Hasta La Ideas

Brazilian firm Reinach Mendonça Architects Associados has added a geometric concrete pavilion to a family home in São Paulo, offering a place for reading and entertaining.

PK Residence Annex is built on the property of a residence in the Brazilian city, which is complete with a separate concrete volume attached to a garage for barbequing.

“The family decided to acquire the neighbouring land to expand their garden, build leisure spaces, live together and house part of their collections of works of art,” said Reinach Mendonça Arquitetos Associados (RMAA).

The detached concrete volume is designed without any right angles to add to the geometric form. Its shape is defined by a slanted roof topped with grass, that joins a wall that encloses a small courtyard.

“This sloping roof volume turns to the back of the lot with its highest facade and forwards with its lower face, exposing its green roof to the street,” said the local studio.

RMAA chose the angular design to contrast with the main residence, which is connected by a covered walkway.

“The aim was to make clear the differences both in time and in the function of the new spaces,” the studio said. “We sought to impress the feeling of being elsewhere, to practice other activities, even being part of the existing residence.”

The exterior barrier connects to the sloped roofline of the annex by a slender concrete beam, to create a small courtyard. Nestled in between the barrier and the unit is a black sculpture by the late Brazilian artist Maria Martins.

“The sculpture had its implantation studied so that it could be seen from different angles and lighting further enhances the scene created there,” the studio said.

Greenery drips over the entrance of the 145-square-metre structure, which is defined by a bold red wall.

The interiors comprise exposed concrete walls and concrete slab floors that extend to an outside area. This space is covered by the roof as it extends out to rest on black pillars.

Inside, PK Residence Annex has an open-plan living area for the family to watching movies or entertain guests. A white sofa and wood rocking chairs furnish the space.

The room also includes wooden bookshelves and a desk to study, work and read under a round skylight. There is also a bathroom and a wine cellar.

Based in São Paulo, Reinach Mendonça Arquitetos Associados was started in 1987 by architects Henrique Reinach and Mauricio Mendonça. The studio has also built a two-storey linear concrete house in Brazil, divided into a “night floor” and “daytime floor”.

Other houses in São Paulo are Casa Neblina by FGMF Arquiteto and NVD House by Studio Arthur Casas.

Photography is by Nelson Kon.

Project credits:

Lead architects: Henrique Reinach and Maurício Mendonça
Coordinating architect: Tadeu Ferreira
Contributors: Tadeu Ferreira, Tony Chen, Victor Gonçalves, Camila Osele, Taís Vieira, Paula Leal, Alessandra Altschul, Rodrigo Nakajima, Douglas Mourilhao, Mayara Ready, Gabriel Penna, Giovanna Federico, Carolina Rasga, Felipe Barba, Rodrigo Oliveira, Nathalia Grippa, Daniela Sopas, Claudia Bigoto
Artistic mosaic: Sergio Fingermann
Landscaping: Flávia Tiraboschi Landscape Architect
Lighting: Espaço Luz
Structural engineer: Benedictis Engenharia
Concrete consultant: GR Consultoria
Electrical and hydraulic: Zamaro
Automation: Oguri Audio and Video

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It’s pretty difficult to comprehend that this small gadget possesses the power to cut and engrave practically any material from leather to wood, glass, acrylic, metal, fabric, stone, and even cement… but once you realize how versatile the beamo by FLUX is, the possibilities are endless. The beamo is a small but powerful laser cutting tool with industrial-grade capabilities and domestic-grade interface and price tag. Designed to make laser cutting as easy as 3D printing has become, beamo’s consumer-friendly design and UI brings laser cutting to the masses, letting you do everything from customizing products you own and adding artwork to things you design to even creating intricate laser-cut packaging for them.

Practically the size of your inkjet printer, beamo comes with everything you need to get started right away. The device packs a powerful 30W CO2 laser inside its fully-enclosed body. beamo’s on-board screen interface makes it easy to select what job you want to execute, while its compatibility with existing softwares like Photoshop and Illustrator, and its own intuitive softwares, the Beam Studio and BeamCam, let you easily turn your artworks into vector guidelines for laser cutting or etching.

beamo delivers on a pretty big promise by making laser cutting “easy”. It packs a live-preview feature that lets you preview your print and alignment before executing the job. The entire beamo, as small as it is, is incredibly safe, with a door-sensor that stops the laser when you open the enclosure, and a water-cooled system that keeps the printer running for long without overheating. By making laser-cutting as easy as laserjet printing, beamo helps democratize yet another industrial process that creatives heavily rely on. Whether it’s building 2D or even 3D structures, or customizing products with bespoke artworks, it helps to know that there’s a product out there that’s small, powerful, and affordable too!

Designer: FLUX

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Bring ideas to life with beamo, the small, simple and affordable industrial-grade laser cutter that gives you the power to make something you’ll love.

Powerful Cutting

Equipped with a 30W CO2 laser, beamo easily cuts through tons of materials, leaving clean, precise cutting edges.

Detailed Engraving

Engrave detailed patterns, intricate text, and beautiful images for gifts, home decor, or just for fun.

High Resolution

Narrower than the width of a human hair, beamo’s laser engraves with 0.05mm layer spacing. The high 1,000 DPI resolution will amaze you.

Works With Hundreds of Materials

Explore new creative possibilities with hundreds of materials. Shape, cut, and engrave on a wide range of materials including wood, leather, acrylic, fabric, cardboard, stainless steel, anodized metal, glass, cement, and much more. beamo works on almost anything you can think of.

Transform Ideas into Reality

Bring your ideas to life with beamo and make personalized gifts for your loved ones, beautiful home decors, or transform your designs into a successful business. Our online community provides an enormous range of inspirations and resources to help you make amazing things.

Ultra Portable

Now, this is a game-changer: while conventional laser cutters are bulky and heavy, beamo has the same footprint as four letter-sized sheets of paper and weighs less than 50 pounds (22 kilos). Its super portability makes it a perfect fit for your home, office, design studio, classroom, makerspace, or even the back of your car.

Powerful Software

Their powerful software, Beam Studio, helps you create without limits. FLUX has included many features common to professional graphics editing apps, providing a one-stop design experience. Edit text and vector files, modify bitmap images, align and layout objects, and use many other tools to bring your imagination to life.

At the same time, Beam Studio’s compatibility with JPG / PNG / SVG / DXF file formats makes it easy to just use the graphics editor that’s best for you — Adobe Illustrator, Autocad, Inkscape, CorelDraw, or even Microsoft Word or Powerpoint.

Live Camera Preview

Use the onboard HD camera to preview the work area and workpiece live on your laptop or phone. Just place your design exactly where you want, and get exactly what you expect. It’s WYSIWYG for laser engraving.

BeamCam and Smart Trace

Use the mobile app BeamCam, for an even easier creative process. Just take a picture, upload it using your phone, align the design, then let beamo do the rest.

Prefer drawing by hand? Easily transform your sketches into digital files by using our Smart Trace software. Smart Trace is also perfect for kids or students who love to draw or paint. Inspire them by engraving their work onto hundreds of objects.

Easy Connection

beamo uses Wi-Fi for quick setup, file transfer, and status monitoring. beamo also connects over Ethernet and via smartphone hotspot. No matter where you are, beamo is always available.

Rotary Add-on

Unlock beamo’s 3D potential with the rotary add-on, which allows you to engrave on curved objects like glassware and bottles by spinning the workpiece. This add-on also extends the maximum material height from 45mm to 105mm. This easy-to-setup module opens up a whole new set of creative possibilities.

Autofocus

This add-on adjusts the focus according to the thickness of the material, enabling beamo to cut deeper in multiple passes. For example, the autofocus add-on enables beamo to cut 6 – 7mm wood in two passes, whereas normally beamo cuts up to 5mm in 2 passes.

Hybrid Laser

Most laser cutters on the market use either CO2 or semiconductor lasers. CO2 lasers cut and engrave at faster speeds, while semiconductor lasers have a longer lifespan and can engrave on stainless steel without coating. So, why not have both? Our hybrid laser module attaches a semiconductor laser to the existing CO2 laser so you can enjoy the benefits of both. This module is currently under development, we will share more information in future updates.

Air Assist

beamo has a built-in air assist system that channels air through the laser head directly onto the material to prevent the workpiece from catching fire.

Water Cooling

While most laser cutters require external cooling, beamo features an integrated water cooling system, making it a truly compact machine. This closed-loop water cooling system circulates throughout the machine, keeping all components at the proper temperature.

Ventilation System

The ventilation system takes in clean air to circulate around the chamber. beamo comes equipped with a powerful but quiet 340CMH (200CFM) fan and a 4.7″ (12 cm) diameter hose to extract smoke and fumes through a window or vent.

Safety Door Sensor

The fully enclosed chamber prevents the laser beam from leaking out. Lifting the door during a task sets off a safety sensor that automatically pauses beamo. These safety mechanisms ensure that you’re well protected.

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White quartz, Venetian plaster and various types of wood feature in this bright and airy tea shop, designed by architecture firm New Practice Studio.

The tea house, called Sage Collective, is located on the ground floor of a student dormitory in New York’s Nolita district. The 1,600-square-foot (150-square-metre), rectangular space was formerly occupied by a cafe.

The goal for New Practice Studio – which has offices in New York and Shanghai – was to create an environment that aligned with the wellness lifestyle and was infused with cross-cultural references.

In particular, the team looked to Chinese landscaping for inspiration.

“The interior design takes its cues from the traditional Chinese garden, where depth of space is articulated through juxtaposition of different spatial focuses,” the studio said in a description.

The shop has a clear organisation. Occupying the front of the space is a retail area with built-in cabinets, where artisan objects from Asia are on display. The food and beverage area is located in the centre of the shop.

In the back of the store, the team created a semi-private tea room. This intimate nook sits behind white partitions – one of which features a circular cutout that prevents the space from feeling too confined.

Natural materials were used throughout the shop. The floor is covered with light-toned wooden boards arranged in a herringbone pattern, while the bar is wrapped in oak tambour panels. The bar and dining tables are topped with locally sourced quartz.

Pendants suspended above the bar consist of cylindrical lights set within glass globes. Walls are sheathed in a custom Venetian plaster. Overhead ductwork was left exposed and painted white.

The shop serves a range of teas, light fare, and a limited selection of beer, wine, and spirits. A highlight of the bar area is a floating storage unit with doors that can conceal bottles of alcohol. The unit renders the space a “cosy tea house during the day and a moody bar during the night”.

The semi-private tea room features a single table that can seat up to six guests. Lining one wall is a contemporary rendition of a bamboo forest. Materials such as wood, rattan and stone create a sense of intimacy and a “simple and subtle ambiance”.

New Practice Studio was founded by architect Nianlai Zhong, who formerly taught at Columbia University and worked at Bernard Tschumi Architects. Other Manhattan projects by the firm include a tea shop that features pastel tones and curvy lines, and a slender noodle shop that is traversed by wooden arches.

Photography is by Yueqi Jazzy Li.

Project credits:

Architect: New Practice Studio
Design team: Nianlai Zhong, Tai-li Lee, Sidong Lang, Junchao Yang, Yiyi Wang, Zishan Zeng
Product suppliers: Relative Space (wooden floor); Surfacing Solution (tambour panels); FirenzeColor (Venetian plaster)

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Thisset se décrit comme un « scientifique visuel » constamment à la recherche de la beauté dans les choses ordinaires. Sa dernière série « Lovely Quarantine » est un ensemble de photos de fleurs tropicales aux couleurs éclatantes. L’artiste a retravaillé les tons des clichés en post production pour créer ces magnifiques images surréalistes tout en nous livrant sa version presque psychédélique du monde qui nous entoure.

After more than a year of prototyping, Savannah studio Don’t Take This The Wrong Way has unveiled its design for a chair that consists of a single cardboard box.

In order to make it stand the test of time, it has been carefully “over-engineered” to be resistant to both wear and water.

“I think a cardboard box has the potential of being a chair without trying to,” explained Eric Primo, one part of the three-man collective which also includes Nick Wargo and Crawford George.

“An accidental chair – maybe not better but a different kind of a chair,” he said. “It is strong yet light, and it is essentially always ‘packed’ so moving or shipping it is quite easy.”

Turning the cardboard box into a seating design that would meet the trio’s strict demands for quality and durability was a labour intensive process.

“We made several chair prototypes, all with varying structural components. They were used as chairs for over a year,” Primo told Dezeen.

“During that time, they were opened periodically to inspect their internal and external wear. We paid close attention to how each wore over time and tweaked the design based on what we learned.”

The final design takes the form of a simple cube in classic cardboard brown, adorned only with a few flourishes like the words “this closed box acts as a chair” emblazoned on the side, alongside signposting to help users discern the bottom from the top.

On the outside, the box reveals little of the days-long production process that goes into every piece.

“Each chair is handmade in our studio and begins as a double corrugated-cardboard-box die cut, that is then folded into shape,” said Primo.

“Custom scoring tools help form sharp corners and edges before each flap of the box is flattened using a foot roller to allow it to sit flat and square on the ground,” he continued. “The chair’s bottom flaps are then glued with PVA glue and pressed together.”

An internal cardboard grid structure is added for stability and to help the box keep its shape throughout use. Then, the other flaps are glued shut before a cushion is glued to the top, which is especially engineered to be both comfortable and resistant to denting.

“The cushion consists of three sheets of corrugated cardboard which are laser cut, flattened with a foot roller and glued separately with wood glue,” he explained.

“At each stage of the gluing process, boxes are clamped for 12 hours and after that they are sanded and the feet screen printed along with the other graphics.”

The trio tried out various water repellent coatings throughout the prototyping phase and finally settled on a silicon dioxide spray, which is added as the last step.

Also attached to the bottom is a fake shipping label, a subtle nod to the role that cardboard boxes play in all of our lives.

“Online shopping has drastically changed how we buy anything,” said Primo. “And we felt like if there would be an iconic object to represent online consumer culture, it would be the cardboard box that transports objects from the internet to your doorstep.”

“Although it’s hard to know what to expect from a product bought online, the cardboard box is quite consistent in form and performance,” he continued.

“By over-engineering it, we wanted to communicate that there is a lot of potential in the functional aspect to this product rather than it just being a convenient way to transport other products.”

Elsewhere, cardboard has been used to create a flat-packed table, a ceiling light and even an entire restaurant.

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