Product Placement

Amanda Levete’s West bench, produced in an edition of 10
Photo: Mike Goldwater

Architect and product designer Amanda Levete of Future Systems has kicked off her first solo gallery exhibition, “Around the Corner,” at Established & Sons Limited, located on Duke Street in London. The show, which will run through March 26, features four edition pieces of furniture intended to be installed where converging walls meet. Named after the four points on a compass, the items are each made out of a different material—fiberglass, Corian, marble, and wood—and manufactured with a combination of machining and hand-crafting.

Levete has been a part of the Established & Sons roster since the furniture company launched in 2005. Her pieces for the brand include her Chester sofa (2005) and Drift bench (2006).

The East table, produced in an edition of 10
Photo: Mike Goldwater

The East corner table or desk is carved mechanically from one piece of black marble then finished by hand. Looped at one end, the two spans merge to create one long surface horizontal surface.

Photo: Mike Goldwater

The West bench plays is a continuous line of laminated wood that been twisted, folded, stretched, and attenuated.

The North console, produced in an edition of 12
Photo: Mike Goldwater

A shockingly bright fiberglass console finished in a glossy lime green, the North console is fixed on two sides and folds into itself to create a vessel.

The South shelves, produced in an edition of 12
Photo: Mike Goldwater

Shown in sets of two, the South shelves are made of white and pale blue Corian. Twisted to rest against both sides of the corner, they can be hung upside-down and reference classical architectural detailing.

Perhaps it was the impending divorce settlement with Heather Mills that spurned it, or maybe Yoko’s low on cash. Whatever the reason, the Fab Four-themed Hard Day’s Night Hotel will open February 1 in Liverpool. With interiors by Design LSM, the four-star space in a landmarked building will include 110 individually designed bedrooms, two penthouses (the Lennon and McCartney suites), two restaurants, two bars, conference facilities, and a wedding chapel.

One of the eateries, Blakes, will feature images inspired by Sir Peter Blake, who designed the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Throughout the hotel will be the “Shannon Collection,” commissioned from the Beatles artist and which will tell the story of the foursome, as well as artwork from Paul and Ringo.

OK Go

Robotics engineer Moritz Waldemeyer has designed stage costumes for the rock quartet OK Go, which turn each of the members into a moving light show. For the design, which was inspired by slot machines in Las Vegas casinos, Waldemeyer stitched thousands of LEDs into each member’s jacket; when the group appears on stage, the lights scroll through a sequence that spell out the letters of the band’s name.

The costumes were first shown on Nov. 22 at the KOKO nightclub in London. Waldemeyer, whose work is a fusion of technology, art, fashion, and design, has previously collaborated with Phillippe Starck, Zaha Hadid, Thomas Heatherwick, and Hussein Chalayan.

Power-Aware Cord

Count on the Swedes to raise awareness of personal energy consumption. When a current of electricity flows through this Power-Aware Cord—basically a re-designed power strip—the extension glows and pulses with different intensities of light. The idea is to visually express the energy being used so that one will be more mindful of it. Alas, this day-glo wonder is not available: It was the fruit of a research project called “Static!,” initiated by Sweden’s Interactive Institute.

(Via Lost at E Minor)

Zaha Hadid’s Aqua table in black

For the past three years Established & Sons has held the best parties at Milan’s Salone de Mobile—and released some of the most technically innovative lighting and furniture that has hit the market. So hurrah that the British company’s product is finally available stateside. New York’s Matter scored the coup and is offering about a dozen E&S’s designs in its Manhattan and Park Slope, Brooklyn outlets, as well as on its web site. Both old and new pieces are represented, including BarnerOsgerby’s Zero In table and De La Warr Pavilion chair; Michael Young’s Writing Desk; Klaus & Carpenter’s Easy chair; Zaha Hadid’s Nekton stools; Alex Taylor’s Fold lamp; and Future System’s Chester sofa.

The stuff’s beautiful but doesn’t come cheap, especially with the exchange rate. (Hadid’s Aqua table, in your choice of white or black, costs nearly $26,000.) But be grateful: At least we Americans can now save a couple of bucks on the shipping.

Sonic Fabric

An aural portait of New York City, a textile, and an inspired use for post-industrial waste, Sonic fabric is an upholstery comprised of recycled audio tape. Texas-based artist Alyce Santoro created the 100% polyester product, which is part of Designtex’s Material Matters collection; to make it she spent several days touring New York City, recording street musicians on subway platforms, bits of conversation, and noises on the street. She fed the streams into a multitrack mixer, created an audio collage, and transferred it onto magnetic tape, which was then knitted together to form the fabric. Because no finishing or backing has been added to the textile, you can still hear sounds from her mix by drawing the head of a reconfigured Walkman over the material’s surface.

Designed for both the residential and commercial markets, Sonic Fabric is available in five colors: copper, onyx, granite, amethyst, and cobalt. A portion of the proceeds from its sale will be contributed to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, a not-fot-profit organization.

REi Huggables

REi (pronounced “ray”) Huggables might have a common inspiration—the sun—but they’re execution is a stroke of genius. Each comprises a transluscent polyester cover loosely packed with 12 LED lights embedded within its own silicone bubble. The pillow’s most obvious use is as an ambient illumination source, or even a head rest, but here’s where it gets interesting: you also can hug it. When you do, the silicone pods squish around and reflect your body warmth back at you, creating the sensation of holding a living being like your mom (or your dad, or your dog, or your girlfriend’s butt).

Currently available in white, gold, and red, the pillows are powered by four AA batteries (you get about four hours’ worth of light before the intensity starts to fade) or by an included 4.5 volt AC adapter. You turn the lights on and off with a metal pull chain hanging out of the pillow’s corner. And yes, the inventor, Diana Lin, swears they have been tested by a third party to ensure you don’t set yourself on fire while in the middle of a cuddle.

Diana Lin Design

• Marcel Wanders gets into customizable carpets because he’s already making everything else. (Dezeen)
• Bored with waiting for the Freedom Tower to get built, Danny Libeskind tries his hand at furniture. (Royal Ontario Museum)
• A car with an engine that uses compressed air for fuel. More unbelievable: someone’s willing to manufacture it. (EcoGeek)