Hasta La Ideas

The ongoing evolution of brands: Zippo was formerly a manufacturer of cigarette lighters, and has now reframed themselves as providers of flame and heat. In the automotive world, the trend is for carmakers to now present themselves as mobility providers. It’s why BMW has realized the CE 04 motorcycle and proposed the CE 02 not-a-scooter.

Moving further downstream, the Bavarian brand is now proposing another two-wheeler, this time a pedelec called the BMW i Vision AMBY (a somewhat clumsy elision of “adaptive mobility”).

“This vehicle occupies the space between a bicycle and a light motorcycle and allows our customers to decide for themselves which roads or routes they want to travel on through an urban area,” says Werner Haumayr, Vice President BMW Group Design Conception. “They have all the flexibility possible, at the same time as turning the pedals and keeping themselves fit. The modes and clever route selection are intended to make it one of the fastest travel options through a city.”

The modes Haumayr are referring to have an interesting twist: The AMBY has three different speed capabilities that are location-specific, enabled by “automatic recognition of location and road type via geofencing technology.” If you’re on a bike path, the bike “knows” and caps its max speed at 25 km/h (15.5 mph); if you’re on a city street, that gets bumped up to 45 km/h (28 mph); get outside the city, and the bike will go up to 60 km/h (37 mph).

It’s an unusual approach, and culturally I think it would work in a place like Germany, Japan or Scandinavia, where citizens are more inclined to follow rules designed for the greater good. But in America, where people are obsessed with personal freedom at the expense of others, I’m not sure the regulated modes would go over well. Then again, the U.S. is probably not the target market.

In any case, the AMBY is another example of the diversification we can expect to see from brands in the future, whether automotive or otherwise. “Everywhere you look, apparently established categories are being blown apart – and that’s a good thing,” says Haumayr. “In the future, classifications such as ‘car’, ‘bicycle’ and ‘motorcycle’ should not determine the nature of the products we think up, develop and offer.”

The Off Grid House from Anderson Architecture pushes sustainability to its outer limits in the Blue Mountains of Australia, equipping the home with added protection against insect attacks and extreme weather conditions like bushfires and rainstorms.

Designing and constructing off-grid houses powered by renewable forms of energy takes a lot of craftsmanship and know-how. Every single detail matters–from the insects that live outside the front door to the location’s natural climate and weather conditions. For Anderson Architecture, constructing their latest Off Grid House in the native bushlands of the Blue Mountains in Australia came with its own slew of challenges, but as they describe, “a site’s chief problem should always be the source of its key innovation.”

Operable without a backup generator, the Off Grid House is a bi-level home that’s essentially split into two sections. The two sections of the Off Grif House appear as two steeply pitched skillion-roofed boxes facing opposite directions and providing entirely different functions for passive insulation and energy generation. One of the roofed boxes, the sun-lit box, serves as the home’s sleeping quarters, storing the ample sunlight and heat during the day to keep the bedroom warm at night. Then, the escarpment-facing box is on the other side of things, receiving little to no direct sunlight during the day. These opposing orientations leave room for the roof’s 6.7KW solar system that generates power for everything from the underfloor heating and general electricity.

Additional heat is provided by a small wood-burning fireplace located in the home’s living area. Considering the termites that populate the Blue Mountains, Anderson Architecture built the Off Grid House out of concrete to ensure the pests don’t boor their way into the living room. Throughout the interior and exterior of the Off Grid House, the boundary between indoors and outdoors is blurred with sliding glass partitions, and an outdoor awning that retracts to form a semi-outdoor space or folds down to create a strictly indoor space.

Taking the local trend of wild bushfires into consideration, Anderson Architecture built a retractable metal screen to protect the home from extreme weather conditions. Describing the need for added protection against bushfires, Anderson Architecture describe,

“Low-carbon fiber cement board cladding and decking give the added appearance of timber with the durability of a high bushfire attack BAL 40 & BAL FZ house design performance. Keen to trial additional weather protection measures, we designed an experimental 2.4m external metal screen here. This acts as a wall that can be winched away out of sight is deployed as heavy rain protection, or could be lowered completely as a BAL FZ (flame zone) barrier in the event of a fire.” Then, when it rains, the roofs feed rainwater to water tanks that cap out at 30,000L.

Designer: Anderson Architecture

The outdoor deck creates a cozy semi-outdoor leisure area. 

Inside, clean lines and neutral color schemes provide the house with a calming ambiance. 

The post This net-zero off-grid home generates solar power to keep it running for the ultimate sustainable lifestyle! first appeared on Yanko Design.

British architecture studio Stufish has revealed the first image of a temporary performance venue that is set to host Swedish pop group ABBA’s reunion tour at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.

Set to be built from mass timber, the 3,000 capacity arena will host the band’s virtual reunion tour from 27 May 2022, following the release of ABBA Voyage – the band’s first album in nearly four decades.

The six-sided arena, designed by Stufish, will be built on a rarely used coach park next to Pudding Mill station on the Dockland Light Railway.

Designed to be both demountable and transportable the arena has permission to be located in east London for five years.

Venue will see ABBA perform for the first time in 40 years

Although few details of the arena have been released, it has been designed to host a virtual tour that will see ABBA band members performing as “digital avatars” designed by Industrial Light & Magic.

As well as the concert hall, the site will include a box office, stalls, toilets, bars, storage and backstage facilities.

“ABBA’s breath-taking arena delivers the perfect setting for ABBA Voyage, offering you a live music experience like no other,” ABBA Voyage said in a statement.

“The venue is built around ABBA’s timeless music and never-before-seen concert, so you can have the time of your life in general admission or have the option of a seat in the auditorium if you prefer. You can even party in style in your own dance booth.”

Arena set to be demountable and transportable

A March 2020 committee report by the London Legacy Development Corporation states that approval for the demountable and transportable arena has been granted for five years.

Alongside the temporary requirement, the report outlines that “the main building would be hexagonal in form, with the massing informed by the geometry of the seating”.

Stufish has created other performance venues in locations around the world. On Hengqin Island, China the studio wrapped a theatre in a gold facade, mimicking the form of traditional circus tents.

The studio has also worked on stage sets for numerous leading musicians including the Rolling Stones. The studio recently installed a rotating 10-metre sphere in the middle of the stage for British pop band Take That.

The post Stufish designing hexagonal arena for ABBA reunion tour appeared first on Dezeen.

The World Trade Center terrorist attacks threw the safety of skyscrapers into the spotlight, but since then they have become taller and more ambitious. As part of our 9/11 anniversary series, we look at how skyscrapers design has changed over the past 20 years.

Following the attack on the Twin Towers on 11 September 2011, which caused the pair of 110-storey skyscrapers in lower Manhattan to collapse, many people questioned the future of tall buildings.

“We thought [9/11] would put an end to the ambitions to build tall for a long time,” said James von Klemperer, president of Kohn Pedersen Fox, which is responsible for designing four of the world’s 10 tallest skyscrapers.

However, instead, there has been a surge of skyscraper buildings in the past 20 years.

“It’s not a question of opinion, the fact is it hasn’t stopped us from building tall,” Von Klemperer told Dezeen. “Since then, more tall buildings have been built than existed before.”

“So you could say it’s kind of a renaissance of tall building design and development that happened after September 11.”

“Idea of skyscrapers as a symbol of progress has really never gone away”

Alongside a surge in the number of tall buildings over the past 20 years, the height of skyscrapers being built has also dramatically increased.

According to Ken Lewis, partner at architecture studio SOM, which designed the world’s tallest building, “one of the most significant changes” to skyscraper design over the last two decades has been the rise of supertalls – buildings that are over 300 metres in height.

“The immediate response to 9/11 as it relates to skyscrapers was that no one would ever want to build above a tabletop again,” Lewis told Dezeen.

“Obviously that has not been the case, in fact, the proliferation of supertalls around the world has been unprecedented.”

“In 2000, there were about 25 supertall skyscrapers in the world,” he continued. “Today, there are more than 200, with many more under construction. The idea of skyscrapers as a symbol of progress and power has really never gone away.”

Eui-Sung Yi, partner at Los Angeles and New York-based Morphosis, told Dezeen that the 9/11 attacks directly led to the creation of ambitious supertall buildings.

“The reason why the towers were targeted was because of their symbolic and iconic stature,” he told Dezeen.

“So that reason a skyscraper exists has not gone away, and if anything it probably proliferated it.”

Attacks brought building security to “front and centre”

Assisting this increase in skyscrapers and supertalls have been significant improvements made to both their physical and operational security.

Some architects attribute this directly to 9/11, which Chris Lepine, director at UK studio Zaha Hadid Architects, said placed security and life safety at the “front and centre” in the immediate aftermath.

“Physically, protection to the base of a building with vehicle barriers and blast-resistant cladding was a predominant criterion,” he told Dezeen.

“Logistics and building access were scrutinized with no parking below sensitive portions of any building.”

KPF‘s Von Klemperer believes this led to a proliferation of closed-off buildings that became “untenable as citizens in the cast of characters in the city”.

As such, architects now have to work “extra hard to look for ways to contribute to the well being of the public” when incorporating security measures into a building, he said.

Techniques include disguising bollards as seating and implementing smart building technologies such as facial recognition that track building occupants without slowing their entry.

“No one wants to build an unwelcoming fortress,” added Lepine. “So clever solutions continue to be developed with security systems greatly enhanced by smart technologies that control all levels of building access.”

Egress route designs were revisited

In SOM partner Lewis’ opinion, “the most direct way that [9/11] impacted skyscraper design is not viewable from the outside”, with many countries beginning to collaborate on sharing building codes and best practices for skyscraper designs.

“The aftermath of that day precipitated the incorporation of international building codes into the local codes around the world,” he said.

“Today, there is extensive overlap among building codes everywhere. The fact that there is a more universal standard has allowed architects and structural engineers to share information and lessons about successes and efficiencies in core and life-safety design.”

Georgina Robledo, associate partner at UK studio Roger Stirk Harbour + Partners, which designed a skyscraper on the World Trade Center site, told Dezeen that one of the biggest changes to the building codes relates to egress following a review of the evacuation of the Twin Towers.

There were only a few narrow staircases in the World Trade Center, which led to a slow evacuation after the attacks.

Scissor stairs are now discouraged and more logical pathways to multiple egress points are required. Wider stairways and backup lighting have also become mandatory.

A dedicated elevator that is protected for firefighters to use in an emergency is increasingly common, alongside lifts for occupant evacuation as an alternative to stairways.

“So there are alternate means of egress and the separation of those,” Robledo said. “So you can always enter a stair core, and if that stair in the lower levels gets compromised, you can re-enter the floorplate and change.”

The elevator technology used in skyscrapers has also vastly improved in terms of velocity and efficiency in moving people across floors, meaning people can be moved out of a building quicker than before.

High-strength concrete has become commonplace

The materials that are used to build skyscrapers have also been reconsidered in the past 20 years. The building cores that contain these egress routes are now typically built with high-strength fireproof concrete.

At the original World Trade Center, the stair cores of the Twin Towers were contained within low-strength Gypsum-board sheets or drywall. Following the attacks, this meant they disintegrated at the impact zones and trapped building occupants above them.

“9/11 really drove home the critical nature of the building’s core and of everything that is within the core,” said SOM partner Lewis.

High-strength concrete cores are now commonplace, and large amounts of specially designed reinforcing bars are typically incorporated to help shield them.

Staircases in modern skyscrapers are highly pressurised too, meaning they prevent smoke from seeping through closed doors to better facilitate escape and firefighting access.

“The hardening and the pressurisation of the stairs allow for space that is ventilated, but is not compromised by the risk of smoking during a fire event,” Robledo added.

Built-in redundancy used to prevent collapse

Over the past two decades, engineers have also developed ways to create structures with built-in redundancy – meaning skyscrapers are typically designed against progressive collapse.

Progressive collapse is the structural failure of a building that results when a key structural element fails and causes the failure of adjoining elements. This is what happened at the World Trade Centre following the attacks, as the fires and high temperatures that resulted from the collisions led to sagging floor plates and in turn, the buckling of the steel structure.

Adrian Smith, who designed the world’s tallest building while working at SOM and co-founded skyscraper specialist studio Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, said that built-in redundancy prevents structural failure as damaged elements transfer their load elsewhere.

“If there was another plane strike on a supertall, the idea is that if it takes out a column or so that the other columns are strong enough themselves to pick up the load that’s displaced by the missing structure,” Smith told Dezeen.

This played a big part in Smith’s design of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, which began construction just three years after the terrorist attacks.

“Bigger effort” to create mixed-use highrises

Other changes to skyscraper design over the past 20 years that are not attributed to the events of 9/11 include the increase of towers with a mixed-use programme, rather than those dedicated solely to offices.

Morphosis partner Ung Joo Scott Lee said this is one of the most positive changes in skyscraper design as it ensures that these structures are a benefit to the wider community.

“From a positive point of view, I think the discussion of the tower typology has changed a lot into one where programmatically, how do you make things that can help the communal aspect of a tower,” he told Dezeen.

“There’s a much bigger effort in cautiously understanding how to truly create mixed-use tall towers…to allow multiple tenants and different kinds of spaces to come together.”

Skyscraper design conducted “in a virtual world”

Envelope design has also improved, with the aim of enhancing the environmental performance of skyscrapers.

“The performance of the envelope has been enhanced, and that allows for better solar control, better energy efficiency on these buildings,” Robledo explained.

“It’s about energy efficiency,” she continued. “You are at a point that the higher you go, the less of the context you have to create shadow or to create protection.”

According to SOM partner Lewis, this improvement has been guided by digital technology, which ensures towers can be built “in a way that makes more economic sense than it used to”.

“Computational design has advanced so much that we are able to work on these supertalls in a way that is far more efficient – iterating them hundreds, if not thousands, of times more than we could at any point in the past,” he explained.

“The design is done fully three-dimensionally in a virtual world in which we create digital twins for operational and environmental efficiency.”

9/11 anniversary

This article is part of Dezeen’s 9/11 anniversary series marking the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

The main photo is by Ahmed Galal via Unsplash.

The post 9/11 led to “a renaissance of tall building design” say skyscraper designers appeared first on Dezeen.

They say that big things come in small packages, and that certainly stands true for EDCs! EDCs may seem small in size, but they are mighty in their functionality and use! These smart little tools can come in handy anytime anywhere, helping you out of the trickiest situations, and sometimes even quite possibly saving lives! You could be carrying an EDC for days with no real use until, in a time of need, it’ll magically come to your rescue, proving its true value. These little superheroes can make a world of difference while completing tasks. And, we’ve curated the best EDC designs we’ve seen in a while! From a wearable multitool EDC shaped like a ring to an extremely rugged EDC pen that works in a temperature range of  -30°F to 250°F – these innovative product designs promise to have your back no matter what!

Meet the Tool Ring, a finger-worn EDC that can do everything from open bottles and boxes to tighten screws, and even sign documents while you’re at it. The uniquely shaped ring comes with space to dock various hex-shape bits, making it possibly the smallest toolkit in the world. The Tool Ring is exactly the kind of product you get from someone like Vanik Piliguian, an Industrial Designer born in a family of jewelers. Made from titanium the ring acts as a holder for the Tool Ring’s ecosystem of hex-bits, which include a Philips-head screwdriver, a ballpoint pen, a box-cutter, and a flashlight. Independently, the ring sits comfortably on your finger and even has a unique appearance that is also capable of being used as a mini pry tool for opening lids.

The limited-edition Searcher Orange Camp Supplies Kit from VSSL features 72 EDC camping essentials that range from a set of navigational tools to a mini first aid kit, so you’ll always be prepared to rough it in the woods. Made from waterproof, military-grade aluminum, the Searcher Orange Camp Supplies Kit stores all the tools and starter kits you need in an indestructible vessel. Consolidated into canisters the size of hockey pucks, the Searcher Orange Camp Supplies Kit comes loaded with more than ten mini survival packs that carry everything from navigational tools to fishing supplies. Portable by design, VSSL’s Supplies Kit comes with a lid that doubles as a Suunto Compass, which is also considered one of the most trusted navigational tools on the market and carries the rest of the supply kits inside.

For any situation in life, you need to be ready with the right tool at the right time. The Leatherman Curl EDC inspired by the Wave Plus does exactly that with a touch of style. This multi-tool carries the essence of the Portland, Oregon-based origins established more than 37 years ago. Made out of 100 percent stainless steel material, the pocket tool is just the right palm-sized utility that’s so wantable. What piqued my interest about this multi-tool is the unification of 15 tools into a slim package weighing just 7.5-ounce. Leatherman has truly ticked all the right checkboxes here to appeal to a wide array of audiences. And be rest assured about its performance for a long time – after all it comes with a 25-year warranty. Virtually making it last a lifetime!

According to data shared by Professional Footballers’ Association, a huge number of players are now seeking help for mental health issues ranging from performance, competition, to acceptance. Since there is no existing product that addresses the issues governing mental health directly, Breathe, is a device designed specifically to help footballers prevent anxiety. The handy gadget designed by Varun Anand is a fidget EDC/tool that uses buttons. The oval plastic body features soft foam material on the underside which mimics the shiatsu massage technique. The entire device works as a solution to help the user stay calm and relaxed pre and post-game, improving the player’s overall performance.

A 14 key organizer EDC that doubles as a Tile tracker for gadgets and accessories. It also functions as a flashlight – making it an essential tool to have in your pocket. Meet the KeySmart Max smart key organizer that brings to the EDC world a distinct USP with its sleek design and features hand-picked for those precarious times. Designed by STEL Design the EDC is at core a key organizer that performs double duty as an accessory to locate your lost gadgets or important things. The multitool is loaded with Tile Smart Technology to track the location of gadgets, you have a knack of losing every now and then. For example key fobs, wallet, phone, or anything else that matters the most.

Whether you’re a field journalist or a Wilderness First Responder (WFR), a waterproof pen could come in handy on a daily basis. The Tactiv Bolt Action Pen is loaded with Rite-In-The-Rain® permanent ink that can write underwater and in extreme weather conditions for temperatures ranging from -30°F to 250°F. The bolt action trigger also dislodges and retracts the pen tip in a clean, quick swoop to echo the feel of loading a rifle – simply, push, turn, and release. The premium housing for the pen is also built from a hefty combination of aluminum, stainless steel, and polished copper, offering the same tactile experience of the rifle it was inspired by, the M16A4 Series 5.56mm Rifle. Built from aluminum, stainless steel, and polished copper, the Tactiv Bold Action Pen is designed for the outdoors.

A utility knife is one essential EDC virtually everyone has used at some point in their life. But this particular knife variation brings a unique trick to the show, one that will make you think, why hasn’t anyone thought of this already? The tool doubles as a scraper knife for getting rid of those hard-to-remove adhesive marks, old paint stains from furniture, labels from windows and mirrors, or anything stubborn that’s getting hard to get rid of across multiple surfaces. The switchblade-inspired form gets flipped by 90 degrees, giving it a horizontal orientation that a scraper needs. This simple yet effective transformation comes in handy for anyone who works with hand-made designs. And yes, the blade comes with an easily replaceable design once the sharpness wears out.

Meet Modulor, as the name suggests, a modular power bank concept that comes with swappable components to go beyond an ordinary power bank. These external modules fit into place securely, courtesy of the magnetic pogo pins. The modular design is reinforced by an internal skeleton system – on which you can easily swap in modules like LED light or storage for transferring data. Physically, the action mimics inserting a battery into your phone or a camera – everything fits in its place with a reason. The Modulor is designed to hold a 5W LED Light Module capable of 6000K color temperature for finding things in the dark or using it as a flashlight. Then there is the 32B flash drive module having 35Mb/s reading speed and a wireless Qi charging pad attachment having a 7.5W charging rate.

Here enters the Zootility ST-2 foldable pocket knife into the spotlight, reinforced with a unibody design thanks to the screw-less form factor. The multi-tool is a mere 0.080 inches thick, measures 3.51-inches in the closed configuration, and the open mode extends to 5.8-inches. ST-2 is crafted out of 440C stainless steel material, so you can bank on its strength for cutting even the hardest of materials with utter ease. One exciting feature of this EDC that will be important for frequent travelers is the patented FlyOff technology that allows you to remove the blade from the body quickly and forfeit it when you forget to take it out of your pocket at the airport. You’ll be able to get the replacement blade with ease, saving you from all the trouble.

Designed as a heavy-duty carabiner-leash, the GPCA X Clip PRO is, well, for heavy-duty dogs. It comes with a CNC-machined 360clip that easily clips onto any dog collar or harness, offering a better user experience than traditional clasps, which are fiddly and fragile at best. The 360clip is thicker and comes machined out of solid stainless steel. It clips onto any D-ring with absolute ease, and a diamond-knurled grip makes it easy to maneuver for humans, allowing you to slip it on or off with ease. The 360clip even supports a special no-pull leash looping formation, formulated via the GPCA team. By simply allowing you to loop the leash around the dog’s front legs before clipping it to the D-ring, the no-pull formation forces the dog to turn sideways every time they pull too hard against the leash.