic creations in which nature grows from and eventually overpowers plastic. The Trans… chair, the final piece in the Campanas’ TransPlastic collection, was designed especially for Cooper-Hewitt and is featured...
A multitude of schools are at the forefront of devising low cost innovations around the world, these are only a few of the examples of initiatives and projects underway. Designmatters at Art Center College of Design develops a multi-component design solution for a mobile clinic in Kenya. A camel-packaging system improves efficiency, refrigeration units are...
Many families are still crowded into one-bedroom FEMA trailers even 2 years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the US Gulf Coast. The Building Goodness Foundation has been providing relief to these cramped conditions building extra rooms for storage or a living room, even an extra bedroom. Over 150 of these extra rooms have been built in...
The show was conceived to begin a conversation and provoke discussion about the broad range of ways various organizations and individuals are addressing the underpinnings of poverty through design innovations. The selected objects tell a story and are windows into the numerous ways these groups are providing direct solutions. This blog will allow the discussion...
Triennial honoree Natalie Jerimijenko is featured on the cover of the current issue of GOOD magazine, the hip new eco/business/culture journal. On GOOD’s web site, you can see a video of Jerimijenko at work in her new Environmental Health Clinic, a floating desk and research station built from recycled soda bottles. Jermijenko reports that you...
Over the last three years, I have been seeing more convergence between various design disciplines. ReadyMade, Make, and Howtoons are using graphic design to communicate new do-it-yourself design philosophies. Companies like Blik are creating products that are graphics (and graphics that are products). Designers are producing tools and materials as well as end products. Casey...
