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Ho fatto fioretto di non parlare in questi giorni di iP*** ma questo Case & Stand di Hard Graft forse merita un posto nel blog.

Solo su Etsy.

News: more than 200,000 people from 140 countries have applied for a one-way ticket to join a human settlement on Mars (+ slideshow).

On Monday non-profit organisation Mars One closed their first call for volunteer astronauts wanting to travel to the red planet.

The £4 billion project, founded by Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp in 2012, plans to establish the first permanent human settlement on Mars in 2023 and has proposed that humans will live in a modular environment made up of multiple inflatable units.

The settlement would comprise of 1000 m3 of living space – a total of 250 m3 per person for a team of four. The colony would live inside ‘lander’ living units that each feature an inflatable living section. The landers would be installed by roaming rovers and be filled with breathable air from a life support unit before the humans arrive.

“As the habitat will be modular, and constructed using fully redundant systems, even if one inflatable unit is damaged beyond repair, the habitat will still be secure and fully functional,” said the organisation.

There will be solar panels outside of the living quarters and an indoor farm for growing and harvesting foods.

In April, Mars One launched an application website to search for the volunteer astronauts and asked people to submit videos to pitch why they should be selected for the colony. In five months the organisation received 202,586 application videos from people across the world.

Three further application rounds will take place over the next two years. Mars One will then select up to ten teams of four individuals for a seven year training programme – and in 2023 just one team of four people will travel to Mars and settle permanently on the planet, according to the organisation.

“The first footprint on Mars and lives of the crew thereon will captivate and inspire generations; it is this public interest that will help finance this human mission to Mars,” said Mars One.

Other space features to appear on Dezeen recently include a proposal for the colonisation of Mars with caves built by robots and an orbiting factory that will use 3D printing and robots to fabricate giant structures in space.

See more space »

Here’s the full announcement from Mars One:

Over 200,000 apply to first ever recruitment for Mars settlement

The first round of the Mars One Astronaut Selection Program has now closed for applications. In the 5 month application period, Mars One received interest from 202,586 people from around the world, wanting to be amongst the first human settlers on Mars.

Mars One applicants come from over 140 countries; the largest numbers are from the United States (24%), India (10%), China (6%), Brazil (5%), Great Britain (4%), Canada (4%), Russia (4%), Mexico (4%), Philippines (2%), Spain (2%), Colombia (2%), Argentina (2%), Australia (1%), France (1%), Turkey (1%), Chile (1%), Ukraine (1%), Peru (1%), Germany (1%), Italy (1%) and Poland (1%).

From this applicant pool, the Mars One Selection Committee will select prospective Martian settlers in three additional rounds spread across two years. By 2015, six-ten teams of four individuals will be selected for seven years of full-time training. In 2023, one of these teams will become the first humans ever to land on Mars and live there for the rest of their lives.

Each Round 1 applicant is now being screened by the Selection Committee, which is expected to take several months. Candidates selected to pass to the next round will be notified by the end of 2013. The second round of selection will start in early 2014, where the candidates will be interviewed in person by the Mars One Selection Committee.

Aspiring martians who have missed Round 1 or could not meet the age restriction can join subsequent Astronaut Selection Programs. Mars One will commence regular recruitment programs as the search for follow-up crews continues.

The post Over 200,000 people apply
to live on Mars appeared first on Dezeen.

Nearly 200,000 wine barrels are retired each year in California. Although some end up as planters or firewood, many are destined for landfills. Designer Dale Rorabaugh decided to do something about that. His team rescues wine barrels from wineries that simply don’t have the space to keep them any longer. To give them new life, they repurpose the material into a practical, artistic table lamp each with an expressive and unique history.

Designer: Dale Rorabaugh

–
Yanko Design
Timeless Designs – Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Shop CKIE – We are more than just concepts. See what’s hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design!
(From Wine to Light was originally posted on Yanko Design)

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2. K-wine – Finger Food Wine Plate by Matteo Bertanelli & Michele Di Monte
3. Welcome to the Wine, Wine West

Japanese studio Apollo Architects and Associates arranged the spaces of this tall, angular house in Tokyo to frame views of the nearby Skytree observation tower (+ slideshow).

Located on an irregularly shaped site at the end of a narrow street, the three-storey Alley house centres around a four-storey stair tower, leading residents to a roof terrace with a view across the city skyline.

Apollo Architects and Associates planned the residence for a family of four, adding bedrooms and bathrooms on the top and bottom floors, and sandwiching a large kitchen and dining room on the middle storey.

A split level creates a natural divide between the kitchen and family dining table, which is designed around a sunken space so that diners have to climb inside.

Large windows line this corner of the building to frame views of the 634-metre observation tower beyond. “People can relax while enjoying the gorgeous view of Tokyo Skytree,” explained architect Satoshi Kurosaki.

A metal staircase rises up through the tower to connect the floors. More windows bring sunlight into this stairwell, plus open treads allow it to spread through the building.

On the ground floor, sliding doors open a guest bedroom out to the entrance hall, creating a multi-purpose reception room.

“By sitting on the edge of the intermediate space, a sense of unity with the entrance hall can be felt, and this reminds us of good old Japanese houses,” said the architect.

A wooden frames gives the house its structure and is revealed by exposed ceiling beams on each floor.

The exterior is clad with galvanised steel and coloured brown to blend in with the surrounding buildings.

“The ceilings with exposed joists and the see-through stairs are lit up at night, and the exterior appears as a tower of light,” added Kurosaki.

Apollo Architects & Associates has offices in Japan and China. Recent projects by the studio include a house with a long white staircase at the entrance and a narrow residence with a glazed ground-floor gallery.

See more architecture by Apollo Architects & Associates »
See more houses in Japan »

Photography is by Masao Nishikawa.

Here’s a project description from Apollo Architects & Associates:

Alley House

A client for a house, of which I designed and supervised eight years ago, got married and bought a small lot near Tokyo Skytree, which is located in a place with a downtown atmosphere. Due to difficulty of construction within the small narrow site at the end of a narrow path, a wooden construction was chosen. Soft, dark brown galvanised steel exterior walls create a Japanese impression, and the house naturally blends into the old neighbourhood.

By using glass walls on the street side, indoor views include the surrounding environment. The ceilings with exposed joists and the see-through stairs are lit up at night, and the exterior appears as a tower of light. In addition to the large opening on the facade, the high window on the penthouse provides sufficient light to the interior, and these do not make one feel that the house is in a high density residential area.

Behind the large entrance earth floor, a small multipurpose space that can be used as a reception room was made. By sitting on the edge of the intermediate space, a sense of unity with the entrance hall can be felt, and this reminds us of good old Japanese houses. For the family room on the second floor, instead of chairs or a sofa, a hori-gotatsu (a sunken area for sitting around a built-in table) style table was designed where people can relax while enjoying the gorgeous view of Tokyo Skytree. A large U-shaped open kitchen allows the couple to cook authentic dishes together, and to welcome many guests. A step was made between the kitchen and the family room in order to add an accent and a rhythm to the small space, and indirect lighting creates an unusual impression. For the busy couple, the ‘small cosmos’ that enables them to be their natural selves is the exact ideal for their desired small house.

Location: Sumida ward, Tokyo
Structure: Timber
Scale: 3F
Typology: private housing
Completion: 2013.02
Lot area: 52.78 sqm

Builiding area 32.89 sqm
1F floor area 32.89 sqm
2F floor area 32.89 sqm
3F floor area 32.89 sqm
PH floor area 3.46 sqm
Total floor area 102.13 sqm

Structure engineers: Masaki Structure – Kenta Masaki
Facility engineers: Shimada Architects – Zenei Shimada
Construction: Kara Construction

The post Alley by Apollo Architects
& Associates appeared first on Dezeen.