With over 1,000 supporters, the Pac-Man kinetic sculpture is on the path to being picked up by the LEGO team and turned into a buyable/buildable kit.

The LEGO IDEAS forum is perhaps one of the most outstanding examples of a well-functioning meritocracy. The forum exists for LEGO master-builders to upload and showcase their custom-made design ideas, while the collective LEGO community votes for their favorite designs. As the votes collect over time, the highest-ranking designs get a chance to be produced into actual on-shelf kits that everyone can buy. Today’s design comes courtesy master-builder and retro-gaming-fan LiteBricks. Titled the “Pac-Man Moving Display”, LiteBricks’ little kinetic sculpture is more than just a standalone static toy… it actually moves! With a rotating crank-lever on the side (sort of like a jack-in-the-box) the Pac-Man Moving Display is a fun little interactive toy that features the familiar pill-munching spherical character along with 4 ghosts. Rotate the lever on the side and the ghosts bob up and down, while Pac-Man’s mouth moves vertically too, just like in the videogame!

Designer: LiteBricks

LiteBricks’ design-idea comprises a total 1,603 LEGO pieces, which include the Pac-Man figure, the red/pink/blue/orange ghosts, 4 blue ghosts, 4 ghost eyes, 3 pellets, 1 power pellet, the display stand, the crank-turning mechanism, and 5 figure supports. The manual crank on the side of the stand moves Pac-Man’s mouth and alternates the up and down movement for any 4 adjacent figures – which means you can build out your display in a variety of styles and formats, using any of the characters. Scroll below to see GIFs of LiteBricks’ concept in action and I dare you to not make the WOCKA-WOCKA sound as you see them move!

You can click here to vote for the “Pac-Man Moving Display” idea on the LEGO IDEAS forum. It needs a total of 10,000 votes to go from concept to reality, and the voting is free and open to all.

Concrete blocks, stucco and glass form the exterior of a home by architecture firm Kendle Design Collaborative that embraces its setting in the Arizona desert.

The Echo Canyon Residence is located in on a wedge-shaped lot near Camelback Mountain, one of the city’s iconic natural features.

The house was designed by local firm Kendle Design Collaborative for an empty-nester couple. A key goal for the project was to provide a strong connection to the environment.

In response, the team conceived a series of different-sized volumes positioned around outdoor spaces. Several curved elements soften the otherwise rectilinear appearance of the single-storey dwelling.

Exterior walls are composed of split-face concrete masonry units (CMUs), stucco and large stretches of glass. In terms of both composition and materiality, the home is intended to be a study in layering various opacities.

“Flowing through the house, the play of opacity and transparency heightens the relationship to nature and the mountains while distilling a zen-like quality,” the team said.

The entrance is found on the north side, where the architect placed a garage with glazed doors and a rounded, block wall.

“A curving block wall interspersed with sandblasted-glass panels and a gate conceals a quaint courtyard full of yuccas, agaves, and an ironwood tree that filters dappled light along the walkway up to the house,” the team said.

Encompassing 3,900 square foot (362 square metres), the house is divided into three parts. The public zone is situated in the centre of the home, while bedrooms are found in two adjacent wings.

The foyer leads toward an open-plan living room, kitchen and dining area. Lining one side of the great room is a 14-foot-high (4.2-metre) glazed wall, which offers an expansive view of the surrounding landscape.

A continuous stretch of Douglas fir clads the public zone’s ceiling and an adjacent roof eave, helping unify the interior and exterior spaces.

An earthy colour palette was used for finishes and decor, which includes tan floor tiles and walnut kitchen cabinetry. A fireplace is set within a broad surround made of porcelain tile with a metallic finish.

Above the hearth is a slender skylight, which spans the length of the great room. The aperture brings in natural light and introduces interesting shadows throughout the day.

“This unique feature allows for the home to, in a way, tell time,” the architect said. “As the day progresses, the shadows and quality of light within the interior are always evolving.”

The public area merges with a covered terrace, where friends and family can gather and enjoy a clear view of a rock formation called Praying Monk. Overhead, a circular opening in the canopy enables daylight to glide across the patio’s surface.

Beyond the terrace is a yard that provides play space for grandchildren and dogs. It also offers a linear fire pit – a welcomed amenity on a cool, desert night.

Kendle Design Collaborative was founded in 2002 by architect Brent Kendle. Other projects by the studio include the Dancing Light House, which has a dramatic angular roof and walls made of rammed earth and concrete.

The photography is by Kevin Brost.

Project credits:

Architect: Kendle Design Collaborative
Landscape architect: Steve Martino & Associates
General contractor: Gm Hunt Builders & Remodelers
Appliances: Wolf/Subzero
Shading system: Lutron
Windows and doors: Western Window Systems

The post Kendle Design Collaborative imbues Phoenix home with “zen-like quality” appeared first on Dezeen.

The financial world moves so fast that it can be difficult to know how to keep up, or where to even start. Thankfully, tech companies around the world are making cutting-edge advancements to help consumers enhance their financial literacy. While the rapid growth of this market can be intimidating, the expert team behind the iF Design Awards has their finger on the pulse of which innovations are worth putting to use. After sorting through thousands of entries, judges picked the following finance apps for their user-friendly interface, accessibility, and streamlined operation.

This list features perfect picks for all levels of investors, whether a student planning the future or an experienced investor looking for the most high-tech assistance in the modern market. These beautifully designed apps offer a wide variety of services, like strengthening financial literacy, making socially conscious investments, and assisting with small business loans. Click through this list to see the best the financial tech world has to offer.

1.) Yapi Kredi Mobile

As the bank that first introduced many innovations, Yapi Kredi has been a pioneer of digital banking in Turkey. In recent years, they have restructured the banking experience with innovations on digital banking and a contactless banking experience. Being contactless has been vital in the pandemic. They believe it is crucial to understand customer needs, in this case contactless technology, even before the need becomes crucial to a customer’s everyday life. Today, Yapi Kredi Mobile offers a simpler design to provide a superior customer experience with over 600 transactions.

2.) ministock

Ministock is a FinTech app allowing a person to invest in fractional shares of overseas stocks. The app’s easy-to-navigate UI makes it simple for even a beginner to get involved in global stock trading. The designers wanted to make the investing experience fun and enjoyable for young and first-time investors through a design with friendly, engaging graphics. Traditional candle charts and stock quotes have been replaced with simple line charts to make the investing experience less intimidating but more informative. Intuitive icons and a navigation menu also provide enhanced accessibility.

3.) Flowe: better banking, better being

To address generational transition, Banca Mediolanum decided to create an independent company to approach younger target audiences such as Millennials and Gen Zers. The result is Flowe, an ELMI (electronic money institution) and a benefit corporation. The designers recently completed a design path to define a new user experience through a native app, which in addition to account and payment services within the PSD2 framework, could also offer a real ecosystem focused on aspects that are important to young people:

4.) o2 Money Ap

o2 Money is a smart financial companion for everyone. The comdirect app gives users an overview of their financial situation by using smart data algorithms to categorize earnings and spending and identify hidden costs in their personal spending habits. Users gain transparency about their financial situation so they can achieve more financial autonomy. comdirect partnered with Telefonica to develop this mobile banking solution for non-customers that is easy to use and simplifies complex topics. The app combines a native banking app for comdirect accounts with a financial companion that is useable with every German giro account.

5.) Hyundai Card APP 3.0

Hyundai Card App is the main mobile application for the company’s credit card customers. Customers use the app to carry out various card-related activities such as viewing transactions, applying for new cards, and making payments. The newly designed App 3.0, however, goes beyond finance. By providing two main homes, one for the traditional card-related activities and another for useful and interesting contents tailored to customers’ needs, the app allows users to more conveniently find the information they are looking for. Designed with card-inspired components, the app acts as a convenient digital companion to the users’ spending experience.

6.) AQUA

AQUA is a new way of managing personal assets, an interactive banking app that takes its cues from how people do accounting in their heads. According to behavioral science, people regularly perform “mental accounting” in which they place different values on money based on subjective criteria. It is only natural for those criteria to be malleable, often changing in importance with money flowing toward one or the other. AQUA is a service that builds upon this “mental accounting” and turns it into a visual and tangible system. Through this novel asset management system, users can systematize their personal assets however they choose so that they can better plan how to spend their money.

7.) Integro

Integro is Akbank’s core banking platform that acts as the prime stage for its employees, enabling and empowering them to give their customers the best banking service. This platform is basically where one can perform all banking operations in the smartest and most user-friendly way. With this objective in mind, Integro has been redesigned to create a competent sales and productivity instrument that highlights what’s significant, enhances the efficiency of the work process, minimizes human blunders, eases performing various tasks and enables joint effort.

8.) O2

O2 is an application that enables financial investment and asset management in non face-to-face channels. The goal is to deliver a positive experience to users with «easy» financial investment services. In order to provide a service that goes beyond the stereotype of “financial investment is difficult,” financial terms are recast into everyday language, showing that financial investment is no different from an online shopping experience. Furthermore, personalization services have been introduced. In addition to basic asset information, optimal investment products are presented based on personal data that fits the user’s situation and interests.

9.) ALINE

Aline helps people align their investment and consumption with their values
and received the iF gold award by the iF Jury for this new thinking. With growing awareness of sustainability, people want their money to contribute to making the world a better place. Beyond profit-making, Aline considers social and environmental value and impact. The personal value index, with its six main criteria, translates values into sustainable finance. By gathering the data from the initial survey and from regular value updates, the index is weighted according to the user’s values. The investment portfolio is adjusted according to the index, and consumption against the user’s values.

10.) AI Financial Assistant – AInn

Ping An Bank has made an AI financial assistant a reality through the use of cutting-edge technologies: combining ASR, NLP, TTS, and Big Data, the AInn financial assistant brings online banking to the next level. AInn is considerate and proactive, offering three key features: proactive service, timely advice, and smart recommendations. When a user is hesitant, AInn provides help even before the user asks. Timely guides pop up if a user gets lost in a process. Recommendations are made based on the individual and the situation.

11.) From Garanti BBVA

Garanti BBVA Mobile is a mobile banking application that enables users to make their banking transactions anytime and anywhere. The application has approximately 500+ different functions and 9.1 million customers. The existing users’ experiences was improved by evaluating their behavior and making it more accessible for users with low digital familiarity. The aim in design is to create a system that is easy and safe for our non-digital users, and they have provided a fast and practical Garanti BBVA mobile experience for digital users.

12.) Bank SinoPac-DAWHO APP

DAWHO APP is a digital banking application that provides mobile financial services based on customer needs anytime and anywhere. The app’s unique and aesthetic UI/UX design has successfully transformed the traditional visual image of financial products and services in Taiwan. Unlike other competitors who use cute mascots as their brand identity, this app uses Tai Chi as its leitmotif, a black and white semi-circle, which means originating from nature in Chinese. The yellow golden color expresses a delicate, refined atmosphere and creates a personal connection. It is more than just a financial service, offering the user a pleasant experience and courteous interaction.

13.) Airstar Bank

HK’s first complete online banking application offers a 24/7 banking service geared towards young users and small and medium-sized businesses. The aim was to allow users to enjoy equal financial opportunities. Meanwhile, the contactless service has profoundly changed the operation model vs. the in-person model of traditional banks. It is of great significance in the current economic environment with regards to the pandemic. The app greatly improves user experience and efficiency, such as loan approval speed, risk control, and support. The company´s focus is on forming healthy spending and financial habits, making a long-term commitment to grow together with users.

An educational programme based on a train and a cultural funhouse are included in Dezeen’s latest school show by students at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.

Also featured is a digital display exploring the river species in the Gulf of Thailand and a bus stop that also functions as a florist.

Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

School: Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
Courses: Architecture
Tutors: Design Studio Instructors, Dr. Surapong Lertsithichai, Dr Sorachai Kornkasem, Dr Scott Drake, Christo Meyer, Marie-Louise Raue, Tijn van de Wijdeven, Paul Francis Feeney, William Bertram Hulbert, Michal Jurgielewicz, Patrick Donbeck, Payap Pakdeelao, Pratana Klieopatinon, Takanao Todo, Thomas Lozada, Chon Supawongse, Ekapob Suksudpaisarn, Pitchapa Jular, Eduardo Cassina, Per Stefan Svedberg, Hseng Tai Lintner, Warisara Sudswong, Liva Dudareva, Oliver Losser, Juan Cuevas Duran, Ema Hana Kacar and Kamonsin Chathurattaphol

School statement:

“INDA is the International Programme in Design and Architecture of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. It aims to nurture diversity in design approaches and methodologies based on a clear framework of constructive dialogue.

“The school is a four-year bachelor programme with a strong emphasis on design studios through architectural design, topics and methodologies relevant to contemporary architecture, with a particular focus on South East Asian dynamics and specificities. Although INDA has adopted architecture as its main course topic, it aims to show how architecture connects to other disciplines, such as landscape architecture and urban design.

“INDA Parade is the main event of the school held at the end of each academic year. It aims to enable the community of students, instructors, alumni, guests and the public to discover and celebrate students’ works collectively as an ongoing conversation.

“In 2020, challenged by recent events, INDA decided to use a social virtual reality platform as a complementary tool for exchanging and representing ideas, under the motto ‘keep school real’. This year, participants joined the review and exhibition worlds with their avatars, interacting with others and exploring in great detail the many three dimensional models, large scale drawing boards and presentations in a mixed media environment with live streams.

“The VR environment enabled the INDA community to regain the proximity that is crucial to fostering excitement and momentum. The event concluded with a public presentation of shortlisted works, and the awarded projects are featured below. INDA Parade 2020, has been and remains open and accessible to everyone, proposing experimental methods of interaction and engagement and breaking down the boundaries between the school and the public.”

“INDA Parade 2021 was designed by Takanao Todo.”

Atlas by Jew – Chinnapat Asavabenya

“Atlas is an autonomous digital platform created to govern change and enable the flow of data. To map time, the transaction, proposition, and interaction of our nature are discussed without making assumptions. Different systems and ideas of ownership are contextualised in various layers.

“Where the hierarchies of each layer are established through their relevancy among each inhabiting entity. Usage of the ‘map’ is done in parallel with the simulation of time, allowing us to envision the consequences of each decision consciously.

“Each map becomes an artefact of dialogue, an archive of the past discussion and simulation of the future.”

Student: Jew – Chinnapat Asavabenya
Course: Year Four, Semester Two
Tutor: Michal Jurgielewicz
Email: chinnapat.asavabenya[at]gmail.com

Bureau of the Urban Commons by Orm – Santhila Chanoknamchai

“The ‘Bureau of the Urban Commons’ is redefining the rule of engagement within the public realm of Bangkok through a series of civic-scale interventions that stitch the urban fabric vertically and horizontally.

“The project capitalises on the spatial potential of The Green Mile, a hidden 1.3-kilometre linear bridge that stitches across central Bangkok. It deploys multi-level connectivity strategies to promote active participation and co-creation engagement, operating on a feedback system expressed through the performative structures. Where along with the commonalities throughout the Green Mile, our everyday life would never be the same.”

Student: Santhila Chanoknamchai
Course: Year four, Semester one
Tutor: Christo Meyer
Email: Santhila.ch[at]gmail.com

Funhouse by BamBam – Rachapon Jidapasirikul

“The project challenges the notion of symbolism and ornament in architectural design. It explores a new typology of a public building, destabilising the increasingly obsolete libraries, cinemas and museums today.

“Instead, this building, its architecture, and its interior apparatus act as an interface between the physical world and the virtual world of the internet.

“Through a series of interactive sensory media rooms and AR and VR devices, visitors interface with information, education, communication, gaming, multimedia consumption, exhibitions and other forms of exchange. It is the spatialisation of the internet in the form of a recontextualised funhouse.”

Student: BamBam – Rachapon Jidapasirikul
Course: Year four, Semester two
Tutor: Per Stefan Svedberg
Email: rachapon.jidapasirikul[at]cuinda.com

Quarantine Cities: The Continuous Journey by Minnie – Anchalika Thepnumsommanus

“Quarantine Cities: The Continuous Journey” approaches the civic as an architecture for the instrumentalization of mental and emotional conditions as a consequence of the essential solitary quarantine during pandemic society.

“‘Quarantine is a disease towards mental health’, explores the possibility of offering 14-days quarantine as a continuous trip where travel is fearless.”

Student: Minnie – Anchalika Thepnumsommanus
Course: Year three, Semester two
Tutor: Payap Pakdeelao

Against the Dry by Khem – Thongthat Harnvorrayothin

“This era’s consummation of ‘dryness’ has contributed to the rise of inequality throughout architecture and society. Dryness criticizes the in-create disconnection between existing and new builds. This project compares ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ design. It explores architectural ideas and modern needs and how theory influences design in the contemporary era.

“It explores the connection between them, discussing the widespread usage of architectural approaches in modern design through the observation from indigenous living in Bangkachao Bangkok. The natural layer is separated from the concrete coating.

“It concludes with the utopian planning proposal, which touches on all the subjects that made the city more ‘wet’. The plan was called “fluid design,” which included the allocation of the site, the architecture, and the community.”

Student: Khem – Thongthat Harnvorrayothin
Course: Year three, Semester two
Tutor: Eduardo Cassina
Email: fahkhem[at]gmail.com

GoogleExpress by Than – Thanapat Limpanaset

“GoogleExpress is an educational programme situated within a train. It critiques traditional institutions, and is a proposal built off of the upcoming ‘Google Institute’ with the ambition to disrupt the college degree by launching a new programme on digital citizenship and business start-up.

“Google Culture is embedded in the programme, treating education as a hectic, crash course to be completed together alongside the company, allowing levels of intimacy to be formed in every aspect of life on the train.

“To conquer the train, it strips away schedules, exams and uniforms and  pushes friendships and connections, where the emphasis is not the courses, but a rather hectic sprint towards digital citizenship. Here, trainees are fully in control of their own education.”

Student: Than – Thanapat Limpanaset
Course: Year three, Semester one
Tutor: Liva Dudareva
Email: Tansinstagram[at]gmail.com

Responsible Incinerated Passing (R.I.P.) by Poon – Tassaporn Sukhumhanakul

“Responsible Incinerated Passing (R.I.P.) is a site-specific methodology that aims to offset the carbon emitted into the atmosphere of Bangkok in the process of cremation.

“R.I.P. merges the technology of direct air capture with the sensitivity of Buddhist belief and aims to not only redesign the three existing temple typologies (the temple for The Commoners, The Monks, and The King) to decrease their environmental harm, but also acts as a behavioural guide on how to reduce one’s carbon footprint, both before and after your remains are emitted into the sky, in the form of harmless mist rather than smoke.”

Student: Poon – Tassaporn Sukhumhanakul
Course: Year two, Semester two
Tutor: Ema Hana Kacar
Email: sukhumdhanakul.t[at]gmail.com and poonsukhumdhanakul[at]gmail.com

Dressed for the dead by Pann – Nara Lojanatorn

“This project investigates a range of informal to formal outfits. They are explored through contrasting rituals of the Teochew Cemetery, the everyday routine of a cemetery that has become a public park and an annual gathering place for ancestral worship.

“The typology of the cemetery presents no end. The tomb tiers are developed from traditional tombstone forms and construction, while the wood scaffold facilitates changing activities throughout the years. The visits may cease, but the spirit remains.”

Student: Pann – Nara Lojanatorn
Course: Year two, Semester one
Tutor: Pratana Klieopatinon
Email: pannnara[at]gmail.com

The Crustacean by Poon – Poonyapa Arakwatan

“The Crustacean explores the sea and river species in the Saen Saeb canal and the Gulf of Thailand. It is a series of cabinets of curiosities inspired by exoskeleton sea creatures and the darkness of the polluted canal.

“To express aesthetic sea creatures through digital display in contrast to pollution caused by people living along Saen Saeb canal and to encourage people to take responsibility for our waterways and the ocean.

“The cabinet includes two main displays; the AR texture is hidden in part of the cabinet, and the VR effect for experiencing the whole cabinet creatures come alive in the digital world.”

Student: Poon – Poonyapa Arakwatan
Course: Year one, Semester two
Tutor: Per Stefan Svedberg
Email: poonyapaarakwatana[at]gmail.com

The Petal of Time by Poon – Poonyapa Arakwatan

“Every place has character uniqueness, similar to Wat Kheak (Sri Maha Mariamman Temple) Hindu temple. Focusing on transportation and the rotting process of organics offering to the god, The Petal of Time is a kiosk where arrival and departure are waiting for the bus and interacting with flowers.

“The main programmes of The Petal of Time are the bus stop and the flower shop. Providing an opportunity for passengers waiting for the bus, buying flowers, and composting them after use. The essential concept that makes these programmes run harmoniously is inspired by organic transformation.”

Student: Poon – Poonyapa Arakwatan
Course: Year one, Semester one
Tutor: Patrick Donbeck
Email: poonyapaarakwatana[at]gmail.com

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

The post Chulalongkorn University presents 10 student design projects as part of INDA Parade appeared first on Dezeen.

At the local home centers, small tarps are cheap, but large tarps (30 feet or above in either dimension) get pretty pricey, up into the hundreds. If you need something large but don’t want to pay a lot, there are at least two companies selling repurposed heavy-duty tarps at affordable prices.

“Each of our vinyls was once posted high in the sky alongside a freeway,” writes Billboard Vinyls. “Once their lives as advertising billboards are over, billboard tarpaulin can be re-purposed for a wide range of applications. These high quality vinyls are created to be waterproof, weather resistant, and are UV protected.”

“Vinyl billboard tarps are perfect for a variety of applications inlcuding hay tarps, roof covers, boat and vehicle covers, construction, weed barriers, rv skirting, dividers, slip’n’slides, agriculture, wood pile covers, vapor barriers, drop cloths, ground covers, and anything else that needs waterproofing,” writes competitor Billboard Tarps. “The 3-ply design is durable, tough and long-lasting with vinyl coating and UV protection on both sides. They are specifically designed to withstand harsh outdoor weather conditions.”

You don’t have a choice of what the printed ad is, of course, and the reverse sides are either black or white. Also, the sizes don’t quite correspond with what the big-boxes sell; because these were billboards, they all have letterbox aspect ratios. But you can get a lot of durable material for little money. A 14′ x 48′ reused vinyl tarp at either site goes for $75, for instance.

I’ve looked through both sites, and at press time Billboard Vinyls had a much wider range of sizes in stock.