Framlab proposes modular vertical farms for Brooklyn neighbourhoods

Glasir by Framlab

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

Glasir by Framlab

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.

Glasir by Framlab

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.

Glasir by Framlab

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.

Glasir by 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.

Glasir by Framlab

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.

Glasir by Framlab

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.

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Watch Researchers in 1989 Predict Smart Home Technologies in 2020

“I started the Home of the Future project to find out what people will want from their homes,” researcher Christine MacNulty says in the video below, a fairly on-the-nose prediction about smart home design in 2020 from the perspective of design experts in 1989. “They’ll want all the benefits of modern technology but without all this cluttered and complex gadgetry we have today. They’ll want homes that work for them.”

The BBC “Tomorrow’s World” production is mostly accurate—even foreseeing the “enormous pressure” of cutting down on fossil fuels in energy management—though some of what they envision might be even more realistic in 2030.

Take a look:

Vicostone introduces versatile Ultrathin Quartz surface collection

Vicostone Ultrathin Quartz surface collection

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.

Vicostone Ultrathin Quartz surface collection

“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.”

Vicostone Ultrathin Quartz surface collection

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 surface collection

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 Ultrathin Quartz surface collection

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 Ultrathin Quartz surface collection

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.

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The Tent-Shaped House Making Waves in Japan

Le studio d’art japonais, Takeru Shoji Architects Group, a terminé sa dernière installation dans le village agricole de Nagaoka, dans la préfecture de Niigata.

La «Maison Hara», qui fonctionne comme une maison fonctionnelle qui abrite une seule famille, a été construite sous la forme d’une tente afin de se coordonner avec les bâtiments et les maisons qui l’entourent. L’idée était de le faire se sentir ouvert et invitant aux voisins et aux invités avec de larges entrées qui rendent les gens à l’aise pour s’arrêter pour bavarder.

«Au lieu de concevoir un bâtiment conventionnel entièrement autonome, nous avons aspiré à créer un centre dynamique et animé», a expliqué Takeru Shoji Architects.





ATTLAS: More Than That

Canadian musician ATTLAS (aka Jeff Hartford) has released his debut album, Lavender Godafter 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).

Drinking Mugs Designed to Protect Moustaches Were Once a Thing

We all know Vikings had beards and moustaches, and if we look at the tankards they drank from (often made of horn, see below) we can see no provision to protect their facial hair from getting soggy. Unsurprising, as the Vikings were known more for their nautical brilliance than their hygiene.

The British, however, are not the Vikings.

When the British colonized India in the 19th Century, they were clean-shaven, whereas Indians typically sported moustaches, according to Atlas Obscura. And “accounts claim they [the British] struggled to maintain authority among their well-plumed Indian troops.” Thus starting in 1860, British Army regulations dictated that soldiers sport moustaches, apparently because it made them look manly and authoritative.

Moustaches had to be waxed to kept neat. Combined with the British penchant for drinking tea, this had disastrous results, with the wax melting when it came into contact with hot tea. And who wants a soggy, unwaxed moustache when you’re trying to subjugate an entire peoples?

British potter Harvey Adams to the rescue. As a response to the soggy facial hair crisis, Adams is credited with inventing a drinking mug with a kind of Bat-a-rang-shaped shelf inside–a moustache guard. Like the plastic coffee lids that would emerge in the following century, the liquid was sipped through an aperture.

Ben Husmann/Cropped/C.C. By 2.0

As moustaches became popular across Europe and eventually America, so too did moustache cups.

daveyllCreative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

But all fads fade, and by the 1930s, men were more likely to own safety razors than moustache cups.

A Fluorescent Murales of a Giant Whale

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!





Why Headspace is going local

Headspace’s Healthy, Happy America initiative will see the brand partner with local organisations to put on mindfulness events in cities across the US. We talk to Chief Creative Officer Caroline Pay about the project, and Headspace’s plans for the future

The post Why Headspace is going local appeared first on Creative Review.

This App Allows You to Use Two Cameras on a Single iPhone At the Same Time

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.

Zaha Hadid Architects releases visuals of amorphous OPPO Shenzhen headquarters

OPPO Headquarters by Zaha Hadid Architects

Zaha Hadid Architects has revealed its proposal for four interconnected towers in Shenzhen, China, which will contain the open-plan headquarters for OPPO.

Set to break ground later this year, the amorphous OPPO headquarters is designed by Zaha Hadid Architects to accommodate the continual growth of the company dubbed as China’s leading smartphone manufacturer.

The headquarters will measure 185,000-square-metres, and in a bid to echo the company’s “commitment to connectivity”, it will contain a number of large atriums surrounded by light-filled open-plan offices.

OPPO Headquarters by Zaha Hadid Architects

“OPPO launched their first phone in 2008, growing to become China’s leading smartphone manufacturer and the fifth largest worldwide with over 40,000 employees in more than 40 countries,” explained the studio.

“Accommodating this growth, OPPO’s new headquarters will continue their commitment to connectivity through design.”

OPPO Headquarters by Zaha Hadid Architects

Zaha Hadid Architects’ proposal for the OPPO headquarters was the winning design in a international competition – seeing off competition from the likes of BIG, SOM and Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

The building is slated for completion in 2025. The highest of its four towers will contain 42 storeys, reaching 200 metres in height.

OPPO Headquarters by Zaha Hadid Architects

The studio has dedicated two of the towers solely to open-plan office space. These towers will be linked by a 20-storey lobby and punctured by a number of large atriums.

Meanwhile, the remaining two towers will serve as external service structures and contain all the building’s main circulatory routes.

OPPO Headquarters by Zaha Hadid Architects

This configuration is designed by Zaha Hadid Architects to create open, uninterrupted floor space throughout the offices, and encourage collaboration between different departments as a result.

“Locating the towers’ service cores externally frees the centre of each floor from obstructions; providing uninterrupted views throughout the building that will enhance interaction between employees,” said the studio.

“The abundance of natural light, varied working environments and diversity of routes for staff and visitors to move through the building are all conducive to creative engagement and spontaneity.”

OPPO Headquarters by Zaha Hadid Architects

Though different in size, the towers will be unified by their sinuous glass forms that taper inwards towards ground level.

This reduction in floor area is designed to cater for a large landscaped plaza planned at street level, which is hoped will provide “new civic space for the city”. Here there will also be an art gallery, shops, restaurants and a direct link to Shenzhen’s subway.

OPPO Headquarters by Zaha Hadid Architects

Once complete, the OPPO headquarters will also contain publicly accessible dining, leisure and entertainment facilities on the 10th floor, and a public viewpoint at roof level.

OPPO Headquarters by Zaha Hadid Architects

Zaha Hadid Architects is an international architecture studio founded in 1980 by the late Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid. Today, it is headed up by Patrik Schumacher who recently defended architecture’s long-hours culture at Dezeen Day.

Elsewhere in China, the studio is developing Unicorn Island to support the growth of China’s technology and research sectors, and has recently completed a giant starfish-shaped airport and 45-storey Leeza Soho skyscraper.


Project credits:

Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects
Design: Patrik Schumacher and Christos Passas
Zaha Hadid Architects project directors: Charles Walker (Commercial Director), Christos Passas (Design Director), Satoshi Ohashi (ZHA China Director)
Zaha Hadid Architects project associates: Hussam Chakouf (Competition Lead), Juan Liu, Yang Jingwen
Zaha Hadid Architects project designers: Melhem Sfeir (Competition Lead), Duo Chen, Katerina Smirnova
Zaha Hadid Architects project team: Massimo Napoleoni (Facade Specialist), Aleksander Bursac, Mihai Dragos-Porta, Vera Kichanova, Ying Xia, Che-Hung Chien, Meng Zhao, Qi Cao, Alex Turner (Graphic Designer)
Zaha Hadid Architects workspace analysts: Uli Bloom, Philip Siedler, Lorena Espaillat Bencosme
Zaha Hadid Architects project support: Tatiana Chembereva, Camille Kelly

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