Apr 17 2008
Building upon its award-winning Innovation Lab website Eastman Chemical Company has launched a new Building and Construction section with an imaginary city that showcases how Eastman™ materials are being utilized in real applications.
With a mission to connect, engage and inspire, the B&C portal features dynamic photographs, video clips and interactive navigation. The so-called “cityscape” is aimed at architects, interior designers and design engineers seeking information and inspiration on innovative material solutions.
“The addition of the B&C section to the Innovation Lab demonstrates Eastman’s presence in this market as well as its desire to provoke architects and designers to think differently about materials,” said Gaylon White, director of design industry programs for Eastman. “Entering the imaginary city in the B&C section is a step into a world where you can begin to see the possibilities for Eastman’s broad portfolio of materials.”
With examples ranging from the restoration of a national symbol – Mexico’s Angel of Independence – to the creative use of plastics in a Chicago hotel ballroom, the B&C portal is a personification of an industry that is the foundation of modern society. The million-dollar stair landscape designed by Thomas Heatherwick of the United Kingdom for the French retailer Longchamp’s flagship store in New York City is showcased along with a grid-like plastic barrier developed by Geocell Systems of San Francisco as a flood and fortification wall. “These are applications that are making a difference,” White said.
The new B&C section is “some fantastic storytelling” according to one visitor to the website, adding: “It's like taking a site tour, a factory tour and an office tour in the 15-20 minutes it takes to load and read.”
Since its launch in March of 2004, the Innovation Lab website has more than 5,800 registered users ranging from designers to brand managers. The goal of the website is to bridge the knowledge gap that has traditionally separated the design and material worlds. With the launch of the B&C portal, the Eastman Innovation Lab continues its quest to do things differently and better.
Posted April 16th,2008