Hasta La Ideas

Oak, bronze and terrazzo are among the materials found in an art deco-style library that has been revamped by New York-based architect Toshiko Mori.

The project marks the first phase in a multi-stage revitalisation of Brooklyn’s Central Library, which is located along Grand Army Plaza in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The facility draws over 1.3 million visitors per year.

The Art Deco-style building opened in 1941 and is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places. The recent renovation is the most extensive in the facility’s history.

The project entailed the refurbishment of existing features and the transformation of administrative areas into public zones. Honey-toned oak, light-coloured flooring and metal accents are found throughout the overhauled spaces.

“We were able to optimise the spatial potential of the Central Branch to engage and respond to the evolving needs of its community and to further its role as an essential civic and community asset,” said Japan-born Toshiko Mori, who leads his eponymous studio in New York.

“Its mission of providing knowledge for free to everyone is now enhanced by increased physical and visual access to its resources.”

The refresh is visible as soon as visitors enter the building. The library’s soaring lobby now features new lighting and a newly poured terrazzo floor, along with historic oak panelling.

A new welcome centre with desks made of white oak and brushed brass is named after Major Owens, a late Congressman who worked as a Brooklyn librarian in the 1950s and 1960s.

Near the library’s grand lobby is a “New & Noteworthy” book gallery that offers a non-traditional browsing experience. Titles are curated by librarians and displayed on open-block shelving.

Overhead, hand-blown white-glass pendants are set within a lattice made of brushed bronze.

“A striking, custom-designed metal ceiling sculpture with speciality lighting invites curious readers to spend time exploring the collections in the room,” the team said, noting that the installation is visible from the street, entry plaza and lobby.

The project also entailed the creation of a “Civic Commons”, where various public services are offered, such as issuing passports and city identification cards. The space will also host local committee meetings, voter registration drives and other civic events.

The space features natural white oak panelling, built-in millwork and light-toned terrazzo flooring. A seating area is fitted with curved benches and a ceiling recess with cove lighting.

“Perimeter spaces are finished with bright white interiors, along with new windows bringing light into a formerly windowless concrete interior,” the team said. “The floor finishes in these spaces are light-toned carpet tile allowing for easy maintenance.”

The team also enlarged the library’s business and career centre. It now holds four meeting rooms, two seminar rooms, seven conversation nooks and a co-working area. Design elements include 24-foot (7.3-metre) shared workbenches that cantilever at the ends and are supported by solid brushed-bronze rods.

Other work completed during the project include new public restrooms, the refinishing of wood panelling and flooring, and upgrades to the building’s elevators, fire alarm system and heating-and-cooling system. An outdoor plaza was fitted with new limestone and lighting.

In future phases, the library will get a new teen centre and renovated collection wings, among other enhancements.

Toshik0 Mori is a New York-based architect.

Other public libraries in New York include the Hunters Point Library in Queens, designed by Steven Holl Architects. The concrete building has large, irregularly shaped windows that offer views of the East River and Manhattan.

On Staten Island, Andrew Berman Architects overhauled the interior of a library dating to 1909 and connected it to an annex clad in zinc and glass.

Photography is by Gregg Richards.

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It’s slowly becoming pretty clear that Samsung wants to be the dominant player in the foldables market. We’ve seen Motorola, Xiaomi, Huawei, Royole, and even the oddball TCL try their hands at folding devices, but none of them have invested the amount of time and effort as Samsung has. Based on a patent filing uncovered by LetsoGoDigital and rendered by Sarang Sheth, here’s a look at the Galaxy Z Fold Tab, a Note-style smartphone with 2 hinges and a nifty ‘crawl-space’ to dock and charge your S-Pen. The Z Fold Tab hopes to form a third device in Samsung’s line-up alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3, which are set to launch this year – in effect consolidating Samsung’s position in a questionable yet rather interesting foldable-devices market.

The Z Fold Tab concept takes on the avatar of a folding device with an outward screen. However, unlike the Huawei Mate X or any of Royole’s Flexpai devices, the Z Fold Tab comes with two hinges on its massive screen, creating a novel folding format that has a rather interesting set of pros as well as cons. In its closed mode, the Z Fold Tab can obviously be used as a regular smartphone (albeit being slightly thicker) with a waterfall display on both left and right edges thanks to the folding screens (this obscures the volume and power buttons, but those could easily be translated to the screen via force-touch like in the Vivo Apex 2019). However, unfold the screens on either side and you have yourself a larger tablet. The obvious cons are that instead of one crease running across the screen, you’re now faced with TWO creases, however, given how we consume content and the amount of time we spend looking at centrally aligned elements, this format oddly works, because the two creases sit on the sides of the screen rather than along the center.

The foldable design comes with a unique detail. The two halves leave a distinct gap when folded completely, solving two purposes – the gap exposes the main camera lenses, enabling you to take photos and videos without worrying about unfolding your phone; and the gap even acts as a safe space to magnetically dock your S-Pen. Unlike previous Note devices that came with hollow slots that allowed you to slide an S-Pen into the phone, the Z Fold Tab lets the S-Pen dock outside, almost like the iPad Pro. The magnetic dock charges the S-Pen while that comfy gap prevents the pen from accidentally sliding out or getting lost.

The Galaxy Z Fold Tab is not unlike the Z Fold 3 concept we featured last year, however, its key difference is that the two-part hinges don’t overlap to form a 3-layered device. Even when folded, the Z Fold Tablet still remains relatively slim by foldable standards.

For now, however, the Z Fold Tab exists only in conceptual form, protected by an international patent filed by Samsung. The Korean consumer-tech giant is slated to host its annual Galaxy Unpacked event in August this year, although according to analysts and experts, we’re probably only going to see the Z Fold 3 and the Z Flip 3 devices this year along with the usual suspects. According to LetsGoDigital, Samsung may have this under wraps until 2022.

Designer/Visualizer: Sarang Sheth for LetsGoDigital

This concept was first published on LetsGoDigital. Click here to view the original piece.

Slingshot hand-powered projectile weapon has been around for ages –used as a hunting weapon by our ancestors, or even as a military weapon by guerrilla forces who had primitive resources. Fast forward to 2021 and the slingshot gets a compact, modern design – worthy of an everyday carry item for situations unknown. This is the Mini Sling by knife manufacturing expert TOPS Knives. Reimagining the slingshot design that’s not seen much of an evolution, the small little slingshot is another EDC accessory for the adventure stricken.

The tiny slingshot can be put to a number of uses depending on what the occasion demands. You could use it to shoot a squirrel in the wild for food, deter any unwanted attackers on the prowl on a dark street or simply lineup beer cans to shoot them down as a pass time in the current pandemic affected age. The sling is ultra-lightweight weighing in at 3.2 ounces and no bigger than a compact EDC, perfectly fitting in the palm of your hand. Mini Sling comes with a brown leather sheath (attached either vertically or horizontally) for easy to carry aesthetics – it’s so small you won’t even notice it’s there. You can also carry it in your pant pocket or backpack too without any hassles.

Mini Sling is inspired by TOPS Sling which became an instant hit when it was released back in 2017. On the demand of users who wanted something smaller for plinking, they came up with this accessory. The slingshot comes in black powder-coated structural steel and the Tan Canvas micarta handles for a classic bushcraft look. This compact little slingshot is truly the perfect replacement for the standard sized ones – ideal for any situation or needs.

Designer: TOPS Knives

Click Here to Buy Now!

This reminds me a lot of those tape cassette adapters many of us once had in our cars.

ReVolt is a system for powering battery-operated devices using USB power instead.

“One end is battery-shaped and goes into the battery compartment of the device you want to power, while the other end has a power connector,” Luke Brennan, the inventor and a former Ericsson engineer, writes. “The two are connected by a thin ribbon cable, robust enough to deliver power to your device, yet flat enough to allow you to easily close the door on the device’s battery compartment.”

The ribbon cable then plugs, functionally but somewhat inelegantly, into an adapter for USB.

You can scale the batteries up with different housings to meet different battery size needs.

ReVolt is currently up on Kickstarter. At press time there was $15,584 in pledges on a $24,397 goal, with 26 days left to pledge.

Dezeen Showroom: Swedish architecture and design firm Claesson Koivisto Rune has created Abisko, a collection of gently rounded seating for True Design.

The range includes daybeds, chairs and sofas and is named Abisko after a national park set within the Arctic Circle in Sweden.

The park is famous for its view of a U-shaped valley known as Lapporten or gateway to Lapland.

This topography and the area’s natural colour palette informed the earthy hues and soft, rounded silhouettes of the seating collection by True Design.

“From the name of an immense natural park to the name of an object, they share the same colours, passion for natural shapes and knowledge of materials,” the brand explained.

Abisko seating features a solid wood frame, varnished steel legs and fabric or leather upholstery in muted hues.

According to Claesson Koivisto Rune, the collection was designed completely remotely due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“This has meant no physical meetings between us as designers and True Design as developers and manufacturers have been possible,” the firm explained.

“For anyone with experience in the design process, it is a remarkable feat to develop a strong visual and tactile product under such circumstances.”

Product: Abisko collection
Brand: True Design
Designer: Claesson Koivisto Rune
Contact: press@truedesign.it

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