Hasta La Ideas

Rather directly named the APM (short for Accessible People Mover), Toyota’s specially designed vehicle aims at enhancing the experience for visitors who will flock down to Tokyo next year for the 2020 Olympics. Created to help the organizers ensure that the entire 2020 leg of the Olympics and Paralympics go as smoothly as possible, Toyota’s APMs will help visitors cover last-mile distances between events and venues, and specially designed variants will even serve as ambulances in emergency scenarios.

Designed specifically for the 2020 Olympics, the EVs take on a more utilitarian aesthetic driven purely by function. Shaped much like a mini-van, the APM will be commanded by a driver that sits in the front-center, with two rows at the back for passengers, or a single row and an on-board ramp with space for passengers in wheelchairs or with accessibility issues. The driver gets an unobstructed view, thanks to a panoramic windscreen, while passengers also get a seat with a view as the APM’s design is completely open on both sides, much like a golf-cart. The APM facilitates zero-emission transportation at a relatively low speed of 19km/h, and a closer look even shows the presence of air-less tires, much like the ones unveiled by Michelin. Toyota plans on deploying 200 APMs during Olympic season, specifically to help people shuttle between locations, although there isn’t any word on what the company plans on doing after the event is over… but if Tokyo’s strong recycling efforts with the Olympic torch and medals are any indication, these vehicles most certainly won’t make their way to a scrapyard for sure!

Designer: Toyota

With an instant, eye-catching lightning-bolt-shaped fracture running along its front, lined with precisely machined brass all the way from the top to the bottom, the Halsey Fracture Cabinet in Walnut is a simple box with a stand-out detail that totally sets it apart. Designed by Piet Houtenbos, the Halsey Fracture features two doors with uneven jagged cuts that don’t line up when they’re closed. Instead, they provide enough of a gap to slip your fingers through and open either of the doors without needing any handle. The design was arrived by a rather pleasant accident during its computer modeling process in the early iteration phase. Houtenbos immediately saw potential in the error, transforming and coddling the curves into functional elements with high visual recall.

To make sure that the fracture looks deliberate and classy, Houtenbos even gave it a chic brass lining, not only allowing the wood and brass combination to absolutely shine through, but also ensuring you get the smooth cold touch of metal when you go to open the cabinet’s doors. On the inside, the cabinets come lacquered in a deep Wescott Navy hue to really bring out the lightning-shaped detail.

Designer: Piet Houtenbos

American artist Doug Aitken has created a mirrored hot air balloon to travel across rural landscapes of Massachusetts this summer.

Called New Horizon, Aitken‘s design comprises a 100-foot-tall (30-metre-tall) balloon made of a semi-mirrored material and a gondola. It will fly over various sites in Massachusetts that are managed by the Trustees, a local non-profit preservation and conservation organisation, for the rest of the month.

Curator Pedro Alonzo enlisted the Californian artist to create the project for the Trustees’ Art and the Landscape Programme, which invites artists to create a work in response to the natural surrounds. Aitken came up with the idea for a flying sculpture to be less predictable.

“I thought that I don’t really want to make a fpiece of public art that sits in a field,” Aitken told Dezeen. “I’d love to find something that’s, you know, more alive and more challenging and more kind of time-based.”

“I started thinking about the idea of making an artwork that could travel and be nomadic and could change continuously,” he added.

Aitken worked with friends at NASA to develop the semi-mirrored material for the balloon’s body, which is intended to reflect the landscape when flying during the day.

LED lights are hand-sewn throughout the material and can be choreographed to illuminate in different patterns and colours during the night time.

“I didn’t want the piece to finish when the sun sets and we go into darkness,” said the artist. “It can change from white light to cool white light to warm, white light to different chromatic colours.”

New Horizon launched on 12 July at the Long Point Beach reservation on Massachusetts island Martha’s Vineyard.

It will travel onto various properties across the US state, including Holmes Reservation in Plymouth, deCrodova Sculpture Park and Museum in London, Castle Hill on the Crane Estate in Ipswich, Naumkeag, and end at Field Farm in Williamstown on 28 July.

At each setting, the balloon will be used to initiate “happenings” that comprises talks and musical performances by artists selected by Aitken. Attendees will also be able to purchase tickets to ride in the gondola.

“These happenings are all different,” said Aitken. “They’re very loose and very candid.”

Aitken, who is based in Venice, California, and New York, often aims to play with settings and the elements with his artworks.

Previous experimental projects have included an underwater installation that invited people to swim inside mirrored geodesic domes anchored to the seabed near California’s Catalina Island in California.

“I was restless with the idea that to see a film, you would go into a building and sit down in a chair and watch a screen,” he said. “I want to find ways to kind of break that.”

“That led into more architectural directions with projects that move past the image, that go deep into the earth,” he added.

His other site-specific works include the small house-shaped structure covered entirely in mirrors he created for the Desert X festival held in Coachella Valley.

Photography is courtesy of Doug Aitken Workshop and the Trustees.

The post Doug Aitken’s mirrored balloon New Horizon flies over Massachusetts appeared first on Dezeen.

Daniel Libeskind is the latest architect to design a Maggie’s cancer care centre, releasing visuals of building covered in angled timber louvres that is set to be built in London.

The Maggie’s Centre will be located by the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north London.

Prefabricated wooden louvres will form the facade, angled to provide sun shading and create the centre’s curving shape, which is designed to be a welcoming place.

“It will be designed to contrast with its more clinical hospital surroundings, drawing in newcomers with an approachable and undulating timber form,” said Studio Libeskind.

“Timber has been chosen as a renewable material to emphasise the building’s human character.”

From the inside, the louvres will frame views through windows. There will be 97 windows in total, ensuring the 26 rooms are filled with natural light.

Maggie’s Centre’s are charity-run spaces that offer expert support for those affected by cancer, whether they are suffering from the disease or are affected by the illness of a loved one or family member.

The Hampstead Maggie’s will have a small footprint, but to maximise the space the building will be bigger on the upper stories.

On the roof, which is level with the surrounding trees, a rooftop garden will be built.

Planted gardens with seating will be placed at both entries, along with walkways connecting the centre to the hospital.

“We see the role of this building as providing an oasis for those affected by cancer, a place of respite in an ever more chaotic and bureaucratic world,” added the architecture studio.

Polish-American architect Libeskind, who co-founded Studio Libeskind in 1989, will join other high profile designers of Maggie’s Centres, including Norman Foster, Amanda Levete and Steven Holl.

Benedetta Tagliabue has built a Maggie’s Centre in Barcelona, with interiors designed by 2019 Dezeen Awards judge Patricia Urquiola.

Other upcoming Studio Libeskind projects with characteristically angular forms include an archaeology museum in Chile and a paleoanthropology museum on a cliff edge in Kenya.

The post Daniel Libeskind unveils design for Maggie’s Centre in London’s Hampstead appeared first on Dezeen.

There’s truth in the statement that airport/airplane naps are some of the most uncomfortable naps ever. Whether it’s the position you’re trying to sleep in, the lack of a proper neck support, or the absence of a comforter/blanket, sleeping while traveling is just annoyingly difficult… but the guys at Gravel have a way of making transit-napping (a technical term I coined) much more comfortable.

Designed with the soul of a sleeping bag, the Layover is a blanket explicitly built for traveling with. Its construction beats those flimsy, tiny, smelly blankets they hand out on flights, and gives you a full-body comforter that wraps you in its cocoon-esque design. Crafted with a breathable nylon exterior and an insulated interior, the Layover is cozy and can keep you warm in those often-chilly flights. Unlike traditional flat, rectangular blankets, Layover’s design comes with pockets and pouches for your hands, legs, and even a few key belongings (like your passport or boarding pass), giving you an experience comparable to being a baby kangaroo in its pouch. The Layover fits your body like a glove, keeping you absolutely snug and ensuring that the blanket doesn’t come off when you move or turn in your sleep. Pair it with a good eye mask and neck pillow and you’ve got yourself the holy trinity of effective transit-napping.

The Layover blanket, with its full-body design, still manages to pack down into a compact form that’s roughly the size of your face. It stores pretty easily in suitcases, or can even be strung to a backpack. When packed, the Layover makes a neat makeshift travel pillow, but its true magic is only when you open it into its versatile form, that can serve as anything from an outdoor mat to spread on a lawn or a beach, or more importantly, to use as a comfortable, travel-friendly blanket that’s comfortable, cozy, and gives you some serious shut-eye on those red-eye flights.

Designers: Chris Livingston, Lance Williams, Henry Lee & Monika Robinson

Click Here to Buy Now: $99 $130 ($31 off). Hurry, only 3/2445 left! Raised over $530,000.

The Layover: Travel Blanket Perfect For Comfortable Travel

Let’s face it, traveling is exhausting. You just can’t predict when you’ll need extra comfort. Long uncomfortable flights, napping on the floor during delays, transfers, road trips… how do you stay comfortable?! This design team set out to take the edge off and make your journey even better with the Layover Travel Blanket.

Gravel Team tells us about the Layover Travel Blanket.

Below: Awesome Features of the Layover

A Travel Blanket with a ton of awesome features to make this blanket perfect to take comfort everywhere you go.

Use The Layover Blanket At The Airport

Sleep Peacefully Inside the Plane With The Layover Blanket

Share The Layover Blanket In The Park

Carry The Layover Travel Blanket With you Everywhere

Here’s The Solution: The Layover will change the way you look at travel blankets forever. Gravel has incorporated a ton of neat features to keep you comfortable on the go.

Why does this blanket make traveling better?

Here’s The Problem: Getting comfortable while traveling or on the go is really tough. You aren’t likely to carry your grandma’s super comfy quilt on a plane unless you want to look like you’re headed for an adult sleepover. Blankets just aren’t packable!

You never know if the plane you are boarding will get drafty, if you will be stuck on a super long layover, or if you’ll end up in a window seat up against the cold wall of a bus. We thought there had to be a much better way.

Below: A Quick Walkthrough

Comfort

Pack-ability

Detachable & Hideaway Stuff Sack

Easy Stuffing with Patent Pending Stuff Sack

Stuffing into stuff sacks is the worst. To solve this, we added 3” of extra material for easy grip & stuffing. You can then use the drawstring to quickly cinch down and convert the material down to its most compact size.

Warmth

The breathable insulation core keeps you feeling just right. Fun fact: Our insulation is 100% recycled PET plastic (i.e. water bottles) & keeps high performance standards.

Microfleece Kangaroo Pocket

The team has lined the inside of the Kangaroo pocket with microfleece for a soft place for your hands.

Inside of the Kangaroo Pocket

Envelope Pocket

On the outside of the hoodie sleeve is an envelope pocket. It’s the perfect place to secure items like your headphones, passport, & boarding pass, so your stuff doesn’t mysteriously slide under the seat.

Snap Blankets Together & Increase Blanket Width

Want a wider blanket size to share with a friend? Compatible snaps line the edge of the blanket to increase width to as many blankets as you want.

Spill Proof/Water Resistant

Sizing

Tech Specs:

– Nylon: 20D
– Insulation: 40 gr/sq m made from PET plastic
– Warmth Rating: 60°
– Zipper: YKK
– Weight: 11.4 ounces
– Drawstring: Paracord
– Anti-Static + Waterproof Coating
– Machine Washable
– Washing Instructions: The blanket is machine washable. Tumble dry it on low or hang dry.

The Gravel Team’s Story

Chris met Lance in 2017 with an idea to design a better toiletry bag for traveling.

Holy smokes – They’ve shipped 37,000+ products to 108 countries around the world.

Lifetime Warranty

Gravel is so confident in their product’s build that they have added a lifetime warranty – plain and simple. If the blanket doesn’t hold up for what it was designed for then let them know and they’ll make it right.

Click Here to Buy Now: $99 $130 ($31 off). Hurry, only 3/2445 left! Raised over $530,000.