Hasta La Ideas

London studio drdharchitects are exhibiting a miniature city made of clay at the Shenzhen & Hong Kong bi-city Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture. (more…)

Great collection and slideshow of work done by Dutch designer Piet Zwart. Via Design Observer.

If you’ve never seen the film Winged Migration but intend to one day, make absolute sure you don’t watch any of the making-of materials on the disc, because it’ll ruin the whole thing for you. We won’t say why exactly, but we’ll say it’s familiar to the sensation people are feeling right now over learning that photographer Jose Luis Rodriguez, who recently won the Veolia Environmental Wildlife Photographer of the Year title (along a big check), might have used a trained, model animal in his winning entry, which depicts a wolf jumping over a rustic fence. This doesn’t bode well for what is supposed to be a hands-off, all-natural competition. As such, now an investigation has been launched, with Rodriguez explaining that the situation was set up (“a camera trap” of sorts), but there was little human involvement, whereas others disagree completely, even being able to possibly identify the trained wolf in question:

One wolf expert, Ilpo Kojola of the Finnish game and fisheries research institute, told the magazine that judging by the pictures provided in evidence against the Spaniard, Rodriguez’s wolf appeared to be the tame Ossian. “The dark, scar-like sign under the right eye seems to be a unique mark of this individual,” he said.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The relentless pace of innovation constantly inspires us, both with form and function, in this still new century. While the pace isn’t without its hazards, as we step lightly into the new decade, we see plenty of room for optimism. Below, we selected the designs covered on Cool Hunting this year that speak to the reason why.

Plastic Logic Reader
The Plastic Logic Reader (now being marketed under the name QUE) received plenty of media attention earlier this year, and for good reason. The QUE uses E-ink, so its battery lasts days, it has a glare-free display, incorporates touchscreen technology, weighs less than most business periodicals and measures as large as a standard sheet of paper. Plastic Logic also has the benefit of partnership with some serious newspapers (Financial Times, USA Today) and magazines (Popular Science) and has inked a distribution deal with Barnes & Noble. The QUE proReader premieres on 7 January 2010 at CES.

IF Mode Folding Bike
A surprising number of years passed before someone backed the development of a full-size folding bike that’s both functional and good-looking. Finally, we’ve got a winner in the IF-Mode, designed by Marc Sanders for Pacific Cycles. Now, if they could only find a way to shave off at least a grand from that $2,200 price tag.

Gaetano Pesce x Meritalia
While many young designers and seasoned professionals got swept up in the frenzy of limited edition work that has bloated the furniture industry in recent years, old-timers like Gaetano Pesce quietly did their thing. Pesce’s newest collection of furniture for Meritalia was poetic, joyful, inventive, and quite possibly, one of the best at this year’s Salone del Mobile.

Window Farms
Launched by artists Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray in February, the Window Farms project aims to create a viable model for hydroponic edible gardens in urban windows. Relying heavily on crowdsourced innovation, the project has already garnered 29 unique design improvements and raised nearly $17k in pledges through KickStarter. Growing your own food is one of the most significant ways to help the environment. With that in mind, we give a big green thumbs up to this endeavor.

Lightlane Personal Bike Path
Though still in development, the Lightlane Personal Bike Path promises a brighter (and safer) future for night riders. Designed by Alex Tee and Evan Gant, the Lightlane employs two high-visibility DPSS (diode-pumped solid state) green lasers mounted alongside a rear blinking light to project a bike lane and offer some much-needed visibility to those cycling on darkened streets.

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Con tutta la neve che è caduta in questi giorni, non potevo non postare questo furniture set. Design by outofstock.
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