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The case that the BioPods® makes is quite simple. Think about your feet much like your hands. Your hands can perform various tasks because the nerves (or nerve endings) in the palm of your hands and fingers provide the brain with the information needed for efficient muscle control. The soles of your feet have the same type of nerve endings, and the information they provide the brain is critical to healthy function. Wearing a shoe on your foot is a lot like wearing a boxing glove on your hand. The shoe may cushion your foot during impact, but it also dampens the critical sensory information the brain requires to activate optimal muscle function – sort of like trying to type on a keyboard with boxing gloves or oven mitts on. The BioPods want to change that with shoes designed to stimulate the 100,000 sensory receptors in your feet that are responsible for optimal muscle function. The essence of the BioPod’s innovation is in its Stimsole® (stimulation + sole) – a hybrid outsole and midsole that use multiple pressure points to promote great posture and muscle function by giving your feet the stimulation it needs.

An easy way to understand how BioPods Stimsoles work is to imagine the feeling of Braille. Run your fingers across a flat piece of paper and you’re not going to get any information. However, if the paper has bumps on its surface, the nerves on your fingertips pick them up and your brain decodes them. Stimsole technologies work the same way. When walking, as you step on a surface, the contours of that surface are transferred by the midsole pins and cause a corresponding gentle pressure to your feet. The midsole pins create similar, varying pressures when standing as your body weight shifts. Your nervous system receives the signals required for optimal healthy function and safe, robust performance in both instances. Healthcare professionals recommend BioPods Stimsole technologies for recreational, therapeutic, rehabilitative, and athletic use. BioPods sneakers work like a ‘Proper Technique’ exercise program to rehabilitate and maintain healthy lower limb function, in effect, eliminating the cause of shoe-related problems and pain. With regular use, they also enhance performance capabilities and reduce the risk of injury.

Adding form to function, BioPods’ “Build Your Own” customization system allows you to personalize the look of your sneakers. The sneakers themselves come in 3 styles (including laced and slip-on models) and a whole variety of colors. Made from eco-friendly materials, they provide a combination of comfort, flexibility, durability, and style while also being water repellent and stain-resistant. BioPods sneakers are also customized to match your specific foot size, width, volume, and arch height measurement for a perfect fit.

The sneakers’ soles feature a customizable arch stimulus mechanism for bespoke comfort and function. This feature allows you to determine just the right amount of stimulation for specific activities. Whether you’re standing, walking, jogging, working out in the gym, or playing sports, BioPods sneakers encourage your feet to perform better as well as feel better.

Designers: Roy Gardiner & Steve Horvath

Click Here to Buy Now: $109 $178 (39% off). Hurry, only 7/50 left!

BioPods® – World’s First Truly Barefoot-like Sneakers

BioPods are customized sneakers designed to stimulate and retrain healthy function rather than artificially support or cushion. BioPods Stimsole Sneakers are the worlds’ first shoes that incorporate modern Proper Technique rehabilitation and sport training principles.

Why Proper Technique?

Proper Technique is used to describe the execution of physical activity that promotes healthy robust function with a reduced risk of injury. Poor Technique refers to the execution of physical activity that has a negative effect on your body and increases risk of injury.

There are 100,000 sensory receptors in the soles of your feet that provide the critical information required by the brain to activate optimal muscle function throughout the feet, legs, hips, and back.

BioPods’ Stimsole technologies provide this critical information and encourage optimal movement with every step you take, ensuring “Proper Technique” function during all of your activities.

Features & Benefits

Therapeutic & Rehabilitative – BioPods Sneakers work like a therapeutic exercise program by providing the Stimulus and the freedom of movement that is required for healthy foot and lower limb function.

Designed for Active Lifestyles – Their patent-pending Stimsole outsole design is universally applicable to a wide range of activities.

Revolutionary Fit for Optimal Comfort – BioPods Sneakers are customized based on your foot measurements to ensure an optimal fit. They fit loosely and move in harmony with your natural foot movement, which is the foundation for optimal comfort and healthy function.

Breathable and Lightweight – BioPods’ extremely lightweight Sneakers almost feel like you’re wearing nothing at all, so your muscles aren’t working harder than they need to. And when you pick up the pace, BioPods Sneakers’ breathable uppers help keep the heat down.

Enhanced Athletic Performance – Athletes understand the importance of Proper Technique training. It promotes a balance of strength and flexibility, safely increases functional robustness, and reduces the risk of injury. Now you can get the benefits of Proper Technique exercise in your everyday shoes to better prepare your body for your more rigorous athletic activities.

Midsole/Outsole Stimsole Technologies – BioPods’ patent-pending outsole/midsole and Sneaker upper designs create a Proper Technique environment for your feet by providing healthy Right Stimulus and encouraging the Right Movement.

Personalize Your Stimulus Level – Interchangeable Velco backed discs provide 3 levels of stimulus adjustment under your arches to accommodate your specific needs and provide optimal comfort.

Extremely Flexible – BioPods Sneakers’ soft flexible outsoles and 4-way stretch uppers encourage optimal dynamic foot movement for exceptional fit, comfort, and performance.

Neutral Heel – The outsole’s heel is 1mm thicker than the forefoot, while the midsole stimulus pins are the same height. This extra 1 mm under the bottom of the midsole pins allows the soft honeycomb treads to compress a bit more at heel strike to provide enhanced initial traction and grip.

Made with Eco-friendly Materials – Their sneakers’ 4-way stretch knitted uppers and inner linings are made from Ynviron® yarns and Repreve® fabrics, both made from recycled plastic bottles. On average, each pair of sneakers contains materials made from 8 recycled plastic bottles.

Click Here to Buy Now: $109 $178 (39% off). Hurry, only 7/50 left!

Technology has made personal commuters an extension of our body – giving more reasons to have a unified experience with modern vehicles. Nebula by Oneobject draws inspiration from this very notion to provide the user with freedom, speed, and agility to ride with no strings attached – literally. The Hong Kong-based design studio aims to revolutionize the urban transport scene, becoming too cluttered for the current roads. Having over a decade of experience in transportation, smart IoT, and electronics – Oneobject has created Alpha and Beta rides – one an electric motorbike for mid or long distances. The other is an electric kickboard scooter for last-mile travel or short commutes.

Sustainability is at the forefront of the design since Oneobject has used hard and soft materials like polypropylene for the outer shell of both vehicles. This provides hard-shell protection to all the internal machinery. The 3D-knitted fabric for the interiors is waterproof and dirt-proof – while also being durable and having an attractive surface matching the overall modern appeal of the rides. Both the rides offer keyless access via fingerprint authentication – ideally in tune with convenience and modern features. Both are in the concept phase and are expected to become a reality soon.

Designer: Oneobject

Nebula Alpha

The electric motorbike comes equipped with a HUD beaming all the real-time indications and road environment for an enriched driving experience. Alpha has radar sensors on the front and back to raise safety to another level. Energy-efficient head and tail lights encapsulated in the recycled PP only appear when needed.

Nebula Beta

Beta kickboard e-scooter is more about slim, lightweight, and compact design language with its fair share of technology. It can be easily folded up for carrying or safe storage – ideal for your home, in-car, or office. The portable ride comes with a HUD displaying all the vital real-time details to give the rider a safe and convenient way to commute.

Mexican firm CPDA Arquitectos has completed a residential building that features a stone-clad exterior and a lush courtyard that is not visible from the street.

The project, called Casa Jardin Escandón, is located in Mexico City‘s Escandón neighbourhood. The area has experienced growth in recent years, with contemporary buildings cropping up alongside Art Deco-style structures.

A key goal for local firm CPDA Arquitectos was to create a building with welcoming spaces and lots of vegetation.

In response, for a rectangular site sandwiched between multi-story structures, the team created a 2,300-square-metre building that features a central garden. A pathway winds through the outdoor space.

“We designed this project to live toward the interior of the complex through a central courtyard – allowing all residential units to have natural light and cross ventilation,” the team said.

The building has 14 units, four of which are apartments on the ground level. The remaining units are three-storey townhouses that occupy the upper portion of the complex.

Every unit has some type of private outdoor place, whether it is a balcony, patio or roof garden. On the upper floors, lush greenery spills out of planters and adds to the building’s garden atmosphere.

Exterior walls are clad in textured galarza stone, a material that can be found on other buildings in the neighbourhood. Gabled rooflines give the building a distinctive look.

Various recessions and protrusions were incorporated into the street-facing elevation.

At the ground level, one area was carved way to form a threshold with white porcelain stairs leading to a commercial space.

Another threshold – this one in the shape of a gable – leads to the apartment building’s lobby and also contains access to a subterranean garage.

Up above, the team created triangular balconies that jut over a sidewalk, and window coves that angle inward.

The interior elevations that surround the courtyard have a different look.

“The interior facades around the central courtyard have a different language, where a game of different windows, openings and gabled roofs are generated, to create a simple, dynamic and ingenious form,” the team said.

The open-air space – which features native plants that require little maintenance – is intended to offer residents a place for relaxation and reflection. Carefully placed balconies around the courtyard help foster interaction among residents.

“The result is a discreet, private and peaceful interaction between the residents and their shared ‘secret garden’,” the team said.

In addition to the courtyard, certain units have access to roof terraces. These upper-level patios are enclosed within pink-hued walls.

The apartments have glazed doors that bring in daylight and provide a connection to the outdoors. Interior finishes include grey porcelain floor tiles, tzalam wood cabinetry, and black granite countertops.

“The materials were chosen to be durable in the city’s humidity, and to age gracefully over time,” the team said.

Founded in 2016 by Juan Pablo Cepeda, CPDA Arquitectos has completed a number of residential buildings in Mexico City. Others include an apartment block in the San Rafael neighbourhood that has a red exterior made of brick and tinted concrete.

Photography is by Jaime Navarro.

Project credits:

Architecture: CPDA Arquitectos
Project team: Juan Pablo Cepeda, Eloisa Queijeiro, Luis Enrique Angeles, Agustin Perez
Structural engineer: DEA y Asociados
Landscape architect: Entorno Taller de Paisaje
General contractor: MOCAA

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Curved walls and arching ceilings enclose indoor and outdoor living spaces arranged over several stepped levels at this villa in Menorca by architects Nomo Studio.

Curved House’s elevated setting in the high-end residential area of Coves Noves provides it with views towards the sea and the nearby town of Port d’Addaia.

The client bought an undeveloped lot and asked Nomo Studio to design a summer villa containing four bedrooms, with a covered outdoor area linked to a small pool.

The 600-square-metre site presented several challenges, including a steep gradient. It also contains an area of archaeological importance that needed to be conserved.

Nomo Studio responded to the sloping plot and small building area by creating a house with a compact footprint that is carefully shaped to avoid the restricted area.

“The curved shape of the house started as an answer to try to avoid the protected area on the site,” architect Karl Johan Nyqvist told Dezeen.

“By curving the house on the ground floor we could avoid the archaeological site but still maximise the footprint. We then continued with the same language in three dimensions.”

The property resembles a cube with sections removed, as if by intersecting with giant spheres. The resulting curved and double-curved geometries lend the external and internal spaces a distinctive character.

In order to achieve the internal programme requested by the clients within the building’s small footprint, the living areas are arranged over six stepped levels that incorporate several patios and terraces.

“Light slits between the slabs enlarge our vision of space and create one single continuous open area,” the architects explained.

“The same technique is used in order to bring natural light into the basement, completely transforming its perception.”

The house can be entered from the streets on either side at different levels. From the upper street, a bridge with curved stairs and a rope handrail traverses the steep slope, while from below a set of steps winds around the circular pool.

The main entrance leads into the bedroom level, which is connected to the main living spaces below by a wide metal staircase with a wooden balustrade.

To one side of the entrance hall, a large patio with glazed walls on two sides provides a protected semi-outdoor space suspended above the concrete floor.

The patio allows bright sunlight to flood into the interior and incorporates openings that frame views of the sea. The versatile space can be used for stargazing or open-air film screenings.

The main living areas on the lower level are spanned by 12-metre concrete beams. Sliding glass doors allow this space to be opened up to the adjacent porch and pool area.

“The day area is conceived as one large unfolding space, framed by the bold gesture of an upper and lower arch,” added Nomo Studio.

“Under its double-curved, four-metre clear height ceiling porch one feels protected from neighbouring views, focusing on the garden and sea views.”

The interiors feature a palette of concrete, terracotta and wood, along with white walls and turquoise curtains. The natural hues, textures and use of indoor plants enhance the connection with the garden and surrounding landscape.

Nomo Studio was founded by Alicia Casals and Karl Johan Nyqvist. It has offices in Barcelona and Stockholm delivering projects across various fields including architecture, urbanism, graphic design, product design and social research.

The studio has worked on several properties in Menorca, including a house comprising a series of stacked, angular boxes and another home featuring facades that combine local stone with smooth plaster.

Photography is by Adriâ Goulá.

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There are only three days left to enter Dezeen Awards 2021. For the project categories, judges are looking for entries that best fit the three judging criteria. Here’s a reminder of what they are:

Beautiful: does it look amazing? We know that beauty is subjective but our judges will be looking out for aesthetic rigour, good detailing and good use of materials.

Innovative: does it incorporate original thinking or address a problem in a new way? We don’t mean that every entry has to reinvent the wheel, but we will be looking for evidence of fresh approaches and new ideas.

Beneficial: is it useful and considerate to both people and the planet? Your project doesn’t have to set out to save the world, but it should show respect and consideration for users and the environment.

Remember that this year we have introduced our new sustainability categories! Our three categories celebrate projects that make positive environmental and social contributions.

These special awards will be assessed by a panel of sustainability experts from the world of architecture and design.

Our new media categories will reward excellence in the way architecture, interiors and design are communicated and promoted.

The judges will be looking for beautiful, engaging content and technical mastery across the five categories.

For studio categories, judges are looking for individual designers or companies that show strong vision and achievement in terms of completed projects, business success, client satisfaction and positive impact.

They should also describe at least two completed projects that fit the three judging criteria listed above, as well as displaying evidence of responsible management practices and company policies (for example diversity, wellbeing and training).

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Enter Dezeen Awards now

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Contact our awards team at awards@dezeen.com if you have any questions or need help.

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