Why build a console when you could build so much more?
Meet Project Oris. It doesn’t just play games. It does everything else too. The Project Oris is a pretty delightful mishmash of features and services which honestly seem like a concept-gone-wild at first glance, but make a lot of sense when you look at it in the grand scheme of things. The Project Oris is a gaming console, a hi-fi speaker, a projector, and even a Voice AI, all wrapped into a literal black box of tech.
Designed to be at the very center of your life at home, the Project Oris lets you play games, listen to music, and even watch media. You could hook it to a screen, or you could just point it at a blank wall and let its in-built projector broadcast an 8K HDR display. For music and gaming, the display is complemented by the console’s in-built 5 audio drivers that deliver rich bass as well as crisp highs in all directions. The speakers even come with 4 omni-directional microphones that pick up voice commands, because the console has a voice assistant built right into it. Tied probably to Microsoft’s services, the Project Oris runs Cortana, allowing you to set up gaming match reminders, as well as other functions, like dimming the lights, or playing your favorite tracks.
The Project Oris is, however, more than just a feature-heavy console. It comes with its own controller that A. features a touchscreen surface on the top, similar to the PlayStation’s DualShock 4 controllers, but with a built-in display. The controller also packs a fingerprint reader, that lets you access multiple user profiles with a simple tap, and OTA wireless charging that lets you juice the controller without plugging it in. Pretty nifty, no?
Would Microsoft make this? I doubt it. Should they? I can think of a BUNCH of reasons. A. It would give the Xbox an incredible competitive advantage over the PS, B. it would mean not needing to buy an 8K TV, or a bunch of speakers, or even a smart-hub, and C. it would really get people to use Cortana, which honestly Microsoft really could use, am I right?
Convention centres that have been rapidly turned into facilities for coronavirus patients should not be called hospitals, says Doug King, the healthcare principal of Stantec, which has overseen the transformation of Chicago’s McCormick Place.
Stantec worked with contractor Walsh Construction to turn three halls in the centre into an alternative care facility with 3000 beds. The team, which was assembled on 26 March, was tasked to complete it within three weeks.
“We were under construction within 12 hours of contract”
“From the day we got the contract to completion of all 3000 beds is 25 days,” King told Dezeen. “We were under construction within 12 hours of contract.”
“We were starting to build support spaces within 12 hours,” he added. “The first 500 beds were delivered in less than a week.”
Stantec’s project marks the latest convention centre that has been turned into facilities for coronavirus patients – including the ExCel in London and the Javits Center in New York – as hospitals reach capacity due to the pandemic.
“That’s one of the mantras – not a hospital”
But King said it shouldn’t be considered as a replacement for its hospital counterpart.
“This is not a hospital,” King said. “That’s one of the mantras – not a hospital. It’s an alternative care facility.”
King’s view is echoed by Jason Schroer, the director of health at architecture firm HKS’s Dallas outpost. He similarly argued that “a non-healthcare building converted to a patient care space is not quite a hospital” in an Opinion piece for Dezeen.
The McCormick Place facility comprises 2250 for patients that aren’t diagnosed with Covid-19 and a separate area with 750 beds for those that have the disease.
King said that the main intervention was to introduce a mechanical system that created negative pressure in the areas with Covid-19 patients. Negative pressure forces air that could be carrying the virus out of spaces and helps to prevent cross-contamination.
Ductwork and fans direct contaminated air out of the centre
To achieve this, the team inserted scaffolding to create a lower ceiling in the centre – which typically reaches heights of 30 to 40 feet (nine to 12 metres) – to hold ductwork at 10 feet (three metres) high.
HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters are then used to collect and suck pollutants “like a vacuum cleaner” into the ductwork.
“We directed the air into that ductwork and basically sucked it out of the building with a series of fans,” King said. “So that was the largest intervention that we did.”
“That flushed air goes through the HEPA filter so all of the virus is captured in the HEPA filter, which gets changed out regularly,” he added. “Then it goes up into the ductwork that gets pulled to the outside of the building.”
Nurse stations customised
King said while it wasn’t straightforward to transform the centre there were a number of advantages. For example, there are regular hubs across the floor that provide electricity, water and often WiFi that could be used for nurse’s stations.
The team had to be creative with the design of each station so they connect to hubs and are also located to enable medical workers views of the patients.
“That became a bit of a design exercise that required collaboration with the contractors and for us to quickly customise every single nurse station location,” he said.
“Every single nurse station location had to be customised to its services, or origin of its services. So when you look at the layout, you’ll see the nurse stations, but many times they have, they’re shaped like Zs or shaped like circles with one leg on them or something.”
Future hospitals will have dedicated pandemic areas
King added that the current crisis, which has put extreme pressure on hospitals and medical workers, will impact the ways that hospitals are arranged and designed in the future.
He said that they will start to include specific areas dedicated to “pandemic-stricken individuals” and those that need other types of care.
“Hospitals are going to start to acknowledge the need to be able to separate their facilities into what we’ll call pandemic-stricken individuals, virus-stricken individuals versus those that are basically just regularly in the hospital,” he said.
“In the future, you’re going to see hospitals thinking like that.”
Sort of like two-factor authentication for your smartphone.
Think of it. The situation’s been perfectly set up. FaceID or facial recognition seems counter-intuitive now, considering everyone’s wearing masks, and there’s little chance companies are going to embrace a fingerprint sensor on the phone again for quite a while. This solution, by Alvaro Navarro, seems perfect for a lot of reasons. A. It’s absolutely convenient, because truly wireless earbuds already have touch sensors on them. B. It’s easy to implement too, and can work with practically any smartphone. C. It could be a great business model, allowing companies to push out more earbuds as a result (good design and good business don’t always intersect though), and D. It could be a much more secure way of unlocking your phone.
A lot of IT professionals use hardware authentication USB devices like the YubiKey to unlock their laptops, as an alternative to passwords. What if the earbud could provide the same service for your smartphone? No face recognition, no PIN numbers, no patterns. Just tap your ear and your phone unlocks. How’s it more secure? Well, for starters you’re using your fingerprint for authentication, and the second layer of security comes from the fact that your phone AND earphone need to be in proximity (and connected) for it to work. Not sure what impact it would have on the earbud’s battery, but it definitely feels like an idea worth considering, no?
Filmed just weeks before the current crisis spread across the USA, the video for “Ooh LA LA” by Run The Jewels (aka Killer Mike and El-P), Greg Nice and DJ Premier depicts the hip-hop duo’s vision of utopia as people of all classes come together to dance, celebrate and destroy symbols of capitalism. Featuring an apt cameo from Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha, the video (directed by Brian and Vanessa Beletic) begins with a statement: “One day the long-fought battle between humanity and the forces of greed and division will end, and on that day, finally free, we will throw a motherfucking party.” What ensues is a fiery, unequivocally RTJ track.
The fifth and final part of VDF’s collaboration with reSITE sees London architecture studio WallaceLiu discuss working in China and the West with MAAT executive director Beatrice Leanza in a talk moderated by Yoko Choy, editor of Wallpaper* China.
In this “East Meets West” talk from reSITE’s REGENERATE conference, WallaceLiu‘s founders Jee Liu and Jamie Wallace join Yoko Choy and Beatrice Leanza to discuss how to build for the next generation, and how values are changing in the process of regeneration.
WallaceLiu was founded in 2014 and has designed a number of buildings in China, most recently the new Chongqing Industrial Museum, set among the structures of an old steel factory.
Yoko Choy and Beatrice Leanza in conversation at reSITE
Before joining MAAT, Leanza was based in Beijing. She was the founder of The Global School, the first independent design institute to open in China, and served as creative director of Beijing Design Week from 2012 to 2016.
“China is a country that, when you work there, almost feels like the wild west in California, the gold-digging era, to start with,” said Liu.
“But it also rewards passion because there is a lack of passion. Apart from generating wealth, if you can demonstrate that you have passion, people might be able to recognise you. Of course, there’s a layer of luck in that.”
Liu argues that young designers need to be more provocative, saying that every country has emerging architects that will put their heart and soul into their projects.
“They’re desperate to prove themselves, to make a statement. That’s the energy every city needs for its important buildings, not just pavilions and house extensions, which is what’s happening in Britain,” Liu said.
China is moving toward decongesting and depopulating cities
Wallace argues that the studio has benefited from being both Chinese and British when it comes to working in China.
“We could use the identity in a fluid way to challenge people in ways that they are not used to being challenged. Sometimes we could operate in a very Chinese way, sometimes in a very British way,” he said.
Liu, Choy, Leanza and Wallace at the East Meets West reSITE talk
Liu also points out the necessity of having local knowledge.
“I think there is a risk of coming in also to say: “China can be like this, this is how you should work in China,” she said, adding that this can be dangerous.
“Anywhere you work you need to know the culture, you need to blend yourself in by genuine curiosity,” she said.
Going back to the reSITE’s conference theme of regeneration, Choy asks what has changed in China in recent years as the country has increasingly moved away from demolition and towards preservation.
“It’s just not economic to keep on building, even for the Chinese state,” Leanza said.
“Everything that is happening now is exactly the opposite — it is about decongesting, depopulating cities. It’s happening, of course, in Beijing, it’s happening everywhere else.”
She argues that this has to do with the realisation that we cannot keep urbanising at the expense of the environment, saying China is at the forefront of working on these issues.
“There’s a value change in development”
Heritage also plays a key role in preserving rather than demolishing buildings, according to Liu. “There’s a growing nostalgia with people who were born in China in the generation that was born perhaps in the 60s and 70s,” she said. “They have that particular relationship with the cultural revolution.”
This generation feels sorry about what happened in the past and is now supportive of change, Liu explained. “I think they will be supporting the next generation of architectural practice in conservation and renovation as well.”
“I also think there’s a value change in development,” Wallace added. “The vast majority, if not all, of China’s cities are procured speculatively and there’s money in heritage now.”
The panel discussed how to build for the next generation and how values are changing in China
In terms of regeneration and who drives the development of the future, Leanza said that while there are plenty of good intentions, the question is how to take them further.
“How do we take that to another level, how it enters the systemic level – I don’t think we are there yet. I guess it takes rehearsing,” she said.
What ties the east and west together is the obstacles facing architects, according to Liu.
“I don’t think there’s a universal understanding of the East or a universal understanding of the West,” she said. “I think what’s in common is [that] it’s very hard to build good architecture anywhere, that’s my experience in London and in China.”
“Give more responsibility to the next generation and let them somehow grab hold of their own fate,” Liu concluded.
About reSITE
reSITE is a non-profit organisation with a focus on rethinking cities, architecture and urban development. Its aim is to connect leaders and support the synergies across real estate, architecture, urbanism, politics, culture and economics.
reSITE’s flagship event is held in Prague, but it has also held events in Lisbon and Berlin. reSITE was founded in 2011 by Martin Barry, a landscape architect originally from New York.
About Virtual Design Festival
Virtual Design Festival, the world’s first digital design festival, runs from 15 April to 30 June 2020. It aims to bring the architecture and design world together to celebrate the culture and commerce of our industry, and explore how it can adapt and respond to extraordinary circumstances.
An exciting new glimpse at the queer storyteller’s forthcoming EP
A dab of Hedwig and the Angry Inch with a dollop of Americana, all wrapped up in a ribbon of David Bowie, Seán Barna‘s latest single, “Naked Heart (Missy),” celebrates a queer performer that the singer/songwriter observed by chance. It’s bold and beautiful—and hails from Barna’s forthcoming EP, Margaret Thatcher of the Lower East Side (out 29 May). The track features Counting Crows’ Dave Immergluck on electric guitar, a welcome addition, but it’s Barna’s vocals that do the most compelling work here.
“I was at Syntax Songwriters Open Mic in Denver, hosted by my friend and amazing musician, Anthony Ruptak. One of the performers was this mystical human, Missy. Missy—as far as I could tell—was fearlessly, unapologetically queer, and over the course of a few songs I deified them in my brain,” Barna explains.
It’s also a call to arms for other queers out there to live fearlessly against any oppression from society or one’s family
“This song is basically an answer to Rufus Wainwright’s song, ‘Gay Messiah,’ because I think maybe I figured out who the gay messiah is. It’s also a call to arms for other queers out there to live fearlessly against any oppression from society or one’s family, and to continue to be fucking weird whenever possible,” he concludes.
Recorded remotely, the Cautious Clay-led “Cheesin’” features six collaborators: Remi Wolf, Still Woozy, Sophie Meiers, Claud, Melanie Faye, and HXNS. Budding stars in the indie genre, the group aims to drive attention to and raise funds for the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. Net proceeds from all streams and purchases of the joyous track go to the organization and its numerous beneficiaries. So far, the song has raised nearly $40,000.
EDC usually helps make life more convenient. The WYN Bullet is one of those rare examples of EDC that was designed to save lives. Smaller than your finger, the WYN Bullet is a spring-loaded glass-shattering tool that helps you make a quick escape/rescue by instantly breaking a car’s toughened glass. Whether you’re inside your car trying to get out, or outside the car trying to save someone on the inside, the WYN Bullet’s one-push system can instantly shatter toughened glass panels, giving you swift entry into a locked car in emergencies.
Toughened glass is exceptionally difficult to break through, by design. It takes repetitive strikes with incredible force to just make a hole large enough for your hand to pass through – even though Hollywood would have you believe that Dwayne Johnson can literally shatter glass with the flick of his finger. The trick to breaking toughened glass is to strike it with something incredibly hard and sharp that focuses the pressure on an infinitesimally small area, causing shockwaves to break the entire glass panel in a single strike.
The WYN Bullet uses a combination of material and force to its advantage. Its patent-pending spring-loaded mechanism activates with a single push, making the tungsten-carbide tip hit the glass with a strong impact that instantly shatters the glass in less than a second. Shaped like a bullet, the WYN Bullet requires minimal amounts of pressure to break through the glass, making it a crucial life-saving tool, whether it’s yours or someone else’s. Each WYN Bullet is small enough to slip right into your pant pocket, and comes with a pocket-clip as well as a ring that lets you secure it to your keychain, making it a great piece of EDC. Conversely, the WYN Bullet could even be easily stored in your glove-compartment, allowing you to easily access it just when you need it… although for obvious reasons I sincerely wish you don’t ever end up in a situation where you’d need an emergency glass-shattering instrument. Regardless of which, it’s one of those things that you definitely must have anyway – sort of like life insurance!
WYN Bullet – A Must-have Survival Tool for All Drivers
WYN Bullet is the world’s most powerful spring-loaded emergency window breaker. Its patent-pending direct-impact technology delivers a powerful strike directly to a tungsten carbide tip, allowing the vehicle occupant to easily break car windows for emergency escape.
In case of an emergency, simply press the bullet tip against the car side window. The spring-loaded internal striker will release and hammer the ultra-hard carbide tip with a powerful force and shatter tempered glass.
Essential Life-saving Tool
When every second matters, you can count on WYN Bullet to save your life, and the lives of other people. In 2017 there were 20,800 accidents related to fire or water submersion, resulting in 1,874 deaths in the US. In an accident, a car may lose all electrical power or its doors are jammed. When a car falls into the water, you only have a few seconds to escape to safety.
Extensive study by AAA (American Automotive Association) published in 2019 confirmed that emergency vehicle escape tools are a lifesaver.
Developed For First Responders
Developed for first responders (firefighters, law enforcement and EMT) WYN Bullet is compact, powerful and efficient. When your job is to save lives, you must use the best tools.
Direct-impact Technology
Their Patent-Pending Technology positions the internal striker inside the bullet head, directly behind the tungsten tip. This innovative design is very compact and efficient, allowing you to break tempered glass windows with ease.
Precision Engineering
Designed to mimic the look of a real bullet, WYN Bullet looks beautiful and is powerful.
Specifications:
– Length: 77 mm | 3.0 in – Diameter: 13.0 mm | 0.5 in – Weight: 45 gr | 1.6 oz – Material: Stainless Steel & Tungsten Carbide Tip – Finish: SS | Black Oxide – Accessory: Pocket Clip & Keyring Loop
In stainless steel or black oxide finish.
Always Ready
WYN Bullet is compact for easy storage and access. It comes with a removable pocket clip and key-ring loop so you can always carry it with you. It is an essential addition to your everyday carry (EDC).
Fidget / Focus Tool
WYN Bullet is a highly addictive and effective focus tool. Pressing and releasing the bullet head with your finger has a tantalizing effect. The bullet tip creates a high pressure point but is not sharp to cut your skin. The more you press, the higher the pressure. If you press it all the way and release the internal striker, it will give you anything from a jolt to a sharp shock, depending on where you place the tip. The goal is to get as close to the edge without being struck.
Wylie, who has a background in technology and public engagement, earned the moniker “the Jane Jacobs of smart cities” for her resistance to Sidewalk Labs‘ proposed Sidewalk Toronto, a smart neighbourhood being developed by the subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet.
In her reSITE lecture, given at the REGENERATE conference in September 2019, she said that we need to remember the power, importance and urgency of operating as a collective.
Bianca Wylie at reSITE’s REGENERATE conference
Wylie tells of her reaction to finding out about the Sidewalk Toronto project, and how looking after the people who need housing, food, infrastructure and transport isn’t a profitable undertaking but the role of the state.
“For two years I have been working with others to advocate for this city and for the role of the government because my fear right now is that corporations are beginning to sound a lot like governments,” she said.
“And sometimes I can’t believe that I have to remind people this: they do not operate on the same basis.”
“A moment for cities to rise to protect from the worst instincts of states”
Wylie’s concern with Sidewalk Toronto was that the smart-city project was blending the roles of governments and those of corporations too much.
“Design has been an incredible handmaiden to delivering dreams,” Wylie said. “That may not be coming from the state, that may be coming from designers and from the private sector, which is beautiful. That can be very very confusing.”
Eventually, she argues, increasing privatisation leads to problems with regulations – as seen with Uber and Airbnb.
“People start liking it, people start using it, and then it gets very difficult to untangle in terms of how it is working,” she said. “How do we regulate this, what do we do about it. That’s not by accident. And so the design of processes in democracy is critical.”
Wylie believes the solution is to come together as a collective and look at how we regulate space in our cities.
“My plea to all of you is to participate in these spaces very thoughtfully and to remember that right now there is a moment for cities to rise to protect from the worst instincts of states, which right now can be pretty bad,” she said.
“And come together as a collective to work on these issues we have in our cities.”
About reSITE
reSITE is a non-profit organisation with a focus on rethinking cities, architecture and urban development. Its aim is to connect leaders and support the synergies across real estate, architecture, urbanism, politics, culture and economics.
reSITE’s flagship event is held in Prague, but it has also held events in Lisbon and Berlin. reSITE was founded in 2011 by Martin Barry, a landscape architect originally from New York.
About Virtual Design Festival
Virtual Design Festival, the world’s first digital design festival, runs from 15 April to 30 June 2020. It aims to bring the architecture and design world together to celebrate the culture and commerce of our industry, and explore how it can adapt and respond to extraordinary circumstances.
Franz Sussbauer est un photographe basé à Munich. Amoureux des extérieurs, de la nature et de l’architecture, il présente la série photos « Art in Public Space » de la plage du Havre et des fameuses cabines qu’on y trouve.
Le graphiste Karel Martens avait travaillé sur un projet pour l’anniversaire des 500 ans de la ville et a proposé de redonner aux cabines une expression colorée. Ainsi, des bandes de 10 couleurs différentes et de 6 largeurs différentes ont été peintes sur les faces visibles des cabines. L’artiste dit voir cela comme « une sorte de chorégraphie, une composition d’un grand panorama avec toutes les cabines, l’unité par la diversité ».
Pour le photographe, le concept du motif est très important dans son travail. De par sa formation photographique et ses études d’art et d’architecture, il privilégie la photographie moderne, notamment les œuvres qui laissent place à l’imagination, mais il aime se concentrer sur un sujet.
Il a réalisé une série de clichés de la plage du Havre et essayé de donner son interprétation du lieu. En prenant pour sujet ces cabines aux bandes colorées, il accompagne le projet du graphiste Karel Martens en proposant des photos aux ambiances pastels et à l’univers sorti d’un rêve.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
is the world’s most powerful spring-loaded emergency window breaker. Its patent-pending direct-impact technology delivers a powerful strike directly to a tungsten carbide tip, allowing the vehicle occupant to easily break car windows for emergency escape.
