Sep
4
Dave Pinter is a senior editor at PSFK and focuses on automotive, design and retail news plus NYC culture. Dave is also a New York based concept designer.
Dave elected the TOP 5 Tech Products at New York Design Week 2013. Usually at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) the range of products generally falls into the chair, table or lamp categories. Creeping into the mix though are furniture pieces with technology integrated in or produced using advanced manufacturing techniques. Here’s a roundup of five tech based projects that were exhibited during the 2013 NYCxDESIGN week.
Oswalds Mill Audio
OMA is a Pennsylvania-based high end audio maker that unapologetically says it isn’t interested in the latest technology advancements. Instead they custom craft audio components like their horn loudspeakers and tube amplifiers to preserve the experience of listening to reproduced sound in a rich analog format. OMA caters to a special breed of audio enthusiast looking for something different from the black boxes common to the rest of the high end industry. Their products rest on the edge between art and engineering. OMA has a beautiful private showroom in DUMBO, Brooklyn. You can see photos of the space on their website and also check out their ‘history of audio’ page.
Windel w127 Desk Lamp
Designer Dirk Winkel collaborated with BASF and the result is this sleek desk lamp for Wåstberg. The majority of the lamp is made of Ultramid Balance, a BASF brand plastic containing 60 percent renewable raw materials. The parts are molded in color and require no finishing or painting. The mechanism to keep the arm in position is a gas-filled cylinder which Wåstberg say won’t wear out like conventional mechanical lamp parts such as springs, cables or tension screws.
AMU
Joe Doucet Studio launched a new mobile game at Wanted Design, which is also the first mobile app to debut during New York Design Week. AMU takes full advantage of the iPhone’s motion sensing hardware. Game play takes place both on the screen and in the space surrounding you. Doucet designed the game with no on-screen controls and a graphically simple interface. An interesting addition is the shareable content that the game generates.
Mandalaki Table
Italian design studio Mandalaki introduced a table concept that aims to easily accommodate digital devices. Their design is essentially a power-strip reshaped to become a table leg. Integrated into the bent steel tube are traditional power outlets and several USB ports for charging mobile devices. A variety of table top sizes can be used and assembly is done without any hardware or fasteners.
AT-UM / Lenovo
Brooklyn-based designer Francois Chambard of UM Project collaborated with PC maker Lenovo on a furniture project to integrate their Horizon Tablet PC. AT-UM is a hybrid desk and easel imagined to function as a creative digital workspace for an individual or small group. The touch tablet can be oriented flush with the desk top or angled up to serve like a traditional display. The concept mixes analog design ques from an artists drawing table with digital tools used by creatives working today.
Links:
http://www.psfk.com/
http://oswaldsmillaudio.com/
http://wastberg.com/index.asp
http://www.joedoucet.com/
http://www.mandalaki.com/
http://umproject.com/
