This IKEA-worthy self-cleaning litter box is the best looking one we’ve ever seen

It would be an absolute disservice to cats (and the designers) to call the Circle Zero a litter box. Designed almost like an art installation, the Circle Zero is, well, a smart-sculpture your cat can relieve itself in. It looks sort of like a Fortress of Solitude for felines, given its planetary shape, and boasts of a feature list that’s as futuristic as its overall design.

The Circle Zero from PLUTO is a smart litter box that takes care of your cat’s business. Designed to be fully automated, fully enclosed, and exceptionally silent, the litter box comes with a completely enclosed design to provide a private experience. Sensors on the box detect the presence of the cat, and wait for a full 7 minutes after they’re done to automatically (and silently) scoop the waste from the litter and store it separately while completely containing and eliminating any odor too. Once the waste compartment is full, you can use any bag or liner to collect it and throw it away. The Circle Zero works with any brand of kitty litter and comes with two types of scoop-designs. Sensors within the box (although it’s technically a sphere) keep track of your cat’s routines and can notify you via an app if any irregularities are spotted. The litter box monitors your cat(s) to give you information that may be of relevance to your veterinarian, and yes, the Circle Zero does support (and can individually track) multiple cats.

The Circle Zero’s ultimate value proposition is its combination of aesthetics and automation. Designed to appear classy (and practically something you’d find in an IKEA catalog), the Circle Zero truly looks like the kind of device you’d want to keep in your living room. Its ability to automatically segregate and separate waste even offsets those duties from pet-owners, giving you some peace of mind while giving your furry friends a classy, clean, and quiet port-a-loo to go about their business in. I’m sure your felines would give it a double thumbs-up if they could!

Designer: Hae Min Yang

Click Here to Buy Now: $359 $699 (48% off). Hurry, less than 48 hours left! Raised over $440,000.

Circle Zero – Zero-Odor Self-Cleaning Litter Box

The Circle Zero automatically cleans cat waste, 7 minutes after the cat leaves the litter box.

The patented scoop rotates 360° all the way to the bottom. Clumped up litter and turds are filtered and dropped to the back of the unit into the waste container. After cleaning, the scoop will rotate backward to flatten out the litter bed.

Circle Zero Features & Benefits

Safety sensor activated.

Quietly scoops any litter.

Zero-odor measurement. Circle Zero was tested with a SHINYEI Japan IAQ OMX-RSM Odor Meter. The video above measure the OMX-SRM in real-time.

– Before sealing the waste bin with the Circle Zero dome shell, the odor measurement was 33 units.
– After sealing, odor measurement was down to 0.
– There is no need for any filter to control odors.
– No monthly extra costs.

Any clumping litter will do – No need to purchase special litter or liners.

No Special Accessories Required

Circle Zero comes with your choice of scooping devices.

Smart Health-care Mobile App

The Setup

Watch the video on how to set up.

Click Here to Buy Now: $359 $699 (48% off). Hurry, less than 48 hours left! Raised over $440,000.

Yeon Jinyeong aims to express "contradictory beauty" with Aluminum Anodized series

Bright aluminium pipes that have been hit, folded and welded into crumpled forms make up this furniture collection by South Korean designer Yeon Jinyeong.

The Aluminum Anodized collection comprises a series of crooked chairs and stools constructed from aluminium pipes that have been anodised – an electrochemical process that grants their surfaces a glossy, slightly iridescent, anodic oxide finish.

For the collection Jinyeong wanted to explore the “contradictory beauty” of things that have been abused. He used his seating to show how the objects could serve their purpose even when they look in poor condition.

The Seoul-based designer tapped, folded, hit, welded and “abused” the aluminium pipes before sanding and anodising them to give each piece a vibrant finish.

“We easily abuse man and things,” said Jinyeong. “I wanted to depict an image of ourselves when we undergo criticism and abuse, but in the form of anodised aluminium.”

“Aluminium pipes can be easily modified by sadistic practices and the changed shape cannot be put back,” he continued.

The designer choose to use anodised the furniture to convey the idea that people can try to look “ostentatious” on the outside, but may not be able hide their pain.

“I am interested in things that are inferior, weak and uninterested,” said Jinyeong. “What’s been discarded and wasted can become good materials.”

“My style of work is to create furniture using a variety of materials – as a result, everything that is not respected can have its beauty,” he continued.

Despite looking damaged, the chairs are able to perform their usual function.

“You can sit down and use it, but it’s never comfortable”, Jinyeong told Dezeen. “In this way, I think the story about my contradictory beauty is complete.”

Other designers exploring the possibilities of aluminium tubing include Belgian duo Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen, who created their Alltubes collection by lining up metal pipes in welded rows.

Surprised by the material’s “beautiful wavy surface” and the way that light reacted to it, the pair used it to create a chair, a bench and a variety of cabinets.

The post Yeon Jinyeong aims to express “contradictory beauty” with Aluminum Anodized series appeared first on Dezeen.

The Design Intelligence Awards incubates great designs into industry-leading products

The purpose of an award, just speaking in a literal sense, is to reward something based on a set of guidelines. Awards are symbols of achievement, but aren’t therein, symbols of complete success. Think about it for a second – Is a design considered great if it has an award to its name? Or is it considered great based on its ability to affect positive change in the life of its users? Awards and real-world impact can sometimes be mutually exclusive, but the Design Intelligence Awards are actively trying to bridge that divide. China’s premier awards program, the Design Intelligence Award (DIA) doesn’t just reward good design. It incubates it. An award may be a symbolic achievement, but with the DIA, the award is often directly tied to real-world impact, because designs that participate in the Design Intelligence Award, go from brief to prototype to product pitch all in the span of the award’s timeline. It’s a long, arduous, meticulous process that’s less of your standard awards program and more of a crash course in design refinement, development, presentation, and the business of design. At the end of the program, all participants come out with insights and skill-sets to take their product from sketch-book to the marketplace, while the winners of the award are additionally awarded a hefty cash prize of 1 million RMB (approx. $145,000 USD).

What sets the DIA Awards apart is its intricate and methodical judging process, conducted over a period of days by as many as 500 multidisciplinary design experts who review each design with personal attention. Feedback and criticism are constructive, and the DIA Award approach to judging projects is extremely holistic, taking into account everything from the quality of its concept, to its usefulness, feasibility, impact on a personal as well as global scale, its sustainability as a product and as a business, and its marketability. Its judging process is broken into three segments too. The judging procedure happens in three rounds, the first of which is held online as jury members spend an entire week analyzing projects with potential. The second round involves looking at the product up close, as jury members interact with the physical product, judging it on a tactile level by looking at its proportions, testing it out, and interacting with it as a consumer would. The third round begins once this evaluation is complete – giving designers the opportunity to introduce their product to the masses. Held on a stage in front of an audience of judges, business heads, media personnel, and consumers, the third round is similar to a TED Talk, allowing you to pitch your design directly to consumers and gauge their reception.

Currently in its 5th year, the DIA Awards are now accepting entries for their 2020 edition. Advocating the core value of “Intelligence of Humanity, Wisdom of Life, Fusion of Tech & Art, and Intelligent Industry”, the awards, which span 4 broad categories, involve closely inspecting and reviewing every aspect of every product, down from its brief, intent, to its visual expression (your presentation and rendering skills), to description, proof-of-concept, and finally to your ability to talk about your product. The emerging winners of the DIA Award receive a hefty cash prize that goes up to 1 million RMB (approx. $145,000 USD), and are armed with all the skills and assets needed to take their product to the next step. Winners of the award also get inducted into the “DIA Platform”, a platform that integrates hundreds of venture capitals, incubators, manufacturing enterprises, and governments. Excellent participants are also invited to industrial events including capital docking, product hatching, intellectual property auction, etc. The very ethos of the DIA Awards is to turn potent ideas into impactful, world-changing designs. More than just a trophy and logo, the DIA Awards bestow upon its winners and participants all the exposure, skills, and tools they need to help kickstart their product journey. Besides, that 1 Million RMB surely helps along the way!

Sending your project through the Design Intelligence Awards helps accelerate its growth and put the project as well as you on a trajectory to success. Scroll below to look at some of the winners of the DIA Awards from the year gone by. Chances are you’ve probably heard of or seen them somewhere or the other, just because they’re so brilliantly defined, designed, and executed!

Click Here to Submit Your Designs Now! Last Date for Submission: July 6th, 2020.

– Registration is Free
– Gold Award (2 Prizes – $145,000/Prize)
– Silver Award (8 Prizes – $29,000/Prize)
– Bronze Award (10 Prizes – $ 14,000/Prize)
– Honorable Mention (around 300 prizes)

Winning Designs from DIA 2019

Hero Arm by Open Bionics (GOLD Winner)

Designed as a low-cost, high-impact tool to help increase mobility and accessibility in handicapped children, the Hero Arm by Open Bionics is a 3D printed arm that offers market-leading functionality at a fraction of the cost of its nearest competitor. Moreover, the arm can even be customized with patterns, textures, and color-combinations pulled from superheroes and famous comic-book or movie characters! The Hero Arm is the world’s first 3D-printed bionic hand and the first to be available for children as young as 8 years old.

Visual Assisting Glasses II by Hangzhou Design Innovation (GOLD Winner)

These sunglasses are more than just a symbol of visual impairment. They act as a set of eyes, allowing the visually impaired to ‘see’ what’s around them. A camera mounted on the side of the glasses helps record objects, environments, and people around the wearer, while a pair of bone-conducting earphones help the visually impaired wearer by translating the camera’s feed into audio. The bone-conducting earphones not only give the wearer audio feedback, they do so without sitting within the wearer’s ears… so the ears are still free to hear sounds from all around!

The glasses use lightweight plastic titanium fuselage which houses the internal chip that helps with image recognition. Paired with the use of a mobile app, the glasses greatly improve the quality of life of blind people, especially outdoors. The second-generation glasses even sport touch-sensitive panels to help access features like the video assistant, character recognition, and map-routes.

Pop-Up Booster by Studio Gooris Limited

The Pop-Up Booster is a portable, foldable booster seat that relies on origami folding patterns to become a strong, sturdy seat when opened, and fold down to a flat profile when you’re done using it. The super-strong origami structure is designed to withstand as many as 20,000 impacts of up to 75kg. It’s also designed to securely hold your baby using its 5-band harness, fits most chairs, and is perfect for on-the-go families and hospitality spaces.

Collaborative Food Robot by Gree Electric Appliances

In the professional kitchen, it’s all about being able to consistently replicate a set menu of dishes day in and day out. In short, this is exactly the kind of job meant for a robotic arm. The Collaborative Food Robot turns the kitchen into a factory-line, recreating dishes to sheer perfection. The robots rely on 2D and 3D inputs to help them recreate dishes, and the multiple-axis robotic arms move with the degrees of freedom of human hands, but with the intricacy and accuracy only robots can achieve. Bon appetit!

Disposable Tooth-clean Fingerstall by Sun Yu

Made from food-grade natural latex, the Disposable Tooth-clean Fingerstall is a simple finger-glove with a textured tip that serves as a single-use toothbrush. Perfect for hotels, restaurants, picnics, or even airplanes, the Fingerstall is a neat, effective alternative to plastic toothbrushes. It slips right onto your finger allowing you to scrub your teeth clean efficiently and dispose of it when you’re done. The natural latex construction helps it easily biodegrade too, so it doesn’t end up clogging the earth or polluting the oceans like the millions of plastic toothbrushes do each year.

Adidas Futurecraft 4D by Adidas

The very notion that beams of light can participate in the design process sounds pretty revolutionary, doesn’t it? The Adidas Futurecraft 4D midsoles come 3D printed using a process called Digital Light Synthesis where beams of light allow products to be cured within a resin bath. This results in being able to print impossible designs with zero wastage, and is exactly why the Futurecrat 4D looks and feels so incredibly stunning and comfortable!

WT2 Real-time Earphone Translator by Innozen Design

The very idea behind the WT2 earphones was to be a shared experience. It’s perhaps for that very reason that the earphones come with a split-case design that allows you to hand one half to someone else, enabling both of you to have one earphone each. Once you’re both wearing the earphones, the WT2 allows you to actively converse in your own individual languages while the hardware and AI in the TWS earbuds record, translate, and play-back speech in realtime! The WT2 translation headset is the world’s first translation device that truly realizes natural communication, thanks to its “1+2” translation system which supports a real-time two-way translation in 40 languages.

Ona Radio by Lexon

It’s a shame that the smartphones (the iPhone in particular) killed the radio. The radio’s perception has always been that of a retro product, and the Ona helps redefine that with a design that’s equal parts vintage and contemporary. The cool, quirky, vibrant radio comes with a funky-retro vibe and connects to smartphones to double up as a Bluetooth speaker when you’re not tuning in to a radio station. If you do feel like listening to the radio, may I interest you in that beautiful transparent dial on the top that lets you fine-tune your radio’s frequency to find your favorite channel? Pretty alluring, eh?

Portable Intelligent Electrocardiogram by IU+Design

Yes, your smartwatch has an ECG/EKG built into it, but for people who want something more reliable, accurate, and affordable, the Portable Intelligent Electrocardiogram offers the ability to collect ECG data anywhere. The tiny device is no larger than a thumb-drive, and comes with two contact-points that help you capture your heart’s health in a way that can then be used by medical professionals to aid their diagnosis. The product is powered by button cells and runs for an entire year before needing any replacement. Designed with portability in mind, the medical device slides right into your pocket, or can easily be slipped into a wallet too, giving you the ability to carry your health with you wherever you go.

Neolix Autonomous Driving Vehicle by Neolix Technologies

Built to function with level 4 autonomy, the Neolix Autonomous Vehicle is designed to meet the EU’s homologation of Light quadricycles (L6e) standard and is capable of operating for a full 24 hours on a full charge. The EV sports a skateboard chassis and a modular setup on the top that allows it to transform based on the use-case, giving it the ability to serve multiple purposes. With the ability to take on loads as much as 500kg, the Neolix can easily serve as a cargo-delivery pod, a vending/retail experience on wheels, or even a patrol vehicle!

– Registration is Free
– Gold Award (2 Prizes – $145,000/Prize)
– Silver Award (8 Prizes – $29,000/Prize)
– Bronze Award (10 Prizes – $ 14,000/Prize)
– Honorable Mention (around 300 prizes)

Click Here to Submit Your Designs Now! Last Date for Submission: July 6th, 2020.

Enrique Tovar designs portable Nōmada desk for working outside of the office

Nomada by Enrique Tovar

Mexican architect Enrique Tovar has designed a desk for post-coronavirus work environments that folds up so it can be carried to different locations.

Nōmada was created earlier this year and has assumed a greater relevancy as people left their offices to work from home in response to the global pandemic.

Its name stems from the latin word nomadis referencing the flexible nature of the design and its ability to be easily transported.

Nomada by Enrique Tovar

“With a large part of the world population working from home or having to guarantee social distancing measures in their office, this piece of furniture offers an answer to the current situation,” Tovar, who is founder of Etov Studio, said.

“Nōmada from Latin nomadis is a nomadic piece of furniture designed as a neologism adapted to the temporality and the spatiality of new labor trends, made for flexible living, collaborative spaces, shared economies, and digital nomads,” he added.

Its recycled oak wood frame comprises two pairs of legs and crossbar board that join to form the base. A white laminated polymer slab attaches on top of the wood frame to create a flat work surface.

Nomada by Enrique Tovar

To transport the desk the legs and the boards fit into its bottom. A rounded handle placed in the front is used to lift and carry the compact volume.

All of the joints on the desk detach from one another so it can be disassembled and transported in just a few minutes.

The design is also modular and can be arranged alongside others of its kind in configurations that, according to the architect, meet the social distancing guidelines recommended by the CDC.

In lieu of paper, users can scribble notes directly on the laminate top which is designed to accommodate water-based markers that wash away with a single swipe. Several compartments for storing the user’s objects and desk supplies are located on the right side of the table top.

Tovar hopes the design challenges the definition of a typical office and suggests that a desk no longer has to be located inside a building, but instead can be set up in any environment, including the outdoors.

“Nōmada arises in response to the global context, raises the possibility that the office of the future may be located inside a corporate building, or why not? in an open green field,” the designer said.

Nomada by Enrique Tovar

Tovar is an architect for Mexico City’s Esrawe Studio and recently founded his own practice Etov Studio, which he used to design and launch the desk.

A number of architects, designers and organisations have put forth plans and guidelines for the reopening offices following the pandemic, including four proposals by Woods Bagot that merge working from home and office and a toolkit created by the AIA.

Danish startup Stykka designed a desk for working from home that can be constructed using just three pieces of cardboard.

Photography is by Enrique Tovar.

The post Enrique Tovar designs portable Nōmada desk for working outside of the office appeared first on Dezeen.

Beautiful Naturalistic Paintings

Erik Koeppel is a traditional landscape painter who has become a leader in the revival of the techniques and philosophy of the Hudson River School. In his painting, he depicts the beauty of nature and retranscribes it with brio. Watching them gives an opportunity for the mind to escape in very charming places, and different seasons such as “Autumn in the White Mountains” or “Massachusetts Coast”, for example.

The highly naturalistic result of his work are created without the use of photography.  Koeppel  studied extensivelu in museums, and in nature to arrive at the determination that the powerful methods of the masters, are in fact an urgently needed voice in contemporary culture, as we can read on his website. In mastering these techniques, this assertion has been proven by the extensive success his work has found nationwide, in the form of awards, publications, academic recognition, exhibitions, and collectability.

More of his work to see on his Instagram.






Link About It: This Week’s Picks

An essay on the Compton Cowboys, a documentary about disco icon Sylvester, advice for recent graduates and more

An Ongoing List of Black-Owned Art Spaces Around the World

With 85+ spaces so far, Dazed Digital’s ongoing list of Black-owned galleries, museums and art spaces includes locations all over—from London to Lagos. Another industry in which systemic oppression and racism quietly festers, the art world sees “no shortage of the works of Black artists being exhibited, sold, and auctioned, but there remains a disparity between the number of Black artists on the walls and Black people in positions of power within institutional walls.” While this list shines a light on Black-owned spaces and their importance, it’s by no means complete, and Dazed writers Ashleigh Kane, Thom Waite and Gunseli Yalcinkaya encourage readers to submit suggestions to ashleigh.kane [at] dazedmedia.com. We look forward to watching this resource continue to grow. See more at Dazed Digital.

Tips For Recent Grads From Design Industry Experts

Published by It’s Nice That, several useful tips, tricks and tactics offer recent graduates advice on getting their foot in the door. They speak with founders, freelancers, and full-time employees: Ayo Fagbemi, strategist at Portland, Oregon’s Wieden+Kennedy; Swiss studio Kasper-Florio co-founder Larissa Kasper; Joey Phinn, a motion designer at London studio FutureDeluxe; Singapore studio Swell co-founder Felix Sng; and NYC-based freelance illustrator Amber Vittoria. Each of these respected and talented experts advise people looking to break into the industry, and Fagbemi emphasizes that it’s not easy—especially this year—saying, “It is about trying as hard as you can to look after your mental health and the health of your friends around you. It’s going to be difficult and in these moments having and creating a community around you is gonna be vital. A community that, despite not having a ‘job,’ will continue to create. Showing that a job is not the sole way you can contribute in this industry. Getting comfortable creating and improving your skills for yourself.” Read more at It’s Nice That.

NASA Renames Headquarters After Mary Jackson, Their First Black Woman Engineer

NASA has renamed its Washington, DC headquarters after the brilliant, late Mary Jackson—the first black woman engineer at the space agency. She worked at NASA, in various positions, from 1951 through 1985 and her building is located on the recently renamed Hidden Figures Way (named for the film that highlighted Jackson’s work, along with mathematicians Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan). While it’s been some 15 years since Jackson’s death, this is a significant step in NASA publicly recognizing and honoring the immense knowledge, time and energy that Jackson dedicated to space exploration. Jackson’s daughter Carolyn Lewis says in a statement that her mother was “a scientist, humanitarian, wife, mother and trailblazer who paved the way for thousands of others to succeed, not only at NASA, but throughout this nation.” Read more at The New York Times.

Neolithic Discovery at Stonehenge

Archaeologists have described the discovery of a circle of 20 shafts (each over five meters deep and 10 meters in diameter) near Stonehenge as the “largest prehistoric structure ever found in Britain.” The 4,500-year-old pits provide evidence of these Neolithic people’s immense ability—not only to count and design (as each shaft is carefully positioned) but also their desire and determination, as Vincent Gaffney (professor at the University of Bradford) explains, “I can’t emphasize enough the effort that would have gone in to digging such large shafts with tools of stone, wood and bone.” While it’s commonly understood that Stonehenge itself was built in accordance to the sun’s movement (more specifically the solstices), Gaffney says the circle of pits was probably a “huge cosmological statement” so important that these people (mostly farmers) needed “to inscribe it into the earth itself.” The shafts, which create a boundary, “may have guided people towards a sacred site within its centre or warned against entering it.” Perhaps equally astounding, these enormous ditches had been believed to be natural sinkholes until newer tech, “including geophysical prospection, ground-penetrating radar and magnetometry,” revealed them to be carefully created by humans. Read more at The Guardian.

Amazon Music’s “Love Me Like You Should: The Brave and Bold Sylvester” Documentary

Disco icon Sylvester may best be known for the international hit singles “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and “Dance (Disco Heat)” but the recording artist’s groundbreaking career also furthered queer visibility in popular culture. Through the compelling new documentary Love Me Like You Should: The Brave and Bold Sylvester, produced for Pride 2020 by Amazon Music in collaboration with filmmaker Lauren Tabak and writer/consulting producer Barry Walters, Sylvester’s story comes to life once more and the true extent of his impact—inside and out of the music industry—is explored. The filmmakers also incorporate interviews with Billy Porter, Sylvester’s sister Bernadette Baldwin and many others, too. Watch the 15-minute documentary on YouTube.

Vegan Leather from the Prickly Pear Cactus

As interest continues to rise in sustainable and vegan leather alternatives, two Mexican entrepreneurs have founded Desserto, an organization dedicated to exploring the capabilities of the Opuntia cactus, more commonly known as the prickly pear. This perennial grower can yield organic material to harvest every six to eight months for about eight years. No irrigation systems are needed, it is dried under the sun and naturally tanned, so no extra energy is required in producing their buttery, flexible cactus leather. Read more at Popular Mechanics.

The Compton Cowboys Ride at Black Lives Matter Protests

Through photography by Ivan McClellan, Walter Thompson-Hernández and Akasha Rabut, as well as an essay by Miss Rosen, Dazed Digital explores the Compton Cowboys’ (a group of childhood friends “continuing the cowboy tradition of rebellion and reclaiming its roots”) recent participation in protests against systemic racism and police brutality in LA. Randy Hook—the cowboys’ leader and executive director for the non-profit organization Compton Junior Equestrians—explains that they wanted to get involved, and first contacted Mayor Aja Brown. With her approval, the cowboys mounted up and headed to City Hall. Hook says, “There’s something very powerful about being Black, being cowboys on horses, and fighting for American values even though we are the oppressed party. We wanted to be sure we left that message on a global scale that Compton is not what people think it is—it’s a community, love, and peace. We care about our kids and we want them to have a better future.” See more at Dazed Digital.

Exploring the Flavor Developments of Haribo Gummies

From its 16 factories across Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and soon the US, international confectioner Haribo produces roughly 100 million “Goldbears” gummy bears each day, as well as several other styles of cherished sweets. The 100-year-old company appeals to so many globally thanks to their dynamic production methods, which cater to the different palates of consumers around the world. The exact recipe, which began with “gelatin, sugar, a copper kettle, a rolling pin, and the magic of thermodynamics” is still unknown and has morphed over time. “Because of the way we produce our candies, we can make a lot of flavors and profiles with agility,” Lauren Triffler, head of corporate communications of Haribo of America, explains to Popular Science. This results in substantial experimentation and exhaustive testing by the brand’s food scientists as they seek the appropriate flavors, aromas and even textures that correspond to people’s perception of a fruit taste (more so than the fruit’s actual taste). Read more about consumer desires and how Haribo develops products at Popular Science.

DesignMiami/ Opens Their First-Ever Permanent Web Store

Though DesignMiami/ cancelled their June fair in Basel this year, the powerhouse design destination has opened the figurative doors on their permanent web shop. This new online marketplace hosts more than 800 20th- and 21st-century collectible objects, carefully drawn from 52 of the world’s most renowned design galleries. Prices range from $100 works on paper to historic treasures fetching more than $1 million—and items can be filtered by gallery, era or product type. Further, the design fair partnered with Anava Projects on a collection of more than 100 limited edition drawings by acclaimed designers, with proceeds benefiting GlobalGiving’s Coronavirus Relief Fund. Browse the offerings at the Design Miami Shop, online now.

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

World’s first transparent FDA registered, N99+ smart mask with UV-C sterilizing that shows-off your smile

In the current situation where we all must consider the COVID-19 virus and its effects on society; we are wearing face masks like any other accessory that we carry with us when we step out of our homes. While we usually try to leave no stone unturned to emphasize our personalities and physical features, the typical fabric or paper face masks end up concealing our identities. We’re losing the personal connections we have with people when we don’t understand the intentions and cannot see the facial expressions of others.

Stepping into bridge this gap is the LEAF Mask, which is the world’s first FDA-registered, clear mask to have N99-standard air filtering abilities as well as a self-purifying feature, thanks to a built-in UV-C light. The LEAF wants you to be able to reconnect with your loved ones by staying safe behind the LEAF Transparent Face Mask. In short, you stay safe and you keep others safe, while still understanding their expressions. It enables us to be as close to “normal” as we can be right now.

The LEAF’s most defining feature has to be its transparent construction. The unibody mask is embodied in transparent, medical-grade silicone that provides a universal fit, making sure your face isn’t visually obscured by an otherwise opaque mask. In order to achieve this feat, the Leaf transparent mask has filters located around the chin, keeping your nose, mouth, and cheeks visible to the people around you. This inherently makes the mask friendlier, allowing others to see your identity and read your lips or facial expressions as you talk to them.

The silicone mask has an antifogging feature, so your mask doesn’t become cloudy on the inside with each breath you take. In theory, that means it could also potentially allow your smartphone’s facial-unlock feature to work without needing to take your mask off! As you breathe, air passes through the filters, working much like a normal mask would by giving you 99% pure air.

The LEAF is the world’s first transparent mask to have high-quality N99+ HEPAHEPA-Carbon filters fitted into the chin section. Another outstanding feature is the self-purifying function, possible due to small built-in UV-C light. LEAF comes in 3 variants: Leaf HEPA, Leaf UV, and Leaf PRO.

LEAF HEPA has the N99+ HEPA filtration & is Ultra lightweight. LEAF UV contains UV-C sterilization built into the filter housing destroying pathogens at the DNA level and Active-Carbon filtration to eliminate odors and organic substances. LEAF PRO adds active ventilation and air quality sensing. It has iOS/Android app-controlled ventilation as well as an air-quality sensor that gives you details about the quality of the air around you. Deploying all of this cutting-edge tech allows the LEAF PRO to deliver a paramount safe breathing experience.

The LEAF mask comes in 4 different sizes sure to fit children as well as adults. With its transparent build, the LEAF mask challenges the status quo of opaque fabric and plastic masks. With disposable masks becoming an impending threat to nature, LEAF has the solution the world needs. A reusable, high quality mask with long-lasting filters will help you do your part to protect our environment. Active sterilization makes the filters to last for up to a month. The shift to transparent masks, if pulled off successfully, could have some lasting impacts on our society, allowing us to socialize effectively and strengthen bonds with our fellow humans, even from a safe distance!

Designer: ASV DESIGNS

Click Here to Buy Now: $49 $61 (19% off). Hurry, less than 24 hours left! Raised over $650,000.

LEAF – World’s First FDA Registered UV-C, N99+, Clear Mask

LEAF is the world’s first FDA-registered, clear mask to have N99-standard air filtering abilities as well as a self-purifying feature, thanks to a built-in UV-C light.

Embodied in a design inspired by nature and natural transpiration of leaves, It’s efficient yet minimalistic while allowing face unlock on smartphones. Its shell is made of optical grade, soft, fire-retardant, reusable, self-defogging and UV proof Silicone.

LEAF Comes in Different Transparent, Translucent and Solid Colors with 3 Variants HEPA, UV & PRO

LEAF-HEPA –  Has the patent pending signature “Leaf” design coupled with U-Series HEPA-filtration, known as the Gold standard of HEPA filtration as small as 0.3 Micron (with 99.9997% Filtration).

LEAF-UV –  High performance contained UV-C sterilization built into the rechargeable filter housing destroying pathogens at DNA level at “light” speed and Active-Carbon filtration to eliminate odors & organic substances. With disposable masks raising an impending threat to nature, active sterilization makes the filters to last for up-to a month.

LEAF-PRO –  Adds active ventilation & air quality sensing. LEAF-PRO actively senses, user’s metabolism, particle count on included Air-Manager, Smartphone app, which automatically commands the Sterilization and Ventilation system. Deploying all that cutting-edge tech allows the LEAF PRO to deliver a paramount safe breathing experience.

Proprietary LEAF Filter Cartridges

Nano-Coatings

The Leaf UV and PRO sport a permanent high performance, SGS tested Anti-Microbial and Hydrophobic coating.

1. Hydrophobic: In Hydrophobic coating water droplets will not stay on the surface of the mask.
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MVRDV converts commercial building into Morrocan-style courtyard house

Villa Stardust by MVRDV

A blue-tiled pool features in the courtyard of Villa Stardust, a live-work house built in a former commercial building in Rotterdam by Dutch architecture firm MVRDV.

To design the home MVRDV took cues from riads – traditional Moroccan buildings that are arranged around a garden courtyard. The home for a family of five was built on two sides of the courtyard, while the owner’s medical practice occupies the other two sides.

Villa Stardust by MVRDV

The courtyard gives the house an outdoor space and brings light into the deep footprint of a building originally built for commercial rather than residential use.

“The residents asked us to design the villa after they had already bought the building,” said co-founder of MVRDV Nathalie de Vries. “I think it’s very clever that, as non-architects, they understood its potential.”

Villa Stardust by MVRDV

All of the home’s main rooms look onto the courtyard.An open plan kitchen with a breakfast bar, dining room and living room runs along another side of the building.

The kitchen island is a monolithic block of powder-coated steel. A room within a room at the opposite end contains a tv-watching area and hidden storage.

A master bedroom sits separately from the rest of the home, with its own walk-in wardrobe and bathroom, while a row of bedrooms that are accessed by a corridor that runs along the perimeter occupies one side of the building.

Villa Stardust by MVRDV

The L-shaped medical practice, contains a bike store for staff, private consulting spaces and a waiting room. It is shielded from the house with trees in the courtyard, which also contains spaces for outdoor dining and lounging.

Occupants can take shortcuts to different parts of the property when the weather is fine by crossing the courtyard, which serves as an open-air extension of the living quarters.

Villa Stardust by MVRDV

Bright blue glazed tiles that clad the interior of the sunken pool and its raised lip are another nod towards Moroccan architecture .

Marrakesh, in particular, is associated with Klien Blue, the deep blue created by artist Yves Klien and favoured by designer Yves Saint Laurent who famously painted his house there in this particular shade. The bathrooms of Villa Stardust also have Moroccan tiles.

Villa Stardust by MVRDV

Sustainability was a key goal of this project. MVRDV said that as a retrofit, the protect followed the principles of the circular economy – where materials are kept in circulation rather than made, used and discarded for another new object.

As well as re-using the building instead of demolishing it, MVRDV selected recycled materials such as the terracotta tiles that pave the patio.

MVRDV was founded by Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries in 1991. Another recent adaption re-use project from the practice involved transforming an abandoned factory into a school.

Photography by Daria Scagliola.

The post MVRDV converts commercial building into Morrocan-style courtyard house appeared first on Dezeen.

This week's VDF highlights include Rem Koolhaas, Carmé Pinos, Erwan Bouroullec, Serpentine Galleries and Kvadrat

VDF week eleven highlights

Week 11 of Virtual Design Festival featured interviews with MPavilion architects Carme Pinós and Rem Koolhaas, a live stream with Piet Hein Eek and takeovers from the Design Museum and the Serpentine Gallery.

Virtual Design Festival, the world’s first online design festival, runs until 10 July. For the full schedule of upcoming events, visit dezeen.com/vdf/schedule.


This week's VDF highlights include Serpentine Gallery and Kvadrat

Monday 22 June

VDF x Vitra: The second part of our collaboration with Vitra saw the Swiss furniture brand present its four latest launches and reissues at the VDF products fair, including collaborations with Konstantin Grcic and the Bouroullec brothers.

This follows on from last week’s live interview with architect Stephan Hürlemann, in which he discussed the Dancing Office concept he developed for the brand.


This week's VDF highlights include Serpentine Gallery and Kvadrat

Tuesday 23 June

VDF x Design Museum: Over the course of a day, London’s Design Museum shared a programme of short films and panel discussions curated by its 2019 designers in residence.

First, Chilean architect Mále Uribe screened three films exploring the extreme conditions of South America’s desert region, followed by a discussion with Unknown Fields’ Kate Davies that considered how design and architecture can learn from this unique ecosystem.

Motivated by her own experience of childbirth, London architect Stiliyana Minkovska hosted a panel talk with designer Ab Rogers, as well as a roster of design historians and critics, about how buildings and products can be adapted to improve the experience of pregnancy, labour and ultimately motherhood.

In a panel talk about repurposing food and agricultural waste as sustainable materials, designer Robert Johnson discussed using waste fat from London restaurants to create a range of objects including Crocs-style shoes.

Finally, Marta Giralt presented her short documentary Demystifying a Wonder Material alongside a series of short talks exploring how materials produced through nanotechnology could make the fashion industry more sustainable.

Screentime with Sebastian Cox: The latest instalment in our Screentime series of livestreamed interviews saw Sebastian Cox discuss making sustainable and zero-waste furniture using natural materials such as wood and mycelium.


This week's VDF highlights include Serpentine Gallery and Kvadrat

Wednesday 24 June

VDF x London Festival of Architecture: As part of our ongoing collaboration with the LFA, London architecture collective Afterparti presented its manifesto in the form of a video essay, calling for a more diverse, inclusive and transdisciplinary architecture industry.

Screentime with Piet Hein Eek: Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek shared a retrospective of his work as part of an interview with Dezeen’s editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs. He spoke live from his studio, which is set in a formerly derelict Philips factory that Eek renovated to create a cultural centre complete with gallery, restaurant and a hairdressers.

VDF x Therme Art: In a panel talk entitled The Social Culture of Cities, speakers including artist Sonia Boyce, curator Elvira Dyangani Ose and architect David Kohn discussed how artists can feed into urban planning and design to equip our cities for the mounting challenges presented by climate change.


This week's VDF highlights include Serpentine Gallery and Kvadrat

Thursday 25 June

VDF x Arper: Italian furniture brand Arper launched two modular chair systems as part of VDF, accompanied by a live interview with the brand’s CEO Armin Broger in which he discussed the brand’s history and the need for adaptable products in a post-pandemic world.

VDF x MPavilion: Our collaboration with MPavilion featured a series of videos capturing conversations between seven different architects, who have previously been commissioned to create Melbourne’s annual pavilion. The videos feature conversations between architects including Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of Rotterdam firm OMAAmanda Levete of London practice AL_A, Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai, Carme Pinós of Barcelona-based Estudio Carme Pinós, and Australian architects Glenn Murcutt and Sean Godsell.


VDF x Serpentine Galleries

Friday 26 June

VDF x Serpentine Galleries: With the Serpentine Gallery’s Cambio exhibition on a temporary hiatus due to the ongoing pandemic, the gallery is presenting a day’s worth of content centred around its central topic of ecology in design.

The programme kicked off with an exclusive premiere of the Serpentine’s latest podcast, called Back to Earth: Tracing the Roots.

In the inaugural episode, Cambio curators and Formafantasma founders Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin joined London studio Dunne & Raby and art practice Black Quantum Futurism to discuss what it means to create design that takes responsibilty for other, non-human animals.

Following on from this, a live talk with art curator Rebecca Lewin, Kew Gardens researcher Caroline Cornish and Seetal Solanki of London studio Ma-tt-er explored how design can have a positive impact on the realms of ecology and politics.

VDF x Kvadrat: French designer Erwan Bouroullec joined Dezeen’s Marcus Fairs for a live interview, to discuss the modular roller blind system he created with his brother Ronan for Kvadrat Shade, a subsidiary of Danish textile brand Kvadrat.

VDF x Friedman Benda: Droog co-founder Renny Ramakers looks back at how the influential design platform shook up the industry in the 1990s in the latest talk in our ongoing collaboration with Friedman Benda for VDF.


Previous weeks

Did you miss week ten? Read our summary of the highlights, including a live interviews with Lee Broom, a panel discussion featuring Space Copenhagen and Neri&Hu, plus the launch of our collaboration with Vitra.

Did you miss week nine? Read our summary of the highlights, including interviews Barnaba Fornasetti and Ini Archibong as well as a celebration of World Oceans Day and the 2020 AHEAD Americas awards.

Did you miss week eight? Read our summary of the highlights, including interviews with Ilse Crawford and Farshid Moussavi, plus a full-day takeover by Stockholm’s ArkDes museum.

Did you miss week seven? Read our summary of the highlights, including an exclusive product launch and live interview with Tom Dixon as well as an all-star architects roundtable including Junya Ishigami and Counterspace.

Did you miss week five? Read our summary of the highlights, including interviews with Standard Architecture and Sauerbruch Hutton and the launch of an exclusive Archigram video series.

Did you miss week four? Read our summary of the highlights, including exclusive interviews with Carlo Ratti and Iris van Herpen, as well as a cocktail masterclass from the owner of Milan’s Bar Basso.

Did you miss week three? Read our summary of the highlights, including a video message from Ben van Berkel and an exclusive screening of Gary Hustwit’s Dieter Rams documentary.

Did you miss week two? Read the summary of the highlights from the second week, including Ron Arad, SO-IL, Kunlé Adeyemi, Nelly Ben Hayoun, Beatie Wolfe and Studio Drift.

Did you miss week one? Read the summary of the first week’s highlights include live interviews with Li Edelkoort and Klein Dytham Architecture plus the now-legendary VDF launch movie.

Virtual Design Festival, the world’s first digital design festival, runs from 15 April to 10 July 2020 and is sponsored by bathroom and kitchen manufacturer Grohe. For more information about VDF or to join the mailing list, email vdf@dezeen.com.

The post This week’s VDF highlights include Rem Koolhaas, Carmé Pinos, Erwan Bouroullec, Serpentine Galleries and Kvadrat appeared first on Dezeen.

Seven Santorini island retreats by Kapsimalis Architects

From converted caves to underground pools, here are seven hotels and houses on the Greek island of Santorini designed by local studio Kapsimalis Architects.


Saint Hotel in Santorini by Kapsimalis Architects

Saint Hotel, Odi

Stepping down towards the sea from the cliffs of the village of Odi, Saint Hotel features terraced patios with bright blue pools and white walls.

In total the hotel contains 16 rooms that occupy converted barns and cellars or have been dug straight into the cliffside. The suites open out onto private terraces separated by bright white walls, which have pools and loungers with views out over one of Santorini’s volcanic bays.

Find out more about Saint Hotel ›


Holiday House in Fira, Fira, Santorini Roundup

Holiday House in Fira, Fira

Kapsimalis Architects renovated this holiday home in Fira, adding two roof terraces that each have a plunge pool.

A further sunken pool in the basement sits under a vaulted white ceiling, visible through an arched window behind one of the home’s beds.

Find out more about Holiday House in Fira ›


House in Pyrgos, Pyrgos

Informed by the machinery used to quarry pumice out of the volcanic soil of Santorini, House in Pyrgos rises like a fortress or a rocky outcrop from the landscape.

“All pieces of the architectural history of the island are subtly combined and embedded in this monolithic structure,” said Kapsimalis Architects.

Find out more about House in Pyrgos ›


Two Holiday Residences in Fira, Fira

The underground caves of an old house in Fira were converted into a duo of holiday homes by the architecture studio.

A walled courtyard and an old donkey barn form part of the complex, which now has a series of pools in the sun or under a shady arch carved into a staircase.

Find out more about Two Holiday Residences in Fira ›


Santorini roundup by Kapsimalis Architects

Summer Residence, Imerovigli

The studio turned an old cave house with an underground warehouse and bakehouse into a summer home with terraces that feature swimming pools in three different shapes.

“The main idea was to maintain the existing traditional architectural forms of the exterior, and to show up the diversity and the values of their interior spaces,” said the studio.

Find out more about Summer Residence ›


Santorini roundup by Kapsimalis Architects

Summer House on the Mountain, Profitis Ilias

The studio designed four holiday apartments in a two-storey building that nestle into the side of the Profitis Ilias mountain, close to the highest point of Santorini.

The building’s white volumes were chose to echo the island’s traditional architecture, while rocks excavated from the site were used to build the block’s retaining walls.

Find out more about Summer House on the Mountain ›


Summer House in Santorini by Kapsimalis Architects

Summer House in Santorini, Messaria

Sitting on a sloping plot outside the village, this house formed of stacked white cubes has views of the sea and a garden where the occupants to grow their own vegetables.

“The form is a synthesis of cubistic white volumes, as a contemporary translation of the traditional cubistic architecture found in the villages of Santorini with a clear influence from Modernism,” explained the architecture studio.

Find out more about Summer House in Santorini ›

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