OP-jects by Bilge Nur Saltik

Royal College of Art graduate Bilge Nur Saltik has designed dimpled glassware that creates kaleidoscopic effects (+ movie).

OP-jects by Bilge Nur Saltik

Pieces in Saltik‘s OP-jects collection are patterned with concave cuts around their lower portions, which act like a series of magnifying glasses and warp views through the glass.

When placed on a purposefully designed tablecloth covered in brightly-coloured triangles they create optical illusions.

OP-jects by Bilge Nur Saltik

Water contained within the vessels distorts the reflections further, so imagery is constantly changing while drinking from a glass.

The collection includes a carafe, tumbler and two different bowls. A set of rippled glass wall tiles were also created as part of the project.

OP-jects by Bilge Nur Saltik

Saltik studied on the Design Products course at the Royal College of Art and is exhibiting her glassware at Show RCA, which continues until 30 June.

Design Products course leader Tord Boontje recently announced that he will step down from his post in September after four years in the role.

OP-jects by Bilge Nur Saltik

More projects from this year’s Royal College of Art graduates include bicycle helmets made from newspaper pulp and tools for musicians to change lighting and sounds at their gigs while playing their instruments.

We’ve also published glasses that reference patchwork quilts by Nendo and colourful tessellating glass tables by Sebastian Scherer.

See more design with glass »
See more projects by Royal College of Art students »
See more work from this year’s graduate shows »

The designer sent us the following info:


OP-jects by Bilge Nur Saltik

This playful series by Royal College of Art graduate Bilge Nur Saltik contains daily life objects with optical illusions.

OP-jects by Bilge Nur Saltik

Presented at Royal College of Art graduate show in London this week, the playful series contains glassware, wall tiles and a tablecloth to reveal this secret, magical and playful lenticular effect. The function of the objects triggers the effect of illusions and it reveals hidden visual secrets.

“I am manipulating the information brain receives by distorting the image with layering different materials. Playing with colour and geometrical patterns enhance the optical illusions. These objects designed to change the pace of our ordinary life. They will surprise you by unexpected change and distortion on what you see during simply drinking water.”

OP-jects by Bilge Nur Saltik

Glass pieces cut by hand to get concave cuts and sharpen edges. Different size cuts works like magnifying glass. They distort and multiplies the pattern underneath cause a psychedelic experience.

Bilge Nur Saltik is graduating from Platform 18 of the Design Products course at the Royal College of Art, where the show opens to the public from 20–30 June.

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Synth[e]tech[e]cology by Chang-Yeob Lee

Royal College of Art graduate Chang-Yeob Lee has developed a concept to transform the BT Tower in London into a pollution-harvesting high rise (+ movie).

Synth[e]tech[e]cology by Chang-Yeob Lee

Entitled Synth[e]tech[e]cology, the project predicts the eventual redundancy of the 189-metre tower – currently used for telecommunications – and suggests repurposing it as an eco-skyscraper that collects airborne dirt particles and helps to reduce the level of respiratory illness in London.

Synth[e]tech[e]cology by Chang-Yeob Lee

The process would involve extracting the carbon from petrol fumes and using it to produce sustainable bio-fuel.

Synth[e]tech[e]cology by Chang-Yeob Lee

“The project is about a new infrastructure gathering resources from pollutants in the city atmosphere, which could be another valuable commodity in the age of depleting resources,” says Chang-Yeob Lee.

Synth[e]tech[e]cology by Chang-Yeob Lee

Lee describes his proposal as “a hybrid between a vertical oil field and laboratory for future resources”. The exterior of the tower would form a giant eco-catalytic converter, while the interior would house a research facility investigating methods of increasing air movement and maximising the efficiency of the structure.

Synth[e]tech[e]cology by Chang-Yeob Lee

Similar structures could also be fitted to other unused high rises to create a network of pollution-reducing architecture.

Synth[e]tech[e]cology by Chang-Yeob Lee
System anatomy – click here for larger image

Referencing a quote from architect Buckminster Fuller, Lee says: “Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we’ve been ignorant of their value.” He adds: “Pollution could be another economy”.

Synth[e]tech[e]cology by Chang-Yeob Lee
Prototype model

Synth[e]tech[e]cology is Lee’s diploma project from the architecture programme at the Royal College of Art in London and he was one of two winners of the Student Prize for Architecture at the Royal Academy of Arts‘ Summer Exhibition.

Synth[e]tech[e]cology by Chang-Yeob Lee
Masterplan diagram – click here for larger image

Other projects from this year’s RCA graduates include bristly headdresses made from colourful plastic spikes and bicycle helmets made from old newspapers. See more projects by 2013 graduates.

Synth[e]tech[e]cology by Chang-Yeob Lee
Project aim – click here for larger image

Other conceptual skyscrapers we’ve featured include a building that would produce energy and clean water from algae, a tower constructed from rubbish and a hairy skyscraper that functions as a wind farm. See more conceptual architecture.

Synth[e]tech[e]cology by Chang-Yeob Lee
System assembly – click here for larger image

Here are a few words from Chang-Yeob Lee:


Synth[e]tech[e]cology _ Greenhouse Gas to Economic Asset

“Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we’ve been ignorant of their value.” – R. Buckminster Fuller

Synth[e]tech[e]cology by Chang-Yeob Lee
Study diagrams – click here for larger image

Harnessing advancements of various particle-capturing technologies, this project envisions that air pollution as a valuable commodity in an age of depleting resources. The scheme utilises the Post Office Tower adjacent to Marylebone Road, one of London’s most polluted areas, as a hybrid between a vertical oil field and laboratory for future resources scrubbed from the atmosphere.

Synth[e]tech[e]cology by Chang-Yeob Lee
Concept diagram – click here for larger image

The project aims to show how hybrizided new infrastructure can gather pollutants, store, digest, and harvest them to dilute minerals and biofules, celebrating clean air process on the ground level. The ultimate ambition of the project is to be deployed as a retro-fitting strategy to tall unused or derelicy buildings in London, showing that alternative routes to ‘economic profit’ meaningfully engaged into pollution can be a provocative strategy for ‘sustainable ecology’.

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(No)where (Now)here: Two Gaze-activated Dresses by Ying Gao

Fashion designer Ying Gao has fabricated a pair of dresses that writhe around and light up when someone stares at them (+ movie).

(No)where (Now)here: two gaze-activated dresses by Ying Gao

“We use an eye-tracking system so the dresses move when a spectator is staring,” Ying Gao told Dezeen. “[The system] can also turn off the lights, then the dresses illuminate.”

(No)where (Now)here: two gaze-activated dresses by Ying Gao

The gaze-activated dresses are embedded with eye-tracking technology that responds to an observer’s gaze by activating tiny motors to move parts of the dresses in mesmerising patterns.

(No)where (Now)here: two gaze-activated dresses by Ying Gao

One dress is covered in tendrils of photo-luminescent thread that dangle from ruched fabric. On the other, glow-in-the-dark threads form a base layer with fabric cut into ribbons loosely bunched over the top.

(No)where (Now)here: two gaze-activated dresses by Ying Gao

With the lights off they create an effect similar to glowing sea creatures.

(No)where (Now)here: two gaze-activated dresses by Ying Gao

Called (No)where (Now)here: Two Gaze-activated Dresses the project will be exhibited at the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art in November, then at the Textile Museum of Canada in spring 2014.

(No)where (Now)here: two gaze-activated dresses by Ying Gao

Ying Gao has also designed dresses that curl and unfurl in reaction to light, as well as garments that move as if they are breathing.

(No)where (Now)here: two gaze-activated dresses by Ying Gao

We’ve previously written about an eye-tracking camera that’s controlled by blinking and squinting, plus plans to mark roads with luminescent paint so they glow at night.

(No)where (Now)here: two gaze-activated dresses by Ying Gao

See more fashion design »

Here’s some more information from Ying Gao:


(NO)WHERE (NOW)HERE: 2 interactive dresses

The project was inspired by the essay entitled “Esthétique de la disparition” (The aesthetic of disappearance) by Paul Virilio (1979).

“Absence often occurs at breakfast time – the tea cup dropped, then spilled on the table being one of its most common consequences. Absence lasts but a few seconds, its beginning and end are sudden. However closed to outside impressions, the senses are awake. The return is as immediate as the departure, the suspended word or movement is picked up where it was left off as conscious time automatically reconstructs itself, thus becoming continuous and free of any apparent interruption.”

The series comprising two dresses, made of photoluminescent thread and imbedded eye-tracking technology, is activated by a spectators’ gaze. A photograph is said to be “spoiled” by blinking eyes – here however, the concept of presence and of disappearance are questioned, as the experience of chiaroscuro (clarity/obscurity) is achieved through an unfixed gaze.

Super organza, photoluminescent thread, PVDF, electronic devices.

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Movie: The Leadenhall Building by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

This time-lapse movie by photographer Paul Raftery and producer Dan Lowe documents the construction of “the Cheesegrater”, a 225-metre skyscraper by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners that topped out today in the City of London.

The Leadenhall Building by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
Photograph by Paul Raftery

Positioned opposite Richard Rogers‘ famous Lloyds Building, the 50-storey Leadenhall Building will feature a glazed body that is tapered to respect views towards St Paul’s Cathedral. It was this angular shape that inspired its popular nickname.

The Leadenhall Building by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
Photograph by Paul Raftery

Set to open in 2014, the tower will predominantly contain offices but its base will house a seven-storey public space filled with shops, restaurants and exhibition areas.

The Leadenhall Building by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
Photograph by Dan Lowe

The movie by Raftery and Lowe frames the first six months of a year-long project to record the final stages of construction. Work on the building previously stalled for over two years when developer British Land experienced financial difficulties but has been progressing steadily since the start of 2011.

The Leadenhall Building by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
Photograph by John Safa

See more images of the Leadenhall Building in our earlier story, or see more architecture by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, including the soon-to-complete extension to the British Museum.

Music is by George McLeod and titles are by Alex Ashworth.

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Help! I Want to Save a Life by Graham Douglas for Help Remedies and DKMS

A bandage pack containing a bone marrow donor registry kit has won a White Pencil at the D&AD Awards (+ movie).

Help! I’ve Cut Myself and I Want to Save a Life kits, which can be bought over the counter, contain plasters and bandages for covering small cuts, as well as cotton swabs. A small amount of blood from a cut can be caught on a swab and posted to a marrow donor registry in a pre-paid envelope, which also comes in the simple green and white package.

Graham Douglas, a member of creative agency Droga5, came up with the idea after his twin brother was diagnosed with Leukaemia and an unknown bone marrow donor saved his life.

Marrow Donor Registry kit wins D&AD White Pencil Award

“Unfortunately, the marrow donor registry is one of the most underrepresented donor programs in the world,” says Douglas. “It’s no wonder really – most people think registering as a marrow donor is painful and complicated, when really all it takes is a couple of drops of blood.”

Douglas’ idea aims to catch potential donors when they are already bleeding, and give them all the necessary components to send their sample to a donor registry easily.

He set up the scheme with pharmaceutical company Help Remedies and international marrow donor registry DKMS, and registrants have tripled as a result.

Help Remedies create colour-coded medicine packets named after symptoms rather than ingredients, for example paracetamol labelled Help! I’ve Got a Headache.

Marrow Donor Registry kit wins D&AD White Pencil Award

The annual D&AD Awards honour exemplary design and advertising projects. One White Pencil is awarded each year to reward creativity for social good.

Other winning projects at this year’s D&AD Awards, which took place earlier this week, include Thomas Heatherwick’s Olympic Cauldron, BarberOsgerby’s Olympic Torch and the new UK Government website.

Last year, Apple was named best design studio of the pasty fifty years at a special ceremony commemoration the awards’ 5oth anniversary, while D&AD president Neville Brody described plans to remove creative subjects from the school curriculum in the UK as “insanity”.

More medical design we’ve featured includes Christmas stockings filled with blood for donation and a range of pill containers by Yves Behar.

See more design for health »
See more stories about D&AD »

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Rubix by Chris Kelly

This conceptual technology by architecture graduate Chris Kelly would allow individuals to project digital imagery over their perception of reality and then manipulate it like the layers of a Rubik’s Cube (+ movie).

Rubix by Chris Kelly

Chris Kelly developed the concept for his graduation project at the University of Greenwich, exploring how flaws in human perception can cause contradictions with reality and how virtual environments can be used to reveal more about a person’s surroundings.

Rubix by Chris Kelly

“Our understanding of space is not always a direct function of the sensory input but a perceptual undertaking in the brain where we are constantly making subconscious judgements that accept or reject possibilities supplied to us from our sensory receptors,” he says. “This process can lead to illusions or manipulations of space that the brain perceives to be reality.”

Rubix by Chris Kelly

The idea is based around the science that the senses gather various streams of data every second, which are then selected or rejected by the human brain. Kelly proposes a digital device that could compile all of these pieces of information and relay them back to the individual within the limits of their physical space.

Rubix by Chris Kelly

“The redirection techniques and the use of overlapping architecture allow the same physical space to hold a much larger virtual space,” he told Dezeen.

Rubix by Chris Kelly

Referencing existing virtual reality technologies such as bionic contact lenses and the voice-controlled Google Glass headset, Kelly explains that the technology could be used in endless scenarios.

Rubix by Chris Kelly

“One of the more obvious uses is in the gaming industry. Another possible use is in the architectural design process, where rather than creating fly throughs or models that can be viewed on a screen it would be possible to actually move through a virtual mock up of a design or even work from inside a virtual model whilst editing it in real time,” he says.

Rubix by Chris Kelly

Chris Kelly completed the project for Unit 15 of the architecture diploma course at the University of Greenwich, now led by the Bartlett School of Architecture‘s former Vice Dean Neil Spiller. The unit is a reincarnation of the Bartlett’s successful film and animation module, which boasts Kibwe Tavares’ award-winning Robots of Brixton project as one of its products.

See more of this year’s graduation projects, including a series of towering seaside structures and a shape-shifting ballet school.

Here’s a short description from Chris Kelly:


Rubix

The project was conceived as a complementary exercise to the written architectural thesis Time and Relative Dimensions in Space: The Possibilities of Utilising Virtual[ly Impossible] Environments in Architecture that explores the way in which virtual environments could be deployed within the physical world to expand or compress space. The thesis investigated existing research in neuroscience, psychology and philosophy, which was added to with empirical primary tests, to identify gaps in our perception that lead to a contradiction between our perception and reality. It was found that when moving with natural locomotion, such as walking in a physical space our perception of distance and orientation is incredibly malleable and can be manipulated by replacing the visual sense with a virtual stimulus that differs from what we would experience in reality. This manipulation can take the form of redirection techniques, such as rotation and translation gains and overlapping architecture which result in a stretching or compressing of distances in the virtual environment we see whilst moving through a physical space. This effect creates a TARDIS space which allows vast expanses of virtual worlds to be explored within a small physical space without ever reaching the limits of that space.

The aim of the rubix project was to develop an animation that described a conceptual tool for deploying these malleable virtual environments that could be used by their creators to shift space around us. The rubix concept stemmed from the need for an algorithmic formula for controlling the use of redirection techniques; it allows for many different spatial combinations whilst a level of control is constantly maintained. In the animation the initial Escher-esque space is a representation of our perceptual system where huge amounts of information arrive in the brain from multiple streams. The process of perception involves the brain selecting and rejecting contradicting pieces of information leading to a perception of reality that only gives us glimpses into the world we are in.

The animation represents a journey through the chosen site that was explored during an earlier project which was a stretch of the Docklands Light Railway between Beckton and East India stations. The virtual journey is compressed into 5 minutes using transitional spaces that enclose the explorer whilst the environment shifts around them. The redirection techniques deployed in the film have been exaggerated in some parts to make them more identifiable but as explored in the thesis it is also possible to deploy them subtly so the shifts in the environment would not be perceived. The development of products such as Google Glass and bionic contact lenses at the University of Washington mean it is becoming increasingly possible to overlay virtual information on the physical world. In the future this information could be overlaid so subtly and convincingly that it is possible that distance and space will become increasingly malleable and cavernous virtual spaces could exist within a small physical space, with Doctor Who’s TARDIS becoming a perceived reality.

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W Hotels Designers of the Future Award 2013 projects at Design Miami/Basel

Winners of this year’s W Hotels Designers of the Future Award have revealed their projects at Design Miami/Basel (+ movie).

W Hotels Designers of the Future Award 2013 projects at Design Miami Basel
Glass lamps by Bethan Laura Wood for W Hotel Mexico City

Jon Stam from Canada, Bethan Laura Wood from the UK and Seung-Yong Song from South Korea were each sent to a new W Hotels branch and asked to create work for the hotel influenced by their destination.

W Hotels Designers of the Future Award 2013 projects at Design Miami Basel
Jon Stam with his Claude Glass mirror for W Hotel Verbier

After visiting Verbier, Stam collaborated with local photographer Guido Perrini to show digital images of the resort in all seasons in the centre of a black mirror. Turning the object changes the speed at which the images are shown.

W Hotels Designers of the Future Award 2013 projects at Design Miami Basel
Bethan Laura Wood with her glass lamps for W Hotel Mexico City

Wood designed a series of colourful glass lamps that combine Aztec patterns and Art Deco shapes following her trip to Mexico City. She worked with Italian and Mexican glass specialists to create her table lamps, wall lights and chandeliers.

W Hotels Designers of the Future Award 2013 projects at Design Miami Basel
Seung-Yong Song with one of his Wheeljek mirror for W Hotel Bangkok

Song travelled to Bangkok, where street food carts became his reference for a range of portable furniture, which includes a mirror, storage compartments and a table.

W Hotels Designers of the Future Award 2013 projects at Design Miami Basel
Seung-Yong Song’s Wheeljek mirror for W Hotel Bangkok

The work is on display at the Design Miami/Basel event, which continues until Saturday. This year’s laureates were announced during Milan design week in April.

Designers including Max Lamb, Philippe Malouin and Asif Khan are all previous winners of the annual prize. See more past winners and projects from Designers of the Future »

Read the full press release below:


Following Design Trips to W Hotels around the World, Designers Have Created Pieces Inspired by Local Communities to Later be Installed at W Hotels in Verbier, Bangkok and Mexico City

Continuing its commitment to innovation in design, W Hotels Worldwide today unveiled the works of the 2013 W Hotels Designers of the Future Award winners during Design Miami/ Basel (June 11-16, 2013). Now in its fourth year, the collaboration between W Hotels and Design Miami/ seeks to give emerging designers a global platform from which to showcase their work.

This year for the first time the three winning designers were sent to specific new or renovating W Hotels to solve a particular design challenge or need. In addition to being showcased at Design Miami/ Basel, the newly commissioned, site-specific works will later be installed at W Hotels in Verbier, where the W brand’s first ski retreat will debut later this year; Bangkok, which opened in December 2012; and Mexico City, which will soon undergo renovation.

“Design has been core to the DNA of the W Hotels brand since our inception in New York City nearly 15 years ago,” said Paul James, Global Brand Leader, W Hotels, St. Regis and The Luxury Collection. “The W Hotels Designers of the Future Award allows us to work with the best emerging design talent from around the world, while providing a global platform of exposure for these young talents during Design Miami/ Basel and beyond.”

W Hotels Designers of the Future Award 2013 projects at Design Miami Basel

For this year’s commission, the winners, including Seung-Yong Song (Korea), Jon Stam (Canada) and Bethan Laura Wood (UK), have unveiled their interpretation of the brief, entitled “Making Connections.” Each designer’s project facilitates exchange between local communities and the international visitors who pass through them, whether for business or leisure. The goal of these projects is to deepen the appreciation for the distinct regional characteristics found in each destination.

“The W Hotels Designers of the Future Award has become an important incubator for emerging talents, allowing the winners to develop a project and directly interact with the receptive audience at Design Miami/ Basel,” said Marianne Goebl, Director of Design Miami/. “This year, the award is brought to yet another level by incorporating a research trip. We are thrilled to see the designers’ experiences reflected in their projects in a meaningful and engaging way.”

Designers ‘Making Connections’ Around the World

Seung-Yong Song’s Wheeljek Collection was created for W Bangkok and takes its inspiration from the fluidity and flexibility of the city’s ubiquitous street food carts. Observing the ingenuity of the design of this everyday object, Song was struck by the many uses of the carts in the bustling capital; it is at once a means of transporting goods, a kitchen, a restaurant and a bar. His collection takes the street cart concept and transforms it into an object which can be adapted to suit the user’s needs and modified into various forms and sizes, from cart to table to storage.

Designed for W Verbier, Jon Stam’s Claude Glass is an abstract timepiece that captures the landscape of the small Swiss village throughout the seasons. Stam has collaborated with local photographer Guido Perrini to capture Verbier within a digitized black mirror where one can speed up or reverse time by turning the object. As most tourists experience the destination during its world renowned ski season, Claude Glass provides a medium for a different kind of travel, showcasing the picturesque locale all year long.

Bethan Laura Wood’s Crisscross is a glass fixture created for W Mexico City and designed to evoke a cascade of floating flowers. The work combines a range of influences taken from the city, from its colorful markets and graphic displays of flowers to the Aztec-meets-Deco architecture and triple-relief Baroque detailing. Wood has enlisted the specialist skills of two different worlds of glass – artisan Pedro Myver, a Pyrex master in Italy, and Nouvel Studio, the Mexican colored glass specialists – to make work that crosses the boundaries of local and global, acting as a conduit for creative communication.

W Hotels Designers of the Future Award 2013 projects at Design Miami Basel

Started in 2006 at Design Miami/ Basel, the Designers of the Future Award recognizes up-and-coming designers and studios that are expanding the field of design. Each year, three designers or studios are selected as a way to honor a variety of approaches in the constantly evolving landscape of contemporary design. The Award moves beyond pure product and furniture design to acknowledge technologically and conceptually vanguard pieces that work across multiple disciplines, offering the next generation of design creatives the opportunity to present newly commissioned works to an influential audience of collectors, dealers, and journalists at Design Miami/ Basel.

The W Hotels Designers of the Future Award also draws attention to design practices that exemplify new directions for the design field, and as W Hotels continues to grow globally, the Award provides the W design and innovation teams with access to the world’s brightest talent in contemporary design. The objective for W Hotels is to create a vision of how guests may conceptually interact with cutting-edge and technologically advanced design solutions throughout hotel Living Rooms (the W brand’s re-interpretation of the hotel lobby) and guestrooms globally.

The winners were selected by an international jury that included Jan Boelen of the Design Academy Eindhoven and Z33; Tony Chambers of Wallpaper* magazine; Aric Chen of M+ Museum Hong Kong; Alexis Georgacopoulos of Ecole Cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL); Marianne Goebl of Design Miami/; Benjamin Loyauté, author, curator and journalist; and Mike Tiedy of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, parent company of W Hotels Worldwide.

Qualifying candidates for the W Hotels Designers of the Future Award must have created original works in the fields of furniture, lighting, craft, architecture and/or digital/electronic media. Candidates must have been practicing for less than 15 years and have produced a body of work that demonstrates originality in the creative process, while also exhibiting an interest in working in experimental, non-industrial or limited-edition design.

Previous winners of the W Hotels Designer of the Future Award, including Philippe Malouin, Markus Kayser, Tom Foulsham, Asif Khan, Beta Tank, Graham Hudson, Mischer’Traxler, Random International, Studio Juju and Zigelbaum & Coelho, continue to celebrate their successes. W Hotels guides each award winner from the conceptual stage to a level, which ultimately provides a global platform whereby they can expose their work to guests and design enthusiasts alike.

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Strange Symphony by Philipp Weber

German designer Philipp Weber’s glassblowing pipe with valves like a trumpet won the New Talents Award at DMY Berlin last week (+ movie).

Creation of a Strange Symphony by Philipp Weber_2

Philipp Weber studied at Design Academy Eindhoven, where he became intrigued by the glassblowing process and the possibility of altering the outcome by adapting the blowing pipe.

Creation of a Strange Symphony by Philipp Weber_1

He added a system of valves to the pipe so that Belgian glassblower Christophe Genard could influence the inner shape of the glass by opening and closing different air streams.

Creation of a Strange Symphony by Philipp Weber_5

A video documenting the use of the new instrument focuses on the sounds and rhythms created as the glass is formed by blowing and manipulating it using a series of tools.

Creation of a Strange Symphony by Philipp Weber_4

“The relation between the glassblower and his tool is very important, since it bridges his connection to the material,” says Weber. “What if I change the tool? Does it change the material? And what if design doesn’t start at the product but at the tool?”

Creation of a Strange Symphony by Philipp Weber_10

The DMY International Design Festival Berlin is one of the stops on our Dezeen and MINI World Tour, and we’ll be publishing more stories and videos from the event in the next few days.

Creation of a Strange Symphony by Philipp Weber_11

Last week a glass pendant with a tiny brass chandelier inside it was presented at ICFF in New York, while Norwegian designers StokkeAustad and Andreas Engesvik created a series of blown-glass trees for Stockholm Design Week earlier this year – see all stories about glass.

Here are some more details about the project:


In ‘Creation of a strange Symphony’ Philipp Weber portrays the performance of a glassblower using a new and unusual tool.

Creation of a Strange Symphony by Philipp Weber_12

Pivotal to this work was Weber’s desire to discover the world of a glassblower. In Belgium he was able to watch glassblower Christophe Genard working with the hot material. The designer questioned himself, ‘How can I inspire his interest to work with me?’.

Creation of a Strange Symphony by Philipp Weber_13

Genard’s most important tool, the blowing pipe, caught Weber’s attention. In the past 2000 years only minor alterations have been made to the 1.5m long steel pipe, with no effect to the material. ‘What would happen to the glass if the function of this tool radically changed? How would Christophe adapt to a new pipe?’.

Creation of a Strange Symphony by Philipp Weber_14

And so, by manipulating the pipe, he took influence on the inner shaping of the glass.

Creation of a Strange Symphony by Philipp Weber_15

Simultaneously to this process, Weber also sensed a strong rhythm and musicality in the way Genard was working on the glass. The pipe as a tool for glass production, appeared to be like a musical instrument to him.

Creation of a Strange Symphony by Philipp Weber_16

He could not resist the idea to translate the mechanism of a trumpet into an application for blowing glass.

Together with an engineer and the knowledge from preceding experiments for a new tool, he worked on an ‘instrument’ – an allegoric bond of craft and music – inspiring Genard to ‘improvise’ the glass, to start a dialogue with the material.

Playing the valves, Genard would shape the glass from inside, activating different air streams. The transformation of the pipe into an instrument provoked a performance of glass making. A short-movie, several glass objects and the instrument itself communicate this dance with the fire.

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Ads with a New Purpose by Ogilvy & Mather for IBM

These billboards by creative agency Ogilvy & Mather stretch outwards to double as street furniture (+ movie).

Designed for IBM‘s Smarter Cities campaign, the strategy fuses advertising with helpful additions to the street such as benches, shelters and ramps.

Ads with a New Purpose by Ogilvy and Mather for IBM

Ogilvy & Mather designed one billboard that curves over at the top to form a rain shelter and another that peels up from the wall to create a seat. A ramp covering steps assists those wheeling bicycles or suitcases through the streets.

Ads with a New Purpose by Ogilvy and Mather for IBM

Each ad uses simple graphics in bold colours to represent its function, with text encouraging users and passers by to interact online.

The billboards were first launched in London and Paris, and IBM intends to roll out the designs across other cities around the world.

Ads with a New Purpose by Ogilvy and Mather for IBM

Last month we reported that researchers from IBM had redesigned the bus routes across Ivory Coast’s largest city using data from mobile phones.

Other stories about street furniture include a bollard with a foot rest and handle to help cyclists keep their balance at traffic lights and a perforated street lamp.

See more street furniture design »

Ogilvy sent us the extra information below:


IBM & Ogilvy France Create Ads with a New Purpose

IBM is committed to creating solutions that help cities all over the world get smarter, in order to make life in those cities better.

That’s why IBM and Ogilvy are working together to spark positive change with the “People for Smarter Cities” project, and unite city leaders and forward-thinking citizens.

To spread the word, Ogilvy created outdoor advertising with a purpose: a bench, a shelter and a ramp that are not only designed to be beautiful, but to be useful to city dwellers as well.

Initially launched in London and Paris, IBM has plans to take this idea to cities around the world and inspire citizens to think about simple ways they can help make their cities smarter.

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Silkworms and robot work together to weave Silk Pavilion

News: researchers at MIT Media Lab’s Mediated Matter group have created a dome from silk fibres woven by a robotic arm, which was then finished by live silkworms (+ movie).

The project is intended to explore how digital and biological fabrication techniques can be combined to produce architectural structures.

The team programmed the robotic arm to imitate the way a silkworm deposits silk to build its cocoon. The arm then deposited a kilometre-long silk fibre across flat polygonal metal frames to create 26 panels. These panels were arranged to form a dome, which was suspended from the ceiling.

Silk pavilion completed by MIT researchers

6500 live silkworms were then placed on the structure. As the caterpillars crawled over the dome, they deposited silk fibres and completed the structure.

The Silk Pavilion was designed and constructed at the MIT Media Lab as part of a research project to explore ways of overcoming the existing limitations of additive manufacturing at architectural scales.

Mediated Matter group director Neri Oxman believes that by studying natural processes such as the way silkworms build their cocoons, scientists can develop ways of “printing” architectural structures more efficiently than can be achieved by current 3D printing technologies.

“In traditional 3D printing the gantry-size poses an obvious limitation; it is defined by three axes and typically requires the use of support material, both of which are limiting for the designer who wishes to print in larger scales and achieve structural and material complexity,” Oxman told us earlier this year. “Once we place a 3D printing head on a robotic arm, we free up these limitations almost instantly.”

Silk pavilion completed by MIT researchers

Oxman’s team attached tiny magnets to the heads of silkworms so they could motion-track their movements. They used this data to programme the robotic arm to deposit silk on the metal frames.

“We’ve managed to motion-track the silkworm’s movement as it is building its cocoon,” said Oxman. “Our aim was to translate the motion-capture data into a 3D printer connected to a robotic arm in order to study the biological structure in larger scales.”

Silk pavilion completed by MIT researchers

Their research also showed that the worms were attracted to darker areas, so fibres were laid more sparsely on the sunnier south and east elevations of the dome.

See our story from March this year about the research behind the Silk Pavilion. Oxman’s digital fabrication work features in an article about 3D printing in architecture from our one-off publication Print Shift.

Other Dezeen stories about silk include this 2007 project by Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Elsbeth joy Nielsen, who used silkworms to weave flat silk panels, from which she made a scarf, lampshade and bath bag.

Last year, Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley wove a golden cape from silk extracted from a million wild spiders.

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Mediated Matter Group sent us the following information:


Silk Pavilion – Mediated Matter Group at MIT Media Lab

The Silk Pavilion explores the relationship between digital and biological fabrication on product and architectural scales. The primary structure was created of 26 polygonal panels made of silk threads laid down by a CNC (Computer-Numerically Controlled) machine. Inspired by the silkworm’s ability to generate a 3D cocoon out of a single multi-property silk thread (1km in length), the overall geometry of the pavilion was created using an algorithm that assigns a single continuous thread across patches providing various degrees of density.

Silk pavilion completed by MIT researchers

Overall density variation was informed by the silkworm itself deployed as a biological “printer” in the creation of a secondary structure. A swarm of 6,500 silkworms was positioned at the bottom rim of the scaffold spinning flat nonwoven silk patches as they locally reinforced the gaps across CNC-deposited silk fibers. Following their pupation stage the silkworms were removed. Resulting moths can produce 1.5 million eggs with the potential of constructing up to 250 additional pavilions.

Affected by spatial and environmental conditions including geometrical density as well as variation in natural light and heat, the silkworms were found to migrate to darker and denser areas. Desired light effects informed variations in material organisation across the surface area of the structure. A season-specific sun path diagram mapping solar trajectories in space dictated the location, size and density of apertures within the structure in order to lock-in rays of natural light entering the pavilion from South and East elevations. The central oculus is located against the East elevation and may be used as a sun-clock.

Silk pavilion completed by MIT researchers

Parallel basic research explored the use of silkworms as entities that can “compute” material organization based on external performance criteria. Specifically, we explored the formation of non-woven fiber structures generated by the silkworms as a computational schema for determining shape and material optimisation of fiber-based surface structures.

Research and Design by the Mediated Matter Group at the MIT Media Lab in collaboration with Prof. Fiorenzo Omenetto (TUFTS University) and Dr. James Weaver (WYSS Institute, Harvard University). Mediated Matter researchers include Markus Kayser, Jared Laucks, Carlos David Gonzalez Uribe, Jorge Duro-Royo and Neri Oxman (Director).

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