For her latest Exposure column, art director Gem Fletcher highlights the work of Andy Price, whose playful images work in stark contrast to the slick visuals of commercial still-life photography
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How many hours of your life do you think you have spent finding parking spots? According to a study, we spend around 75 hours a year trying to find parking. The one thing I am enjoying during quarantine is not looking for an empty space for my vehicle. I am not sure how I will return to the world where there is a constant quest for parking spots but when I do, I want to enter the arena with Parkey – a conceptual shared-parking device which helps you find a spot in seconds! This Apple-esque controller can solve one of the biggest stressors of commuting.
Looking for a free spot not only wastes time but also increases gas emissions in the atmosphere. Inevitably there is a rise in traffic which raises air pollution levels given that most of our cars still run on combustion engines. Parkey uses this opportunity to design a device that can ease the stress on our lives and the environment. Many spots are not used all round the clock and by sharing these spots, the owners can make extra income while helping the community. What makes this device unique is that is doesn’t require any physical tech to be installed in the garage door, instead it uses a configurable RF controller that connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth to share the spot.
The controller was designed to be minimal and portable. It has a slim build like one of your smart home appliance remotes and also features a keyring for convenience. The keyring also fits into the USB-C charging port for charging but will also be made compatible with wall chargers and wireless chargers. If you have the controller, then just post about your spot on the Parkey app and configure the gadget by activating your current RF controller. This enables the Parkey controller to recognize the frequency and securely link it to your ad on the app. You can book parking spots just like you would schedule Uber rides. Then on the day of the reservation, you would connect your Parkey controller to your phone via Bluetooth in order to match the RF frequency to open the door – simple! I now have hope for 2020.
Designer: Nacho Castillo Moreno
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Architecture studio Atelier Espaço P2 has refurbished this house in Ansião, Portugal, inserting wood-lined interiors into a building that has been in the owner’s family for three generations.
Maintaining the building’s historical name of Ti Clara the small, single-storey home has been remodelled to create two bedrooms alongside a living, kitchen and dining space.
New interventions comprise a series of pale-wood insertions, designed to have a minimal impact on the thick walls of the original structure.
“Since the beginning of the project there has always been the desire to fight for the irregularities and imperfections of the old construction,” said Atelier Espaço P2.
“Imperceptible questions such as the history of the inhabitants were also considered – memories, dreams and desires are represented in objects that have been kept for generations.”
In the living room, a deep wooden reveal has been created beneath the gable ceiling to demarcate the kitchen space, occupied by a run of stone-topped counters.
This area is finished with a stone floor, creating a transition from exterior to interior.
An open log-fire area by the entrance provides warmth in the cooler months.
A short, L-shaped corridor extends from this living area towards a bathroom, turning to cut between the two bedroom spaces.
“The choice of materials in the interior of the house comes in response to the objectives of the intervention: to provide spaces with a more comfortable and welcoming experience,” said the studio.
“Because of this, choosing natural materials seemed to us the most honest and true solution.”
Built-in furniture elements maximise the available space in the small home, such as a wooden surround at the living room threshold that doubles as a bookshelf and coat rack.
In the corridor, a deep window box with a sliding door creates an illuminated bookshelf space, and to bring further light into the bathroom a partition wall stops short of the ceiling to create a strip of glazing.
“All the furniture was designed according to the needs of each space, complemented with some existing furniture that has been carefully restored,” said the studio.
The existing window openings of the home have been retained, finished with new wooden window frames that create a contrast with their rough surrounds.
Atelier Espaço P2 was founded in 2016 by Jorge Pimenta.
Architecture practice NOARQ has also recently completed the renovation of an old Portuguese villa, contrasting its existing stone structure with bright red details.
Photography is by José Campos.
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Same design. Better cameras.
Well, I certainly have a few reservations on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 based on pretty credible leaks, but I’ll get to that later on. These leaks come from Ross Young, the founder of the Display Supply Chain Consultants, who says that the new Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 (Samsung has two folding ranges – the Fold and the Bloom) may be the first folding phone to have a 120Hz refresh rate, a feature that makes the screen appear smoother and the phone faster. The handset, according to Young, is rumored to be slightly bigger than its predecessor, and to have a hole-punch camera on both the front display as well as the main display, eliminating the massive bezels we saw in the earlier edition. If these tip-offs are true, the phone will sport a significantly bigger camera bump on the back too, much like the S20 series, and will be compatible with Samsung’s S-Pen. Now that we’ve got the specifications out of the way… let’s get to those reservations.
First off, the very presence of leaks indicates that Samsung is working on an edition #2 of the Fold… something that seems natural, but I wonder if Samsung even sold enough of its previous models to justify giving this upgrade. Another aspect of the Fold 2 worth addressing is the fact that Samsung isn’t treating this as a concept. The Fold is pretty much a Samsung flagship, so here’s my question. With a camera bump that probably packs 4 lenses and a time-of-flight sensor, and with large screens that boast of 120Hz refresh rates and hole-punch cameras, what will this rumored phone cost? And more importantly, given the current economic freefall we’re in, will the price even be worth it? It’s difficult to rationalize the need for a fancy folding phone that may cost upward of $2K, and more importantly, may not last beyond a year given how fragile these phones tend to be. That being said, as a tech nerd, I have to give props to Samsung for working on the tech even through a pandemic. The concept, which I visualized based on these rumors, and a few reference images from Ben Geskin, looks pretty cool, and still packs a fingerprint reader which definitely feels like a good direction given the times we live in… and since we’re probably going to be working with a mobile setup more often now, that folding phone turning into a miniature laptop does seem like a pretty neat USP! And if people seem put off by the tone-deaf price-tag and nobody eventually ends up buying the Fold 2, at least Roberto Escobar will have a new model to add to his catalog…
Designer/Visualizer: Sarang Sheth
Sometimes a car can hit your eye exactly right; the 2020 BMW M8 Competition is one of those cars. At nearly 16 feet long, and with only two doors, its stretched-out proportions look like something a talented 10-year-old car fanatic might draw: exaggerated in such a way that the dimensions are simply right. We don’t always feel that way about current BMW designs—the M3 sedan was once a sleeper sports car, but the current iteration veers toward muscle-car braggadocio, while the new X7 SUV makes its strongest design statement by dint of its intimidating dimensions. The M8 is the BMW design we’ve been waiting for.
The M8 is based on the 8 Series, which was reintroduced last year after a 20-year-long pause in production. By way of background, the 8 Series was a swaggeringly cool car of the 1990s, and its proportions spoke to its specialness without resorting to wings or a crazy grille. BMW has done a great job of returning to that ethos: the new grille is blacked out and is a natural extension to the angled hood and the character lines throughout flow into one another in a holistic way. There’s nothing forced.
In typical BMW fashion, the series comes in many iterations including a four-door Gran Coupe model, the convertible, and a regular M8. In our view, the best expression of the car is the Competition model. That “competition” in the name manifests as a bit more power (17hp) and a slightly firmer suspension. But it also gets rid of the shiny chrome around the grille and side intakes in favor of simple black trim, and changes the wheels to all-black. Those little tricks are transformative. The frippery fades away and what’s left is a focus on the car’s more purposeful lines.
The M Carbon Exterior Package isn’t going to make the car drive better or any faster, but it too does heavy lifting to the look. The side mirrors and bits of front trim are outfitted in a carbon weave. Previously our favorite of current BMW designs was the hybrid i8 sports car, in either coupe or roadster forms. It looked like a car of the future. However, the interior was always a slightly oddball place—it was cramped and the general occupant placement was off. (Blame, partly, the mid-engine placement and scissor-style doors.)
The M8 isn’t as special as the i8 in terms of novelty, but the interior is spot on—it’s simply a great place to be. The mix of materials work together beautifully. Ours had Alcantara on the seats and carbon-fiber trim. The backseats are usable by adults for quick trips or for longer use comfortably for kids and dogs. Clearly, the M8 is fast and plenty powerful. The 1990s 850Ci had a V-12 inside that managed 322 horsepower. That was good for its era. The power of progress (and the efficacy of modern twin-turbo engines) means that the new car’s 4.4-liter V-8 gets nearly twice that power with four fewer cylinders. The engine makes 617hp and will take you to 60 miles per hour in three seconds. It also has the ability to switch between all-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive modes.
There’s something magical about a really good grand-touring car. The Competition hews to the best kind of GT, where beauty dances with aggression, and you’re as happy outside gawking at the car as you are driving.
Our test car was painted an almost iridescent Java Green Metallic ($5,500 extra) which we were particularly enamored with. It’s nearly as good looking in vibrant Fire Red or Frozen Marina Blue. Other options like the $5,400 M Carbon exterior package raise the $146,000 base price to $175,000.
Images courtesy of BMW
Currently exclusive to Europe, Porsche’s new classics-compatible CarPlay-equipped radios are designed for cars produced from the 1960s onward. They allow those driving older vehicles by the German manufacturer the option to upgrade their sound system while keeping with the brand’s style. Each of the audio systems features streaming services, satellite radio, texting and calling, and navigation. The kits come in a 1-DIN size specifically designed for the 911 and a 2-DIN size for 986 and 996 models. Read more at MacRumors.
Meet the Mtoyi Coffee Grinder. Apart from pulverizing coffee beans to a fine powder, it pulverizes hearts and minds too, with its faceted and minimal-yet-fresh design.
Playing with geometry, color, material, and finish in ways that make the grinder less of an appliance and more of a sculpture, the Mtoyi uses light in a unique way, with facets that create dramatic shadows and highlights, translucent containers that refract light in beautiful ways, colors that absolutely make the kitchen pop, and metallic accents that just add a bit of a wow factor to the grinder. Using the Mtoyi is pretty simple too. Pop the roasted beans in, twist the ring around the base of the container to adjust the coarseness, and then the knob to determine how many cups worth of coffee-grounds you need Then just press down on the knob and admire your absolute beauty of a coffee grinder as it provides an absolutely multi-sensorial experience by looking the way it does, with those facets that feel great to run your finger against, and by filling your kitchen with the gentle whirr of coffee being ground along with the wafting aroma… and finally, with the taste of coffee, when you actually get down to brewing that beautifully fresh cup of joe!
Designer: Xiaohuochai
In his latest contribution to Virtual Design Festival, video blogger Martin van der Linden uses some of his favourite architecture books to explain the order behind Tokyo’s apparently chaotic urban landscape.
“When first-time visitors come to Tokyo, they are often overwhelmed by its chaotic urbanity,” he says. “Buildings jumbled together with no sense of coordination between them.”
To illustrate, van der Linden refers to the Kyoichi Tsuzuki book Tokyo Style, which features photographs of the city’s cramped and messy 1K apartments.
“In Japan, apartments are classified according to the number of rooms that they have,” he explains. “So you have the 1K, meaning one room with a kitchen and the 3LDK, living room, dining room, kitchen with three bedrooms.”
Because of the high density of small living spaces, van der Linden says that the city has developed into a series of cells for everyday life activities.
“Life in Tokyo is dispersed from cell to cell,” he says. “Where the Tokyoite lives, where they work, where they eat, where to entertain themselves, even where they have sex,” he said. “These 1K rooms, and other activity-based cells are what forms the urban collective or what Tokyo essentially is.”
Metropolis-Architecture
Van der Linden makes a connection between Tokyo’s urban layout and the writings of German architect and urban planner Ludwig Hilbersheimer, specifically his book Metropolis-Architecture, which theorised about the relationship between architecture and the city.
“The idea behind Metropolis-Architecture is that the city and architecture are one – literally one organism,” van der Linden explains.
“Hilbersheimer wrote that Metropolis-Architecture is considerably dependent on two factors,” he says. “The individual cell of the room and the collective urban organism.”
Van der Linden argues that Hilbersheimer’s principles of Metropoli-Architecture are found in the architecture and urban planning of Tokyo.
“So here in the largest conglomerate of the world, we can see it all coming together – Hilbersheimer’s cell and its relation to the city,” he says.
Virtual Design Festival has teamed up with van der Linden to present a selection of his best short architecture movies.
“Even after 28 years, I found Tokyo endlessly fascinating, and I enjoy making videos of its architecture, and its rather mysterious urbanity,” he says in a specially created video introducing the collaboration.
About Virtual Design Festival
Virtual Design Festival, the world’s first digital design festival, runs from 15 April to 30 June 2020. It is a platform that will 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.
VDF will host a rolling programme of online talks, lectures, movies, product launches and more, complementing and supporting fairs and festivals around the world that have had to be postponed or cancelled and it will provide a platform for design businesses, so they can, in turn, support their supply chains.
Find out more here or email vdf@dezeen.com for details or to join our mailing list.
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Jessica Walsh’s creative agency &Walsh has designed emojis that detail life during the coronavirus pandemic, including hand sanitiser, a tin of beans and healthcare workers dressed as superheroes.
The New York designer, who left Sagmeister & Walsh last year to create her own agency &Walsh, has made hundreds of emojis and sticker designs with her team to relate to the current climate caused by the crisis.
The graphics reference aspects like working from home, being tight on cash and general feelings of stress, confusion or burnt out. Emojis include a handpump of Purell hand sanitiser, a surgical mask and a measure marking six feet (1.8 metres) – the recommended distance to keep from others.
&Walsh said it created the emojis to provide a light-hearted relief amid the crisis.
“We’re all going through unique and difficult times in 2020 that call for new language,” said it said. “We hope these can provide some delight or comic relief to people’s day… or just make it a little easier to communicate how shitty you’re feeling!”
Playful emojis are a golden roll of toilet paper with stars, a loaf of bread in a pan that says “Breadmaster” and a red sign that says “Sorry life is closed until 2021”.
Others are mail delivery people designed as superheroes, as well as doctors and nurses, who are on the front lines during the pandemic.
The collection also includes numerous emojis specific to designers and creatives, such as ones that riff off Adobe’s Photoshop and Apple’s Finder icons, and cropping and editing tools.
“We have a set that’s catered towards graphic designers and another set that is for wider audiences relating to WFH and life in 2020,” Walsh added.
General work-related graphics are a calendar emoji that shows Saturday as a day of work and one with the month of April that says “sucks”. Other creations reference tight budgets, deadline, payments, and medals for the worst day and year ever.
Walsh herself has an emoji with brown hair and her former colleague Stefan Sagmeister, along with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and Pentagram’s Paul Scher. In an interview about sexism in the design industry, Walsh said Scher’s work was inspirational to her in starting her career.
The creations are designed to be used as WhatsApp stickers, Instagram stories stickers via Giphy and iMessage stickers.
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Housed in a refillable matte glass bottle, Plainly’s rich Uplifting Hand Cream absorbs into skin quickly. The potion’s 97% naturally derived and vegan-certified ingredients center around sustainably grown organic cacay oil. With orange peel oil and a hint of rosemary mint, the mild fragrance is refreshing and zesty. Price is in Euros.
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