Hasta La Ideas

Architecture studio MAPA and its prefabricated building company Minimod have completed this residence in Brazil, using black walls and a green roof to help blend in with its remote woodland surrounds.

The Brazil- and Uruguay-based firm designed the residence called Minimod Curucaca for a forest clearing in the Curcaca Valley, which is located in a mountainous region of southern Brazil.

Forming the latest output of MAPA’s product-focussed arm Minimod – which has completed prefab residences in Uruguay and Brazil – the property was built in a factory near São Paulo and then transported 900 kilometres via truck to the site.

The residence itself is a simple, one-storey volume elevated on stilts to rise above the sloped plot.

Additional details such as a blackened exterior and a grassy roof by Ecotelhado are intended to complement the natural terrain. There are also large expanses of glass that break up the module to offer views of the surrounding valley.

“It presents itself as a primitive retreat with a contemporary reinterpretation, which more than an object aims to become an every-remote-landscape experience,” said MAPA.

“Its compact and efficient design enhances the surroundings of where it is installed and turns them into available landscapes.”

MAPA built the construction panels from cross-laminated timber – an engineered wood in which slices of wood are layered at right angles and glued together. Also known as CLT, the material matches the strength of concrete and steel but is fairly new to Brazil.

“It incorporates the benefits that a newly-born industry has to offer,” said the studio, which also used CLT to build a simple, prefab chapel on a vineyard in Maldonado, Uruguay.

While the exterior is finished black, inside nobbly timber boards are left exposed throughout.

The home is based on a compact floor plan with a main living area at its core, and two similarly sized bedrooms are on either side. Both feature bathrooms that can either be accessed from the bedrooms, or from smaller rooms that serve as storage closets.

The central living room includes a dining and sitting area close to one another. Another seating space is defined by a fireplace and bookshelf.

A kitchen features black countertops that relate to the home’s stark facade and window frames. Wooden cabinets within the kitchen were designed by Sandrin Planejados, and are accompanied by island designed by Safra.

Siding glass doors flank the area and lead to covered outdoor patios. These patios can also be accessed from the two bedrooms.

Photography is by Leonardo Finott.

Projects credits:

Partners: Luciano Andrades, Matías Carballal, Andrés Gobba, Mauricio López, Silvio Machado

Project team: João Bernardi, Helena Utzig, Marina Lemos, Lucas Marques, Débora Boniatti, Juliana Colombo, Pablo Courreges, Diego Morera, Emiliano Lago, Fabián Sarubbi, Sandra Rodríguez, Agustín Dieste, Sebastián Lambert, Chiara Vannozzi
Assembly and production: CROSSLAM, CG Sistemas
Local infrastructure: ALM Construções

Electrical engineer: Roberto Silvestrin
Plumbing: Júlio César Troleis

Woodwork: MAPA Architects

Ironwork: MAPA Architects

Lighting: Reka Iluminação
Green roof: Ecotelhado
Furniture: Arbatax, Wishbone, Tripolina, Faro Design, Expresso do Oriente, Balbueno Tapetes

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With a retro name and a personality to match, the Xiaomi Elvis Atomic is adorably small, and is styled to look like a miniature memento or trophy, rather than a Bluetooth speaker. Its design pulls inspiration from the turntable, and looks like it belongs somewhere in Fallout 76, according to Mike Chua.

The tiny yet powerful speaker comes in a military olive green and has a speaker grille where vinyl would be. Armed with a simple on/off switch, a knob for volume control, and 7 hours of playback, this CES Innovation Award winner is cute, capable, and memorable all wrapped into one package!

Designer: Xiaomi

Swedish company TRIWA is selling a limited-edition watch that features the hair of US president Donald Trump as hands, after the success of an April Fools-day prank.

TRIWA received hundreds of requests to produce the watch after publishing it as a joke on 1 April.

In response, the brand made the product available for pre-order three days later, promising to start production if 100 orders were received before 15 April.

Over 900 have now sold, making it the fastest selling product in the company’s history.

“We weren’t expecting any commercial power”

“We are blown away by the positive response we’ve received since it was made as an April Fools campaign,” said TRIWA creative director Ludvig Scheja. “We weren’t expecting any commercial power of the product.”

The watch has been produced in a limited edition of 1,000.

The design features a cartoon illustration of Trump with a bright pink face and an open shouting mouth. Trump’s hair is yellow and split into two parts to form the clock’s hands.

“It is aligned with our mission to create stories for your wrist,” Scheja added. “We as a brand need to be more focused on storytelling in order to make an impact and stand out in this highly competitive industry.”

Comb-over watch chimes with other Trump caricatures

The caricature watch is among a number of designs that have poked fun at POTUS since his inauguration on 20 January 2017.

While focusing on his appearance, many are intended to draw attention to his controversial policies, such as plans to build a wall along the border between the US and Mexico.

Examples include a comical blimp depicting the president as a baby, which a group of designers created as part of a bid to stop the president’s visit to the UK. Artist Edel Rodriguez, meanwhile, redesigned the front cover of Trump exposé Fire and Fury, with an illustration of his face as flames.

Dezeen, architects and designers wade in on April Fools day

Available with either a mustard or a black strap, the final versions of the Comb-over watch are for sale on TRIWA’s website for 99 € (£84.91).

This is not the first time that TRIWA has tried to trick its customers on 1 April. In 2017, it pretended it was launching a series of self-assembly watches inspired by IKEA products.

Dezeen also waded in on the fun this year with a spoof story that British architect Norman Foster had unveiled plans for The Unicorn tower to rival The Tulip. Other 2019 April Fools included plans for a gondola in Edinburgh, a dog-walking drone and Swiss Army sunglasses.

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A coffee table is a long, low table which is designed to be placed in front of (or next to) a sofa or upholstered chairs to support beverages, magazines, books, decorative objects, and other small items to be used while sitting, such as beverage coasters. In Europe, the first tables specifically designed as and called coffee tables, appear to have been made in Britain during the late Victorian era. Later coffee tables were designed as low tables and this idea may have come from the Ottoman Empire, based on the tables used in tea gardens. However, as the Anglo-Japanese style was popular in Britain throughout the 1870s and 1880s and low tables were common in Japan, this seems to be an equally likely source for the concept of a long low table.

Coffee Table 63 by Baptiste Ducommun for Klybeck

Modern Coffee Table

It refers to furniture produced from the late 19th century through the present that is influenced by modernism.

Up Balloon Coffee Table by Duffy London

Part rug, part table, meet the Stumble Upon Coffee Table by Alessandro Isola

Contemporary Coffee Table

Though contemporary and modern may seem interchangeable, contemporary style refers to what is currently popular. Contemporary designs often feature stark interiors with bold, bright accents. Glass tops and metal bases are common features of contemporary coffee tables.

Abyss Horizon Coffee Table by Duffy London

Cottage Coffee Tables

In some ways, cottage style is as much a frame of mind as it is an approach to decorating. There’s an everyday ease in the way it celebrates imperfections, ordinary treasures and blended families of furniture. Cottages tend to be humble, unpretentious and full of heart — traits most of us would be proud to claim. Both cottage and country styles feature feminine lines and detailing, such as turned legs. Painted and distressed finishes are common features of country and cottage coffee tables.

Mills Table by Stephan Schmitz of adorTable

The Line Coffee Table by Baker Street Boys

Industrial Coffee Table

Industrial style evokes the purposeful look and feel of factory tools, utilising metal and wood in more rough-hewn, sturdy construction. These can pair well with loft-style living rooms, or stand in perfect contrast to softer surroundings.

Arc coffee table designed by Ditte Vad and Julie Begtrup for Woud Design

Mid Century Coffee Table

Mid-century modern refers to the interior design style that was popular between the 1950s and 1960s. Mid-century modern coffee tables are characterised by clean, simple lines and bent wood or molded plastic construction. Most of the time, wood furniture has a simple finish to show off its natural beauty.

The Parsons White Top Coffee Table by Homesense

Parsons Coffee Table

A modern square or rectangular table, a parsons table has four flush, square legs that are equally as thick as the flat top. The parsons table is a modern design created in the 1930s. Though it has a simple shape, a parsons coffee table can be embellished with upholstery or different materials to fit many design schemes.

Height and Width

The best size of your coffee table depends on the size of your sofa. For optimal balance and function, the coffee table should be around two thirds the width of the sofa. The height should be 5–10 cm below the height of the sofa seat. To give ample room for moving around, make sure there are around 45cm of space between the sofa and the table.

The original write up by Anna Samygina published on Medium can be found.

Dutch designer Marcel Wanders has exhibited a plastic water bottle he used for three months at an exhibition promoting recycled plastic objects in Milan.

Wanders submitted the bottle, designed by Ross Lovegrove for water brand Ty Nant, for Rossana Orlandi‘s Ro Plastic Masters exhibition – part of the Milanese gallerist’s Guiltless Plastic initiative.

The subversive gesture was intended to show his “opposition to an increasingly apathetic, throwaway culture,” the designer said.

“Recycling ultimately legitimates consumption,” Wanders told Dezeen. “Reusing objects removes the guilt of throwing them away. Let’s not recycle what we can reuse.”

Wanders said British designer Lovegrove gave him the plastic bottle as a gift several years ago. The PET bottle, regarded as a classic, features a rippling surface that evokes flowing water.

Wanders recently found the bottle in a drawer and started to use it, marking it with a pen each time he refilled it from the tap.

“For three months the bottle was with me everywhere,” Wanders said. “I have filled and emptied it around 200 times in that period.”

The idea of submitting a used bottle for the show, held at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci during Milan design week, came to Wanders after members of his studio tried to convince him to take part in the initiative, which was intended to showcase products made of recycled or recyclable plastic.

“I didn’t want to do it,” said Wanders. “I disagree with [Orlandi’s] fundamental proposition.”

“Since some designers in my studio really wanted to be part of the exhibition we discussed it in length and I got fired up in the conversation with them. That’s why my design was in the exhibition, opposing the exhibition.”

For the exhibition, Wanders added some graphics to Lovegrove’s bottle and displayed it on a pedestal.

“Most things that we throw away are not broken,” Wanders added. “They are not even damaged, we are just fed up with them. This is a material problem with a psychological cause.”

Wanders, one of the world’s most successful designers, is known for expressive designs that are often colourful and highly patterned. He is also co-founder and creative director of Dutch furniture and lighting brand Moooi.

His comments come at a time when concern is rising about plastic pollution. This week, scientists published research showing that so-called biodegradable plastic bags remain intact three years after being dropped in the sea or buried underground.

In April, recycling expert Arthur Huang told Dezeen that bioplastics could be just as bad for the environment as fossil-fuel plastics.

Last year, design curator Jan Boelen said moves to encourage the use of recycled plastic were “bullshit” since they perpetuate the plastic economy.

Orlandi’s Guiltless Plastic initiative also included the Ro Plastic Prize for recycled plastic. Winners included a range of furniture by German designer Alexander Schul, and fabrics made of plastic bags by Egyptian designers Hend Riad and Mariam Hazem from Reform Studio.

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