Hasta La Ideas

Creative agency Framlab has proposed building modular vertical farms in Brooklyn to provide low-income neighbourhoods with access to fresh produce.

The conceptual Glasir project comprises a stack of greenhouse-like modules that could be built in various locations across the New York borough, where Framlab‘s research has found that 20 per cent of the population are food-insecure.

A Glasir farm would be constructed on top of a stand with an area of just two square feet (0.37 square metres). It is designed to be installed in a wide variety of places, including alongside sidewalks, in backyards or public parks.

Three types of modules called Production Module, Growth Module and Occupation Module would feature in each structure. Each unit would be framed with cross-laminated timber and could be stacked in different configurations depending on the space or the area’s circumstances.

The Production Modules would be where the vegetables are grown. They would be topped with a solar panel and fronted with polycarbonate and aluminium mullions.

The system would use aeroponics, a process for cultivating plants in which crops are grown in mist environments rather than soil. In addition to being water-efficient, this system would also allow faster growth and enable plants to absorb more nutrients, according to Framlab.

“These systems are extremely water-efficient — requiring less than 10 per cent of the water necessitated by traditional, geoponic cultivation, while allowing the use of fertilisers and pesticides to be drastically reduced,” Framlab said.

“In addition, aeroponic growth environments enable plant roots to absorb much higher levels of minerals and vitamins, which yield vegetables that pack a stronger nutritional punch.”

Each unit features an aeroponic tray, water feeder line and water trunk line. Plants would be watered through mist nozzles attached inside each Production Module.

Water would be pumped through the structure’s irrigation system, a closed-loop network made up of Growth Module components that act like trunks, branches and feeders, to the misters.

“Glasir is a project that seeks to utilise a tree’s adaptable growth processes as a dynamic framework for high-yield, vertical farming,” said Framlab.

“Through the elevation and distribution of production modules, the system enables high-yield, local production of greens and vegetables, while engaging with the streetscape as a distinct new urban figure.”

In addition to the Production Module and the Growth Module, the Occupation Module would provide platforms and pathways for people to move through the structure.

Framlab imagines that each Glasir would be fitted with artificial intelligence (AI) sensors that would be used to monitor plant growth and environmental conditions. Eventually, the AI would be used to inform how to grow each structure.

The modules would be stacked by crane-equipped trucks but the team also has plans to implement drone transit that would eventually both build and deliver modules, when the technology is proven viable.

It also imagines that in the future drones would also be used to deliver food to local residents.

In addition to its function as a source for harvesting food, Glasir could also serve as a social space for people offering shade and shelter during the day and illuminating its surroundings at night.

Framlab was founded by Norwegian designer Andreas Tjeldflaat, and has offices in Bergen, Norway and New York.

In 2017, the studio proposed adding clusters of honeycomb-like pods to the sides of buildings to address New York City’s growing homeless population.

Other vertical farming proposals include a modular housing complex by Precht in which residents produce their own food, a multi-storey bamboo-framed structure by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and a conceptual skyscraper by Pawel Lipiński and Mateusz Frankowski envisioned for locations across sub-Saharan Africa.

The post Framlab proposes modular vertical farms for Brooklyn neighbourhoods appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen promotion: Vicostone has launched a collection of ultra-thin quartz surfaces that are available in several colours to suit a variety of purposes in interior design.

The Vicostone Ultrathin Quartz slabs measure just five millimetres in thickness, which makes it “the world’s first extremely thin quartz slab” collection.

It is designed by the American stone supplier Vicostone for ease of delivery, fabrication and installation, while ensuring that it can be easily applied to a mix of different interior surfaces, ranging from kitchen counters to staircases.

“The recently introduced Vicostone Ultrathin Quartz has quickly gained attention as it’s the world’s leading quartz product of its unique thinness,” said Vicostone.

“There are a lot of reasons for it to be heavily sought after by interior designers and architects. Despite its significantly reduced size and weight, Vicostone Ultrathin Quartz still retains its excellent performance and beauty of quartz.”

The Vicostone Ultrathin Quartz slabs are available in several colours to ensure the product is applicable in any space.

Each slab is made from approximately 90 percent pure, natural quartz, which ensures it is “super durable, resistant to stain, scratch, heat, impact and corrosive chemical agents”.

Vicostone Ultrathin Quartz is also extremely lightweight so it can be delivered quicker and more easily than other natural stones.

In comparison with natural stone and traditional quartz slabs, Vicostone Ultrathin Quartz is also easier to cut – negating the need for complex tools and machinery. This helps to reduce dust released in its manufacture, improving the environmental credentials of the product.

Vicostone recommends the Ultrathin Quartz for use on countertops, full wall backsplashes, and shower walls. However, it can also be used on structures ranging from staircases to fireplace cladding and tables.

The material can also be used to revitalise old furniture, as it adheres to wood and metal surfaces.

Vicostone first introduced the Ultrathin Quartz at IMM Cologne – the international furniture and interiors fair that took place in Germany earlier this month.

Find out more about the collection on the Vicostone website.

The post Vicostone introduces versatile Ultrathin Quartz surface collection appeared first on Dezeen.

Canadian musician ATTLAS (aka Jeff Hartford) has released his debut album, Lavender God, after years of one-off tunes. Out via Mau5trap (a label run by Deadmau5), the album features tracks that highlight Hartford’s talent as a producer and multi-instrumentalist—piano, trumpet, electronic keys (all influenced by a stint as an intern with a classical composer). “More Than That” is an acid jazz performance entangled with starry synth arrangements and bellowing notes that give way to live drum rolls and brushes. Hartford’s freestyling continues until the instrumental crescendoes into a euphoric house track that’s akin to the rest of the album. But then it teeters off again into a vast, repeating roar contrasted by recordings reminiscent of nighttime Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario (where Hartford spent long nights conceptualize the 10-track release).

Produit par Points de Vue et peint par Soluciones Luminiscentes S.L., le mur Hizkuntza caché au Pays basque français attire le regard surtout la nuit où les visiteurs et les habitants se réunissent, célèbrent et promeuvent la culture basque.

La peinture représente l’importance des espèces de baleines Eubalena Glacialis pour le patrimoine basque. Alors que l’extinction commerciale de cette créature a été un coup dur pour le basque, elle a forcé le basque à naviguer vers de nouvelles parties du monde et à développer de nouvelles langues comme le basque-islandais et l’algonquin-basque.

Venez voir cette fresque, qui est d’apparence ordinaire, prendre vie la nuit d’une manière que nous n’avons jamais vue!

A boon for the mobile content creator: The FiLMiC Pro app has a clever multi-cam feature that allows you to exploit the multiple cameras on the iPhone XS/XR and 11. Now you can choose more than one camera and record video from them simultaneously–including from opposite faces of the camera, meaning you can record two-person face-to-face interviews, without having to carry a second camera.

If that’s all the app did, you’d still have to overlay those two videos in post-produciton. But FiLMiC Pro goes the extra mile by allowing you to choose whether the videos should be saved discretely, or split-screen, or with picture-in-picture. (And yes, you can select focus and exposure settings separately for each camera.)

Because operating all of these things could become quite confusing, I’m most impressed at how thoroughly the app’s designers have thought the UI through. This is best witnessed by watching the tutorial:

The app will set you back 15 bucks and it’s available here.