by Michel Cruz

Future Perfect

Discover the work of Welsh-born design powerhouse Ross Lovegrove in this beautiful new book by Phaidon

Ross Lovegrove is one of the world’s most prolific designers, with a portfolio ranging from furniture to water bottles, from airplane seats to Thermos flasks. When he speaks of design, he uses terms more suited to a biologist, doctor or bio-engineer. In other words, his vocabulary, like his design work, is pervaded with an organic, natural theme that takes physical form in such structures as his ‘DNA Staircase’ or the iconic biolove bicycle.

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by Michel Cruz

A feast for the eye

Design, as a force that marries the practical requirements of function with the more visually driven aspects of form, has been around since mankind first started shaping its surroundings. Throughout history, however, there have been times when prosperity allowed creativity to flow freely and produce the architectural and artistic masterpieces that still have such a powerful impact upon us today.
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by Michel Cruz

Cork vs. Plastic

Have you noticed how many wine bottles have plastic corks these days? I couldn’t help wondering why. After all, aren’t we meant to be replacing synthetic products with natural ones where possible, to help clean up our planet—not the other way round? Intrigued, I did a little research, and found the wine industry is in the midst of turmoil.

For centuries, in fact for about as long as people can remember, wine has been sealed with cork stoppers. So close is this link that you can’t really think of the one without the other, and indeed, the humble cork is a wondrous thing. Wholly natural, it is flexible and durable, forming an excellent seal to a bottle, yet one that allows itself to be extracted with relative ease. What’s more, it forms the basis of a noble, age-old industry that has become a part of the physical landscape and human fabric of countries like Spain and Portugal.

This industry is also eco-friendly and sustainable, as the cork is harvested by removing the barks of the region’s cork oaks in a seven-year cycle, and the cork stoppers themselves are biodegradable natural products. Why then, is this industry in peril as the market has suddenly become flooded with plastic substitutes? Although plastics manufacturers have clearly put a lot of effort into making their creations look like the real thing, they cannot hide the tactile proof that they’re plastic—and far from beneficial to the environment.

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