Team 7 is an Austrian outfit that manufacturers furniture out of (gasp!) natural wood, using walnut combined into three plies. Led by experienced wood designer Jacob Strobel, they’ve created a byoootiful extending table with well-concealed extra panels. I’ve seen similar mechanisms before, but the easy, elegant precision of this one, coupled with the gorgeous walnut finish, has me drooling.
It’s called the Flaye, and unsurprisingly there’s no video of what we designers all want to see—what’s going on below the table during the action. All they’ll say is that it works via “revolutionary non-stop synchronised pull-out technology.”
The din of a tropical Australian dawn chorus, the jazzy tune of an indri lemur, the cacaphony of an underwater walrus—these are among the 150,000 audio recordings recently digitized and made publicly available as part of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library. Compiling recordings from the past 84…
Stockholm 2013: Swedish lighting brand Wästberg has unveiled an installation of 30 lamps created from a modular set of parts by Japanese designers Nendo.
Over thirty different lights have been set up in a room at an old skating pavilion in Stockholm to demonstrate the range of possible configurations.
The W132 group of components includes a circular base, two poles of different lengths and three different shades.
The shades can be used without light bulbs to make containers, flipped over to create uplighting or hung from the ceiling as pendant lamps.
Long and short poles fit into the circular bases, shades and each other to create different stand heights that can be adjusted using circular keys.
Additional parts can be added, including table tops and a bird cage.
The installation is on display at the Skridskopaviljongen in Stockholm this week to coincide with the launch of a book about the collaboration.
News: architect and designer Michael Graves has been appointed by US president Barack Obama to a key administration post and says he will “provide national leadership on accessible design”.
Graves, who has used a wheelchair for ten years, will take on a role at the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, also known as the Access Board, the federal agency that deals with accessibility for people with disabilities.
“When I became paralysed, I realized that as an architect and designer, and then a patient, I had a unique perspective,” said Graves. “As a result, I became passionate about using this perspective to improve healthcare and accessibility through design projects. Now, as a member of the Access Board, I expect to provide national leadership on accessible design, and hope I can contribute on a grand scale.”
Graves was among several appointments announced in January, when Obama commented: “These fine public servants both bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their new roles. Our nation will be well-served by these individuals, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”
Other appointments included Vinton G. Cerf – Member, National Science Board; Marta Araoz de la Torre – Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee; Laurie Leshin – Member, Advisory Board of the National Air and Space Museum; and Lynne Sebastian – Member, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
Graves is the second architect on the board, joining vice chair Karen Braitmayer. He also recently teamed up with IDEO partner David Haygood for the Wounded Warrior Home Project, designing accessible homes for wounded veterans.
In high school we were taken to meet a guy who made “antiqued” furniture. It was all freshly made in his shop, but he had an array of objects—chains, bottlecaps, and even carefully-selected rocks—that he’d flay, pound, drop and grind against each piece to give it a calculated weathering. The results were convincing, but one of my classmates sniggered something about it being fake. The man asked the kid if his jeans were pre-faded, or if he’d bought them like that.
Whether clothing or furniture, there’s a history for beating things up for aesthetic reasons; but how far should we take that? Francesco Pavia, a designer who hails from Venice, has extended it into luggage with his Crash Baggage line.
What is the first thing we think about when we buy a new suitcase?
We worry that it might get ruined.
The damaged case! An innovative travel philosophy that has opened the way to a whole new way of conceiving the suitcase: that of the non-handle with care, where damage is no longer a problem.
Crash baggage already has the typical dents that are caused by frequent use. Indeed, over time, the new dents give even more personality to the suitcase. All this without forgetting the functionality and comfort of an object that has been created using the most advanced materials.
I kind of wish he’d make these perfect and then throw them down a concrete staircase, but the consistent dents indicate these come out of a mold.
The Audi Bike series is the result of a study on modern urban bicycle design inspired by the Audi brand design philosophy – the result: a premium class collection of modern, minimal bikes with a sporty, emotional appearance. The family consists of a folding cruiser, hybrid electric/human-powered commuter, and dual sport-tourer. Just like the Audi line of vehicles, there’s one for every taste and purpose. Hit the jump for the full 360º!
The “Audi Bike” Sports bike: The “Audi Bike” Sports bike represents a premium class bicycle segment. The dynamic body frame made by solid and lightweight material (like carbon fiber or aluminum) is combining the Seat post construction and the chain ring mechanism. The innovative bicycle body design language contains all functional and safety features. The seat post construction can be regulated by the user with a simple and convenient convertible, transformable option. The chain ring mechanism is a simplified by the safe covering system, which makes it convenient and safe. The design language of this new chain ring represents a new technical solution for all modern bicycle chains. In general the “Audi Bike” design language represents the new design ideology, to minimized the old fashioned technical, conservative construction approach and maximizes the functional, safety and aesthetics features.
The “Audi Bike” Folding bike: This folding bike represents an urban transportation segment. The general design language follows to the new “Audi Bike” family design direction, with a rational, sporty, and dynamic body language. The folding bike design face is reworked to be more urban oriented. For the global problem of urban traffic, this foldable option can be used in a efficient and useful way. The folding bike’s body is lightweight and compact, easily fitted in a standard car trunk. The folding bike can be connected with a global city network using a new smart phone or GPS mobile device system, offering to the consumer a live city map, free parking zones and urban traffic map.
The “Audi Bike” Electric bike: This hybrid electric bike represents a mountain (hilly) urban transportation segment. The Electric bike design language follows to the new “Audi Bike” family design direction, with a much more refined surface design definitions. The dynamic body frame and wheels are made by carbon fiber, which makes electric bike lightweight and solid. The upper part of the body frame combines the eclectic lithium battery cargo, with a Battery range for sample regular urban use. The Electric bike contains also the (HP) humane powered mechanism, which can be used as a generator option for charging an electric batteries and also used in a flat urban areas.
After moving back home to Australia last year and starting a career in social media marketing, Brodie Lancaster missed the writing and editing of her old job, as the managing editor of Portable.tv in New York. Armed with an address book of talented writers and filmmakers, Lancaster decided to…
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