Think Forward is a Bulgarian independent creative association of architect Galina Milkova and designer Nedko Nikolov, founded in 2013.
Our practice goes beyond architectural design. We are excited about social, ethical, environmental issues and are looking for their innovative solution through the means of art and new technologies. In 2014, we created an applied theoretical philosophy school for arts whose platform is our engine - ECT-ETHICS.
Think Forward clients are private individuals looking for a durable design; advanced companies setting standards in their sphere; schools with an alternative educational approach, non-governmental organizations with noble causes, etc. Since the creation of Think Forward, a major partner in large-scale projects and ventures, URBANA ARCHITECTS is a team of experts with 25 years of experience in the field of architecture and urban planning.
More on Think Forward: http://bg.thinkforwardlab.com/
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SALGHT - Art installation of salt and light
This is the original installation of Think Forward, which explores the interaction of salt with light and the qualities of salt as a material for product design. After several public projects through which the studio is trying to redefine ethics in design, arch. Galina Milkova and others. Nedko Nikolov starts a new venture - research and interpretation of typical local productions and products, the first of which is salt. The installation was created specifically for the "Salt Festival", organized under the Salt of Life Project, LIFE +.
A month and a half before the launch of the Salt Festival, the idea of a salty product design sprang spontaneously into the Think Forward office. Arch. Galina Milkova, who at the same time develops another project jointly with the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation, together with the designer Nedko Nikolov, introduced the foundation with a conceptual development of a salt plant. In the face of Radostina Tsenova and Diana Kostovska, the foundation becomes a financial and moral partner of Think Forward.
In the coming weeks, Think Forward is looking to answer the question whether salt is a good material for product design. Salt is a product typical of the city, its aesthetic qualities are indisputable, it is abundant, it is cheap. But the salt is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture from the air. Therefore, Himalayan salt lamps must be stored in dry rooms and, in the case of moisture, must be switched on to evaporate the water particles on their surface. Salt is therefore not a durable material.
To be one, a second component is needed that does not compromise its aesthetic qualities. Combined with polyester resin, the salt becomes waterproof, non-corrosive, comparatively load-resistant, light-emitting. The new material has good adhesion to surfaces, resistance to both water and gasoline, fats and oils. The material may be exposed briefly to the effects of high temperatures (up to 90 ° C). The following samples were made: sea salt sealed with resin; Egyptian salt glued with resin; FLEUR DE SEL salt glued with resin; and other samples with a varying ratio of resin to salt.
The result of the study is synthesized in the SALGHT plant, which consists of the best 4 samples - cube (salt 20%, resin 80%), thin-wall cube of resin-bonded salt FLEUR DE SEL, thin-walled cube of sealed sea salt , impregnated resin, Egyptian salt with resin sculptured on a glass cube SALGHT is a good information base for a new product design - locally identical, innovative, at an affordable price.
Beyond the modest scientific value, SALGHT is a poetic recreation of the crystallisation of sea salt in the pink pools of Atanasovsko Lake, preserving concentrated seawater. Beyond its artistic value, SALGHT adds another field of use to such a valuable raw material used in the food, textile, chemical, transport, engineering industries.
