Zephyr Brings DCBL Suppression System to the Kitchen
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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Zephyr, the innovators of design-forward ventilation hoods, have unveiled revolutionary new range hood technology with their DCBL Suppression System (pronounced DeCiBeL Suppression). The standout feature of new Next Generation Europa Collection, Zephyr’s DCBL Suppression System (DCBL) features the industry’s first direct current (DC) brushless motor, Bloom HD LED bulbs with a 25,000-hour lifetime, and an on-board computer that actively optimizes the range hood’s performance. The DCBL Suppression System exceeds ENERGY STAR requirements and is up to 80 percent more energy efficient than other range hoods in the category.
Stay tuned, because Zephyr is undertaking pioneering projects on all fronts—including partnering with industrial designer Robert Brunner, designer/collaborator with rapper Dr. Dre on the BEATS headset, on a new collection of range hoods.
Some highlights of the DCBL Suppression System:
· An industry first – A direct current (DC), brushless motor has never been used in a range hood before.
· Zephyr’s DCBL motor greens the kitchen – It uses 77 percent less energy; it surpasses ENERGY STAR requirements, exceeding minimum efficacy levels by 14.2 CFM/W, and pulls approximately 30 percent more CFM on working speed settings.
· 77 percent Less Noise – The DC motor is the industry’s quietest—a big deal, as standard ventilation hoods are noisy—the noise level of Zephyr’s DCBL motor (0.8 Sone) is dramatically quieter than that of an AC motor (3.5 Sones).
· Higher working speed and moves more air than an AC motor (250 CFM in DCBL vs. 180 CFM in AC)
· Dimmable LED – First in Range Hood History – Bloom HD LED dimmable light bulbs never get hot and have a 68-year lifetime.
· On-Board Computer System – The DCBL Suppression System’s multifunctional, on-board computer integrates the user interface, LED controller and DC motor controller, all while managing the distribution of energy for each component.
Mesmerizing SCI-Arc Graduation Pavilion
Courtesy Oyler Wu Collaborative
SCI-Arc held its graduation ceremony on Sunday in the parking lot in front of its building in LA’s Arts District. And they did it in style: in front of a billowing 60 x 110 foot canopy designed by LA firm Oyler Wu Collaborative, whose principles Dwayne Oyler and Jenny Wu are both SCI-Arc professors. Read More
Burning Man Amazes Yet Again
Temple of Transition (Michael Holden)
For the second year in a row (check out last year’s report here) we’d like to share some of the most amazing, ridiculous, and inspiring architecture of Burning Man, which just wrapped up in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. And like last year the Playa’s temporary installations didn’t disappoint; displaying an aggressive level of imagination and ambition for Burning Man’s 25th anniversary (has it really been that long?).
The theme this year was Rites of Passage, although we’re not sure the artists here are interested in following any rules. Photographer Michael Holden was on the ground to document the event. Here are our favorites from Burning Man 2011:
Quick Clicks> Liquid Letters, Grad Cities, Future Weaving, Shoe Dice
Liquid type by Ruslan Khasanov: the letter "A" (via Co.Design)
Living letters. Typeface designer Ruslan Khasanov created a liquid typeface by inking letters onto a porcelain sink and photographing their movement as they slid down the drain. The white on black animated GIFs reveal letters that strangely resemble those amoebas we studied under the microscope back in high school bio. More at Co.Design.
Great cities for 20 somethings. Recently graduated? Looking for a creative, liberal-minded, inexpensive city with low unemployment? GOOD magazine has published a tally of top cities for young adults. Austin, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Washington D.C. garnered top spots.
Weaving futures. The future of weaving: Austrian designer collaboration “mischer’traxler” has fused art and technology in their latest invention, a machine that weaves depending on how many people are watching. Sensors located on the basket weaving frame detect how many people are standing nearby, adding different colors per person. Co.Design called it “passive interaction.”
Show me the shoes. For shoe company Shoesme, Dutch designer Teon Fleskens has designed a flexible, interchangeable shoe display system, according to Contemporist. The main element, large white dice, can be stacked and rearranged to various table and counter-level heights and can also be used for seating.
Quick Clicks> Big Apple vs. City of Lights, Plastic into Oil, Seeing Double, Lights of Knowledge
Musée du Louvre vs. 5th Avenue Apple Store (via Paris vs. New York)
New York vs. Paris. It seems that the Big Apple and The City of Lights are forever battling over design, architecture, fashion, and film. A Parisian graphic designer decided to take matters into his own hands, creating a website to display his witty color-block graphics that juxtapose these iconic cities. Topics are eclectic, ranging from landmarks (the Empire Sate vs. the Eiffel Tower), to architecture (5th Avenue Apple Store vs. Musée du Louvre), to food (cupcakes vs. macarons), to even car parking styles (parking lot towers vs. double parked). More at the NY Times T Magazine.
Oil from plastic. Energy company Vadxx has invented reactors that can transform plastic scraps that can’t be recycled into crude oil with the lowest sulfur content in the world, says Good Magazine. The first reactors are slated for a recycling plant in Akron, Ohio. However, this begs this question: will the amount of crude oil created offset the amount of energy needed for the conversion process?
Basket lights. A New Zealand designer, David Trubridge, has infused his lighting with the spiritual–looking to a Maori creation myth for design inspiration, writes Contemporist. The Maori believed gods gave humans three baskets of knowledge. Trubiridge designed three corresponding teardrop ceiling “baskets”: the bamboo light represents knowledge of the natural world, the polycarbonate light symbolizes knowledge of the spiritual world, and the aluminum basket signifies knowledge of the rational world.
Spotlight> Copenhagen Design Week 2011
Thicket Installation at Copenhagen Design Week.
This past week in Copenhagen has been filled with a series of design exhibitions, fairs, conferences, and guided tours throughout the Danish capital city as part of Copenhagen Design Week, hosted by the Danish Design Center. Scandinavian architects, interior designers, urban planners, and filmmakers submitted work under the theme of “Think Human” and ranged from urban installations to furniture and industrial design. One exhibition highlight organized by the Center for Information Technology and Architecture is the project, Thicket Installation (above), that examines how technology and architecture impact connections between public and private life. Read More
Quick Clicks> What’s in a Name, Cardboard Construction, and Building Fashion
U.S. Stream Names. (Derek Watkins via Co.Design)
Water Names. Is it a creek, a stream, or a cañada? Looking for patterns behind different names for American waterways, graphic designer Derek Watkins created an infographic that plots more terms for water than we’ve heard of revealing the cultural geography of language. More at Co.Design.
Pop-Up Religion. In February, an earthquake destroyed Christchurch, New Zealand and now Shigero Ban has been invited to design a temporary church for the city. His design takes cues from his popular Paper Dome Church that once stood in Kobe, Japan, incorporating recyclable materials such as “cardboard tube buttresses” and shipping crates in the foundation. Gizmodo has details.
Architecture + fashion. Fashion Week in New York is quickly approaching, and we’re excited about the second annual Building Fashion event, taking place this year in our headquarter neighborhood of TriBeCA. Five architecture teams are collaborating with fashion designers to create original temporary installations for couture design.
Blast of Personal Truth from Port Authority’s Chris Ward
The memorial as we looked down from the roof of the Memorial Pavilion on August 29. (Tami Hausman)
Far from the expected pablum that these events usually generate, Chris Ward, executive director of the Port Authority, gave a speech opening the New York Building Congress yesterday loaded to bear with fight, a lot of Good Fight, demanding continued federal funding for infrastructure. Along the way, he recalls his own version of the tortured path from Ground Zero grind to the Memorial Moment of meditation to come.
It’s quite a version and well worth a close read as he “recalls” Libeskind’s master plan as “gardens in the sky” and how that was “replaced with another vision, as realities of the site, the market” set in. Then he talks about “Breaking Away from Monumentalism” and “The Assessment” thanks to the Port Authority, which may or may not be the stinking months of pissing match between PA and Silverstein as they wrangled about responsibility for building the first then the other towers.
Sit back—but fasten your seat belt—You’ll be amazed to read what you went through:
A Terreformed Summer
Terreform1's Papanek award winner "Urbaneering Brooklyn" (Courtesy Terreform1)
Last week at the Phaidon Bookstore in Soho, White Box held a benefit for their new sustainable art garden by organizing a panel discussion called “Sustainable Work Lab: new projects in art, architecture and urban design.” Ali Hossaini moderated the discussion between landscape designer Frances Levine, architect David Turnbull, and urban designer Maria Aiolova.
Hossaini yielded to Turnbull’s freewheeling conversation about Socratic love, i.e. the coupling of poverty and invention. Inspired by his fresh-off-the-plane-from-Kenya presentation, the crowd indulged in the philosophical debate. Turnbull balked at biennials and instead encouraged artists “to make artifacts that are useful and have that magical quality that keep them from being thrown away.” ”Sustainability should be the bare minimum,” concurred Aiolova. She should know. Her firm, Terreform1, held a sustainability love fest all summer long, which culminated in winning the Victor J. Papanek Social Design Award on August 17.
Quick Clicks> Disaster Prone, Earthquake Averse, and the Melancholy Utopia
U.S. Natural Disasters Map (via NY Times)
Mapping Disasters. In and around New York City, we were fortunate Tropical Storm Irene created little more than flooding, fallen trees, and electric outages, and that last week’s tremors left no damage in the city. If these rare northeast natural disasters are getting you down, perhaps it’s time to consider moving to the safest place in the U.S. to avoid natural disasters? A NY Times infographic hasfound just the place: Corvallis, OR. Cities in Oregon and Washington state top the list, while areas in Texas and Arkansas have the highest risk of earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts, and tornadoes.
Standing up to Earthquakes. Many of the east coast’s 19th century masonry buildings are not built to withstand a strong earthquake. How do those California skyscrapers withstand the west coast’s dangerous, powerful tremors? Gizmodo featured an array of earthquake-tech such as tuned mass dampers and roller bearings allow tall buildings to move with the earthquake and absorb shock.
Melancholy Utopia. The end of summer and beginning of fall will bring a flood of design events in European cities. Among them, more than forty designers will descend on Rotterdam on September 3rd to showcase their work throughout the city. The theme is Melanchotopia, an examination of the connections between melancholy and utopia, mourning and hope, said e-flux.
Videos> Harmon’s Headaches Signal Thunder in the Vegas Sky
The Harmon Building (right) adjacent to the Crystals (left) in Las Vegas. (Courtesy vrysxy/flickr)
It’s official. Norman Foster’s unfinished and beleaguered Harmon Building at Las Vegas’ CityCenter is among the walking dead. Its owner MGM has announced its intention to implode the building, whose construction was plagued by incorrectly-installed rebar. These severe structural flaws led to a decision in 2009 to scrap the top half of the building, and it’s been sitting unoccupied ever since.
But what better way to send off what must be among the biggest buildings never occupied than a collection of the most spectacular implosions Las Vegas can muster? There are fireworks, spotlights, music, and lots of gawking onlookers. This stuff is fun, trust us.
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