Innovative People, Projects + Products

Innovations 06.08 05.08 04.08 03.08  Connect 05.08 03.08  Green ’07 ’06

Is Living Off the Grid For You?

Like many things in the greater green sphere, living off the grid -- that is, without reliance on public utilities for things like electricity and water -- has jumped into national prominence over the past few years; if Daryl Hannah is doing it, we should all be aware of it.

There’s an awful lot to like about living off-grid, and it’s a little different for everybody, but in many cases it requires a few lifestyle... more Eco-Celeb

How Living Off the Grid Works

"The grid" is a common name for the power grid -- the linked system that delivers electricity to the masses. A typical house is connected to power, gas, water and telephone lines. Going off the grid means shunning these public utilities in favor of creating your own energy. Some homeowners stay partially off the grid by supplying their own electricity and ditching their phone line, while relying on the con- venience of city water and sewage. more How solar panels are made

Photo: Peter Essick

their pioneer ancestors did in rural cabins, often without running water or electricity. Unfortunately, as ... more

Mike Strizki has not paid an electric, oil or gas bill—nor has he spent a nickel to fill up his Mercury Sable—in nearly 2 years. Instead, the 51-year- old civil engineer makes all ... more

New Product Showcase

Plyboo

Plyboo’s flooring, plywood, tambour, and veneers are favorites among cutting-edge and environmentally conscious architects.

Fountain People

Fountain in a Can™ stretches your project budget while bringing the highest level of quality and technology advances.

Gammans

TRU-ARC Barrel Vault Framing Systems provide a true curved sight line replacing traditional segmented barrel vault designs.

Barrisol

Barrisol stretch ceilings can accommodate any type of lighting, air conditioning, ventilation, safety or sound system.

Columbia Forest Products

Check out the new PureBond® Formaldehyde-Free Hardwood Plywood by Columbia Forest Products.

Neo Metro

Console table features a colored resin deck in a variety of colors and optional lighting give the resin decks a deep ambient glow.

FairWeather

B-7S Bollard follows the same style as the AU-7S, it may be used at entryways, as pedestrian dividers, and more.

Oxford Garden

A gently curved back and broad chair arms are elements that make the Adirondack Chair so comfortable.

Pilkington

Pilkington will be in an innovative and inter- active exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry, CHI, The Glass Experience.

Zele

The beauty of the Riva chair lies in a grace- ful curve of saddle-stitched leather sus- pended between two solid hardwood arms.

Kepco+

Kepco+ has experience working with a multitude of materials, including natural stone, tile, and terra cotta.

D & D Technologies

The stylish Z-Lokk Lockable Magnetic Gate Lock with dual security lock cylinders is the ideal choice for picket-style security gates.

2D3D Design

A unique design and fabrication studio with the finest custom made art and furnishings for any interior or exterior applications.

Handcrafted Metal

Arched Cylinder Stainless Hood in commer- cial grade stainless- A clean understated design with graceful arched front.

Delray Lighting

Big Light Cylindro Pendants with LED are architectural quality luminaries that opti- mize energy conservation with high style.

Innovators

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe (1886-1969)

"Less is more"
"God is in the details"

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was perhaps the most influ- ential architect of the mid- 20th Century.  He was born in Aachen, Germany, on March 27, 1886. At age 19, he moved to Berlin, where

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe

Farnsworth House, IL        1951

he worked for architect and furniture designer Bruno Paul, and later for industrial architect Peter Behrens.
Mies opened his own office in Berlin in 1912. Even in his early years, Mies pro- duced models of skyscrap- ers with steel frames and glass walls, foreshadowing a style that would become his greatest legacy. In his most ... more wiki BBC
Design Boom MoMA 2001

Florence Knoll
(b.1917)

Florence Knoll

"Good design is good business"

Designer Florence Knoll changed the way American office interiors function and look. Orphaned at age 12, she started her architectu- ral studies at the Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and was virtually

adopted by the family of Eliel Saarinen. She conti- nued her studies at Cran- brook Academy of Art, the Architectural Association in London, and the Illinois In- stitute of Technology under Mies van der Rohe. By 1946 she had met and married Hans Knoll. Together they developed Knoll Furniture, a firm that became interna- tionally renowned for its modern furnishings and interior designs. more wiki Knoll Dwell Blog Metropolis

Florence Knoll settee        1954