Hasta La Ideas

Canadian architecture studio Hariri Pontarini has completed a clinic in Toronto for multiple sclerosis patients that features warm wood tones and spaces designed to feel like “first-class airplane lounges”.

The Barlo MS Centre is Canada’s largest clinic dedicated to those with MS, a complex autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system.

Named after its two biggest donors, the Barford and Love families, the centre occupies the top two floors of a new 17-storey tower at St Michael’s Hospital in Downtown Toronto.

The 30,000-square-foot (2,790-square-metre) facility was designed by local studio Hariri Pontarini Architects, which aimed to rethink sterile-looking healthcare spaces and focus on patient wellbeing through the use of atypical colours, materials, textures and lighting.

“Canadians are particularly prone to MS for reasons that are unclear,” said the studio.

“This hospital’s mission is nothing less than to transform MS care and become the world’s leading MS centre through research and clinical treatment.”

Taking cues from the hospitality industry, the team aimed to create a “comfortable and welcoming environment” by filling the spaces with daylight and offering views of the skyline.

The two floors are connected by a double-height atrium, topped with an oculus that allows more natural light in from above.

A staircase rises up through the atrium, curving towards the top with a glass balustrade to follow the shape of the opening.

Downstairs, the atrium connects to a lounge at the corner of the building and a reception area anchored by a curved white counter.

A wide corridor leads past a series of cylindrical consultation rooms that are partially glazed, but screened where they face the circulation area by wavy walnut panels.

On the other side of the floor plan, smaller and more open consultation booths named infusion pods are still offered privacy with curved pale wood screens.

“The infusion pods where patients may sit for up to eight hours are modelled to resemble a first-class airplane lounge and provide complete control over their environment,” the Hariri Pontarini team said.

Various light-toned woods are used for wall panels and balustrades, as well as thin slats that extend across the ceilings.

All spaces were designed with durability and accessibility in mind, considering that some MS patients have vision and cognitive loss, fatigue and impaired coordination.

Bronze-coloured handrails were installed along the majority of walls and partitions, while anti-slip porcelain tiles cover the floors to aid patient mobility.

The centre also includes a gym, a mock apartment adapted for MS patients, and rooms for meetings, research and administration.

Together, it provides patients with a space to see a dedicated healthcare team in one location and clinicians the state-of-the-art resources to offer the best possible treatment.

Hariri Pontarini Architects was founded by Siamak Hariri and David Pontarini in 1994.

One of the studio’s most recognisable buildings is the Bahá’í temple in Chile, featuring torqued wings made of steel and glass, while its work closer to home includes the glass-wrapped Tom Patterson Theatre in Stratford, Ontario.

The Bar MS Centre is one of five projects shortlisted in the Leisure and Wellness Interior category of the Dezeen Awards 2022, along with a Shenzhen cinema and a spa in the Maldives.

See the full Interiors shortlist and vote now for your favourites.

The photography is by A-Frame.

The post Hariri Pontarini rethinks cold medical interiors at Barlo MS Centre appeared first on Dezeen.

Since its foundation in 1976, Apple has been always been at the peak of modern innovation! The groundbreaking tech giant never fails to surprise us, we always find ourselves biting our nails and squirming with curiosity, whenever Apple announces a new product launch! My Apple devices are some of my most prized possessions – in the sense that I simply cannot do without them! My MacBook holds all the documents and data I hold holy in my life, whereas my iPhone stores the details of every single person I know. I would truly be lost without my gadgets. As ingenious as Apple products can be, it’s always fun to amp them up with a few exciting accessories. From luxurious + eco-friendly iPhone 14 cases to an accessory that allows your iPhone to be used as a webcam for your MacBook – these innovative accessories are the perfect sidekicks to Apple’s new launches!

1. SCIO

Taking inspiration from Sony’s QX10 and QX100 modular camera lenses, SCIO is a mirrorless lens that simply attaches to your iPhone via MagSafe. Snap it on and your smartphone is now a professional shooter capable of much more realistic portrait shots and telephoto images. Combine this with Apple’s own computational photography chops and the SCIO turns the iPhone into easily the best camera a consumer can own, without breaking the bank.

2. Mujjo’s iPhone 14 Cases

Mujjo has already created a collection of luxurious cases for the iPhone 14! The cases are supposed to be the company’s most eco-friendly ones to date. The cases are created from Ecco Leather, which is now Gold Rated by the Leather Working Group. The beautiful vegetable-tanned leather is produced in the Netherlands and provides a durable finish that will develop a patina over time, making each individual case unique. The interior of the case is lined with the finest Japanese microfibre – which is slim, lightweight, and yet extremely strong. It has a stunning satin-like finish which gives the case a really elegant and luxurious feel.

3. Apple AirTag Metal Carabiners

The AirTags can be pretty plain, perhaps even too plain, so these precision metal work carabiners try to give it a little more personality while also keeping your property safe and always within reach, even when they’re lost. Unlike typical metal carabiners, these AirTag carabiners aren’t made from melted metal poured into casting. Instead, each part is precision made from solid metal, carefully crafted by hand to produce a more solid and more durable product. Given those conditions, each item might have slight variations, resulting in something that is like a unique edition per piece.

4. The Neo Pro

Although third-party styluses almost always end up being trashy substitutes for the Apple Pencil, Adonit seems to have brought out the big guns with the Neo Pro – a stylus that looks and functions as close to the Apple Pencil as humanely possible. It glides across your iPad’s surface with the kind of precision and grace you’d expect from Apple’s own hardware and even snaps to the side of your iPad to charge magnetically and wirelessly. The Neo Pro is the only stylus that charges wirelessly off the iPad. It also comes with native palm rejection and replaceable nibs, and it even boasts tilt sensitivity – a feature that was only reserved for the Apple Pencil and Logitech’s Crayon stylus.

5. Belkin’s Continuity Camera Accessory

Belkin’s Continuity Camera accessory sounds like a fantastic idea, one that Apple enthusiasts in you would be gearing to try!  From how it appears, the Belkin device – in the making – is an all-white circular peripheral that attaches to the iPhone’s back with MagSafe. I’m not sure of the material it’s made from but presume it will be soft silicone so it leaves no scratches on the back of the Mac when it’s mounted. When attached to the Mac at the ideal spot where the webcam features, the Continuity Camera automatically activates to allow the iPhone to be used as the webcam.

6. Something

This is the coolest way to get that super cool translucent rear without shelling out money for the Nothing Phone (1). The device outfitter pros have created a line-up of cool case covers dubbed “Something” for the major flagships on the market. The attractive skin will be available for devices including the iPhone Pro Max, Pixel 6 Pro, and the Samsung S22 Ultra. Depending on the response for these devices, support for even more handsets is inevitable. Dbrand plans to release a Nintendo Switch version too which will be interesting for mobile gamers.

7. CaseBand’s Apple Watch Case

I’m pretty sure there’s a sizeable group of people who like the Apple Watch for its functionality but not for its looks. For that select bunch, CaseBand’s Apple Watch Case lets you switch out your smartwatch’s Silicon Valley aesthetic for something much more premium. With a premium rose-gold and anodized black finish, the Switch is simply a metal case that covers your existing apple watch, giving it a visual overhaul, without compromising on the watch’s capabilities. Each case encloses your Apple Watch’s main hardware unit, exposing the screen on the front in a way that’s still easy to access, while also keeping the sensors and charging points on the rear of the watch uncovered.

8. The G4 charger

The G4 charger is a wonderful throwback accessory that reminds me of that Elago charger that turned the Apple Watch into the Macintosh. Its design, however, doesn’t seem to have aged the way the Macintosh has. Even by today’s standards, the iMac G4 is an incredibly eye-catching device that you’re sure to be amazed by. The charger condenses that beauty down into a small device that is equally good at drawing your attention to the iPhone that sits on it.

9. Elago W4 Apple Watch stand

Dubbed Elago W4 Apple Watch stand, the retro dock as I said, is designed to bring added functionality with nostalgic charm to the bedside table. It’s not as colorful as the original iMac G3; it comes in two aqua blue and aqua pink colors, which should offer a near retro feel you’d like as an iMac fan. Coming to the functionality, the W4 stand works will all Apple Watch Series (1,2,3,4,5, SE, and 6) and it is compatible with Apple Watch Nightstand Mode.

10. The Slim Dock

Designed to look as sleek as something Apple itself would release (it’s an art that Satechi has wonderfully perfected), the Slim Dock upgrades your 24″ M1 iMac with extra ports and even extended SSD storage. The Slim Dock comes with the same machined aluminum outer as the iMac itself and is available in the default silver as well the anodized blue to match your blue iMac. Rest it on your iMac’s base and it looks almost like a part of the machine. Once plugged in, it gives your sleek iMac the two things it lacks – a whole host of ports and expandable storage!

The post Top 10 accessories that pair up perfectly with Apple’s new launches first appeared on Yanko Design.

For our latest lookbook, we’ve collected 10 brutalist interiors from the UK to Brazil and Indonesia that show how textiles, plants and colours can be used to soften monolithic concrete spaces and create a cosy atmosphere.

Brutalism as an architectural style often makes use of concrete to create large, sculptural buildings. These interiors in brutalist buildings feature plenty of concrete and hard angles but still manage to feel both warm and welcoming.

Colourful tiling, wooden details and tactile textiles as well as an abundance of green plants were used to create inviting living rooms, bathrooms and even workspaces in these brutalist buildings, which include the Barbican in London and Riverside Tower in Antwerp.

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring granite kitchens, terrazzo eateries and atriums that brighten up residential spaces.

A Brutalist Tropical Home, Indonesia, by Patisandhika and Dan Mitchell

Designer Dan Mitchell worked with architecture studio Patisandhika to create this brutalist home in Bali, which features a double-height living room filled with books, records and green plants.

The house has a split-level design that was modelled on modernist architect Ray Kappe’s Kappe Residence. Inside, colourful objects, textiles and furniture draw on the work of Clifford Still, Ellsworth Kelly and the Bauhaus movement to make the house feel homely.

Find out more about A Brutalist Tropical Home ›

House of Concrete Experiments, India, by Samira Rathod

As the name suggests, House of Concrete Experiments features sculptural concrete walls. Warm wood detailing offsets the grey hues, while the concrete floor has been inlaid with black stones to create an interesting pattern.

Large windows and geometric skylights help make the room feel bright and inviting.

Find out more about House of Concrete Experiments ›

Riverside Tower Apartment, Belgium, by Studio Okami Architecten

Studio Okami Architecten stripped the walls of this flat in Antwerp’s Riverside Tower to let its original structure take centre stage.

Colourful details such as a turquoise table and baby-blue spiral staircase and a playful, sculptural lamp make the home feel contemporary, while plenty of green plants give more life to the otherwise grey interior.

Find out more about Riverside Tower Apartment ›

Beton Brut, India, by The Grid Architects

Designed as a “neo-brutalist” house, Beton Brut in India has a number of dramatic features, including a skylit atrium that extends through the home.

The Grid Architects described the home as “typified by bare concrete, geometric shapes, a monochrome palette and a monolithic appearance”. Wooden flooring and furniture and plenty of textiles soften the house’s brutalist interior and potentially stern appearance.

Find out more about Beton Brut ›

Barbican flat, UK, by Takero Shimakazi Architects

This flat in the Shakespeare Tower of London’s brutalist Barbican estate was overhauled by Takero Shimakazi Architects in a nod to the client’s strong ties to Japan.

Details such as gridded timber panels and timber joinery were added throughout the flat, which also features Japan-informed details including an area lined with tatami mats.

Find out more about the Barbican flat ›

Concrete home, Brazil, by Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura

Debaixo do Bloco’s design for this sculptural house in Brazil is divided into three sections to provide a clear distinction between the various programmes.

Inside, the interior has a mid-century modern feel, with gleaming wood parquet flooring and a glass PH table lamp by Danish designer Louis Poulsen decorating a side table.

Find out more about the concrete home ›

Smithson Tower office, UK, by ConForm

The brutalist Smithson Tower in Mayfair is the location for this “homely” office designed by ConForm Architects. The studio split the space into eight zones defined by the strong structural grid of the existing building, and added low-level joinery.

The result is a design that softens the stark office spaces and makes the rooms feel more intimate.

Find out more about the Smithson Tower office ›

The Standard London, UK, by Shawn Hausman

Designer Shawn Hausman created the colour-drenched interior of hotel The Standard in London, which is located in a brutalist building, to contrast “the greyness of London”.

“I would say with this property we were a bit more colourful than usual, and I think part of that is acting in contrast to the brutalist building that the hotel’s in,” explained Hausman.

In the bathrooms, stripy pink-and-black tiled walls and pops of pale mint green give the room a fun, playful feel.

Find out more about The Standard London ›

Preston Hollow, US, by Specht Architects

The long corrugated concrete volumes of Preston Hollow in Dallas were designed to reference brutalist Texan architecture from the 1950s and 60s, but the house was built to wrap around courtyards, creating a lively, open impression.

Inside the low-slung buildings, mid-century modern-style furniture nods to the home’s architectural references but the interior is brought up-to-date with the addition of modern art.

Find out more about Preston Hollow ›

Barbican apartment, UK, by John Pawson

British architect John Pawson created this flat in London’s Barbican building using his signature minimalist aesthetic.

The flat, which overlooks central London and has a small concrete balcony, has been kept almost empty with just a smattering of furnishings and pale wooden surfaces. Three artworks, a Buddha sculpture and a grandfather clock are the only decorative elements in the space.

Find out more about the Barbican apartment ›

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring granite kitchens, terrazzo eateries and atriums that brighten up residential spaces.

The post Ten beautiful brutalist interiors with a surprisingly welcoming feel appeared first on Dezeen.

Life would be so much simpler if we all followed certain standards like paper sizes, date formats, or screw head shapes. While a good majority of furniture and electronics do use a small subset of screws available in the world, you never know when you’ll actually come across one that your two or three screwdrivers can’t handle. There are, of course, a variety of screwdriver sets or universal tools with interchangeable bits to cover almost all those, but all of them take up precious space in your toolbox or bag. You can only do so much to get a true universal screwdriver you can easily carry even inside your pocket without compromising on quality. You might be shocked, then, to see this multi-functional screwdriver that can fit in the palm of your hand, proving its right to be called the ScrewDriverKing.

Designer: Chiseled Design

Click Here to Buy Now: $89 $199 ($110 off). Hurry, only 5/200 left!

The problem with screws is that there are just too many kinds that require not only different bits but sometimes even different lengths of screwdrivers. You might assume that everything can be handled by a conventional screwdriver with a long shank, but there are times when you need to get even closer for more precise movement. This kind of variety and having too many variables is what makes it difficult to have a single tool that handles them all in a truly portable package.

Just like a powerful monarch, that is no problem for the ScrewDriverKing, which manages to solve that and more using the most ingenious design possible. Yes, it still has all the heads you’ll need to cover any kind of screw out there, and, yes, it still has a long double-ended hex socket (1/4″ & 5/16″) when you need it. The difference is that all of these tools are crammed into a compact body that is barely 4 inches in length, small enough to fit in your hand or keep in your pocket. You no longer have to worry about carrying a pouch or box with you all the time.

The secret to this seemingly impossible feat isn’t just the modularity of the ScrewDriverKing, but also in how all the bits and pieces fit inside the handle. Flip the shank around, and it stores inside the driver’s hollow body. All the screw bits, on the other hand, slide into the driver’s handle. The handle is ergonomically designed with a seamless anti-slip comfort that enables you to adeptly use all of the screw-bits as grip leverage. It facilitates an air circulation process through the tool grooves, allowing the air to pass through on both ends and keeping both the tool and hand dry for a long period of time. Everything you need is in one place, so you don’t have to worry about leaving some bits behind.

File Tool – Can be used to smooth sharp edges for those of us looking for perfection.

Box Cutter – Capable of opening your packages.

Circular Bubble Level – This allows you to center the position of the screwdriver.

Rulers – Implemented two rulers in both inches and metric.

The tool, however, isn’t just the King of all screwdrivers. It’s also the king of multi-tools. Despite its small size, it actually has multiple functions, including a filing tool on the double-ended hex socket that can hold both 1/4″ and 5/16″ screws bits, rulers in both imperial & metric units, and 27 different size screw-bits that’ll adapt to any project you might have. There is even a magnetic cap that serves as a bubble leveler that can precisely measure both horizontal and vertical surfaces. As a bonus, that cap has 9 different sizes of spoke-wrench, including a DT Swiss Tricon wheel (T20). Even with all these powerful features, the ScrewDriverKing is also carefully designed to be safe around children. The bits will not come off easily thanks to a magnetic slide-lock design, but adults can open it without trouble using a thumbs-up gesture.

The ScrewDriverKing is almost like a puzzle where every part has some function to be discovered. The parts can be used as storage but also as a standalone tool. True to its moniker, the tool’s gold color gives it a sense of royalty, and it’s complemented by that multi-functional cap that’s shaped like a crown. Given the royal treatment you’d be getting, the $89 Super Early Bird price tag definitely feels like it was made with commoners in mind. With this 40+ Tools-in-one screwdriver, you’ll definitely feel like the king of everyday repairs and everything else where there’s a loose screw waiting to be conquered.

Click Here to Buy Now: $89 $199 ($110 off). Hurry, only 4/199 left!

The post The screwdriver to rule them all comes in a shockingly compact body first appeared on Yanko Design.

Outdoor furniture is a genre that has slowly but surely been getting a lot more attention. Designers are focusing on creating functional, and aesthetic pieces, that are not only super practical for public use but can also contribute to the beautification of streets and public places. One such design, which also happens to be, the Top Design Winner of European Product Design Award 2022 is ‘Plint’.

Designer: Studio Pastina

Italian design studio Pastina created Plint, a collection of urban furniture for Punto Design. Pastina describes Plint as “more than just a street bench”, and I wholeheartedly agree. The colorful and quirky pieces of this collection are a far cry from the dreary brown benches, we often see scattered around cities. Plint on the other hand plays with diverse materials, geometrics, and visual perceptions, highlighting the interesting contrasts between them. This makes Plint anything but boring!

Thin sinuous lines are placed upon solid sharp volumes. These volumes form the base of the design and seem to be crafted from concrete. They’re quite bulky and could hold pretty heavy weights. The base is also modular, hence allowing each piece to be used individually, or to be combined with other pieces to create compositions of various lengths. The thin lines have an almost grid-like quality, and they come in multiple colors, hence giving each piece a unique and bright personality.

The Plint family includes a variety of different furniture – from benches to chaise longues. When you place all the furniture designs together, you have a charming and cheery collection of pieces “in which visual lightness and bold proportions coexist in perfect balance”. The Plint collection is a sophisticated range of furniture, which takes outdoor furniture to a whole new level, one in which aesthetics, functionality, and ergonomics blend together harmoniously.

The post This sleek collection of sophisticated outdoor furniture is more than just your ordinary street bench first appeared on Yanko Design.