Australian architect Marshall Blecher and Magnus Maarbjerg from Danish design studio Fokstrot have teamed up to create a wooden island, floating in Copenhagen harbour.
Complete with a single linden tree, the 20-square-metre floating platform is a prototype for a project called Copenhagen Islands. It was designed to be used as a public space.
“The prototype island has been used as a resting place for kayakers and swimmers, for sunbathing, fishing and for small events,” Blecher told Dezeen.
“For example, later this month it will host a lecture series about the future of harbour cities.”
The island was constructed by hand in a boat yard in the south of the harbour. It is intended as the first in a series of floating platforms that aim to add interest to waterways.
“It was developed to introduce life and activity to Copenhagen’s rapidly developing harbour and to bring back some of the whimsy that has been lost in its development,” said Blecher.
The ambition is for the platforms to combine and form a network, creating what the architects call a “parkipelago” in the harbour.
In total, Blecher and Maarbjerg have proposed nine islands, each with different functions. These include a diving board, a small stage, a sail-in cafe, a mussel farm and a sauna.
These islands will be designed so that they can be connected together for festivals or special events.
Blecher believes that the floating islands could be adapted for use in other cities as well as Copenhagen.
“My hometown of Sydney has an enormous and beautiful harbour, but it is dominated by waterside mansions and rows of underused white yachts,” he said.
“Projects like this could help democratise harbours and bring some life back onto the water.”
Copenhagen’s waterfront has been rapidly developed in recent years.
Copenhagen Islands is the latest in a series of landscape proposals.
The first stage of the project was funded by the Danish arts fund (Statenskunstfond) and Havnekulturpuljen, an organisation that promotes and cultural activities within the harbour. Blecher and Maarbjerg are working with the Danish arts fund and other not-for profit groups to fund the next stage of development.
The island is currently located in Copenhagen’s Slusen, but will be moving north to Refshaleøen in the spring.
Mid-century-style lamps hang above burnt orange leather booths inside this restaurant in Chicago, designed by New York-based studio Meyer Davis in an old printing house.
The Proxi is located in the West Loop, a neighbourhood on the western bank of the Chicago River that was formerly a centre for manufacturing. Today, many of the areas warehouse buildings have been transformed into eateries, bars and art galleries.
Adding to this hub, Meyer Davis has transformed the ground floor of a building previously occupied by Werner Printing Company into a restaurant.
The 14-foot-high (4.2 metre) barrel-vaulted ceiling of the former print works has been refreshed with white tiles, while glossy blue tiles in a vertical soldier stack cover the columns.
Walls are covered with white washed oak panelling and sage green painted decorative mouldings. This decor provides a neutral backdrop for black and dark navy furnishings with accents of burnt orange.
Although employing the same material palette throughout, Meyer Davis has broken the expansive 5,900-square-foot (548-square-metre) restaurant into distinct areas.
Each area is decorated differently with custom-made and contemporary furniture and lighting. Nods to modernist design can be seen with large steel lights and sleek black chairs, while other decorations are souvenirs from restaurant co-owner Emmanuel Nony’s travels.
Meyer Davis likens the eclectic effect to the restaurant’s menu, which chef Andrew Zimmerman based on global street food. The studio described the restaurant as a “melting pot of flavours both in design and cuisine”.
The bar is marked out with custom-made black, blue and white floor tiles. Elevated seating is placed in windows on either side of the curved central bar, with leather-covered lights hanging above.
The bar has a white stone top and a brass-like base covered in black padding. Terracotta pots line the top shelf of the drinks cabinet behind as a nod to the colour theme.
A cosy seating area in a booth behind the bar is furnished with orange and blue sofas and can be partitioned with curtains.
Other nooks include a series of leather booths that are arranged beneath a wall of mirrors, while the main dining room contains benches covered in navy leather, black chairs and wooden tables, with views into the kitchen through a large window.
A pale wooden cabinet on the rear wall provides storage for wine bottles. This cabinet is built around the opening to a private dining room.
Externally the studio rebuilt the steel facade framing the large street-facing windows to return the building to its original form and bring plenty of natural light into the restaurant.
Chicago’s West Loop has become known for its trendy design and food scenes, and is home to both private members club Soho House and cosmetics Aesop.
Admittedly, when I first saw this, I thought, a beauty mirror with a speaker – that’s kind of interesting. Turns out, it’s so much more than that! This futuristic design is actually equipped with an array of sensors that detect your face’s unique skin condition and then dispenses the appropriate eye cream, moisturizer, toner, sunscreen or other topical solution you need to maintain healthy skin! Better yet, the smart design connects wirelessly to the internet to stay abreast of the weather and time of day and makes calculations accordingly to ensure you’re protected whether it’s sunny, dry or humid outside. Of course, it will also play your favorite tunes too. GENIUS!
Designers: Hongseok Seo, Minkwan Seo & Jo-Young Choo
It’s natural that technology will make everything more and more portable each year. So it really isn’t much of a surprise that the massive amplifier from years back is now small enough to fit right into your pocket!
The Jamstack gives electric guitarists the freedom most acoustic guitarists experience. Not being able to jam or play without a massive amplifier or a power source, the Jamstack now lets electric guitarists tap into the power of their smartphone, using its inherent CPU to process audio signals which then come playing out of the Jamstack, a guitar-mountable, pocketable, pocket-friendly 10W amplifier that you can carry around with you right in your guitar case.
Designed to attach itself right to the belt plug of your electric guitar in literally 3 seconds (making it universal and INCREDIBLY handy considering setting up can take near an hour), the Jamstack sits at the edge of your guitar’s body, away from your hand so you don’t accidentally hit it. It connects to your guitar via your smartphone (iOS, Android, Windows compatible) or even your iPod Touch, and works with the dozens of apps across the platforms to power your guitar from the popular Amplitube, to even apps like Yousician, letting you learn the instrument in a uniquely tailored fashion. Using the Jamstack means virtually not needing any other instruments as your phone can play backing tracks/vocals/drums while you riff away. All the effect layering you need can be done in-app, leaving the Jamstack with just a volume knob. Want to jam in private? The Jamstack even comes with an aux out, letting you plug your earphones in (and Bluetooth capabilities if you’ve embraced the jack-less phone culture). Its Bluetooth capabilities even lets you use it as a regular wireless speaker for your phone when you’re not connected to your guitar! The Jamstack comes with a whopping 8 hours of usage on a single charge, which should be great for even the most hardcore jammers… or just use it for the rest of the time as your dedicated Bluetooth speaker for watching tutorial videos! And when you’re done, slip it right into your pocket and scoff at the people who still lug those massive amps with them wherever they go…
It’s not often we see an entirely new form factor in transportation design, but the Ryno Micro-Cycle definitely fits the description. Invented by mechanical engineer Chris Hoffmann, what started out as an idle thought–his daughter saw a one-wheeled motorcycle in a videogame and Hoffmann wondered if he could build one that worked–became an actual, rideable vehicle:
We caught up with Hoffmann at the World’s Fair Nano in San Francisco and snagged a Q&A with him about the Micro-Cycle, Ryno’s evolution as a company and the transportation industry in general:
We’ll post more on the hydrofoil craft he mentioned as soon as it becomes available.
aux synesthesia is the outcome of an interdisciplinary project between Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee and Freie Universität Berlin.
The vision of aux synesthesia is to change the “view” how we as visual human beings use our senses. With the combination of VR-technologies we created an experience based on auditive signals, coupled to an augmented reality. This augmented reality is an abstracted reflection of the true world, reduced to the most necessary details we need for an orientation in our environment. Those details will show up as digital sound waves which react different to certain materials, moving objects oder changing situations.
aux synesthesia acts as an interface between the physical and the virtual reality, creating an installation on a performative level. This experience gives a limitation of what we need to see and what to do miss in world which full of a sensory overload concerning the digital and real environment.
It’s been twenty long years since any car-lover in America was able to buy a brand-new Toytoa Supra, as the company stopped selling them here in 1998. And in 2002, amidst declining sales, the Supra production line in Japan was shut down.
But the car has retained a cult following. Its appearance in the popular Fast & Furious franchise, as well as in videogames like Gran Turismo and Need for Speed, have kept the car alive in the imaginations of many; used models in good condition can go for 60 grand or more on eBay.
Now, thrillingly, Toyota has announced that they’re rolling out a new Supra. At the Geneva Motor Show they unveiled the car in racing trim, as it will first be produced by the company’s Gazoo Racing division–and may perhaps even be called the GR Supra, rather than the Toyota Supra; at least, that’s what they’re calling the car they pulled the sheets off of at Geneva. Here’s the teaser video:
As a sign of the times, while the car is not expected to roll out until next year, some will get to drive it next month–in a videogame. “The GR Supra Racing Concept is to be featured,” Toyota writes, “in a new update of the Gran Turismo Sport® video game, developed by Polyphony Digital Inc., and scheduled for release in April 2018.”
Designers Select Designers is an exhibition organised to mark the 15th anniversary of the gallery, which was established by Zeev Aram in 2002 to promote contemporary design.
London-based architect and designer Thomas Heatherwick is showing his Twisted Cabinet in Bog Oak at the Aram Gallery exhibition
Taking place from 8 March to 28 April 2018, the exhibition sees a range of well-known designers – all former Aram Gallery exhibitors – select new talents to display projects alongside their own.
Heatherwick’s work is shown alongside Markus Kayser’s Solar Sinister glass bowls, made using a 3D printer
London-based designer Thomas Heatherwick – these days best known for architecture projects like the Zeitz MOCAA gallery in Cape Town and the Bund Finance Centre in Shanghai – selected German designer Markus Kayser.
Heatherwick will show his Twisted Cabinet in Bog Oak, which is made from two symmetrical, curved panels that are positioned at 90-degree angles.
Ineke Hans is showing her Plektra stool series for Finnish brand Iittala, alongside the work of Mark Laban (main image)
Dutch designer Ineke Hans has chosen to display her Plektra stool for Finnish brand Iittala. The stackable stool doubles as a side table or a stepping stool for children.
Her chosen designer Mark Laban presents his Rustic Stools, made using a computer-led cutting device that was programmed to create a ribbed surface.
Made from dyed wood fibres bonded in resin, the stool features a semi-oval surface with four legs that taper outwards.
“What I find very interesting about Mark’s work is that he experiments with digital means of production, and by doing so he has managed to create furniture that radiates the charm of the handmade and crafted,” said Hans.
Jasper Morrison’s Thinking Man’s Chair was originally showcased by Zeev Aram in 1987
Zeev Aram first exhibited the curved tubular chair in a graduate show back in 1987, where it was spotted by Giulio Cappellini and put into production.
Matching Morrison’s clean aesthetic, Theolonius Goupil’s Vases des Launes is a series of minimalist, oval vases made from continuous lengths of clay.
Theolonius Goupil’s series Vases des Launes are each made from one continuous piece of clay
For her contribution, Bethan Laura Wood exhibited her Particle Jewellery stand, which features a geometric stack of wooden offcuts.
She picked Fernando Laposse as her accompanying designer, whose Totomoxtle project is a surfacing veneer made using Mexican corn husks.
“Fernando is doing very interesting work exploring the possibilities of materials important to Mexico,” said Wood.
Max Lamb’s Ali Bar chair is made from a solid aluminium bar
London designer Max Lamb is showing his Ali Bar chair, which is made from a single aluminium bar.
Similarly, his nominated designer Parsha Gerayesh uses single lengths of steel wire to create his Mono Eyewear.
Parsha Gerayesh’s Mono Eyewear uses single lengths of steel wire
“Parsha’s Mono 2.0’s are intelligent, original and highly producible and deserve to be so,” said Lamb.
“They are like a mini automatic production version of my handmade Ali Bar Chair,” he continued. “Despite their obvious difference in material, process, scale and function, there remains an immediate visual similarity between two projects as a concept their singularity and process is equal.”
The Offset seat by Drill Design combines elements of a stool and a chair
Contemporary textile artist Ptolemy Mann’s Winter Solstice is showing a densely woven, multi-coloured tapestry. This sits alongside Catarina Riccabona’s Paper Yarn Panels, which combines paper yarn with cotton extracted from offcuts of Mann’s fabrics.
Meanwhile, Japanese designer Shin Azumi presents his Nara coat stand, which resembles a deer antler, along the Offset seat by Drill Design, which combines elements of a stool and a chair.
Italian designer Martino Gamper selected a piece from his Round & Square collection
Italian designer Martino Gamper chose a chair from his Round & Square collection, while his chosen designer Tiago Almeida is exhibiting a bookshelf from his Wood series, made from recycled plastic and wood.
Michael Anastassiades is showing his geometric Floor Composition lamp, along with 4Decimi, a collection of 12 pendant steel lamps by Martinelli Venezia.
4Decimi is a collection of 12 pendant steel lamps by Martinelli Venezia
London-based designer Michael Marriott presents a set of wall-mounted coat hooks alongside a brass pull handles by Royal College of Art graduate Felix de Pass, while Peter Marigold showcases six textured cabinets beside the corrugated ceramic tableware of Ray G Brown.
And Pearson Lloyd is showing workplace furniture beside a sofa designed by Lucy Kurrein.
The series is completed by Sebastian Bergne and Sam Lloyd Morris, Gitta Gschwendtner and Katy West, and Industrial Facility and LeviSarha.
Seal of approval: commenters were split by Doshi’s Pritzker win, with some seeing it as a victory for region-specific architecture, and others suggesting that there were more deserving winners.
“Another solid selection to further push the idea that regional, contextual architecture is better than globalist, stylistic works,” stated Archi.
But Brazilian was quite against the decision: “The prize is becoming a joke, seriously. RCR and Doshi are just choices to fulfil an agenda. At least this time they chose someone with a lifetime career.”
HeywoodFloyd argued that there might have been an oversight: “I’m all for the regional/contextual thing, I just think there are one or two globalists who deserved their moment of glory before the rules changed, Steven Holl being at the top of that list.”
“I really like that the Pritzker has focused more recently on architects who don’t fit the Frank Gehry starchitect mould, but I also can’t help feeling that many of the more recently chosen architects have not actually had careers or impacts worthy of architecture’s top prize,” agreed Adam Cohen
“Doshi certainly has the career that deserves a Pritzker. The Pritzker prize should award excellence in architecture. Full stop,” fired back a defensive Tina.
One reader thought the choice might have gone over the heads of a certain demographic.
Was Balkrishna Doshi the right choice for this year’s Pritzker Prize? Join the discussion ›
“The relentless banality of BIG’s output is staggering,” sighed HeywoodFloyd
Newarch felt the project was indicative of a larger problem: “Modern architects are a joke to the people who are forced to interact with their buildings daily. The situation is so sad and is in desperate need of change.”
“Looks like a 90s Nickelodeon cartoon, and not in a good way,” sneered Slime.
Ralf Bähren tried to get into the minds of the studio: “Someone discovered the twist filter and thought it might be a cool idea?”
Arc* believed out the firm could do better: “BIG’s Telus tower in Calgary accomplishes the twist far more gracefully – these are just awkward.”
This reader had a cheeky response to the project and its location.
But Moho felt the idea hindered more than helped: “What I find unconsciously biased, if not outright sexist, is the blatant implication of the notion that women cannot possibly have short hair or a moustache, or to not wear earrings”
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