Whitelines - Inovação no papel

Com objectivos ecológicos e funcionais, a ideia de criar papel para escrita com base em linhas brncas sobre um fundo ligeiramete cinzento está a provar ser bem mais sustentável.

A ideia foi do designer sueco Olof Hansson em parceria com a North Environment and Weather Agency.

People have used dark-lined writing paper since medieval times and over the years, a lot of bleach has been used to provide a contrasting white background. Swedish Whitelines, on the other hand, makes carbon-neutral writing paper that uses white lines against a light grey background.

Traditional dark-lined paper not only depends on the use of bleach for a contrasting background, it also can conflict with lines and letters drawn or written on its surface. Dark lines show up on photocopies too, often making for muddy, difficult-to-view copies. Stockholm designer Olof Hansson came up with the idea of Whitelines as a way to eliminate those problems. With a focus on the environmental consequences of its operations, the company tracks and labels its own carbon footprint in collaboration with NEWA, the North Environment & Weather Agency. Through a partnership with paper producer Stora Enso forged just last month, meanwhile, it uses a carbon dioxide-neutral paper as a base for its products. Whitelines now offers pads of its patented paper with a variety of bindings, including spiral, glue and saddle stitch, through select retailers in Canada, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

Whitelines was named Innovator of the Year by ALMI Stockholm last year, and in January it was nominated in the New Product Innovation and Emerging Vendor categories at the European Office Products Awards in Frankfurt. With its paradigm-busting appearance, Whitelines' eco-iconic qualities are sure to appeal to the rapidly growing eco-minded masses. Remember: it's not enough to be green; you have to help consumers show the world that they are, too. Think green, think different, think iconic!

Wind Shaped Pavilion - uma casa ao sabor do vento

Uma das preocupações cada vez mais na ordem do dia tem a ver com a questão energética. Existem vários estudos que apontam para o já ultrapassado pico do petróleo, pelo que urge a necessidade de encontrar fontes alternativas e principalmente a procura da eficiência energética.

Mandaram-me recentemente uma mensagem muito interessante. Apresenta uma "casa" que assenta numa platforma giratória a qual pode rodar em função do vento, permitindo uma apresentação e uma vista de dentro sempre diferente - conforme o vento Para além disso este movimento é aproveitado para a geração de energia a ser utilizada pela própria casa. . Claro que existem outras questões a ponderar num projecto desta ambição.

The Wind Shaped Pavilion is a design proposal for a large fabric structure that can be used as a public or private pavilion. As a lightweight fabric structure, the wind slowly and randomly rotates each of the six segments around a central open support frame. This continually alters the shape of the pavilion, while at the same time generating electrical power for its nighttime illumination.

O projecto é de 2006 da autoria de Michael Jantzen que tem desenvolvido vários projectos inovadores. Podemos encontrar no seu portofloio outros projectos baseados na combinação espaço/energia como por exemplo o estudo sobre Wind Shade Roof .