Hasta La Ideas

Architecture student Tyler Short has developed an alternative to the traditional window shade – mechanical louvres that move in three dimensions to adapt to sunlight at different times of the day (+ movie).

Like vertical indoor blinds, the conceptual Penumbra shading system would hang down in front of windows and could be pivoted left and right to adapt to the east and west orientations of the sun. But it would also be able to fold upwards to create a horizontal shade against the high afternoon sun.

“This project was designed to offer a kinetic and mechanical solution to a problem that would otherwise be nearly impossible to solve with static architectural components: providing shading across a building facade for both low evening sun and high afternoon sun conditions,” explained Short, who created the design for his architecture degree at the University of Oregon.

“Our solution was a series of vertical shading louvres, that can independently pivot to maximise solar protection, and when the sun reaches an altitude in which vertical louvres would be ineffective, completely rotate upwards to act as a horizontal shading element and light shelf,” he added.

Short has produced a short animation to demonstrate the concept, showing the louvres powered by a system of cogs and gears. The designer says the system could be powered by either hand or computer.

Put into motion, the shades create an undulating ripple across the facade.

The post Kinetic louvres move in three dimensions
to screen sunlight from any angle appeared first on Dezeen.

Fashion designer Maiko Takeda has added glow-in-the-dark designs to her range of spiky masks and body adornments for an exhibition of her work in Paris (+ movie).

Maiko Takeda has extended her Atmospheric Reentry millinery and jewellery collection to include a neckpiece that glows under black light.

The latest design, which wraps around the head and over the shoulders, is presented in a movie by digital art publication POSTmatter.

“When I met Remi Paringaux and his team from POSTmatter last summer to discuss ideas on our collaboration film project, I remembered images of glowing lights in space, such as aerial photographs of northern lights, burning comets and so on in my references,” Takeda told Dezeen.

“I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity to return to this inspiration and see what I can do with it.”

Takeda applied fluorescent pigments to the translucent plastic spikes one by one, combining sprayed gradients of colour with more intense flecks of paint.

The film flicks between light and dark to show the transformation of the piece under UV light. It also shows the delicate translucent bristles ripple in a breeze.

“The way the spikes waved was also beautiful,” Takeda said. “It almost looked like fluorescent jellyfish in water.”

After the film was made, she decided to create another smaller piece that would illuminate in the dark to accompany the first glowing design.

“I used light-emitting pigments instead, so during the day you can only see translucent spikes but when dark it emits lights and glows by itself,” she explained.

Takeda first designed her Atmospheric Reentry collection while studying at London’s Royal College of Art and presented pieces at the institution’s annual fashion show last year.

Icelandic singer Björk has also performed wearing one of Takeda’s headdresses, after seeing the designs on Dezeen.

She now hopes to create pieces that are more wearable day-to-day. “My interest now is to expand the collection including a series of more wearable fashion items,” said Takeda.

“This is not to say I want to make something compromised, but it would be exciting to challenge how far the idea can be developed and cross over the fields of couture and product design.”

The exhibition of her work at the Joyce Gallery in Paris continues until 22 March. Photography is by Ayako Kichikawa.

The post Prickly headdresses by Maiko Takeda
glow in the dark appeared first on Dezeen.

Alchemist Lauren Bowker applied heat-sensitive ink to a sculptural leather garment and used fire to alter its colour during a presentation for her company The Unseen (+ movie).

Coinciding with London Fashion Week earlier this month, Bowker’s design house The Unseen debuted a series of garments embedded with her colour-changing ink at an event in the Dead House – a series of vaulted passages beneath Somerset House where her studio is located.

She created a giant black headdress made from overlapping layers of hand-stitched leather that engulfed the wearer like a shell, completely covering the head and extending down past the hips.

During the presentation, a figure wearing this headdress was lead down a tunnel and positioned beneath a spotlight. Large flames erupted around the garment as wicks that protruded from the body were lit in unison.

As the heat from the fire lapped the material, peacock-tail colours began to emerge and disperse across the surface. When the flames died down, the green and purple tones remained on the material as the model was lead back into the depths of the underground vaults.

The collection also included garments worn over the torso that react to the movement of air, changing colour as environmental conditions shift in varying climates and when people come close or walk past.

“Seasonally each piece exhibits different tones of colour,” Bowker told Dezeen. “The summer environment will create a brightly coloured jacket that will dull in the wind to become black again, whereas in the winter the pieces are black until the wind hits them then revealing the colour shift.”

Made in a similar layered style to the larger heat-responsive piece, these designs were displayed on models in alcoves along the subterranean tunnels.

“The fins in each jacket are shaped and designed to create turbulence trips within the wind – triggering the colour-change response,” said Bowker.

She has previously applied different versions of her reactive inks to feathered garments that are sensitive to light.

The post Colour-changing ink transforms flame-engulfed
headdress by Lauren Bowker appeared first on Dezeen.

An Alpine choir pivoted on hydraulic platforms as part of French fashion house Moncler’s Autumn Winter 2014 presentation at New York Fashion Week, which concludes today (+ movie).

Moncler created an audio-visual installation called Winter Symphony to showcase the brand’s Moncler Grenoble ski and winter wear collection at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom on Saturday.

Members of the ten-piece Pendulum Choir stood on small platforms and were strapped to the mechanisms around the torso, legs and feet as they sang an updated version of a traditional Alpine song.

Dressed in down-filled morning suits, the nine singers and one conductor tilted in various directions as pistons behind their backs and under their feet contracted and expanded.

Behind them, sixty male and female choir members dressed in black and white Moncler outfits stood in rectangular boxes stacked four levels high.

Each box was illuminated around the edges, separated from each other so they appeared to float in the darkened theatre.

Lights shining on the choir members flashed as the larger collective joined in singing with the smaller group.

The presentation took place on 8 February during New York Fashion Week, which finishes today.

The post Hydraulic mechanisms tilt singers at Moncler
Autumn Winter 2014 presentation appeared first on Dezeen.

London architecture office Make has designed a portable prefabricated kiosk with a folded aluminium shell that opens and closes like a paper fan (+ movie).

Make based the design of the kiosks on the folded paper forms of Japanese origami, but chose to reproduce them in metal to create a compact and robust structure that can house street vendors.

“Origami was fundamental in developing the design; the ideas of a folding fan informed the design and folded paper models were used throughout the process, right up to the final testing of the completed design,” project architect Sean Affleck told Dezeen.

Two of the kiosks were installed in a public plaza at London’s Canary Wharf and acted as information and vending points for the duration of an ice-sculpting festival last month.

Affleck said the kiosks were created to perform multiple functions at different venues: “They’ve been designed to be used anywhere and for a multitude of purposes; from serving coffee, to information points, to a spot for DJs at events.”

The folded structure is made from hinged aluminium panels that radiate from a central axis and are treated with a resilient powder-coated finish.

A counterweight system controlled by a winch raises the front of the kiosk upwards from the base to create an opening that reveals the interior.

The folded section forms a canopy that protects the inside and anyone standing in front of the counter.

An interior space measuring 1.95 by 3 metres is lined with a plywood skin covered with a waterproof membrane, while a further layer of cladding creates an insulating gap to reduce the impact of solar gain.

Make collaborated with metal fabrication specialist Entech Environmental Technology Ltd to manufacture and test the pavilions off-site and then transported and installed them pre-assembled.

The kiosks will continue to be used as information points or rented out to vendors during an ongoing series of events taking place in Canary Wharf, and can subsequently be moved to a new location.

All images are courtesy of Make.

The architects sent us the following project description:

Make kiosks open for business

Two unique prefabricated retail kiosks designed by Make Architects were opened to the public for the first time when they became part of the Canary Wharf’s Ice Sculpturing Festival.

The simple folding geometric form of the kiosk is based on the concept of origami.

Expressed as a compact, sculptural rectangular box when closed, the structure is transformed when open, with folds and hinges in the aluminium panels allowing them to expand and contract like a fan when the kiosk opens and closes.

Sean Affleck, Make lead project architect, said: “It’s fantastic to see the kiosks on site being used and enjoyed by the public, and adding vibrancy and character to Canary Wharf’s public realm area.

“Our solution on the modern street kiosk is a distinctive sculptural rectangular box that transforms when it opens and its function is revealed. The design is also efficient and functional with compact, robust, durable, easy to maintain and vandal and graffiti- proof features. The internal fit-out elements can be adapted to suit the needs of individual vendors.”

The extremely lightweight, portable structure was tested and prefabricated off-site by Entech Environmental Technology Ltd, delivered to Canary Wharf via lorry and installed complete and pre-assembled.

The post Folded metal kiosks by Make
open like a paper fan appeared first on Dezeen.