Introduction
The annual Australian architecture and design exhibition, in Sydney each April, is a good time to assess the state of design in Australia
... designEX will be co-located with the National Conference of The Royal Australian Institute of Architects and Form & Function, a trade exhibition for the building and construction industries that comes to Sydney for the first time in 2006.
Highlights of designEX include Interior Trends Market Week, which is the official exhibition of the Textile Distributors Association of Australia. Australia's leading fabric houses will bring new decorating ideas to modern interiors by displaying creative colour blends, exquisite textures and exciting patterns. ...
From: "INSPIRING DESIGN TO DAZZLE AT DESIGNEX 2006", Media Release, dmg world media (australia), 8 March 2006
Green Building and Innovation
A topic often discussed by designers but rarely actually done is "green building". An example is Michael McDonough's e-House project. Steven Beletich, and energy consultant aims to reduce lighting energy consumption 20% by 2015.
e-House is an experimental house of the future. The home, built in New York State's Mid Hudson Valley, is a high-performance building controlled by a website. It was conceived as a laboratory for the 'best of the best' in all categories of construction and its ultimate goal is to propose a new set of standards for how we build and how we live. e-House was developed with a team of engineers, scientists, environmentalists and more than 100 manufacturers. The home's design includes Michael's observations of patterns in nature, smart house controls and dozens of new materials and systems. e-House challenges conventional 'green building' thinking and advocates new ways of living with technology. ...
Lighting products result in the emission of more than 25 million tonnes of carbon dioxide gas in Australia each year, which is more than half the amount emitted from all passenger cars. The State and Federal Governments have set up the 'Greenlight Australia Strategy', which aims to reduce lighting energy consumption by 20% by 2015. Steven will outline the initiatives that are being implemented as part of this strategy including how manufacturers and importers are adopting minimum efficiency requirements for lamps, ballasts, transformers and luminaires, as well as for the design of new lighting installations in buildings and on roads. ...
From: "International Seminar Series", dmg world media (australia), April 2006
Less useful is Luke Everingham's computer-controlled house which can rotate a full circle. The Everingham Rotating House is a sad testimonial to misdirected ingenuity. Built of glass and steel and powered by an electric motor "not much bigger than a washing machine motor", the rotating house is a real manifestation of what Jacques Tati satirized in his 1958 file Mon Oncle. Tati shows the the problems of the ultra modern house. This was recently updated by comedian Paul Livingston (aka "Flacco") with his "smart house (ABC Radio National's "By Design", 8 April 2006). Everingham's needs to explain if the occupants of a rotating house will feel they are living in a washing machine.