June 15, 2007 | New Products | by Snell |
The Hummer O2 concept won the LA Auto Show Design Challenge which had the theme ‘Environmental Sustainability’. What makes it really stand out is that it’s fitted with a phototropic (algae) body shell that produces oxygen for the life of the car. Read more at Gotta Have One. Indeed we do. Three please.
June 12, 2007 | New Trends | by Snell |
The first sustainable mixed use condominium in Miami by Oppenheim Architecture + Design is scheduled for completion in 2010. Named Cor, the tower is sustainable because it extracts power from its environment using wind turbines, photovoltaics and solar hot water generation. Interestingly, the exoskeloten formed to provide for the wind turbines has informed the aesthetics of the building as a whole, giving it an unmistakable eco identity.
June 10, 2007 | New Photography | by Snell |
A building in suspense, demolished from the ground up, it awaits its fate. Captured by Ross Langdon, this photograph makes us wonder about the reuse of buildings, and the ways they could be reincorporated into ‘new’ constructions. The Gollins Melvin Ward and Partners tower from 1969 is under demolition to be replaced by a sparkling Richard Rogers tower for Bovis Lend Lease. Looking forward to the day when we replace the city from within the city rather than from a virginal mountain or forest.
June 8, 2007 | New Illustration | by Snell |
A research project by FoxLin, Nano City makes the point that technological development from within the fields of design and architecture can be made to transcend ecological equilibrium — meaning that we could have positive embodied energy assessments, material reductions and even change living pattern trends. The illustration depicts the head of a morphing, smarming, moving city that consumes the landscape as fuel as it ploughs through, and at the same time creates the trail of a city behind it. The entire city is composed of nano-sized robots that gather, sort, transport, assemble and disassemble. The people of the city move with the city, everything stays in balance, and natural resources can replenish themselves until the next NanoCity rolls by.
June 5, 2007 | New Products | by Snell |
This is another offering from the STATIC! design research team working out of the Swedish Interactive Institute. It’s a wallpaper that, when licked by the suns rays over time, reveals a UV sensitive ink pattern. Project team — Sofia Lagerkvist, Charlotte von der Lancken, Anna Lindgren, Katja Savstrom and Sofia Stattin — suggest that Appearing-Pattern Wallpaper captures ongoing natural forms of energy that have a significant but slow change in behaviour over time, such as sunlight. To be in recline on your favourite floor watching the sun move across a wall that changes in response is a moment that we’re looking forward to.
June 4, 2007 | New Products | by Snell |
The heavy, dull substance of concrete, lit and full of life? Architects around the world are salivating over the prospect of this new material called Litracon in which thousands of optical glass fibres form a matrix and run parallel to each other between the two primary surfaces of each block. The fibres only constitute 4% of each block so they do not impede the structural integrity of the concrete, but rather contribute, forming a component of the aggregate. The inventor, Hungarian architect Áron Losonczi, claims that a wall structure could be several metres thick, as the fibres work with almost no loss of light for up to 20 metres.
June 3, 2007 | New Products | by Snell |
The Power Aware Cord is about visualising personal energy consumption, with the electricity current able to be seen through glowing pulses, flow, and intensity of light in the cord. By expressing the presence of energy use rather than hiding it, the idea is that people will explore and reflect upon their energy consumption.
June 2, 2007 | New Products | by Snell |
These fans are as brave as their name. Coming to you from Kentucky, America, they offer huge diameters at a leisurely speed. Referred to as BVLS (Big Volume/Low Speed), these ceiling fans range from 6-24 ft. in diameter and are a refined piece of engineering machinery that drives hot ceiling air down to the floor space. The low speed creates a steady breeze that increases the rate of perspiration evaporated from the skins surface. Big Ass Fans primary market so far has been in the rural and industrial sectors, with phrases on their website like ‘Big Ass Fans in your barn keeps the cows comfy and happy which in turn results in higher milk production!’. But they clearly have their eye on a broader market with the ability to customize colours and design variation choice. Expect to see them introduced to hospitality and retail spaces looking to get that industrial feel.
June 1, 2007 | Free MP3s | by Snell |
The Highline railway track is a 30 foot high, 1.45 mile long disused piece of infrastructure threading its way through 22 blocks of downtown Manhattan. Read more
May 29, 2007 | New Trends | by Snell |
Combining residential space and farming in an urban tower, the French architectural firm atelier soa architectes have taken the vertical farm to the next level. The Vertical Farm Project — headed by Dr Dickson Despommier from the Environmental Health Science department at Columbia University — lists this as one of their most promising prototypes for a solution to feeding the world’s growing population, especially necessary given that it is estimated that by 2050, 80% of the earth’s population will be living in urban centres. [see also Dongtan Eco-city]
May 29, 2007 | New Trends | by Snell |
In Australia, over half of the household material that ends up at the tip is organic waste. Read more
May 28, 2007 | New Trends | by Snell |
Do the Norwegians know something we don’t? On a remote island near the North Pole they’re going to build a seed vault that is able to survive future cataclysmic events such as asteroid strikes, nuclear war or climate change. Read more
May 27, 2007 | New Products | by Snell |
With the touch of a button the Chili Pepper Smart Water System forces hot water to move along the pipes to your outlet, so us hapless users don’t have to wait so long for it to warm up. Once the Chili Pepper detects that the water has reached a certain temperature, you have instant hot water. If the wait is too impractical then there is a remote version that you press when your alarm goes off so by the time you make it to the shower you have hot water. Bliss! There is a solution for everything.
May 26, 2007 | New Trends | by Snell |
Dongtan Eco-city, just outside of Shanghai, is set to be the world’s first fully sustainable cosmopolis when it’s completed in 2040. Read more
May 25, 2007 | New Products | by Snell |
Ray Anderson, founder of the carpet tile company InterfaceFLOR, went from just complying with legislation to taking on the responsibility of the environmental consequences of his business. Anderson has challenged his colleagues to achieve zero environmental footprint by 2020, becoming what he calls a ‘restorative enterprise‘, a sustainable operation that takes nothing out of the earth that cannot be recycled or quickly regenerated, and that does no harm to the biosphere. To date, their use of fossil fuels is down 45 percent and net greenhouse gas production is down 60 percent. Globally, the company’s carpet-making uses one-third the water it used to. The company’s worldwide contribution to landfills has been cut by 80 percent. His Interface experience teaches that sustainability ‘doesn’t cost, it pays’. The company offers carbon neutral carpet on all their commercial products. What a challenge to existing business practices.
Here’s some nice mixed media work by Garrett Pruter that seems to come from some forgotten town that was abducted by aliens some time in the 1940s.
My friend Wynnie Crews, who is an awesome designer/artist, has been making these striking wallpapers. I really want to have something like them in my new room. Read more
The Hatton hotel epitomises Melbourne cool. Those who value design, location, and luxury will find The Hatton the perfect Melbourne base. Read more
Finally, the Tumblr we’ve all been waiting for. Lonely Cheetos casts a discerning light on those poor neglected cheese puffs that dot the New York subways. Read more
Days Off is an incredibly catchy but smart punk band from Chicago. While they’re the best of what pop music through the ages has to offer, they’re by no means pop-punk. As infectious as their hooks and choruses are, there are enough off-kilter rhythms and complex guitar work to give their music a layered feel, putting them into a category all their own.
‘Les gens courageux’ is French for ‘the fearless ones’, and if you wear this slim-fitting white v-neck combed cotton t shirt, with the Vaughn de Heart logo on the left sleeve, you’ll be fearless, too. Yes, we promise.
We have a Contribute Section through which you can post onto LAEM under your name about your favourite pop culture discoveries. So help spread the good word about those talented peeps doing talented things. They win. You win. We win!
Necklush’s multi-strand scarves, infinity necklaces, and show stopping cuffs are the ultimate fusion accessories. These hand-printed pieces are about as versatile as they come: scarf, necklace, bracelet wrap, all in one. Each unique accessory is a piece of art, coming straight at you from designers Troy and Stephano in Brooklyn. Necklush scarves and cuffs are currently a featured collection in the Lost At E Minor online store. Read more
FOLLOW US
Send us cool stuff!
If you're in PR, you run a fashion label, or you just have an awesome product for us to feature, send it to us! We'll check it out. Heck, we may even introduce it to our 510,000 unique monthly visitors. Score. Right?
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it's not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
