Natural oil finish for timber

We're using some recycled timber in an upcoming exhibition and whilst searching for suitable finishes came across this VOC free oil finish which is a by product of wood pulp... looks interesting.
synteko_natural_eco.pdf (application/pdf Object)

OLED Light - NYTimes.com

OLED... not quite ready yet but worth keeping an eye on. Article from NY Times
For Effect and Energy, Designers Are Intrigued by OLED Light - NYTimes.com

DTAC Product stewardship program

With current building & OH&S regs, tactiles are are popping out absolutely everywhere. I received this update from DTAC introducing their recycling/refurbishing program and new business policies (.pdf here) worth reading if your about to spec tactiles in your new exhibit
From the DTAC site:
a DTAC product will not complete its life cycle until DTAC collects and remanufactures.

"Our clients don't believe we actually recycle until they experience this service", says Dean Alexander Homicki, CEO of DTAC. "The end client will at some point have to refurbish a floor or surface. It's nonsense for any designers to omit this from their thought process."

Through DTAC's Customer Care program they keep detailed records of all project particulars. This documentation is given to the client at the end of a project which allows for transparent accountability of DTAC to the end client. When the end client realises how much they save by recycling and refurbishing they cannot believe it. So many clients remark, "Why don't others do what DTAC does?."
DTAC.

LG Energy Efficient Monitor

LG Wide LCD Monitor - LG Global Site

- Low Power Consumption (Typical): Normal 20W, Sleep 0.3W

- Reduce energy consumption up to 50% compared to sames class of LCD monitor

- Winner of 2008 IF Product Design Award

Definitely not the highest spec monitor around but could be worth investigating for simple exhibition applications.
From CNET review (link here): It might sound like some sort of futuristic tank, but the W2252TE, which we first told you about in June, is reportedly the world's most eco-friendly monitor. LG reckons it sucks just 22W in use and as little as 0.3W in standby mode.

We tested these claims, and to our delight, it drew just 18.8W in use and less than 0.1W in standby mode. To put things in perspective, other 22-inch monitors tend to draw somewhere in the region of 40W.

So it's genuinely green, but is it any good? Well, yes. The 22-inch panel runs at 1,680x1,050 pixels, the screen isn't horribly glossy, it has a 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 2ms response time, an HDCP-compliant DVI port, and the image reproduction is very, very good.

Don't think for a second that LG is simply scaling back the brightness of the backlight to save power--the W2252TE beams very solidly despite its claimed maximum of 250cd/m2.

LED/LCD monitor

LED backlight cuts LCD TV power consumption
via EE Times India:
Mao Yu-Hai, chief scientist at Power Analog Microelectronics (PAM). explains:
In LCD panels and LCD TVs, most of the power is consumed by the backlight source. These days, almost all desktop LCD monitor and LCD TV utilise CCFL lamps that consume a lot of electric power since they have to be driven by high voltage inverter.
'When using LED backlight, the power consumption can be reduced by 50 per cent. In Samsung's 40inch LCD TV, it consumed 170W. After it changed to LED backlight, it only consumed 100W,' Mao said.
Besides the power saving advantage, LED backlight is capable of realising colour saturation beyond NTSC ratio of 100 per cent and can replace colour filter."

Paint recovery: Resene

This looks like a great program established in NZ by Resene... details here
Whilst Resene Paints are definitely sold in Aus I'm not sure if there is a similar program here, but definitely something to follow up: Paint recovery/Recyling. If anyone know more please let me know.
From the Resne Paints site:
Be PaintWise!
Bring unwanted paint and paint containers into your local Resene ColorShop and let us recycle or dispose of them responsibly. Resene will offer good quality Resene paint to community groups for reuse, recycle packaging materials that are recyclable, send solventborne paints to solvent recovery, find alternative uses for waterborne paints, such as graffiti abatement, and dispose of the rest for you.
Resene PaintWise Recycling of Unused Paint

HowStuffWorks "Paint Components: Dissecting the Grass Green Paint on Your Walls"

Here's a good intro to Low VOC paints and what to look out for:
HowStuffWorks "Paint Components: Dissecting the Grass Green Paint on Your Walls"

OLED lighting

Worth keeping an eye on development of these
Inhabitat � Interiors

Allan Chochinov's 10 Steps for Sustainable Design : TreeHugger

10 simple but important ideas to easily put into practice now.
Allan Chochinov's 10 Steps for Sustainable Design : TreeHugger

SierraPine - Sustainable MDF!

SUSTAINABLE MDF
Found this via the last article no idea if its available in Aust but looks like its worth chasing up further info.
SierraPine - Composite Solutions
Just did a bit of checkng and these guys seem to be the exclusive Aust. stockists: Simmonds Lumber (Melb, Syd, Bris) however they only carry the Arreis version & it looks like it's imported from the States!!! Needs further research but looks very interesting.

• Formaldehyde free adhesive system
• Physical properties similar to, or better than standard MDF
• 100% recycled wood fiber
• FSC mixed credit certified - available option
• LEED® credit support: MRc 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 7 & EQc 4.4
• Meets CARB ATCM Phase 2 emission limits - CARB NAF Exempt
• Third party certification - SCS & EPP
• CHPS compliant - California section 01350 approved
• Developed and manufactured with pride in Medford, OR

Design Blog | “Green” Exhibition�Design | Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

An appraisal of an exhibit designed by Pentagram for Cooper Hewitt, worth a read with some practicle info...
from the site:
The photos are printed on aluminum panels that magically reflect light. Museums usually print photographic enlargements on paper or vinyl and mount them to foamcore or Sintra (a hard plastic). These materials are not biodegradable, and they can’t be recycled or reused. Pentagram used a process called direct-to-substrate dye-sublimation printing: when the ink is heated and transferred to the material, the ink embeds into the surface of the metal. The resulting print is durable and scratch-resistant, and each panel can be recycled (like a soda can).
Design Blog | “Green” Exhibition�Design | Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum:

Green museums & green exhibits: Communicating sustainability through content and design

Haven't read this yet but will when I get a chance...
Byers_fall2008_project.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Green Benchmarks | Event Design Magazine

A self initiated checklist, standards and rating system developed by Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) to allow the design team to track and score the greening of their exhibits. This is a great initiative! It would be good to incorporate consideration for various multimedia, technology, lighting etc etc too.. Broaden the focus to consider ongoing "running" energy consumption... (tricky)
from Event Design Mag:
Green Benchmarks
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
When Oregon Museum of Science and Industry creative director Jessica Willcox was working on an exhibit built exclusively with sustainable materials a few years back, she realized her team had no means to compare future projects to the green standards they were achieving.
Now, the OMSI has created a set of green criteria for exhibit design based on the architecture world’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program—but streamlined for ease-of-use.
The checklist consists of eight categories, and exhibit projects receive a score between one and four based on how well they have addressed the issues. A project that receives six to 10 points is deemed Green Certified; 11 to 18 is Silver; 19 to 26 is Gold; 27 to 32 is Platinum.

“It’s pretty simplistic by design, because we have a lot on our plates. We have our design manager, production manager, lead designer, and lead production representative walk through the exhibit and score it. It takes us 25 minutes and we’re done—it’s designed to be fast and efficient,” Willcox says.

The eight categories
Renewable Resources.
Resource Reuse.
Recycled Content.
End-Life Assessment.
Low-Emitting Materials.
Certified Wood.
Conservation.
Regional Materials.

Full article here:
Green Benchmarks | Event Design Magazine

LiteSteel Beam

Ok here's one I've used before but slipped my mind until I saw a post on a US site... couldn't find any sustainable info on the site which is generally not a good sign, however this product has some great credentials in terms of ease and speed of working, good range of standardised components, and minimised weight/material + developed in Australia and I'm pretty sure its locally produced (need to check this). The weight advantage becomes really important when considering structural members for touring exhibits. I've used it for a raised public platform/ramped area and though still heavy, it was easily managable, constructed, happily signed off by the engineers and had the durability to stand up to touring... worth further investigation.
From the site....

LiteSteel beam was developed in response to demand for a light structural beam with the strength of steel and the ease of use afforded by timber. Its approx 40% lighter than the equivalent rated hot rolled beam. LSB delivers the same load-carrying capacity as hot-rolled steel, and it can be worked like engineered wood (cuts, nails, and can be integrated with wood framing with standard connectors)LiteSteel Beam

This may interest the lighting buffs...

The VARI❋LITE® VLXTM Wash luminaire is the next
generation of solid-state lighting from the company
that helped start the revolution in automated lighting.
The VLX gives you all the benefits of LED technology
and the best visual performance characteristics of a
tungsten source. VLX offers stunning colors and
intensity, multi-year source life and high reliability.
Combined with low energy consumption and
maintenance costs, the Vari-Lite VLX resets the bar for
all other LED fixtures
Vari-Lite - Express Yourself. - Vari-Lite - Express Yourself.

A checklist for sustainability

A checklist for sustainability
The Sustainable wheel
Just had a quick flick through and these two look interesting. Not exhibition focussed but general approach and summary.... + lots of pictures!

Recycled timber is not just for trims and details…

From the Nullarbor Timber website:
"Nullarbor Forest Timber Industries were approached in 2004 by The City of Greater Melbourne to be involved in the most innovative environmentally friendly project ever undertaken in Victoria. We were asked to supply enough recycled material capable of creating a screen to clad one entire facade of a ten story city high rise....Not one tree has been felled (plantation or otherwise) for the CH2 Screen Project!"
More here CH2 here

Some local Melbourne Recycled timber suppliers:
Shiver me timbers
Australian Recycled Timber
Timber Zoo
Nullarbor Timber
Urban Salvage
Delta Group

Uniboard ECO: Coloured recycled plastic board

There are a number of these recycled HDPE boards around which are quite stiff and have an integral colouring and can be easily cut and machined. This one (ECO) features a fairly tough skin with foamed interior (lightweight). Just be aware that any cut edges will reveal the foamed interior and it does scratch fairly easily. I used this for a kids interactive and routered a graphic into one face, as its a sandwiched construction this messed with the tension and caused the board to warp slightly. These is also Uniboard Stiff, Uniboard Standard and a similar product that comes only in black but is very dense and great for machining... but can't remember the name or supplier???
Uniboard ECO

08-09-09 I've had some further input from a colleague regarding a similar product called Plaspanel. It was spec'd as a board product for some knock down/ slot together tables to display objects and unfortunately it's sagging badly under load... so as usual consider the structural properties of any new material before specifying.

Some good general wood info

Came across this site (RIC Good Wood Guide) the other day that had some interesting items including this summary of timber products & Aus suppliers:
http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/good_wood/wb_compos.htm#anchor1205481
a good summary of Recommended Construction Timbers:
http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/good_wood/rec_cons.htm#anchor669626
and loads of other timber related stuff. A lot of the links on the page no longer work & I wasn't able to track back to check the sources, but in general the principles seem pretty sound.
Choice of Materials for Sustainable Construction

Design Victoria - Quick Guide

Wow the colour green is no where to be seen!!!
A quick reference guide worth sticking on the studio wall.
Produced by Design Vic, Vic Gov + RMIT
Features sections for Industrial/Product, Graphic/Multimedia & Fashion /Textiles... Unfortunately no Exhibition.
From the site:
Developed by the Centre for Design at RMIT University, WSP Environmental and leading industry experts, What is Eco-design? provides designers with comprehensive, practical information and quick reference guides whenever you need it.
Design Victoria - Quick Guide