Hasta La Ideas

Dutch studio HOP has completed a specialty coffee bar in Amsterdam with an open-plan layout that revolves around a central bar and three seating islands.

Called Public Space, the coffee bar is located on the ground floor of the BeMine building on the north side of Amsterdam.

Local firm HOP, an acronym for Habitats of People, were enlisted in December 2017 to design the interior including the floor, ceiling, interior walls, bespoke furniture and custom ceiling lighting.

In order to achieve openness and transparency, HOP created an open plan layout with a low, centralised bar surrounded by a number of different seating areas.

The space is finished in an industrial style with sand-cement floors with a hand-made plaster finish, dark grey acoustic spray on ceilings and stucco walls with an added pigment that creates a rough texture.

To break-up the space and to contrast with the industrial surroundings, the team decided to create three “vintage islands” outlined by custom sized patterned carpets from Desso.

Mid-century Danish furniture and pot plants are arranged around the carpets making intimate living room-style seating areas.

“The clients wish was to find a new kind of space, open to everyone and unhindered by dividing lines,” HOP architect Michael Cerrone told Dezeen. “To achieve a sense of belonging within this type of space we had to create ‘space within space’, based on the ideas of the heterotopia.

“We introduced the subtle use of intimate islands with their own atmosphere, their own identity,” he continued.

“An important decision within this concept was to remove the islands of physical borders. This way they form spaces on their own whilst at the same time hold everything together within the vast space.”

In contrast, more formal monochromatic furniture arrangements that feature black steel frame tables and chairs are intended to be used for meetings or focused work.

“This spacious setup offers the public different settings  where they can enjoy the company of others, the locally sourced produce, home-made products and wide range of specialty coffee and tea,” explained Cerrone.

Custom features include the tube lighting that hangs from the dark grey ceilings and a communal table which rests on two planters, one of which contains a six-metre-tall birch tree that sprouts through a hole in the tabletop.

The low-lying bar in the centre of the space was also custom made from cement-based wooden boards that make it appear like one solid block of marble. Topped with a strong matte black nanotec material, the bar design features a subtle shadow gap at every connection and corner.

Other projects that use islands to break up open-plan spaces include the Devoción coffeeshop in downtown Brooklyn by LOT Office for Architecture. However instead of carpets, LOT chose to use a raised concrete platform surrounded by 35 different species of plants, from starfruit trees to fish tail palms.

Photography is by Michael Cerrone.

The post HOP scatters mid-century furniture throughout Public Space coffee bar appeared first on Dezeen.

Portland-based design studio Ilovehandles has created wrapping paper, which can have an afterlife as origami figures to avoid the mess and waste associated with ripping the paper off presents.

Each Origami Wrap paper is printed with diagrams that instruct the receiver on how to make their choice of one of six designs: crane, dog, iris, frog, balloon and fish.

When a gift is unwrapped, the paper can be folded along geometric lines to create a paper object, rather than being tossed straight into the bin.

“We spent a lot of time testing the patterns to make sure people could complete them without getting frustrated,” explained Ilovehandles co-founder Richard Moore.

“The instructions are the design. There are no additional instructions, but we tested with people who knew nothing about the product to be sure they understood the concept and could make the origami without problems.”

The idea for the origami wrapping paper came from an observation that although wrapping paper looks festive, it is wasteful.

The designers at Ilovehandles then attempted to find a solution that was affordable and also looked good.

Origami Wrap comes in a pack of five roughly 50 by 75 centimeter sheets. The first batch was printed on standard paper, but the designers have confirmed that the next production run will be made with recycled paper stock to further increase the sustainable nature of their wrapping paper-alternative.

Ilovehandles originally started as an Apple accessories company in 2010. Its initial product was a watch strap for the iPod nano, named Rock Band. In the last few years the studio has branched out from products focused on technology to home accessories and design-driven products for kids.

Origami and the art of paper folding has inspired many designers in the fields of architecture, product and fashion design. Marion Pinaffo and Raphaël Pluvinage created a book called Papier Machine whose paper pages could be cut, folded and assembled into a set of 13 electronic toys.

The post “Wasteful” wrapping paper is printed with instructions to fold origami figures appeared first on Dezeen.

The AEG Ultrasonic Stain Removal Pen isn’t so much a pen as it is an eraser. Designed to remove accidental stains by the very thing it’s named after, the Stain Removal Pen works well on clothes with pen-stains, mud/grass-stains, accidental food spills (even things as tough as coffee/wine-stains), and maybe-not-so-accidental lipstick marks!

The hand-held device delivers ultrasonic vibrations via its tip to whatever it touches. Designed to be used against tough stains, the Stain Removal Pen sends incredibly high-frequency vibrations to the fabric, loosening out the pigment molecules that bind to the fibers. The process involves pouring small portions of detergent water onto the stain, before running the pen across it. The detergent creates a lather that further helps in the stain-removal, while the water absorbs the pigment molecules from the cloth fibers. Repeating the process anywhere from 2-5 times can either completely remove, or highly reduce the presence of the stain on clothes. Using the Ultrasonic Stain Removal Pen as a pre-wash ritual ensures that the pen can break down (and even remove) the stain to a level where the washing machine eliminates it completely. Cheers to the pen that makes our lives painless and stainless!

Designer: AEG

The AEG Ultrasonic Stain Removal Pen isn’t so much a pen as it is an eraser. Designed to remove accidental stains by the very thing it’s named after, the Stain Removal Pen works well on clothes with pen-stains, mud/grass-stains, accidental food spills (even things as tough as coffee/wine-stains), and maybe-not-so-accidental lipstick marks!

The hand-held device delivers ultrasonic vibrations via its tip to whatever it touches. Designed to be used against tough stains, the Stain Removal Pen sends incredibly high-frequency vibrations to the fabric, loosening out the pigment molecules that bind to the fibers. The process involves pouring small portions of detergent water onto the stain, before running the pen across it. The detergent creates a lather that further helps in the stain-removal, while the water absorbs the pigment molecules from the cloth fibers. Repeating the process anywhere from 2-5 times can either completely remove, or highly reduce the presence of the stain on clothes. Using the Ultrasonic Stain Removal Pen as a pre-wash ritual ensures that the pen can break down (and even remove) the stain to a level where the washing machine eliminates it completely. Cheers to the pen that makes our lives painless and stainless!

Designer: AEG

If you’ve been watching the US Open, you may have noticed a couple of new courtside additions:

For the 50th anniversary of the US Open, Michael Graves Architecture & Design and outdoor furniture specialists Landscape Forms were tasked with reimagining and designing the courtside furniture at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens. In addition to the courtside furniture, the tennis center went through an extensive upgrade, including player facilities, outdoor areas for players, and even parts of the stadium itself. But we’re here to focus on the furniture! 

The new player bench is particularly interesting out of the lot, considering it was inspired by the following image of Roger Federer sitting next to his bulky bag, which he had placed on a seat next to him at a previous US Open match (apologies for the blurry image here):

After encountering this image, the Michael Graves design team found themselves wondering: Why are there are often two chairs per player when tennis is usually a singles sport? Why was there no dedicated place for each player’s bag? Why are the chairs typically canvas, when fabrics encourage sweat in the heat? The result is a sleek metal bench with perforated, white seats to keep players as cool as possible. Each bench has wheels on only one side so that the structure can be lifted by just one person and so that no complicated locking system was necessary. Players have the option of one or two seats, and the rest of the space, including under the bench, is dedicated to their gear.

The design team was very open about their design process for all of the new pieces, providing an inside look at how they reached their final designs through sketches and renderings:

Since the designers were tasked with designing the pieces in just a couple of months, they needed to act fast, giving them the perfect opportunity to experiment adding VR to their workflow:

By utilizing VR during the design process, the design team was able to have a better idea of how their designs would fit into the actual stadium environment. VR also proved to be helpful when updating their client, the United States Tennis Association (USTA), as the non-designers were able to better understand their vision. 

So, there you have it. If you haven’t watched a US Open match yet, here’s your excuse!