Reader Submitted: Behavior-changing drinking and handwashing stations for kids

Innovation design firm Artefact and international development organization Splash designed a pair of drinking and handwashing stations that encourage healthy hygiene habits for children living in urban poverty and offer a new solution for the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector.

Splash identified a need for improved handwashing and drinking water stations in the countries where they work in Africa and Asia, but were unable to locate durable, high-quality products. The stations available in the market were time consuming to construct and maintain, and made from low quality materials that broke with repeated use. Additionally, stations were designed for adults, rather than children, with tall basins and sharp edges and corners.

Artefact and Splash combined years of behavior change research findings with smart industrial design to craft unique drinking and handwashing stations that are both engaging for children and accessible to local communities. Their inventive yet simple form also allows for local manufacturing and easy installation and maintenance.

Community is at the heart of the stations’ design. The new drinking and handwashing stations are designed for use in schools and other child-serving, institutional settings for the widest impact in educating and inspiring healthy habits. The station designs ensure that children gravitate to – and drink from – a safe water source and separate drinking and handwashing behaviors, reducing the potential for disease transmission.

Through their Project WASH in Schools for Everyone (Project WISE), Splash will deploy these stations at more than 2,000 schools in India and Ethiopia over the next five years, reaching one million kids. Through Splash Social Enterprise LLC, their goal is to sell these stations to community organizations and governments as well. The stations will help consistently reinforce good hygiene habits and improve well-being throughout the community for both children and adults.

View the full project here

Here’s how to live and walk in the clouds

There is far more to successful architecture than how the building looks; for it to accomplish its desired aim it must be congruous with its surroundings whilst simultaneously making a statement of its own – this is exactly what the Cloud House has achieved.

Positioned in the Southern Alps in Queensland, New Zealand, it has been designed to complement the snowy peaks that surround it. It gets its name from the stainless-steel membrane that encases the upper section of the building; not only does this create a visually striking and undeniably unique visual that is reminiscent of clouds, but also provides functional benefits as it performs as a sun diffuser and heater/cooler.

The visually light, cloud-like structure sits upon a harsh, concrete base that cuts into the gentle elevation change of the hillside. This creates a distinct juxtaposition between the two levels and introduces an element of suspense into the building.

Designer: Illya Rastvorov

"People are afraid to talk about toxic masculinity" says Orange Culture's Adebayo Oke-Lawal

Adebayo Oke-Lawal of Orange Culture

Nigerian designer Adebayo Oke-Lawal is using fashion to challenge racial and gender stereotypes. Speaking to Dezeen, he says he wants his label Orange Culture to kickstart a global movement for diversity.

At the age of just 28, Oke-Lawal has already launched several acclaimed menswear collections. With names like School of Rejects and Quirks Invasion, each range is designed to push the boundaries of what is traditionally considered masculine.

“I feel like people are afraid to talk about toxic masculinity because it makes them question who they are,” he said.

“It is embedded in our society that men are supposed to do a specific thing,” he continued. “These stereotypes have affected men in so many ways, generationally. It’s a conversation we need to have.”

Orange Culture “to be a movement”

Oke-Lawal was one of the speakers at this year’s Design Indaba conference in Cape Town.

He told the audience how he had dreamed of being a fashion designer since he was a boy, but was pressured by his family into a more traditional career in finance.

Adebayo Oke-Lawal of Orange Culture
Oke-Lawal describes his label Orange Culture as a movement

He managed to squeeze fashion internships in around his day job in a bank until finally he felt confident enough to take a leap of faith, launching Orange Culture in 2011. His mission for the brand from the start was to show young men not to be afraid to express themselves.

“I wanted the Orange Culture brand to be a movement that celebrated the idea of diversity and celebrated the idea of individuality,” he told the crowd.

“Being a man should not be one thing, being a woman should not be one thing. There are so many faces that should be celebrated and we should be able to explore all of those things,” he said.

More than one type of man

The name Orange Culture references a story Oke-Lawal wrote for a writing class when he was 16, The Orange Boy, which detailed his own experiences of toxic masculinity. He sees the colour orange as an alternative to more typical masculine shades like red or blue.

“I grew up very different to most boys,” he explained.

“I was going to an all-boys school, a very hyper-masculine all-boys school, and I was very tiny and I had big glasses. People would say ‘talk louder’, ‘talk like a man’, ‘do this’, ‘do that’. There was always aggravation towards me just because of the way I presented myself. So I was bullied a lot.”

Don't Look Under My Skirt by Orange Culture
Orange Culture clothes push the boundaries of traditional masculinity

“The Orange Boy was about a boy that was individual; he was unique, he didn’t really fit in, but he celebrated it despite this,” he continued.

“It was about saying that whatever society had called me to be wasn’t who I wanted to be and that’s fine. There wasn’t only one type of man. There wasn’t only one yardstick to measure a man’s masculinity. There were various ways you could be a man. I could be a man, at that time, in a pink suit and I wouldn’t be thought of as less than.”

“Motivated by stereotypes”

Orange Culture’s early collections caused a stir among Nigerians. Oke-Lawal recalls how one person told him he would go to hell, simply for dressing a man in a red suit. But this only encouraged the designer to continue.

“I’m motivated by stereotypes,” he told Dezeen.

“When I started I said I was going to use this brand to combat stereotypes and combat issues,” he said. “No matter what everyone says is normal or within a specific space of normal, I’m going to question it.”

Don't Look Under My Skirt by Orange Culture
The latest collection, Don’t Look Under My Skirt, explores issues of privacy

Each collection Orange Culture has released so far has addressed a different issue among young men.

Pretty explored the problems affecting boys who have suffered abuse, based on conversations with real-life sufferers, while The Orange Moon, the label’s Spring Summer 2019 range, was aimed at men who adopt a dual persona, one for their work life and another for their private life.

The latest collection, debuted at Design Indaba, is called Don’t Look Under My Skirt. Featuring vivid colours, heavy satins and graffiti-style prints, it is about “telling society to not invade your privacy”.

The brand has also battled stereotypes around racial identity, by creating a range of textile prints that challenge the idea that Ankara – a type of traditional wax print – is the only textile you can wear if you a true African.

The Orange Moon by Orange Culture
The Orange Moon, for Spring Summer 2019, looked at men who adopt a dual persona

“We’re not just making things more feminine. We’re using fashion to open up conversations,” said Oke-Lawal.

“Clothing can create an impact because it’s changing ideologies, changing mentalities, breaking boundaries and stereotypes. Fashion, art and creative expression is a huge part of progression within our society.”

“This is a different kind of strength”

Oke-Lawal’s work is now attracting international attention. Orange Culture was shortlisted for the inaugural LVMH Prize in 2014 and was the first Nigerian brand to be stocked in London department store Selfridges.

The designer is now starting to look beyond how toxic masculinity affects men in Africa, at how anxieties centred around race and gender inhibit men all around the world.

Pretty by Orange Culture
Pretty explored the problems affecting boys who have suffered abuse

“Within our continent, we feel it more because there are a lot of issues that came before us,” Oke-Lawal explained. “Being suppressed by slavery, men feel like they have had to put on a mask of strength just to fend for their families.”

“But it happens everywhere,  in every country. Men are going through this all over the world,” he continued.

“Everywhere there’s a history of men having to show their strength. But this is a different kind of strength – this is emotional strength and this is intellectual strength.”

The post “People are afraid to talk about toxic masculinity” says Orange Culture’s Adebayo Oke-Lawal appeared first on Dezeen.

Snug House by Proctor & Shaw features cosy room overlooking the garden

Snug House by Proctor & Shaw

Proctor & Shaw has extended the south London home of a retired teacher, adding a timber-lined snug that can be used for reading or birdwatching.

The London-based studio has remodelled the ground floor of the Herne Hill house, creating a larger and more open kitchen, along with the wooden snug. The two spaces frame a new patio, connecting the house with the garden.

With a width of 6.2 metres, the house is larger than most typical Victorian terraces. It was this that led to the idea of creating a snug in addition to the usual kitchen, dining and living areas.

The project is named Snug House in reference to this.

Snug House by Proctor & Shaw

“The house is wider than standard and already had generous sitting rooms at the front, so it made sense to us for the new design to offer something different,” explained studio co-founder John Proctor.

“Therefore a more intimate space, or snug, was discussed early on in the design process.”

Snug House by Proctor & Shaw

The space is lined with natural oiled ash wood to make it feel warm, but also to differentiate it from the kitchen. It is filled with natural light, thanks to a large window and a skylight overhead.

It gives the client, who is an avid birdwatcher, a space to comfortably observe wildlife in the garden.

Snug House by Proctor & Shaw

“A box window was introduced from which the client can perch and enjoy the garden, and warm timber linings make the space more homely and cosy,” said Proctor.

“It wasn’t intended as a bird hide per se, but it is used a bit like that!”

Snug House by Proctor & Shaw

The extension was built using a dark brick that Proctor describes as charcoal in colour. Dark mortar was also used for the pointing, creating a counterpoint to the sandy coloured London stock of the original building.

The ash wood lining from the snug also reappears, in the ground-floor toilet.

“We wanted the new elements to subtly contrast with the existing building and also the new interior, which is to be light, filled with timber linings,” said Proctor. “Internally we wanted timber to be used on the walls to bring warmth and express the functional aspects of the design.”

Snug House by Proctor & Shaw

The new kitchen, a bespoke design from local company West and Reid, features oak veneered cabinets with dark linoleum-faced doors and a pale quartz countertop and splashback.

It creates a casual breakfast area in the centre of the space, in addition to the dining table behind.

Snug House by Proctor & Shaw

Dark tiles by Dutch brand Mosa cover the floors throughout the extension, tying them all together.

“We like the Mosa products as they are highly durable and impervious to staining without any additional on site finishing, making them great for a kitchen,” said Proctor.

“Whilst being a manufactured product, it actually has a natural patination which also softens the look.”

Snug House by Proctor & Shaw

Proctor and partner Mike Shaw founded their studio in 2004. Their other completed projects include a London apartment divided by a grooved timber partition.

Photography is by Ben Blossom.


Project credits:

Architects: Proctor & Shaw
Engineer: Constant Structural Design
Contractor: Lucas Construction Design and Build
Building control: Stroma Building Control
Kitchen: West & Reid
Kitchen counter: Silestone
Floor finish (kitchen): MosaTiles
Floor finish (hall): Mosaic Cement Tiles
Glasswork: L2i
Bi-fold doors: Schueco
Bricks: Ketley Brick Co
Shower room tiles: Diespeker & Co
Sanitary fixtures: Lusso Stone

The post Snug House by Proctor & Shaw features cosy room overlooking the garden appeared first on Dezeen.

Dynamic Combination of Sports and Fashion

La série Shport de Kabutha Kago, un photographe kenyan autodidacte, est caractérisée par d’étonnants contrastes de couleurs et un langage corporel fantastique. Travaillant avec le styliste et scénographe Kevo Abbra, Kago associe sans effort l’énergie dynamique du sport à des tenues élégantes, ce qui donne une séance photo haute couture digne d’une couverture de magazine. Avec une formation en direction artistique, Kago s’est ensuite tourné vers la photographie commerciale et de portrait, qu’il utilise pour donner vie à ses idées décalées et marquantes.






LooWatt's waterless toilet system turns waste into electricity and fertiliser

LooWatt is a toilet with a waterless flush that produces electricity and fertiliser

LooWatt is a toilet that can be flushed without the need for any water, safely disposing of human waste to be turned into electricity and fertiliser.

The closed-loop LooWatt system offers a safe and sustainable alternative to off-grid toilets such as chemical flushing loos at outdoor festivals, or pit latrines.

LooWatt is currently on display at the V&A museum in London as part of its latest exhibition Food: Bigger than the Plate, which looks at the future of food.

LooWatt is a toilet with a waterless flush that produces electricity and fertiliser
LooWatt’s closed loop system turns waste into electricity, biogas and fertiliser

“We believe that to make a new solution for sanitation in the 21st century, you need to have the experience on a par with a flush toilet in terms of hygiene and no odour,” LooWatt inventor and founder Virginia Gardiner told Dezeen.

“You need to have a waterless system so that you don’t need to waste water to get human waste out of sight and out of mind. And you need to have value generating systems.”

LooWatt is a toilet with a waterless flush that produces electricity and fertiliser
The toilet removes waste hygienically without the use of water

Waste is captured and sealed in a biodegradable polymer film, which forms an airlock to safely contains disease and odour. This is collected and taken to a specialised anaerobic digester, which produces biogas, fertiliser and electricity, which can then be sold to generate revenue.

LooWatt partners with local waste disposal services to implement this final stage of the process.

The system is designed to run without water, which is is an increasingly precious resource, particularly in the global south.

The UN estimates that by 2030, according to current climate change scenario models, half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas.

Diseases caused by poor sanitation cause two million deaths globally per year according to the World Health Organisation, something LooWatt hopes to change.

LooWatt can be fitted to a standard toilet pedestal, although it is currently developing its own, more compact, model.

LooWatt is a toilet with a waterless flush that produces electricity and fertiliser
LooWatt offers a sustainable solution for off-grid sanitation needs

Currently 800 people around the world use LooWatt toilets including in the UK, where the company is working with Thames Water to dispose of the sealed film end-product. LooWatt is funded by InnovateUK and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“We’re shipping several hundred toilets to Madagascar this year, as well as the Philippines, where we have a utility partnership with the water utility that’s doing a large-scale rollout of non sewer toilets, ” said Gardiner.

“Non sewer-serviced toilets are the future for urban sanitation in many parts of the world. It’s the future, but it’s also happening right now.”

Making safe and sustain toilets for remote or dangerous areas poses a unique challenge for designers.

Architecture studio Spark has developed a concept for a 3D-printer composting toilet that could generate electricity for remote villages in India, and designer Anna Meddaugh created a portable and reusable toilet for women living in refugee camps.

Images courtesy of LooWatt.

The post LooWatt’s waterless toilet system turns waste into electricity and fertiliser appeared first on Dezeen.

Hay debuts new homeware collection inside ornate 18th-century palace in Copenhagen

Hay unveils new furniture at Lindencrone Mansion in Copenhagen for 3 Days of Design

Danish brand Hay has unveiled its latest range of furniture and homeware, in a pop-up co-working space installed inside Copenhagen’s Lindencrone Mansion for 3 Days of Design.

For the duration of the design festival, which took place from 23 to 25 May, the 18th-century palace was transformed into an exhibition space that showcased a mix of workspaces and more homely lounge areas.

It showcased a whole collection of new Hay products, including three lights, four chairs and a handful of home accessories.

Hay unveils new furniture at Lindencrone Mansion in Copenhagen for 3 Days of Design
Hay presented its new range of furnishings inside Lindencrone Mansion

The exhibition comes in response to what Hay describes as the “shifting landscape of office environments”, where employers are seeking to create more homely offices settings to comfort workers.

It was this that led the brand to Lindencrone Mansion. The building was erected in 1753 and is one of several grandiose mansions built for wealthy citizens in the city’s Frederiksstaden district.

Hay unveils new furniture at Lindencrone Mansion in Copenhagen for 3 Days of Design
One of the new pieces is the Bernard chair, which has a leather seat

“The spaces we have created for 3 Days of Design are about both living and working, and perhaps the divide between those two parts of our existence is not so strict today,” explained Rolf Hay, co-founder and creative director of the brand.

“As we look to the future of design, we should consider that a balanced lifestyle sometimes means living where we work, and working where we live.”

Hay unveils new furniture at Lindencrone Mansion in Copenhagen for 3 Days of Design
Rooms throughout the mansion were arranged as live-work spaces

A large room in the mansion with ornate plaster walls and crystal chandeliers was turned into a lounge area that could be used for informal gatherings amongst colleagues.

One of the new products, the Bernard chair by Shane Schneck, was dotted throughout. It features a wide, solid oak frame with sloping armrests and a pale pink leather seat.

Hay unveils new furniture at Lindencrone Mansion in Copenhagen for 3 Days of Design
Study areas were dressed with Hay’s new Matin lamp

The space was flanked by two long tables that could be used for dining or group meetings.

One was surrounded by the new AAC 100 chair by Hee Welling, which boasts a curved body and high backrest, while the other had the tubular steel Half Time chair designed by Danish architecture firm COBE.

Hay unveils new furniture at Lindencrone Mansion in Copenhagen for 3 Days of Design
There was also an office-like room, where the new Shade paper bin appeared

Small study rooms tucked away at the corners of the mansion had desks topped with the newly-designed Matin lamp by Inga Sempé, which has a steel-wire stem and a pleated cotton shade that loosely resembles a coloured parasol.

Another room boasted an office-like installation, similar to Hay’s installation for last year’s Stockholm Design Week. Amongst the pale blue storage units and work tables were a couple of the brand’s new Shade paper bins, which come with a grooved surface and chunky rim.

Other lounge-style areas throughout the building were completed with comfy oversized sofas, where workers could relax, and library-style shelving. The newly released Bubble lamp, originally designed by George Nelson for Herman Miller, was suspended from the ceilings.

Hay unveils new furniture at Lindencrone Mansion in Copenhagen for 3 Days of Design
There were also relaxing living room-style areas

“When we started Hay, we didn’t produce lighting, so we had to buy lamps for our own stores, and George Nelson’s Bubble lamp has been in our shop from the very beginning,” added Rolf Hay.

“So this lamp has always been with us in a sense, and now I’m happy to give our Hay customers the opportunity to buy it and have it in their own lives.”

Hay unveils new furniture at Lindencrone Mansion in Copenhagen for 3 Days of Design
The newly released Bubble lamps were suspended from the ceiling

The city of Copenhagen plays host to 3 Days of Design every year, with numerous shows and exhibitions that highlight the best of Danish design.

Also at this year’s event, Japanese brand Karimoku launched an architect-designed collection of furniture, while Bjarke Ingels and Simon Frommenwiler collaborated to create a bright pink installation that looks like a house.

The post Hay debuts new homeware collection inside ornate 18th-century palace in Copenhagen appeared first on Dezeen.

Wireless charging meets a DIY light that changes intensity with distance!

This is Line, and having seen this you may never be content with the comparatively mundane lamp that resides on your desk ever again. Line encourages a rather unique form of user interaction for the adjustment of the intensity of the light; by increasing the distance between the sensors that are housed within the base and the light bars, the emitted light will gradually dim. This not only has practical applications but the gradient that can be used to create striking visuals.

It isn’t just the sensors that reside in the sleek base, also housed within this part of the device is a wireless charging module that is capable of charging your mobile device. It’s this feature that wildly elevates the functionality and desirability of Line further, as it introduces another product to the valuable desk space.

Designer: Jeongjin Ko

The Module Sensor Boards are placed inside the tile. The lamp illuminates when the module sensor responds to the tile. The brightness of the lamp varies as it is according to the distance between you and the sensor.  The Module Sensor plates are rechargeable and can be charged via the wireless charging unit.

Lights only when on board.

Brightness changes according to the height.

Retractable desks turn tiny office into presentation space in seconds

9.639 Inserted Variable Micro Office by LUO Studio

LUO Studio has designed a tiny 9.6-square-metre office in Beijing, with seven movable desks so that it can be transformed from an office into an amphitheatre-style presentation room.

Named 9.639 after its compact square area, the small office offers an adaptable space for a graphics printing company.

9.639 Inserted Variable Micro Office by LUO Studio

The moveable surfaces can be extended to be used as desks, partially retracted to become benches, or fully withdrawn into the floor.

The panels can be raised up to 1.2 metres, allowing for varying stepped seating and desk heights, and by placing the panels in ascending height order, the employees can gather for meetings in an amphitheatre-like presentation room.

9.639 Inserted Variable Micro Office by LUO Studio

“9.639 metres square is less than the area of an ordinary bedroom,” said the studio.

“However, such a limited area can be an office equipped with 12 work stations, a meeting room for 18 people, a small exhibition room that accommodates 28 people, and a salon space featuring a stairs-like structure.”

9.639 Inserted Variable Micro Office by LUO Studio

The space is composed of seven modular units. Each one was created to host face-to-face communication – a factor the studio believed to be important for the company’s meetings.

Glass walls on the exterior open the corner addition out to the rest of the office, allowing views inside.

As well as the moveable desks, the workstations also come with fully integrated storage, lighting and electricity sockets.

Above, overhead cabinets are hidden within timber slats in the ceiling. Users can access them by stretching out and drawing them backwards, handling them next to the integrated light strip.

These movements, as well as lifting the desk units, are supported by flexible cross-shaped structures with hydraulic rods.

9.639 Inserted Variable Micro Office by LUO Studio

The micro office uses a self-stabilising structure. Constructed off-site, its exterior frame is left uncovered, exposing the ergonomics of the mechanically moving furniture.

“The exterior structure was exposed, making it solid, durable and easy for maintenance,” said Luo Yujie. “What’s more, unnecessary manufacturing costs were saved.”

9.639 Inserted Variable Micro Office by LUO Studio

LUO Studio chose the material palette to make the installation and transport of the office unit easier. The flexibility for transportation was considered to adapt the design for the company’s future requirements.

“Processed in the factory and then carried to the site and placed in specific positions, the interior structures can be operated after being powered up and can be easily moved or removed at any time,” he continued.

Earlier this year, the Chinese firm repurposed a bicycle to house a micro library and revitalised waste timber beams into a sheltered community space in rural China.

The post Retractable desks turn tiny office into presentation space in seconds appeared first on Dezeen.

Tranquil Temple of Meditation in Cangzhou

Au cœur de l’agitation de la banlieue de Cangzhou en Chine, se trouve un espace de 600 mètres carrés dédié à la tranquillité et au silence. HIL Architects a rénové une série de petites boutiques en un centre de yoga et de méditation dont l’architecture s’inspire des zones humides environnantes. La salle de méditation principale est traversée par un impressionnant jardin d’eau, que l’on peut traverser via une plate-forme surélevée qui mène à différentes salles destinées aux cours et aux retraites. Les murs en bois sombre, l’éclairage tamisé et les hauts plafonds contribuent à l’effet apaisant de ce superbe centre de méditation.