Biomimicry, this is the term that came across my screen when looking for nature-inspired designs, enlightening me to the reality, that boy, have we inspired a lot from nature’s forms, behavior, and structures. While biomimicry finds it’s applications across multiple walks of our lives, the collection curated here today is much simpler. To explain it better, these designs use nature-inspired forms and actual animal and plants, envisioning them into everyday products that are a staple in most of our homes. An eclectic mix of objects, these designs are sure to make you smile by the clever use of space and form!
New Zealand designer and sculptor Ben Young’s forte is hand sculpting clear sheets of float glass and different solid materials like concrete and steel inspired by oceans and seas
Take a look at what Rides of the Wild by Frédéric Müller imagined on your behalf, putting together a series of eight images depicting Custom-Designed-Classic-Cars and their wild drivers. L10N and P4ND4!
Never lack conversation starters with these shark wine glasses by BTS Design
Saguaro, cactus-inspired coffee glasses by Doiy Design
Quirky little Sheep Toilet Paper Holder by Art&Artifact
Major high-rise developments are razing the architectural past of Los Angeles at a rapid rate, says the production designer behind the 1960s sets of Quentin Tarantino’s movie, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.
Production designer Barbara Ling said that creating the sets for the summer blockbuster highlighted the fast pace of development in the city.
“Los Angeles has always been a city ever transforming itself,” Ling told Dezeen in an interview. “We’ve never held on to the past. With every year that goes by, we tear down more of the previous year. “
“Even as fast as we could build and shoot this film, things were being torn down around us with high-rises, and glass and steel buildings going up in their place,” the Angeleno added.
Ling created 1960s-style facades to front existing buildings in the city
Ling oversaw the creation of more than 170 sets for the movie, which was written and directed by Tarantino, and follows has-been TV-star Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth.
Many of the scenes were filmed in the Californian city – including in the Hollywood and Westwood neighbourhoods, the canyons of Beverly Glenn and the city’s valleys – which Tarantino tasked Ling to turn back to 1969.
Hollywood Boulevard proved to be the easiest transformation for Ling, with a number of buildings from the film’s era still standing: “Hollywood Boulevard is the last kind of great bastion that hasn’t become one big apartment building,” she said.
Ling designed new facades to front a number of the low-level buildings that appear in the film, fashioned to reflect the style of the 1960s.
But she added that large amounts of construction work surrounding the boulevard suggested that its architectural landscape is also set to change in the near future.
“There were so many cranes off Hollywood Boulevard it looked like we were in Dubai trying to build or something,” Ling said.
“It’s not going to be much longer that you’ll be able to even put facades on top of existing architecture,” she added. “It’ll just be too many high rises.”
Read on for an edited transcript of our interview with Barbara Ling:
Eleanor Gibson: Could you give a brief description for someone who hasn’t seen it yet of what the film is about?
Barbara Ling: It’s a slice of life. Two Hollywood actors – a TV actor and his stunt double – who are kind of wandering through a bit of a middle-age crisis in Hollywood in 1969. They were more of the 1950s, early 1960s era, and they are seeing a huge change in their careers.
Eleanor Gibson: What was your task on the film? What was your brief?
Barbara Ling: Quentin writes like a novel. He explains the world around the characters, and he goes off and describes things that they’re wearing or doing and you get this very extraordinary novel-esque sensibility of this world.
You start out by knowing where Quentin’s coming from, with these characters he’s created and from there you’re off with Quentin on a very huge ride of what are the areas, what are the sections, what are the pieces of this city, Los Angeles, that he wants to create in these scenes.
It became the combination of the valleys of Los Angeles to Hollywood to Westwood, to the canyons of Beverly Glenn, to the deep valleys of the city.
Eleanor Gibson: The film follows the end of the 1960s, I was wondering, what was it like to go back to that time? What was your process for going back there?
Barbara Ling: My first process was myself. Even though I was a teenager, I was an Angeleno, already zooming around with older friends through Hollywood. So to me, it was touching on the things that define the areas of Hollywood.
Quentin was young, younger, of course, more like six or seven. But he has very vivid, strong memories of going to movies as a kid in Hollywood.
Hollywood Boulevard was one of the few areas to feature structures that date back to the movies era, such as the Pacific Cinerama Dome
Quentin knew he wanted Hollywood Boulevard put back to 1969 and the marquees of the movie theatres. Those were very important to him and these kind of iconic places that he still goes to.
The restaurants are places that existed before the 1960s, haunts that people go to and there was very little to do with those restaurants, we could actually put them back in time easier than almost anything else.
It was just working in sketches, and working with Quentin to say here’s what Lancer looked like and here’s what we can do if I rebuild this street, to become Lancer.
It was lots of detail work and then lots of research, and I had a great researcher. We researched into everything from old Western sets to recreations of what Hollywood Boulevard would look like.
Eleanor Gibson: Did anything stand out to you in terms of what’s changed about Los Angeles through working on the project?
Barbara Ling: Sadly, Los Angeles has always been a city ever transforming itself. We’ve never held on to the past. With every year that goes by, we tear down more of the previous year.
Even as fast as we could build this and shoot this film, things were being torn down around us with high-rises, and glass and steel buildings going up in their place.
Eleanor Gibson: There’s a lot of development going on there at the moment.
Barbara Ling: Non-stop, it just does not stop. There was so many cranes off Hollywood Boulevard, that it looked like we were in Dubai trying to build or something.
You couldn’t believe how many buildings are going up at the same time. It’s not going to be much longer that you’ll be able to even put facades on top of existing architecture here anymore. It’ll just be too many high rises.
Hollywood Boulevard does have some sections. So those are the sections we got, and that we put the old facades back on top of, but the architecture of the buildings was still the same height.
Eleanor Gibson: It was almost the last chance to shoot such a film within the old setting then?
Barbara Ling: It’s getting extremely hard. It’s all high-rise buildings.You can’t even recreate the strip anymore.
Hollywood Boulevard is the last kind of great bastion that hasn’t become one big apartment building.
There are over 170 sets in the film, which is based across the city including Westwood Village, Hollywood and the valleys
Eleanor Gibson: I read that you shut down portions of the boulevard and it was obviously a huge production. Were there any challenges on set, any obstacles that you faced?
Barbara Ling: It was a huge challenge just to transform the buildings. And it was great that the city allowed it. But it took months of work to design off-site, build, bring things in with cranes, put them up without stopping tourism, then having to paint, then having to have the decorators come in and do all these new storefronts that we had put back.
That had to have been one of the hardest things to do. I don’t think anyone’s tried in a long time to do this kind of recreation on the street, that you couldn’t stop tourism for.
It was protecting the tourists, though they were enjoying watching it. But you know, it was difficult. But when it’s finished, and when you finally had that great moment of the period cars come in and all the thousands of extras in period clothing and the lights of the neon turned on. And he just went wow, you know, I’m back in 1969. So that’s the kind of movie I live for.
Eleanor Gibson: And were there any other highlights during the filming?
Barbara Ling: Oh, a lot. Because we were continually changing things, we had an enormous amount of sets.
About every three or four days, the whole crew were in a new environment from 1969. It was pretty fantastic that so much could be changing in one movie.
Recreating Spahn Movie Ranch was “a great scene-setter” for the cast and crew, according to Ling
You know the whole world of going out and recreating Spahn Ranch was also a kind of a great scene-setter for the cast and crew because you’re now in a whole different environment from what the city was, and the Western sets.
Eleanor Gibson: Almost like inception, a set within a set…
Barbara Ling: That’s the kind of neat thing is that you’re creating a set for an old Western within the setting of the movie that you’re doing.
Eleanor Gibson: Do you know how many different sets there were in total?
Barbara Ling: About 170.
Eleanor Gibson: What was it like working with Quentin Tarantino?
Barbara Ling: He’s unbelievable. You know, from the from the moment you read a script that reads like a novel rather than a script, to his incredible love and an infectious enthusiasm when he gets on a set.
I have never seen a director love directing as much as he does and he loves every day on set. Everything on set is 1960s, including the music. He owns a theatre in LA and he played 1960s movies every weekend night, immersing the crew in 1960s sound.
She added that the film’s writer and director Tarantino, pictured here with actress Margot Robbie, was involved in everything
He loves filmmaking, like nobody I’ve ever met. I mean, he just loves it and it makes the set extremely thrilling. Because he just gets that energy of people to love it with him and it’s an amazing thing to experience.
Eleanor Gibson: Did you find yourself working very closely with him? Does he get involved in that kind of creative side of the project?
Barbara Ling: He’s involved in everything. He’ll walk in with a little handful of props that he wants to add to the characters. He’s that involved. There isn’t anything he’s not involved in.
He loves everything from you know, the posters and what they’re going to look like, and taking posters from his house because he has an amazing poster and prop collection to the vehicles, the thrill of seeing the vehicles recreated. There’s nothing that doesn’t touch him. You know, he is the maestro on the set. He doesn’t sit back.
Eleanor Gibson: He often makes actors in the film watch films that he believes are appropriate. What was your preparation?
Barbara Ling: Well, what he would do is show us all you know, he used his theatre in Hollywood, the Beverly was under renovation so he threw sofas in there and every Friday showed a new film to the whole crew and cast.
We watched Valley of the Dolls. There’s so many films that he ran for us because they’re films that mean something to him because there’s elements of LA within it, or he liked how the characters were for the cast. It was very fun to have a director who owns his own movie theatre. He had a whole list of films and we watched them all.
Architects Filipe Pina and Maria Inês Costa have overhauled an abandoned farmhouse in rural Portugal, contrasting its rustic granite walls with a new skin of dark corrugated metal.
Pina and Costa completely refurbished the property, now known as MCR2 House, so that it could be used as a holiday home, a guesthouse or as a permanent residence.
Aiming to retain the “humble character” of the original, century-old building, they demolished a 1950s annex and replaced it with an extension that more directly matches its neighbour.
The new addition mimics the proportions of the farmhouse building and they both share a new roof.
However the architects chose a more contemporary material palette for the extension, so that both sides of the building have their own distinct identity.
One side is the restored stone, while the other side is clad in corrugated metal.
“The pre-existing building was maintained and the idea of the annex proved to be a starting point for the concept of the project,” explained the architects. “In the absence of space, an adjacent space is built.”
“In materiality, the new and old were distinguished, sheltered under the same roof: the stone and the corrugated sheet, side-by-side and in continuity,” they added.
The house is located near the Serra da Estrela mountain range in the east of Portugal. It was originally built in the early 20th-century and would have been used for both residential and agricultural activities.
The renovation has kept the interior layout very simple, with living spaces in the new part of the 140-square-metre building and bedrooms kept to the older part of the structure.
There are three bedrooms in total, although there is also a storage space that could be converted into a fourth.
Not all of the rooms connect internally. On the ground floor, a bedroom can be accessed directly off the kitchen, although both rooms have their own entrance, and the storage room is completely separate.
Similarly, the upstairs living-room leads through to one of the two bedrooms on this floor. The other is accessed via a stone staircase on the outside of the building.
Unlike the exterior, the interior of the building is completely contemporary. Walls and ceilings are either painted white or covered in plywood panels, while the kitchen features a concrete counter and pale pink tiles.
Simple lighting fixtures were chosen, along with a wood-burning stove that functions as a visual feature.
“The neutrality given by the simplicity of the materials and the illusion of the absence of detail was sought,” said the architects.
“The idea of interiority is conveyed in the use of the openings, strategically located towards the landscape, and by the punctual use of wood.”
MCR2 House is not the first project Pina and Costa have collaborated on. The two Portuguese architects previously teamed up on House JA, a house renovation and extension project in the city of Guarda.
Architects: Filipe Pina, Maria Inês Costa Engineering: Ricardo Pereira Styling: Maria João Correia Furniture: Miljo Construction: Leonido & Filhos, Lda Communication/design: João Aparício Manufacturers: Efapel, Sanitana, Ofa, Aleluia Cerâmicas, Technal, Teka
As a child, you’re used to the comfort of having your parents’ arm around you as you sleep. This gentle weight and warmth is what promotes faster, sounder, better sleep, knowing that you’re being protected from everything bad. This feeling lingers on even through adulthood – of feeling safe and protected by warmth and weight, which is why it’s easier to sleep with weighted blankets. These blankets weigh slightly more than regular blankets do, making you feel warmer and cozier as you drift into sleep.
More than twice as large as your regular weighted blanket, the ‘XL Weighted’ comes from Big Blanket Co., a pioneer in this field. Designed to be large enough to not just cover you, but wrap all around you, the XL Weighted Blanket can be used in bed, on a sofa, or even as you’re lounging near the fireplace. Measuring larger than your average king-sized bed, the XL Weighted is 12000 square feet of fuzzy, weighted goodness. It covers everything from your head to all the way around your cold toes, and there’s still enough to share with someone else.
Made from moisture-wicking polyester with a 100% cotton duvet cover on top, the XL Weighted blanket keeps you warm and cozy but wicks perspiration so you’re never sweaty. Calibrated to be what Big Blanket Co. believes to be the ideal mass for a weighted blanket, each blanket weighs 30 pounds (distributed between two partners) and comes filled with premium glass microbeads often found in the highest quality weighted blankets.
Designed to mimic the feeling of being embraced, the XL Weighted blanket pretty much one-ups a comforter, with a design that’s perfectly material and weight calibrated, and with a size that’s big enough to wrap around you completely from head to toe… or if you’re in the mood to, to share with the person shivering right next to you!
Measuring at 100″ x 120″ and weighing in at just over 30 pounds, The XL Weighted Blanket is the world’s largest weighted blanket. It’s the perfect balance of weight and comfort.
Fold it over for extra weight or use it as an all-season comforter.
Printer ink can sometimes cost more than the printer itself. We talk with a former editor of the Recycler to find out why printer ink is so expensive…(Read…)
XTRAP is a futuristic dance entertainment crew from Japan who specialize in finger tutting, tutting and animation dance.They also recently competed on Asia’s got Talent…(Read…)
Eight gabled forms jut out over the stands of this Mexico City baseball stadium, which Mexican architects Francisco Gonzalez Pulido and Alonso de Garay designed for local team Los Diablos Rojos.
Chicago studio FGP Atelier led by Gonzalez Pulido collaborated with Taller ADG led by Alonso de Garay to complete the facility for the Los Diablos Rojos sports team. It is called the Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium, after the team’s owner Harp Helú.
Gonzalez Pulido oversaw the design of the sports complex’s roof, using angular forms that are meant to evoke the baseball team’s trident logo.
Cantilevered canopies cover 11,500 of the seats, which are laid out on two sides of the baseball diamond behind the batter. The other two sides contain 8,500 seats that are left exposed to the elements.
“The roof is meant to become an iconic symbol of the great city of Mexico,” said FGP Atelier and Taller ADG.
The gabled forms are built of large steel trusses that hold sheets of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) – a synthetic material that is waterproof and slightly translucent – taut. Their slopes are used to gather rainwater runoff in the deep cracks, which is processed and reused on site.
Los Diablos Rojos’ stadium is located within the Magdalena Mixhuca sports complex, which was originally built for Mexico City’s 1968 Olympics, and now serves as a public venue for athletic and cultural events.
Gonzalez Pulido and de Garay worked together to complete the stadium’s main public spaces.
The plaza is delineated by six truncated pyramids that house auxiliary spaces and support the roof’s heavy structure. Traditional Mexican architecture influenced the design of these plinths, which are clad in prefabricated concrete panels that incorporate local volcanic stone.
“The procession from the stadium’s grounds into the ballpark is reminiscent of entering an ancient Mesoamerican temple,” said the studios.
“Successful spaces in Mexico encourage strong social engagement, incorporate Mexican traditions, and respect for existing natural conditions,” they added.
Other public amenities surrounding the main stadium include an outdoor market, batting cages, and an organic garden. “The ultimate goal is the realisation of a great public arena, where the open space is as important as the built space,” said the architects.
The Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium was completed earlier in 2019 and inaugurated in April, five years after the start of construction.
Earlier this year, architecture firm BIG unveiled its design for a new baseball stadium in Oakland, California.
Project credits: Local Architect: Alonso de Garay (Taller ADG, Mexico City) Client: Alfredo Harp Helú Structural consultant: Werner Sobek (Roland Bechmann, Stephen Hagenmayer, Andreas Hoier, Thomas Winterstetter) Sports consultant: Populous (David Bower, Mike Sabatini, David Lizarraga) Concrete and steel structure: Tollan (Mexico) Roof: Dunn Lightweight Architecture (Mexico) MEP: Aldesa (Spain) Special equipment, voice and data: Logen (Mexico) Masonry and finishes: Zersor (Mexico) Seating: Euro Seating (Spain) Playing field: Prodisa (Mexico) Pyramid precast skin: Fapresa
Garmin’s Consumer Industrial Design team continues to grow in Kansas City. We are looking for talented Industrial Designers to create amazing designs for cycling computers, outdoor handhelds, dash cams, marine radars, and much more. As well as a growing range of wearables for wellness, running, outdoor, golf, kids, and scuba …
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
Blanket by Big Blanket Co
