Tag Archives: nendo

Nendo Installs A Carbon-Capturing Wall In A Contemporary Japanese Home

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Most of our modern infrastructure and architecture is bad on concrete, and the production of cement used in concrete is one of the biggest causes of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions. This constitutes a serious issue that must be addressed, especially with the current state of our Planet Earth. In this effort, Nendo displays a specimen of a greener and cleaner way to construct and build with its Block-Wall House. The Block-Wall House is partially built using a new concrete that captures carbon dioxide instead of emitting it!

Designer: Nendo & Kajima Corporation

Tucked away in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, the Block-Wall House is located next to a rural road. The house features a lot of glazing, to offer privacy against pedestrians and passing vehicles. The home is equipped with an angled screen which lets residents look out but makes it quite difficult for a passerby to glance inside. This screen is made using 2000 blocks which have been arranged in parallel rows to form five walls, with a length of 360 feet. This screen is made from the aforementioned sustainable and novel concrete!

This newly developed concrete is made by the Kajima Corporation in collaboration with the Chugoku Electric Power Co, Denka, and Landes Co. The concrete is named CO2-SUICOM, and for its production, a special cement mixture is placed in a curing chamber, and carbon dioxide is pumped into the chamber for absorption. This absorbed CO2 gets stuck inside the concrete and is not released. It is as strong as regular concrete!

“Generally, concrete hardens through a chemical reaction between cement and water,” explains Kajima Corporation. “But with CO2-SUICOM, over half the cement is replaced with a material we call γ-C2S. Instead of reacting with water, γ-C2S reacts with the CO2 in the air to harden. After mixing the materials needed to create CO2-SUICOM, the concrete can be placed in a location with high CO2 levels so it can capture the CO2 and harden, trapping the gas inside. For example, a thermal power plant or other facility that produces carbon-heavy exhaust gases can redirect the gases into a carbon sequestration chamber, where concrete products made with CO2-SUICOM can be placed to capture the CO2 in the gases.”

Currently, the price of producing CO2-SIUCOM concrete is about three times higher than usual concrete in Japan. Hence, work is being done to bring down the price, and Kajima Corporation believes that the concrete will become more economical in the future.

The post Nendo Installs A Carbon-Capturing Wall In A Contemporary Japanese Home first appeared on Yanko Design.

Nendo’s redesigned chopsticks intertwine into each other to create a singular cohesive form

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Chopsticks are a 4000-year-old eating implement that has remained untouched. And, for almost four centuries, the quaint town of Obama in Fukui Prefecture, Japan has manufactured beautiful lacquered chopsticks. The lacquered chopsticks are considered the hardest and the most beautiful of the Japanese lacquer chopsticks, and they’ve been named ‘Wakasa-nuri’. Nendo teamed up with Hashikuru Matsukan – a manufacturer who has continued the Obama legacy. Nendo gave a contemporary and innovative twist to the age-old chopsticks!

Designer: Nendo

Called the Rassen or spiral chopsticks, these unique chopsticks merge fun and functionality to create a product that is quintessentially Japanese, yet quite contemporary. The Rassen chopsticks can be joined together to create one convenient single unit, and they can be detached or separated whenever you need to use them! Rather than having two separate pieces of tableware, you have a single unit in the shape of an elongated cone. When you pull both the chopsticks apart, you notice an interesting twist in their wooden handles.

The entire experience of bringing the chopsticks together and then separating them becomes a fun and amusing experience. It feels like you’re playing with a jigsaw puzzle! Using the chopsticks to eat your meals, brings joy and a certain sense of playfulness to your everyday ordinary meals. Putting them back together is really quite swift and easy too, and it eliminates the fear of losing one of them.

While designing the Rassen chopsticks Nendo had the intention of giving people a small ‘!’ moment. We often find many small ‘!’ moments in our day, and these tend to make our days brighter and richer. Nendo wanted to contribute and add a ‘!’ moment in people’s lives with their lovely chopsticks. These chopsticks are handmade by artisans, and Nendo also utilized a multi-axis CNC miller to build the unusual yet useful utensils.

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Nendo Designed The Perfect Obsessively Ergonomic Fork For Eating Cup Noodles

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Cup noodles are a popular and quite common meal in Japan, although they are not limited to Japan anymore. They’ve become a quick and fun meal for people all over the world, and I’m no exception. I love a cup of hot and spicy noodles that are ready in a matter of five minutes – I mean how cool and convenient is that?! The right way to eat noodles from a cup is with the help of chopsticks and a spoon, that really is the best way to enjoy some noods! But of course, that is the tough way, and most people prefer forks. But, the typical fork that accompanies cup noodles is often un-ergonomic and really uncomfortable to eat with! The angle just doesn’t sit right, and it is difficult to scoop noodles and veggies with it. This is where Nissin teamed up with Nendo to create an obsessively ergonomic fork quite simply dubbed ‘The Fork’.

Designer: Nendo x Nissin

The Fork was designed after taking into consideration hours of user observation, to create a piece of cutlery that makes your noodle-eating experience smooth and hassle-free. The fork features a 128-degree arch at the neck which is perfect for scooping up noodles. The arch effectively limits the strain of lifting your elbow when scarfing down noodles. The left and right sections of the head have rounded edges, that perfectly fit against the walls of the cup, making it easier to lift up and consume the noodles.

The neck of the fork is marked with a shallow dip that is great for scooping up veggies and toppings, so you don’t miss out on them! There are little bumps between the various slots to ensure the noodles don’t slip off, while a small clip holds down the lid, as you wait for the hot water to prepare your instant noodles. What makes the Fork even more interesting and useful is that it comes in two variants – one for lefties, and one for righties! Nendo and Nissin really thought of everything. The left-hand version comes in a bold red color, while the right-hand version is available in white.

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