Time-telling has become one of those things we take for granted since we only have to look at our computer or our smartphones or our smartwatches to find out the current time. Sure there are still some places that have actual wall clocks or desk clocks but even those have become few and far between. It’s also rare now for people to collect unique-looking clocks but for those who actually do it, there is a “rare find” clock that you can find on Etsy if you can spare around $900.
Designer: Sergey
If you’re very much into hand crafted stuff that looks pretty unique and classic, the Nixei tube vintage clock may interest you. It looks like something that would have fit in during the Victorian era in a 19th century home. Its design is basically a hydro-mechanical column with manual drive and is made from brass, copper, bronze, and glass. They are soldered and threaded together and all these parts are connected by hand.
It can tell time in either the 12 and 24 hour format and has seven different colors as indicators. You can turn off the glow of these indicators if it proves to be too distracting at night. There are three buttons to control the different functions of the clock and you don’t need to be connected to a network to make it function. It is powered by a 5V adaptor and has a 24 x 29 x 11 cm dimension.
Oh and aside from telling time, it can also serve as a phone stand as there’s a cylinder shape on the side of the clock that can hold your smartphone. Of course it destroys the illusion of being a vintage piece if you put a modern device there but if you’re going for a contrast, then that’s the perfect thing to add to this desk clock.
New Orleans architecture studio Trahan Architects has designed the USA pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka, which will include a suspended cube surrounded by LED screens showing American landscapes.
The US Department of State and US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel revealed images of the project, which will serve as a “cultural outpost” for the US during the six-month World Expo to be held in Japan in 2025.
Images of the US pavilion designed by Trahan Architects for Expo 2025 Osaka have been unveiled
“Serving as a cultural outpost for the United States, the USA Pavilion at Expo 2025 celebrates the best of contemporary American architecture, innovation, culture, and industry,” said the team.
Trahan Architects led the pavilion’s design, which “invites visitors to be immersed in a vibrant experience of the United States”.
It will consist of two wedge-shaped volumes surrounding a central plaza and a suspended cube
Renderings of the pavilion show a plaza located between two wedged-shaped volumes lined with oversized LED screens that span their length.
At the centre, a suspended translucent cube will link the two volumes and will sit just above visitors’ heads as they pass underneath.
Immersive exhibits will be located inside the building
The wooden floor of the plaza will gently arch as a homage to Japanese footbridges, according to the team.
Images of US urban and natural landscapes will be displayed on the LED screens, which will be reflected onto the cube.
The plaza will gently arch as a homage to Japanese footbridges
“At the centre of the USA Pavilion, bridging the two wings of the building, is a brilliantly illuminated translucent cube, which is suspended overhead, appearing weightless in its simplicity, anchoring the plaza,” said the team.
“Inside the ‘canyon’, visitors become fully immersed in vistas of the United States, juxtaposed with the mirrored surface of the cube suspended overhead, creating an opportunity for contemplation on the relationship between people, the built world, and the environment.”
Within the pavilion’s wedged-shaped volumes, additional immersive exhibits will “transport visitors to urban and natural locations across the United States and to outer space”.
Lobby and communal spaces, as well as a performance stage carved into an exterior wall, are also displayed in the images, with entrances pictured behind the cube.
LED screens that line the exterior walls will display US natural and urban landscapes
“Gathering across cultures and world regions to share ideas and learn from each other is essential to building a more understanding and human world. As architects, our mission is to bring people together in spaces that cultivate a greater sense of place and strengthen appreciation for our planet,” said Trahan Architects founder Trey Trahan.
“The USA Pavilion at Expo 2025 offers a rare opportunity to explore these critical issues and engage in a global conversation on the future of our environment and our cities.”
Materials for the pavilion will be sourced from disassembled buildings from the Tokyo Olympics
Materials for the pavilion, including steel, tensile fabric, and HVAC plumbing, will be sourced from the disassembled structures of the Toyko Olympics, according to the team, with plans to store the materials again for future use after the close of Expo 2025.
“The USA Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka will be an embodiment of American spirit, celebrating innovation, openness, and global cultural exchange,” said US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel.
Renderings show additional lobby and communal spaces on the building’s interior
“With two expansive wings designed to inspire visitors to the Expo and invite them inside, the USA Pavilion will encourage curiosity, and exploration, and offer opportunities to learn about all the United States has to offer.”
Expo 2025 is an upcoming world exposition of culture held in Osaka, Japan. Sanctioned by the Bureau International des Expositions, it will run from April to October 2025.
Suspended gabions weights provide a counterweight to the steel cantilever in this hilltop pavilion designed by Emiliano Domínguez and Santiago Martínez in Querétaro, Mexico.
Known as Espina, the pavilion sits high above a cattle ranch in Santiago de Querétaro, opening visitors to a 360-degree, panoramic view of the mountain landscape of central Mexico.
Espina was designed by Emiliano Domínguez and Santiago Martínez
“Espina emerges from the synergy of different elements that interact to achieve both structural and visual balance,” the team told Dezeen.
Two parallel concrete foundation walls rise out of the vegetation
“It is a pavilion without a defined program, serving the sole purpose of providing shade and directing views towards the horizon.”
Two parallel concrete foundation walls – cast in place due to the site’s geography and remote location that can only be accessed by horse or four-wheeler – rise out of the vegetation running north to south.
Bridging the concrete walls is an open platform
Bridging the concrete walls is an open platform that extends from the hillside out over the landscape. Cattle guards protect the entrance, and the walls rise slightly: one wall becoming a backrest for benches while the other lower wall frames the space.
A small wood-burning fireplace extends down on one side and a few potted plants decorate the space, which is otherwise left open to the surrounding views of the sunrise and sunset.
A black steel frame rises to support the roof structure
A lightweight, black steel frame rises to support the roof structure from one side. Shaped like a “4”, the modular frame forks out to hold a corrugated metal slanted roof.
“This framework serves a dual purpose – on one hand, delineating the footprint area, and on the other hand, extending in cantilever towards the west facade,” the team said.
Opposite the cantilever, the horizontal braces extend past the footprint and are anchored by gabion masses on tension cables. The gabions are composed of local stone that was extracted when the foundation was poured.
“The dilatation of the structure determines the distance of these counterweights in relation to an endemic landscape that, eventually, will take over the pavilion,” the team explained.
Espina sits high above a cattle ranch
“This contrast between materials and the structural integrity of the design emphasizes the specific function of each element.”
Smart speakers are becoming a common sight in homes these days, even those that have yet to wander into the smart home category. They come in all shapes and sizes, but most of the designs have one thing in common. Given the design of drivers, they can only project sound in one direction, usually forward. You can have a 360-degree speaker, but that requires having more complicated hardware or a cylindrical design that has to be placed somewhere in the middle of the room to make sure the sound reaches you where you are. This concept design, however, offers a simpler but more interesting solution, taking a cue from one of Mother Nature’s more curious creations. This circular speaker turns to make sure that sound is sent in your direction, following you all the time just like a sunflower follows the sun.
Designer: Joon-Yeol Bae
In general, sound travels in the direction an emitter, such as a speaker, is facing. It can bounce off objects or spread a bit in a cone, but on its own, it will never change its forward direction. Omni-directional speakers solve this by having drivers that face multiple directions to cover all possible directions. While effective and a common practice these days, it also means multiplying the number of components used, raising the build cost. In some cases, it also requires that the speaker be placed in an open and unobstructed area of the room, which limits your interior design options.
Solros, named after “sunflower” in Swedish, is a concept that takes an unconventional approach. Employing the same technologies used by self-driving cars and robot vacuums, it can tell where you are and rotate its disc-shaped head to always face in your direction. It can even detect how near or far you are from the speaker and adjust its volume to compensate for the distance. This has the effect of making the sound feel like it’s always following you, wherever you go inside a space.
The speaker is also designed to blend into the background if you need it or become the center of attraction if you want it. Its minimalist design, which can be made available in beige, black, red, and green colors, makes it a perfect fit for almost any interior. Its graceful movements also minimize distractions while, at the same time, becoming a point of curiosity for visitors. Needless to say, it’s going to be a conversation starter, especially when the music starts to play.
As interesting as this design might be, it does raise the question of how effective it will be when there is more than one person in the room. LIDAR alone won’t be able to give priority to certain individuals, say the homeowner, and the speaker might end up getting confused and frozen in place instead of making sure its sound is sent in the right direction. Solros definitely makes the composition of a speaker a bit simpler, but the logic necessary to avoid a deadlock makes it a bit more complicated than a more straightforward 360-degree speaker.
Smart speakers are becoming a common sight in homes these days, even those that have yet to wander into the smart home category. They come in all shapes and sizes, but most of the designs have one thing in common. Given the design of drivers, they can only project sound in one direction, usually forward. You can have a 360-degree speaker, but that requires having more complicated hardware or a cylindrical design that has to be placed somewhere in the middle of the room to make sure the sound reaches you where you are. This concept design, however, offers a simpler but more interesting solution, taking a cue from one of Mother Nature’s more curious creations. This circular speaker turns to make sure that sound is sent in your direction, following you all the time just like a sunflower follows the sun.
Designer: Joon-Yeol Bae
In general, sound travels in the direction an emitter, such as a speaker, is facing. It can bounce off objects or spread a bit in a cone, but on its own, it will never change its forward direction. Omni-directional speakers solve this by having drivers that face multiple directions to cover all possible directions. While effective and a common practice these days, it also means multiplying the number of components used, raising the build cost. In some cases, it also requires that the speaker be placed in an open and unobstructed area of the room, which limits your interior design options.
Solros, named after “sunflower” in Swedish, is a concept that takes an unconventional approach. Employing the same technologies used by self-driving cars and robot vacuums, it can tell where you are and rotate its disc-shaped head to always face in your direction. It can even detect how near or far you are from the speaker and adjust its volume to compensate for the distance. This has the effect of making the sound feel like it’s always following you, wherever you go inside a space.
The speaker is also designed to blend into the background if you need it or become the center of attraction if you want it. Its minimalist design, which can be made available in beige, black, red, and green colors, makes it a perfect fit for almost any interior. Its graceful movements also minimize distractions while, at the same time, becoming a point of curiosity for visitors. Needless to say, it’s going to be a conversation starter, especially when the music starts to play.
As interesting as this design might be, it does raise the question of how effective it will be when there is more than one person in the room. LIDAR alone won’t be able to give priority to certain individuals, say the homeowner, and the speaker might end up getting confused and frozen in place instead of making sure its sound is sent in the right direction. Solros definitely makes the composition of a speaker a bit simpler, but the logic necessary to avoid a deadlock makes it a bit more complicated than a more straightforward 360-degree speaker.
Interior Design Show Toronto director Will Sorrell has curated an exhibition of speculative spaces, including a model for transitional housing by architecture studio SvN for sites in mid-development.
Future Neighbourhood was an exhibition in the centre of the design trade fair Interior Design Show Toronto 2024 (IDS Toronto), which featured six different installations showcasing design’s “ability to shape our future”.
Each booth addressed a solution to an urban problem, with nearly half of the booths addressing different aspects of the housing crisis, which Sorrell pinpointed as the most pressing concern in today’s urban environment.
Future Neighbourhood was an exhibition at IDS Toronto 2024
“We looked at the applications and realised that housing was going to be one of the main conversations,” Sorrell told Dezeen.
“It reflects what everyone is worrying about right now and one of the big problems that designers are preoccupied with solving,” he said.
He also said that the exhibition tried to address the fair’s two audiences – the design industry and the public.
Architecture studio SvN installed a model of a timber transitional housing model. Photo by SvN
The exhibition took place in an enclosed miniature “neighbourhood” in the middle of the fair, with a large sign with the name of the exhibition bridging the entryway and central thoroughfare, towards which the booths were oriented.
One of the booths, called Housing the Unhoused, was put together by SvN in collaboration with the non-profit Two Steps Home and technology company Cabn.
IA Interior Architects designed a booth made from breezeblocks
The project includes a model for temporary housing made from cross-laminated timber meant to be placed on building sites in transition and provide a step of housing between encampments and more permanent housing.
Designed with energy efficiency and low-cost materials in mind, the “cabins” are meant to “to break the cycle of homelessness”.
SDI and Q4 created an installation addressing ageing populations
“The Two Steps Home project directly ties to SvN’s work across the full spectrum of housing and the firm’s vision for planning and designing, resilient, inclusive, and complete communities,” SvN chief growth officer Laura Sellors told Dezeen.
“Presenting a project of this typology within the context of IDS was, we hope, a bit provocative and a reminder that communities and the future of our neighbourhoods can be designed equitably and inclusively, where everyone has access to good design.”
Blokk is a deliverable ADU
Another project, Transform, by design studios SDI and Q4 was geared towards housing the elderly in new, more inclusive ways.
The booth included a cardboard structure decorated with graphics depicting features of micro infrastructure and further graphics on the ground and walls showed how these features could integrate with infrastructure and zoning more conducive to ageing people.
Safoura Zahedi created a geometric sculpture
Also in the vein of the housing crisis, local designer Noam Hazan showcased a modular accessory dwelling unit called Blokk that works on a “Tesla-like” model where buyers can purchase models online, customise them and have them delivered in a flat pack.
Technology was another consideration for the neighbourhood of the future.
Local studio IA Interior Architects created a booth that integrated both biomaterials and virtual reality, with a breezeblock wall made from bio-bricks and a wrap-around screen that created a scenic backdrop for meeting rooms or relaxing spaces in offices.
Technology firm Melo took a similar approach, creating an installation showing a space that combined “binaural” lighting, scents, sound and textures.
Melo created a space based around sound and scent
Finally, architect Safoura Zahedi created a sculpture made of reflective material based on her study of Islamic architecture. Called Journey Through Geometry, the installation was created as an experiment in new models of “spiritual design tools” to engage people with the built environment.
The photography is by Arash Moallemi unless otherwise noted.
IDS Toronto 2024 took place from 23-26 January in Downtown Toronto. For more worldwide events, exhibitions and talks in architecture and design, visit Dezeen Events Guide.
The able-bodied among us take putting our shoes on for granted. But for those with mobility issues, the act would be difficult to impossible without the use of a shoehorn.
The design of shoehorns hasn’t changed since they were invented. And as you can see from the images, it’s all about getting the right angle. What modifications could you make to the design, to make this act easier?
The unknown, but very clever, designer behind this variant has added a spring between the horn and handle.
This design draws rave reviews: As one reviewer put it, the spring is “stiff enough to not lose control of the horn positioning, soft enough to allow the horn to adapt to the proper angle between foot and shoe.”
“It’s a pleasure to see uncomplicated products where someone has thought about, and addressed all of the elements of easy, reliable and intuitive use and convenience. This is the kind of product that [should] be included in a book about classic designs.”
There are a few in the haute horlogerie that do futuristic, fiercely unconventional timepieces like the MB&F. The LVMH Watch Week is a place of reckoning for the best watchmakers, and it’s here that we see them going beyond the usual. Hublot for 2024 has gone seriously unconventional with the novel MP-10 Tourbillon Weight Energy System Titanium watch that sways afar with its display and functioning.
Over the years timekeeping machines in the higher echelons have evolved from analog and digital to the other variants of time telling. An example of such futuristic watches is the new Hublot which has a wraparound sapphire crystal over what you would consider the dial, revealing all the innards of the skeletonized movement components. This interesting layout ensures even the otherwise unorthodox time-telling is super legible.
MP-10 Tourbillon Weight Energy System Titanium’s interesting layout is designed in a way that the watch with its fluid, natural movement has to be read from top to bottom. The vertical time display is the first of its type for the Swiss luxury watchmaker complemented by an oversized micro-blasted titanium case emitting innovation from the first look.
The casing measures 41.5mm wide and 54.1mm from lug to lug. The watch has an integrated lug design with an otherwise large crown at 12 o’clock. The casing of the MP-10 Tourbillon Weight Energy System Titanium is little a talking point. The standout here is the most technically complex crystal wrapped around the watch sides. On the one side, you can see the 6 o’clock tourbillon, while the visible vertical movement can be seen running through from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock.
On the top of the watch face is the rotating hours scale with the rotating minutes display just alongside. Fascinating however is the power reserve indicator just below, which has red and green indication for movement winding and seconds. The MP-10 Tourbillon Weight Energy System Titanium is equally compelling within where the brand’s in-house HUB9013 automatic tourbillon movement runs the show. Comprising 592 pieces, the inventive movement offers 48-hour power reserve and beats at the rate of 21,600 bph.
For me personally, the caseback of the Hublot Tourbillon is more enticing than the front. The simple transparent caseback has a side cutout to accommodate the crown and tourbillon, and gives a nice view of the brushed and matte blasted skeleton bridges. MP-10 Tourbillon Weight Energy System Titanium watch paired with an integrated black rubber strap is only 30-meter water resistant; if that is not much of a concern, you can get one of the exclusive 50 watches for 250,000 CHF or $290,000 each.
Now that the campaign’s live, we’ve got better images of the thing, and more details on its development. The device did take a decade to develop, including “well over 300 prototypes” tested on “several hundred different drill and chuck combinations” to ensure it would fit well, no matter the drill.
In case it’s not obvious how it works, it projects a concentric ring of circles. When everything looks round and equidistant, you’re square…
…and it’s easy to see when you’re not.
The campaign is selling these in pairs, with one unit designed to work with 2″ to 5″ bits, and another designed to deal with bits up to 8″ in length. Additionally, you can choose between red or green lasers, with the green being easier to see, whereas the red uses less battery power. (Both units run on a pair of coin cell batteries.) Buy-in starts at $129 a pair, and they expect to begin shipping in March.
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