A vibrant selection to enter the new year with a positive outlook
For anyone who wants a little zest for their New Year’s Eve party, dance-pop act SOFI TUKKER (aka Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern) has generously created a playlist for COOL HUNTING. “If the music is right, the party will go off. Start the new year with positive hopeful uplifting energy,” the duo tells us. With that in mind, they have chosen a playful, energetic selection that includes tracks by Anuel AA, Moojo, Tim Hox, Silver Panda, Gorgon City and more.
As for 2023, the SOFI TUKKER members says they are more than excited for the year to come, especially for their own creative endeavors. “We have been making our favorite music we’ve ever made. We can’t wait to share it. We are designing a new show. And we have some of our favorite shows to date coming up… a lot of them unannounced still.”
Fridays bring a sense of joy for the upcoming weekend, and perhaps the odd home party which calls for local snacks or fast food from the popular restaurant. You pick up the phone to order food like there’s no tomorrow and wait for the home delivery to arrive.
When the courier arrives with your food, everyone has their eyes lit up. But the person who brought home your delivery safely on time looks exhausted and disoriented.
Designer: Anastasia Berg
The motive of this concept cargo bike as the main project by Anastasia at HTW Berlin University of Applied Sciences is to be more considerate about the comfort of delivery personnel around the world who go through chalk and cheese on the city streets to ship your home deliveries every single day without fail.
Taking Berlin as an example of food deliveries in a safe and healthy manner for the delivery personnel is the motive of this student project. Another major consideration is the need for dedicatedly designed cargo two-wheelers for food deliveries in the modern age. For the most part, such food deliveries are made using regular bikes or electric bicycles in the city.
This is D-VIL e-bike concept that takes into account every aspect of food delivery in cities. Things such as the need for riders/corporate offices, big companies, repairability, durability, recyclability and robustness. Some inherent problems with delivering food in crowded cities include the size of the bike, its agility while carrying stuff like bottles or heavy groceries, the need to constantly look at the phone for directions, and at times inclement weather conditions. All this creates a feeling of uneasiness and danger in the subconscious of the delivery person.
One undeniable disadvantage is constantly carrying backpacks in case there is no attached storage box with the vehicle. This can lead to long-term health problems. Other than that, it creates a restriction in traffic and hampers the driving experience. Add to all these problems the pressure of delivering things on time and the whole thing feels like a herculean task every single time around. Battery-powered D-VIL to an extent aims to get over all these problems with its array of the control panel, lights and cameras, and dedicated luggage compartment.
The glass roof on top provides protection from unpredictable weather conditions without losing out on the feeling of airiness while driving. For better stability, the rear wheel is a combination of two wheels joined together with a swingarm module, reinforced by an impressive suspension. Overall, the electric cargo bike has a more modern feel to it, just look at that driving panel and interior upholstery.
Responsible for designing over 100 buildings in his six-decade-long career, Isozaki died at his home in Okinawa aged 91.
The 46th recipient of the illustrious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2019, he also won the RIBA Gold Medal in 1986 and the Leone d’Oro at the Venice Architectural Biennale 1996.
He was described by the Pritzker Prize jury as “a versatile, influential, and truly international architect”.
Read on for details of 11 notable projects by Isozaki:
Ōita Prefectural Library, Ōita, Japan, 1966
One of his most notable early works completed shortly after he established his studio in 1963, the Ōita Prefectural Library combined elements of Japanese brutalism and metabolism.
Built in Isozaki’s hometown of Ōita, the reinforced concrete building was informed by the structure of a skeleton with suspended tubular beams designed to allow the structure to be extended.
Kitakyushu Central Library, Fukuoka, Japan, 1974
Designed to house a library, history museum and audiovisual centre, the Kitakyushu Central Library contains two barrel-vaulted structures topped with copper plate roofs.
The concrete ribs of the barrel-vaulted structures are exposed throughout the curved interiors of the building.
Museum of Modern Art Gunma, Japan, 1974
Considered one of Isozaki’s masterpieces, the Museum of Modern Art Gunma was designed with a minimal aesthetic to prevent the architecture from competing with exhibits.
It was composed of an arrangement of cubes, combined to form a large rectangular block with projecting wings. Isozaki returned to the project to add an extension in 1994.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA, 1986
Isozaki’s first major overseas commission, the downtown location for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles would lead to numerous international commissions.
Informed by both classical architecture and Los Angeles pop culture, the sandstone building has distinct geometric forms with the main galleries located under a central courtyard and lit by pyramidal skylights.
Palau Sant Jordi, Spain, 1992
Completed for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, the Palau Sant Jordi sports facility is one of Isozaki’s best-known international buildings
The 17,000-seat arena is covered by a domed roof informed by traditional Catalan vaults and finished in locally-sourced materials including brick, tile, zinc and travertine.
Domus Museum, Spain, 1995
Formerly known as Casa del Hombre, Domus is a science museum designed by Isozaki in collaboration with César Portela.
The building has large granite walls and a single curved facade composed of 6,600 slate tiles, which enclose a series of exhibition spaces positioned over platforms connected by ramps.
Nara Centennial Hall, Japan, 1999
The winning entry of an international competition held in 1992, this multifunctional events space was completed for the centennial celebrations of Nara’s recognition as an official city.
The building is distinguished by its giant curving profile and facade of zinc and grey ceramic tiles, which make reference to the roofs of the city’s Todaiji Temple.
Ceramic Park Mino, Japan, 2002
A footbridge covered by a concrete ceiling containing shards of broken pottery opens out to a large rooftop plaza in the Ceramic Park Mino.
Isozaki chose different coloured stones to line the exterior of the museum and the adjoining buildings to mimic the variety of clays found in the Gifu Prefecture.
Isozaki worked with artist Anish Kapoor to create this inflatable mobile concert hall, which was created to tour regions affected by a major earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
It housed a 500-seat performance venue, and was made from a stretchy plastic membrane that could be quickly inflated or disassembled to be transported to a new location.
Gigantic tree-like columns support the overhanging roof of the Qatar National Convention Centre, which Isozaki designed as a reference to the holy Islamic Sidrat al-Muntaha tree.
The columns stand in front of the building’s large rectangular glass facades, which enclose the largest exhibition centre in the Middle East, accommodating up to 7,000 people in its three main halls.
Shanghai Symphony Hall, China, 2014
This prestigious concert hall was designed by Isozaki in collaboration with acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota as the new home of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.
The 1,200-seat concert hall is accommodated within a saddle-shaped building clad in terracotta bricks. The structure sits on giant springs that protect it from the subway system below.
The photography is courtesy of Hisao Suzuki unless stated otherwise.
A version of this article was originally published in 2019 to mark Isozaki’s Pritzker Architecture Prize win.
A large steel-framed roof shelters the Misc restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta, which was designed by local studio Sam Crawford Architects to replace a cafe that was severely damaged by fire.
Located close to the entrance of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Parramatta Park, the white, steel-framed building houses the 300-seat Misc restaurant overlooking a nearby river.
Due to the site’s historic status both as an important site for the Aboriginal Darug people and one of 11 Australian Convict Sites, Sam Crawford Architects was required to minimise the impact of the building, and not exceed the footprint of the former cafe.
“The key design driver was to maintain the footprint of the former cafe building so as to avoid disturbance of significant Indigenous and early European artefacts,” said the practice’s director, Sam Crawford.
“Reuse was also critical – the slab, walls, bricks, many steel windows and doors and some roof trusses were all recycled,” he continued.
“It was a gymnastics exercise – we couldn’t dig anything, the utilities had to remain in the same location, and of course we needed to meet the 21st-century building code and be future proof to adapt for changing uses.”
The pavilion combines more informal cafe spaces to the southwest and formal dining areas to the northeast, separated by a central block containing the kitchen, stores and toilets.
Designed to be open, airy and welcoming, the interior spaces sit beneath the large black trusses of the pitched roof, overlooking the park through full-height windows and a tall, thin cut-out that brings additional light in through the entrance.
At both ends, the building is flanked by external seating areas, and to the southwest the pitched roof cantilevers out and is clad in translucent plastic to create a more sheltered dining space.
“The long metal roof produces a striking form with lightweight and transparent materials to increase the connection between the inside and outside spaces,” explained Crawford.
“The translucent roof at the southwestern end is cantilevered out to create an additional outside covered eating area, increasing dining capacity and giving shade from the afternoon sun.”
The pavilion’s interiors, designed by Nic Graham & Associates, make a feature of its exposed metal and timber structure, with simple wooden furniture and a large, terrazzo-clad counter and rough plasterwork used for the cafe’s bar area.
Sam Crawford founded his eponymous practice in Sydney in 1999. Other projects recently completed by the studio include a bridge in the green landscape of Sydney’s Centennial Park, with a curving form referencing the shimmering appearance of eels.
The year began with a speculative proposal to add 1,760-acres of reclaimed land to the tip of Manhattan in a bid to provide New York with additional housing while combating climate change.
Named New Mannahatta, the plan from Rutgers University professor Jason Barr would see Manhattan Island extended into New York Harbor to incorporate Governors Island and provide land for 180,000 new homes.
In February, news of a new type of plastic that is twice as strong as steel was the month’s most-read article. Invented by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) chemical engineers, the material is light and mouldable like plastic but has a strength and resistance that is closer to steel.
The material’s properties mean that its inventors envision it being used as a coating to improve objects’ durability and, in the long term, as a structural material.
German feminist art group Wer Braucht Feminismus? revealed a vulva-shaped spaceship concept in March and the yonic craft became the month’s most-read piece.
According to the group, the concept was created to challenge the convention of phallic spacecraft design and “restore gender equality to the cosmos”.
One of the world’s most anticipated and opinion-dividing buildings completed in April.
SHoP Architects’ supertall skyscraper 111 West 57th Street in New York City is both the world’s skinniest and the second tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. News about the 1,428-foot-tall (435-metre) tower’s completion was also the most-read article in April.
A second appearance from MIT in this year’s most-read list came in May when Dezeen reported on research indicating that discarded tree forks could replace load-bearing joints in architecture projects.
July saw the year’s biggest architecture story break when the Saudi Arabian government revealed visuals of a 170-kilometre-long skyscraper-city that is being planned as part of the Neom development.
Designed by US studio Morphosis, the 500-metre-tall linear city will be named The Line and will stretch across the northwest Saudi Arabian desert.
Following the unveiling of The Line, we looked at 10 futuristic cities that are currently being planned across the globe, including the Telosa development being designed by Danish architecture studio BIG (above).
Along with BIG, studios including Foster + Partners and OMA are masterplaning futuristic urban centres, which often claim to be designed with a focus on sustainability.
In September, an incredibly unique house was the focus of the month’s most-read piece. Designed by Japanese architect Junya Ishigami, the home and restaurant for Japanese chef Motonori Hirata is located entirely underground.
It was created by pouring concrete into holes in the ground, which were then excavated around to create the home’s living spaces.
The Line was back in the news in October, with drone footage showing that work had commenced at the site becoming the month’s most-read story.
Shot by aerial photography company Ot Sky, the footage shows numerous excavators digging a wide linear trench in the desert for the foundations of the city.
Following the footage of The Line and news of reported human rights abuses, Adam Greenfield wrote an opinion piece questioning whether the architects working on Neom are content to be complicit in an “ecological and moral atrocity”.
“All those complicit in Neom’s design and construction are already destroyers of worlds,” he wrote.
The end of the year saw the first winter World Cup take place in Qatar, where seven new stadiums were built to host the tournament.
At the end of this year’s World Cup we looked ahead to the next tournament and the 16 stadiums in the USA, Mexico and Canada that will host games in 2026 – all of which are already built.
Public Records co-founders Shane Davis and Francis Harris have added a bar and lounge on an upper floor of their multi-purpose creative venue in Brooklyn.
Upstairs is the latest addition to Public Records, which was opened in 2019 by musician Harris and creative consultant Davis, who led the design of both the original spaces and the new lounge.
The extension joins a variety of programmed areas in the industrial brick building, including a cafe and record store, a plant-based bar and restaurant, an outdoor garden and a Sound Room for live performances.
For Upstairs, Davis collaborated with DSLV Studio on the interiors, Arup for the acoustics, and a cast of makers to renovate the upper-level space – once occupied by Retrofret Vintage Guitars.
“We felt that people would value a space that inspires more intimate connection than our other spaces,” said David. “This framework then provides opportunities to explore our ideas and showcase those of our collaborators on various scales, whether it be a sound system, a chair, an event series, or a cocktail.”
The room is anchored by a dark, patterned marble bar, which together with the glossy black floor contrasts the mostly white walls and furniture.
Particular attention was paid to the sound quality in the space, where walls are furred out and undulated to bounce music around the room from large subwoofer speakers.
These are housed in cabinets by Devon Turnbull of OJAS and positioned against the back wall, with either side of the cabinets containing a diverse array of equipment including a reel-to-reel tape player.
Patrons will be able to choose from a curated selection of records and CDs available to play during gatherings, events and parties.
“Intentional listening on an audio system that showcases the practices of production in the music space allows for a deeper understanding and appreciation of the cultural significance of musicians and producers who are an integral part of how we shape our perception of the world,” said Harris.
Wrapping the room are cream leather banquettes, accompanied by circular glass tables, and black ceramic and foam stools commissioned from Zurich-based artist Cristian Anderson that are reminiscent of used paint buckets.
Also scattered through the space is the custom PR Lounge Chair, designed with local fabricator Joe Cauvel and constructed of plywood and steel with exposed joinery.
Exposed ductwork and services found throughout the building are also present in Upstairs, which continues the same “DIY approach” taken to all of Public Records’ spaces.
Brooklyn has no end of venues that act as community hubs, workspaces and nightlife spots geared towards its thriving creative population.
Among others are The Mercury Store performing arts centre in Dumbo and the 77 Washington artist studios in the Navy Yard.
I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite as powerful as this.
Rather aptly named Zeus, after the Greek God of thunder and lightning, this tiny GaN charger holds the title of being the world’s smallest and most powerful charging brick. Measuring just 3.5 inches long and 2 inches wide (and being 45% lighter than other industry-leading chargers), Zeus comes with a whopping output of 270W that lets it concurrently charge 4 devices together while efficiently managing power delivery to fast-charge your devices. That 270W output gives Zeus the ability to charge as many as 3 laptops all at once, helping declutter your workspace and allowing you and your partner to basically work out of the same room without having to fight for who gets to use the one power socket closest to the table.
The Chargeasap Zeus is a versatile little beast that’s designed to be compact enough to occupy minimal space on your power strip without blocking out other sockets, as well as slide right into your backpack when not in use. It sports 4 ports on its top, including one USB-A port outputting 22.5W and three USB-C ports with two of them capable of 100W and one 140W. A tiny OLED screen right beside the ports gives you detailed stats of the power delivery, so you know which devices are fast-charging based on their power consumption.
The way Zeus works is by using GaN semiconductors rather than ones made from Silicone Carbide. Gallium Nitride or GaN offers incredible efficiency when it comes to power delivery, resulting in a smaller power brick that doesn’t heat up as much either. This effectively gives Zeus (and other GaN chargers) the ability to manage high power delivery in a device that’s smaller than that large, clunky brick-shaped charger that comes with your laptop.
The Zeus acts as an intermediary between your gadget and the power socket, decluttering the experience by reducing the number of plug points and power bricks you need. With the Zeus, all you need is just one socket to recharge multiple devices, from your laptop to phone, tablet, monitor, or a litany of other gadgets. What’s remarkable is that the Zeus works well if you’re a travel bug too, with replaceable plug adapters that work internationally, so you’re never struggling in a hotel room with just one socket for your phone as well as your laptop.
Although clearly outshined by the 3 USB-C ports right beside it, the USB-A port does some heavy lifting too. The Zeus’ USB-A port is designed specifically for Android users, offering a 36W power output that supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 and several other fast charging technologies, the likes of Oneplus (22.5W), OPPO SVOOC (22.5W), and Huawei Super Charge (22.5W). However, it has support for Apple Fast Charge too, helping you rapidly recharge your iPhone after you’ve spent an entire day shooting TikTok videos.
What really bends the mind is Zeus’ 270W output – a feature I seem to keep coming back to. We’ve covered GaN chargers in the past, going all the way up till 100W, but a 270W charger really feels like overkill, although it does have its unique appeal. It’s capable of replacing every single other power brick you own, letting you operate your entire suite of work gadgets from laptops, phones, and tablets to even juicing other auxiliary devices like cameras, GoPros, speakers, headphones, Nintendo Switches, microphones, and even drones.
This isn’t Chargeasap’s first rodeo, though. The Sydney-based company’s worked on GaN chargers before, having debuted Omega, the world’s smallest 200W charger back in 2020. Zeus is a different monster entirely, going above and beyond what even companies like Anker and Belkin have been capable of. You can grab the Zeus for a Kickstarter-special price of $119 USD (46% off the MSRP), with deliveries happening in May of 2023.
Apple just took the eyedropper tool and made it real.
Ever seen a beautiful mural on a wall and felt like being able to capture those colors for your own art? Sure, you could carry a Pantone shade book everywhere you go… or if Apple has its way, you could just touch your Apple Pencil on the mural and capture its color like an eyedropper tool in real life. Apple just recently filed a patent at the US Patent & Trademark Office for a next-gen Apple Pencil with built-in optical sensors that don’t just capture colors, they capture textures too. A complicated array of tech built into the Apple Pencil’s nib would help turn it into more than just a stylus. Instead of being merely a note-keeping and art-creating device, the Pencil would also now help gather inspiration, letting you build your own bank of hues and textures to use in your projects as reference material.
The way the new Apple Pencil works is theoretically simple – as per the patent drawings, a light sensor and a light emitter sit within the stylus tip. The emitter and sensor work together to help sample colors and textures as you tap the Pencil on any surface. The way it works is no different from your mouse, which uses a light emitter and optical sensor to track movement. The only key difference is that the Pencil does that WHILE also being able to function as a stylus for your iPad.
The patent was discovered by the fine folks at Patently Apple, who also reported that this technology could be used to even detect measurements, aside from hue and texture. How this would work seems a little sketchy at best – would you need to have the iPad handy while using the Apple Pencil’s sampling feature? Where would all the data get saved? How would one toggle the feature, because you need to tap the Pencil on the iPad’s touchscreen to use it as a stylus.
For now, this next-gen feature exists only as a patent and it’s pretty unclear if Apple plans on radically redesigning the pencil, although it’s been over 4 years since Apple announced the Pencil Gen 2. Apple has patented various Pencil-adjacent technologies in the past, including an early 2021 patent for detachable custom nibs that give your Pencil a more artistic approach, and a recent patent for a Pencil with a rotary element on top and multiple touch-sensitive areas on its body. Which new feature do you want in the next-gen Apple Pencil??
Many design ideas inspired by nature often take cues from natural materials, forms, sensations, or even animals and plants themselves. All of these exist on our planet, often accessible to our senses. There is also beauty outside of our planet, of course, sometimes on a much grander scale. It’s more difficult to observe these sources of inspiration with the naked eye, though, especially when they may not even exist. That said, human creativity and imagination have sometimes given form to these abstract concepts and theories, and one woodworker made the rather long and arduous journey to give one such idea a more physical form, resulting in a rather stunning piece of furniture that looks just as grand as the scientific concept behind it.
A wormhole, sometimes called by its more technical name, “Einstein-Rosen Bridge,” is a hypothetical structure that no one has been able to confirm exists. That hasn’t stopped scientists, mathematicians, and especially writers from giving it some serious thought. Wormholes that can hypothetically connect two disparate points in spacetime via a tunnel have been one of the favorite narrative devices in science fiction. Despite its hypothetical existence, wormholes have also been given a hypothetical form, one that this wooden coffee table tries to create in reality.
The shape of a table is already quite eye-catching on its own. It’s almost like a wooden plank that has been bent so that the two ends are on top of each other and then joined together by a double cone. It may have been possible to create such a form with simple means, including wood bending and carving, but this table’s creator didn’t take the easy way out. In order to create the grid of lines that covers the entire surface of the table, dozens of air-dried walnut strips had to be cut and made. These are then glued together with sheets of maple veneer in between, which give the appearance of those faint light lines that form the grid.
With almost the same mathematical precision as the wormhole’s foundations, these strips of wood are cut and joined together, sometimes at angles to form a curved shape. A lot of machining was involved as well in order to carve the blocky sides down to smooth curves. Suffice it to say, there was a great deal of patience involved in a process that had very little wiggle room for errors.
To really bring that sci-fi atmosphere to life, a lamp was installed in the center of the hole, giving the table an eerie appearance in the dark. The result is a beautiful homage to something that might not even exist, though you’ll probably want to keep things away from the part of the table that curves downward. Fortunately, things that do fall into that hole won’t disappear and reappear somewhere else, though you do risk damaging that glass-covered lamp if you manage to spill something inside it.
Cedar shingles and asymmetrical, pyramid-shaped roofs form the exterior of Lilla Lane, a multi-volume house by New York studio Oza Sabbeth Architects.
The project is located on a leafy, suburban-style lot in East Hampton, Long Island. It was designed for a child-free couple who wanted a home with a strong indoor-outdoor connection and plenty of space for entertaining.
“They wanted to be able to comfortably host a crowded party, and feel like it was full enough with just the two of them,” said local studio Oza Sabbeth Architects.
The property was sandwiched between neighbouring homes and offered little in terms of views.
Rather than design a home that spans the width of the lot and forms a big backyard, the architects decided to create a more linear home that makes the most of the property.
The house consists of several volumes positioned around a series of outdoor spaces, including a pergola-covered central patio and an adjoining swimming pool.
The volumes are topped with asymmetrical, pyramid-shaped roofs and are connected by “alleys” that contribute to a feeling of compression and expansion.
Exterior walls and roofs are wrapped in cedar shingles.
“After running through multiple siding options, they chose shingles, adding an additional layer that runs along the seam from exterior wall to roof – detailing that junction so as to produce the feeling of single, monolithic forms,” the studio said.
Within the 3,000-square-foot (279-square-metre) home, the layout feels clear and fluid.
A central volume encompasses an open-concept kitchen, dining area and living room. Adjacent to that area is the main bedroom suite.
A glazed corridor connects to a private wing, where one finds three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. A third volume contains a garage.
Earthy finishes, high ceilings and ample glazing help establish a feeling of calmness.
“The interiors are modernist and straightforward, punctuated by the long, linear views created by those connections between the volumes, and illuminated by large expanses of window,” the studio said.
Certain areas were designed with flexibility in mind. For instance, the kitchen – created in collaboration with Seattle-based Henrybuilt – is designed to accommodate a range of uses, from hosting cocktail parties to preparing intimate dinners for two.
The outdoor spaces act as a unifying agent. The grounds were designed with local studio Geoffrey Nimmer Landscapes.
“Outdoor spaces, particularly the covered patio, create cohesion by drawing the spaces together and re-articulating some of the interior details,” the studio said.
The home’s construction was handled by Oza Sabbeth’s sister company, Modern Green Home.
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