News: the developer behind Europe’s tallest residential towers has attacked “fake and insidious” press coverage of the project, after claims that the 47-storey skyscraper has been built without elevators went viral.
Rafael Ballesta, sales manager for the Edificio Intempo residential towers, described the media storm as “ridiculous” and said: “We are constructing the highest residential skyscraper in Europe so how is it possible to build without elevators?”
Edificio Intempo under construction
Dezeen was one of several publications to feature the story, which was originally reported by Spanish newspaper El Pais.
“The journalist from El Pais issued some fake news and everyone else just copy-and-pasted it,” Ballesta told Dezeen. “People must not believe this fake news”.
A Twitter account dedicated to the Edificio Intempo building, which is nearing completion in the Benidorm beach resort on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, has responded to some of the publications who reported the news by tweeting that it is false and its elevators are working.
Ballesta says the towers feature six “latest generation” elevators, with three installed in each of the twin towers.
Photo showing the elevator control panel by Raquel López
A Spanish journalist who has visited the building posted on her website that she had ascended as far as the building’s 45th floor using its elevators and included a photo that claims to show the elevator’s unfinished operating panel.
Photo of elevators from Edificio Intempo’s website
The project’s website also features photos of lift doors within the building.
In its story on 20 July, El Pais reported that the building was originally designed with 20 storeys, but developers later decided to extend it to 47 storeys and neglected to allow the extra room required by a lift ascending over twice as far. This meant that the top half of the building would be inaccessible by elevator.
Apartment interior
The twin 200 metre-tall building, designed by Roberto Perez Guerras Architects, claims to be Europe’s tallest residential building and is scheduled for completion in December 2013. Consisting of two slender towers joined at the top by an inverted conical structure, Edificio Intempo contains 269 luxury apartments, which are being marketed primarily to Russian buyers.
Here’s another track by Jordan Thomas Mitchell called Dead Messenger, which features a similarly gentle acoustic guitar pattern alongside a bluesy electric guitar riff and samples of bird song.
News: printing and packaging retailer The UPS Store has launched an in-store 3D printing service in six shops across the USA.
Stratasys, a leading manufacturer of 3D printers and production systems, has announced today that it is providing its 3D printing technology to The UPS Store, a subsidiary of United Parcel Service (UPS) of America that provides printing services and packaging materials in over 4700 shops in the US, Puerto Rico and Canada.
“The project is part of a test program by The UPS Store that will make it the first national retailer in the US to offer 3D printing service to entrepreneurs, architects, start-ups and other retail customers,” Stratasys said.
As part of their pilot, The UPS Store will install Stratasys’ uPrint SE Plus printers into six locations, starting in San Diego. Customers will be able to bring a Computer Aided Design (CAD) file in to the participating stores and have their designs 3D-printed on-site.
“The UPS Store and Stratasys share the vision of strengthening innovation and competitiveness by making 3D printing accessible to a growing number of users,” said Stratasys Executive Vice President, Jon Cobb.
You can read more about the way 3D printing is changing the worlds of architecture, design, food and medicine in Print Shift, our one-off print-on-demand magazine all about additive manufacturing.
Stratasys to provide 3D printers to The UPS Store for new retail 3D printing service
Stratasys uPrint SE Plus systems will be used in pilot program.
Stratasys, a leading manufacturer of 3D printers and production systems, today announced that it has been selected by The UPS Store to provide its 3D printing systems to The UPS Store as part of a test program that will make it the first national retailer in the U.S. to offer 3D printing service to entrepreneurs, architects, start-ups and other retail customers. This service will enable UPS Store customers to have their 3D design 3D printed on-site.
The test signals a collaborative effort by Stratasys and The UPS Store to make 3D printing accessible to small businesses as awareness of the technology and its capabilities grows. Stratasys 3D Printers can create on-demand, custom objects of virtually any complexity in a fast and simple process.
“3D printing technology is becoming increasingly accessible to a growing number of companies and consumers. Small businesses are beginning to realise how this revolutionary technology can help them to be more competitive,” said Stratasys Executive Vice President, Jon Cobb.
“The UPS Store and Stratasys share the vision of strengthening innovation and competitiveness by making 3D printing accessible to a growing number of users.”
While the program is aimed at small businesses, it is open to anyone interested in trying out on-site 3D printing services. “After doing a lot of research, we went with the Stratasys uPrint, because it has a small footprint and is easy to operate,” said The UPS Store small business technology leader, Daniel Remba.
Following the launch of the test, retail customers will be able to bring a Computer Aided Design (CAD) file to participating UPS Store locations and have their 3D design printed on-site.
The UPS Store is installing Stratasys uPrint SE Plus 3D Printers in six test locations, beginning in San Diego.
Here’s another great house record by the same producers, released by German label Aux Audio. We think it might be even funkier than their previous track.
News: London interior designer David Collins has died after a short battle with skin cancer, his office has announced.
Collins, best known for restaurant interiors including The Wolseley, J Sheekey, Nobu Berkeley and Massimo (pictured), died this morning. “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of David Collins following a short but valiant battle with cancer,” reads a message on his website.
“David died this morning at 1.20am surrounded by his family and loved ones. A truly gifted and inspirational man who has left us with some of the most remarkable and treasured interiors.”
“David’s death is a real shock,” wrote Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman in a tribute on vogue.co.uk. “As well as being responsible for designing many of the most influential London restaurants and bars of our age, he was a dear friend of many at Vogue.
She added: “His work merged luxury, glamour and heritage in an inimitable fashion and his company was always of the first and most enjoyable order.”
Born in Dublin, Collins founded David Collins Studio in London in 1985 and landed his first big commission when he was hired to design every branch of French-style restaurant chain Cafe Rouge.
More recently Collins designed retail interiors for fashion brands including Jimmy Choo, Alexander McQueen and Harrods.
Australian musician Arms Were Youth has sent us a new track called The Introduction Of Strong Magic, which features pulsing synths and electronic drums over the top of a fractured acoustic guitar part.
Like Sharply Towards Hell, the previous Arms Were Youth track we featured on Dezeen Music Project, it takes a bit of listening to get accustomed to the different sounds, but the patience soon pays off.
News: students at the Eindhoven University of Technology have unveiled what they claim to be the world’s first solar-powered family car.
Called Stella, and resembling a squashed, wingless aeroplane, the vehicle can seat four people and can travel up to 600 kilometres, powered by solar panels mounted on the roof.
The vehicle has been developed to take part in the new Cruiser Class category of the World Solar Challenge – a biannual 3,000km race race through the Australian outback from Darwin to Adelaide.
This new category will be introduced for the first time at this year’s event, taking place from 6-13 October, to reflect the growing interest in commercially viable solar cars.
Unlike the other categories, where speed is the main concern, the Cruiser Class is judged on criteria including comfort and usability. Cruiser Class vehicles must also carry a passenger as well as a driver.
“The design of the car of the future has to meet the needs of modern consumers,” says Solar Team Eindhoven, which is based at Eindhoven University of Technology. “The car must be capable of transporting a family from the Netherlands to France in one day, it needs to be suitable for the daily commute to work, and it needs to achieve all this in comfort.”
“Since the Solar Team Eindhoven wants to contribute to the development of a car of the future, the design demands more than just a focus on speed,” the team adds. “Comfort, ease of use, and feasibility are all key terms.”
The carbon and aluminium car features a buttonless, touchscreen dashboard and a responsive steering wheel that expands or contracts according to your speed.
Solar panels on the car’s roof will generate around half the energy it requires, with the remaining power coming from solar recharging stations.
Solar Team Eindhoven’s website provides more details of the World Solar Challenge race. “A large part of the energy to be used will be collected by solar cells as we travel,” it says. “During the race, there are only three opportunities to recharge the relatively small battery, which means the car has to be able to independently drive a minimum of 750 kilometers on electric energy. Besides the issue of energy and its management, navigation, safety and support will be essential.
“Once the race starts in Darwin, the teams are permitted to drive until 5.00 p.m. in the afternoon. After that, they have to set up camp in the outback and be ready to leave again at 8.00 a.m. The teams must be completely self reliant and must reach all seven checkpoints.”
Photos are by Bart van Overbeeke/TU Eindhoven.
Here’s some info from Eindhoven University of Technology:
TU/e student team unveils world’s first solar-powered family car
Solar Team Eindhoven starts World Solar Challenge in Australia with four-seater family car
The Solar Team Eindhoven (STE) of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) presented the world’s first solar-powered family car today. ‘Stella’ is the first ‘energy-positive car’ with room for four people, a trunk, intuitive steering and a range of 600 kilometers. This is the car being entered by the student team in the Cruiser class of the World Solar Challenge that starts in Australia in October 2013.
A car that produces electricity
The solar cells of ‘Stella’- Latin for star and also a reference to the family character of the car – generate more electricity on average than the car uses and that means the surplus electricity can be returned to the power grid, thereby making the car ‘energy-positive’.
The car of the future
Solar Team Eindhoven has set itself the goal of developing the car of the future. By combining aerodynamic design with lightweight materials like carbon and aluminum, a very fuel-efficient car has been designed, which also has ingenious applications like a LED strip and touchscreen that make all the buttons and knobs we know today superfluous. Intuitive driving is enabled by a steering wheel that expands or contracts when you are driving too fast or too slowly. STE will have the car officially certified for road use to prove that this really is a fully-fledged car.
World Solar Challenge
University teams from all over the world will be competing in a 3,000 km long race through the Australian outback. Solar Team Eindhoven is taking part in the Cruiser class in which the emphasis lies on practical and user-friendly solar cars rather than on speed. The ‘solar race’ takes place from 6 to 13 October 2013. Back in the Netherlands there will be a tour of high schools to promote engineering and science in education.
The engineer of tomorrow
Thanks to Solar Team Eindhoven entry, TU/e is represented for the first time in the Solar World Challenge. A multidisciplinary team (with 22 students from six different TU/e departments) has spent a year on this project that involves challenges from the fields of energy and mobility. Cooperation with industry has given the students an opportunity to become familiar with top-notch entrepreneurship, thereby underlining TU/e’s vision of educating the engineer of tomorrow. TU/e professors prof.dr. Elena Lomonova and prof.dr.ir. Maarten Steinbuch are members of the steering group.
Eindhoven University of Technology
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is a research-driven, design-oriented technology university with a strong international focus. The university was founded in 1956 and has around 7,200 students and 3,000 staff. TU/e is geared to the societal challenges posed in the areas of Energy, Health and Smart Mobility.
News: an amended proposal by architect Frank Gehry for a memorial to President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington D.C. has been approved after several years of debate over its design.
Following a presentation by Gehry on Friday, the Eisenhower Memorial Commission voted through his proposed changes, despite continuing dissent from members of Eisenhower’s family.
In 2001, Gehry accepted criticism of the original proposal, which the family claimed was too extravagant. The design features large woven steel “tapestries” depicting scenes from Eisenhower’s early life in Kansas.
Gehry has now added plans for sculptures showing him with troops of the 101st Airborne Division at the Normandy landings and signing the first Civil Rights Act since Reconstruction.
“The memorial celebrates Eisenhower as general and president. In bronze and stone, he is represented by his words and by the people who helped him accomplish so much,” said Gehry in a letter to the Commission.
“Eisenhower’s story, achievements, and words have been an inspiration to countless Americans,” he added. “I hope you will find that the memorial we have designed to commemorate his life will serve as a beacon to amplify that inspiration.”
The Commision’s decision to back the updated design means that the project can now be presented to the US Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission.
Read Frank Gehry’s letter to the Eisenhower Memorial Commissioners below:
Commissioners:
Thank you for inviting me to be here today.
President Eisenhower said, “I come from the very heart of America”, and it is a sentiment he expressed often.
He did not come from great beginnings, yet he became a great general and a great President.
He was born in a modest frame house, yet he became one of the most revered occupants of the White House.
I come here today more humbled than ever to present the evolution of our design for the Eisenhower Memorial. I have spent the last four years immersed in Eisenhower’s words,and the words of those who have shaped how history will define him. These two perspectives are often at odds – one modest, the other monumental.
President Eisenhower’s historic achievements and his genuine humility combined to make him truly exceptional. This unique combination – common modesty paired with uncommon vision and leadership – is what equipped him, time and again, to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds; to succeed in the face of great adversity.
Victory in the face of obstacles is Eisenhower’s story, but it is also the story of America: the promise that anyone can rise from any background to become anything he or she wants, through hard work and diligence.
This is our history, but it is also our future. It is the promise that should inspire each visitor to the memorial.
In designing this memorial to President Eisenhower’s life of public service, we have striven to embody that balance, to create a physical memorial that exemplifies the immaterial qualities that have made him an indelible part of our nation’s legacy.
As you know, Eisenhower’s story starts in Abilene – the heart of the Middle West. Throughout Eisenhower’s life, he never stopped considering Abilene a part of himself – his true home. It was here that his identity was formed. It was here where he developed the qualities that would take him from the beaches at Normandy to the White House.
Abilene served as our inspiration for a backdrop to Eisenhower’s story – not only because of its importance to him, but because of its message to future generations of America’s leaders. Abilene serves as a reminder that out of difficult circumstance come character,innovation, and even greatness. It demonstrates that dreams can be achieved as long as they are bolstered by hard work, perseverance and education.
Eisenhower’s modest, pastoral roots are represented on the tapestries that surround the memorial and set the stage for the memorial core.
The memorial celebrates Eisenhower as General and President. In bronze and stone, he is represented by his words and by the people who helped him accomplish so much.
As General, he is depicted with the troops of the 101st Airborne Division, with thelanding at Normandy in the background.
As President, he is depicted in an artistic representation of him signing the first Civil Rights Act since Reconstruction.
The landing at Normandy was the turning point in the Western Front and in the salvation of Europe from the Nazis. The signing of the Civil Rights act was one of the many significant pieces of legislation that Eisenhower shepherded into law. It exemplifies his passionate advocacy for all of the citizens of this great country and his unshakable belief that everyone – regardless of their race– deserved equal access to the resources that make america great.
Eisenhower saw himself as an ordinary man, yet his leadership was extraordinary.
He was a humble man, yet his achievements continue to make Americans proud.
He did not set out to make history, but his strength of character has resonated for generations.
Eisenhower’s story, achievements, and words have been an inspiration to countless Americans. I hope you will find that the memorial we have designed to commemorate his life will serve as a beacon to amplify that inspiration.
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.
