Hasta La Ideas

Dezeen promotion: Brooklyn creative space A/D/O is inviting architects and designers to submit proposals that tackle issues facing urban drinking water.

The Water Futures Design Challenge invites creatives to come up with ideas for solving global drinking water problems – from plastic bottle consumption to distribution in remote areas – as part of a year-long programme launching this month.

“The A/D/O Water Futures Research Program challenges designers to take action in reimagining our toxic drinking water culture,” said a statement from A/D/O.

“The design challenge is a search for new ideas to facilitate change and encourages designers to collaborate with environmentalists, engineers, policy makers, city planners, and manufacturers.”

Submissions are encouraged from a wide variety of approaches and disciplines, from packaging to infrastructure, and digital interfaces to material developments. They can offer a global solution, or be tailored to address a particular region.

Prizes and awards will be given to the most innovative proposals and projects, and selected entries will be exhibited at A/D/O’s space in early 2019.

To enter, register for free via the A/D/O website, where more information is provided about the contest and wider programme.

Curated by London-based Jane Withers, the A/D/O Water Futures Research Program will include exhibitions, talks and other events focussed on and around the topic.

The programme kicked off with a symposium on 21 March 2018, when speakers included Upmanu Lall, director of Columbia University Water Center; Design Indaba founder Ravi Naidoo; Cyrill Gutsch of Parley for the Oceans; and Studio Swine‘s Azusa Murakami.

Over the coming months, events will be divided into three water-related themed categories titled Harvesting the Sky (April to June 2018), Pollution and Purification (July to September 2018), and Drink Local (October to December 2018). Each will include a corresponding exhibition and events programme.

At the end of the year, a research paper will be compiled from the output of discussions, workshops and collaborations, and documentation of the design challenge.

Backed by car brand MINI, A/D/O opened in December 2016 in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighbourhood as a hub for designers and the public to work, interact and engage in events centred on the future of design.

It has already hosted numerous installations and exhibitions, including a clay-extruding factory set up by London collective Assemble, an interactive showcase by PlayLab Inc that forced visitors to consider their preferences, and a prototype micro home with playful appendages by Bureau V.

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Danish practice Schmidt Hammer Lassen has won a competition to repurpose a derelict brewery in the Latvian city of Riga, introducing offices, a hotel and a public plaza.

The Kimmel Quarter occupies almost an entire city block of Riga’s Central District and takes its name from the nearby Brewery Kimmel, a beer manufacturer that operated throughout the 1800s.

Now abandoned, Schmidt Hammer Lassen has been chosen to transform the former brewery’s buildings to include offices and a hotel with a public gym, cafe, spa, childcare facilities and food court in its base.

Rather than proposing a complete overhaul, the winning plan focuses on “enhancing the charm and authentic character of Riga’s historical fabric”.

“The resulting architecture is distinctly modern, but in a rewarding dialogue with the old restored buildings. We have designed a new Kimmel Quarter in which history and future are bound by timeless architecture,” said Rasmus Kierkegaard, associate partner at Schmidt Hammer Lassen.

The design was selected ahead of proposals submitted by 10 other practices that included Henning Larsen Architects and Zaha Hadid Architects.

A series of courtyards will link the old building to greenery-filled of terraces and roof gardens. The architects will also turn the brewery’s yard into a covered plaza.

As a nod to the brewery’s original architecture and material palette, the space will feature arched walkways and recycled brick surfaces. Water features will use rainwater collected on the roof.

The recycled water features are amongst a handful of sustainable features that the architects have incorporated into the project.

Large panels of glazing that will be integrated into the building’s gridded facade have been designed to let in optimum levels of daylight, while lamellas offer shade during sunnier weather and minimise the need for exterior cooling systems.

Kimmel Quarter will not be the only major project ongoing in Riga – London-based firm Adjaye Associates is currently building a major new art museum for the city which will feature an angular roof and concrete-waffle concourse.

David Chipperfield is also refurbishing a 19th-century brewery in Berlin to house a gallery, restaurants and medical innovation centre, while the disused Badaevskiy Brewery in Moscow will play host to Herzog & de Meuron’s new horizontal skyscrapers.

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As designer Deepanjan Sinha puts it, Plus (earphones) and Nest (speaker) “bridge the gap between public and private listening.” The two products are not only aesthetically connected but functionally fused!

Nest serves as both a sound hub and a wireless charger for the headphones. Let’s say you’re on a run listening to music on the Plus phones. Once you get home, you can remove the headphones, place them on the Nest and your music will automatically switch to the speaker so you never miss a beat. Of course, if you want to use your headphones while someone else uses the speaker, simply adjust the settings on the minimal user interface.

Designer: Deepanjan Sinha

Zulkarnain Ismail, basé en Malaisie, est un photographe qui mélange réalité et fiction. En utilisant photoshop, il retravaille ses clichés, pour leur donner un style onirique. Ainsi, on découvre une grande roue au-delà des nuages, des surfeurs qui se baignent avec des cygnes XXL, ou encore un plongeur en pleine ville. Le rendu est époustouflant. Son travail est à découvrir sur Instagram.

Nike has colour-matched Brazil’s new World Cup football strip with the kits worn by the team that won the tournament back in 1970.

According to Nike, Brazil’s home shirts for the FIFA World Cup 2018 will be yellow as always, but the shade is going to be “a more vibrant samba gold” than has been seen for over two decades.

The exact hue was selected following a visit to the Football Museum in São Paulo. Nike’s team took with them a colour swatch book, and used it find a match for the shirts worn by Brazil’s national team in Mexico in 1970 – the first year the games were broadcast in colour.

It was also the year that the national team won the cup for a third time, making it a memorable tournament for fans.

“The bright, vivid yellow of the Brazilians, combined with their style of play, really made an impact on viewers around the world,” explained Pete Hoppins, who is senior design director of Nike football apparel.

“It’s one of the most iconic moments in the history of football, and we wanted to channel that energy into the 2018 national team collection,” he said.

These vibrant yellow shirts are otherwise very simple in design. They feature green rims around the neck, which match the colour of the Nike swoosh logo and player numbers.

There is also a small detail on the inside neck – the globe from the country’s national flag, surrounded by radiating lines.

The shirts are worn with bright blue shorts, in another reference to the Brazilian flag.

For the away strip, the yellow shirts are swapped for blue ones, although the yellow tone still appears in the details. These shirts feature a tessellating star pattern, in tribute to the first time the team won in blue, against Sweden in 1958.

According to Hoppins, the overall aim was to capture the bold spirit of the Brazilian culture and its influence on the style of play.

“Being Brazilian is about rhythm, a certain type of movement,” added Hoppins. “You see it in the dance, you see it in the art and you certainly see it on the football pitch. Only Brazilians play this way.”

The kits are produced in Nike’s Vaporknit fabric – a mesh-like material designed to allow optimum ventilation and aerodynamics. The collection also includes training apparel, pre-match clothing and a jacket.

The FIFA World Cup 2018 is taking place in Russia. Kicking off in June, it will see 32 national football teams compete for the trophy.

The majority of teams have now revealed their strips, with many being designed by Nike or its rival Adidas.

Nike, which ranked at which ranked at 37 on Dezeen Hot List 2017, designed the strips for the Nigeria and England teams, which combine designs from old strips with elements inspired by youth culture.

It also created a red, white and blue design for France, and a Portugal kit featuring “celebratory splashes of gold”.

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