Hasta La Ideas

F1 – NASCAR..(Read…)

Spoiler alert – it’s a really adorable squeak…(Read…)

The Nova mobile office pod supports the flexible working needs of the modern nomad with fast wifi, a minibar and a daily changing view.

Owned by Cape Town co-working space Work & Co, the Nova pod can be transported between picturesque locations around the city and is the latest innovation in “out-of-office” work spaces.

“Finding inspiration whilst still being productive was one of the strongest motivations for building Nova,” explained Work & Co co-founder Jolize Pienaar.

“Immersing yourself in different landscapes, whilst fully-equipped, enabling thought and productivity – the concept was just too attractive not to execute.”

Fully fitted out with fast wifi, a smart television, an Apple TV, a printer, white board, coffee machine, mini-fridge, charging station, power points, a bathroom and running water, the pod can support a handful of digital nomads at a time.

Work & Co founders Julien Verspieren and Pienaar designed the two by five-metre pod from scratch.

“It was quite a process getting all the technical aspects to work along with the look and feel I wanted,” said Pienaar to Dezeen. “It took a lot of research and thought.”

The outside was designed by independent graphic designer Chris Moore, who also created the brand assets, including the pattern on the exterior of the pod and the customer station, to go along with the interior aesthetic.

The pod runs solely on solar-generated electricity, which powers the kitchen and work appliances.

“I was really involved with creating the curved wall by the kitchenette – it took a lot of trial and error but I think we got it,” explained Pienaar. “It creates a subtle illusion of space, which is what we were after.”

“The stackable windows on both sides were also crucial to execute the concept. I was focused on creating a receptive space that would let the environment in.”

The wallpaper is part of the Savuti collection by Kwa’Zulu Natal-based design house Ardmore Ceramic Art.

At the moment the pod has five predetermined locations around Cape Town, offering users a range of iconic views outside the city centre.

Nova users can also arrange their own locations, and the pod can be deployed as a temporary office for events.

“Innovation is something that lies very dear to our heart – the concept for Nova sort of sprouted up from discussing how I love what I do but don’t necessarily want to be confined to a physical space,” explained Pienaar.

“Cape Town is the perfect city for the concept – we are so spoilt with having the most beautifully scenic locations around the city.”

Co-working space Work & Co opened in March 2016. The community comprises over 250 entrepreneurs, including local start-ups, global companies, financial technology collaborations, wine makers, architects, and advertising agencies.

Designers across the world are rethinking what the office space has to provide, and even what office furniture might look like soon.

Geoffrey Pascal has created a whimsical collection of office furniture that responds to the growing number of people working at home in their beds. The collection allows the user to work in positions that emulate being in bed.

The post The Nova pod is a solar-powered co-working office on wheels appeared first on Dezeen.

Australian studio Alexander & Co has set sumptuous furnishings against worn brick walls to channel faded opulence throughout this Sydney dining venue.

The Imperial plays host to a series of jewel-tone dining spaces that have been designed by Alexander & Co to boast a similar atmosphere to a “lost palace”.

It is situated in the suburb of Erskineville and has been a go-to venue for members of the local LGBT+ community since 1983. However, over the past two decades the building had undergone little maintenance work and fallen into a state of disrepair, leaving it in need of a complete overhaul.

“Something in the metaphor of the restaurant is the ability for this rawness to never feel like a construction site, but instead a theatre of colour, a visual outrage,” explained the studio.

“Although the project feels immediately decorative, it is, in fact, a collection of robust building materials faced in makeup – brickwork, concrete, steel, all represented in colour and high fidelity.”

The ground floor now contains a 250-seat restaurant called Priscillas. It takes its name from 1994 comedy film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, which follows the journey of a transgender woman and two drag queens through the Australian outback.

Several of the time-worn walls have been left in their found state or freshened up with a coat of white paint, while a new mural akin to what could be seen in a church has been painted across the ceiling. Dotted throughout are dark wood dining tables, illuminated by fringed lamps and chandeliers that have been suspended overhead.

Should guests want to relax in a more casual setting there are also some lounge-style areas that are dressed with gold velvet sofas and tasselled seating poufs. There is also a pink-hued private dining room, which has a sculpture comprised of strings of coloured paper dangling at its centre.

Another bar at this level, which has a crimson-coloured marble counter and matching leather stool seats, looks through gridded glazing into an indoor courtyard.

Stairs lead to a second-floor eatery, named Up, which is finished with oversized velvet armchairs, a partially mirrored bar counter, and a multicoloured carpet patterned with geometric shapes.

Guests are also have access to a roof terrace that’s anchored by a shiny gold pizza oven.

“Conceptually, this space is conceived as an arts social club, a public salon which references Studio 54 and distant memories of Andy Warhol,” added the studio.

This year will also see the space used as a same-sex marriage venue.

Brooklyn-based studio Workstead also opted for an opulent aesthetic when it transformed an old brothel in Oklahoma into a wine bar – the space features velvety benches, brass lighting and blush pink walls.

Project credits:

Principal architect: Sophie Harris
Interior design team: Jeremy Bull, Larissa Raymond, Madison Faye, Lucy Forlico, Rouda Taouk

The post The Imperial restaurant in Sydney is designed to look like “lost palace” appeared first on Dezeen.

Oppenheim Architecture has coated a water-treatment plant in Muttenz, Switzerland, in a mixture of stone and clay, to create a building reminiscent of a natural rock form eroded by flowing water.

The architecture studio designed the building to elevate what would usually be a private building into a landmark for the nearby town that would draw visitors into educational gallery spaces.

US- and Switzerland-based Oppenheim Architecture created the treatment facility for the Muttenz municipality to blend demanding technological needs with a sense of openness, all while respecting the protected woodland next to the site.

“Technology, education and preservation became integral components of the design of Muttenz’s new municipal water plant,” said the architecture studio

The treatment facility was designed to look like it was carved out of a solid form.

Cracks in the windowless elevations aim to draw in curious visitors, with entry via a cavern-like space that appears to have been cut out of the structure’s base.

Crossing a series of stepping stones, a spiral stair leads up to a viewing platform from which the infrastructure of the plant – arranged across three floors – can be observed.

A thin opening in the facade gives views back out across the adjacent woodland.

“The role of the architecture is to link and express the unique and state-of-the-art technology, placed in a natural ecosystem and emphasising the importance of the purification process,” explained Oppenheim Architecture.

Sweeping cuts in the roof draw daylight into the public areas, creating a contrast with the darker functional spaces of the plant.

Many designs for water and sewage treatment plants look to the landscape in order to create new public spaces beyond their utilitarian function.

In Portland, Oregon, architecture studio Skylab topped a plant with a series of rainwater-collecting fins, and in Taiwan a sewage treatment plant by Habitech Architects imitated mountains with a series of domed forms.

Photography is by Börje Müller unless stated.

The post Oppenheim Architecture designs Swiss water-treatment plant to resemble a natural rock appeared first on Dezeen.