Dutch design brand Vepa Project Furniture recently won a Green Product Award for the design of the eco-friendly Felt chair, made using recycled PET bottles.

The 2018 Green Product Award received more than 400 submissions from 25 countries, 100 of which were judged by an international panel.

Vepa’s Felt chair makes use of 60 recycled PET bottles to create each chair, all of which are made up using four layers of felt. The chairs are also available in a variety of different colours.

“The stable tub construction enables a wide variety of models,” states Vepa on its website. “Each frame has its own seating characteristics and comfort. This makes Felt widely applicable; from meeting room to living room and of course suitable for project use.”

For more information, visit vepa.nl.

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Dutch architecture firm Houben / Van Mierlo Architecten, in collaboration with contractor Van Wijnen, Eindhoven University of Technology and the Municipality of Eindhoven, among others, has announced that it will be 3D printing five concrete houses in the next five years.

What is said to be the world’s first inhabitable 3D-printed concrete houses, the project, entitled Milestone, will see its first home completed in 2019. While the first house will be a three-bedroom bungalow, the remaining four will be double- and triple-storey structures.

Described by the architects as a group of sculptural “Flintstone houses” that appear to hail from the Stone Age, the aim is to 3D print the final house on site. The houses will be located in Meerhoven, just outside Eindhoven in The Netherlands.

For more information, visit houbenvanmierlo.nl.

(h/t) dezeen.com

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Inspired by the liberal theories of mid-century architecture, House 1, by experimental architecture label Namelok is a minimalist space that humbly boasts functionality, texture and a contemporary coolness.

A stellar combination of the old, the new and the unconventional, Namelok drew inspirations for House 1’s design from the works of Lina Bo Bardi and Aldo van Eyck. The entire design functions around three base principles: the kitchen is the heart of the home, spaces are connected either vertically or horizontally and structural aspects are celebrated through palpable texture.

Located on the outskirts of Rotterdam in The Netherlands, this sizeable home enjoys a picturesque view of a Dutch polder landscape and a horizon bordered by a skyscraper skyline. A floor-to-roof window in the kitchen welcomes these views and the warm light of day. The living room makes for a stark contrast to the bright kitchen and is intentionally lit only by dim lights to create a more intimate family space. The spine of the home is the unique chimney; it warms the house from the belly up and doubles as both an indoor and outdoor fireplace.

Rough plaster and frost grey bricks make for an alluring detail juxtaposed with Western Red Cedar slats. The red of the cedar brings a touch of warmth while simultaneously defining and uniting each part of the home. Inspired by fashion, Namelok separates its projects into collections. House 1 is part of their AW/17 collection.

Love this minimalist space? View Namelok’s other collections, here.

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These limited-edition sneakers, created by sustainable brand Gum-Tec in collaboration with sneaker brand Explicit and I amsterdam, are made from recycled chewing gum.

Gumshoes are the first shoes ever to be made from chewing gum (specifically the outsoles of the sneakers), which is collected straight off the streets of Amsterdam. In The Netherlands alone, there is an estimated 1.5 million kilograms of chewing gum littering the streets.

“By looking at waste differently we can find innovative solutions that will bring change to help keep our planet clean,” says Gum-Tec designer Anna Bullus.

Bonus: the shoes, available in two colourways (pink and black) even smell like bubblegum!

Gumshoes will be released in June 2018 and are available to pre-order now. They will retail for approximately R2 850 per pair.

For more information, visit gumshoe.amsterdam.

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VasiliLights, a design studio based in The Netherlands, creates paper light shades inspired by sea life.

The studio was established in 2015 alongside Vasili Popow and Lidiya Koloyarskaya’s architectural practice. “Now and then we want to take a break from the built environment and turn our attention to designing smaller items,” explains the team. “In the studio we develop self-initiated interior objects that emerge from our interior design ideas. Our passion is to design timeless, elegant and durable objects on a high quality level whether it be domestic or public lighting or furniture. We love what we do and we do what we love. That’s our winning formula for enjoying every project that leaves our studio.”

The 3D designs, which depict sea creatures inspired by the Dutch seaside, are available in a range of shapes, sizes and colours, with each kit including pre-cut paper templates that can be assembled into a 3D model. According to VasiliLights, the shapes of these aquatic lampshades take cues from the wild nature of the sea, its sounds, its noise and rhythm.

For more information, visit etsy.com.

(h/t) thisiscolossal.com

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The Netherlands-based architecture studio MVRDV is renowned for its research-based approach to contemporary urban architectural design.

“… A fascination for radical, investigative spatial research focusing on the urban landscape, the public realm, and the influence of architecture on the everyday lives of its inhabitants and users,” is how the studio describes their design philosophy.

With Winy Maas, Director of MVRDV on his way to South Africa to speak at the annual Design Indaba Conference, we decided to round up a selection of some of the most impressive projects that the studio has designed and collaborated on.

Below, in no particular order, are 10 MVRDV designs that stood out at first glance.

Name: Crystal Houses

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Type of Project: Retail/residential

Completed In: 2016

Name: The Couch

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Type of Project: Tennis club/viewing platform

Completed In: 2013

Name: Ragnarock

Location: Roskilde, Denmark

Type of Project: Music museum

Completed In: 2016

Name: Market Hall

Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Type of Project: Market space/residential

Completed In: 2014

Name: New Manor

Location: Vecht Region, The Netherlands

Type of Project: Residential

Completed In: 2004

Name: Didden Village

Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Type of Project: Residential rooftop extension

Completed In: 2006

Name: Hongqiao Flower Building

Location: Shanghai, China

Type of Project: Offices

Completed In: 2015

Name: Balancing Barn

Location: Suffolk, United Kingdom

Type of Project: Holiday house

Completed In: 2010

Name: T?F Tribune

Location: Delft, The Netherlands

Type of Project: Auditorium

Completed In: 2009

Name: Cancer Centre

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Type of Project: Offices/laboratories (265 containers)

Completed In: 2005

View more of MVRDV’s projects at mvrdv.nl. To find out more about Winy Maas speaking at Design Indaba, visit designindaba.com.

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Get creative with one of these do-it-yourself designer beetles by Dutch studio Assembli.

Assembli is a collaboration between printing company Lankhorst and designer Joop Bource.

These bright beetles are designed to provide creative stimulation for all ages. The beetles are assembled without glue and each have a hanging hole and a mounting board for display purposes once built. The Atlas Beetle, Stag Beetle and Hercules Beetle are all anatomically correct and have joint rendering and wing venation.

The paper bugs are made from high-quality corrugated cardboard, stiff metallic paper and translucent vellum.

Each beetle costs $33 and is available via colossalshop.com.

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This unique series of abstract clocks called Graphic Time by RAW Color may not help you stay on time, but they do make for an interesting and wonderful kinetic creation.

The Eindhoven-based design studio is headed by Daniera ter Haar and Christoph Brach and their focus is on the sophisticated treatment of colours and materials through the combination of graphic design and photography in order to make ordinary things extraordinary.

These graphic interpretations of common time pieces were initially developed for a solo exhibition entitled Blend, held at The Aram Gallery in London. Their ever-changing compositions made from a combination of paper and lacquered stainless steel make them more art pieces than time-tellers and they come in various perforations, prints and colours.

Visit RAW Color’s website to see more of their work.

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Dutch interior designer Robert Kolenik is behind the look of this modern apartment in Amsterdam.

While the apartment takes up three floors, as with many buildings in Amsterdam, the space is actually quite narrow. “Homes in the city centre are limited in terms of size,” says Robert, “so the challenge is to create functional space that retains a luxurious, homely feel.” With the aim of maximising space, Robert created a central wall unit to link different areas of the apartment together in an organic way, while at the same time making use of sizeable furniture items. “By putting in larger pieces, I emphasise a sense of spaciousness in the home,” he says. “The floating block in dark oak creates a line in the apartment that visually enlarges the space.”

Both the living area and dining area make use of modern designer pieces, from a bronze and marble coffee table to a solid walnut dining room table. Minotti armchairs, a four-metre Minotti Hamilton sofa and felt Vitra dining chairs also feature in the space. “The side table and the coffee table are closely matched. Their luxury materials link up to the finishes on the wall cabinet,” explains Robert.

The dining area is lit with LED lighting and includes a Boley gas fireplace, both of which add a sense of warmth to the room.

View more of Robert Kolenik’s projects at kolenik.com.

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Design is one of the national pastimes of the Netherlands. Some 275 000 people descended on a town of 216 000 during the nine-day Dutch Design Week that ended on Sunday 25 October 2015 in Eindhoven.

Here are seven ways that the humour, romance, innovation, and sometimes just plain weirdness, of what was on show will soon be coming into your home.

1. Furniture gets a life

Embedding a touch of personality into furniture makes it come alive. Yksi showed how cabinets can become urban elements, or at least fantasize about a higher calling. Lucas Munoz turned the speaker into a fluffy creature. What artist Margriet Craens and designer Lucas Maassen did to normal domestic chairs will not soon be unseen: The Chair Affair book asks just how intimate our furniture likes to get.

2. Contemporary romantic

Also practically breathing were Studio Drift’s diaphanous Shylights, shortlisted for a Dutch Design Award. These utterly exquisite dandelion-like flowers open and close as they plunge down. Similarly harking back to old-fashioned whimsy was the bent-veneer and ceramic Viola coat hanger by Roos Sanders and Tijn van Orsouw intentionally made to be too beautiful to hide in the closet. Reviving the classic art of hand-caned chairs with exciting new patterns was Jonghlabel.

3. Candles in the wind

Romance without candles is nothing – clearly Europeans don’t need load shedding as an excuse. A plethora of all manner of holders and candles were on show everywhere, including the royal blue porcelain Bubble Collection by Jorine Oosterhoff and strikingly utilitarian Elbow by HeetmanPatijn. By Thomas van Rongen for Puik Art, the Candela brings a new shape to wax. Yet, why are we using wax, asked Tijn van Orsouw with his Vet Pot that burns on used cooking oil.

4. Textured textiles

Beyond simply fancy prints, intricate weaving and production methods are making textiles three-dimensional. Sanne Muiser needle-punched latex with wool and sisal to create a second, fur-like skin. Combining organic and synthetic materials, hand craft and machine techniques, Roos Soetekouw’s fabrics are each multi-dimensional masterpieces. Machine-knitted fashion, blankets and throws were seen throughout, best exemplified by the Plaids by Hella Jongerius, Simone Post and Studio Truly Truly for the Textiel Museum.

5. Food food food

Designed food experiences and concept pop-ups included Aart van Asseldonk’s indulgent banquet in a church, The Allegory of the South, and sustainable food practices from around the world at Age of Wonderland. Product-wise, Michal Avraham showed how to use chocolate to make design rocks that look almost too good to eat, and Mickey Philips’ tessellated plates insist on an intimately communal mealtime.

6. Tricks of the eye

Besides introducing an element of seeming magic into homes, optical illusions can also beneficially change the space. At the Design Academy Eindhoven graduation show, Ward Wijnant showed the Spacelamp that with its curved mirror surface reflects light and enlarges a room during the day. At night, when the light is switched on, the mirror is turned translucent and the room becomes small and cosy again. Also playing on the changing light were the ethereal clocks by Daan Spanjers that use evolving colour combinations to show the time, like the sky.

7. Weird and wonderful

From chairs grown from mycelium fungi by Eric Klarenbeek to fashion made from human hair by Anouk van Klaveren, design materials are simply not what they used to be. Winner of the Young Designer title at the Dutch Design Awards was Teresa van Dongen with her bacteria-powered light installation showing that we’re already living in science fiction. The brand new future we live in also has 3D-printing producing personalised bras by Mesh Lingerie, woven vases and lamps by Atelier Robotique, and intricately detailed ceramics with fabric-like textures created by musical vibrations by Olivier van Herpt and Ricky van Broekhoven.

Find out more about Dutch Design Week at ddw.nl/en.

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