P12 Jetpack Will Be Available To Buy In two years for $200k

New Zealand-based Martin Aircraft’s latest re-design of its Jetpack—the..(Read…)

Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM

French architects RAUM have arranged a cluster of holiday apartments in Brittany around terraces that are connected by small alleys (+ slideshows).

Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM

The clients for the project were a couple who asked RAUM to create two holiday homes with adjoining studio flats on the Quiberon peninsula, which can be rented by one or more families.

Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM

The architects designed the buildings around a series of outdoor spaces, linked by passages that can be transformed from public to private areas by closing gates.

Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM

Interiors are given a minimal treatment to focus attention on the terraces, and all of the ground floor living rooms feature sliding doors that open onto the decking outside.

Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM

A small building in the southwest corner of the site houses one of the studio flats, while another is located above the garage.

Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM

Wooden flooring is used throughout the interiors and also creates a connection with the external decking.

Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM

Other holiday homes that have appeared on Dezeen this summer include a house in the Stockholm archipelago with a zig-zagging concrete roofline, and a building inserted into the ruins of a castle in England that won this year’s Stirling PrizeSee more holiday homes »

Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM

Photography is by Audrey Cerdan.

Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM
Ground floor plan – click for larger image and key
Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM
First floor plan – click for larger image and key
Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM
Section A – click for larger image
Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM
Section B – click for larger image
Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM
Section C – click for larger image

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by RAUM
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Ikea to sell flat-pack solar panels

Ikea to sell flat-pack solar panels

News: furniture retail giant Ikea has announced plans to sell flat-packed solar panels.

Ikea‘s thin film cells for residential roofs will cost £5700 for 18 panels and – unlike the self-assembly bookcases and sofas the brand is known for – will include installation. The panels are made in Germany by Chinese producer Hanergy Solar.

The scheme will be rolled out to all UK stores in the next ten months, where customers will be able to see the products and have a consultation.

The products are available in the Southampton store on the south coast from Monday following a trial at Ikea Lakeside, east of London, which the company claims sells roughly one photovoltaic system per day.

Ikea has already installed more than 250,000 solar panels on the roofs of its own buildings worldwide.

In July the company used its expertise in flat-pack design to redesign refugee shelters and later the same month it relaunched the first flat-pack table, originally produced 60 years ago.

See more stories about Ikea »
See more stories about green design »

Solar panel image is courtesy of Shutterstock.

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solar panels
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Scandinavian ware we like

Bloesem Living | cushion bricks at Foldoys

{1. Timber trivet 2. Ruth M tiles 3. Cushion bricks 4. Vitriini glass boxes 5. Block table 6. Jussi poster}

Foldoys is the stop online to find perfect Scandinavian accessories…. let me tell you why I would choose these items for my home … a wooden trivet is looks beautiful on all table cloths, very neutral but outstanding … a decorative tile, I love tiles i have several in my house just lying around and i often use them as trivet too 🙂 … this brick cushion just because i think the patchwork looks nice … a small glass chocolate colored box perfect for my jewelry … the block rolling table would go on our balcony for some plants and herbs to live on and I kind a like this crazy poster. What would be your picks from Foldoys?

.. Foldoys

Beijing Design Week 2013: Ben Hughes Presents ‘Design for the Real China’ – Competition Deadline on Oct. 31

dnChina-ShiWeilu-jumprope.jpgThis jumprope by student Shi Weilu collects kinetic energy from use to power a flashlight

Ben Hughes has scarcely looked back since he made the transition from Central St. Martins to CAFA about three years ago; rather, he’s looking to the future and what it might possibly hold. What better place to do so than in Beijing, where he’s set up shop in the Caogchangdi artist village and works part time as an instructor at the prestigious China Academy of Fine Arts?

Yet in China, Hughes notes, “design is almost exclusively linked to lifestyle and luxury consumption. It is seen as something to aspire to rather than something accessible by all.” In the interest of initiating a sea change, he’s working on dn Design for the Real China, a design competition that addresses the “imbalance in the understanding of ‘design’ in China—amongst students, amongst consumers, amongst designers.”

With dn – Design for the Real China, I was anxious that we didn’t simply reproduce familiar modes of design competition. Many of these (you know who you are) appear to place image, styling and presentation over content and do not insist on development, prototyping or testing. Many also seem to favour slick exterior computer visuals and don’t require any level of depth. Some (again, you know who you are) seem to exist solely as commercial entities to extract money out of students and young designers, first for entering, then for publishing, then for attending awards ceremonies, then for receiving an award.

Design for the Real China is unique on several levels:

Emphasizing the explanation of the problem being addressed. Competitions that provide briefs are often so limited and so full of assumptions that we wanted to remove that element. Therefore there is no brief, but participants are asked to explain the problem they are tackling. The problem is often as interesting as the solution…

Removing the influence of judges. They often have their own agenda, so the judging is by popular online vote.

Creating a new kind of incentive structure. The categories are not linked to traditional divisions of design activity—graphic design, product design, textiles, fashion, furniture, etc.—but are decided according to the number of people affected by the design.

This is potentially the most confusing part. Since we ask that all entries are prototyped and tested in some way, the category is linked to the number of people who have been affected so far. Therefore, a product that is on the market and has sold well may have affected 10,000 or more people. A prototype that you have shared with your classmates and friends might have affected 50 people. Something that you made for a relative to solve a particular problem might have affected just one person. The prize money is allocated in inverse proportion to this category. i.e. if the design has affected many people, the prize money is low.

This structure allows us to support emerging designs by giving money while at the same time recognising designs that are already successful. In this way, we hope to accommodate and attract entries from established manufacturers as well as people working on their own with limited resources.

Besides the cash incentive, winning entries will receive a warm glow, a physical award, be able to cite our endorsement, be featured on the website, be featured during Salone del Mobile in Milan and Beijing Design Week.

As for the entry itself, we are asking participants to submit a short video explaining both the problem they are addressing and their solution. While this may not be available to everyone, we hope that it extends entry to those outside of the design mainstream.

We hope the competition will attract international entries. While we have China in the title, the competition is bilingual and not limited to Chinese entries. While we are looking to solve problems that exist in China, these problems are usually present elsewhere. It is the perception of design in China that we are trying to change.

I would like to take this chance to encourage any readers of Core77 to spread the word and enter if you have something you think might be suitable. Entry is not limited to unpublished ideas or unproduced ideas. Do not worry if your video skills are not professional, or even if your prototype is not the most beautiful—you can see some examples already on our site, DesignfortheRealChina.com.

Entry is open until the end of October.

Hughes would be happy to respond to questions and comments on our forums, from which this call for entries was adapted.

(more…)

    



Bridge Shelves by Outofstock

Product news: design collective Outofstock have created a shelving unit inspired by suspension bridges.

Shelves by Outofstock

Bridge shelves, designed by Barcelona- and Singapore-based Outofstock are produced by the Danish company Bolia.

Shelves by Outofstock

Firstly, a wooden baton is attached horizontally to the wall.

Shelves by Outofstock

From this, three solid oak shelves of different lengths are suspended using bent steel rods.

Shelves by Outofstock

The user can configure their own arrangement of the unit by moving the shelves along the baton.

Shelves by Outofstock

“We have always been fascinated by the beauty and engineering marvel of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge” said the designers. “Strong and functional, at the same time awe-inspiring.”

Other projects by Outofstock include Hatched, a birds nest-inspired cafe and Vanity Shelf, a hanging storage box and mirror.

See more work by Outofstock»
See more shelving design»

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by Outofstock
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