Aswoon® | biophilia in Brooklyn, vertical or horizontal standing sculptural room divider



	Bold new furnishings go high-tech and green Friday, June 16, 2006 By CHRISTOPHER WYNN / The Dallas Morning News NEW YORK – Strange glowing light forms, a mod chair covered in thousands of synthetic "sponge tubes", post-industrial waste recycled into flooring – this year's International Contemporary Furniture Fair felt more akin to a science fair than a design expo. Granted, a highly stylish science fair.Among the offerings were Architex textiles that use nanotechnology to create stain resistance on the molecular level and LA-based PadLab's flexible lighting forms made from "upcycled" drinking straws. We learned a new buzzword as well: "Biophilia," as in ouras in our innate harmony with and attraction to natural materials and environments. New materials and green design were the buzzwords at the gathering this year, held at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. The material focus and eco theme even carried over to more familiar names such as Herman Miller. The company was on hand to herald the 50th anniversary of its legendary Ray and Charles Eames lounge chair and ottoman with a special edition made from renewable santos palisander rosewood. Herman Miller also showed off Leaf, its sculptural new LED tabletop lamp by designer Yves Behar. There were plenty of new faces on hand as well. Debuting this year was ICFF Studio, an exhibit co-sponsored by Bernhardt furniture and showcasing the work of young designers who had won a juried competition to display their prototypes. This year's 18th annual show was one of the largest to date, with 597 exhibitors from around the world. The growing popularity of contemporary design and the rise of "mass-mod" from companies such as IKEA, West Elm and Target are increasing awareness of the show and fueling interest in new designs coming to market. Of course, putting new materials into everyday use may still present a challenge. New York architect Richard Cook explained at the fair that when a worker at one of his projects was struggling to install bamboo cabinets, his contractor asked the man what the problem was. His reply? "I've never worked with grass before." E-mail cwynn@dallasnews.com ....Catch a wave: Working Wave by designer Susan Woods for her Aswoon studio in Brooklyn is a multi-use working object. Ms. Woods describes the piece, made from bent poplar plywood, as a vertical or horizontal standing sculptural room divider or low-slung stylish seating. We describe it as gorgeous. www.aswoon.com...		The Dallas Morning News, The Mode is Mod: "bold new furnishings go high-tech and green" June 2006 "Catch a Wave: Working Wave by designer Susan Woods for her Aswoon studio in Brooklyn is a multi-use working object. Ms. Woods describes the piece, made from bent poplar plywood, as a vertical or horizontal standing sculptural room divider or low-slung stylish seating. We describe it as gorgeous..." next article previous article back © all rights reserved, Aswoon®/Susan Woods Studio