Hasta La Ideas

This year, WantedDesign Manhattan and WantedDesign Brooklyn once again showed a selection of high-quality projects by designers and design students from around the world. Design students may have had the most speculative, thought-provoking projects at each show, but the professional work held its own, making use of unexpected shapes and modernizing traditional products (and even foods!) that haven’t been updated since their conception. 

Kumiko by Kaneka OLED + Michiru Tanaka at WantedDesign Manhattan

These wall tiles can be arranged in various configurations to light a space in a more interesting way than typical lighting.

Lexan Series by Phaedo Design at WantedDesign Manhattan

Phaedo Design created this table out of Lexan.

Lexan Series by Phaedo Design at WantedDesign Manhattan

When you take a closer look, the edges of the Lexan shapes are painted a deep blue shade.

Venus Table by Concrete Cat at WantedDesign Manhattan

The surface of this Venus table is cast and cut from “Chaos stone,” which is a material born out of Concrete Cat’s experiment to use remnants from recycled home decor to create something new.

Venus Table by Concrete Cat at WantedDesign Manhattan

Learn more about Concrete Cat’s eclectic work here.

Shower Light by Shinya Ito & Kaori Yamamat WantedDesign Manhattan oto

Tokyo-based design duo Shinya Ito and Kaori Yamamoto were inspired by water falling from the shower when designing this piece.

Shower Light by Shinya Ito & Kaori Yamamat WantedDesign Manhattan oto

The lighting feels ethereal, almost like a jellyfish.

Chair by Filipe Ramos at WantedDesign Manhattan

This chair uses a rope material that’s suitable for both indoor and outdoor placement. Learn more about Ramos’ workhere.

Chair by Filipe Ramos at WantedDesign Manhattan

Mzamla by Maryam Turkey at WantedDesign Manhattan

Mazamla is a water cooler inspired by traditional Middle Eastern Terracotta water coolers. The fired clay naturally keeps the water cool, so no electricity is needed. The wall fixture serves as a shelving unit, a planter and water cooler all in one. Learn more about the project here.

View the full gallery here

This extension to a Canadian cottage by Montreal studio ACDF Architecture echoes the traditional language of the original home, but executed with contemporary geometry and finishes.

The new addition is dubbed La Petite Soeur – or The Little Sister – based on the references it takes from the pitched-roof home to adjoins. “The extension preserves and pays tribute to the historic house while reflecting the beauty of the landscape it inhabits,” said ACDF in a project description.

Located near the town of St-Donat, in the Laurentians region, the home sits beside Lac Ouareau – an expansive lake surrounded by forests. The clients, a large family, wanted additional space for their secondary residence.

The new volume is comprised of a white pitched-roof structure perched atop a concrete base. An elevated glass walkway connects the 130-square-metre addition to the existing home.

“The truncated shape of the bridge makes it wide enough to occupy: a welcomed pause in the landscape, floating over a garden,” said ACDF. The footbridge is wider at the extension than at the original home, providing a feeling of expansion as residents cross over to the new volume.

On the ground level, the addition contains an open space that serves as a living room, gathering space or play area. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide sweeping views of the lake below.

In this flexible space, the architects included built-in seating for reading or relaxing, as well as storage space within the walls. A fireplace acts as a focal point for the room.

A flight of wooden steps leads to the lower level, where the new master suite is located. Because of the site’s slope, this area gets plenty of natural light and also faces waterfront views.

Sliding glass doors allow the owners to step outside their bedroom without needing to pass through the original home.

A limited palette was used for the project. Wooden accents recall the materiality of the original home, while polished concrete and dark wooden planks provide the interiors with a contemporary finish.

“The transformation orchestrated by ACDF marries the lovely patina of the traditional house to the extension’s clean lines,” said the firm’s statement. “A variety of new spaces inside the family home gives the owners a place to enjoy each other and the landscape.”

ACDF has completed several holiday homes in its home province of Quebec. Others include a residence that is shared by two sisters and a black-and-white home with a cantilevered living room.

Photography is by Adrien Williams.

Project credits:

Architects: Maxime-Alexis Frappier, Patrick Morand, Yoanna Anastassova, Kassandra Bonneville, Mireille Létourneau, Romilda Reda
Project manager: Patrick Morand
Collaborators: Étienne Hotte

The post Lakeside cottage extension by ACDF takes cues from traditional neighbour appeared first on Dezeen.

NATEDE is a smart natural air purifier for any home or office. It is a specifically designed flowerpot that combines common plants with technology to purify indoor air. Plants are naturally able to eliminate pollutants. The photocatalytic filter inside NATEDE—which does not need to be replaced—works to eliminate viruses and bacteria.

The combination of photocatalysis with the design and technology of NATEDE significantly improves the plants’ purification power. NATEDE improves indoor pollution, which is five times higher than outdoor pollution. The devicde features five sensors that let users monitor the air quality with a dedicated app.

View the full project here

In this week’s comments update, readers gave kudos to a whisky distillery cut into the hills of the Scottish countryside by British architecture firm Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

Pour another one: Readers were full of praise for the £140 million Macallan Distillery in Scotland, which features a wavy timber roof made up of 380,000 individual components.

“Beautiful architecture, emotionally worth a visit,” outlined Paolo Zardo.

“So glad to see something new from RSH+P,” added The Huey, who had been looking forward to seeing new work from the studio.

“Not a fan of whisky, but a big fan of this!” admitted an impressed Joe_3

However, Sir John V didn’t see what the fuss was about: “Despite the comments, this is yet more evidence that Roger’s old firm is losing its distinctiveness: this one is ‘It-could-be-Renzo-Piano’.”

Ha suggested there was some bias at work: “I am shocked to read so many good comments on this project. It’s like British architects are isolated from the rest.”



What do you make of the Macallan Distillery? Join the discussion ›

Autopilot: Readers reacted in a humorous fashion to research by Carlo Ratti for MIT, which concluded that autonomous vehicles guided by algorithms could improve transport efficiency by cutting the number of taxis on roads by half.

“What if we replaced the inhabitants of the city with robots? I bet we could get those taxi numbers down even lower!” mocked Felix Tannenbaum

With tongue firmly in cheek, Jb suggested Ratti needed to do more investigation: “What do you mean the ‘taxi model’ is 400 years old?! Didn’t Uber invent taxis in 2009?”

“Who isn’t terrified by robot drivers?” quizzed Design Lover

“Having been a passenger in my 75-year-old father’s car, I can tell you I can’t wait for the robots to take over,” joked Nota Bene.

One reader had an attempt at rewriting Dezeen’s headline for the story.

Read the comments on this story ›

Day job: Foster + Partners underwhelmed readers this week with a collection of solid wood furniture launched at Clerkenwell Design Week, with some comments suggesting the products didn’t do the British architecture firm justice.

Duckusucker preferred to stick with classic furniture after seeing the efforts: “Stumpy table legs? Oh, c’mon. I’ll keep my elegant Moeller Danish teak dining table, thank you very much.”

“I saw one of these in the house of the seven dwarfs. Snow white was cleaning the dust out of it,” sneered Foulster Companions

Nozanetti felt let down: “Any stupid joiner can make this and has been making it for many years, Sir Foster! Where is the innovation?!”

“Must it be innovative? Can it not just be a nice object? It could have been produced by my local carpenter, or Sir Norman, but it’s still nice,” fired back Christopher.

One reader had a cynical view as to why the architecture practice had ventured out into a new career path.



Read the comments on this story ›

Fast food: Another MIT-related project disgruntled readers this week, who reacted negatively to a restaurant in Boston with a fully-automated kitchen, featuring robotic woks designed by engineers from the prestigious school.

“Only engineers would look at preparing/cooking/eating food as some sort of process in need of automation,” sighed Wyriwyg

“Let’s get rid of the jobs that lower-income families desperately depend on, so that we can get crap food quicker. I’m sure all the major fast food chains will be very interested. Well done MIT,” fumed John 79LK

“A quarter of MIT’s funding comes from the Department of Defence, so I don’t think ethics are a major concern,” shrugged Aaron in response.

“I propose MIT engineers work on a robot to replace MIT engineers, OK? Please MIT, try to make a better world, not to steal jobs with stupid ideas like this, thanks.” wrote Cedric angrily.

But one reader felt the engineers should take this project a step further.



Read the comments on this story ›

The post “Buildings like this are masterpieces of architecture” appeared first on Dezeen.

The 2018 Raptor was powered by a High Output 3.5 L V6 EcoBoost engine, producing 450 HP and 510 lb-ft. of torque, and this year’s model will be a rung above – a 7.0 L DOHC V8 Motor featuring direct injection and paired with a 10-speed transmission generates the wind beneath this raptor’s wings. Also new for 2019 is a system called Trail Control. It basically acts as a low-speed, off-road cruise control, keeping the Raptor puttering along at a set speed of between 1 mph and 20 mph while the driver steers. Smooth throttle application is crucial to maintaining traction off-road, so this system could really help novice drivers. The only other major change for 2019 is a pair of new Recaro sport seats, available in a blue design inspired by one of the interior color options from the Ford GT supercar. The Raptor also gets three new color options (Ford Performance Blue, Velocity Blue, and Agate Black), and a handful of minor cosmetic changes. Ford says production of the 2019 F-150 Raptor will begin later this year…(Read…)