Hasta La Ideas

Canadian architect Alain Carle added cedar panelling to selected parts of this black-painted brick house in Quebec, highlighting terraces, window reveals and entrances (+ slideshow).

Located beside a lake in the Wentworth-Nord municipality, the weekend house was designed by Alain Carle with a sprawling plan, dictated by both the awkward shape of the site and the surrounding views.

“The buildable area was somewhat narrow and irregular, which offered the opportunity to design a project outside the typical precepts of ‘stylish’ residences,” explained Carle.

The architect created a series of walls that screen views of the nearby street and instead direct focus towards the nearby lake. This prompted the name of the residence, L’Écran, which translates as The Screen.

“The geometrical complexity was scrupulously validated,” said Carle.

“This essentially involved blocking the relationship with the street while enhancing the view of the lake, both from inside the residence and from the street, by leaving sight lines to past places marking the trails taken by the log drivers along the lake.”

The house has two storeys, both of which meet the ground at some point around the exterior.

The upper floor is the main level, accommodating the majority of living areas and the master bedroom, while the lower level houses four extra bedrooms and a home cinema.

Recycled bricks were used to infill the walls of the timber and steel structure.

Black paint coats all of these surfaces, matching the black window frames and giving a sense of uniformity to the exterior.

The brown and yellow hues of the cedar panels offer light relief from the black, framing a series of external terraces, as well as an entrance courtyard recessed into the northern elevation.

These surfaces continue inside the house as ceilings, and are echoed by the dark wooden boards used for flooring on the upper level.

Fittings and furniture inside the residence – including a spiral staircase, a kitchen island and a fireplace – were conceived as “a succession of white objects” that help to frame different spaces.

“Like large furniture in a variety of shapes, they block the space instead of compartmentalising it,” added Carle.

Photography is by Adrien Williams.

The post Sprawling Quebec house by Alain Carle
contrasts black brick with warm cedar appeared first on Dezeen.

New Zealand designer Ramon Telfer used his own experiences of panic attacks to design The Calming Stone, a hand-held device created to help alleviate symptoms of stress and anxiety (+ slideshow).

The 3D-printed prototype for Ramon Telfer‘s Calming Stone includes three features designed to counter physical and mental responses to stress.

Cool air is released onto the user’s face to encourage calmer breathing; lavender capsules can be inserted to scent the air and aid relaxation; and a wireless in-ear headphone enables the user to discreetly follow a series of guided meditations.

Telfer designed the Calming Stone based on practises he developed to manage his own panic attacks, in conjunction with advice from anxiety psychologists, to offer an alternative method for managing anxiety.

“Other than medication, there is not a product specifically designed to help improve mental health,” Telfer told Dezeen.

“After years of struggling with my own anxiety problems, I developed multiple techniques to provide relief during anxiety episodes or panic attacks. I decided to design a device that combines these techniques to deliver instant panic relief anywhere, anytime.”

Controls have been designed to be simple enough to operate in a state of panic, and even in the dark, thanks to a built-in light.

The form of the device is intended to fit ergonomically in the palm of the hand, and references Japanese Zen stacking stones.

Telfer tested ideas for the device during his own panic attacks.

“I discovered that breathing is one of the most important aspects of controlling emotion, whether it be anxiety, anger, or sadness,” he explained. “By controlling your breathing and focusing on fresh, cool air many people have found that they can relieve stress.”

“However, the depth of anxiety lies within the psyche. Anxiety can lead to irrational thinking and it is important to control these thoughts through guided meditation.”

The product has been tested using heart rate and skin conductivity monitors and results suggest it can produce a substantial change in stress levels as indicated by pulse rate, respiration levels and mood response feedback.

Telfer sees a wider application of this product beyond its use for those suffering from anxiety disorders.

“The calming effects enable it to be used by anyone under stress or feeling normal levels of anxiety – whether it’s a child before a school speech, or a professional before a board presentation or an athlete before a competition,” Telfer said.

The Calming Stone is currently at prototype stage and Ramon Telfer is looking for investment in its further development.

The post Pebble-shaped Calming Stone is designed
to help prevent panic attacks appeared first on Dezeen.

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I know, I know—another backpack. But not just another backpack. Unlike the brightly colored or patterned varieties that are all the rage these days, this one differentiates itself through its functionality, employing powerful magnets for its modular capabilities. This isn’t one of those packs you’ll find on the racks of big-box retailers around the nation, prepping for the boom of back-to-school sales. In fact, you can’t even get your hands on the Anti-Gravity Pack just yet. Tessel Supply launched their Kickstarter campaign earlier this month, and while they’ve already surpassed their $20,000 goal, delivery dates are six months out.

As its name suggests, the Anti-Gravity pack was inspired by space travel, comprising several components that can be added and taken away for a personalized system set-up. Sound familiar? Sure, we’ve seen a few modular pack systems before, but it so happens that Tessel Supply’s previous space-themed backpack, the Jet Pack was met with a similar enthusiasm that resulted in a haul of more than three times what they were asking for on Kickstarter.

Check out this video on the inspiration for Anti-Gravity—complete with slo-mo running scenes and mountain sunsets:

As you can see, it looks good. It’s surprisingly sleek for a bag with so many compartment options. Here’s another video highlighting the various components of the backpack:

(more…)