Paper Art Hotel by Samantha Pierpoint

Samantha Pierpoint réalise ce magnifique éditorial pour le Wall Street Journal, représentant un hôtel entièrement construit en papier. Le travail est un hommage à Thierry Teyssier et à son idée d’hôtels éphémères à travers le monde. Le plan s’appelle 700,000 Hours et se veut comme une initiative « club members only ». Le tout est sublimé par les photographies de Michael Foyle.









The Best of Footwear Design in 2017 

Our list of the top twelve footwear stories from 2017 includes everything from sneaker sketches to the adidas Futurecraft 4D to the Flyknit sports bra. We’re already wondering what curious designs will be brought to the table next year.

Tom Sachs collaborated with Nike for the second edition of the Mars Yard shoe, proving that failure in the design process can lead to future success.

Netflix’s Art of Design series put designers at the forefront of everyone’s attention this year. We reviewed the Footwear episode, which followed around one of our design idols, Tinker Hatfield. 

adidas made everyone’s heads turn when they collaborated with Carbon for their Futurecraft 4Ds. The midsole is 3d printed using Carbon’s “Digital Light Synthesis” process, where it emerges from a bath of liquid thanks to light and oxygen.

Brooklyn-based company Storelli released a unique insole design that features a tab in the back and a material that eliminates slippage, even when socks are wet. 

Nike came up with this badass reverse-parachute closure for the ACG.07.KMTRs.

One of our favorite reader submitted projects this year: Ki Oriental’s Ki Ecobe shoes require self-assembly and are designed to eliminate sweatshops. No glue required in the manufacturing process!

This one-handed shoe tying system is genius for both the able-bodied and the disabled.

This video on how Sneakers are made had us questioning the sustainability of our most beloved kicks.

Nike’s FENOM Flyknit Sports Bra showed the world the power of clothing made from performance footwear materials.

Michael DiTullo showed us the key to sketching shoes as part of our Yo! C77 Sketch Series.

Speaking of sketching shoes, we put together a roundup of our favorite shoe sketches found on Coroflot.

It turns out, modern footwear designs actually force us to walk backwards. Looks like footwear designers have a new challenge to address in 2018…

*****

More of the best of 2017:

2017 Best of Furniture Design

Our Favorite Transportation Stories from 2017

2017 Best of Transforming Furniture

The Most Beautiful Brass Mallet (That You Can't Have), and When to Stick With the Tools You've Got

Ever since I learned how to cut dovetails by hand, I’ve been using a simple, inexpensive English carpenter’s mallet to whack the chisel for the chopping part of the process. This type of mallet works great and was a staple of British workshops, both for chisel work and for persuading parts to fit together, for centuries. (“At least 200 years,” Joel Moskowitz, who sold me the mallet, explained. “But probably longer.”)

It’s not a “forever” tool, of course, as the head will eventually wear out; but it’s bound to last for many years, and at less than $20 my cost-per-use will be practically nothing. And even then I can create a new head to pop onto the handle, which doesn’t sustain any damage in normal use.

Last month I was watching a video by UK-based furniture maker David Barron. Barron occasionally creates his own tools for sale, and was demonstrating this gorgeous brass mallet he’d created for chopping dovetails. While the tool looks small and simple, there’s actually a fair amount of design in this thing, check it out:

I was smitten by three things, one aesthetic, two practical: One, the ooh-ahh shiny brass; two, the fact that it can be stood on its head, taking up way less space on a crowded benchtop; and three, that the rounded face can be used to tap the tails into the pins without damaging the workpiece. (With the wooden mallet I always grab a scrap piece of wood to serve as the blow-taking middleman.)

I couldn’t justify buying it, as it was bound to be pricey and my wooden mallet works just fine. But last week, with Christmas looming and my shopping for others completed, I figured I’d treat myself and clicked over to Barron’s website.

Alas, he’s either sold out or has stopped making them. “I only have the [all-wood] mallets in stock now,” reads the product page.

Maybe this is the tool gods telling me to be happy with what I have and to not spend money on redundancies. And in fact, when I look at the business end of my mallet I can see the thing’s hardly got any wear on it at all.

I should keep and use this thing until the end of it starts looking like that butcher block table I saw on Hester Street.

So instead, I ordered some tools that I don’t own versions of and do need. More on those later.

Do you folks ever upgrade to fancy tools, and if so, how do you justify it?

Buy: Echo Show

Echo Show


A true upgrade to smart-home assistance, the Amazon Echo Show offers innumerable functionality. With eight microphones, the Echo Show can hear requests through Spotify streams and background noise. Users can play Amazon video content, get visual news……

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Holiday Gift Guides 2017: Fast Shipping: Last-minute ideas for those panicking about presents

Holiday Gift Guides 2017: Fast Shipping


Each year the holidays sneak up and oftentimes you have just a few days to buy gifts for someone—or everyone. Thankfully many online retailers offer two-day or overnight shipping. It might come at an additional cost, but that’s the price for being……

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Competition: win homeware accessories designed by Muller Van Severen

Dezeen has teamed up with Antwerp-based design label Valerie Objects to give away three sets of accessories by Belgian design duo Muller Van Severen, including a stack of colourful food-serving platters and a sculptural trivet.

Dezeen has teamed up with Antwerp-based label valerie_objects to give readers the chance to win one of three pairs of kitchen accessories, designed by Belgian duo Muller Van Severen.
Muller Van Severen designed the Five Circles for carrying and serving food

Three readers will each win both the Five Circles platters and Trivet, both of which were launched by Muller Van Severen and Valerie Objects earlier this month, ahead of the holiday season.

The colourful Five Circles are a series of colourful disks that can be used for carrying and serving food.

Three are made of polyethylene plastic and two are marble – designers Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen describe these as their two favourite materials.

Each measures 21 centimetres in diameter and two centimetres thick.

Dezeen has teamed up with Antwerp-based label valerie_objects to give readers the chance to win one of three pairs of kitchen accessories, designed by Belgian duo Muller Van Severen.
Three of the discs are made of colourful polyethylene plastic, and two are marble

When stacked together, the disks form a colourful sculpture on the dinner table.

“Let’s not hide the objects we use, let them be part of the interior,” said the designers.

The Trivet is made up of a variety of geometric shapes, in assorted sizes and colours. When hung up, the assortment of shapes creates an angular wall piece.

To test that the trivet could protect a table from heat, the designers said they placed it on a polyethylene surface – a plastic that can’t withstand heat – and set a “pan full of sizzling hot sausages” on top.

The Trivet comprises a variety of geometric shapes in assorted sizes

Muller Van Severen are best known for furniture collections including Future Primitives. The duo has previously worked with Valerie Objects to create a furniture and lighting for a luxury apartment in the heart of Antwerp.

The designers recently showcase the entire contents of their home for an exhibition at Design Miami.

Three winners will each receive a set of Five Circles, in the Set E colours, and a Trivet in black. Both are also available to purchase from Valerie Objects.

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Competition closes 18 January 2018. Three winners will be selected at random and notified by email, and their names will be published at the top of this page.

The post Competition: win homeware accessories designed by Muller Van Severen appeared first on Dezeen.

Steven Holl's Institute for Contemporary Art comprises sculptural blocks of zinc and translucent glass

Architect Steven Holl has completed an exhibition and performance centre for Virginia Commonwealth University, which has been captured by Dutch photographer Iwan Baan.

New York-based Steven Holl Architects designed the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) to provide the American university with classrooms, galleries and outdoor facilities for its theatre, music and dance programmes.

ICA at VCU by Steven Holl

The building comprises a series of irregularly shaped blocks that slot together.

Translucent glass panels cover some of the surfaces, offering blurry views in – similar to the luminous Maggie’s Centre that Holl recently completed in London. Others are covered in panels of pre-weathered zinc, which complement the tone of the glass.

Iwan Baan‘s photographs show that the building is complete, although it is not scheduled to open until next year.

It will join other creative facilities on the campus, which include the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Science Museum of Virginia, the Virginia Opera, Virginia Repertory Theatre, Richmond Ballet and the Richmond Symphony.

ICA at VCU by Steven Holl

The ICA is located on a corner plot along Richmond’s Broad Street, where it forms the gateway to the university’s campus. The series of volumes are arranged to form two entrances that face both the city and the campus.

A pair of irregularly shaped blocks, including one that almost forms a triangle, front the building. Meanwhile, two stacks of rectangular blocks fork open on the campus side, framing a sculpture garden and a pool, described by Holl as a “Thinking Field”.

Although externally the building feels like separate volumes, spaces merge together inside.

ICA at VCU by Steven Holl

A double-height atrium is wrapped by an organic curving white ceiling. Located at the centre of the building, it connects three floors of galleries, but can also be used as a display space for larger artworks.

“We designed the ICA to be a flexible, forward-looking instrument that will both illuminate and serve as a catalyst for the transformative possibilities of contemporary art,” said Steven Holl.

“Like many contemporary artists working today, the ICA’s design does not draw distinctions between the visual and performing arts,” he continued.

“The fluidity of the design allows for experimentation and will encourage new ways to display and present art that will capitalise on the ingenuity and creativity apparent throughout the VCU campus.”

The entrance foyer leads through to a cafe bar and shop, as well the ground-floor gallery. Also on this level is a 240-seat auditorium for film screenings, performances and lectures.

The blocks above this host an adaptable “learning lab” and a public terrace.

A 33-foot-high (10-metre-high) gallery is set in the apex of the tallest block, along with administrative suites and the boardroom. The building also has a basement floor, including facilities for art storage and preparation, a fabrication workshop, a green room, the catering kitchen, and general storage.

ICA at VCU by Steven Holl

Holl also aimed to make the building as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible. Four green roofs top the gallery blocks, planted with native wood oats, little bluestem, Pennsylvania sedge and goldenrod. These are intended to absorb stormwater and increase insulation.

Window and skylights are placed strategically to ensure spaces receive plenty of natural light, reducing the need for artificial lighting.

Other features include geothermal energy sources that support the heating and cooling systems, and cavity walls designed to retain heat in the winter and provide cooling in the summer.

Holl has designed a number of education facilities. He is best known for adding a new building to Glasgow School of Art, but has also completed projects for Columbia University and Princeton University.

Steven Holl Architects first unveiled this project in 2012.

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Photography is by Iwan Baan.

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10 of the most innovative graduate designs from 2017

We can always count on graduate designers to push the industry’s boundaries. As part of our review of the year, design editor Alice Morby picks the 10 best projects from the class of 2017.


Playground by Chen Zhi

London College of Fashion graduate Chen Zhi hoped to celebrate the “superficial” reputation of the fashion industry through her colourful final collection.

The works of Alexander Calder influenced the bright colours and blocky shapes seen across the knitwear pieces, which were later put on show as part of an exhibition at New York’s MoMA.

Read more about Playground ›


Nixie Girl menstural cup by Ailsa Inglis

Nixie Girl by Aisla Inglis

Ailsa Inglis came up with the idea for the Nixie Girl menstrual cup after her research revealed that 93 per cent of women who menstruate still use regular period products.

She felt the best way to tackle the stigma surrounding alternative period products was to make them accessible for young people, and potentially encourage a lifetime of use.

Read more about Nixie Girl ›


Loughborough University graduate Benjamin Cullis Watson designs Taihi rubbish bin

Taihi rubbish bin by Ben Cullis-Watson

Ben Cullis-Watson designed this bin to convert food waste into compost for the garden, as well as liquid fertiliser for household plants.

It relies on bokashi, a Japanese method that uses fermentation to decompose rubbish, leaving no mess or smell behind. Taihi automatically sprays an accelerator mixture onto the waste to start the process, which takes around two weeks.

Read more about Taihi rubbish bin ›


The Third Thumb by Danielle Clode

Third Thumb by Dani Clode

A student of the Royal College of Art product design masters, Dani Clode wanted to challenge conventional ideas about prosthetics with her graduate project.

This resulted in the Third Thumb – a motorised, controllable extra digit, designed for anyone who wants to extend their natural abilities.

Read more about Third Thumb ›


Johanna-Maria Parv fashion collection, CSM Graduates 2017

Graduate collection by Johanna-Maria Parv

For her graduate fashion collection from Central Saint Martins, designer Johanna-Maria Parv looked at how clothing historically restricted women’s movement, and then made alterations inspired by female cyclists.

Garments featured precise tailoring which was gathered around metal components in between the thighs. Cycling accessories such as lip-shaped helmets and gloves were supersized.

Read more about Parv’s graduate collection ›


mCycle by Kaye Toland

mCycle by Kaye Toland
Kate Toland, a graduate of Central Saint Martins’ bachelor’s course in Product Design, initiated the mCycle project as “her own personal response to tampon tax”.

Named mCycle, the company would work in a similar way to British online food delivery company Deliveroo. Tampons are couriered via bicycle in a cardboard package, which then transforms into a sanitary bin.

Read more about mCycle ›


Vycle by Elena Larriba

Elena Larriba’s Vycle is a pedal-powered, vertical transportation system that affixes on the side of buildings, scaffolding or cranes.

Powered by a continuous cyclical movement, the system is balanced with counterweights, leaving the user’s body as the only weight to overcome. A gearing system, similar to a bike’s, allows the user to decide how much effort they want to put into ascending or descending.

Read more about Vycle by Elena Larriba ›


Petit Pli by Ryan Mario Yasin

This range of kids clothing by Ryan Mario Yasin is designed to expand as they grow – negating the need for parents to buy endless outfits. Yasin hopes that by creating kids’ clothes that last longer, it will help reduce the huge amount of waste generated by the garment industry.

When creating the collection, the designer used his background as an aeronautical engineer to devise a set of permanent folds that let clothes “unpack” when pulled.

Read more about Petit Pli ›


Graduate Emilios Farrington-Arnas designs Maptic project

Maptic by Emilios Farrington-Arnas

Aiming to offer partially sighted people greater independence, Emilios Farrington-Arnas created a range of wearable tech products that help them navigate from place to place.

The set comprises a visual sensor that can be worn like a necklace, and a series of feedback units that can be clipped onto clothing, or worn around the wrist. The sensor connects to a voice-controlled iPhone app, so it can use GPS to direct the wearer. It does this through a series of vibrations to the left or right side of the body.

Read more about Maptic ›


IV-Walk by Alissa Rees

Based on her own experiences in hospital, Alissa Rees developed an intravenous system that can be worn – giving patients more freedom to move around.

The IV-Walk project forms part of Rees’ ongoing projects aiming to “humanise the hospital”, and is designed to be worn over the shoulders of the patient, with the drip encased in soft fabric.

Read more about IV-Walk ›

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A Fantastic Journey Through The 80s Movies

“A fantastic journey into the most faboulous decade of Cinema history: the 80s !!!! From Indiana Jones to Terminator, from Star Wars to Flashdance, you can see here a wonderful collections of movie scenes connected together as everybody dance at the rhythm of the song. “..(Read…)

Will Smith and Joel Edgerton Answer the Internet's Most Searched Questions About Them

“Bright” stars Will Smith and Joel Edgerton answer the Internet’s most searched questions about themselves. What is Will Smith’s IQ? Who did Joel Edgerton play in Star Wars? Who is Will Smith’s best friend?..(Read…)