Future finishing

The home is a place that can be made to be perfectly suited for you. Now, with the fast paced technological advances. We live on our gadgets and are becoming very dependent on them to provide us with everything. The downside is that so far, most homes are not up to date and prepared for this flood of technology. With …

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Through the wall

The nature of glass is its clarity and its association with lightness, brightness, and purity. Last week’s article discussed the options of using glass on floors, but what about the interior walls? Starting with the walls, there are certain aspects of construction to consider here. It must be first determined if the glass will be free standing glass or if it will …

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The Challenges of the Water Hyacinth furniture

These days designers are more and more challenged to find environmentally friendly materials to use indoors and outdoors and water hyacinth furniture seem like the perfect fit. Water Hyacinth weed is plentiful in the rivers of Bangkok and it now is a sustainable source of income for people who collect it and those who use use for many purposes. Introduced …

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Tiling TIMBER

A few evenings ago, at dinner, I find myself dazing out of the conversation and just looking around at the restaurant I was in. The floor inside was a simple concrete finish but outside the terrace was wood decking. I suddenly realised why I was fixated at that terrace. Recently the projects I have been working on have a lot …

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The Science of Renovating Occupied Buildings

It is usually assumed that designers have an easier job renovating a building than designing a new one. Through so many years of doing both new projects as well as renovating others, there is nothing further from the truth. In building renovation we deal with; Aging buildingsProgrammes that will protect buildings from deterioration, improve safety for occupants, and enhance the …

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How did the Miss Sissi Lamp become so successful?

The Miss Sissi Lamp designed for Flos is one of the most iconic lamp to ever been produced during the 90’s . This injection molded polycarbonate lamp became a successful product which signified a bold change in the art movement. Flos, a successful lighting design company, founded in the 1960’s had always “ applied a strategy aimed at leaving durable marks of their …

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Sinking Maldives Survival Plans

The Maldives is sinking, scientists predict rising sea water levels will submerge it by the turn of the century. So if you were the Maldivian government, what would you do to ensure the survival of you nation, your 1,190 islands of white sand and crystal clear waters? Well, the Maldivian government hired a Dutch design firm which specialize in waterfront design …

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Sinking Cities

I am sure, like me, you are also following the news of the Maldives islands rapid sinking levels and their soon to be disappearance. Last year, I have seen the horrible flood in Bangkok  the worst I have ever seen in my 25 years living here. I saw the tsunami in 2005 washing away hole villages and shore lines changing. …

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The Environmental Cost of New Waterfront Development

Human settlements developed  and expanded  near water for centuries, When roads were primitive, water was a source for food, agriculture, transportation, materials, trade, people well being and prosperity. No wonder that most of the world greatest cities are built along major rivers and seashores. Bangkok, London, Paris, Venice like many others waterfront cities have developed over the centuries to become …

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No more incandescent lights in sight?

Remember my article on the development of lights throughout history? Well these days, one light in particular has been in the news lately, the incandescent light bulb! Few years ago, a ban was invoked at a federal level to many countries of the EU; specifically in Germany, where incandescent light bulbs were to be totally banned. Ironically, this made demands …

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