Hasta La Ideas

Bowers and Wilkins have been tailoring high-performance audio systems for McLaren supercars ever since 2015, and now a Bowers and Wilkins accessory gets their special treatment.

The British luxury automaker’s signature colors are now adorned by the premium audio manufacturing expert who’s produced reliable audio systems for McLaren cars all these years.

Designer: Bower and Wilkins

Riding on the success of the Px8 headphones which have already struck a successful partnership with the James Bond franchise, these special edition pair of cans adorn the papaya orange hues of the rising Formula-1 team. Dubbed the Px8 McLaren Edition, the headphones have a dual-toned finish with the Galvanic Grey dominating the look.

According to Dan Shepherd, B&W’s Vice President of Licensing & Partnerships the Px8 McLaren Edition extends the “appeal of our industry-leading sound performance and McLaren’s DNA to outside the car.” Those subtle instances of McLaren’s iconic color are present inside the ear cups (with matching fabric covers), metal bands on the edges and also on the audio cable running out of the smooth chassis. Of course, the McLaren branding on one edge of the leather headband and the grey case cover top things off in style.

Other than this, these over-the-ear headphones get the same soft napa leather finish and the exact same dimensions as the regular Px8 headphones. Technical specifications are virtually the same with the 40mm Carbon Cone drivers angled at an angle rocking the sound. The regular model has already impressed tech pundits, and the legacy continues on to this special edition model with one of the best (if not the best) active noise cancellation and an impressive 30 hours of battery life on a single charge.

Audiophiles and Motorsports lovers will find the perfect match in the form of these headies that feature aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec. McLaren Edition Px8 headphones can be directly plugged into a DAC or a digital USB-C connection to experience lossless 24-bit audio. When the battery runs dry and there’s no way to charge the cans, you can continue listening to audio with the accompanying 3.5mm cable.

McLaren Edition Px8 will carry a price tag of $800 – which is $100 more than the regular version. For McLaren fans that won’t be a huge price barrier to cross over, since these headphones do actually look good. Matching them up with the automotive brand’s livery is going to be the course for audiophiles.

The post Bower and Wilkins’ McLaren Edition Px8 headphones for audiophiles who drool over supercars first appeared on Yanko Design.

It doesn’t collapse down quite as small as that DiFOLD Origami Bottle, but this 20-ounce silicone water bottle by Stojo “collapses into a polite sphere when empty,” the brand writes.

The brand, started by a trio of NYC-based dads, got their start around a decade ago. Growing alarmed by the amount of disposable coffee cups they all went through, they came up with these wicked collapsible coffee cups:

The cups are sold in a variety of sizes, from 8 ounces up to 24. Being made of silicone, they’re dishwasher-safe. Check ’em all out here.

The St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which replaces a church destroyed in the 9/11 attack, has officially opened at the World Trade Center site in New York.

Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the building replaces a 19th-century church that was destroyed on 11 September 2001.

Built as part of the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site that’s masterplanned by architect Daniel Libeskind and contains skyscrapers by Pritzker Architecture Prize winners Richard Rogers and Fumihiko Maki, the church is located alongside the 9/11 memorial that stands on the site of the former twin towers.

It was designed by Calatrava to be a “sanctuary for worship” but also a reminder of the impact of the terrorist attacks.

“To see the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine finally open is emblematic of Lower Manhattan’s storied future and defining past,” said Calatrava.

“I hope to see this structure serve its purpose as a sanctuary for worship but also as a place for reflection on what the city endured and how it is moving forward,” he continued.

“Architecture can have an intrinsic symbolic value, which is not written or expressed in a specific way but in an abstract and synthetic manner, sending a message and thus leaving a lasting legacy.”

Built on top of the World Trade Center Vehicle Security Center, the church is raised around 25 feet above (seven metres) above street level and was designed to be a beacon.

Informed by Byzantine architecture and the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul in particular, the church is arranged around a central drum-shaped form that is topped by a dome.

The walls of this central section were made from thin sheets of Pentelic marble so that the building can be illuminated at night.

“This Shrine will be a place for everyone who comes to the Sacred Ground at the World Trade Center, a place for them to imagine and envision a world where mercy is inevitable, reconciliation is desirable, and forgiveness is possible,” said Ioannis Lambriniadis archbishop elpidophoros of America.

“We will stand here for the centuries to come, as a light on the hill, a shining beacon to the world of what is possible in the human spirit, if we will only allow our light to shine before all people, as the light of this Shrine for the nation will illuminate every night sky to come in our magnificent city.”

Surrounding the central domed spaces are four stone-clad towers that give the building an overall square shape.

The entrance to the church, which faces a large open plaza, was placed between two of these towers and leads directly to the main series of liturgical spaces.

The alter directly faces the entrance, while the two side niches were completed with translucent arched windows. Above the main space, the domed is surrounded by 40 translucent windows divided by 40 stone ribs, reminiscent of the Hagia Sofia.

Alongside the main liturgical spaces, several community rooms and offices were placed on the upper floors of the towers.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks last year, Dezeen explored how the site was rebuilt and the numerous buildings created on the site including the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, which was also designed by Calatrava.

Also last year, we interviewed Daniel Libeskind, who said that “everything changed in architecture” after the attacks.

The photography is by Alan Karchmer.

The post Santiago Calatrava unveils illuminated World Trade Center church appeared first on Dezeen.

From Slovenia comes this Mars Garden Sink, which is designed with built-in hose management:

Manufacturer Roto says the polyethylene sink is UV-stable, meaning the color won’t fade over time. The sink contains a not-shown plug in the bottom, allowing you to hold water for soaking or drain it into a bucket.

Overall I think it’s a smart design, and if we lived in a year-round warm-weather climate, I’d look into installing this in place of our existing hose spigots.

Dezeen Showroom: generous proportions and minimal forms meet in the blown glass Etta vase, created by designer Julius Heinzl for German brand Bannach.

The Etta vase is a hand-blown glass vessel that Bannach describes as combining traditional making techniques with architectural design language.

Heinzl, the director of design consultancy Buero at large, designed the vase as a fusion of two basic geometric elements: a cylindrical structure and either a conical or half-spherical base.

Standing 52 centimetres high, it is suitable as either a table or floor vase.

The vase comes in a choice of five glass colours: crystal, smoked glass, pale pink, pale green or sapphire blue.

Founded in 2018, Bannach manufactures in craft workshops in Germany and Italy.

Product: Etta
Designer: Julius Heinzl
Brand: Bannach
Contact: sales@bannach.eu

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The post Etta vase by Julius Heinzl for Bannach appeared first on Dezeen.