earth related | tomorrow started

not just for the birds

former model and actress tippi hedren is known primarily for her roles as melanie daniels in hitchcock’s the birds and the title role in marnie. in her personal life, hedren is a diligent animal rights activist, founding the shambala preserve in 1983. she is pictured above, with a lion friend and her family, including daughter melanie griffith. by dd

CATEGORIES: earth related, fashion birds: women of style

TOP 10+ GIFTS of 2013: our gift to you, great gift ideas for the holidays

redrum… blood red designer kitchen cutting board. fits in any psychotic kitchen including mine. $22.54 – xy

can le labo get any better? maybe. here’s le labo rose 25 in collaboration with opening ceremony. i like the printed glass… i think! $80 – ac

i guess it is light that we need after all, not fire. stay plugged in with this environmentally and aesthetically pleasing lightbulb. get it at plumen. $28.95 – kd

if you have a rich woman or a man, read on…. nero mkii bike from bandit9. very exclusive wheels, price available upon request. look it up here. – kt

everyone loves a polaroid, especially an andy warhol selfie polaroid via christie’s. just $15-20K supplies limited!– bw

dd would love this. anyone reading can start saving up… fifty years of essential art house films from janus films. $764.96 ooooouch! but do it again, please. – sv

i wear these at home when i feel like michael j fox. supra tk society black satin high-tops $150 – nk

who doesn’t want “a very dark affair”? sign me up. 12.29 candles $150 for this lovely candle, which is a bit steep. the good news is you can keep the glass, and the refill candles are only $75 – dd

unless you’re in the business of jacking bikes off the street, this is the best deal in town. just pick your size and receive a mystery bike from state bicycle co. $299. we got a great fixi and we are lovin it. – lil

navajo inspired pendleton water blanket. does anyone know what a water blanket means? anyhow, this one is available on pendleton’s own site. $298. – cm

i bet you don’t have a tote yet… if you do, trash it and get this. beautifully oversized portfolio tote from everlane. $450 – wm

jungle fever. the original martinique wallpaper. prices and samples upon request. $5 samples login to view price per foot. –kc

if you are looking for earphones that “stay-in” these etymotic research in-ear headphones are the ones. these are my favorite low budget noise-isolating earphones; designed by an otolaryngologist and intended for sound engineers and audiophiles in constant motion. mc-3 s are around $80 and the er4pt’s are around $300. you can google it… – uh

house-shaped house key; inventive and practical, just the way we like it. via fancy. $8. –kd

first edition of the evocative and iconic paris photography book. found at bauman rare books $6,200 perfect gift for rich folks who dont read. –bh

and for those that still need to know the time, here’s the verbarius electronic clock, around $160-250 – kv

happy holidays from everyone

at ts

CATEGORIES: art, audio-electronics, books, design, earth related, foot fetish, fragrance, must see films, objects, perfect gift, photography

rugged suburbia

mossy walks on the beach in beautiful BC. by kl

CATEGORIES: earth related, other places

SILK PAVILION – by mediated matter group

silk pavilion explores the relationship between digital and biological fabrication on product and architectural scales.

the primary structure was created of 26 polygonal panels made of silk threads laid down by a CNC (computer-numerically controlled) machine. inspired by the silkworm’s ability to generate a 3D cocoon out of a single multi-property silk thread (1km in length), the overall geometry of the pavilion was created using an algorithm that assigns a single continuous thread across patches providing various degrees of density.

overall density variation was informed by the silkworm itself deployed as a biological “printer” in the creation of a secondary structure. a swarm of 6,500 silkworms was positioned at the bottom rim of the scaffold spinning flat non-woven silk patches as they locally reinforced the gaps across CNC-deposited silk fibers. following their pupation stage the silkworms were removed. resulting moths can produce 1.5 million eggs with the potential of constructing up to 250 additional pavilions.

affected by spatial and environmental conditions including geometrical density as well as variation in natural light and heat, the silkworms were found to migrate to darker and denser areas. desired light effects informed variations in material organization across the surface area of the structure. a season-specific sun path diagram mapping solar trajectories in space dictated the location, size and density of apertures within the structure in order to lock-in rays of natural light entering the pavilion from south and east elevations. the central oculus is located against the east elevation and may be used as a sun-clock.

parallel basic research explored the use of silkworms as entities that can “compute” material organization based on external performance criteria. specifically, we explored the formation of non-woven fiber structures generated by the silkworms as a computational schema for determining shape and material optimization of fiber-based surface structures.

research and design by the mediated matter research group at the MIT media lab in collaboration with prof. fiorenzo omenetto (TUFTS university) and dr. james weaver (WYSS institute, harvard university). mediated matter researchers include markus kayser, jared laucks, carlos david Gonzalez uribe, jorge duro-royo and neri oxman (director). by bw

CATEGORIES: architecture, earth related