Hasta La Ideas

Holidaymakers can now spend nights sleeping beneath the surface of the ocean at this partially submerged hotel suite in the Zanzibar archipelago (+ movie).

Located 250 metres off the coast of Pemba Island, the Underwater Room forms parts of the Manta Resort, a holiday retreat on the mainland of the island, and comprises a three-storey floating structure with its lowest level positioned four metres beneath the water.

After being escorted to the remote suite by boat, guests use a staircase to descend to their underwater bedroom, where windows on every wall allow 360 degree views of the underwater coral reef and sea life.

“Some [reef fish] have taken up residence around the room, which affords them some protection from predators,” said the resort owners. “For instance, three bat fish and a trumpet fish called Nick who is always swimming around and seemingly looking in!”

Coral is expected to grow around the outer walls, plus underwater spotlights are fitted below the windows to encourage squid and colourful sea slugs to come into view.

The structure was designed and built by Swedish company Genberg Underwater Hotels and takes its cues from Utter Inn, a floating structure on Lake Malaren in Sweden that was modelled on a traditional Scandinavian house.

Like this structure, the Underwater Room has a timber-clad upper section that sits above the water. This includes lounge and bathroom facilities, as well as a roof deck that can be used for either sunbathing or stargazing.

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off the coast of Zanzibar appeared first on Dezeen.

Swiss architecture firm Bureau A created a seven-storey mobile performance space and street kitchen, mounted it on a tricycle and rode it round the streets of Hanoi in Vietnam (+ movie).

Geneva studio Bureau A designed the project for Tadioto, a local bar and cultural centre, as a multipurpose structure to be used for anything from a vertical street-food restaurant to an exhibition space.

Made from a framework of blue-painted steel tubes, the mobile structure also has a small PVC roof and a battery-powered fan and lights.

The tricycle was originally owned by the steel worker who built the structure and they adapted it to fit in the bottom section.

“When we were there [in Vietnam] we crossed the whole city with it, from the outskirts in the fields where the bike was actually made to the very centre of Hanoi where we had a small party,” said architect Daniel Zamarbide.

“The main purpose of this mobile device was to do a sort of humble ‘performance’ using local know-how and culture,” he added.

There have been a few mobile structures that can be cycled to wherever they’re needed in the city recently, including a group of tiny pedal-powered mobile parks in Baku and a mobile town square that features a miniature clock tower on the back of a bicycle.

Photography is by Boris Zuliani.

Here’s a short description from Bureau A:

Ta đi Ôtô

Everything is dense in Hanoi, including the milk in your coffee. Everything is used. In unexpected ways “things” live different lives, they reincarnate continuously into new functions, passing from one life to another without a moment of respite. In Hanoi, this magic of creativity ends up in everyday life as opposed to art museums. The blue, a vertical Bia Hoi for Tadioto accompanies this creative movement.

Conceived as a support for small pieces of lives, as an ephemeral house or as a vertical street food restaurant, it might deviate from its original yet wide function and become something else, an unexpected urban animal. A mini-concert hall? A poetry podium ? It probably just needs to circulate, to stroll around the busy streets of Hanoi and then it’ll decide by itself which disguise to adopt.

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by Bureau A appeared first on Dezeen.

A capsule that will float passengers to the edge of space and offer views of the Earth’s curvature has been designed by British studio Priestmangoode (+ movie).

Developed for the World View programme set up by US space development corporation Paragon, Priestmangoode‘s lightweight pressurised vessel will be lifted by a helium balloon to take six passengers and two crew members to the periphery of the atmosphere.

“When you think about going near the edge of space,” Priestmangoode director Nigel Goode told Dezeen, “you think of some sort of Star Wars-type craft, something which has direction and speed but obviously this is very, very different. It would look very odd to have a craft stuck at the bottom of a balloon so the shape was really designed for strength and for maximum visibility for the people on board.”

The journey to the edge of space will take around an hour and a half, then the vehicle will spend from two to six hours at the 30-kilometre altitude so passengers can take in the views of the Earth below, the curve of its surface and the blackness of space beyond.

The World View concept aims to create a luxury voyage instead of a thrill ride. Space suits won’t be needed in the pressurised cabin, which will provide a breathable atmosphere.

“You can travel up there, spend a bit of time in the capsule moving around at that altitude and be able to enjoy the leisurely experience,” said Goode.

Large circular windows on each of the four sides are divided into segments to reduce the pressure on the surfaces. A small transparent dome will also allow views out into space above.

Attached to the pod by suspension cables, the polyethylene helium balloon used for propulsion will expand as the helium density decreases while it rises to its target altitude.

A steerable parafoil will control the 20 to 40-minute descent before the capsule lands intact on the ground using deployable landing gear.

The vertical take-off greatly decreases the amount of infrastructure needed to launch, compared to the Virgin Galactic craft that take-off using a runway, and the vehicle can be transported on a specially designed trailer that doubles as a platform for liftoff.

This means that capsules could depart from any location around the world that has clear, dry weather, and the initial flights will leave. “I think it will open up space travel for an awful lot of people,” said Goode.

A World View trip is estimated to cost $75,000 (£47,000) per person, less than a third of Virgin Galactic’s $250,000 (£156,000) price tag.

Goode told us that project is not just for tourism, but can also be used for scientific research: “There are lots of opportunities on the craft to conduct experiments. We’ve got measuring equipment and things like that so other scientific research can be done as well.”

The next step is to design the interior, which Goode envisages to be arranged so two people will face each window.

After testing and approval, the first flights are planned to take place in three years time.

Goode also told us that his company has been working with Paragon on a vessel to send a two-person crew on a 501-day flight around Mars and back.

Here’s more information about the Journey to Space project from Priestmangoode:

Priestmangoode designs journey to the edge of space

Priestmangoode, the leading global travel and transport design consultancy, is delighted to be working with the Paragon Space Development Corporation on their World View project to take passengers on balloon flights to the edge of the Earth. The London and China based studio has designed a concept capsule, which will take passengers to the edge of space where they will be able to observe the curvature of the Earth.

Nigel Goode, director at Priestmangoode says: “This is a dream project to work on. It’s incredibly exciting to be part of this nascent industry. Inspired by our work designing luxury aircraft interiors, our design vision focuses on enhancing comfort onboard the capsule to create a truly transformative human experience.”

Goode continues: “We have been working closely with Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum, who founded the Paragon Space Development Corporation. They are both at the forefront of aerospace technology and brought us in for our expertise designing luxury travel experiences. It’s been an inspiring process to combine our different skills to define the experience of premium space travel.”

World View plans the flights of the capsule, which can carry eight people, to over 30 kilometres (98,425 feet) by means of a helium balloon. The ascent will take between one and a half to two hours. The capsule will then spend between two and six hours at the intended altitude of 30 kilometres, before returning to Earth over the course of 20-40 minutes.

The extended length of time spent in space was a significant driver for the design of the vessel. As Goode explains: “The idea of space travel naturally brings to mind traditional rocket ships and the aerodynamic forms they command.

“However, the World View experience is not about speed, it’s about enjoying a once in a lifetime journey. Our unique advantage is that our body of work over the last 25 years, from product design to aircraft interiors and hotels, means we always design with the user at the heart. We didn’t just want to design a vessel, we wanted to define what commercial space travel could be. We wanted to create a stylish, elegant, luxurious environment for this unique experience. It was all about finding the right balance between form and function.”

The capsule’s sturdy form was designed to enhance passenger safety. The key design features are the large panoramic windows constructed from an array of small high pressure units. Goode continues” “It was crucial to find a way to maximise the viewing windows. In our initial design meetings with the World View team, they talked about wanting to start the journey before dawn, so that as passengers rose up to space, they would be able to observe the sunrise, the curvature of the Earth, the thin blue atmosphere and the blackness of space. The windows we designed offer the maximum amount of viewing space for passengers, whilst meeting stringent safety requirements. There is also a cupola viewing dome for unrestricted view of the Earth’s curvature.”

Other features include a lightweight structure, permanently deployed parafoil to maximise safety, science capsule attached to the top of the exterior for potential scientific data readings, deployable landing gear (skids), a reserve parachute for safety and a unique trailer unit for ground transportation and launching platform.

Earlier this year, Priestmangoode visualised another project for the Paragon Space Development Corporation. Inspiration Mars will see a two-person crew travel on a unique orbital journey to Mars and back to Earth in only 501 days. The historic journey will see the two passengers fly within 100 miles around the Red Planet and return to Earth safely.

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by Priestmangoode appeared first on Dezeen.

News: New York architect Steven Holl has won a competition to design four museums in Qingdao, China, with a concept for a series of “art islands” linked by a looping route of galleries and pathways (+ movie).

The Culture and Art Centre of Qingdao will occupy an 18-hectare site to the north of Jiaozhou Bay, creating a complex of museums dedicated to classic art, modern art, public art and performing arts.

Steven Holl’s plan features a snaking tunnel structure designed to reference the form of the nearby Jiaozhou Bay Bridge – the world’s longest bridge over water. This “light loop” will connect the four museums, accommodating a trail of galleries inside.

“The project starts with a very unique connection to Qingdao and the idea of actually connecting to the morphology of the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge,” says Holl in a movie accompanying the competition entry. “It inspires the possibility of this whole project to become related to that linear idea.”

Three of the museums will comprise cube-shaped structures positioned at intervals along the route, while the fourth will be positioned around a public square at the centre of the complex.

The surrounding spaces will be filled with gardens, pools of water and an outdoor sculpture park.

“There’s a great porosity and a great fusion between the movement across the site and the movement in the gallery system above,” says the architect. “It will have breezes coming in from the ocean that cool the entire landscape.”

A mixture of sanded aluminium and stained concrete will be used to construct the new buildings.

Here are some extra details from Steven Holl Architects:

Steven Holl Architects Wins Invited Competition for the Culture and Art Centre of Qingdao City

Steven Holl Architects has been selected by near unanimous jury decision as the winner of the new Culture and Art Centre of Qingdao City competition, besting OMA and Zaha Hadid Architects. The 2 million sq ft project for four museums is the heart of the new extension of Qingdao, China, planned for a population of 700,000.

The winning design for the new Culture and Art Centre begins with a connection to Qingdao. The linear form of the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge – the world’s longest bridge over water – is carried into the large site, in the form of a Light Loop, which contains gallery spaces and connects all aspects of the landscape and public spaces. The raised Light Loop allows maximum porosity and movement across the site, and permits natural sound bound breezes that blow in off the ocean to flow across the site.

Set within the master plan are Art Islands, or Yishudao, which take the form of three sculpted cubes, and four small landscape art islands that form outdoor sculpture gardens. Five terraced reflecting pools animate the landscape and bring light to levels below via skylights.

The Light Loop and Yishudao concepts facilitate the shaping of public space. A great central square for large gatherings is at the centre of the site overlooking a large water garden. The Modern Art Museum shapes the central square. The Public Arts Museum forms the main experience of entry from the south. The North Yishudao contains the Classic Art Museum, with a hotel at its top levels, and the South Yishudao, which floats over the large south reflecting pool, holds the Performing Arts Program.

In the Light Loop, all horizontal galleries receive natural light from the roof that can be controlled with 20% screens as well as blackout options. The 20 metre wide section of the Light Loop allows side lighting to the lower level galleries, and provides space for two galleries side by side, avoiding dead-end circulation.

The basic architecture is in simple monochrome of sanded marine aluminium and stained concrete, with the undersides of the Light Loops in rich polychrome colours of ancient Chinese architecture. These soffits are washed with light at night to become landscape lighting in shimmering reflected colours.

The entire project uses the most sustainable green technologies. Placed between the skylights on the Light Loop, photovoltaic cells will provide 80% of the museum’s electrical needs. The reflecting ponds with recycle water, while 480 geothermal wells provide heating and cooling.

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for new complex in China appeared first on Dezeen.

Dutch Design Week 2013: a team of ten Eindhoven architecture, design and advertising studios have been brought together as a “virtual” studio to design a new open-source identity for the Dutch city.

Variations of the “raw and rough” logo have been given to local businesses to adopt and design studios have been encouraged to create their own interpretations.

“We did something really unique we think,” said Peter Kentie, managing director of the city’s marketing organisation Eindhoven365, which commissioned the logo. “We started up something called the Virtual Design Agency and we picked the best of the best of the Eindhoven region – graphic and motion designers, fashion designers, architects, typographers – and we put them together as a new company to create the identity.”

Both the logo and the process of procuring it are intended to reflect the energy and creativity of Eindhoven, which has burgeoning creative and technology industries and which was named the world’s most “Intelligent Community of the Year” in 2011.

“Eindhoven is a city in development,” said Kentie. “The task originally was to create a marketing brand for the city but what we also did was take the opportunity to rebrand the logo, the identity of the city council, of the city itself.”

Graphic designers Raw Color, architect Marc Maurer and creative agency Scherpontwerp were among the studios selected to contribute to the project.

“Eindhoven as a city is about working together,” Marc Koppen of Scherpontwerp told Dezeen. “Everyone knows each other, works together, talks about the projects together. That’s why we came up with the idea of trying to work with many agencies, not just one.”

Koppen added that the open-source nature of the logo reflected the spirit of multi-disciplinary collaboration in the city. “That’s also the theory about the city, that everyone is involved and works together, working on it and with it,” he said. “If you want to do it in your own way, then it’s possible.”

After initial discussions between the ten studios Scherpontwerp, Edhv and Eric de Haas were asked to take the concept ideas forward together. They worked on the project from their separate office spaces, forming the Virtual Design Agency, with designers from the earlier stage acting as consultants.

Together the group came up with a simple grid of lines to create the logo, which comprises three thick zig-zag shapes spaced on top of each other to form an abstract letter E.

“The idea is about energy,” said Koppen. “We tried to find a way to visualise the energy of the city and what people often say about Eindhoven is that it’s a really raw and rough city.”

The grid behind the logo means the angular sections can be filled in different colours and shades, adapting it for companies or sectors across the city. A red graphic on a white background is used for the starting point as the city’s historic colours.

The team also created a font called Eindhoven to accompany the logo, formed in a similar style but without sticking to the grid. “[The font and logo] have the same kind of edginess,” Kentie said. “The typography also gives you the feeling that its not completely finished, like a work in progress.”

The identity was completed in June and has already been applied to civic vehicles, signage around the city and even T-shirts for runners competing in the Eindhoven marathon. Eindhoven365 have given the graphics to local businesses to customise and use as part of their own branding.

“With the energy symbol you can do everything,” Koppen told us. “You can load it with images, make it 3D or 2D, change the colours. You can really build it up with a lot of different pieces and angles. We show it now in a really basic way but underneath there’s the structure that you can use to transform it and everyone can do that in their own way.”

Eindhoven is currently hosting this year’s Dutch Design Week, where Daan Roosegaarde has unveiled an installation consisting of hundreds of wireless LED crystals and Iris van Herpen scooped the top prize at the Dutch Design Awards.

Read the full interview with Scherpontwerp’s Marc Koppen below:

Dan Howarth: Tell me about the origins of the project.

Marc Koppen: We started about one and a half years ago I think and we were asked by Eindhoven to give a short presentation on the city as the designer with ten different companies. They chose three companies to do the job, that was a little bit strange in the beginning because you have your own style of course. We had to find a new way of working together on such a huge project and we are three totally different design agencies. It was a little bit strange in the beginning, but after half a year it started to take off a little bit, it was great.

Dan Howarth: Which other design agencies did you work with?

Marc Koppen: One of the design agencies is called Edhv and the other is Eric de Haas. Most of the time we don’t physically work together, we aren’t in the same room but we try to discuss the work. We make our own work for the city then we bring it back together, to the group and discuss it.

Dan Howarth: Did you work with graphic designers and architects as well?

Marc Koppen: In the beginning it was really a big selection. There were artists, architects, photographers, colour designers, graphic designers and we all worked together on the decisions, but in the end it was really necessary to get the work done so they chose to do the work with graphic designers. But right now, at the moment we are still inviting people to work with us. Raw Color are advising us on the colours, we are still working with a lot of different agencies.

Dan Howarth: And they are all based in Eindhoven?

Marc Koppen: No, one is based in Amsterdam I believe, but they are all originally designers from Eindhoven. They moved to different cities but they are from Eindhoven.

Dan Howarth: Do you think this is the first time that so many agencies have come together to work on a project like this?

Marc Koppen: I’m not sure but coming from the briefing in the beginning we discussed that Eindhoven as a city is about making and working together, taking on different project together. Years ago, for example I worked in Amsterdam and there the agencies are really working for themselves. You don’t often talk with other designers or you’re not supposed to meet with the clients of other designers so its nice to work in Eindhoven, it’s really an open structure. Everyone knows each other, works together, talks about the projects together and thats why we came up with the idea of trying to work with many agencies, not just one. It won’t be the first time but I don’t know about another case.

Dan Howarth: So the logo is designed to reflect the fact that Eindhoven is a place where people collaborate.

Marc Koppen: Yeah we started that discussion very early on when we came together to talk about a vision for the city. They came up with the idea to work together, they chose three agencies to coordinate it and do the basic design work. But they are still asking us to talk with a lot of people about it and get a lot of people involved. It was their idea to do it this way yes.

Dan Howarth: So are you still operating under the title of Virtual Design Agency?

Marc Koppen: Yes because it’s the closest idea to what it is! We [each] have our own workspace, we are not sitting together. It was a little strange in the beginning.

Dan Howarth: How did you come up with the coloured zig-zags of the logo?

Marc Koppen: We tried to find a way to visualise the energy of the city. What people often say about Eindhoven is that it’s a really raw and rough city. For example if you take a look at Utrecht or Amsterdam, or The Hague, or Maastricht, they’re cultivated in a certain way and they have a history. Eindhoven is really a rough city where a lot of work has to be done. It’s called the City of Light because [electronics giant] Philips started their lighting company here. So we had to find a visual way to transform the energy and that all started with energy and lighting. That’s the really basic idea about it.

Dan Howarth: The city is encouraging local businesses to use and adapt the identity. Was the idea to have an open-source logo?

Marc Koppen: Yes sure, that’s also the theory about the city, that everyone is involved and works together, working on it and with it. If you want to do it in your own way, then it’s possible. The basics are done but now we have to translate it to other people. So we have to find a way of inspiring other people because we cannot write a book about how to use it, it would be too difficult, everything is possible, but we have to inspire other designers to use it in the right way. We’re working on it right now. That’s a really nice process.

Dan Howarth: What parts of the design allow it to be adapted?

Marc Koppen: The typography is our own. We call it the Eindhoven and you can work with it as a typeface. With the energy symbol you can do everything, you can load it with images, make it 3D or 2D, to change the colours. There’s a really nice grid underneath it so you can really build it up with a lot of different pieces and angles. We show it now in a really basic way but underneath there’s another structure that you can use to transform it so everyone can do that in their own way.

Dan Howarth: Are red and white the colours of the city?

Marc Koppen: Yes, they are really the colours of Eindhoven and we thought about changing it, but the fact that it has to stand for energy and have a rough edge to it. When you see it with other logos, its a little bit rough, its not really “nice”. We have to stand for that energy and the raw hard red does that.

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by Virtual Design Agency appeared first on Dezeen.