Meet the highly innovative Next Generation Europa Collection of ventilation hoods from Zephyr

The Milano Glass Island Range Hood

Household ventilation powerhouse Zephyr just released a newly-imagined collection of ventilation hoods called Next Generation Europa. These hoods are game changers on a whole bunch of fronts and it's exciting to see an appliance manufacturer be so willing to abandon business as usual in the quest for greater efficiencies.

The Milano Wall Glass Range Hood

What kind of efficiencies? Well, the entire Next Generation Europa Collection produces 77% less noise, delivers 30% more cubic feet per minute (CFM) of ventilation, is 77% more energy-efficient and uses low-temperature, high-definition light bulbs that will last for 68 years.

The Modena Island Range Hood

All of that efficiency is hidden in designs that are so sleek and beautiful you'd never imagine they were using a "green" approach to appliance design. Throw away the hair shirts, this collection proves that beauty can use resources wisely too.

The Modena Wall Range Hood

There are a couple of key components to Zephyr's core efficiencies. The first being a an onboard computer that not only manages the user interface, it runs a DC controller. What that means is that these hoods take AC current from the wall and convert it to DC. DC power is more controlled and DC power allows the motor to generate higher torque with fewer RPMs.

The Napoli Island Range Hood

Another key component to these new hoods are the high definition LED lights they use. The bulbs were developed by Bloom and they use 3 watts of power to generate a light level that's nearly as warm and intense as halogen. The "warmth" of a light source is measured in degrees Kelvin and the lower the number, the warmer the light is said to be. Most white LEDs come in at around 5000K but the HD LEDs from Bloom and Zephyr come in at 3200K. Traditional halogens come in at around 3000K, so unless you're doing a direct comparison, I doubt anybody would be able to identify these lights as LEDs. Those HD LEDs also come with something else that's unheard of for a light bulb, a three year warranty.

The Venezia Wall range Hood

Finally, the last and most noticeable key component to this collection is a motor Zephyr calls a DCBL motor. The DCBL motor uses 26 watts to operate as opposed to 115 watts for a traditional blower motor. On its lowest setting, the DCBL motor generates enough CFMs of air circulation to effectively vent one 10,000 BTU burner and one 15,000 BTU burner when both are set on high but it does so with 77% less noise and 30% more CFMs. The DCBL motors have six power levels and even when they're running at full bore, it makes 11% less noise, uses 43% less electricity and delivers 38% more CFMs than a traditional motor.

The Verona Wall range Hood

Am I getting too techie? I can't help myself some times, I know. Did I mention that they're pretty to look at too?

The Milano Island Stainless Range Hood

The Next Generation Europa Collection is a small part of Zephyr's large number of available models. Poke around Zephyr's website to see more and to learn some important terms about kitchen ventilation. There are even some online tools to help you determine the proper height for a range hood and how to buy the ideal CFM rating for your kitchen hood.

The Milano Wall Range Hood

Wood floors to drool over

I've been working on a ten-part flooring series over at Houzz.com for the last couple of weeks and have moved onto wood floors. Last week and this week are all about solid plank floors and next week I dive into the world of engineered wood floors.

As the series unfolds I'll post slides shows and links here every week and when it wraps up I'll consolidate everything into a flooring super post. In the meantime, follow the action over at Houzz.

A company that's been instrumental in my research on wood floors is BR111. They have a stunning website, complete with prices and a store locator. If you're interested to see what's available in solid wood, engineered wood, locking, bamboo and wall treatments, spend some time with BR111.

One of the things I look for in a manufacturer's website is high-quality photography and BR111 doesn't disappoint in any way. Here are a couple of their shots.

Kingsbridge Oak

Brazilian Teak

Macchiato Pecan

Wenge

Thanks for being such a terrific resource BR111. Again, here's their website.

Open Source meets design

Ronen Kadushin is a Berlin-based industrial designer who's onto something he calls Open Design.

Through Open Design, Kadushin distributes his household objects under a Creative Commons license. Anything you see in the Open Design catalog can be downloaded and recreated, shared and owned by anybody who adheres to the agreements spelled out in Creative Commons.

Creative Commons holds that anything made available through it can be used by anybody so long as the originator gets credit for his or her work. This website is published under a Creative Commons license and it's something I support wholeheartedly.

I'd always thought of Creative Commons as it relates to internet content and I think it's exciting that a highly-regarded industrial designer is distributing chairs and lamps to the world through it.

All you need is AutoCAD and access to a CNC router and you can have any of the items in the Open Design catalog. Just download the .dxf file and you're ready to go.

I'm fascinated by this idea of course, but Kadushin seems to have included something in his Open Design catalog that's intended to be a lure for me specifically. Here it is.

Does it look familiar? It ought to.

It's a light fixture based on the centerpiece of Picasso's Guernica. Click on this photo to expand the painting.

Guernica is the first painting I ever studied and through it I learned just about everything I know now about art appreciation.

Pablo Picasso painted Guernica for the Paris Expo in 1937. It was his response to the German and Italian bombing of the Basque village of Guernica at 4:30 in the afternoon on a market day. The men, women and children killed that day were innocent civilians and Picasso's painting drew worldwide attention to the bloodbath that was the Spanish Civil War.

In the years since 1937, Picasso's Guernica has become an emblem of the futility of war and the unacceptable toll it takes on innocent civilians. It's one of the most profound pacifist statements of the 20th Century. Look past the Cubist conventions Picasso used in this painting and read a bit about what he's saying.

As an interesting and nearly unknown aside, the estate of Nelson Rockefeller commissioned a tapestry replica of Guernica for the United Nations. From 1985 through 2009 it hung in the UN's headquarters in New York. However in February 2003, when Colin Powell arrived to make the case for the US's invasion of Iraq, the tapestry was covered by a blue tarp so that it wouldn't be the backdrop when he appeared on camera to address the press.

It's since been placed on permanent loan to the Whitechapel Gallery in London. Presumably so as not to embarrass any more war-mongers.

Anyhow, check out Ronen Kadushin's entire Open Design catalog. If you have access to a CNC machine, I'd love to see some results of your downloads. If you find yourself short of a CNC, you can buy Kadushin's stuff already made at Movisi.

Cersaie needs your vote

The world's largest trade show for the tile and bath industries happens every autumn in Bologna. Last year, Cersaie occupied 176,000 square meters in Bologna's Exhibition Center and had more then 82,000 attendees during the course of the four-day show.

By any measure, that's a big trade show.

Cersaie is currently running a contest to select the poster for next year's show. There are 13 finalists and they were culled from more than 200 entries submitted by design and architecture students in Italy. The winner will be announced on September 22nd 2011, so follow this link and get your vote in now.

Here are some highlights:

The August issue of Destinations

The August issue of Destinations Travel Magazine features a story about Valencian architecture penned by yours truly. As a bonus, the article includes a bunch of photos by the world-famous, Dallas-based architect Bob Borson.

Here's the link to the article.