Muskin, the vegetable leather made from mushrooms
Replacing animal leather is possible. Muskin is an eco-friendly alternative entirely made from natural raw materials, including the cap of a special mushroom.
Felt, the history and sustainability of a versatile designer fabric
Felt is an ancient, low-impact and completely biodegradable material. It’s the best natural insulator and has different applications, from design to eco-friendly architecture.
Eat with your hands. The Contatto Experience extends taste to the realm of touch
When it comes to eating, the most profound, elementary impulses and istincts of our soul, as well as of our social constraints, come into play. Throughout the human history, the primordial gesture of eating has taken on new meanings. Besides mere sustenance, eating has become an essential moment for society. It reflects national traditions, regional
Lucy, the lamp that illuminates your home without the need for electricity
Developed by Solenica, Lucy reflects the sunlight redirecting it into closed spaces, generating as much electricity as five 100w bulbs.
A Neapolitan inventor’s turntable is amazing the world
Designed in a small studio in the neighbourhood of Materdei, Naples, a new compact turntable is thrilling hi-tech lovers around the world. It is called ON, O stands for old school, N for new school because it combines a vintage aspect and cutting edge features, and was created by Giuseppe Pinto. A turntable created with passion
WELL Building Standard, the first architectural benchmark focused on well-being
As we spend more than 90 per cent of our time indoors, the built environment can have a profound impact on our health, happiness and productivity. The WELL Building Standard introduces a model to improve human-centred design and construction. It presents a performance-based system for certifying features of the built environment that impact health and well-being.
High-tech eco-design for an alpine bivouac, to become nature’s guest
How can a shelter for mountaineers be designed so as to solve the problem of building infrastructure in nature without damaging it? Designers from LEAPFactory have studied a new model that surpasses everything you would expect to find in an alpine hut. The Giusto Gervasutti bivuoac is a modular prefabricated construction located on the Freboudze glacier, in the
Beyond the bargain. What is fair trade fashion
Fair trade labels and certification There is no universal fair trade certification. One of the most widely known fair trade labels is the Fairtrade Foundation’s Fairtrade Mark, which certifies products such as bananas. The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO’s) label, instead, identifies organisations rather than goods. While these two verifying bodies are internationally recognised, there are
A journey to discover the world’s most colourful fabrics
Why are the fabrics of the south of the world so colourful and showy? Let’s discover together the colours and patterns used by indigenous peoples for realising fabrics.
Fuorisalone 2016, the very best of green design that can be seen and touched
A guide to discover the best of green design at the Fuorisalone 2016. Milan is on show until 17 April.