Hasta La Ideas

Chilean architect Felipe Lagos has created a pointy black cabin for his family, with several design elements that help it endure extreme climatic conditions.

Casa R is located in the town of Vilches in southern Chile, about halfway up the Andes Mountains and part of the Patagonia region that spans into Argentina. Nearby attractions include Maule Lagoon, Colbún Lake and several nature reserves and national parks. The 96-square-metre dwelling serves as a vacation home for Lagos and his family.

The cabin sits on a remote site in the forest and looks north toward a river valley. The dwelling rises two storeys in order to “rescue views of the valley above the tree foliage and landscape,” said Lagos, who leads the Santiago-based architecture studio Tu Croquis.

Rectangular in plan, the cabin has a sharply gabled roof, which helps prevent snow accumulation. In order to minimise the disturbance to the landscape, a large portion of the cabin is lifted above the ground. This is particularly evident in the rear of the dwelling, where steps lead up to ground level.

Steel was used for the structural frame due to its fire- and water-resistant qualities, and exterior walls are wrapped in black-painted wood. On the north side of the cabin, a window wall offers a strong connection to the landscape. The cabin’s materials were carefully studied “as a way of integrating the architecture into the context”.

The front of the dwelling features a “chiflonera” – an area between the interior and exterior of a building that helps regulate temperatures. These buffer zones are commonly found in the region, where climatic conditions can be extreme.

Inside, the ground level contains a compact kitchen and living area, along with a bathroom. A spiral staircase leads to the A-framed upper level, where the Lagos placed a bedroom, a sitting area and a work desk. Dark structural beams were left exposed, providing a contrast to white walls and wooden flooring.

For the interior layout, the architect used four different prefabricated modules, some of which are repeated. One module is fully enclosed by walls, while the other three are open. The modules can be placed “side by side in an open plan or open space”, said Lagos, adding that bedroom modules could be added to the cabin’s perimeter if needed.

The finishes and decor are meant to be durable and easy to maintain. In the kitchen, the architect used plywood, acrylic and stainless steel. Other spaces feature plastic furniture from the Chilean company Muebles Sur and wooden chairs designed by Charles and Ray Eames.

Other getaway spots in the Chilean mountains include the La Leonera Mountain Retreat by Del Rio Arquitectos Asociados, which features a pointy roofline, and a bright red cabin by Felipe Assadi Arquitectos that sits within a lush, verdant site.

Photography is by Felipe Lagos.

Project credits:

Architecture: Tu Croquis (Felipe Lagos)
Interior design: Tu Croquis (Ramón Vallejos)
Construction: Tu Croquis Ltda

The post Casa R by Felipe Lagos provides a mountain refuge in Patagonia appeared first on Dezeen.

I remember an anecdote back in school where NASA was bamboozled by a problem where their astronauts couldn’t use conventional ballpoint pens in space because of the lack of gravity. They spent a lot of time and money before developing the astronaut pen, a pen that contained a pressurized ink chamber that was capable of writing anywhere, anyhow, and even in the absence of gravity. This technology led to the development of gel pens that we so commonly use today. One could draw quite a few parallels between that anecdote and the latest revolution in pen technology, the Airless Pen.

My heart really goes out to sketch-pens that die before their time because someone forgot to replace the cap on them… or because even with their cap placed on, the pen dried out of ink. It’s really a shame when that happens and you’ve got a bunch of lifeless felt-tipped pens that effectively have no use because you can’t quite replace the refills inside them. The Airless Pen is the sketch pen’s astronaut moment. Unlike regular felt-tipped pens that come with caps that NEED to be replaced, the Airless Pen relies on a clicking mechanism that deploys and retracts the nib. To prevent air from drying the nib out, the pen features a sealed-tube technology that allows the refill to sit inside the pen in an air-tight chamber, preventing air circulation within the pen’s ink chamber, and consequently keeping the refill from drying out.

The Airless Pen seems like a much-needed innovation for a few reasons. Aside from its ability to keep the pen lasting as long as intended, it also removes the one previously-unavoidable headache associated with sketch pens. The cap. The cap is the very bane of the sketch pen’s existence. It’s easy to lose, easy to mix up, and doesn’t really create an air-tight seal because pen-caps are, by law, supposed to have holes in them so that if swallowed, they don’t block your airway. As a result, sketch pens almost always dry out within months (if not weeks) of using them. The Airless Pen’s click-to-activate mechanism eliminates the need of an external pen-cap, and locks the nib back into an air-tight chamber preventing accidental leaks too.

The Airless Pen comes in a variety of colors (as a set) and even across different nib-sizes. For regular sketching or coloring, the 1mm nib works just like a regular sketch marker, while a 0.7mm nib allows for more delicate penmanship, like writing or line-drawing. The Airless Pens promise to last much longer than any traditional sketch pen, thanks to its air-lock technology. Maybe version two will allow you to change refills so the pen doesn’t become disposable!

Designer: All Button

Click here to Buy Now: $19.00 $29.00 (35% off) for a set of 12 pens.

Airless Pen is created with a retractable silicon cap that prevents air inflow into the pen so the ink never runs dry. This specialized cap, which is installed in the pen, creates a small vacuum space where the water-based ink stays fluid. Airless Pen is the perfect instrument for an individual’s creative space as it eliminates the hassle of pen caps.

Problem

A marker is filled with ink that is either oil or water-based. Typically, if you leave a marker with the cap off, the fluid evaporates, leaving only dry pigments, which cannot be used. To prevent this, a cap is used to prevent the evaporation process from occurring, but requires a marker to be capped and recapped with every use.

Constantly having to take the cap on and off can be quite bothersome and even irritating at times. The cap can also be lost easily. If a marker is left uncovered for even a few hours (sometimes less), it can dry out and become useless.

Solution

Airless Pen’s ‘Sealed tube technology’ which prevents the ink from drying for water-based pens, felt pens, highlighter pens and fountain pens. We were able to develop this technology by creating a small vacuum space where the water-based ink can stay fluid.

Click here to Buy Now: $19.00 $29.00 (35% off) for a set of 12 pens.

A type of compostable bioplastic made of corn starch, sugar and used cooking oil, created by Crafting Plastics Studio, could replace “all the packaging we know”, according to its designers.

Nuatan, which was presented at an exhibition during London Design Festival, is more durable than previous bioplastics and degrades harmlessly when composted or ingested.

Designer Vlasta Kubušová of Crafting Plastics Studio said that once the material has been granted a food-safety certificate, it could be used for food and drink packaging, meaning its uses could be almost limitless.

“Once we have the certificate, it can replace all the packaging we know,” she said.

Nuatan is the result of six years of research conducted with material scientists at the Slovak University of Technology. It is a blend of two different biopolymers.

Polyacid Acid (PLA) is a natural plastic derived from corn starch while Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is made from corn starch that has been metabolised by microorganisms.

Fully biodegradable bioplastic

The two ingredients are blended according to a patented recipe to create the new material, which can be injection moulded, 3D printed and blow-formed like traditional plastics.

The designers claim the material can withstand temperatures of over 100 degrees centigrade without losing integrity and has a lifespan of up to 15 years.

“For the first time, a fully bio-based, biodegradable material can be considered as a competitor in terms of properties and processability,” they state.

It could be used to replace all single-use plastic products such as water bottles, carrier bags and drinking straws – all items that have attracted negative attention recently due to their impact on the environment.

Fish can eat it

Unlike plastics made from carbon-based raw materials, Nuatan is biocompatible, meaning it is harmless to living creatures. “It degrades inside the human body or animals,” Kubušová said. “If fish eat it, it just degrades in their bodies.”

The material is also biodegradable, and can be broken down in industrial composters.

However, the cost of producing the material needs to fall before Nuatan can be widely used. The designers are seeking partners to help develop new products to increase demand, which they hope will lead to a reduction in the price.

We are hoping to find collaborators who want to include it in the right products, and not combine it with other materials, so it’s a mono-material,” said Kubušová. “If we can find the right collaborators, it can change things a lot.”

Bioplastic eyewear

The designers started out demonstrating Nuatan with luxury products, which are less affected by raw material costs. Two years ago the studio developed eyewear featuring frames coloured using natural pigments such as coffee waste, turmeric and indigo.

“We started with value-added products where the material price doesn’t make too much difference,” Kubušová said. “We hope that these products can create bigger demand so the price can come down.”

Now they are looking to develop a wider range of industrial products and claim Nuatan can be used for everything except the most demanding uses, such as exterior parts of cars.

Suitable for 3D printing and blow forming

“We started with eyewear and now we’re using it for 3D printing, injection moulding and other plastic manufacturing technologies,” the designer said.

The material and its uses were demonstrated at an exhibition in London as part of the London Design Festival last week. Called Feel Free to Consume, the show was part of the Brompton Design District.

It comes at a time of rising interest among designers in exploring solutions to the problems of plastic pollution. Examples include multiple projects that make use of ocean plastic and other experiments with recycling plastics.

“There is more than one solution [to the problem of plastic waste], but this is one of the solutions we know can work within circular design,” said Kubušová.

The post Biodegradable natural plastic Nuatan can safely be eaten by fish appeared first on Dezeen.

Circulation: 4.3 million

Frequency: Monthly

Background: At over 130 years old, Good Housekeeping is an American institution. Readers are modern, vivacious and appreciate content that touches issues both big and seemingly small.

Good Housekeeping’s footprint—including the monthly magazine, GoodHouskeeping.com and international editions—is among one of the largest multi-platform brands in the world, connecting with over 40 million women each month.

Despite its traditional-sounding title, Good Housekeeping readers are women of all ages who are interested in all sorts of subjects. “We have readers who are in their late twenties and readers who are into their sixties,” says editor-at-large, Carla Levy. “But when you are looking at the bulk of our readership, the sweet spot for us is more akin to early-thirties into late-forties. We really aim to produce material that can cause interest across those age groups as much as possible, but we try to be general interest irrespective of age.”

To achieve that, editors create a mix of content that includes nutrition, fitness, home, beauty, style, celebrities, careers and/or topical issues, much of it ripe for freelancers.

What to pitch:

Levy says that the most promising section for freelancers is the magazine’s new Discover section. Levy explains that Discover is a mixture of real life and health content. “For Discover, I’m looking for heroes, first-person/as-told-to stories, lifestyle trends and awesome women who have cool, inspirational careers.” A recent example of an essay that ran in the section is Kim Brooks’ The Mistake I’m Not Sure I Made, about what happened when the author ran into a store and left her young son in a car for a few minutes.

“I am very much on the hunt for dramatic real life stories,” Levy says. “But this is not the [section] for a meditative essay. I’m looking more for an action essay. Someone to tell me a story about something that happened to them that was transformative.”

Levy sites Amy Paturel’s essay, The Neighbor I Barely Knew Saved My Son’s Life as a good example of a freelance writer whose words hit a nerve with readers.

Personal essays run between 1,000-1,200 words. Ideas for essays that come from established authors can be pitched. New writers are welcome to submit pieces on spec for consideration.

Feature stories are also open to freelancers.  “I’m definitely looking for new writers and fresh feature ideas,” Levy says. She explains that she likes both traditional true-life dramas (like this one) and features that merge drama and some reporting, such as Peg Rosen’s I Was Afraid of Dying—But I Had to Save Them about a woman who was terrified of the water and saved a couple who were drowning in a riptide as two good examples of what she is looking for from freelancers.

Feature stories about topical issues, such as migrant workers aren’t off limits. “We can hit on political issues,” Levy explains. “But we are just doing it in more of a community, life space way.”

Features usually range between 1,500 to 2,000 words and include sidebars with resources.

Another potential area for freelancers to break in is the celebrity coverage of the magazine. But Levy warns that celebrity coverage is secured in-house, and then may be assigned out. Journos with considerable experience writing celebrity profiles are encouraged to email Levy with clips and a brief bio.

What not to pitch:

The biggest mistake aspiring GH contributors can make? Sending in generic ideas not tailored to Good Housekeeping’s audience. “I’ll get pitched profiles of men all of the time,” Levy says. “The guys sound great, but our readers want to read about women. They want to be inspired by women.” A good pitch should make editors envision the piece on the page, but don’t send an entire article before contacting an editor. “I’ll get fully completed and researched articles that are not an angle we would have ever taken and not the research we would be looking for,” Levy says. “I’d rather see a really well thought out pitch and then talk to the writer about it.”

Percentage freelance-written content: It’s a mix. “All of the bigger features I do are freelanced out,” Levy says. Most food, nutrition, beauty, fashion and home content is handled in-house.

Percentage freelance pitches accepted: 10-15%. Levy adds that, “regular contributors have a higher success rate because they know what I’m looking for.”

Recent freelance stories pitched and published: In addition to the examples cited above, check out Jonathan’s Small’s pitched piece A Drunk Driver Destroyed Jennifer Tracy’s Family. Now, She Wants to Save Him.

Etiquette: Send good clips that reflect your ability to take on the kind of story you’re proposing. Or send clips that reflect who you are as a writer. Be forewarned that it may take editors a few weeks to respond.

Lead time: Four to five months

Pay rate: Competitive. Up to $2 a word

Payment schedule: On acceptance

Kill fee: 25 percent

Contact info:
Good Housekeeping
300 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
www.goodhousekeeping.com
Twitter handle: @goodhousemag | Facebook
Email format: FirstInitialLastName@Hearst.com

Direct pitches to:
Editor-at-large Carla Levy: CLEVY at HEARST dot COM

The post How to Pitch: Good Housekeeping appeared first on Mediabistro.

As a part of our careers-related columns, these are our top five picks of the best industrial design opportunities on Yanko Design’s recruitment platform YD Job Board. This week’s selection includes companies that are watchmakers to lifestyle products and children’s toys designers.

Check out Yanko Design Job Board for more design openings.

Want your requirement to be featured along with these global design-driven companies? Post a Job with us right away!

Associate Industrial Designer/Product Development Manager at Maker’s Row

Maker’s Row is an online marketplace that connects American manufacturers with small, medium-sized, and product-based businesses. They are looking for a talented, hyper-organized people-person that’s ready to apply your industry knowledge in managing multiple accounts and influencing the development of our software solutions. Maker’s Row’s team is building the playground of the next American industrial revolution.

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Product Designer at Jack Mason

Jack Mason is a watch company and their values lie in design, people, culture, and community. The company was founded upon the need for a watch brand that stood for something meaningful and purposeful.  Their passion lies in continuing the tradition of watchmaking through careful consideration of materials, timeless design, but making it accessible.

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Product Designer, intern or full time at Madesmart

Madesmart is currently looking for a Product Designer to join their highly collaborative creative team of designers, engineers, graphics, and marketing to develop innovations from the ground up. The Product Designer will collaborate directly with the CEO, design directors, graphics and engineering teams to research and develop new innovations, explore new categories, and move these concepts from initial idea all the way through to product on a store shelf.

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Senior Designer at Skip Hop

Skip Hop’s exceptional Product design team in the Flatiron district is looking for a softgoods Designer who gets form and function. Collaboration is king in the studio—great ideas can come from focus groups, fellow designers, our development team, or our overseas office who help get concepts into production. This role covers everything from trend research to concept and spec drawings, approval of materials and construction.

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Senior Product/ Industrial Designer at Prepara

Prepara and Prep-Tools are offshoots of the Award-winning product design firm Pollen Design. The team design’s and manufactures innovative kitchen tools, gadgets and bar-ware. They need a well-rounded, keen and clever designer to work within our small team and seamlessly with the Design Director. You will see their designs are produced and sold within very short lead times, so you will need the skills to accomplish this.

Read more details about this job 

Check out all the latest design openings on Yanko Design Job Board

Or recruit your ideal candidate by Posting a Job here!