Hasta La Ideas

Chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut has set up a dedicated 3D-printing studio for desserts, providing chefs with an opportunity to create bespoke designs that can be reproduced at scale.

The Barry Callebaut Group‘s global decoration brand, Mona Lisa, is responsible for launching what the group described as “the world’s first personalised 3D-printed chocolate at scale”.

Chefs can develop their own intricate or unique creations in collaboration with Mona Lisa 3D Studio, which will reproduce them in the desired quantity using its advanced printing technologies.

“Mona Lisa 3D Studio enables you to wow your guests or customers with unseen chocolate experiences, and with innovative shapes and designs that were impossible to be produced before,” said the brand.

“It is the first and only studio in the world where we 3D-print your creations or designs in real, delicious chocolate at scale,” it added. “And where you can co-create with our design teams to explore new ideas, shapes and experiences.”

The printing process was developed in response to increasing demand for more experiential dining, particularly among millennials.

The technology allows chefs to devise desserts that are more personalised or interactive, and therefore more likely to be shared on social media.

Mona Lisa 3D Studio partnered with renowned pastry chef Jordi Roca of Catalonian restaurant El Celler de Can Roca to develop a signature dessert for the project’s launch that showcases the possibilities of 3D-printing technology.

Roca collaborated with designer Andreu Carulla‘s technical studio ACID to devise the Flor de Cacao – a 3D-printed chocolate dessert that resembles a cocoa bean.

When hot chocolate sauce is poured on top, the printed form opens up like a cacao flower.

“This new way of working with chocolate is going to take consumers by surprise,” said Roca, “with previously unthinkable shapes produced at scale and with impressive precision.”

“I’m usually inspired by the things I can’t do as they represent a creative challenge,” the chef added. “But now I can take my chocolate craftsmanship to the next level. I can imagine any new kind of design and it will come to life.”

A team of designers at Mona Lisa 3D Studio will work with chefs and customers to develop personalised chocolate decorations through a process involving digital prototyping.

The approved designs can then be reproduced quickly and affordably at scale using the company’s patented printing technology. The brand is initially targeting chefs, hotels, coffee chains and restaurants in specific European countries.

For the project’s launch event, Roca also developed You, a personalised dessert with the name of the guest rendered in chocolate.

Roca’s handwriting was digitised and translated into a ribbon-like printed form that became the centrepiece of the dessert.

Several other designers have experimented with printing chocolate and other foodstuffs in recent years.

As early as 2013, designer Janne Kyttanen told Dezeen that food would be “the next frontier” for 3D printing. He supported his claim with a series of prototypes for printed pasta, breakfast cereal and burgers.

Dutch design studio Michiel Cornelissen Ontwerp has developed a proposal for a chocolate printer that would produce objects sent to it through an app, while Italian bioengineer Giuseppe Scionti has 3D printed a vegan steak from plant-based proteins.

The post Barry Callebaut 3D-prints intricate desserts in Belgian chocolate appeared first on Dezeen.

On display in 18 NYC neighborhoods, a celebration of rich and unique cultures

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Abu Dhabi-born, New York-based photographer Farah Al Qasimi‘s newest exhibition, Back and Forth Disco, presents itself in the unremarkable nooks and crannies of the city, offering visual stimuli to those waiting at or passing by 100 public bus stops. NYC’s Public Art Fund commissioned the 17 new works, and installed the pieces in pairs across the five boroughs. They embody Al Qasimi’s recognizable style and aim to “isolate and highlight the beauty of seemingly inconspicuous moments amidst New York City’s visual and audible noise.” The photographs are subtle, but rich with cultural identity and provide beautification to otherwise dull or advertisement-covered spaces.

“It’s really a beautiful thing to see that sense of style,” Al Qasimi explains in a video statement. “It’s something that’s highly individualized, but I think it can be political. When you walk into a space that feels like you’re transported there’s an ownership, right? It really got me thinking about New York as a point of entry for so many immigrants who are coming from all over the world, and particularly the Middle East.”

For the project, Al Qasimi captured images of customers, storefronts, and shelves and decor inside businesses that are proud of their imported culture—whether it’s by selling garments from their homeland or adorning their store with motifs from a particular culture or region. Al Qasimi stirs feelings of desire, pride, and a sense of home through these images of decorations and products.

“There’s a way to access memory and desire and aspiration and location through objects. There’s so much more to them than just these tchotchkes that we collect. Even though I want to be a little more critical of the need to shop, I feel it. And I think that it can be really transformative, and really affirming for some people. It allows them to build a world in which they see themselves mirrored,” Al Qasimi explains to the Public Art Fund.

Beautiful as they are, the photographs that compose Back and Forth Disco also act as opportunities for education, awareness and community. Using the entirety of the city as her subject, and employing space typically reserved for advertisements, Al Qasimi tethers the population to one another by celebrating these nuances and differences. Whether it’s “Bodega Chandelier,” her shot of “an elaborate crystal light fixture that dominates the ceiling of a Yemeni-owned bodega in Ridgewood, Queens” or “Parked Car,” a photograph where “garlands of artificial flowers from an Indian wedding decorate a polished gray car,” each image offers a taste of unique and vibrant beauty.

Back and Forth Disco is on display citywide, in 18 neighborhoods, through 17 May.

Images courtesy of the Public Art Fund

After canceling the NASCAR circuit’s next three races, the organization quickly opted for an innovative alternative. By expanding upon an 11-year-old simulated racing league NASCAR already operates (exclusively for SIM racers and not real-life drivers), the next three races will commence virtually on a video game version of the Homestead-Miami Speedway. All of the sports most popular drivers will control cars from simulator stations—like the type typically found in arcades—and announcers will provide commentary remotely. The race, officially called the FOX NASCAR iRACING ESPORTS INVITATIONAL, will be televised on FOX’s major channels (FS1 and the FOX Sports app) on 22 March. Given the inherent dangers of the sport, and the longstanding lobbying done in favor of switching to simulated races, this could be a glimpse into the sport’s future. Read more at NASCAR’s blog.

From her album Through Water, Låpsley (aka Holly Lapsley Fletcher) has released the serene “Speaking of the End.” At first featuring only a piano and Fletcher’s silken vocals, background singers join in after two minutes, creating a delicate ballad. The accompanying video (directed by Steph Wilson) complements the song with its tranquil, slow-motion underwater scene.

Call its design ambidextrous or two-faced or whatever you want, the SPLIT suitcase makes an important observation when it comes to packing for travel. There’s a difference between organization and access. Your travel case may have multiple slots and compartments to organize your items, but they’re all accessible through the same opening… so whether you want to grab something as small as your sunglasses case, or something as bulky as your jacket, it takes you the same amount of time and effort because your bag may have multiple compartments, but it has only one pathway of access.

That distinction is Split’s design brief. It comes with an organized central space for your items like most travel cases, but where it truly differs in its design is in the fact that it’s accessible from two sides, in two ways, for two reasons. There are items you pack with the intent of unpacking at your destination, and items you pack but may need to instantly access at any given point of time, like your laptop, ebook reader, passport, tickets, sunscreen, etc. SPLIT’s design takes cognizance of this dichotomy of need and comes with access flaps on both sides of the bag… one opening traditionally, for storing larger items that don’t need to be accessed easily, and another letterbox-style flap that lets you easily dip into your bag to grab your laptop or headphones.

Organization and access are what give the SPLIT travel case its edge. The bag comes with essentially two front-faces, eliminating the back panel, which usually houses the telescopic handle. Instead, the handle covers the sides of the SPLIT, giving you a bag you can easily wheel beside you rather than tugging behind you. The insides of the split come well organized for all sorts of travel, be it for leisure or work. A divider panel splits the inner mass into two, while acting as a detachable sleeve for your laptop, power-bank, mouse, etc., while a variety of SYSTEMA organizer soft-boxes let you separate your clothes, shoes, toiletry, etc. The SPLIT secures all your belongings with industry-leading YKK zips and a TSA lock that lets you lock and unlock both flaps on either side, and USB ports on the outside to charge your phone while waiting at airport terminals.

Built with a robust hard-case ABS outer, the SPLIT comes in three variants – Light, Business, and Premium, sporting different panels ranging from hard plastic to ballistic nylon, and even premium leather. The Business SPLIT gives you an extra slot on the inside for a tablet, and for business cards, while the Premium comes with the SYSTEMA organizer-boxes included. You even get a slick leather ID tag to complement your leather bag!

Designer: Appercase Design

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SPLIT – The Dual Access Carry-On Suitcase

The SPLIT suitcase by Appercase design is a premium carry-on roller with horizontal and vertical openings on both sides for easy access to your essentials and dedicated pockets for laptop, cables and documents.

All the space you need for personal organization.

Adjust the interior space according to your business and personal needs.

For maximum security and selective opening (front and back panel).

Optimized interior space and increased stability, in a unique, sleek design.

Choose Your SPLIT

LIGHT With minimal interior organization, LIGHT is made from the best polycarbonate materials. The design is focused on durability and simplicity and the construction of the model allows maximum storage space for your personal belongings. Think less is more.

BUSINESS prioritizes the organization system that is made out of ballistic nylon fabric and provides a fully formulated luggage interior layout with assembling compartments for laptop, tablet, business cards, pens and many other items, keeping all of your devices and belongings safely stored while you travel.

PREMIUM design is made with leather and offers the ultimate comfort. Fitted with a full interior organization system with laptop and tablet pockets, it comes with an additional set of three removable organizer items from our SYSTEMA collection, included to complete the custom layout of this exclusive suitcase.

Gallery

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