Hasta La Ideas

All Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness. Enjoy!

There are times when I learn about a unitasker and my first thoughts are: “This has to be a joke. A reader is trying to punk me with a fake product on a fake website. This cannot really exist.”

This week’s unitasker falls squarely into that category. It wasn’t until more than 20 readers e-mailed me about the Doughnut To-Go storage device that my disbelief started to wane:

I don’t know if I love the Doughnut To-Go because it has a center hole where “you can stick a lollipop” (in case there wasn’t enough sugar in the doughnut), that you would need 12 of them to protect a full dozen, or the fact that it has a separate hole for A PADLOCK! A PADLOCK ON YOUR DOUGHNUT!

Let’s agree, this may be the best unitasker in the entire universe.

And, there is no need to point out in the comments that it’s a multi-tasking device because you could also store a bagel in it. I believe that since it won’t store all kinds of doughnuts — I dare you to try putting a Boston Cream Filled in this bad boy — the bagel simply is an understudy for the doughnut holes and filled doughnuts of the world.

In case you need more information about the Doughnut To-Go that you can’t garner from the above infographic, you must check out the You Tube Video showing why you need this unitasker. The quality of acting in the video matches the unitasker perfectly.

Thanks to all 22 readers who forwarded this to us.

Like this site? Buy Erin Rooney Doland’s Unclutter Your Life in One Week from Amazon.com today.

Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has won the competition to design the new V&A Museum planned for Dundee in Scotland.

Kuma’s design beat proposals by REX, Sutherland Hussey Architects, Steven Holl Architects, Snøhetta and Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, and aims to be the leading centre for design in Scotland.

All six proposals remain on show at the University of Abertay Dundee library until 4 November.

See all the entries in our earlier story »

The following text is from the V&A:

KENGO KUMA ANNOUNCED AS WINNER OF V&A DUNDEE DESIGN COMPETITION

The Japanese architectural practice Kengo Kuma & Associates has been named the winner of the design competition for the V&A at Dundee.

Kengo Kuma led one of six proposals shortlisted in an international competition to find a design team to develop a landmark building that will house the V&A at Dundee and form an inspiring anchor for Dundee’s waterfront.

“We were delighted by the quality of all the designs which were submitted to the competition and I think this is reflected in the huge public interest which our exhibition of models has generated,” said Lesley Knox, Chair of the V&A at Dundee project and of the jury panel.

“Kengo Kuma’s proposal was the unanimous choice of the jury panel and is a worthy winner ; a building that will delight visitors and encourage them to revisit it again and again. It demonstrates a clear understanding of the city, offers a new experience of the river, and will be as exciting internally as it will be externally.

“This has the potential to be one of Europe’s most exciting buildings.”

Kengo Kuma said, “It is a great honour to hear the news and my team and I are grateful for this significant opportunity. I am thrilled to be able to work with those at V&A at Dundee in order to give shape to their vision, to contribute meaningfully to the cultural richness of the city.

“It will be an exciting endeavour that will combine the tradition and heritage of the Victoria and Albert Museum and our new ideas. Furthermore, we are enthusiastic about the amazing site, the city and environment – it is our intention to find a balanced approach to nature and the city life of Dundee. We wish to bring our best efforts forward, with vigour and passion.”

The jury panel made their unanimous decision after an extensive process of assessing the designs, interviewing the architects and their teams, and viewing some of their previous work. The public view was also factored in with thousands of questionnaires and comments drawn from the 13,000-plus people who visited the exhibition and those who viewed it online.

“We have subjected each of the six proposals to exhaustive scrutiny, including having external assessors do a detailed examination of projected costs, and we did not have to exclude any of the submissions on grounds of affordability,” said Mike Galloway, Director of City Development for Dundee City Council and a member of the panel.

“The Kengo Kuma design gives us something which is bold and ambitious but buildable and practical. It is a beautiful stone building which elegantly meets the requirements we laid out in the brief. This is a harmonious and integrated response to this unique site, which enhances the overall Waterfront Project.”

Sir Mark Jones, Director of the V&A, said the design offered `fantastic spaces to exhibit stunning design collections’.

“I think this will become a major destination and will give us an internationally recognised building,” said Sir Mark. “It will reward repeat visits and attract attention from around the world.”

Kengo Kuma’s team for the V&A at Dundee project includes the Scottish firms cre8architecture, Optimised Environments Ltd, and CBA, and the engineering firm Arup, which has offices across Scotland, including in Dundee.

The company will now engage with the partners in the V&A at Dundee project to further develop the proposal. Detailed design work will continue throughout 2011 and work is projected to start onsite in autumn 2012.

The V&A at Dundee is being delivered by Design Dundee Ltd, a ground-breaking partnership between the Victoria and Albert Museum – the world’s greatest museum of art and design – and the University of Dundee, the University of Abertay Dundee, Dundee City Council and Scottish Enterprise.

Design Dundee Ltd is looking to create a landmark building, which will be sited at Craig Harbour right on the banks of the River Tay. The site is being made available through the Dundee Central Waterfront Partnership, the joint venture between Dundee City Council and Scottish Enterprise which is revitalising the prime area of land linking the city centre with the River Tay.

The exhibition of models at the University of Abertay Dundee library will remain open until Saturday November 13th to allow people to return and view the winning design and the other proposals.

See also:

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More about this competition	Tsunagu by Kengo Kuma	More architecture stories

New Zealand designer Chris Waind has created this set of decorative paper butterflies.

Called Papillons Graphiques, the pieces are packaged in a metal tin that includes a set of pins so they can be displayed pinned to a board like a real butterflies would be in Victorian collections.

Each piece is a digital print on watercolour paper to give a textured feel.

Here’s more information from the designer:

The Graphic Butterfly Collection.

Nine species of graphic butterflies packaged in a brushed metal presentation tin and finished with a label band.

The collection also comes with a set of pins.

The dimensions of each butterfly measures around 3.5″ (90mm) high X 4.5″ (115mm) wide. The tin measures 3 3/4″ (95mm) long X 2 3/8″ (60mm) wide.

Each specimen is a giclee print on 200gsm archive watercolour paper, for deep rich colour with a textured feel.

This makes a beautiful gift for anyone looking for a slightly more humane butterfly collection.

See also:

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Butterfly table by based upon	Cardon Copy by Cardon Webb	The Hybrid Project by Readymade Projects, Mogollon and Daniel Hakansson

Mexican firm Rojkind Arquitectos created  this design for the restoration of the National Archive Museum in Mexico City, located in a former prison.

Their design for the Palacio de Lecumberri, which has been dedicated to the National Archive since 1980, would involve using the former penitentiary’s Panopticon structure, with cells radiating out from watch towers.

A new, star-shaped structure would be built around the existing building and the garden area expanded to three times the present size.

Rojkind Arquitectos created the proposal for a competition to redesign the National Archive Museum, which was won by at 103 of Mexico.

Here’s more information from Rojkind Arquitectos:

Over the years, this building’s long and controversial history has undergone several transformations in order to adapt the property to the uses that were required by the changing times; it was conceived in 1882, built a few years later and expanded in 1910.

The most obvious intervention, and probably the one that saved the structure from being dismantled, was the transformation begun in 1982 to house the National Archive.

The building is literally an old canvas, which has been painted over on several occasions.

The proposal emphasizes the restoration of a building that preserves the nineteenth-century ideas of a vanguard prison, applying the Panopticon provisions proposed by Lorenzo de la Hidalga and reinterpreted by Antonio Torres and Antonio M. Torrija Anza (1882/6-1910), recovering some of the original dimensions of the project, respecting the transcendent intervention and adding a contemporary print.

The idea of rescuing the Panopticon reflects the need to give the museum a clear outline site that visitors can observe as part of the history of Mexican society, keeping the most evocative spaces free from distractions.

In order to accommodate the spaces with the absolute correctness defined in the program for the site museum, we proposed to use the residual spaces – those that are not part of the original star – in order to accommodate the units, removing them from the spatial sector, with the purpose of allowing a clear reading of the original building.

To achieve this, we would need to excavate the perimeter; preserving, rescuing and consolidating the relevant remains.

To preserve the integrity of the proposal while protecting the palimpsest, the excavated areas are wrapped, respecting the important traces, taking advantage of the areas for the new use of the building and greatly expanding the botanical display surfaces.

The spacious garden, now three times bigger on the surface area, will be closely linked to the perception and contrast of the bays, creating a contrast of the cell sites with the magnificent gardens. This design provides enough topsoil for planting and growing representative and important species for the preservation of diversity.

Credits:

Team: Michel Rojkind Halpert (Design Principal) Gerardo Salinas Van Orman (Principal)

Project Team: Alonso de la Fuente Obregón

Rafael Cedillo Sánchez Daniela Bustamante Quiroz Yasser R. Salomón Espinoza Alejandro Argumedo Reyes Carlos A. Ríos Limón Tere Levy Chomer Andrea León Cruz Monique Rojkind Halpert Filiberta Cervantes Sanluis

Arquitectural Historian Consultant: Rafael Ricardo Fierro Gossman

Museography Consultant: Patrick Gallagher

Urban Planner: Arturo Ortíz Struck

Design Computational Consultants: Kokkugia; Roland Snooks, Robert Stuart Smith, Faysal Tabbara, Tyson Hosmer

Structural Engineer: Studio NYL; Chris O’hara, Julian Lineham

Physical Model: A. Hazael Ortiz, Ramos Crystaline L.A.

Industrial Design: AGENT; Alberto Villareal Bello Víctor López Alemán Isaac Smeke Jaber Enrique Fernández de la Barrera

Graphic Design: Fhilipp Navarro García Ernesto Moncada

See also:

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Museo Casa de la Memoria in Columbia	Women at War museum for the UK	Converted prison in Chile