Hasta La Ideas

A ring, glasses and earbuds are among Amazon’s latest voice-controlled devices to offer “even more ways to add Alexa to your daily life”.

Released last week, several of the products are grouped under Amazon’s Echo smart speaker range. They include differently sized Echo speakers and wearables, and depend on the company’s voice-activated, artificially intelligent assistant Alexa.

The broad range is intended to “make your home smarter and safer, keep family and friends connected, and bring your favourite entertainment to you, wherever you are”,  according to Amazon.

“Amazon introduced an all-new line-up of Echo devices that give you even more ways to add Alexa to your daily life – whether at home or on-the-go,” it added.

A black titanium ring, called Echo Loop, accesses Alexa with a button and two microphones. It can vibrate when you receive notifications or calls, and is water-resistant.

Wearers of the ring can ask Alexa to conduct a range of tasks, including calculating a tip for dinner, setting up phone calls and confirming whether the front door is locked.

Another Amazon product is glasses called Echo Frames. Compatible with prescription lenses, the frames feature speakers on their sides and use the cloud-based service to make phone calls and set reminders.

Wireless Alexa-compatible earbuds have Bose noise reduction technology so “Alexa can hear you”. The pods can be used to ask to play a song, book an Uber or find a restaurant nearby, as recommended by Amazon.

Also included in the launch are updated Echo speakers, including the standard and smaller Echo Dot size with new fabric colours. The Echo Show 8 is a tablet with a front camera and a speaker placed on its back.

Another speaker, Echo Studio, has a hollow slit at its base. According to Amazon, it is the “best-sounding Echo ever and the first smart speaker to deliver an immersive, three-dimensional audio experience with Dolby Atmos.”

Rounding out the Echo products are a small, multi-colour light called Echo Glow and a plug-in smart speaker, Echo Flex, that fits into a socket or wall outlet.

A “smart” voice-controlled oven is designed to be synced to Echo to preheat, start or stop cooking. It resembles a microwave but also works like a convection oven and air fryer.

The scan-to-cook feature scans a barcode on packaged foods, including those from Amazon-owned Whole Foods, and the oven cooks them “just right”, or according to the labelled instructions.

A camera system for home security, called Ring, is also included in the Amazon product launch. Security alarm kit Alexa Guard works when an Echo device detects certain sounds, such as footsteps, coughing, a smoke alarm or glass breaking, and triggers Alexa to send a phone notification.

Amazon is one of the world’s top tech companies, in addition to Google, Facebook and Apple, and is led by American entrepreneur Jeff Bezos. It focuses on e-commerce and digital streaming and also owns grocery store chain Whole Foods Market.

It other ventures include plans to create prefabricated homes with Alexa built into them.

The company’s headquarters are located in Seattle and feature plant-filled orbs called The Spheres, a speakeasy by Graham Baba and a sun-lit cafe called Willmott’s Ghost.

Photography is courtesy of Amazon.

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It’s barely been a month since the Switch Lite’s release and 8BitDo is already pushing out accessories that make it a great gaming console. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks, Nintendo released the Switch Lite, a smaller, more economical, monolithic gaming console that allows more people to join Nintendo’s gaming ecosystem. However, its one-piece design may seem like a compromise for some. That’s where 8BitDo’s Lite comes in to fill the gap.

Designed to match the Switch Lite’s aesthetic perfectly, the Lite controller allows you to use a separate, detached joy-con with your Switch Lite. The Lite, however, doesn’t just stop there… the Bluetooth gaming controller even works across other platforms like Windows, Android, MacOS, and Steam, making it one adorable-yet-capable controller to rule them all. Plus, it even packs two D-Pads for NES and SNES games!

Designer: 8BitDo

Click Here to Buy Now

Click Here to Buy Now

In this week’s comments update, readers are discussing Phineas Harper’s claims that the pursuit of infinite economic growth is driving climate breakdown. 

Deadly sins: Phineas Harper, one of the chief curators of the Oslo Architecture Triennale, has sparked debate by arguing that the pursuit of infinite economic growth is driving climate breakdown and producing ecologically toxic architecture.

“Incredibly well written and clear,” said Christopher Gon De Leeuw. “Unfortunately it just serves to make more clear the enormity of the obstacles we as a global society need to overcome. I wish the solution was as easy as a new concrete mixture – sadly the real difficulty will be overcoming greed.”

“The desire to understand and make the world a better place and the anxiety of it becoming worse have underpinned human development throughout history,” continued Ade Oshodi. “These now need to be focused on the challenge at hand. Greed and fear will remain as the formidable forces. Better to harness them than to deny they exist.”

Eugene Ely went on: “We live in a finite world with finite resources. The only economic systems we’ve ever considered assume growth is an unquestioned given. That’s not going to work much longer. It’s not working now. Listen to Greta.”

“Nature has a way of dealing with all of this… it won’t be long now,” concluded Marmite.

This reader was distracted by the story’s visuals:

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Do you agree with Harper? Join the discussion ›

Not ready for take off: commenters are criticising the recently completed terminal building at Beijing Daxing International Airport, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.

“Looks like a lot of ideas packed into one space,” said Marc Sicard. “But kind of works I think? Except for the floors. The floors are screwed up. Too much texture and reflection.”

“Not as offensive as your typical ZHA project, but still way too much architecture packed in there,” agreed Heywood Floyd.

Spadestick was less forgiving: “No, no, no, no, no! Looks completely sterile – best suited for military scientific operations. Not for humans.”

“This just looks like a self-indulgent exercise in how to squeeze as many different design ideas into one project as possible,” added Alfred Hitchcock. “Trying to find your departure gate in this mess will not be a calm, relaxed or pleasant experience.”

This commenter compared the shape of the building to a weapon:



What do you think of the airport terminal? Join the discussion ›

Keep the faith: David Adjaye has revealed visuals for an interfaith complex in Abu Dhabi that will aim to encourage “peaceful co-existence and acceptance” of the three Abrahamic faiths – Christianity, Islam and Judaism – but readers aren’t convinced.

“I love that the convergence point of the whole project is the gift shop! Where they all can pray to our true god, consumerism!” added A.Gil.

“Always a struggle to work with a client with budget constraints,” joked Christopher Gon De Leeuw.

Consumerism was on this reader’s mind too:



Are you impressed by The Abrahamic Family House complex? Join the discussion ›

Sign of the times: readers are divided after members of the Royal Institute of British Architects signed a letter calling for UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s honorary fellowship to be taken away.

“Why does he get credit for the bike sharing scheme anyway?” asked HHGeek. “And what did he actually contribute to London’s architecture, rather than attempting to destroy it or impose his own pathetic idea of ‘legacy’? The number of projects he called in to override local council decisions was appalling just on its own – I’m bewildered that the RIBA saw fit to appoint him in the first place.”

“Isn’t it better to strip off the RIBA honorary fellowship from the person who awarded this to Mr Boris?” suggested Mr A.

Le Ego went on: “Are there not bigger things than a meaningless award to be worrying about at the moment, you know, like the hollowing out of our democratic institutions?”

Bored Millennial was annoyed: “So because you don’t like someone, they should be removed/stripped of something they were honored with. Yeah, that makes total sense.”

This commenter was also supportive of the prime minister:



Should Johnson have his honorary fellowship taken away? Join the discussion ›

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Dezeen promotion: Design studio AfroditiKrassa looked to the streets of Tel Aviv to create the interiors of central London’s Bala Baya restaurant, which was the venue for the 2019 Dezeen Awards judges dinner.

Taking over a disused railway arch in London’s Southwark neighbourhood, Bala Baya has been designed by AfroditiKrassa to be “a poem to Tel Aviv and its countless cultures meeting in the city’s bustling street life”.

The two-storey restaurant serves a seasonal menu of dishes inspired by Israeli cuisine and created by head chef and founder Eran Tibi.

On the ground floor is a casual dining space that’s meant to evoke the atmosphere of Tel Aviv’s busy cafes, complete with a huge bespoke oven that can cook-up 1,000 pita breads per hour.

Pink and black-flecked terrazzo tiles have been laid across the floor, offset by a bright-white service counter that winds around the room’s rear – it’s curved form mimics the shape of the 4,000 Bauhaus-style buildings seen in Tel Aviv’s UNESCO-listed White City.

Pale stool seats have been slotted underneath, allowing diners to see chefs at work in the open kitchen.

There is also a drinks bar dedicated to serving unique blends of gazoz – a soda-like beverage made from fruit, syrup and carbonated water that has become popular in the Israeli capital over several years.

A black-frame staircase leads visitors up to the first floor, where there is a more formal 76-cover restaurant.

Slate tables have been dotted throughout, surrounded by metal-framed chairs with pale pink backrests. The colour was selected by the studio so that the furnishings looked slightly bleached by the sun, nodding to Tel Aviv’s Meditteranean climate.

Burgundy leather banquettes offer a place for larger groups to sit and enjoy their meals.

An exposed-bulb chandelier dangles above the double-height entrance area and leafy potted plants are backlit to create “dancing shadows”.

“As the afternoon draws to a close and the light of the setting sun shines through the glass-fronted restaurant, the space slowly transforms to an evening setting,” explained the studio.

Toilets are placed behind a patterned breeze-block partition that slots underneath the building’s vaulted ceiling.

Bala Baya is one of several London restaurants that AfroditiKrassa has designed. Back in July the studio completed the interiors of opulent Asian eatery Lucky Cat, which is decked out in moody tones to emulate the aesthetic of the underground jazz cafes that appeared throughout Tokyo in the 1930s.

The post London’s Bala Baya restaurant is a “poem to Tel Aviv” appeared first on Dezeen.

The European Commission has ratified “right to repair” regulations, which will require manufacturers to design longer-lasting products and make spare parts readily available in a push to reduce waste.

The regulations mark the first time that requirements around repairability have been included in the EU’s Ecodesign Framework, which mainly includes energy and water efficiency standards.

As of 2021, the revised standards will apply to electric items including televisions, lighting, fridges, washing machines and dishwashers.

Spare parts must be available for 10 years

The rules mean that the companies will have to make available spare parts to independent professional repairers for up to 10 years after the purchase date.

The regulations also set out that these parts will need to be replaceable using common tools and without damaging the product.

According to EU estimates, the measures together with stricter energy labelling will amount to annual a reduction of more than 46 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

“Figures speak for themselves: these measures can save European households on average €150 per year and contribute to energy savings equal to annual energy consumption of Denmark by 2030,” said Jyrki Katainen, European Commission vice-president for jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness.

“It is with concrete steps such as these that Europe as a whole is embracing the circular economy to the benefit of citizens, our environment and European businesses.”

Eventually, this should see a reduction of machines ending up in landfill, as well as fewer natural resources and greenhouse gases needed to produce more, newer appliances.

The resolution acknowledges that decisions made at the design stage of a product have a knock on effect on whether a product can later be repaired, maintained and reused.

Legislation a “big thing”

Going forward, this could pressure manufacturers – including from post-Brexit Britain – that want to sell to the EU, to design and re-design products with reassembly and repairability in mind.

The potential of such far-reaching implications led the Financial Times’ architecture and design critic Edwin Heathcote to declare the legislation to be a “big thing”.

Not included in the EU right to repair rules are devices such as smart phones and laptops, whose irreplaceable batteries and performance-hampering software updates are most often accused of encouraging throwaway culture.

The regulations also do not give consumers the right to repair machines themselves.

Right to repair regulations being considered in USA

Around 20 US states including California, home of Silicon Valley, are also currently considering similar legislation.

Also under mounting pressure from consumers, some technology companies are starting to take action.

Apple, which has consistently lobbied against right to repair legislation in the US and even taken legal actions against unauthorised repair companies, this August announced that it is rolling out an independent repair programme in the States.

This will allow a broader range of companies access to the parts, tools and training needed to fix out of warranty iPhones.

Unlike the current system of Apple Authorized Service Providers, small repair shops would not need to pay to access the programme, with the aim of making repair options more readily available to users.

Miles ahead of this is the Fairphone 3, an “ethical smartphone” which has six removable and replaceable modules, labelled to assist with re-assembly.

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