Hasta La Ideas

In this week’s comments update, readers discussed a block-long timber truss bridge that connects Manhattan’s High Line to the renovated Penn Station and other top architecture and design stories.

The 300-foot (92-metre) long bridge is part of the Moynihan Connector, which connects Manhattan’s elevated High Line walkway to the Moynihan Train Hall transit hub.

“A great-looking addition to the city”

In Marius’s opinion, the “elegant highline that carried trains did not need this” adding the footbridge is “fat and ungraceful.”

The commenter’s views were shared by Ekin Sahin, who argued that the structure is “not architecturally pleasing, not an engineering marvel or not contemporary design in any way.” They continued by claiming that “it’s not sustainable” just because timber was used.

With a more positive outlook, Ken Steffes found the bridge a “great-looking addition to the city” but wondered whether it “should be covered in a city with winter weather like New York.”

“Finally some warm colours in this neoliberal dystopia,” agreed Trewus with a hint of sarcasm.

Do you like the bridge? Join the discussion ›

“Zero morality urbanism”

Readers debated the fact that Danish studio BIG has been named the masterplanner of the floating port city of Oxagon, which is part of the Neom development in Saudi Arabia.

“They should feel utterly ashamed of themselves,” said Jell. “For participating in this awful, inhumane endeavour and, frankly, for producing such rubbish and gimmicky design.”

“Food for the critics, but the city moves on despite those naysayers,” argued Mr J. They wondered whether it “will end up better than the housing plague currently enveloping our shire counties”, adding that “only the future will reveal that.”

Prole made it short but clear: “Zero morality urbanism.”

What are your thoughts? Join the discussion ›

“That would have been fun to design”

Readers were generally impressed by the Parconido Bakery Cafe in South Korea, which is made from red bricks and features playful curved shapes and rounded walls designed to create an illusion-like effect.

Z-dog noted that the project “seems upside down” and that the “brick arches inverted to their natural position could have created a wonderful division of the spaces.” They continued by praising the project and said that it “has been executed beautifully.”

Idractula, on the other hand, found the project “too fussy” and was of the opinion that the “curves at foot level present a hazard.”

“That would have been fun to design,” commented Jb.

Would you visit this cafe? Join the discussion ›

“Architecture without modernist architects is certainly desirable”

Readers reacted to an exclusive interview with Normal Foster at the Venice Architecture Biennale during which he said that the simplest structures, such as tents and huts, can teach architects lessons.

“I know many houses in Europe, and North America that have never seen an architect, yet they are gems in terms of style, materials, and planning,” agreed Apsco Radiales.

“Architecture without modernist architects is certainly desirable,” commented Jb.

“Interesting and unfortunately indispensable in the ‘damaged’ or war-torn parts of the world,” added Pa Varreon.

Did you read the interview? Join the discussion ›

Comments update
Dezeen is the world’s most commented architecture and design magazine, receiving thousands of comments each month from readers. Keep up to date on the latest discussions on our comments page and subscribe to our weekly Debate newsletter, where we feature the best reader comments from stories in the last seven days.

The post “Finally some warm colours in this neoliberal dystopia” says commenter appeared first on Dezeen.

The founders of Italian practice Studio Fuksas have spoken to the Italian press about their designs for The Line mega city in Saudi Arabia, which are on display during the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Speaking to Italian newspaper La Repubblica in a rare interview by an architect working on the project, Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas said that the project aligned with the aims of the Venice Architecture Biennale they curated in 2000.

“It’s like an urbanisation project that does not touch the poetry of the desert,” said Massimiliano Fuksas.

“After all, the architecture biennale that we curated in 2000 was entitled: Less Aesthetics More Ethics. A motto that is now in the spirit of our time.”

Part of the controversial Neom development in northwestern Saudi Arabia, The Line is planned as a 170-kilometre-long mega city that will house nine million people. Studio Fuksas‘ designs are included in an exhibition on Neom titled Zero Gravity Urbanism that is currently on display in Venice.

Massimiliano Fuksas revealed that the studio is working on three modules for the city, which will consist of a pair of parallel 500-metre-high skyscrapers.

“You shouldn’t think of the concept of tower or skyscraper in the classic sense,” Doriana Fuksas told La Repubblica. “In our modules all the urban functions are present and integrated: homes, green areas, public spaces of various types.”

Although few details about the city have been revealed, one of its key features will be its reflective outer walls.

In the interview, Massimiliano Fuksas appeared to reveal that the walls would be built from solar panels.

“The walls have a double function,” said Massimiliano Fuksas.

“Since the energy must be 100 per cent renewable, the walls perform the function of producing this energy, and of reflecting the surrounding landscape, the desert landscape.”

Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas explained that the design for their section of The Line was an evolution of ideas developed at the studio’s Shenzhen airport terminal, Rome convention centre and Fiera di Milano, which is home of the Salone del Mobile furniture fair.

Their design aims to be a departure from geometric shapes that determine the form of the majority of buildings.

“Architecture has always relied on Euclidean geometry,” said Doriana Fuksas. “Instead, in the last decades, we have studied something else: quantum mechanics, fractals and algorithms. All concepts that contribute to design today.”

Alongside Studio Fuksas, Adjaye Associates, Delugan Meissl Associated Architects and Morphosis presented their designs for The Line at the exhibition, which was named Zero Gravity Urbanism. Also at the exhibition, Danish studio BIG was named as the masterplanner of the Oxagon floating port city, which is also part of the Neom development.

The Neom project is one of the largest and most controversial in the world. We recently published a guide to the development, which explains what the project is, the studios involved and why it is controversial.

It has been criticised on both sustainability and human rights grounds, with human rights organisation ALQST reporting that three members of the Huwaitat tribe, who are believed to have criticised displacements connected to Neom, have been sentenced to death.

The post The Line “does not touch the poetry of the desert” says Massimiliano Fuksas appeared first on Dezeen.

The French pavilion at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale takes the form of the Ball Theater – a hemispherical stage that is intended to “reawaken our desires for utopia”.

Set to host a string of performances over the course of the biennale, the pavilion was designed as an inclusive space where the boundaries of art and architecture are blurred and people can express themselves freely.

The Ball Theater was designed by the architecture studio Muoto in partnership with scenographers Georgi Stanishev and Clémence La Sagna, associate curator Jos Auzende and programmer Anna Tardivel.

It was designed to offer visitors a space to imagine a more utopian future, which the curators said responds to the theme of this year’s event, The Laboratory of the Future.

“The idea of the theatre came because we wanted to create a collective space,” Muoto architect Yves Moreau told Dezeen.

“It was a way to respond to the theme of the biennale, The Laboratory of the Future,” he continued. “The theatre is a laboratory because you can do whatever you want. You can put on a hat, you put on makeup and you’re somebody else. It was really a place for expression and inclusivity.”

Entering the pavilion, the first thing visitors see is the curved exterior of the hemispherical stage, which is covered in aluminium. Its globe-shaped form was designed to resemble both a mirror ball and “a world in miniature”.

“This party aura suggests a new approach to today’s crises, one where the emphasis is no longer on emergency, but on the possibility of imagining somewhere and something different,” the team said.

As visitors move around the stage, its hollowed middle is revealed. Here, a steel structure is fitted with a stage, projectors, a curtain and a microphone, all overlooked by stepped seating.

The stage itself is designed to be adaptable, incorporating a movable podium that enables it to be used for different performances.

“We created this theatre in a round shape, which is really an image of another world, another place,” Moreau said.

“It’s a circle space so you are almost standing on the stage. You’re sharing the space with performers and actors, with the people that are going to make the space alive.”

The performance programme includes both workshops and artist residences, scheduled once a week until the event ends in November.

“Each ball event gives a new set of occupants a chance to take possession of the theatre, to work on and try out new relationships with the public,” the curators said.

Alongside the theatre, this year’s French pavilion features other installations made of miscellaneous found and recycled objects. Together with the stage, these are hoped to reflect “our desire to reconstruct a future with what remains of the past”.

This year, the Venice Architecture Biennale has placed a special focus on sustainability. In response to this, the curators of the French pavilion have constructed the Ball Theater using local manufacturers in and around Venice and designed the structure to be reusable.

Its formwork is modular and can be easily broken down into small parts and relocated to a new location. A tour is already planned for the theatre after the biennale.

Alongside the Ball Theater, we have featured a number of other national pavilions at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale including the Brazilian Pavilion, which was awarded this year’s Golden Lion best national participation.

The photography is by Schnepp Renou.

The Venice Architecture Biennale takes place from 20 May to 26 November 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for all the latest information you need to know to attend the event, as well as a list of other architecture and design events taking place around the world.

The post Reflective hemispherical theatre enlivens French pavilion at Venice Architecture Biennale appeared first on Dezeen.

The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art has unveiled plans for a major new building designed by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye, which is on show at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Set to become India’s largest art and culture centre, the museum is under construction on a 100,000-square-metre site in Delhi.

The design is revealed for the first time in the form of a scale model created by David Adjaye’s firm, Adjaye Associates, for the Curator’s Special Projects section of the biennale.

Scheduled to open in 2026, the building will facilitate the expansion of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), a museum led by one of India’s most prominent collectors of contemporary Indian art.

Kiran Nadar established the museum in 2010. It currently operates across two small venues, in New Delhi and Noida, and has a collection of more than 10,000 works. The new KNMA will bring visual arts, music, dance and theatre all together under one roof.

“The collection was growing and I felt we needed a stand-alone space,” Nadar told Dezeen.

“We want to make it a destination,” she explained. “My hope is that art and culture will feed on each other; we want a multi-dimensional institution where people from different walks of life will come and spend a day.”

Adjaye Associates is working with Indian architecture firm S Ghosh & Associates on the project.

Adjaye revealed details of the design in a conversation with Glenn Lowry, director of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), on the opening day of the biennale.

The architect described it as “an agglomeration of pavilions that come together”.

“It is a cluster of buildings that are surrounding courtyard spaces,” Adjaye said. “For me, that’s a response to the incredible heritage of India in terms of dealing with the climate and the richness of the culture.”

Adjaye won a competition for the project back in 2019, with a design for a more high-rise building.

The design had to be rethought when the museum decided to build on a different site than originally intended. This led Adjaye to develop a more low-rise building.

According to Adjaye, the core concept has remained the same throughout. He describes the current design as “a horizontal version of the vertical idea”.

“A common theme in all my work is the way in which you create a path,” he said.

“When we changed to a horizontal building, it no longer became about moving from the urban part to the top; it became about going through a series of courtyards and gardens. It’s all about engaging with nature and with extraordinary spaces for art.”

Adjaye said his inspirations for the project include the Kimbell Art Museum in Texas, designed by architect Louis Kahn, a building famous for its manipulation of natural light.

The architect also credits the late Indian architects Charles Correa and Balkrishna Doshi, who he said were “instrumental in showing me so many things in India”.

This led him to add many details that reference Hindu and Muslim culture, such as the repeating triangles that feature across the facades.

“I think there are a lot of people in the west who don’t understand how deep the architectural history of India is,” he said. “It is one of the wonders of the world.”

KNMA presents the model alongside works from the museum’s collection by Indian artists Tyeb Mehta, Zarina and Nasreen Mohamedi, and a film by Amit Dutta.

They are show in the Arsenale venue at the Venice Architecture Biennale, in a section titled Mnemonic.

Exploring the relationship between memory and architecture, Mnemonic is one of eight sections that make up this year’s biennale exhibition, The Laboratory of the Future, curated by Lesley Lokko.

The Venice Architecture Biennale takes place from 20 May to 26 November 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for information about the event, plus a list of other architecture and design events taking place around the world.

The post David Adjaye designs India’s largest cultural centre for Kiran Nadar Museum of Art appeared first on Dezeen.

Let’s face it. No matter how we sugarcoat or gamify it, household chores won’t always be fun and exciting. The very word itself has become synonymous with “burdensome,” and there will always be aspects of the task that will always be unpleasant. Unfortunately, these are also tasks that are critical to living a comfortable and healthy life, such as doing the laundry or cleaning up after pets. Since there’s no way to avoid doing them, the best solution would be to complete these chores in the easiest and fastest way possible without compromising on efficiency and safety. Fortunately, we’re at a point in history where technology and design have given us so many products to assist in household work, perhaps even too many to choose from. To help narrow down those choices, here are Yanko Design’s Top 10 home appliances that let you breeze through those chores so that you can spend your time on things that matter the most.

1. OSOTEK HotWave Mop Vacuum

Robot vacuums might be good for regular maintenance of floors, but they might not cut it for heavier workloads and more stubborn dirt. That doesn’t mean you have to fall back onto less efficient and harder-to-use appliances, especially when there are smarter alternatives available. This one, for example, might look like a typical upright vacuum cleaner, but its innovative use of hot water to mop floors easily sets it apart from the crowd.

The OSOTEK HotWave’s built-in water heater makes sure that you’ll be able to get out those pesky stains, something that robot mops still can’t get right these days. Its intelligent suction power automatically adjusts how much suction you need depending on how much dirt its infrared sensor detects. And with its self-cleaning and self-drying features, all you really need to do is to take the OSOTEK HotWave from its base, walk around with it like a regular vacuum, and return it to its base so that it will be clean and dry for your next use. No dirt, no stains, no sweat.

Click Here to Buy Now: $359.99 $499.99 ($150 off, use code ‘WELCOME10’ to save extra $10!).

2. PUPSULE Portable Poop Scooper

When parents tell kids that a pet is a big responsibility, they’re probably referring to more than just feeding them and giving them baths. Cleaning up after our furry friends, especially when they’ve “done their thing,” can be the least enjoyable part of having a pet. That’s especially true when dogs leave their traces outdoors, much to the annoyance of other people and the embarrassment of their owners. Fortunately, you don’t need to get down and dirty anymore just to pick up after your canine pal, thanks to PUPSULE.

It may look like some prop from a kid’s sci-fi or secret spy show, but this leakproof mechanical arm is exactly what you need to safely and easily pick up your dog’s brown treasure. It almost feels like a game where you deftly pull out a poop bag, drape it over PUPSULE’s claw, and use the plunger to get the job done with the filled bag safely stowed inside the capsule, ready for dropping into a garbage bin. It’s a no-fuss, no-mess solution that will make walks with your dog a lot less stressful.

Click Here to Buy Now: $24.99 $29.99 (17% off).

3. ECOVACS DEEBOT Robot Vacuum Cleaners

Even before the present smart home wave, there was already a small number of robots rolling around some houses. Robot vacuum cleaners have been around for years now, and although they haven’t exactly changed their basic circular design, they have definitely become smarter and more sophisticated, offering features and perks that help take our minds off the dirt and stains on our floors. There is, in fact, a dizzying number of choices now available in the market, and ECOVACS ROBOTICS has one for every need and budget.

Those just getting their feet wet to keep their floors dry won’t go wrong with DEEBOT N10 PLUS, an entry-level option that offers a solid set of features, including laser-based navigation as well smart mopping. The DEEBOT T9+ takes cleaning to the next level with TruDetect 3D 2.0, which can avoid the objects that kids and pets tend to leave lying around. It even has a built-in air freshener to make sure that the room smells good while the floor stays clean. Right at the top stands the DEEBOT T10 OMNI, offering self-cleaning mop pads and voice control, ensuring that you’ll never have to stoop down just to keep your floors spic and span.

Click Here to Buy Now: $499.99 $649.99 ($150 off).

4. LARQ Purifying Pitcher

Keeping your house clean is important for hygienic living, but drinking clean water is even more critical to a healthy life. There are plenty of water purifying devices and products in the market, ranging from pitchers with filters to full-blown machines, but many of them ironically end up polluting the rest of the planet’s waters in the long run, directly or indirectly.

LARQ is a more sustainable solution to keeping both our bodies and our planet healthy. Using innovative carbon-derived, plant-based filters, this purifying pitcher not manages to clean water from pollutants but also makes water taste crisp and pure. Whether it’s for drinking plain water or making better-tasting smoothies, this sustainable water filtering pitcher quickly delivers pure and crisp water that will help sustain you for your next round of chores.

Click Here to Buy Now: $139 $168 (17% off).

5. AirTulip Sleep Air Purifying Smart Headboard

After all those chores, sleep is a most welcomed respite where we finally let our tired bodies rest. But even our seemingly peaceful bedrooms can be home to invisible things that still need to be cleaned out. In fact, we’re pretty much defenseless from these harmful substances when we’re asleep, so we have to rely on external help to clean up the air around our beds. That’s the kind of peaceful slumber that the AirTulip Sleep smart headboard is aiming for, and it does so in a rather unusual and creative way.

Unlike your typical air purifiers, the AirTulip Sleep integrates a medical-grade laminar flow purifier into a stylish headboard that you can match with any bed or linen design. Its unique technology practically creates a purified air bubble around you that doesn’t mix with other air in the room, effectively keeping contaminants away. As a bonus, the headboard integrates features like wireless charging, ambient light, reading lamps, and power outlets, making sure you can get the most out of your time in bed, whether asleep or just chilling out.

Click Here to Buy Now: $1124 $1499 (25% off).

6. Dayoo Kitchen Steam Cleaner

It isn’t just cleaning up after pets that is a chore. Cleaning up after humans, including ourselves, can be just as stressful. Of the many places in the house that requires the most cleaning, the kitchen is probably one of the highest. Never mind the pots and pans used for cooking, even just washing the plates and utensils we use every meal can be a tiring and wasteful activity. Of course, there are dishwashers nowadays, but these convenient machines turn out to be quite inefficient and ineffective at what it’s supposed to do.

It might look like an odd part of the kitchen, but Dayoo is an innovative alternative that combines the best of dishwashers and manual washing. Using a showerhead-like nozzle, it utilizes a high-pressure jet of steam to clean plates, bowls, pans, knives, and anything in between. Not only does it help save water, it also makes it easier to reach areas that neither dishwashers nor faucets can access, ensuring a thorough job of making your kitchenware clean and ready for their next use.

Click Here to Buy Now: Starting from $230 (Free shipping!)

7. Leo’s Loo Too Self-Cleaning Litter Box

Cat owners have a different problem when it comes to their friend’s regular discharges. While these furballs can be trained to do their thing in litter boxes, making sure that those remain clean and odor-free isn’t as easy as it sounds. That can be especially problematic with fussy felines, though that can now be a thing of the past thanks to Smarty Pear’s latest contraption, Leo’s Loo Too.

Looking more like a toy washing machine that almost functions like one, this smart litter box promises a hands-free and worry-free experience for humans and a comfortable and safe life for the cat. Not only does it automatically clean after the cat, it can also log your pet’s visits and weight so you can keep tabs on their health as well. It will even alert you when its waste bag is full, so you don’t have to constantly check the drawer for yourself. It’s the purrfect fix for feline fans.

Click Here to Buy Now: Starting from $649.99 (Use ‘100OFF’ for an additional $100 off and more).

8. Gulp Washing Machine Filter

Along with washing the dishes, doing the laundry is one of the inevitable chores that almost everyone experiences. Thankfully, there is also an abundance of technologies that make life easier for humans, though they sadly come at the expense of our planet’s own life. Very few realize that the dirty water that comes out of even the smartest washing machine has tiny particles that end up polluting the Earth’s waters. Cleaning our dirty laundry shouldn’t have to mean keeping our planet dirty, and that is what this simple, sustainable solution is delivering.

Gulp is a small machine that attaches to the wastewater output of any kind of washing machine, filtering the microplastics that our clothes shed during the washing process. Since it drains the excess water on its own, you don’t have to do anything afterward except empty the filter cup of the dried microfibers. Even better, Gulp’s creators will accept this captured material for research and recycling, ensuring that they won’t touch our planet’s waters ever again.

Click Here to Buy Now: $247 $310 (20% off).

9. Narwal T10 2-in-1 Robot Cleaner

Almost like our furniture, not everyone will be happy with a single robot vacuum cleaner design. Indeed, there might be too many options available, and they can vary greatly in terms of features and core functions. Of course, most advertise vacuuming as the main purpose, which is what the majority of people look for anyway. As if to turn that idea on its head, the Narwal T10 seems to make sucking up dirt its second-best feature only, putting most of its focus on mopping your floor clean.

Make no mistake, it’s still a good vacuum cleaner, but the Narwal T10 really shines when it comes to mopping the floor and then cleaning those mop heads without getting your hands dirty. Its LIDAR-based navigation makes sure it knows exactly where to go, or at least where you allow it to go in each room. Its “squircle” design also makes it stand out visually, driving home the image of being different from your typical large robot pucks.

Click Here to Buy Now: $1049 (Sign up to get $100 off).

10. Heisenberg LawnMeister Robot Lawnmower

Robot vacuum cleaners might be smart and useful, but their utility ends at your doors. When it comes to keeping lawns trimmed and clean, most have to settle for less efficient and less effective tools. Some smart lawnmowers, for example, aren’t smart enough to really know where to go, and you often end up having to set up ugly wire fences to keep them from going astray.

The LawnMeister robot lawnmower practically brings all the brains and technologies enjoyed by robot vacs from indoors to outdoors, allowing this roving grass cutter to know where they should and shouldn’t go, avoid obstacles and furry critters, and even spray fertilizer where it’s needed. Neighborhood kids might be bummed out at having less employment, but your lawn will definitely appreciate the smarter attention you can now give it without even lifting a finger.

Click Here to Buy Now: $999 $2499 (60% off).

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