Dans la série « Expolicious », le photographe Sebastian Weiss, basé à Hambourg, capture les merveilleux motifs architecturaux, les couleurs et les textures de divers bâtiments, hôtels et pavillons à Milan, en Italie. Tout en ne montrant que de petits détails dans ses images, Weiss parvient néanmoins à montrer l’immensité de chaque structure. Voir plus de son travail ici, et le suivre sur Instagram.
Katie Cooke is a 20-year-old competitive runner from Dublin. Due to an aggressive form of epilepsy, she experiences up to 14 seizures a day. Despite her condition, Cooke hasnât let anything stand in the way of her love for running. With the help of her neurologist, who doubles as her running partner, Cooke is never steered off course. With each seizure, she is able to bounce back and keep on going…(Read…)
Architecture firms Elkus Manfredi and Sasaki have unveiled a masterplan to transform a parcel of land south of Boston into a smart city, the latest in a string to be announced for North America.
Boston-based Elkus Manfredi Architects and Sasaki Associates have masterplanned an entire new city for a site located 12 miles south of Boston, near the towns of Weymouth, Rockland and Abington.
Developer LStar Ventures acquired the site – approximately 1,500 acres (607 hectares) – two years ago, with the ambition to build a new community “from the ground up”. The area operated as a United States Navy airfield from 1942 until 1997 – including a stint as a Navy blimp, or airship, base during the second world war.
Named Union Point, the project follows a host of recently unveiled plans for smart cities in the US and Canada, including Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs plans for the Toronto waterfront and tech billionaire Bill Gates’ investment in a huge patch of land in Arizona – both with intentions for futuristic urban areas.
Like the others, the new Massachusetts city will incorporate high-tech features such as autonomous vehicles, and smart systems for collecting and sharing data, to improve the lifestyles of future residents and the management of the city.
Elkus Manfredi and Sasaki Associates, who intend the project to pioneer the construction of future urban developments, have also focused on environmental and sustainable design aspects in their proposal.
“Becoming a new paradigm for a smart, and connected cities, Union Point will support all facets of life in one destination that inspires innovation and integrates technology, living, and social systems with long-term environmental, economic and social sustainability,” said the team.
“The result will be a community that combines active living with ‘smart city’ design to offer the advantages of urban density in a supremely livable environment.”
Among key elements of the scheme will be an overhaul of transportation, including street design and parking structures adapted for autonomous vehicles.
Comprehensive bicycle networks and electric driverless shuttles are intended to encourage a move away from private vehicles. Private garages are designed to be adaptable, for when private cars are no longer used.
The masterplan also proposes connecting the shuttle system to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).
The built environment will also be integrated with the natural habitat. Structural developments will occupy a third of the site, leaving 1,000 acres (405 hectares) for green space and hiking trails.
Residences will be topped with green roofs where possible, and environmentally friendly energy sources such as solar collectors and heat pumps will provide power.
In total, the city will include 4,000 residential units and 3,000,000 square feet (278,709 square metres) for offices and “innovation” spaces, reportedly hoping to lure Amazon to build its new headquarters in the area.
Commercial facilities such as restaurants and shops, as well as entertainment, arts and culture facilities and a sports complex, are also included.
New builds will join retained structures on the existing site. For example, an existing aircraft hangar will be renovated as part of the project.
The creation of new smart cities is happening alongside the integration of technology into established metropolises.
Architect and television presenter Jason Pomeroy told Dezeen that the latter is proving to be more effective, with Barcelona and Amsterdam providing much better examples than places like Songdo, the new hi-tech satellite city in South Korea.
Renderings are courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects.
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There’s nothing more apocalyptic than a truck driver feeling drowsy behind the wheel. What’s scary is that there’s little you can do to avert these sorts of disasters because truckers usually work overnight shifts and over long distances, making it a true hazard.
Ford sought to tackle this problem with the SafeCap, a rather innocuous looking cap that actually houses an accelerometer that can detect when a driver’s head tilts forwards, backwards, or sideways. When it does so, lights on the lip of the cap immediately light up to alert the driver, while a sound and vibration unit gently nudges the driver back into reality almost immediately. Working much like the Pavlok, using lights, audio signals, and vibrations to keep one alert and aware, the SafeCap won’t make a driver feel less sleepy, but it will make sure he/she doesn’t drowse off at the wheel.
Designer: Ford
Hidden inside this pitch black bulbous shape is an entire chandelier. The Kind Edison Ghost Pendant Lamp is a single large-ish bulb that comes with a black exterior but switch the light inside on, and you get this dimmed view of a rather magnificent miniature chandelier, almost as if you’re staring into a crystal ball at a ghostly image.
Designed with a rather unique blend of modern and antique, the King Edison switches between the two. All you see is the hand-blown black glass exterior when it’s switched off, giving it a contemporary touch, however switch it on and you travel back in time with a miniature real brass hanging candelabra on the inside. The overall design combines the simplicity of Edison bulbs with the majestic mystery of the King chandelier hiding within.
Designer: Young & Battaglia
When one sips a single malt Scotch that’s 50 or more years old, a common immediate reaction can be “Wow, I can’t believe I tried that” rather than, “My goodness, that tastes superb!” With Bowmore’s latest, the 50 Years Old from 1966—a new addition……
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Architects and designers are taking a holistic approach to create Europe’s most successful new hotels, say judges of the AHEAD Europe hospitality awards, in this movie produced by Dezeen.
The AHEAD Europe hospitality awards, which took place in London last week, awarded projects including The Ned in London, São Lourenço do Barrocal in rural Portugal and At Six in Stockholm.
Judges said this the most successful projects in the awards offered experiences to guests, rather than just simple accommodation.
“What stood out was the experience that the judges have had while they were visiting the properties,” says jury member Cristina Laurijssen, who is director of design and product services at the Rosewood Hotel Group.
“It’s the holistic approach that the designers have taken for each particular property that has made an impact,” she continues.
“I think that’s what people are looking for, it’s these different experiences that create memories that will stay with you”
The Ned was the biggest winner. On top of being named hotel of the year, The Ned also topped the spa and wellness, and the restaurant and events spaces categories.
Tom Hupe, director of hospitality at Perkins + Will, says that the jury was impressed by the way The Ned’s design team made use of the Grade-I listed Edwin Lutyens building that houses it.
“They’ve managed to utilise the whole of the building,” he says in the movie, which Dezeen filmed at the Ace Hotel in London, where the judging took place.
“Being a Lutyens-designed building, every space has been detailed, so wherever you go you find amazing aspects to the building,” he explains. “It takes guests to places that they wouldn’t normally go, but you still find amazing aspects when you get there.”
Laurijssen picks out São Lourenço do Barrocal in Portugal, which was named resort of the year, as another example.
“It’s an old farmhouse that has been restored” she says. “The farmhouse still keeps its essential character, yet it brings it into the contemporary realm.”
The hotel was designed by Portugese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura. “He knew exactly how much to touch and how much he shouldn’t, and that’s what makes it so rich,” claims Laurijssen.
Another big winner was At Six in Stockholm, which was lauded as the best urban hotel conversion, and for having the best guest rooms.
“At Six is a conversion of an existing brutalist office building on a square in Stockholm,” Hupe says. “The arrival experience faces you with a grand staircase with a huge statue in the centre of that space, and the feeling that that creates is key to the success of the overall design.”
“They’ve done a great job of transforming this office block into a very stylish hotel,” Laurijssen adds.
Jury chair Javier Hortal, technical services director at Mandarin Oriental Hotels, singled out the Roomers Baden Baden hotel as another project of merit.
Hortal describes the Piero Lissoni-designed project as “a very contemporary lifestyle hotel in what was known as a traditional luxury destination.”
“It has the potential to transform the very essence of that destination,” he claims.
“It does not feel like your conservative spa hotel that you usually find in Baden Baden, so it’s quite groundbreaking for that location,” adds Laurijssen. “He’s really set the tone for a new way of looking at spa resorts.”
This movie was produced by Dezeen for AHEAD. It was filmed at the Ace Hotel in London.
All photography is courtesy of AHEAD.
The post Europe’s best hotels offer “experiences that create memories” say AHEAD awards judges appeared first on Dezeen.
A new convertible sports car is joining BMW‘s range of hybrid electric vehicles.
Revealed by the German company at the Los Angeles Auto Show this morning, the i8 Roadster is a two-seater model with an retractable soft top.
The car has a hybrid engine, which combines battery and petrol-combustion power, and allows the car to “sprint” solely using electricity. The battery has an electric range of up to 55 kilometres, and the vehicle can go from zero to 100 kilometres per hour (kph) in 4.4 seconds, reaching speeds up to 250 kph.
The unveiling follows rival electric car company Tesla’s preview of its updated Roadster earlier this month, as most of the major auto brands continue to move towards electric power.
The BMW i8 Roadster has a similar look to the four-seater i8 Coupe, released in 2014.
Features include gull-wing doors, which hinge at the roof rather than the sides, and gullies along the chassis that channel air past the car. The tail lights wrap around the resulting gaps at the back.
However, BMW’s senior vice president of design Adrian van Hooydonk told journalists that the i8 Roadster “does not have the typical design language of its breed”.
He pointed out that elements like a rear spoiler and a quad exhaust, typical of sports cars, are purposefully not included on this model.
BMW’s signature kidney-shaped grill is echoed on the front of the car, but is closed to provide an area for embedded sensors.
Materials including carbon fibre and processes like additive manufacturing are used to make the vehicle as lightweight as possible.
Also at the LA Auto Show, BMW is presenting an updated version of the i8 Coupe, and the fully electric i Vision Dynamics – first seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2017.
Furthermore, the company has committed to rolling out electric and hybrid-electric options across 25 of its models by 2025, in preparation for countries like UK and France banning the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles from 2040.
The LA Auto Show takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with public access from 1 to 10 December 2017.
The post BMW unveils i8 Roadster at LA Auto Show appeared first on Dezeen.
Dutch designer Rick Tegelaar tells the story behind his Filigree Floor Lamp and Meshmatics Chandelier for Moooi in our latest Design Dreams talk.
The livestream has now ended, but you can still watch the talk in full above.
Tegelaar speaks to Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs about the lucky series of events that led to Dutch design brand Moooi producing his Filigree Floor Lamp and Meshmatics Chandelier in the talk at Moooi’s showroom and brand store in Amsterdam.
Based in Arnhem in the Netherlands, Tegelaar looks to find new applications for materials such as wire mesh and waste wood and transforms them into desirable products.
His Meshmatics Chandelier, which was unveiled by Moooi in Milan earlier this year, features a wire mesh structure that distributes light from the LED light source. This results in changing transparencies throughout the different tiers of the chandelier.
Tegelaar’s first product for Moooi, the Filigree Floor Lamp, was launched by Moooi in 2016. It emits light through a translucent circular screen supported by a delicate wire structure that references filigree metalwork on jewellery.
The event is part of an ongoing collaboration between Dezeen and Moooi called Design Dreams, which is exploring how successful designers turned their dreams into reality.
Tegelaar is the second designer to feature in the series, after Arihiro Miyake revealed the story behind his Coppelia light for Moooi in our talk during London Design Festival.
The post Watch our talk with designer Rick Tegelaar live from Moooi’s Amsterdam showroom appeared first on Dezeen.
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