ZeroCabin in Chile designed to operate off the grid

ZeroCabin Chile

A multidisciplinary team in Chile have designed a self-sufficient cabin that can be tailored to the local climate and topography, along with a client’s specific needs.

The ZeroCabin was envisioned as a low-impact, customisable dwelling that operates without the use of public utilities.

The cabin was conceived by a diverse team of six people, who collectively have backgrounds in civil engineering, physics, biology, chemistry, sustainable farming and interior design. None of the team members have formal training in architecture.

ZeroCabin Chile

Felipe Lüer, one of the lead designers, said the idea for the cabin took root in 2007, when he saw the documentary Garbage Warrior. The film is about the American architect Mike Reynolds and his efforts to build “earthship” houses, which are made of natural and recycled materials.

Lüer said the film sparked his dream of building an off-the-grid house, and he later found others who shared his vision.

ZeroCabin Chile

“My team is made up of people who heard about the project and came to start building this new future,” Lüer told Dezeen.

The designers have conceived the cabin as a “kit of parts” that can be customised based on a customer’s needs and desires, along with the local site conditions.

The first ZeroCabin has been built within a puma sanctuary in Puerto Varas, a town in southern Chile. The building is rented out to tourists, with the proceeds going toward the wildlife preserve.

The cabin features a timber structural system with metal joints and biodegradable insulation. Exterior walls have metal cladding and thermally efficient glazing.

ZeroCabin Chile

To provide views and minimise its impact on the earth, the two-storey dwelling is elevated two metres off the ground.

Encompassing 26 square metres, the cabin accommodates all of the basic living requirements. The lower level offers an area for cooking, eating and relaxing, along with a water closet.

ZeroCabin Chile

The upper level contains a sleeping area, a closet and a shower. The bathing water travels via gravity to the lower level, where it is reused in the toilet.

The cabin’s water needs are met by rainwater, which is collected in basins and treated on-site. The water can be heated by a solar panel system or by a wood-powered stove that was invented by one of the team members.

Energy needs are met by photovoltaic panels, and heat is provided by sunlight and the stove. Lüer noted that cabins in other locales might incorporate power-generating devices such as micro water turbines, depending upon the climate and topography.

ZeroCabin Chile

A second cabin is currently being constructed on Chiloé Island, located off the coast of southern Chile.

Because the building site is not accessible by road, the team has transported all materials and equipment by boat to a beach. From there, it is carried 100 metres by foot, according to the team.

This second dwelling, which will serve as a private vacation home, will total 46 square metres.

The designers have formed a company – called ZeroCabin – and they intend to construct additional units and retrofit existing buildings. Moreover, they are selling their “DIY kits” to customers wanting to build their own off-the-grid retreat. The starting cost for a ZeroCabin is about $50,000 (£38,455).

Other off-the-grid buildings include a simple, black cabin by designer Marc Thorpe that is tucked into the woods of Upstate New York, and a family retreat in Ohio by architect Greg Dutton that evokes the feeling of being in a tree house.

Photography is by Matias Riveros.


Project credits:

Team members: Felipe Lüer, Hector Becker, Luis Valladares, Andrés Lüer, Oscar Villalon, Ian Burbulis

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A wearable wellness coach that sits on your finger

A great way to design useful products is to cut the fluff by removing items that aren’t completely essential to the product experience. In the Circular Smart Ring’s case, that’s practically everything you’d associate in a smart wearable. The Circular Smart Ring is a deceptively tiny smart wearable that tracks your fitness, monitors your sleep, and delivers notifications. Weighing just 4 grams, the Circular Smart Ring sits on your ring finger, with a form factor that makes it look more like a fashionable ring rather than a clunky wearable. On the inside, however, is a 3-axis Accelerometer, an Infrared Optical Pulse Sensor, an on-board computer, a Bluetooth module, and a battery that gives the Ring 2 days of usage on a single charge.

By reducing the clutter, the Circular Smart Ring retains an impressive amount of functionality in a ridiculously small form. It does so, mostly by shifting a lot of the load to your smartphone. The Circular Smart Ring connects to your phone via Bluetooth, giving you all your data in a neatly collated dashboard. During the day, the ring captures your activity, blood oxygen levels, energy levels, calorie burn count, among other metrics, while at night, the ring ambiently tracks your circadian rhythm and records your sleep quality, heart-rate variability, sleep disturbances, REM cycles, and sleep and wake times. Using pretty state-of-the-art data processing and machine-learning technology, the ring, its app, and the app’s assistant Kira help you collectively better understand your health and give you bespoke advice on how to improve it. The interface on the Circular app can either summarize your readings or spread them out into detailed stats. Additionally, the app even has its own smart-alarm function that calculates the best time to wake you based on your sleep cycles, so you’re well-rested and energetic throughout the rest of your day. The ring uses subtle vibration pulses to coax you out of your sleep. These vibrations can even be customized to give you notification alerts when your phone is ringing, or when you get a message, DM, or email, and the ring comes with an in-built button that allows you to control it and its functions from muting calls to playing and pausing tracks.

This crystal clear focus and economy of function allows the Circular Smart Ring to be an incredibly sleek, fashion-forward wearable that bridges jewelry and tech. The lack of a screen, or a host of apps, music, images, calendars, clocks, and other ‘unnecessary fluff’ even enables the Ring to have a remarkably better battery life of 48 hours with continuous usage. Designed to be worn everywhere and all the time, the Circular Smart Ring comes with a water-resistant, scratch-proof design that weighs a mere 4 grams (that’s the weight of 4 paper-clips, if you’re looking for a comparison). It comes with a slick, titanium outer cover that can be swapped based on your fashion sense or preference. The titanium cover, available in matte black, silver, gold, and rose gold, reinforces the Ring, making it sturdier and impact-resistant, while allowing it to weigh as little as it does.

Ultimately, it’s worth giving the Circular Smart a hat-tip for doing all this without sacrificing its vision of creating technology that’s ‘beautiful’. The ring could easily be a couple of millimeters thicker, or even worse, could have a wraparound OLED screen, but Circular’s conscious choice to marry aesthetics with function and what Google refers to as ambient-computing is what’s really worth noticing. Outwardly, there’s little to diss about the Circular Smart Ring. It’s significantly smaller than its competition, weighs less, works for longer, looks fashionable, and performs all the functions expected from a fitness wearable. Besides, its creators say that the Circular Smart Ring is future-proof too, being completely hardware ready for any over-the-air updates that may roll out in the future.

Designer: Amaury Kosman

Click Here to Buy Now: $219 $289 ($70 Off). Hurry, less than 72 hours left! Raised over $300,000.

Circular – The Most Advanced Wellness Smart Ring

The Circular is a discreet smart ring that tracks your fitness, monitors your sleep, and delivers notifications.

On the outside, Circular is sleek, seamless, and discreet. On the inside, it’s powered by advanced mechanical customization and intuitive AI.

24/7 Activity Tracking

Quantify your physical activities with empowering metrics. Circular keeps track of your daily activities at all times so you can ensure you’re performing at your best.

Heart Rate Tracking

Know your body’s limit (and push them). Monitor your heart rate, HRV, RHR and SpO2 to perform at your best.

Sleep Monitoring

Circular analyzes your body signals during your sleep to help you keep track of its efficacy and make improvements.

Discreet Notifications

Circular discreetly lets you know when you’ve received a new text, call, or social notification so you never miss out on important communication.

Personalized Insights

Get real-time recommendations to optimize your daily habits. From poor sleep habits to activity slumps, Circular can help you figure out where you’re going wrong and how to fix it.

Smart Controls

Control your surroundings with a single touch. Phone ringing in the middle of a meeting? Silence it discreetly with a touch of your ring. Need a more upbeat track for your morning jog? Skip to the next track with a single tap.

Meet Kira

Meet Kira. She’s an integral part of the Circular experience, and her whole goal is to make your life easier—from helping you make improvements to letting you know when it’s time to step it up.

Get real-time, personalized recommendations. Control your ring, visualize your progress, meet (and compete with!) your wellness community, and get impactful recommendations through the Circular app.

Through the Circular app, you’ll be able to:

– Control your ring.
– Measure and visualize your progress through our sleep and activity scoring system.
– Meet (and compete with!) your fitness community.

Circular Never Sleeps But You Will

That’s because what Circular does best is synthesize and analyze your body signals (night and day!) for unique recommendations and advanced wellness correlations to improve your well-being.

Circular Tracks:

While designing Circular, the goal was to create a device that would assist us in responding to our body signals in a healthier way—helping us make optimal daily activity choices instead of just measuring the metrics. With Circular, you can learn about the effect of your sleep on your daily performance and the effect of your activities on the quality of your sleep and your future wellness.

They have spent a whole year working with sleep and activity specialists, doctors, and PhD. students to develop algorithms that effectively analyze your body signals in line with laboratory equipment.

The Design

When working out, you don’t want to wear a device made of precious gems; neither do you want to wear a plastic-looking device to an elegant event. They believe that wearables should seamlessly blend into our everyday lives, and that’s exactly what Circular does.

It’s scratch-resistant, water-resistant, and you can switch up your style to fit the occasion with interchangeable outer shells. Made in 7 sizes from US6 to US12.

The Power

Need a charge? Connect on-the-go with our mobile charging solution.

The Technology

The Circular ring connects via Bluetooth to your iPhone or Android device. Setting up the ring is as easy as downloading the app onto your phone, and all software updates are wirelessly transmitted to your Circular ring.

Built-in intelligence: There’s no on/off button on the ring; it knows whether you are wearing it or not. There is no need to notify the app nor the ring about what you are going to do. Circular knows when you go to sleep and when you do activities, and it uploads the subsequent data to your phone automatically. If your phone is not available, it can collect and store detailed data for up to 7 days.

Body Signal processing: The ring collects the body signals it needs using its dual sensors (Heart Rate Sensor and Accelerometer). Circular contains a built-in processor that will process the data and send it by Bluetooth to the Circular mobile app for analysis. The Circular app uses machine learning to better understand your habits and offer a personalized experience.

Wave free during your sleep: Although the 2400 MHz to 2485 MHz radiation output of a Bluetooth device is negligible to your health, the Circular ring automatically goes into “sleep mode” when it detects a sleeping state⁠—meaning that it is functioning without Bluetooth during your sleep while still capturing your body signals. It will synchronize with the app when you get up.

The Sensors:

– A precise 3 Axis Accelerometer
– An Infrared Optical Pulse Sensor

Having infrared LEDs means that there are no blinking lights on the ring to disturb your sleep because our eyes cannot see infrared wavelengths of light.

“How-To” Videos Below:

The Live Heart Rate

The Alarm Clock Feature

The Circles Feature

The Charging Solution

Click Here to Buy Now: $219 $289 ($70 Off). Hurry, less than 72 hours left! Raised over $300,000.

Five hotels and holidays homes that double up as showrooms

The Audo by Menu and Norm Architects

Holiday homes and hotels that also function as shoppable furniture showrooms are growing in popularity. Here are five examples including a Copenhagen hotel, a Melbourne apartment and a Hamptons house.


Loft by Stephen Kenn

Stephen Kenn Loft, Los Angeles, by Stephen Kenn Studio

Stephen Kenn Studio turned a Los Angeles apartment inside an old factory building into “part showroom, part micro-hotel, part community space”.

“The space is first and foremost a showroom for our furniture collections, supplemented by the work of some of our brand partners that make products in categories we don’t design in, including lighting, ceramics, appliances and rugs,” Stephen Kenn said.

Find out more about Stephen Kenn Loft ›


Microlux apartment interior design by Edwards Moore in Melbourne, Australia

Microluxe apartment, Australia, by Edwards Moore

This Melbourne apartment was transformed by architecture studio Edwards Moore for property company Microluxe to act as a rental property and showroom.

“All items are there for the experience and most are available to purchase after your stay, from the bed linen, wine and robes to the custom one-off furniture pieces,” architect Ben Edwards said.

Find out more about Microluxe apartment ›


The Audo by Menu and Norm Architects

The Audo Hotel, Copenhagen, by Menu and Norm Architects

Norm Architects worked with design brand Menu to create The Audo Hotel in Copenhagen, a 10-room hotel that doubles as a headquarters and flagship showroom for the Danish brand.

“We wanted Menu to take a new approach to running a design business through openness, knowledge-sharing and collaboration,” Menu director Joachim Hansen said. “By showing our collection in different contexts within hospitality we will make the collection become more alive.”

Find out more about The Audo Hotel ›


McKinley Bungalow by Robert McKinley

McKinley Bungalow, Long Island, Studio Robert McKinley

This rentable vacation home in Long Island designed by Studio Robert McKinley displays some of the firm founder’s favourite designs.

It is outfitted with a number of purchasable contemporary and vintage items, such as a spherical rattan ottoman, colourful wall tapestries and light fixtures from Isamu Noguchi.

Find out more about McKinley Bungalow ›


Pieces Home, Maine, by An Aesthetic Pursuit

To launch its Pieces collection, Brooklyn creative agency An Aesthetic Pursuit created Pieces Home, a “shoppable stay” in Maine filled with furniture and products that guests can purchase.

“By creating a destination vacation design experience, we eliminate the noise found in both traditional brick-and-mortar and digital retail settings,” Pieces co-founder Jenny Kaplan said.

Find out more about Pieces Home ›

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Colorful Retro Illustrations by Calvin Sprague

Calvin Sprague, graphiste et illustrateur basé à Rotterdam et originaire des Etats-Unis, est le créateur d’oeuvres colorées aux allures rétro. Avant de s’installer aux Pays-Bas, l’artiste  a longtemps vécu au Texas, décidant ensuite de voyager en Europe afin de trouver l’inspiration nécéssaire et de créer son entreprise : Union Haus. Ses illustrations se démarquent par des courbes fines laissant apparaître des formes colorées, créant ainsi des scènes surréalistes et récréatives, et trouvant son propre équilibre « en comblant l’écart entre la structure et le chaos ». Ses créations sont disponibles à la vente dans sa boutique en ligne.






 

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Philippe Starck’s private space homes, lie-flay beds in economy class, knitting climate data into scarves and more

Farewell to Mathematician Katherine Johnson, Crucial “Hidden Figure” at NASA in the ’60s Space Race

From her time as a childhood math prodigy in West Virginia to her crucial role as a “computer” at NASA, where her calculations helped lead astronauts into orbit and then the moon, black mathematician Katherine Johnson was a pioneering figure in spaceflight. Johnson’s work was critical to NASA’s earlier successes—especially during the space race—but they wouldn’t get mainstream recognition until President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. Johnson’s story was then chronicled in the film Hidden Figures two years later. Johnson has passed away at age 101. Read more about her the Washington Post.

Knitters Chronicle Climate Change With “Temperature Scarves”

From the “sky scarf” of the early aughts to the Tempestry Project today, knitters tap into climate change for guidance in their stitching. While the former accessory is about aesthetic inspiration, the latter aims to preserve data reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through “temperature scarves.” These are two examples of the way colorful yarns tie into the climate crisis and our reaction to it. Knitting has been used as a teaching aid, as a means of reflection, and even to make a statement—as with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s “temperature scarf” at Davos. Read more at The New York Times.

NASA’s Philippe Starck-Designed Private Space Homes

“My vision is to create a comfortable egg, friendly, where walls are so soft and in harmony with the movements of the human body in zero gravity,” enterprising designer Philippe Starck says of his latest commission: private accommodation on the International Space Station (ISS) for commercial tourists. NASA partnered with Axiom Space on the project, who then tapped Starck. The project should be complete by 2024—and populated by private citizens who participate in training at Axiom’s Houston facility. After, “Trips will last roughly 10 days, with eight of them spent aboard the ISS,” according to Architectural Digest, where you can read more.

The Continued Quest for Pain-Free Microneedles

Produced through a process of 3D printing with polymers—altogether referred to as “4D printing” because of its core of programmable, shape-shifting material—rapidly developing microneedles may replace painful hypodermic needles in the next decade. Professor Howon Lee, who has lead the research from Rutgers University, has filed a patent on this new technology, which produces hollow needles that are barbed, much like the stinger of a bee. They can pierce skin, anchor in and stay put during delivery of medicine or retrieval of blood—without causing pain. A patch composed of several microneedles could be worn to administer larger doses of medicine—though this particular idea isn’t new (it first piqued interest outside the scientific community, for use with vaccines, in 2015). Read more at Fast Company.

Marchi Architects’ Woodhouse 2.0 for Long Island

With a radial footprint, Woodhouse 2.0, by Paris-based design studio Marchi Architects, coils into the forested topography of New York’s Long Island. The residential proposal employs timber and texture materials to lend warmth within. The open-concept design, undisturbed circulation and ample window space embrace natural light, a hidden central courtyard and the woods outside, too. See more images at designboom.

NASA’s Public Design Challenge For Venus Exploration

Supported by an internal grant, a new creative challenge posed by NASA asks the general public to submit ideas for an “innovative obstacle avoidance  sensor” that will be featured on a future Venus Rover Concept. The planet’s notoriously rough surface will prove quite difficult to maneuver around and weather and pressure conditions are extreme. Officially titled “Exploring Hell: Avoiding Obstacles on a Clockwork Rover,” the prompt requires that all innovations be powered by an energy source other than electronics, since the planet’s surface clocks in at 840° Fahrenheit and all electronic systems fail just above 200° Fahrenheit. The first-place winner will receive $15,000 and the title of, though perhaps unofficially, NASA engineer. Read more at NASA.

The Smithsonian Institution Releases 2.8 Million High-Resolution Images

For the first time, the Smithsonian Institution has granted access to 2.8 million high-resolution images from “all 19 Smithsonian museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives and the National Zoo,” for use by the general public. They’ve done so through a new open access platform that allows users to download anything they’d like free of charge. This is just the beginning, as “the institution continues to digitize its collection of 155 million items and counting.” Read more at Smithsonian Magazine.

Herman Miller and Logitech G Collaborate on Gaming Furniture

Herman Miller might be best known for producing the acclaimed designs of Charles and Ray Eames (among many others), but the company continues to bring its skilled eye into new—and unexpected—spaces. Through a partnership with Logitech G, Herman Miller will produce seating for esports and gaming scenarios, fusing feedback from athletes and gamers with research done in tandem by the two parties. “We’re excited to combine our ergonomic, research-driven approach with Logitech G’s excellence in technology and innovation,” Herman Miller’s Chief Marketing Officer, Tim Straker, explains. Read more at Engadget.

Air New Zealand’s Lie-Flat Beds for Economy Travel

A development that may benefit many passengers on long-haul flights, Air New Zealand has filed patent and trademark applications for a lie-flat sleeping pod prototype designed for economy-class travelers. Referred to as the Economy Skynest, it’s structured like stacked bunk beds. The airline will determine whether or not to proceed with the concept in 2021, after it has assessed the needs of its Auckland–New York route, which takes a whopping 17 hours and 40 minutes when headed westbound. Read more at AFAR.

Super-Storm Early Warnings From Four Extreme Weather-Tracking Satellites

In both 2016 and 2018, Lockheed Martin launched one next-generation weather tracking satellite—known as GOES, or Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites—capable of detecting almost every bolt of lightning in the Western Hemisphere. Two more of these 6,000-pound satellites will be launched in 2021 and 2024. With all four in place, they’ll be able to monitor electrical activity in the atmosphere—and the data they amass will help to power NASA and NOAA’s weather forecasting models. The information provided by the $10.8 billion fleet could then enhance our understanding of and preparation for super-storms. Read more at Wired, where you can see photographer Christopher Payne’s exclusive imagery.

Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily in Link and on social media, and rounded up every Saturday morning.

MIPIM property fair postponed until June over coronavirus fears

Breaking news: the giant MIPIM property fair that was due to take place in Cannes, France from 10 to 13 March has been postponed until 2-5 June due to coronavirus.

Organiser Reed MIDEM said it was postponing the event due to “growing concerns related to the coronavirus (Covid-19)”.

“The well-being of our clients and staff is our priority,” said Reed MIDEM chief executive Paul Zilk.”Given the evolving context, the best course of action is to postpone MIPIM to June.”

“This is not a decision we have taken lightly,” he added. “We believe these new dates will provide the international MIPIM community with the opportunity to achieve their business objectives. We are grateful to our clients for their support and constructive input during this challenging period, and we look forward to talking with them in the coming days about MIPIM in June.

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Studio 30 Architects remodel London home using reclaimed materials

Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects

Reclaimed materials feature alongside brightly painted new spaces in this transformation of two Victorian maisonettes in London by Studio 30 Architects.

Called Rylett House, the project sits within a conservation area in west London.

Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects

Studio 30 Architects freed up the interiors of the home, grouping utility spaces in a new basement level

The ground floor is opened up with an entrance hall, study and reception organised around a winding stair and finished with reclaimed flooring and doors.

Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects

A children’s play area has also been created alongside the storage areas in the basement, lit via a window that overlooks a small lightwell by the home’s entrance.

A bright red door opens on to an entrance area framing views through to the rear extension overlooking the garden.

Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects

“At the heart of the house an uncommonly generous circulation space extends its full height,” said Studio 30 Architects.

“A snaking timber handrail connecting all floors and visually echoing the buildings history.”

Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects

At the rear of Rylett House, a conservatory was demolished to make way for the extension.

This new space houses a large living, kitchen and dining area.

Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects

An old carpenter’s bench has been repurposed as a kitchen island for this space, illuminated by a skylight and contrasted by a new terrazzo floor.

The extension is finished in pale brick and overlooks the garden with a projecting timber window box topped by plants.

Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects

A timber-framed, full-height door alongside the window-box leads out onto a garden patio.

This terrace has the same terrazzo as the interior, creating a continuity between these two spaces.

Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects

Above, three bedrooms with bathrooms occupy the first floor.

Rylett House’s fourth bedroom sits within an attic space, all of which are lit by further skylights.

Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects

The extension has been stepped, with a single-storey section topped by a green roof overlooked by the first floor.

A two-storey section housing a new bedroom overlooks the garden through a wood-framed window.

Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects

Reclaimed floorboards have been used in the bedroom spaces, contrasted by contemporary furniture and fittings.

For a more contemporary feel, the main first-floor bathroom is painted and tiled with horizontal bands of green and pink.

Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects

A smaller en-suite is finished with a black grid of tiles and a bright yellow wall.

Studio 30 Architects has previously remodelled other homes in west London, including a conversion and extension of a terrace featuring sliding windows overlooking a garden.

Photography is by Agnese Sanvito.

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Through The Lens Of Masha Demianova

Le travail de Masha Demianova n’est pas que photographique, il est aussi empreint d’une influence cinématographique forte. Loin du male gaze, les femmes que capture la photographe qui est née et a grandi à Moscou, sont les sujets d’une grande histoire symbolique, où tous les détails de la photographie font sens. 

À quel moment la photographie s’est révélée à vous comme le médium rêvé pour créer ? 

La première fois que j’ai ressenti un pur effet de rêverie, totalement hypnotisant, c’est quand j’ai vu la série « You and I » du photographe Rayan Mcginley’s. Son travail est un beau récit poétique qui m’a complètement aspiré ; j’ai senti la chaleur du soleil et le vent frappant mon corps nu comme si je courrais moi aussi dans les champs. C’était la première fois que j’ai compris à quel point l’image avait un pouvoir puissant.

Quelle est la première photographie qui vous a rendu fière de votre travail ?

Dire quelle a été ma photographie préférée est un peu plus compliquée. Je ne ressens pas de fierté à propos de mon travail. Parfois, je me sens heureuse et satisfaite quand ce que j’ai rêvé ou fantasmé d’une image devient une vraie photographie. Exactement comme cette image d’une fille dans l’étang, en train de pêcher avec sa bouche.


Comment décririez-vous, en un seul mot, le style qui caractérise vos images ?

Symbolique. C’est le terme le plus proche de ce que j’élabore.

Comment arrivez-vous à concevoir des portraits sensibles et authentiques, tout en jouant avec l’art du storytelling ?

Presque tous les détails de l’image, ont une signification symbolique qui construit un storytelling dans sa globalité : un objet, un geste ou une manière particulière que la lumière a de tomber. Si, en tant que photographe, vous le savez ou le ressentez, vous pouvez construire votre récit avec ces petits détails qui font sens.

Comment cultivez-vous votre inspiration entre les commandes et les projets personnels ? 

Les commandes peuvent être très différentes. Parfois, il arrive qu’on ait une complète liberté créative, et là peut naître une image qui fait du sens pour nous. Des années plus tard, elle pourra toujours avoir cette même portée émotionnelle forte, même si son contexte de création était destiné à promouvoir des vêtements par exemple. Dans ces cas ci, je ne vois pas une grande différence entre les commandes photographiques et les expérimentations personnelles.

Dans toutes les autres situations, vous faites simplement votre travail. Vous creusez un trou,  parce que vous êtes doué pour creuser des trous, vous l’avez fait exactement comme on vous l’a demandé et c’est un trou de bonne qualité. Ensuite, vous prenez l’argent pour ce travail et imprimez votre livre, ou voyagez pour tourner un nouveau projet et c’est vraiment pas mal du tout.










Common Accounts designs an eco-friendly funeral for the digital age

Three Ordinary Funerals by Common Accounts proposal for eco-friendly funeral

Design studio Common Accounts imagines the funeral of the future, where liquefied bodies are used to fertilise plants and flowers, and social media accounts generate a virtual afterlife.

Death needs a redesign, said Common Accounts founders Igor Bragado and Miles Gertler, to respond to global concerns about the environment, as well as the rise of digital communication.

Three Ordinary Funerals by Common Accounts proposal for eco-friendly funeral
Common Accounts built a prototype funeral home in Seoul

The pair believe that modern technologies could be used to create new, eco-friendly funeral rituals.

“Burial and cremation, as we know them, are dead,” explained Gertler.

“Today’s city can no longer afford to keep the material business of death at arm’s length, given diminishing land availability, environmental concerns, and the prospect of your digital afterlife.”

Three Ordinary Funerals by Common Accounts proposal for eco-friendly funeral
The design introduces new, eco-friendly funeral rituals

Bragado and Gertler have produced a short film of their proposal, Three Ordinary Funerals, which is premiering at the exhibition (Re)design Death at the Cube Design Museum in the Netherlands.

It shows a ceremony taking place inside a prototype funeral home, which the pair built for the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism in 2017, inside a traditional Korean hanok house.

Three Ordinary Funerals by Common Accounts proposal for eco-friendly funeral
A virtual afterlife portal allows friends, family and followers to contribute digital memories

The ceremony is made up of two stages: the virtual and the physical.

Firstly, a virtual afterlife portal is opened, where friends, family and followers are invited to contribute digital memories. With a 3.0 terabyte-per-second connection speed, it is able to process and sort thousands of videos, photos, comments and files.

Three Ordinary Funerals by Common Accounts proposal for eco-friendly funeral
The body of the deceased is liquefied in an alkaline-hydrolysis fluid cremation system

Secondly, the body of the deceased is placed inside a bespoke alkaline-hydrolysis fluid cremation system and transformed into a fertile liquid, which is used to feed a flower garden.

Floral arrangements from the garden can be used to decorate a ceremonial space-frame displayed on the roof, along with memorial flags.

As an additional benefit, the heat generated in the liquifying process can be used to sustainably warm the building.

Three Ordinary Funerals by Common Accounts proposal for eco-friendly funeral
The liquid helps to fertilise a garden, which provides flowers for a ceremonial display

The process wouldn’t demand land in the same way as a burial does and is more eco-friendly than cremation. But it also creates new ways of memorialising the deceased.

“New technologies present unique opportunities for the production of value – material, ceremonial, and ecological – that shouldn’t be ignored,” said Bragado.

“We need new, cleaner, socially productive disposition alternatives that integrate easily with the urban and digital realms.”

Three Ordinary Funerals by Common Accounts proposal for eco-friendly funeral
The design could make it easier for cities with land scarcity, like Seoul, to handle death

Bragado is from Spain, while Gertler originates from Canada. Having met while studying at Princeton University, the pair initially developed a concept for an alkaline-hydrolysis fluid cremation system.

This idea, which they presented at the Istanbul Design Biennial in 2016, later evolved into a more comprehensive package.

The project was always designed with the South Korean capital in mind. Like other Asian cities, Seoul has a scarcity of available cemetery land and only one cremation facility, even though it is home to 10 million people.

Three Ordinary Funerals by Common Accounts proposal for eco-friendly funeral
The prototype was designed for a traditional Korean hanok house

“It is urgent to start a dialogue on this issue in Seoul, where a shortage of facilities and burial space has created a crisis in how we manage death in the city,” said Jihoi Lee, who curated the Seoul Biennale installation.

“We can use this crisis to probe death’s productive potential in daily urban life,” she added.

Three Ordinary Funerals by Common Accounts proposal for eco-friendly funeral
The project features in the exhibition (Re)design Death at the Cube Design Museum

Bragado and Gertler are not the only designers exploring how death rituals could be redesigned for the 21st century.

Shaina Garfield has created a biodegradable shroud, as an alternative to the coffin, while Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel have developed an egg-shaped burial pod with a tree on top.

Meanwhile architecture firm Olson Kundig has designed an after-death facility for Seattle where human bodies will be composted and turned into soil.

Photography is by Common Accounts. Video is by Andrew Gilbride.


Project credits:

Design: Common Accounts
Lead architects: Igor Bragado, Miles Gertler
Curator: Jihoi Lee
Alkaline hydrolysis technology consultant: STI Korea
Junior architect: Nowk Choe

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This week, Salone del Mobile was postponed due to coronavirus

Milan's Salone del Mobile furniture fair postponed due to coronavirus

This week on Dezeen, the Salone del Mobile fair in Milan was postponed until June as events across Europe were disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak.

The world’s most significant furniture fair, Salone del Mobile, has been delayed until June because of an outbreak of the Covid-19 strain of coronavirus in northern Italy.

The decision to reschedule the event was supported by a slew of leading designers including Ross Lovegrove, who told Dezeen “it’s better to postpone [the fair] and guarantee its cultural and commercial success later”.

Other events including the Geneva Motor Show and Frankfurt’s Light + Building have also been cancelled in an attempt to prevent the virus further spreading. However, organisers of the MIPIM property fair – announced that it will still be going ahead in March.

Be a Bat Man by Sun Dayong is a mobile safety device or shield against Coronavirus
Sun Dayong designs wearable shield to protect against coronavirus outbreaks

The alarming rise of coronavirus also prompted Chinese architect Sun Dayong to design a wearable shield that could protect people from getting infected.

While the shield is just a concept for now, it would be embedded with wires that heat up and kill close-proximity pathogens.

Harikrishnan’s inflatable latex trousers create “anatomically impossible” proportions

Elsewhere in the realm of design, London College of Fashion graduate Harikrishnan created a range of inflatable trousers that are able to give the body “anatomically impossible” proportions.

Up to 30 individual panels of latex are used to produce the trousers, which sit tight around the wearer’s waist before ballooning out around the thighs and tapering again at the ankle. Models presented them on the runway with matching-colour tailored jackets.

SNCB Headquarters by OMA in Belgium
OMA unveils “cliff-like” headquarters for SNCB in Brussels

In architecture news, OMA unveiled plans to renovate three former railway buildings in Brussels to form offices for Belgian train operator SNCB.

The project will also see the erection of an 11-storey glass extension that will feature a “sheer, cliff-like facade” punctuated by porthole windows.

Visual of No 1 Quayside by BIG in Newcastle, UK
BIG releases visuals of Newcastle office with “serpentine silhouette”

BIG similarly revealed visuals for a 10,000-square-metre office in Newcastle, UK.

The building will have a “serpentine silhouette” that mimics the curved form of bridges that span the city’s River Tyne.

Sloped Villa by Studio Okami in Belgium
Studio Okami Architecten hides Sloped Villa in a Belgian hillside

Popular projects this week included a brick villa by Studio Okami Architecten that sits snug against a Belgian hillside and a concrete home in Slovenia that Arhitektura d.o.o designed to accommodate the owner’s ceramics studio.

Readers also debated Studio Vural’s renderings of Dune House – an imagined holiday home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts that would be carved into a sand dune.

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