Hasta La Ideas

Straight lines and geometric symbols feature inside and out this longliner tuna fishing ship, which Nendo designed to relieve the mental and physical stress imposed on its crew when out at sea.

Designed for Japanese tuna fishery Usufuku Honten, based in Kesennuma City in Japan’s Tohoku region, the Shofukumaru longliner ship weighs a total of 486 tonnes and has capacity for 15 crew members.

Nendo was given a brief with three key words – straight lines, unevenness and massiveness – which it used to create exterior and interior designs that offer a “sense of security on solid ground”.

The crew spends a month at sea at a time, catching bigeye and bluefin tuna for the fishery – a job that is strenuous on their mental and physical wellbeing.

According to the company, this results in a turnover rate of more than 50 per cent among the younger members of the crew.

The fishery therefore tasked Nendo with designing an interior and exterior for the fishing vessel that would help alleviate the stress of the team, and in particular would appeal to its younger workers.

Nendo deconstructed Usufuku’s trademark, comprised of the Japanese emblems including a chigai-yama (mountains), hoshi (star) and ichi (one), and modernised them to create a simple graphic pattern made up of straight lines and circles.

This pattern was then repeated in adapted forms across both the exterior surfaces and interior elements such as the onboard flooring.

“The idea was conceived from the notion that our species, not originally accustomed to spending long periods of time at sea, might be comforted by linearity reminiscent of life ashore: the straight lines of buildings, windows, doors, and smartphone and TV screens,” Nendo explained.

Striped joints and rectilinear openings were incorporated into the interior design, softened with curved surfaces in certain locations to ensure safety.

The studio also wanted to create an “unevenness” in the boat design, to avoid creating repetitive interiors that are often seen in environments focused on functionality, such as hospitals.

According to Nendo, these homogenous designs often cause “psychological stress” for users.

Linear patterns and materials were therefore scattered at random and in moderation across the vessel, to create spaces with different characters that the crew won’t get bored with.

According to its creators, the Shofukumaru boat is the first domestic tuna fishing vessel to be equipped with a Wifi system.

Other additional features designed to recall life on land include the furniture, which sees bulky tabletops and “stump-like” stools that appear to be rooted to the floor.

The boat also boasts an increased per-person occupancy area alongside a higher ceiling height than conventional interiors.

Nendo is not the only studio to foray into boat design. Danish studio Norm Architects designed homely interiors for a 20-metre-long luxury yacht named Bella.

Back in 2014 architecture firm Foster + Partners designed a 20-metre-long motor yacht with a white leather interior, while in the same year Zaha Hadid designed the Jazz superyacht for German shipbuilders Blohm+Voss.

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As coronavirus wreaks havoc with this year’s creative award shows, D&AD CEO Patrick Burgoyne reflects on why judging matters, if done well

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Browsing through Pinterest for your dream homes is so 2019, in 2020 we are browsing through pet homes and I am not ‘kitten’ when I say that cats certainly have cooler options than we ever will. They don’t pay rent and that is always going to be the coolest part but the pet homes are truly taking an artistic turn and I don’t mind having this modern cat home that is specifically customized for your feline friend’s happiness to last a lifetime! The design has been mindful of 3 elements – the space, the cat, and the person. Space is shared between the cat and the owner and this pet product works in the favor of that symbiotic relationship – all the cat’s needs are met and the owner’s interior space/style remains undisturbed.

The designer has imagined everything your pet needs to live their best life possible and included it in the details of this modular cat house. Every traditional shape and element has been reimagined to add a fresh perspective. The scratching board, for example, has been created to evoke an emotional response from the cat and make it a pleasant experience not bound by the stereotypical forms but still meeting the behavioral need to dig/scratch. Play around with the shape and structure, create something that works for you and your pet and if your pet gets bored easily, just switch up the arrangement and voila, a whole new apartment! The scratch pads can be set up in various different ways to increase the playing area while still being a practical element. “It is a balance between new and old. I have used our most common materials and structures in life to design new design styles, extend the life cycle of products, reduce product costs from another angle, and strengthen the relationship between brands and users by expanding product forms and functions,” says the designer.

It uses a familiar frame structure and it is flexible to the owner’s space and the cat’s demands – it also works for multiple cats! Sisal balls and corrugated paper complete the structure and encourage cats to behave as they would in their natural element, the choice of materials makes them more comfortable and the earthy tones bring a zen energy to the environment it is in. It integrates the human-cat-space elements into one pet product which is more entertaining, useful, and cost-effective because it serves multiple purposes. The cat house is adaptable and expandable to suit your flexible lifestyle. Add soft cushions, some toys, a litter box and you have a beautiful cat home with a minimal aesthetic that will fit your style and space!

Designer: He Yuhui

This article was sent to us using the ‘Submit A Design’ feature.

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Architect Rob Arlt and his group of students in South Dakota have completed an experimental gabled Passivhaus, which they claim is the first in the area to “sell energy back to the grid”.

Arlt, an instructor in the South Dakota State University Department of Architecture, worked with students to complete the house in Brookings near the school campus.

As there is currently no statewide energy code that residential buildings must meet in South Dakota, the project is intended to highlight the possibilities for construction.

“In a state that will not adopt energy codes, the design responds to showcase and demonstrate sustainable development to the region’s public, contractors, and building officials through site selection, systems and assemblies,” the team said.

The group obtained a housing grant from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development to design the project to meet standards set by the Passive House Institute.

According to the team, the 2,000 square-foot house is also the first in the area to produce more energy than it consumes.

“The residence is 90 per cent more efficient than a similar house built to code and is the first house in the region to sell energy back to the grid,” it said.

Energy-saving and environmentally friendly details include photovoltaic panels installed on the roof to generate energy, a built-in water heater with a more efficient heat pump and quadruple glazed windows.

There is also a Zehnder HRV (Healthy Climate Heat Recovery Ventilation) ventilation system, which uses the heat of the stale air that is leaving the house to warm up the fresh air entering to reduce energy loss.

The roof is designed to hang over openings on the south-facing facade to offer shading in warm weather and the gutter is built-in to reduce heat loss through thermal bridging. All of the walls inside the house are coated in a white non-VOC (volatile organic compound) paint, which means it doesn’t contain any carbon.

The house also has a striking appearance; dark grey fibre-cement lap siding covers the exterior and the windows and doorways are framed with cedar wood.

A portion of the front of the gabled house a portion is cut away to form a small entry porch. The inset entrance is entirely clad with cedar and features a bright red door.

“A simple gabled massing responds to the neighbouring context and implements contemporary detailing to read as a single, subtracted volume with deep set apertures,” the team added.

At the rear of the house, an exterior courtyard covered in wood slats connects to the detached garage.

Inside, the living and dining area features double-height ceilings to view activities on the upper level, which includes two bedrooms and a loft on the upper level. The master bedroom is located on the ground floor.

The team designed a wooden staircase made from cross-laminated timber and glulam, materials that are deemed to be more sustainable details that concrete and metal. These are among a number of wooden details, such as the basswood slat railings and ceiling beam, which are intended to contrast the plain interiors.

There is also a black accent wall grid system made from painted MDF panels constructed on both floors to conceal the master suite, bathrooms and mechanical rooms.

Residents can monitor and adjust the air quality and energy usage via an online platform that provides information on the areas of the house using the most energy.

The property joins a number created to explore the possibilities for low energy and more sustainable design. Examples include a Kansas residence completed by students at the University of Kansas and architecture firm Snøhetta’s ultra-efficient HouseZero at Harvard University.

Photography is by Vondelinde.

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Results from 54 hours of business development regarding Covid-19 relief

From 24 to 26 April, global investment platform Techstars (a certified B Corporation that aims to support entrepreneurs through mentorships, events and accelerators) brought their contributions and capabilities to a new level. With their first-ever free, national Startup Weekend Remote USA—a development born from their highly sought-after 54-hour weekend incubator—dozens of successful founders and C-suite mentors signed on to mobilize tech entrepreneurs in the fight against Covid-19. Entirely digital and distributed across the country, the event’s top 20 ideas—which could address health, vulnerable populations, communities and more—and the teams behind them, secured an opportunity at a business bootcamp (the next stage in idea advancement).

Roughly 3400 start-up weekends crop up globally each year. It’s no small feat to bring one—that stretches the USA—online. Mirroring such an effort, the top three finalists proposed solutions to immediate problems. From the east region, third place start-up COVIDX presented a citizen science app, wherein users of health-tech wearables can share their data and alert doctors if there’s a sustained elevated heart rate (which may telegraph the presence of the novel coronavirus 48 hours before the onset of other symptoms).

In second place, from the west region, MedFoyer proposed a virtual doctor’s office waiting room (part app, part platform), built through geolocation data, wherein patients can await their assessment appointment in their car. Clearly, this reduces the risks (for patients and staff) of close-proximity check-in.

First-place winner, Varna, pitched wearables paired with an AI-powered bio-senseing tool to monitor nurses’ symptoms in real time. Varna’s team is composed of engineers with AI backgrounds and their mission includes making thermal cameras more affordable.

With “giving first” as a core value of Techstars, perhaps even more than knowledge-sharing, the organization tapped Custom Ink for a collection of clothing and accessories that would function two-fold. It would act as a commemorative unifier for those who attended the event; and it would offer an opportunity to support a charity. Mark Katz, co-founder and CEO of Custom Ink (as well as a Startup Weekend mentor), Zoomed in from McLean, Virginia to explain that they chose to focus their efforts on children’s educational and mental health needs.

“We wanted to do something that would focus on this neglected group, all of these kids stuck inside, without necessary tools, being deprived of education,” Katz tells us. “We also thought that was fitting with Techstars, as an organization focused on using technology to solve problems.” Moreover, Katz explains that mental health became a natural extension, as children in these circumstances may face isolation, lack of safety and more.

To facilitate the donations, Charleston, South Carolina-based local organizer Stacey Segal—partner at BrightVine Solutions, who works with non-profits needing tech guidance; and founder of the non-profit Charleston Startup and STEM Foundation—stepped in. Segal’s organization will “select charities in different areas of the US and grant money to them, and work with Techstars to define the criteria to select these organizations,” she explains to us. In addition to securing transparency, they’ll handle reporting. Ultimately, their goal will be to enable responsible charities to acquire educational tablets, equipped with learning applications and mental health support. It’s one continual act of goodness from a weekend dedicated to helping others.

Images courtesy of Techstars