Hasta La Ideas

Dezeen Showroom: created by VanBerlo for Geesa, the Shift double glass holder is part of an extensive bathroom accessories collection that can be customised to suit any project.

The Shift collection features a wide range of products, each highly customisable in colour, finish and sometimes pattern. Coram subsidiary Geesa made the collection especially for contract projects.

“To offer freedom to both the architect and the interior designer, as well as the retailer, we came up with a platform of bathroom accessories,” said Coram design and development director Thomas van Daal.

“And with that we can add different colours, different textures but also different 3D patterns to the products, so the vision of the designer can be translated exactly into the final product of the bathroom that will be realised.”

The Shift double glass holder with shelf is one of dozens of products in the collection, and is available in a chrome, brushed stainless steel, brushed gold, brushed metal black or matt black finish.

Other objects in the collection can also have patterns added to create a surprise detail. All items are based on the monobloc form of the towel hook, giving them a cohesive identity.

Product: Shift
Designer: VanBerlo
Brand: Geesa
Contact: hospitality@coram.eu

About Dezeen Showroom: Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen’s huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

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During a storm, a gigantic maple tree came down in our emu enclosure. Luckily it didn’t land on the fencing or any animals, but getting in and out with the truck to clean it up has been a hassle. To open the badly-sagging gate, get the truck inside, prevent the emus from running through the gate, and get the gate closed requires both my wife and I. It will be even worse when I’ve finished bucking the tree and have to tow the log splitter and the wood chipper through the gate, because it will take longer to get those items through.

What I’d love is something like this, to at least automate the gate part:

That’s the OzAutogate, a brilliant invention from Australia. You don’t have to get out of the truck, you don’t have to worry about a power source like with an electric gate, it automatically closes behind you, and the design is not liable to sagging.

It also features a dampening closing mechanism, which you can see in the demo below. You can also see the one feature that definitely needs some design attention, the little bar you use to lock it in the open position:

Sadly, this wouldn’t actually work in the emu pen—they’d run right into that ramp and trip over it (you cannot believe how dumb an emu is). But I think the design is brilliant for other applications.

Unveiling the first of three distinct vehicles, commissioned by two different customers

Customization has always been a tenet of Rolls-Royce; from the earliest days they built platforms and engines on top of which custom coach builders created incredible works of art. In modern times this was less common and practical, and standard models, as customizable as they were, ruled the era. In 2017, however, the brand revisited custom coachwork with their first fully modern coachbuilt car, the Rolls-Royce Sweptail. This vehicle embodied Rolls-Royce’s capabilities, and it laid the groundwork for developing a full scale Coachbuild department, which allows customers to commission their own unique vehicle.

It’s important to note that Rolls-Royce, more than just about any other automobile company, offers customers the ability to personalize and customize their vehicles in many ways, and their Bespoke service can tackle just about any request. But when personalizing an existing model is not enough, Coachbuild can help customers realize their dreams with a design from the ground up. The process requires years of development (the Boat Tail took four years to create) and a substantial (though undisclosed) investment. These customers work with the Coachbuild team to realize the Rolls-Royce of their dreams, limited only by their imagination, laws of physics and cash. Today, with the official launch of the Coachbuild offer, Rolls-Royce unveils the first of three unique motorcars.

It’s not a surprise that the launch of the Sweptail sent many customers calling Rolls-Royce to realize their own Coachbuild dream car. What is unique is that there were two customers who all were inspired by the J-Class yachts, and that source is frequently called upon in this Boat Tail (referred to as Boat Tail 1). They decided as a group to proceed with a series of three Boat Tail Coachbuild motorcars, each designed and created as unique expressions, the first of which debuts today. No others will be built, timing on the release of the others was not provided, and no cost was disclosed  (though we estimate it’s likely north of US$10m). It’s important to note that other than the car’s basic controls and parts like wipers and mirrors the Boat Tails share no other components with current production motorcars; everything is made uniquely for these vehicles (1,813 parts, to be exact).

Two exterior attributes capture attention first: the rich, blue water-inspired hue and the swooping lines the body. The vibrant color—with metallic and crystalline flakes that sparkle in direct light—tantalizes. The bonnet is gradated, a first for the brand. It’s also referenced in the wheels, as well. Eight months were dedicated to developing the proportions of its customized aluminum space-frame body. The hard top is a single piece and is removable, but it is not a convertible top. When out and about, should one find oneself in a spot of inclement weather, a Tonneau top is available for “static transitory shelter.” The Boat Tails use the brand’s Architecture of Luxury platform, which was customized for them.

Inside, one finds the seaworthy blue theme elegantly continued, including the leather mirroring the bonnet’s color transition with a metallic sheen. Guilloché patterning (used on luxury watch dials) graces the analog speedometer and other instrument panels. The entire floor is utilized by the sound system as a resonance chamber so the owners can drop the base. Open pore Caleidolengo veneer is used throughout the cabin as well as the rear decks (both a first for the brand).

Whimsical, unexpected attributes are aplenty. This includes a rear “hosting suite,” complete with double champagne fridge, crystal flutes, custom silver Christofle cutlery, a cocktail table and a pair of custom stools. The engineering required to create the temperature controlled hosting suite took eight months alone to develop, and involves an impressive array of electronic control units and fans to ensure that the clients’ preferred champagne and vintage are always stored at the appropriate temperature.

A custom-designed parasol pops up overhead, too, a detail Alex Innes, Head of Design for Coachbuild, is particularly proud of. “I never thought I’d find myself designing a parasol, but such is the beauty of working for our mark. You can stand close to it, and when deployed it doesn’t in any way impede on position or proximity to it. It almost flowers in terms of the way that it deploys; it is exquisitely detailed and has carbon fiber stays and beautiful polished aluminium telescopic assembly.” Of course, this will only appear in these three Boat Tails, so don’t phone up your dealer thinking you can order one.

Perhaps most impressive of all, the vehicle comes complete with a custom House of Bovet 1822 wristwatch that is placed into a custom housing in the dash, becoming its centerpiece clock. You’re likely concerned about where the owner would put the watch’s straps when it is placed into its mobile home; not to worry, they can be stored in a custom drawer in the dash so they are always nearby and properly secured. This level of dreaming and detail is what Coachbuild is all about.

This is an opportunity very few will be able to take advantage of given the resources involved for the company and its clients, but for those who do, it is evident that Rolls-Royce will deliver beyond what dreams can conjure. Innes says “It’s about changing what the motorcar means, and I think one of the most profound elements of Boat Tail, is that it does that. It’s no longer a car in the way that we understand cars. It’s not about laptimes, it’s not about nought to 60s. It’s not about how fast it goes around the Nurburgring. It’s about what it means and I think that’s where the romance of the 1920s, the 1930s, the golden era of coachbuilding [comes in]. That is what it represents, this notion of challenging the definition of the motorcar.”

Click to view slideshow.

“The most extraordinary thing about this project is that it exists,” says Innes, a fitting statement for Boat Tail and the Coachbuild division.

Images courtesy of Rolls-Royce

The first Sustainability Deep Dive from the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), held online in June 2020, drew hundreds of designers, students, and educators from more than 25 countries.

Back for a second year, IDSA’s Sustainability Deep Dive 2021 (June 9-10) will continue the organization’s mission of inviting industrial designers and business leaders to establish new methodologies in their studios and corporate settings to ensure the ongoing health of our planet and safeguard a sustainable future for all.

The event also will stay virtual, with tickets starting at just $25 for full and equal access to the live event and the recorded sessions.

The Importance (and Sustainability) of Virtual Sustainable Design Events

“As we are coming out from the pandemic’s grip, we cannot afford to let this once-in-a-century opportunity to make a systemic change pass us by,” says Stephan Clambaneva, IDSA, Sections Director on IDSA’s Board of Directors. “We are going to see more technological advancement in these next 10 years than in the previous 50. But we need a balanced approach: a people-planet-profit approach ensuring a measurable triple bottom line.”

Grouphug Window Solar Charger and box (GroupHugTech.com). Krystal Persaud, GroupHug Founder and CEO, will present at IDSA’s Sustainability Deep Dive 2021.

Clambaneva and Jason Belaire, IDSA, the current Chair of IDSA’s Board of Directors, served on the content team for the inaugural event focused on sustainable design strategies, processes, and product experiences. Why this Deep Dive has become so important to the design community and the IDSA brand, and why it will continue, according to Belaire, “is that we are at a critical point where we need to be curating real-time, knowledge-based experiences where designers have a safe place to generate conversations around sustainability, circular design, and social impact issues.”

The second Sustainability Deep Dive will expand upon the first’s success, with organizers including Dr. Sasha Alexander, IDSA, Director of the Academic Program of Industrial Design at Western Sydney University in Sydney, Australia; Matt Barnes, IDSA, Senior Industrial Designer, Packaging Solutions at Veritiv, Atlanta Design Center; Ethan Smith, IDSA, freelance designer focused on regenerative strategy; and Shruti Parikh, IDSA, Associate Director, Product Development at Takeda in the Greater Boston area and Vice Chair of IDSA’s Sustainability Section.

Besides virtual events being “easier to scale, more affordable, and more strategic from a data and analytics perspective,” says Parikh, the organizers also found that by reducing costs for all involved and other barriers to access for attendees, such as travel, they could reach audiences they were not reaching before.

2022 BMW ix electric SUV (BMW USA). Daniela Bohlinger, Head of Sustainability at BMW Group Design, will present at IDSA’s Sustainability Deep Dive 2021.

Virtual events like the Sustainability Deep Dive, “will color future decision-making and influence new opportunities for co-design and thoughtfulness in collaboration in all ventures,” says Dr. Alexander. For example, virtual conferences over the past year allowed academic staff at Western Sydney University “to redirect all usual conference attendance funding towards students-in-need during the pandemic with no local family and no means of alternate support. A small but impactful gesture so they could continue their studies even in lockdown.”

Dr. Alexander adds that this Deep Dive in particular reminds him “that the future is about people and how well we harness and build upon trusted relationships in responding to life challenges collectively. The interconnections and interdependencies bring responsibility and reward.”

Introducing the Presenters

The emcees for this year’s event are Kevin Bethune, founder and Chief Creative Officer of dreams • design + life, and Sayeh Dastgheib-Beheshti, IDSA, Chair of the IDSA-Toronto Chapter, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of a Silicon Valley start-up currently in stealth mode, and a researcher focused on sustainability.

“In this Deep Dive, designers can get insights into new ways of thinking about resource use, resilience, and social justice to help them create better solutions for their own challenges,” Dastgheib-Bahesti says.

“I am looking forward to hearing Chandra Farley speak about the social justice aspect of energy equity, since often sustainability is framed only as a material usage issue,” she notes. “I am also looking forward to Louise Manfredi‘s presentation on bridging the gap between how sustainability is taught in higher education and the expectations of industry in hiring designers for creating sustainable products.”

The Sustainability Deep Dive 2021 speaker lineup also includes:

· Daniela Bohlinger, Head of Sustainability at BMW Group Design, on “Sustainability as the Driver of Change”

· Al Iannuzzi, Ph.D., Vice President, Sustainability at The Estée Lauder Companies, on “The Making and Marketing of Sustainable Brands”

· Kelsey Moffitt, Senior Industrial Designer at Loop Global, on “Guiding Manufacturers toward the Future of Sustainable Packaging”

· Christian Engene, Sustainability Lead at Above, on “Design That Addresses Global Challenges”

· Kari Herlevi, Project Director, Circular Economy at Sitra, on “Designing the Waste Out with Circularity”

· Ren DeCherney, Business Development Manager at International Living Future Institute, on “The Living Product Challenge: A Visionary Path for the Future of Products”

· Krystal Persaud, Founder and CEO of Grouphug Solar, on “Design for Dystopia”

· Tim McGee, Founder of LikoLab, with “Life-Centered Design Handbook”

· Theresa Millard, Creative Director, and Jeff Zeman, Principal, of TrueNorth Collective, on “Sustainability Is a Journey—Taking Those First Steps”

The Future of the Sustainable Events

While in-person design conferences in general are expected to return, there is something to be said for sustainability-focused events staying virtual or incorporating a hybrid model to lessen environmental impact. “Personally, I’d like to see a hybrid of both options in conferences moving forward,” says Matt Barnes, one of this year’s Sustainability Deep Dive organizers. “Technology provides the opportunity for these events to continue to have a virtual arm, allowing engagement both in audience and virtually from home/office.”

Le Labo handcrafted fragrances are sold in refillable glass bottles (The Estée Lauder Companies’ 2020 Citizenship and Sustainability Report). Al Iannuzzi, Ph.D., VP, Sustainability at The Estée Lauder Companies, will present at IDSA’s Sustainability Deep Dive 2021.

For four hours each day on June 9 and 10, 2021, you can join IDSA’s Sustainability Deep Dive from wherever you are in the world for networking, knowledge exchange, and building a better future with other sustainability-focused designers.

Sponsored by Indeed and Pepsico, IDSA’s Sustainability Deep Dive 2021 will take place on June 9 & 10 (4 hours each day). Learn more and register for the live event and recorded sessions at IDSA.org/SDD2021.

Interested in supporting this event or other IDSA events? Contact Carrie Green.

With less than a week to go until entries for Dezeen Awards 2021 close, we’ve asked some of our judges what they’ll be looking for in this year’s entries.

“I will be looking into critical thinking,” said Dezeen Awards judge Shahar Livne, who will be assessing design entries alongside Olafur Eliasson, Jay Osgerby and Sumayya Vally.

“I will specifically focus on designs that have sensitivity to holistic decision-making and methods,” she added. “I want to be moved and inspired by the small gestures and narratives.”

Livne, who was crowned emerging designer of the year at Dezeen Awards 2020, is a conceptual material designer from Israel based in Eindhoven.

Her work is regularly exhibited in international museums such as London’s Design Museum and the Design Museum of Israel.

“I expect to see many works that revolve around the well-being of humans or the environment,” said Livne. “More importantly, I believe we will see the passion for change of the systems we have today,” she continued.

“The entire world went through an eye-opening experience in the last year and shaken the thought of human control over nature as an absolute. I expect more designers to consider the fragility of the status quo.”

Entries for Dezeen Awards 2021 close at midnight BST on 2 June. Now in its fourth year, the awards programme celebrates the best architecture, interiors and design, and has become an international accolade for creative professionals everywhere.

“Applying to awards is a great opportunity to reflect on your practice and answer some hard questions about your products and way of working,” said Livne.

“It can act as a way to streamline your practice narrative and see where you are concerning your goals.”

Enter Dezeen Awards 2021 now

Start your entry today and submit it before midnight BST on 2 June. If you have any questions, please email awards@dezeen.com and someone from the team will help.

Good luck with your entries!

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