ADF Unveils MARTA Vision for Next Generation Rail Transport

Inspired by robust feedback from thousands of riders, MARTA revealed its vision for a new fleet of rail cars featuring a host of customer-centric amenities, inside and out. The overall design reflects the culmination of outreach efforts in 2021 during which nearly 4,000 customers participated. The result is an alluring mix of improved comfort, convenient technology, and sleek minimalism.

Interior Design

For example, the train interiors will have open gangways that enable riders to move freely between cars, forward and inward-facing seating options, spacious luggage and bicycle areas and large, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant (ADA) doorways and spaces. Customers will also benefit from conveniently placed mobile device charging stations throughout the rail cars and digital system maps and screens that display timely transit service information. Other upgrades such as wind screens near the train doors and improved heating, cooling and lighting systems will also enhance the commuting experience.

The Smile

Not to be outdone, the exterior of the new rail cars is an understated work of art. The most prominent feature is on the front of the train, where a lighted “smile” denotes the color of the respective rail line — Red, Gold, Green or Blue — so riders will know from a distance that their train is approaching. MARTA’s three iconic colors will flow in a strip along the vehicles’ flanks, carrying your eye down the length of the train and highlighting the aerodynamic design.

Less Is More

Approach When casting their votes, customers who used the online Qmarkets crowdsourcing platform praised the exterior aesthetic of the low-key design that MARTA ultimately selected. “Of the designs proposed, this one [Minimalist] seems to be the most timeless,” said respondent, Chris Kalil. Customer Reg Mitchell also described the less-is-more design as, “Dignified but with a bit of color. Easy and inexpensive to apply.” Sam Solomon, who also favored the minimalist approach said: “Of all the designs, this one seems like the one with the most staying power. Several of the other designs will look terrible in 5 or 10 years. Considering these cars need to last 40 or 50 years, that should be a major consideration. This concept also feels like the one that most closely fits with MARTA’s branding.” The first of MARTA’s 254 new rail cars is expected to arrive in metro Atlanta in 2023.

Innovation and Design Investment

MARTA’s next generation of rail cars will build upon new technology and advance safety and security for all customers. The goal is to expand comfort and convenience elements to create a reimagined transit experience. The new rail cars will also interface with other investments aimed at enhancing the customer experience such as MARTA’s new integrated operations center, new station audio-visual information upgrade, systemwide elevator and escalator upgrade, restroom modernization program and station rehabilitation program which will refresh MARTA stations. We’re doing this to raise the bar. Gathering rider input now will help deliver a rail car the improves the ridership experience. Nothing means more to MARTA than having you as a happy customer.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) announced their decision to award Stadler the contract for 127 METRO trains with two options of 25 additional trains each. For Stadler this is the first large METRO contract in the US and the largest ever order of vehicle units so far in the company’s history. The contract is valued at over 600 million US dollars. The new trains are intended for service to the world’s largest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Stadler

Stadler has manufactured trains since 1942. A Switzerland-based manufacturer with U.S. operations in Salt Lake City, Utah, the organization is committed to meeting the specific needs of their clients and employing innovative technologies to customize features that improve performance and passenger comfort.

itsmarta.com
stadlerrail.com

The Archives

An ADF Exclusive with The Peoples Outfitters

Launched in 2018, The Archives is an independent clothes shop in Leeds (UK) which is dedicated to the classic, time-honoured gear from around the globe. Founded by fashion industry veteran Fax Patel, The Archives was actually conceived in the mountains in Andalusia, when Patel was there with his mom. Faz declares, “The best ‘retro clothing’ is when somebody tries to emulate something that was done before, but does it better. There is so much disposable clothing out there that I think the public is just tired of it. I don’t want to look like my 20 year old nephew —that’s The Archives.”

the-archives.co.uk

Antony Gormley

The master of metal‘s most significant exhibition in over a decade  

In this breathtaking exhibition, the visitor is centre stage. Across thirteen rooms, sculptures and installations call for our physical and imaginative participation. In different ways, the works make us aware of our own bodies, the spaces we move through, and the in nite space of the mind.

The body appears in various modes: as a trace in early experimental sculptures; through action recorded in drawings; and as a form – cast in iron, stacked in steel, or present only as a void.

In several works, industrial and organic materials are used on an epic scale to create enveloping installations that energise and disrupt space.

For Gormley, the magic of sculpture is that it comes to life in the presence of people. Instead of including written information inside the galleries, the artist invites us to focus on the here and now and experience the works directly. He says: “I want to use sculpture to throw us back into the world, to provide this place where the magic, the subtlety, the extraordinary nature of our  first-hand experience is celebrated, enhanced, made more present.”

royalacademy.org.uk

La Biennale di Venezia

May You Live in Interesting Times

Commissioner: Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.
Curator: Anne-Claire Schmitz.
Exhibitors: Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys.

Open to the public at the Giardini and the Arsenale, the 58th International La Biennale di Venezia art exhibition, titled ‘May You Live In Interesting Times’, is curated by Ralph Rugoff and organized by La Biennale di Venezia. The Exhibition developed from the Central Pavilion (Giardini) to the Arsenale and includes 79 participants from all over the world. Four countries participated for the first time at the Biennale Arte: Ghana, Madagascar, Malaysia, and Pakistan. The Dominican Republic exhibits for the first time at the Biennale Arte with its own national pavilion.

From Ralph Rugoff, the curator —

“May You Live in Interesting Times will no doubt include artworks that reflect upon precarious aspects of existence today, including different threats to key traditions, institutions and relationships of the “post-war order.” But let us acknowledge at the outset that art does not exercise its forces in the domain of politics. Art cannot stem the rise of nationalist movements and authoritarian governments in different parts of the world, for instance, nor can it alleviate the tragic fate of displaced peoples across the globe (whose numbers now represent almost one percent of the world’s entire population).

But in an indirect fashion, perhaps art can be a kind of guide for how to live and think in ‘interesting times.’ The 58th International Art Exhibition will not have a theme per se, but will highlight a general approach to making art and a view of art’s social function as embracing both pleasure and critical thinking.”

Ruoff continues, “the Exhibition focus on the work of artists who challenge existing habits of thought and open up our readings of objects and images, gestures and situations. Art of this kind grows out of a practice of entertaining multiple perspectives: of holding in mind seemingly contradictory and incompatible notions, and juggling diverse ways of making sense of the world. Artists who think in this manner offer alternatives to the meaning of so-called facts by suggesting other ways of connecting and contextualising them. Animated by boundless curiosity and puncturing wit, their work encourages us to look askance at all unquestioned categories, concepts and subjectivities. It invites us to consider multiple alternatives and unfamiliar vantage points, and to discern the ways in which “order” has become the simultaneous presence of diverse orders.”

labiennale.org

 

Belgium Pavilion

Mondo Cane

Commissioner: Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.
Curator: Anne-Claire Schmitz.

Mondo Cane by Jos de Gruyter and Harald Thys is a display of the human condition. The exhibition features a group of automated puppets set amongst a series of large drawings of pastoral scenes and steel grids that fence off the pavilion’s lateral recesses. Some of these puppets are craftsmen – a musician, a shoemaker, a knife grinder, a spinner – who faithfully exercise their respective skills. It is a utopian world, pure and clean. 

Around the edges is a parallel world filled with rogueing zombies, poets, psychotics, and dropouts. These two realities coexist in the same space, but appear unaware of one another. They do not touch and this segregation is evident. The pavilion acts as a true promenade, similar to a touristic or anthropological experience reminiscent of an older Europe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Britain Pavilion

Cathy Wilkes

Cathy Wilkes’ exhibition for the Biennale Arte 2019 is bathed in natural Venetian daylight. The unadorned architecture of the British Pavilion provides the setting for an interconnected series of floor-bound sculptural installations, paintings and prints.

Through the measured process of creating her works, Wilkes experiments with all kinds of media and materials, and collects treasures and ingredients. Production – or what we see in the end – is the accumulation of all of these constituent parts. Her work recalls inchoate visions of interiors and places of loss, and meditates on the nature of love and the coexistence of life and death.

Her work also shows the disappearance and dematerialisation of life and the absence and anonymity of the author. Her works, which are all Untitled, render us all non-initiates; together we have equal capacity.

The exhibition is curated by Dr Zoé Whitley, Senior Curator at Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre. Dr Whitley is the first open-call curator to be selected by the British Council to work alongside the artist on a British Pavilion exhibition, presenting a significant international opportunity for mid-career curators.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

France Pavilion

Vois ce bleu profond te fondre (Deep see blue surrounding you)

Laure Prouvost has imagined a liquid and tentacular pavilion structured around a reflection on who we are, where we come from, and where we are headed. It discloses an escapist journey towards an ideal elsewhere, and challenges the representation of a fluid and globalised world, in which diverse unveiled and shared realities intermingle. 

A fictional film was produced over the course of a road trip on horseback through France, with performances by characters of different ages and from different backgrounds, with specific acting skills. A sculptural in situ installation enriches and develops the film in the space and the context of Venice – a floating city built on water and by water, a city of facade and backstage – and the Biennale with its notion of representation both appear as sources of inspiration. Lâchons les chevaux!

Commissioner: Institut français with the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture.
Curator: Martha Kirszenbaum.
Exhibitor: Laure Prouvost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nordic Pavilion — Finland, Norway & Sweden

Weather Report, Forecasting Future

Weather Report, Forecasting Future centres around the varied relations between the human and the nonhuman in an age when climate change and mass extinction are threatening life on the Earth. It redirects our thinking towards personal choices and the responsibility of acknowledging multi-species entanglements. 

When imagining the future, humans face the need to renegotiate the existing interspecies relations. It is difficult for humans to notice life that exists on a scale different from their own. By heightening the visitors’ awareness of the materiality of the space and the artworks, and by assimilating their bodies to other life forms, the exhibition attempts to establish a connection with more-than-human agencies.

Curators: Leevi Haapala, Piia Oksanen.
Exhibitors: Ane Graff, Ingela Ihrman, nabbteeri.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Japan Pavilion

Cosmo-Eggs

Cosmo-Eggs. This collaboration between an artist, a composer, an anthropologist, and an architect aims to create a platform from which to consider the ecology where humans and non-humans coexist, as well as questions of where and how we can survive within our world. Four instances of video footage filmed by Motoyuki Shitamichi that capture ‘tsunami boulders’ washed ashore from beneath the ocean are accompanied by Taro Yasuno’s composition, reminiscent of a bird song consisting of automated sounds performed on recorder flutes, and allegories developed by Toshiaki Ishikura in reference to various local beliefs and folklore related to the tsunami. Fuminori Nousaku was inspired by the architecture of the Japan Pavilion, linking together images, music, and texts to create a unified spatial experience.

Commissioner: The Japan Foundation.
Curator: Hiroyuki Hattori.
Exhibitors: Motoyuki Shitamichi, Taro Yasuno, Toshiaki Ishikura, Fuminori Nousaku.

Tokyo Ride, a film by Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine

The internationally-acclaimed filmmakers spend a wandering day with celebrated Japanese architect Ryue Nishizawa

After the multi awarded Moriyama San, Tokyo Ride is a new step of Bêka & Lemoine‘s immersion within Tokyo‘s busy daily life. Revisiting the genre of the road movie in a very diaristic and personal way, the film takes us on board of Ryue Nishizawa‘s vintage Alfa Romeo for a day long wandering in the streets of Tokyo.

More than a portrait, in the classical sense, of one of the most talented and celebrated Japanese architect of today, the film renders in its pure spontaneity the experience of this friendly urban drift. Ryue Nishizawa narrates along the way his strong relationship with his home town through some sites he personally affectionates, buildings that have influenced him, and some of his own architecture projects.

The film questions how rooted architecture practice is and how much the built and cultural environment feeds and shapes our imagination.

Winner of Artistic Vision Award, Depth of Field Competition, Best Prize —Docaviv Film Festival, 2020;
Best Prize, Milano Design Film Festival, MDFF 2020

 

About Bêka & Lemoine

Video-artists, filmmakers, producers and publishers, Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine have been working together for the past 15 years mainly focusing their research on experimenting new narrative and cinematographic forms in relation to contemporary architecture and urban environment. Focusing their interest mainly on how the built environment shapes and influences our daily life, they have developed a very unique and personal approach which can be defined, in reference to French writer Georges Perec, as an “anthropology of the ordinary”. 

Presented by The New York Times as the “cult figures in the European architecture world”, Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine are two architectural artists and fimmakers. Their films focus on the relationship of people and design, emphasising the presence of everyday life within some of the most iconic architectural projects of recent decades. Their work has been widely acclaimed as “a new form of criticism” (Mark) which “has deeply changed the way of looking at architecture” (Domus). Selected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (The Met) as one of the most exciting and critical design project of the year 2016.

The complete work of Bêka & Lemoine has been acquired in 2016 by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York for its permanent collection. 

All films are exclusively available on-demand on Vimeo and through their website. 

bekalemoine.com

Designing In A Crisis

Instacart’s transformation into an essential service

On the evening of March 19, 2020, the first stay-at-home order in North America was issued in California, setting off an en masse move from in-store shopping to online grocery. Nearly overnight, Instacart was transformed from a convenience service to a truly essential one.

Throughout the following year, Instacart provided a lifeline for millions of families to get food on the table safely, while also acting as a flexible earning opportunity for 500k+ Instacart shoppers during the largest spike in unemployment since the Great Depression. By leveraging the Instacart platform and enabling delivery services, grocers and retailers were able to meet their customers where they were: online. 

This unprecedented moment created unexpected, urgent, and complex design challenges. Jason James, VP of Design at Instacart, looks back during his ADF 2021 talk at the design thinking and principles underlying Instacart’s approach at the time and how they continue to guide their design into the future.

One striking example stems from COVID-19’s outsized effect on older adults. Customers over the age of 60 turned to online grocery last spring in record numbers to get their groceries delivered safely and reliably. Between the first and fourth quarter of 2020, Instacart saw a spike in the number of seniors using Instacart — the largest jump of any age group. Widespread adoption by seniors led the team to significantly improve the Instacart app’s accessibility by increasing font sizes, improving the contrasts, and making onboarding more guided. Additionally, Instacart developed a Senior Support Service, a high-touch phone hotline designed to help customers over the age of 60 adopt online grocery during the pandemic. To date, nearly 300,000 seniors have learned how to use Instacart with the help of dedicated senior support specialists.

Throughout the crisis, but especially in those early days, the team worked tirelessly to meet the moment. But even as the crisis has subsided, the Instacart team remains devoted to their mission to create a world where everyone has access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together.

instacart.com

Africa Craftsmanship & Makers

Senegalese weaving passed down through generations

Woven by hand in West Africa, beautiful Senegalese baskets are detailed works of living architecture created by mothers and daughters. These modern baskets come in a variety of sizes & have a wide color palette. The user decides on how to use it, however every design is exceptional and typically used for household storage.

Artisanne baskets are a beautiful blend of traditional Senegalese weaving techniques, passed down from mother to daughter, and modern designs which combine to create household storage that is stylish, practical and highly distinctive. The larger baskets take several days to create and are made using sustainable ndiorokh grasses and long strips of repurposed plastic traditionally used for making bazin mats similar to prayer mats.

Carl Hansen & Søn

Crafting modern design for over a century

Passionate craftsmanship —through the years, Carl Hansen & Søn has maintained a strong focus on preserving Danish design classics while continuing to expand its collection to represent influential new designers; and gathering the best, most iconic modern furniture designs under one roof.

Through the years, Carl Hansen & Søn has maintained a strong focus on preserving Danish design classics while continuing to expand our collection to represent influential new designers. Our goal: to gather the best, most iconic modern furniture designs under one roof.   

CH&S produces important works by the renowned mid-century Danish masters Hans J. Wegner, Ole Wanscher, Frits Henningsen, Arne Jacobsen, Kaare Klint, Mogens Koch and Poul Kjærholm, working closely with their families and studios to ensure absolute adherence to their visions. 

CH&S partners with contemporary designers who uphold the core Danish Modern principles of simplicity, functionality and craftsmanship while breathing new life into modern spaces. These collaborations are rooted in shared respect for thoughtful design and production, and in perspectives that bring new dimensions to our portfolio. 

Carl Hansen & Søn’s recent international partnerships with Japanese architect Tadao Ando and the Austrian design trio EOOS have expanded the collection with works that reshape their categories and highlight their designers’ creative edge, ability to push the latest technologies to new limits, and focus on marrying innovation with sustainability.

carlhansen.com

Cassina

The iconic brand‘s perspective goes outdoors

A first and complete collection for the open air presented with a selection of novelties at imm cologne 2020. Surrounding this invitation to relax, a complete garden setting was recreated for the launch of the company’s very first and complete Outdoor Collection.

The pioneering and free spirit that for over 90 years has placed Cassina ahead of its time, tracing a unique path through the world of interior design and architecture, today leads the company to expand its philosophy to external spaces.

Cassina therefore transfers its exclusive ability to completely furnish living and dining situations to the outdoors, combining the innovation of new products with the icons from the Modern Movement to create original and welcoming atmospheres. The Cassina Perspective Goes Outdoor places the icons from the LC Collection and the elegant style of Charlotte Perriand aside three great contemporary designers, Rodolfo Dordoni, Philippe Starck and Patricia Urquiola. New outdoor lighting, rugs and accessories are incorporated to enhance and complete the offer which is characterised by warm and inviting finishes, fabrics with a range of rich colours, three-dimensional materials and elaborate jacquard patterns with a tropical feel.  

cassina.com

Plants and Design

imm Cologne is down with nature, the new inspiration in green interior design

Plants and botanicals including a large variety of cactus continues to point to a future with plants. The enthusiasm for plants and herbs witnessed at imm Cologne 2020 is not fading away. Plants culture at imm Cologne have been declared the new trend dating back to 2016. 

Demand for plants in interiors comes as no surprise —more in more people value sustainability, closeness to nature and a healthy indoor environment. The boundaries between indoor and outdoor are gradually blurring too. Furniture manufacturers such as Cassina and designers are demonstrating how interiors and houseplants can be a stylish addition to any room.

imm-cologne.com

Podcast Ep13. John Ferguson: Inspiring Young Designers through Mentorship

Elayne DeLeo speaks with designer John Ferguson on how taking an elective class in desktop publishing at his Atlanta public school sparked his path to becoming a digital design professional, the importance of mentorship for young students who may not see design as a career path, why Atlanta is the cultural capital of the US (and how it may be failing in design), and creating the Black Bauhaus movement to celebrate the work of black designers.

John Ferguson is Design Director at Work & Co, based in the agency’s Atlanta office. During his tenure at Work & Co, he’s shaped breakthrough products for clients such as The Home Depot, Traeger, and Vistaprint. An art director and graphic designer by training, John has worked at agencies including SapientNitro, Ogilvy, Razorfish, Huge, and Goods & Services.

He is also the founder of the Black Bauhaus Mvmt, inspired by the artistic sensibilities and ethos of the Bauhaus style and the social and cultural influences of the Black Panther Party, and creative director of production/creative company Bold Honey, founded by his daughter Priah Ferguson.

www.BlackBauhaus.com
https://work.co/

Affordable or free design schools and resources mentioned in podcast:
https://www.usefulschool.com/
https://www.scopeofwork.co/
https://oneschoolus.com/

Tula House Opens in Greenpoint

Tula opens flagship storefront, transporting visitors to a Cuban inspired courtyard filled with exotic plants and carefully curated objects and apparel.

After three years selling from Tulita, the plant truck, Tula has finally found a home. On perhaps one of the few quiet blocks remaining in Greenpoint‘s industrial neighborhood stands an old metal factory, that has quickly been transformed into a multi-purpose retail and workshop space. Tula, Plants & Design is the latest occupant to open their flagship storefront on the warehouse‘s south-facing side. Tula‘s founders discovered the warehouse in its raw and dilapidated state. The space was empty – no walls, no storefront, no plumbing or electricity. Ever the ambitious duo, Tula‘s founders, Christan Summers and Ivan Martinez, saw an opportunity that they couldn‘t pass up. They got to work and designed, built and curated all aspects of the shop. Their goal was to create a warm and inviting space, but also an area that supported plant care and administrative work.

The result is a Cuban-inspired home and courtyard equipped with exotic plants from around the globe, handmade planters, planting tools, plant-inspired books, and apparel. To make plant care easy and efficient, they designed and installed floor drains, a plant shower, and a soil making station. All elements of the shop are open for customer use. Christan and Ivan hope that customers will take a moment to sit and skim through one of the many plant books, make soil, pot their plant and take home inspiration to shower their plants when it‘s time to water.

 

Tula Opens “The Arid Room”

A space Solely Dedicated to the Weird and Wondrous Plants of the Desert Regions.

Tucked away on a quiet street in Greenpoint, you‘ll find an 1200 sq ft plant oasis like no other. The tastefully crafted space has the feeling of a botanical garden more so than a plant shop, Tula has taken its plant curation to the next level with the opening of The Arid Room. A 400 sq ft corner space dedicated to rare and unusual cactus and succulents.

Tula founders designed the space so visitors could not only see the difference between tropical and desert plants but feel the environmental difference as well. The Arid Room is designed to be hot and dry, where the tropical side is cool and humid – just as nature intended. With the plant industry raging and growing at a rapid pace, Tula takes its time to curate and source extraordinary plant species that inspire customers to go beyond the common houseplant. And with a team of designers and horticulturists ready to help, visitors leave feeling inspired to design with plants, while equipped with the knowledge to keep them alive.

The Arid Room has numerous features. Including a 30-year-old Jade plant, a 12 ft Euphorbia, a cuttings table where visitors are invited to pick and plant succulent cuttings, cactus candy, loads of affordable terra cotta planters and many rare and hard to find cacti and succulents.

Tula Plants & Design
59 Meserole Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222
www.tula.house

Instagram: @tulahouse

#RailtalkATL

Give metro riders something to do while waiting for their connection!

#RailtalkATL is a research project implemented in collaboration with MARTA’s Artbound program and Atlanta Design Festival. During the 9-day period of the Design Festival, #RailtalkATL was implemented in public transport areas to enhance the joy of waiting while traveling, stimulating spontaneous dialogues and offering a platform for literary talent. The goal of #RailtalkATL is creating meaningful public transport waiting times. #RailtalkATL was founded in 2018 in The Netherlands as Stationstaal (a stations language) in collaboration with the NS (Dutch Railways).

#Railtalk is a collaboration with Dutch designers Wouter Corvers and Bouke Bruins for MARTA‘s Artbound program and Atlanta Design Festival, follow-up project from Stationstaal Collaboration with Bouke Bruins. 

This project is made possible by Flux Projects, Atlanta Design Festival, MARTA, Stappers Law, Simon Bruins and Joanna Nguyen.

wouterscorvers.nl

boukebruins.nl

itsmarta.com

The London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) next generation black taxi

British cultural icon re-created for modern era

TX5, the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC, formerly London Taxi Company) newly designed zero emission captures the spirit of past generations models draws on more than sixty years of style that has made the Black Cab an iconic sight on the streets of London. 

While maintaining recognisable key features, the new zero emission capable TX5 has been updated to reflect the needs of today’s passengers and the move towards a low-carbon economy. 

In addition to a new light-weight aluminium body structure and composite panelling, the TX5 benefits from a range extended battery electric vehicle system ensuring no range anxiety and offering the reliability required by London’s Black Cab drivers. Whilst TX5 retains the iconic London Taxi styling, all its 2,000 components have been designed from the ground up, incorporating the latest and best of technologies.

The TX5 has been designed with an overriding focus on the comfort of passengers and drivers. As well as accommodating six passenger seats and featuring improved driver leg room, the TX5 also heralds the return of the rear-hinged door to improve passenger access and, for the first time on a Black Cab, a panoramic glass roof. It has sufficient space for a forward facing wheelchair, helping to meet the travel needs of those with mobility issues. The TX5 is also equipped with WiFi internet capability and provides charging points for drivers and passengers in line with London’s reputation as a hub for tech innovation and connectivity on-the-go.

The new vehicle was designed at Geely’s design centre in Barcelona, led by British designers Peter Horbury and David Ancona and supported by a 200-strong team of engineers and designers based in the UK. Before Joining Geely, Mr. Horbury was Chief Designer at Volvo Car Corporation and prior to that he was head of design at Ford in Detroit. He said, “We were acutely aware of the huge responsibility that comes with introducing a new generation of design for what is already an instantly recognisable and iconic vehicle. We wanted to retain those aspects that make the London taxi what it is and what it stands for, while ensuring that the new design reflects everything that a 21st Century vehicle needs to be.

levc.com

ÖSA by CAKE (Sweden)

Clean and Efficient commuter with utility and offload capabilities

The ÖSA, apart from being a light, clean and quiet electric motorcycle, derives from the diversity of work and differentiated needs together with the urge to serve for new means of transportation, towards a zero emission future. The working bench, around since ever, to serve people making things, is the inspiration to the uni-bar, clamp-on, off-the-grid system, constituting the ÖSA.

 

Transportation and commuting ride modes

Three different ride modes for extended range, balanced performance, or maximum power are available. The three different ride modes have different attributes in terms of top speed, acceleration, and torque. Ride mode 1 —this riding mode has the best range by far. It’s been optimized for city riding with a limited top speed of 45kmh/28mph while still being quick and fun. Ride mode —this riding mode has a top speed of 70kmh/44 mph. It has a slightly slower acceleration to conserve more energy. Ride mode 3 —this is the most powerful ride mode and has a top speed of around 90kmh/56mph. While being the most fun, use with caution as this ride mode will drain the battery more quickly.

The variety of work needs for transportation has never been greater —the needs in terms of what to bring and carry along is a palette, from the office worker to the craftsman. The roads towards destination varies from highways to trails with off the grid independence becoming more in demand.

Thanks to the powerful battery with multiple outlets, ÖSA is about a power station on wheels, taking you to wherever to execute, independently of the grid. The carpenter or gardener can charge their power tools anywhere. The rock guitarist or dj may hold a concert or a forest rave, bringing their gear in the middle of nowhere. UPS or the pizza delivery may execute clean last mile deliveries in cities around the world.

cake.se

Introducing Biomega Oko

The Danish brand delivers hassle-free commute and comfort with this ebike.

This ebike has a custom made and ultra light carbon fiber frame which integrates both battery, front and back mudguards for maximum durability when riding the ebike. The minimalistic expression of the  Biomega OKO has resulted in numerous awards and distinctions in the field of designer bikes and is a product of the KiBiSi designteam. The super strong chain free carbon bike, is an incredibly comfortable ride and is practically maintenance free.

Most bicycle manufacturers compromise between quality and accessibility, but not the Biomega OKO which is one of the lightest electric bike in the world weighing just short of 19 kg. 

The Biomega OKO is equipped with an integrated carbon fibre frame which integrates the battery as well as the front and back mudguards in one sleek statement.

All Biomega e-bikes are fitted with a front wheel hub engine. This gives you stability and an even distribution of weight. It is an invisible trinity; the weight of the bike rider in the back, the battery in the middle and engine in the front unites the perfect and optimum balance and control.

Biomega is the official mobility partner, Atlanta Design Festival & MA! Architecture tour.

Southeast representation is MA! Design is Human

elayne@ma-designishuman.com

biomega.com

ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Material shapes the ages ⁠— Designing a New Material Age

After the Stone, Bronze, Iron and Silicon Ages, the 21st century presents major technological challenges that we will be able to overcome only by developing sustainable materials. For example, plastics are used to such excess that they have now become a global environmental problem. This presents a challenge for materials science and has led to a worldwide change in thinking, making sustainability a key aspect of research. How can we develop new materials and processes that use fewer resources and are easier to recycle or – even better – are biodegradable? Our technology is only as smart as the materials on which it is based. It’s time for an upgrade.

 

 

 

 

 

The Vast Land of Properties 

Imagine a material (aerogel) so light that a tablespoon of it weighs less than a redwood ant (approx. 3 mg or 0.0001 oz.) and yet has the surface area of three basketball courts (more than 1,200 m2 or 12,916 ft2) and converts CO2 and water into energy using sunlight. Or imagine a material that repairs itself when torn. Scratch-proof screens, longer-lasting batteries, extremely light bicycles or breathable contact lenses – almost all modern everyday products rely on materials with special properties. Which properties would you change in the materials around you? 

 

 

 

 

 

About Materials Science at ETH Zurich

Materials science is an independent discipline at the interface of science and engineering. The Department of Materials at ETH Zurich, the Swiss university for science and technology, brings together students and leading scientists in a lively and interdisciplinary environment, focusing on high-level scientific and engineering education and technological challenges relevant to the future of our society. Ongoing research in the department includes hybrid and actively engineered materials, soft matter and polymers, nanostructured metals and magnetoelectronic materials.

mat.ethz.ch

Design Academy Eindhoven

A radically different approach to impacting the world

The 2019 DAE Graduation Show

The Design Academy Eindhoven’s 2019 Graduation Show continued for its second year at the historic Campina milk factory, following last year’s successful move outside of De Witte Dame.

The Design Academy is known for its global relevance and influence into the broadest reaches of the design field. The Graduation Show, which takes place annually during Dutch Design Week, is a focal point in setting the school’s agenda. This year, the iconic factory setting becomes the background for yet another radical turning point in the show’s history. Traversing the boundaries between the four Master’s and eight Bachelor’s departments, a new curatorial strategy will continue to question and revisit how designers present their work, sparking debate about our collective positioning within the field.

Today’s designer faces two essential questions: how do you perceive the world around you, and what character do you play within that world? In response to this, the 2019 Design Academy Eindhoven graduation show sought to imagine design projects as elements of various possible futures. This year’s show was based on eight world-views and five design characters evoked by cross-department selections of bachelors’ or masters’ projects.

 

About Design Academy Eindhoven

To be effective, the DAE must think with the purposefulness of a designer on a planetary scale. A global perspective on design implies a global orientation for all our educational activities, using a conception of design that is total, embraces complexity, looks far into the future, and operates on a systemic level.

DAE has often been described as the birthplace of Dutch design. True or not, this claim has long passed its expiration date. Design today is a global phenomenon with an increasing urgency to reshape patterns of not only consumption, but of care, social organisation, future industries, living conditions and much more. 

designacademy.nl

 

Graduate spotlight ⁠— Green Democracy by Matteo Viviano

An equal existence between humans and vegetation

A new building system that helps architecture and nature to coexist. Once buildings are abandoned by man, nature reclaims and inhabits them, creating a blend of the human and wild. Inspired by this process, Matteo Viviano explores how to support greenery in our architecture. With increasing urban populations, it’s important to balance our needs and those of the ecosystem that we are a part of.

Matteo studied ancient ruins and abandoned buildings to see how nature takes hold. He collects this knowledge in a book, creating a series of ‘architectural fragments’ that nurture synergy with the natural world. 

Says Matteo — “Nature can be a part of our urban space. Just make a step back for a step forward.”

matteoviviano.com

 

Graduate spotlight ⁠— ⁠Māyā by Luiza Guidi Tomio

Experience light from a different perspective

The Māyā pieces take a different view on lamps. By changing their position these frames allow you to play with light and shadow. Inspired by the geometric use of light by architects like Tadao Ando and Luís Barragan, these pieces present light in a graphic form and at the same time reinterpret the exciting feeling of opening a window to a new and brighter world.

Frames of steel with built-in led lighting are fixed to the wall on one side, so that their position can be changed as if you would open a window. The light switches on by opening the frame and the shape of the light cast on the wall changes as the frame is moved.

“I aimed for a magical experience with the simplest design”  —Luiza Guidi Tomio

luizaguidi.com

 

Graduate spotlight ⁠— Scraped Earth by Rino Claessens

Ceramics offer a more physical connection with the body

After researching how ceramics are produced, Rino Claessens concluded that the applications were limited to a certain size. He devised a way to increase the size of production and by that expand the limits of the material. His designs aim for a more physical connection with the body, offering a tactile experience of ceramics.

This resulted in five ceramic stoneware stools, in five textures and with five clay types, created using the designer’s own production method and tools. By reversing the usual technique of slip casting around and scraping clay over an inside mould instead of pouring onto an outside mould. Avoiding conventional techniques and inventing new tools, techniques and processes, Rino discovered a new world of possibilities. The texture that the tools leave in the clay emphasises the energy put into the making process, showing a less anonymous approach to reproduction.

rinoclaessens.com

 

Graduate spotlight ⁠— Tracing a Lifetime by Sunniva Rademacher Flesland

Studio Mend, focusing on extending the lifetime of our clothes

We met-up Sunniva while exhibiting at Dutch Design Week 2019. Here is what she had to say about her work.

I have created a clothing-collection made up by second hand, repaired garments of good quality, presenting an alternative to throwing away those garments which still have great potential to be used and valued. The repair will become an embroidery and a statement; a new aesthetic of repair based on traditional repairing techniques like darning.  

In a culture of consuming faster then our clothes break, the purposely visible repair will be a sign that this is a piece of clothing worth repairing.

UPDATE: Studio Mend has since advanced from a graduation project and is currently located in Oslo, Norway, where Sunniva repairs garments on request and does project-based and conceptual repair work.

sunnivarademacherflesland.com

Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design

Specializing in design research, Georgia Tech industrial designers are uniquely equipped to lead in technical environments regarding topics such as parametric modeling, rapid prototyping, interactive environments, wearable technology, universal design, and assistive technology. We take a fundamentally different approach from industrial design programs rooted in the fine arts. Students learn design techniques, such as graphic communications, sketching, and modeling, which allow them to draw inspiration from the world. As a result, they‘re able to design visual outputs that play a critical part in research and user testing. 

id.gatech.edu

Podcast Ep12. APT Kenya Appropriate Paper Based Technology: Changing Lives of the Disabled

Speakers:
Ruth Stevens, Chairman, The Potters House CBO/APT Kenya
Cath Barton, Pediatric Physiotherapist

APT Kenya is a project run by The Potter’s House CBO since February 2022 addressing this need by using Appropriate Paper Technology (APT) as a low cost and sustainable solution to make seating and standing devices for disabled children in Kenya.APT devices help the child to maintain a comfortable and functional position in either sitting or standing. This good positioning is proven to help prevent contractures and spinal deformities, and can improve digestion, bowel function, and maintain skin integrity. The equipment also enables the child to play and communicate with those around them, increasing both the amount and the quality of their participation in home activities, as well as increasing independence, communication and quality of life.

Podcast Ep11. Donald Burlock, Jr. Designer and Author, Let Empathy Go

Elayne DeLeo talks to designer and author of Superhuman by Design, Donald Burlock, Jr on his path from dreaming of designing airplanes to experience and brand designer, how to make organizations understand and activate around the value of design process, and why empathy is not the primary motivator for good design.

Donald Burlock, Jr. is an in-demand design leader with more than ten years of experience creating strategies and game-changing results in the marketplace. Donald has launched highly-awarded global campaigns and helped top organizations like Coca-Cola, IDEO, Dolby Labs, and Capital One deliver innovative design solutions to diverse audiences. He has contributed to multiple design outlets and regularly speaks on creativity and design thinking. Currently, he works as a Sr. UX Designer at Lab126 and has recently published a book on his creative journey called Superhuman by Design: Keys to Unlocking Your Creativity for Game-Changing Results.

He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University and a Master of Industrial Design degree from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Foil Fire Blanket

Case Western Reserve University have found a way to protect homes from the blaze of a forest fire

Each year, fires in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), the place where homes and wild-lands meet or intermingle, have caused significant damage to communities. To contribute to firefighter and public safety by reducing the risk of structure ignition, fire blankets for wrapping a whole house have been investigated in the laboratory and prescribed wild-land fires. The fire blankets aim to prevent structure ignition by blocking firebrands to enter homes through vulnerable spots (gutters, eaves, vents, broken windows, and roofs); by keeping homes from making direct contact with flames of surrounding combustibles (vegetation, mulch, etc.); and by reflecting thermal radiation from a large fire within close range (adjacent burning houses or surface-to-crown forest fires) for a sustained period of time.

In the laboratory experiment, two-layer thin fabric assemblies were able to block up to 92% of the convective heat and up to 96% of the radiation (with an aluminized surface). A series of proof-of-concept experiments were conducted by placing instrumented wooden structures, covered with different fire blankets, in various fires in ascending order of size. First, birdhouse-sized boxes were exposed to burning wood pallets in a burn room. Second, wall-and-eave panels were exposed to prescribed fires climbing up slopes with chaparral vegetation in California. Finally, a cedar shed was placed in the passage of the prescribed head fire in the Pine Barrens in New Jersey. 

The experiments demonstrated both successful performance and technical limitations of thin fire blankets. The key success factors in protecting the WUI structure are the fire blanket‘s heat-blocking capability, endurance under severe heat-exposure high-wind conditions, and proper installation. Additional studies are needed in the areas of advanced material/layer development, blanket deployment methods, and multi-structure protection strategies.

engineering.case.edu

Foundation de France clever campaign to save the bees

“B”, an influencer building buzz about saving the bees

B. was the first bee influencer. Her mission: save bees, many of which disappear every year. Thanks to her 275,000 followers on Instagram, she has made many partnerships with brands to raise money and finance projects to support the protection of bees. In April 2021, B. sadly left us because of pesticides. Bees are still in danger. It is thanks to her partners and to you that the Beefund has been able to give life to concrete actions for the preservation of bees. But the fight is far from over.

Selected projects supported by the BeeFund includes Mayage —bringing out new agricultural practices to reconcile farmers and beekeepers; Rescuing wild pollinators —teaching construction and maintenance techniques of agro-ecological infrastructures that will create a suitable habitat for bee; Analysis —study for the protection of bees in the Versailles Plain; Toxicological diagnostics —build a toxicological diagnosis tool for plant protection products.

 

Why act?

For the bees —24% of bees die in Europe every year; For biodiversity —84% of wild and cultivated flowering plants are pollinated by bees. They provide an invaluable and free ecological service to the planet: the reproduction of a large part of plants; For humanity —75% of the world‘s agricultural crops are pollinated by bees.

It is often thought that the disappearance of bees only concerns bees. Far from it. Bees are a fundamental pillar of our ecosystem, our food, and our global economic system. Protecting bees means protecting the planet, but also humankind.

 

Donate to BeeFUND

dons.fondationdefrance.org/BeeFund

Talk To Me

Two giant figures stance on Mental Heath & Communication

As visitors approached the breathing wooden sculptures, a sensor was triggered, and the figures voiced poignant and uplifting words. These conversations started to crack the ‘burden’ to release a glowing light. 

The series progressed from a standing figure, carrying the burden on its shoulders, to a figure resting against its burden, highlighting that while the burden may not be overtly visible it is often not far away. These words were written and recorded by notable poets, writers, actors and mental health ambassadors.

Talk to Me, is a hopeful piece, designed in Douglas Fir to convey a warmth and humanity in stark contrast to the strict cuboid shapes and ‘concrete’ blocks. Scale was important to convey the power of the subject and again to emphasise the humanity of the voices. HI-MACS, an innovative composite material was used, which had  ‘cracks’ cut into it so that the lighting could seep through and reveal these cracks.

Once again we teamed up with Time to Change following 2018’s ‘Head Above Water’, a sculpture designed to provoke discussion around mental health discrimination.

The series progresses from the standing figure carrying the burden on their shoulders to the sitting figure resting against it, highlighting that whilst it may not be overtly visible it is often not far away. 

“Many of us carry issues and burdens that hold us down and hold us back. For some, these are crippling, and for others they even lead to taking their own lives. These burdens can start so young and appear insurmountable, unresolvable. But so often, communication is the key to unlocking the journey forward”,  — Steuart Padwick

Talk To Me Voice Collaborators — Niamh Cusack, Rachel Joyce, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Elliot Barnes-Worrell, Adam Kammerling, Tom Goodman-Hill, Barney Norris, Stevie Basaula, Afolabi Alli, Chris Thorpe, Joelle Taylor, Nigel Cooke, Sévan Stephan, Kirsten Irving, Olly Todd, William Wollen, Beth Maureen Cooke, Azariah France-Williams, Leigh Ballard, Giles Addison, Katie Conibear, Anthony Fernandes, Errol McGlashan, Clive Buckenham, Raga Gibreel, Amy C Wilder, Miroslav Holub, Martha Roberts, Christopher Eccleston, several anonymous. Miroslav Holub, ‘The door’ trans. Ian Milner (Bloodaxe Books, 2006).

steuartpadwick.co.uk

America needs Social Designers

New discipline fuses creative and cognitive abilities to tackle society challenges

Social design is the application of design methodologies to tackle complex societal issues and placing society at the center of the design process. Historically social design was a response to draw attention to the responsibility and influence designers have within society as a purely industrial-driven design practice. Nowadays, we see that the challenges we are and will face are too complex to be solved by one person, community, or government. Social Design, therefore, facilitates a collaborative creative process that allows multiple stakeholders to take part in the tackling of societal challenges. With this process we allow the stakeholders to collaborate and co-create approaches to tackle wicked problems (problems without direct ownership).

 

What is Social Design?

Designers have traditionally been resourceful creators. Whether it‘s about objects, services, products, or entire cities: with innovative materials and original processes, designers develop a new perspective on design, use, or lifestyle. Social design works differently than you are probably used to from designers so far. In social design, the design process is set up in such a way that social change ultimately takes place. Social design is therefore a type of design that places the role and responsibility of the designer at the heart of society(or the other way around). Because of this position, social design adds value to human welfare and society in general.

You must be familiar with complex social issues in which civil servants are completely bogged down, residents have become rigid and companies see no revenue model so that change does not occur. In such situations, social designers are like fish in the water. They bring together all the interested parties and those involved, put their finger on the problem and sometimes push until they know where the pain is coming from. In short, they set fixed processes in motion and bring fruitful perspectives that activate stakeholders. This is how we find social designers in projects dealing with complex social issues such as loneliness, debt problems, human trafficking and underdeveloped neighbourhoods.

“Social design gives structure to a process where you don‘t yet know what the answer is, because it‘s never been done before.” —Simone Brouwer, works in social design 

Atlanta Design Festival: Could we create a local platform where Social Designers in Atlanta can become part?

The Social Design Lobby: We certainly can create possibilities for social designers to connect and to make visible where they are currently taking action. How this could take shape as an intercontinental collaboration would be interesting to discuss between The Social Design Lobby, MA! Design Is Human, Atlanta Design Festival, Atlanta-based organisations, city government and business teams. 

ADF: How can a municipality become better economically with social design?

TSDL: Municipalities as well encounter challenges that are the result of systems that are out of date. The distance that can occur due to the rigid systems of municipalities are there for inefficient or result in higher costs on the long term due to the distance and lack of flexibility within a governmental system. Furthermore, as in any system, there are groups in society that will fall outside the previously defined categories since society is changing, but our systems are not. Social Design allows us to bring the processes closer to society and therefore allows discovering or even foresee problems that can occur. Since the often collaborative process of social design allows to understand the situations of the citizens it can help municipalities to create working services that will in the long term reduce their costs and make them more efficient.

thesocialdesignlobby.com

A Journey led by the Senses —DD-2, a story written in wood

Led by artist-researcher Sissel Tolaas, a variety of Dinesen Douglas smells captured in the brand’s first scent product

In collaboration with Norwegian artist and artist-researcher in smell, Sissel Tolaas, Dinesen sets foot on a new path —a path led by the senses and curiosity for wood. Originating from Dinesen‘s passion for the Douglas tree, this extraordinary collaboration is a celebration of the majestic tree and a journey towards understanding its perceptual qualities. But how do you record and collect the smell of a tree?

Together with Sissel Tolaas, Dinesen traveled from Schwarzwald in Germany to their main production site in Jens, Southern Denmark. Equipped with special recording gear, smells from the impressive Douglas trees were collected. Sissel Tolass‘ meticulous recordings were first registered as data and then converted to an archive of recorded molecules — an archive called DD-1, from where a variety of Dinesen Douglas smells can be explored. From the DD-1 archive, Sissel and Dinesen have isolated certain interesting molecules in order to create an essence of Dinesen Douglas through the sense of smell. DD-2 is the name of the Dinesen Douglas scent. It represents beautiful moments from the field trips —the freshness of a newly cut Douglas tree, the dryness from the sawmill and the calm feeling of walking barefoot on Dinesen Douglas planks.

 

The power of smell — DD-2, Studio Pneuma & Sissel Tolaas

DD-2 encapsulates the journey of the Dinesen Douglas tree. It is a seducing tale of the forest —unfolded by your senses. Precisely our senses have a great impact on our wellbeing in a physical space, and it is this special attention that is at the heart of this collaboration. Close your eyes and smell DD-2, the scent will make the Douglas tree reveal itself through your senses. These perceptual qualities are just some of the reasons why Dinesen is celebrating this extraordinary tree.

dinesen.com

MA! Design Is Human is the Atlanta and Southeast region representative to Dinesen. For inquiries contact Elayne DeLeo at elayne@ma-designishuman.com

Dinesen Copenhagen Showroom and Design Studio

OeO Studio created a place that illuminates and celebrates Dinesen’s passion for wood

Visit the Copenhagen showroom and experience Dinesen’s passion for wood is reflected in every little detail. The showroom is designed by Danish OeO Studio to embrace nature and to inspire.

The leading producer of exclusive wooden flooring, Dinesen turned to OEO Studio to help conceive and design their new showroom in a historic setting by the lakes in Copenhagen. The result is a unique universe that captures the Dinesen spirit and transforms it into a fully embracing spatial experience, highlighting a bold new direction and showcasing the perfect simplicity of Dinesen’s wooden flooring.

The 600m2 showroom is divided into two parts. One section highlights the exclusivity of the wide and lengthy solid wooden floorboards that Dinesen is especially celebrated for. Entering is like visiting a private apartment complete with ballroom, dining area, library and kitchen. The other section offers a playful, raw-edged universe that reflects a more creative aspect of the Dinesen concept, featuring planks in a variety of dimensions, hues and finishes. The gallery space is defined almost throughout by a large wooden structure that offers a play of light and shadow. 

The essence of the Dinesen universe is further emphasised by the many bespoke details, the fine craftsmanship and the handcrafted wooden furniture and interiors, which have all been designed especially for Dinesen by OEO Studio.

oeo.dk

Noma 2

Noma reopened in a restaurant and village space featuring wood from Dinesen

The award-winning restaurant and Dinesen have worked together for more than six years. The new restaurant features high-quality wood from Dinesen as a consistent key element throughout the project.

Since its opening, noma has been at the forefront of gastronomy and creativity. The restaurant, four-times recognised as best in the world by the San Pellegrino World‘s 50 Best Restaurants, closed its doors at the sixteenth-century harbour-side warehouse that had been its home for thirteen years. After more than 6 years, noma reopened in a space featuring wooden floors, ceilings and wall cladding from Dinesen.

The trusted partnership between noma and Dinesen dates back to 2012, when Dinesen delivered the wooden floors for the renovation of noma‘s original space at Standgade. The relationship has since evolved, with Dinesen working with architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and interior architects Studio David Thulstrup to deliver a space that reflects noma‘s values, philosophy, and vision for the future.

Imagined as an intimate village, the new restaurant comprises a collection of separate yet connected buildings — a total of eight huts, each tailored to their specific needs and built of the finest materials best suited for their functions. To create a diversity through the different buildings, noma chose a combination of Dinesen Heart-Oak, Dinesen Oak, and Dinesen Douglas.

noma.dk

The Space that Dinesen Owns

MA! is excited to introduce and be the Atlanta & Southeast region representative to Dinesen —the preferred choice in unique wood flooring for leading architecture

“MA! is poised to bring the absolutely strongest brands into the Atlanta A&D space. Architects and specifiers in Atlanta can experience the same outstanding features and unbelievable dimensions of Dinesen solid planks and wood systems that makes Dinesen the preferred choice among the worlds leading architects such as John Pawson, BIG and Studio David Thulstrup.”   

—Bernard McCoy, MA! Founder

 

Dinesen

Dinesen designs bespoke solid and engineered wooden flooring of extraordinary dimensions and beauty. Based in Denmark, Dinesen is a family-owned Danish company which for more than 120 years have been driven by a passion to create bespoke solutions with wood that go beyond the traditional. With respect for nature and a knowledge of craftsmanship refined through generations, Dinesen creates bespoke wooden planks for flooring, wall cladding, ceilings and other design needs. 

The company is situated in the small Danish town of Jens; here the production takes place while the wooden planks can be experienced worldwide —from intimate, personal spaces to expansive public and cultural settings such as the Design Museum and Saatchi Gallery in London, and the critically-acclaimed restaurant noma in Copenhagen.

Here we share a couple of amazing stories —the reimagined internationally-acclaimed noma restaurant, artist-researcher Sissel Tolaas’s journey to capture the smells of Dinesen Douglas, and Dinesen Copenhagen showroom and design center —that makes it abundantly clear the space that Dinesen owns and why Dinesen should be part of your next project.

dinesen.com

MA! Design Is Human is the Atlanta and Southeast region representative to Dinesen. For inquiries contact Elayne DeLeo at elayne@ma-designishuman.com

After much demand, Moab80 enters Atlanta market and partners with MA! Design Is Human 

Celebrating 25 years of design, 2021 IF Design Award and Archiproducts Design Award winner, Moab80 introduces LVR, the worlds first raw fibreglass-resin bathroom system

“Just viewing the online images of LVR and it’s characteristic visible glass-fibre markings was enough to convince me that MA! had to partner with Moab80 in Atlanta. Only Moab80 could conceive such an innovative idea marrying raw construction materials to create desirable systems. Real beauty lies in imperfection.” 

—Bernard McCoy, MA! founder

 

LVR Washbasin wins iF Designs Awards 2021 and Archiproducts Design Awards

The new free-standing washbasin is made up of fibreglass with Gelcoat finish and visible glass fibres. Fibres that, differently from what happens in other application areas, emerge, giving value to the core of the handcraft with all its imperfection and creating a proposal consistent with the aesthetic project that MOAB80 has always proposed. The LVR washbasin can be paired with the fibreglass VVR bathtub.

LVR design: Gabriella Ciaschi

 

Moab80 History

In the last 25 years, the aesthetic innovations of Moab80 have been made clear through the introduction in the world of the interior of unusual materials such as cement, expanded metal, glass, metal and recycled wood. The artisan experience, the industrial processing and the constant aesthetic and material research, have positioned Moab among the companies able to explore and interpret some of the contemporary stylistic and conceptual evolutions, with furnishing proposals suitable to express different areas of taste for living.

The result is an exceptional offer of integrated systems, which allows to create original and varied environments thanks to the added value of personalisation and distinction.

 

What you should know about Moab80 in Atlanta

In early 2021 MA! Design Is Human, affectionately known as ‘MA!’, and Moab80, the multi award-winning Italian manufacturer of integrated systems for the home and commercial use, mapped out a strategy that over time introduces Moab80 to the United States —initially launching Moab80 in Atlanta and eventually into other major US cities. MA! represents Moab80 in Atlanta and Southeast, but will also work closely with specifiers in other US markets for the time being.

Moab80’s USA southeast region representation is MA! Design Is Human.
elayne@ma-designishuman.com

moab80.it