Hasta La Ideas

Bjarke Ingels Group and Barcode Architects collaborated to create ‘Sluishuis’ – an angular residential complex placed above the IJ Lake in Amsterdam. The structure’s sharp geometric ends meet in the air, water, and land, creating a mesmerizing structure that seems to be jutting into the sky while resembling the bow of a ship! It is constructed on an artificial island in the IJ Lake and forms a geometrically-intriguing gateway from the lake.

Designer: Bjarke Ingels Group x Barcode Architects

“Our Sluishuis is conceived as a city block of downtown Amsterdam floating in the IJ lake, complete with all aspects of city life. Towards the city, the building kneels down to invite visitors to climb its roof and enjoy the panoramic view of the new neighborhoods on the IJ,” said BIG founding partner Bjarke Ingels.

Sluishuis was built while paying respect to the naval history of the Netherlands, and the fact that water plays a major role in the city of Amsterdam. BIG wanted to celebrate this heritage, and Amsterdam’s relationship with water while constructing the structure. The residential complex consists of 442 apartments – both owner-occupied and rental. You get stunning views from every side and angle of the building. You can quite literally sip your morning tea while watching boats sail beneath you!  “We have tried to design a building with a surprisingly changing perspective and a unique contemporary character, which reflects the identity of the future residents and all users of Sluishuis,” said Dirk Peters, a founding partner at Barcode Architects.

Four large blocks make up the entire development. Two blocks are positioned on either side of the square. They are cantilevered to create a unique opening above the water. While the other two blocks form terraces with apartments opening out on top balconies. All four blocks are positioned around a courtyard, which leads to the water. A sailing school, a water sports center, and a restaurant with a terrace are placed on the ground floor. The blocks above the ground floor include apartments of different sizes – from studios to penthouses. The two floors on the top hold the duplex penthouses.

All the apartments have been equipped with triple-glazing, great insulation, and heat recovery from the showers and ventilation systems. In fact, the entire building is solar-powered! The energy is provided by 2200 square meters of solar panels. The energy-neutral structure has also been amped with plenty of green areas and a floating garden.

BIG’s Sluishuis is an excellent example of how large structures can be built without disrupting the environment and by paying respect to Mother Earth.

The post BIG designs an energy efficient residential complex in Amsterdam shaped like the bow of a ship first appeared on Yanko Design.

“We’re here to turn sci-fi concepts into reality,” says co-founder Nick Tidball

From launching the world’s first solar jacket that can store and re-emit light to creating the first jacket made from the aerospace material graphene, Vollebak revolutionizes clothing through science and technology. Today, they set a new precedent once again as the creators of the world’s first Thermal Camouflage Jacket, a computer-programmable piece of outerwear designed to make the body disappear in front of infrared cameras. While the development is still a prototype, the jacket lays the foundation for and proves the viability of an invisibility cloak.

The jacket—which is a culmination of three years of research between Vollebak, the National Graphene Institute and the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre at the University of Manchester—comprises 42 patches of graphene that can be controlled with a microcomputer to emit different levels of thermal radiation that don’t change the garment’s temperature. Critically, each patch—made up of over 100 layers of pure graphene—can be programmed individually, enabling the jacket to blend into its surroundings.

Gold and copper wires are printed on polyimide film which run from the patches to a microcontroller on the jacket which is attached to a computer. When code is uploaded, a specified voltage is delivered to each patch which forces ions between the graphene layers and thus reduces thermal radiation and makes the jacket appear colder. As graphene is highly tunable, manipulating its color (which is controlled via density) is also possible, furthering the proof-of-concept of an invisibility cloak that can disappear to the naked eye.

“Over the last six years we’ve been exploring the role clothing will play in the near and far future, focusing on how the clothes we wear can equip us for things like space exploration, disease resistance, climate change and even the end of the world,” says Vollebak co-founder Nick Tidball. “Working on the moonshot of invisibility has always been top of our list. We’re here to turn sci-fi concepts into reality.” With ideas of scaling up their technology to create invisible planes and cars, Vollebak’s mystical future certainly feels within grasp.

Images courtesy of Vollebak/Sun Lee

Kinshasa, Congo-born and Montreal, Canada-based recording artist Pierre Kwenders (aka José Louis Modabi) shares a moody new video for “Kilimanjaro,” a genre- and language-bending track from his latest album José Louis And The Paradox Of Love. Traversing jazz, Congolese rumba, electronic pop and funk—and shifting from French to English to Lingala—the LP’s ninth track is sultry and pulsating as it unfurls with varied tempos and melodies. The new video is just as captivating, seeing Kwenders perform live under an entrancing spotlight and disco ball.

The metaverse might baffle many adults, but kids with wider and wilder imaginations might be able to wrap their heads around the concept better than their elders. In particular, younger people have already been enjoying a preview of these virtual worlds through games like Minecraft and Roblox. Of course, the metaverse is more than just a game and involves the interaction between the physical and the digital in some manner. That might be the part that stumps these young ones, so Walmart is embarking on an adventure that will get kids used to this aspect of the metaverse by bringing its brand and shopping experience to Roblox.

Designer: Walmart

Roblox is a child-friendly platform that lets kids (and even adults) unleash their creativity by building virtual objects, lands, and even games within the game. It’s pretty much like Minecraft but with more pixels, a bit more freedom, and plenty of safeguards to protect young users. Because of its open world design, it is practically a form of the metaverse that can be experienced without headsets. Naturally, it is also a fertile ground for establishing metaverse-related activities, like selling virtual goods and dealing in virtual money.

That’s the kind of opportunity that Walmart is now trying to grab with the announcement of two new experiences within the larger Roblox world. As the name suggests, the Universe of Play is an experience that revolves around playful activities, particularly toys. Virtual toys, of course. The highlight of this experience is Walmart’s blimp which will be showering Roblox users with a regular drop of toys to add to their collection.

Walmart Land, by comparison, is a more expansive metaverse setup. It has a place for music festivals, for example, something that is already common in Roblox. There is also a House of Style where kids can have fun discovering the world of fashion. Despite their different themes, both Walmart Land and Universe of Play experiences revolve around the concept of virtual merchandise or “verch” as a way for users to dress up and accessorize their avatars. Just like in a typical metaverse setting, these products have ties to real-world Walmart goods, except they’re exclusive to Roblox.

Walmart’s entry into the nascent metaverse ecosystem isn’t exactly surprising, but its decision to target a younger audience might ruffle a few feathers. It is inevitable that today’s kids will be the metaverse users of the future, so familiarizing them with concepts of virtual merchandise this early might not be a bad idea. That said, platforms like Roblox are already in danger of becoming a target of less conscientious companies, so new experiences focused on raising consumeristic mindsets might not sit well with some parents and guardians.

The post Walmart wants to wean kids on the metaverse through shopping and Roblox first appeared on Yanko Design.

US studio Deegan-Day Design & Architecture has designed a California weekend home to hold strong against wildfire and capitalise on views.

Located near the city of Malibu, the 4/Way House sits on a southeast-facing ridge in the Santa Monica Mountains, in a community called Topanga.

Joe Day – a founder of local studio Deegan-Day Design & Architecture – bought the property with his wife, Nina Hachigian, in the 1990s following a devastating wildfire in the area that destroyed 20,000 acres of land. The disaster led to a drop in property values, which made buying a 2.5-acre site there feasible for the young couple.

Construction didn’t begin until 2008, and work happened incrementally over the years. The project was finally completed last year.

The design not only makes the most of the rolling landscape and scenic views, it takes a defensive stance against the threat of wildfire.

“The retreat mediates between competing topography and sight lines, and between the allure and danger of life in Topanga,” said the studio.

In plan, the home consists of two offset bars that are nudged into the hillside and encircled by terraces.

“Surrounding terraces act as both fire buffer and a complement of outdoor rooms,” the team said.

The bars are covered with an irregularly shaped zinc roof that folds over the side walls and acts as a “fire blanket”.

Structurally, the house is supported by a complex web of steel trusses. The base is made of concrete.

The home’s low position on its street, makes it one of the first structures that will confront a wildfire racing up the ridge – a consideration that emerged early in the design process.

“We assessed first what would be left to rebuild if 4/Way did burn, and how the site might shield other homes and safely serve firefighters,” the team said.

Within the home, large stretches of glass offer views of the landscape, yet the two-storey house sits low enough to preserve views for upslope neighbours.

The upper level contains the primary bedroom suite and a study, while the lower floor holds a living room with a “conversation pit”, a kitchen and dining area, and a guest room. The house totals 2,250 square feet (209 square metres).

Interior finishes include raw concrete and birch plywood.

The team designed most of the interior fittings and decor, including an angular table in the conversation pit, a stair railing that doubles as shelving and built-in bedroom furnishings.

The project’s name, 4/Way House, was inspired by four “rotations” that were integrated into the design.

One entailed shifting the house to offer a view of Santa Monica Bay, and another involved configuring trusses to support the angular roof.

A third rotation concerns the layout of cabinetry and the transition between levels in the house.

The fourth refers to the home’s detached carport, which sits downhill from the main residence and has a roof that lifts upward, enabling it to double as a movie screen.

While currently used as a weekend retreat, there are plans to make 4/Way House a full-time residence.

Other California homes designed with wildfires in mind include a house near Lake Tahoe by Faulkner Architects that is clad in non-combustible materials and a Sonoma County house by Mork-Ulnes Architects that features fire-resistant materials and access for fire trucks.

The photography is by Taiyo Watanabe.

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