Hasta La Ideas

From the website:…………………………Read a book or watch TV lying down — no more ne..(Read…)

Don’t try these at home…(Read…)

A table and Airplay-enabled sound system in one

Combining precision German engineering with beautiful Finnish design from their offices in Berlin and Helsinki, multinational studio Mela & Vanamo debuts with the stunning Kaikuuu01 table sound system. Designers Teemu Kurkela, Martti Mela and Päivi Meuronen created the Airplay compatible table with integrated speakers and radio, all encased in a spare, unassuming design.

Constructed of Canadian maple by a specialized cabinetmaker in Berlin, the glass-topped table relies on an audio exciter pressed against the underside of the glass surface that effectively turns it into a loudspeaker—a technique Mela says is commonly used in showroom windows and sound art installations. The boxed wood frame both acts as a natural soundboard to amplify low frequency tones and keeps the electronic innards out of sight. The glass plain rests on a dampening cushion that eliminates the transfer of sound and vibrations to other objects placed on the table.

The Kaikuuu01 is controlled by an Apple Airplay-compatible device within the structure, and powered by an AC cord that runs out of sight through one leg. For more information on the acoustic table and pricing—which can be constructed in any requested size—contact Mela & Vanamo directly. The designers also have a headboard, light and alarm clock in the works.

Survivalists are an interesting subculture. Out of curiousity I read a few books from the genre on how to survive apocalyptic disasters, and while I found their ideologies too extreme to personally support, there are plenty of things designers can learn from them. For example, if I had to design a hyper-functional bag, they are the first group I would consult and study.

Here’s why: They are completely obsessed with both gear and the idea of self-sufficiency. They prize durability and functionality in a product because their fervency makes them believe their lives will depend on it. They build backups and redundancy into their carry systems to compensate for product failure or unforeseen problems.

More importantly, unlike a soldier who is assigned a standardized piece of kit, survivalists scour the product landscape for the best, and can freely hack the gear to suit their needs. Soldiers must rely on the design talents harnessed at Natick (click here for our entry on a recent first-aid kit re-design), but the survivalist and his or her discretionary income have companies actively courting them.

One such company is “hard use gear” manufacturer Maxpedition, whom we last looked in on in 2010. Through customer feedback, they realized that their FR-1 pouch, which they had designed as a medical kit, was being subverted by users into a “survival pouch.” The company must consider it a godsend of free advertising, because here you have survivalists making their own videos to explain to other survivalists what they like about the bag and how they pack it. Here’s an example:

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Tornados would pose no threat to this conceptual house by architects 10 Design, which can tuck itself beneath the ground just like a turtle retracts its vulnerable head away from danger (+ movie).

A system of hydraulic levers would be used to push the moving structure up and down, out of a sunken dock beneath the ground.

Photovoltaic cells on the exterior would provide energy to power the mechanisms, and maybe even harvest fuel from pollution in the air.

When the house is secured for safety, a watertight seal would protect it from intense winds and thunderstorms.

The architects envision entire communities of the houses, where any residence can sound an alarm to warn others of approaching tornados.

The first prototype is currently in development.

Other ambitious concepts we’ve featured recently include a skyscraper that makes energy from algae.

See more stories about conceptual architecture »

Here’s some more explanation from Ted Givens of 10 Design:

Isn’t the Wizard of Oz a clear example of the awesome force that a tornado can muster? How can Jaws drive people out of the ocean screaming when a house blown through the sky brings back nostalgic memories? Please stay out of the water… but feel free to build your home below flood level and out of cards in the wind. There is an urgent need to shift from an outmoded logic, ignorant of the forces of nature, to a point where the unabashed rush for profit and development can be balanced against the basic goal of providing shelter. Humanity is inexplicably driven to build in places where it should not-accepting the unavoidability of this folly is the first step to breathing in a new vision. We sought a way of turning the seemingly destructive acts of nature into creative blooms.

Kinetic architecture is the innovation which we believe will form the foundation for the habitation of the future. This type of architecture learns from technological innovation and amps up its incorporation into the home, custom tailoring existing mechanisms in new ways. The revised conception of the home finds itself somewhere between garage doors, flowers, and the survival mentality of a turtle. A series of simple hydraulic levers are used to push the home in and out of the ground and deflect and warp the outer skin in response to external stimulation. The key activators of this motion being the high velocity winds associated with thunderstorms and tornadoes. A series of solar cells on the outer skin rotate and flex to attain maximum solar intensity. A translucent outer skin consisting of clear insulation sandwiched between two layers of Kevlar provides the weather barrier and lets diffuse light into the structure. We are also exploring the application of photocatalytic coatings and carbon nanotubes on the skin to absorb and clean pollution turning it directly into fuel for the home to power the hydraulics.

A water tight seal locks the roof of the collapsed home making the structure water and wind proof. There have been a series of studies since the mid 90’s showing homes that float up and out of harm’s way. This solution does not anticipate the velocity of the water, and more importantly the grinding power of the debris contained in the water. The safest place is down.

Neighborhoods will become interwoven and connected together through sensor networks that interpret weather data. After warning sirens entire suburbs can be collapsed in seconds. The whole neighborhood will behave as an organism fit for a collective response to the challenges brought by the natural environment. The image of technology as a fire breathing train slicing a trail of black smoke through the innocent forest painted by Hawthorne is slowly replaced by a desire to respond to nature and not seek to dominate it. The tornadoes and storms can burn and blow with all their fury while the suburb safely sleeps.

Can we spin this violent ever present soup into a stabilizing direction? We seek a new mobility for the home that is controlled not left to “chance” (there is nothing accidental about 100 year old weather patterns). We are currently working on the development of a prototype with a group of ship builders in the US and Africa.

Design Team: Ted Givens, Trey Tyler, Mohamad Ghamlouch, Shane Dale, Dougald Fountain

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by 10 Design appeared first on Dezeen.