Gensler has created a residential complex in Canada with integrated EV parking garages
“The EVE Park homes are designed within circular clusters with stepped rooflines that create dynamic spatial experiences between buildings and allow roof-mounted solar panels to optimally harness energy,” said Gensler principal Oliver Schaper.
“The circular clusters promote community within a shared courtyard and offer small private outdoor spaces on the outside embedded in a park-like setting, creating a residential experience centred on connection to the outdoors.”
The development consists of four circular apartment buildings
Renderings of the design show four circular apartment buildings with cascading roofs topped with solar panels, clustered together on an L-shaped site.
Autonomous EV parking garages mark the highest point of the curved roofline and descend along one side of the buildings, covered in plants.
The parking garages will help reduce vehicular land occupancy
The garages will be integrated to reduce land occupancy of vehicles, including driveways and individual car garages, while providing more green space for the apartment’s occupants.
“At the tallest end of the building, a vertically stacked garage houses electric vehicles that will be shared amongst dwellers, reducing the community’s carbon footprint and emissions,” said Gensler.
Other design strategies, such as energy-efficient appliances and Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs) for air filtration, will help the complex reach net-positive energy consumption, according to the firm.
The buildings will host 84 households configured as one, two and three-bedroom condos.
Cascading roofs are topped with solar panels
Interiors will have double-height living space with multiple picture windows and large fireplaces.
The landscaping and paths will surround the apartment buildings, with further plantings placed at their centres and a pond sits at one corner.
Interior renderings picture double-height spaces
“EVE Park is forward-thinking in its program conceptualization and demonstrates how the integration of nature and technology can usher in the community of the future,” said the firm.
It is currently under construction, according to Gensler.
3D printing has already come a long way since it was first introduced in the 80s. It still hasn’t reached the levels where almost every household has one like we now have with regular printers of course. But now we’re seeing consumer-level 3D printers as well as “templates” we can download and print on our own. Even if you only have a basic knowledge of how this technology works, it’s pretty easy to try it out on your own or at least find a tutorial online on how to do it. If you’re a fan of the old school transformers, these downloadable templates will be right up your alley.
Dr. Operator has been publishing 3D model templates on Printables and they’re quirky and interesting, especially if you like toy collectibles. But instead of the usual IP-related collectibles that remain faithful copycats, you get his own take on things like Star Wars’ AT-AT, Scooby Doo’s Mystery Machine, Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K, etc. If you’re a fan of the Transformers series, then you’ll appreciate his latest series of 3D models that take inspiration from our favorite robots, but adding his own style and flair (and back story).
There are currently only two templates in this series but hopefully we get more robots soon. The Ham and Cheese model is a robot that turns into, you guessed it, a ham and cheese sandwich. It was inspired by the designer’s favorite Transformer, Soundwave. The “back story” is that the Ham is an Autobot and the Cheese is a Decepticon and they decide to abandon the fight and just become a sandwich. The Hippie Van Transformer is what exactly the name says it is. There are different toy car brands but the designer says that the Transformers are still the coolest so he created this.
There is still an upcoming 3D model kit that isn’t available yet on Printables but it may just be the coolest. It’s a robot that turns into a telephone headset and may even have a built in Bluetooth module. For kids out there, a telephone is what we used to communicate before there were smartphones. We’re looking forward to what other Transformers templates he’ll be able to come up with eventually.
The Texas-based studio is known for its residential and educational buildings, from massive pavilions that integrate rainwater collection systems and tower lake houses.
The AIA jury cited Lake Flato Architects‘ work as having raised the “collective consciousness surrounding our climate crisis”.
Lake and Flato met at the office of American architect O’Neil Ford in the late 1970s and formed their studio in 1984. Since then, they have developed projects of different scales all over the country, with a continued emphasis on the particular climate and needs of Texas.
Read on for 10 key projects by Lake Flato Architects.
Josey Pavilion is a 5,400-square-foot (502 square metres) open-air pavilion that serves as visitor centre and educational facility for the environmental group Dixon Water Foundation.
The wood for the open-air structure was locally sourced and all of the exposed framing and siding is reclaimed pine. The structure is solar-powered and has a series of chains that collect rainwater and channel it to reclamation systems, which is managed on-site.
This lake-side residence was built on only a small portion of the property, due to a sensitive floodplain ecosystem.
The two-storey dwelling has a 75-foot (23 metres) lap pool on one side and a double-height screen wrapping a patio on the other, allowing for natural ventilation. Inside, an open-air boardwalk connects the two ends of the house’s upper layer.
The Hotel San Cristóbal Baja in Mexico was designed in collaboration with designer Liz Lambert and shows the studio’s range in terms of typology, but also its enduring dedication to materials that make sense for the local context.
Designed as the first international location for hotel group Bunkhouse, the 32-room boutique hotel is clad in pale plaster. Wooden canopies cover the outdoor areas and the open causeways leading to the rooms allow for the harnessing of ocean breezes.
Whereas much of the studio’s residential works mirrors the low-lying ranch style typical to Texas, this lake-side house is noteworthy for its vertical structure. It stands three storeys tall on the lake-side slope and has an outdoor staircase wrapped in metal mesh that rises from its concrete foundation.
The main body of the home was clad in wood, with generous glazing on the top floor. Dramatic cantilevers in the roofing system and in a viewing platform add a sense of width to the property.
This educational facility in a national park was designed to showcase the fossils of dinosaurs without the need for staff.
The structure has two wings with a large, open-air courtyard in the middle, covered by a metal canopy suspended by poles. The building has solar panels and is clad in low-maintenance corrugated metal that has a patina matching the desert landscape.
Created with architecture studio Matsys and landscape firm Rialto Studio, this pavilion features several connected concrete shade structures created for water management, gathering and education.
The sculptural forms provide shade for visitors and also work to collect rainwater, which is then funnelled into a system that feeds it back into the park.
Adjacent to the sculptural forms is an education centre embedded in a berm with wooden doors and native grasses growing on its roof.
This sprawling centre features six buildings made from pine and was built on a floodplain susceptible to damage from the frequent hurricanes that strike the Gulf Coast.
The complex involves two sections on either side of a bayhead, bridged by a suspended metal walkway. The structures and connecting walkways were lifted above the ground on high points on the site to avoid flooding and they were placed in groves of trees to help mitigate damage from strong winds.
For this 2,000-square-foot (186-square-metre) suburban house, Lake Flato worked with construction technology firm ICON on a liveable 3D-printed dwelling.
Major structural details and walls were printed by ICON’s Vulcan construction system, which emits a concrete-like material. The steel-reinforced walls have slight groves and were topped by a wooden roof system and rafters that extend from the inside out.
This house in a town north of Lake Flato’s home base of San Antonio was designed “to sit lightly upon the land,” according to the studio. It was designed to avoid excavation and tree removal with two of the buildings raised above the ground with poles
The structure consists of three Corten steel-clad volumes oriented around a central courtyard. Inside, high pyramidal hipped roofs were lined with warm wood.
Sited in the East Texas desert, this residence was inspired by the early ranch houses of the region.
It features eight structures with rammed earth walls organised around a central courtyard. At one end of the property, a long wooden boardwalk connects the house to a pool made from a converted water tank, which was the only preexisting structure on the site.
Although a lot of the world today revolves around digital documents and files, there are definitely plenty of people who still espouse analog systems, especially when it comes to taking notes and productivity. In fact, there are many productivity systems today that utilize paper notebooks or even sticky notes, better known as Post-its, though the latter are also notorious for creating a mess rather than helping you stay on top of things. Part of the problem is that sticky notes make it too easy to, well, stick these square pieces of paper anywhere, which means potentially losing them or ending up being more disorganized than ever. This Post-it Note Holder design concept tries to solve that by providing a space for all your sticky notes needs, including a place to stick them.
Sticky notes today come in different sizes and even shapes, but the colored square format remains the most popular because of its ease of use and space efficiency. It forces you to condense what you need to write down to the most essential pieces of information, and they often don’t take up too much space either. That is until you find your desk, your board, or even your computer monitor littered with these sticky squares, at which point they defeat the entire purpose of trying to keep your life in order.
This concept encapsulates a whole system designed around sticky notes so that you don’t have to work hard to keep everything in a single place. Of course, there’s the actual holder for keeping a stack of notes always ready to receive your scribbles, but there’s also a curve at the back to hold a pen, saving you from having to scramble for one just when you really need it. The most prominent part of this note holder, however, is the very tall and narrow board that rises from the holder. This serves as a more limited space for sticking your notes after you’ve written them.
The design is intentionally limited in space, which forces you to only stick the really important notes the same way sticky notes themselves force you to be concise and quick. At the same time, it still leaves plenty of room for flexibility and personal workflows, like arranging your notes in a literal hierarchy of importance. Or you could order the notes according to their urgency or due dates, watching the colored squares slowly march down as you complete your tasks.
The concept also has room for variations in design, like one that could be hung on a wall and has an inclined note holder for easier access to the pad. And for the truly disciplined Post-it user, the “base” configuration of note and pen holder still gives the convenience of having the essentials always ready when inspiration strikes. You just have to be sure you don’t fall back into the habit of sticking your notes everywhere and then forgetting where you put them after just a few hours.
When startup Purcell set out to create a new, packaging-reducing dispensing system for grocery stores, they turned to design and engineering consultancy 219 Design.
Purcell is bringing disruptive innovation to the grocery aisle. 219 Design and Purcell have teamed up to design a sustainable, modern IoT solution for food merchandising. The S1 introduces a new way to merchandise that moves the packaging to the purchase phase – eliminating those half empty bags and boxes we are all only too familiar with.
Modernizing Food Merchandising
The Purcell S1 isn’t just a bulk food dispenser, it’s a brand new way to merchandise food. As a result, Purcell needed a development partner with experience across software, firmware, mechanical, and electronic engineering. They also needed a development firm with a breadth of expertise spanning IOT connectivity, sensors, displays, microcontroller, load cells, mechanism design, mobile app development, and more.
Building The First Prototype
219 Design was hired to develop the first fully functional S1 prototype. Part of our process is to break large scale projects into smaller phases to address high-risk areas early on. This ensures that we are always making incremental progress while working toward the main goal.
Phase 1: De-risking and System Architecture
During this phase, we focused on developing the overall system architecture, as well as addressing several areas of known technical risk.
We were able to converge on a simple, low-cost solution to one of the primary technical challenges: by using pull-cables and isolated mounting points, we were able to fully decouple the forces on the dispensing handle from the load cell the bin was resting on.
Phase 2: Detailed Design
With Phase 1 complete, we then transitioned into the Detailed Design phase. This is where the core of our engineering development takes place and was focused on developing a fully-specified design for the pilot build. Rather than working in silos, our mechanical, software, and electronic teams came together and worked as a team to design a cohesive solution.
Phase 3: Final Prototype Integration and Build
Phase 3 was focused on integrating, debugging, and preparing the S1 prototype for pilot deployment.
The Solution
The result is a hygienic IoT-enabled dispenser for the merchandising of many free-flowing products using a proprietary, airtight, and standardized cartridge system. Both the retailer and shopper benefit from lower costs, immersive marketing experiences, portion control, and zero waste.
What’s Next?
For Purcell, the end goal is to redesign grocery supply chains with a flatpack for food and everyday essentials similar to the supply chain IKEA created for furniture. After successful implementations with retailers and brands, Purcell is refining the design for manufacturing to meet outstanding demand. Hopefully you will see an S1 dispenser in your local supermarket soon!
“We put a lot of effort into finding projects where we can not only add value, but that also make a difference in the world. Purcell’s S1 was a perfect combination of those two objectives. Our partnership and shared vision resulted in a fantastic solution.” —Miguel Piedrahita, Co-Founder, 219 Design
Speaking of ancient battle helmets, Christie’s recently auctioned this one off for $1.2 million.
That’s a Roman helmet made of iron, brass and copper, fabricated sometime around 125 to 175 A.D.
Fantastic condition aside, the helmet is missing two important parts: The cheek-guards. They either got lost sometime over the past 1,874 years, or maybe someone left them in the back of an Uber. But master armourer Jeffrey Hildebrandt, who recreates historically accurate armor and runs Royal Oak Armoury in Canada, took his best guess at what they’d look like. Hildebrandt recreated the entire helmet from scratch, and the finished product is stunning:
“A conjectural cheek piece,” Hildebrandt writes, “conflated from several indirect sources.”
Lastly, Hildebrandt took a little license with the neck protection:
“An unusual feature of the original helmet is a copper-alloy flange inside the neck guard bearing three slots,” he writes. “The slots appeared to have been for articulating additional plates to, for the purpose of extending the protection of the neck. The two lower plates here are conjectural.”
If you want to LARP with one of these on, good luck; the helmet doesn’t appear to be for sale, and Hildebrandt’s current work backlog is 24 to 36 months. (Then again, if you’ve waited for 1,800 years, what’s a few more?)
Promotion:Foster + Partners Industrial Design team has collaborated with German door handle brand FSB to launch a door handle collection that conveys the architecture firm’s attention to detail.
Foster + Partners’ industrial design team created the FSB 1291 and FSB 1292 door and window handles for FSB, which are regarded as a premium solution for civic and commercial spaces.
The cornerstone of the product family is FSB 1291 – a handle that combines a distinctive shortness with a flattened top edge, giving it a pronounced contact surface.
The handles are available in Aluminium Pure, a signature FSB finish
FSB 1291 with its pebble-like softness is designed to be pleasurable for both the hand and eye and was moulded to fit the palm. FSB describes the product’s subtly refined design as elevating the overall experience of moving through a building.
“When we take hold of a lever handle, this is often our first contact with a building,” said head of Foster + Partners Industrial Design, Mike Holland. “A coherently designed handle provides a warm welcome – through looks and haptic qualities geared towards utility and inspired by people’s needs.”
The initial design of the FSB 1291 shaped the rest of the product family, which includes FSB 1292 – a handle with a longer grip.
Foster + Partners designed the FSB 1291 door handles to have a shorter, flatter shape
Further enhancing the tactility of the handles is the option of FSB’s new finish: Aluminium Pure. The brand describes it as “a visual and tactile advance and at the same time particularly sustainable”, as the usual final steps in aluminium processing are eliminated, leaving a raw appearance that makes the product easily recyclable.
According to FSB, making aluminium in this way also uses less energy and water.
1292 FSB is part of Declare, which is a “nutrition label” for building products designed to help specifiers identify products that meet their project requirements.
According to FSB, Declare discloses all intentionally added ingredients or residuals present in the final product by weight, which is at or above 100 parts per million – 0.01 per cent.
The design language of the 1291 is continued across the product family
The FSB 1291 and 1292 handles are also offered in standard aluminium, stainless steel and bronze – metals that according to FSB have a long life and suit a wide variety of architectural concepts. They come in a variety of versions for different requirements and an EN 179-compliant model.
Founded by Norman Foster in 1967, Foster + Partners is one of the world’s leading architecture firms, known for buildings such as London’s Gherkin and California’s Apple Park.
FSB was founded in 1881 by Franz Schneider, a maker of antique-style cabinet fittings and brass devotional items who eventually came to focus on hardware for doors and windows.
For more information on the FSB 1291 and 1292 handles, visit the FSB website.
Partnership content
This article was written by Dezeen for FSB as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
Made of steel, it was designed for mass production; the Brodie helmet, as it came to be called, was cut from a sheet in one piece, then pressed into shape. It was issued to Commonwealth forces, and later U.S. soldiers, during World War I.
This Chalcidian helmet was fabricated around 2,200 years earlier, sometime around 350-250 B.C., by a designer whose name we’ll never know:
Made of bronze, it was worn into battle by Greek soldiers from the Chalcidice region. It is striking to see how much more ornate this object, which had to be painstakingly made by hand, is versus the mass-produced design above.
The helmet hews to form-follows-function. The brows are curved for the sake of visibility, with a widow’s peak offering a few extra millimeters of protection. The cheek guards are actually hinged, making the helmet easier to don and doff. There are cutouts for the wearer’s ears so that they can hear commands.
Then there’s the most notable feature, which you’re probably wondering about: What’s with the drinking straws up top, what function could they possibly serve?
The answer, surprisingly, is terror. Those tubes are actually “plume holders,” meant to hold, get this, feathers.
“Feathers were popular embellishments on Chalcidian helmets, intended to intimidate enemies and show an association with Ares, the god of war, who is often depicted wearing a crested helmet,” writes Christies, who auctioned the helmet off this month. “Both [of the ancient historians] Livy and Polybius make reference to aigrettes (horsehair crests and/or feathers) and their ability to create fear in battle.”
“I am Ares, God of War, and I’ll SHOVE THESE FEATHERS RIGHT UP YOUR @#*&%$”
This alternative Greek design, made around the same time as the Chalcidian helmet, is known as a Pilos helmet:
Less thought has been given here to human factors, with more focus given to decoration. The helmet has wings, for spiritually-invoked protection if not actual physical protection; they’re a callback to Hermes, the messenger of the gods and protector of human heralds.
He would later indulge his true passion: Luxury women’s handbags
What really caught my eye are the spiral plume holders.
Let’s think about this for a second. Of the two plume holder designs in these two helmets, which is superior? I believe there’s only one right answer.
I believe the spiral design is superior. Think of this: How are the feathers meant to be held in place, and remain in place during battle? It’s not like they had zip-ties back then. With the tubular design, I assume they stuck the feather(s) in and poured melted wax from a candle into the tube to hold them in place. With the spiral design, you could conceivably weave the quill in and out of the helix, holding it in place with friction.
An alternative possibility is that they jammed so many feathers into each holder that friction held them all there, like a fistful of straws.
Whatever method they used, it’s difficult to imagine all of the feathers remaining in place during a pitched battle. But it is fun to imagine whatever silly pre-game ritual they used to affix the feathers prior to battle. (Also: Do you reckon the soldiers had to source the feathers themselves, or that a quartermaster handed them all out?)
The Pilos design also features this crazy curlicue on the top.
GoPro mount? No, the description says that it, too, is a plume holder. I can’t fathom how it was used.
Both of these helmets, by the way, fetched eye-watering sums at auction. The Chalcidian went for $283,500, and the Pilos sold for $214,200.
Japanese culture and history have always been a source of inspiration for the entire design world. We see Japan-inspired designs in almost every aspect of our lives, so why not in the world of LEGO?! Japanese culture has managed to inspire many talented LEGO builders around the world, resulting in beautiful creations that perfectly capture the essence and spirit of Japan. From a bowl of steaming hot ramen to the traditional Shogun Armour, LEGO master builders have managed to capture them all in the form of exquisite and intricately built LEGO constructions. Dive in!
1. LEGO Ramen Bowl
Micdud’s LEGO Ramen Bowl is made using LEGO bricks and it looks super realistic! “The model was designed, as a fully customizable construction, thanks to a wide selection of ingredients,” says LEGO builder Micdud. The ramen bowl includes a “bamboo” roll-out pad, a stunning “ceramic” bowl made with intricate details, as well as chopsticks that are hidden in a decorated “paper” wrapping. It also includes a special chirirenge spoon!
2. LEGO Cherry Blossom
These lovely LEGO Cherry Blossoms are designed to get you ready for Spring! The LEGO build features two buildable cherry blossom twigs that can you mix and match to create some pretty white and pink blooms. You need to build the flowers with the 438 pieces that come with the set, to build two twigs that measure up to 14 inches.
3. The Great Wave of Kanagawa
The Great Wave of Kanagawa is one of the most iconic paintings in the art world. It is a lovely and significant hallmark of Japan’s Ukioy-e art movement, and LEGO Art’s interpretation of it includes plastic blocks and a brick count of 1810 pieces. The build also includes a special brick that holds artist Hokusai’s signature! It makes use of multiple dot-shaped bricks that give the painting a pointillism effect.
4. LEGO Sushi Board
If you’re a sushi lover, then this LEGO Sushi Board is a dream come true for you! Made using 1348 pieces, this sushi board is accompanied by matching chopsticks, 6 types of sushi, ginger, wasabi, as well as a matching bowl of soy sauce. The objects aren’t attached to the board, and they can be moved around and arranged, creating an interactive and adorable sushi experience. The sushi includes – one regular and one vegetarian maki roll, a regular uramaki roll, a shrimp nigiri, a salmon nigiri, and an egg nigiri!
5. LEGO Toyota GR Supra
To celebrate the iconic Toyota GR Supra’s 35th anniversary a few years ago, LEGO Japan, LEGOLAND Japan, and Toyota Gazoo Racing created a life-size replica of the sports car. The LEGO version was wider than the original automotive and weighed more as well – almost 4156 pounds. The car was almost entirely made of LEGO bricks, which was truly a commendable and impressive sight, whether you’re a LEGO fan or not!
6. LEGO Girls In Kimonos
Inspired by a summer trip to Japan, LEGO builder The DriXx built two girls in kimonos and traditional Japanese accessories using LEGO bricks! One of the kimonos was embossed with cherry blossoms, while the other one was inspired by cranes and flowers. He wanted to capture the sight of people wearing yukatas or summer kimonos during the summer festival, with everyone walking around cheerfully. He used flower pieces and rounded tiles for the intricate and beautiful patterning of the kimonos.
7. LEGO Eventide
This 2486-piece LEGO mosaic signifies eventide- 宵 (you), which is a Kanji character symbolic of the hours of the evening until midnight. The character also represents the eve of an event, particularly festivals. The LEGO build was created to celebrate the many flower festivals that are held in Japan, and the beautiful flower motif blossoming from the setting sun is meant to signify the growing excitement and merriment on the eve of festivals.
8. LEGO Japanese Koi Fish Pond
LEGO builder ToboPro created a LEGO koi fish pond with koi that swims around if you rotate the handle. Koi fish have a lot of significant value and meaning in Japanese culture. They represent perseverance, luck, love, and prosperity, and ToboPro wanted to translate these meaningful concepts into a tangible build made using 1970 pieces. The pond is decorated with bamboo and other greenery.
9. LEGO Shogun Armour
This beautiful ornate shogun design by Mohamed Marei artfully uses a balance of LEGO Technic and System parts. Each LEGO piece has been chosen to beautifully replicate the plated nature of the ancient Japanese armor, creating a design that is divine looking. Mohamed used all types of gold 1×1 round plates in this build. Tread pieces were also used around the arms above the elbow and at the base of the warrior’s kusazuri.
10. LEGO Soba Noodle Bowl
Build by LEGO builder John Snyder this bowl of soba noodles looks so yummy and appealing, it almost looks real! John wanted to build radish slices, and slowly and steadily he created a whole bowl of noodles. He inserted bicycle wheels into inverted radar dishes to create the radish slices. The chopsticks are made from LEGO as well, and the color balancing is perfect, really making the entire dish stand out.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
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“I am Ares, God of War, and I’ll SHOVE THESE FEATHERS RIGHT UP YOUR @#*&%$” 
He would later indulge his true passion: Luxury women’s handbags 
