ECAL student Renaud Defrancesco has designed a transparent acrylic glass headband that passes music vibrations across its surface to the ears.
“It’s a new way to listen to music,” Renaud Defrancesco told Dezeen. “You are bathed in music without being isolated like with normal headphones, which can be dangerous because you don’t hear what’s around you.”
His Vibso headphones play tracks via Bluetooth and create sound using a vibrating electromagnet hidden in the top of the headband, beneath an opaque plastic cover. Similar to how a speaker works, the electromagnet moves a connecting element that in turn causes a membrane to pulsate.
However, instead of a black round plastic layer used in traditional speakers, this surface is formed from two-millimetre-thick transparent acrylic glass. “The membrane is in acrylic glass because it transmits the sound well, has a good flexibility and it’s easy to thermoform,” explained Defrancesco.
The vibrations spread across the curved membrane down to the sections that cover the ears, where they are heard as music without the user feeling the tiny movements. “The shape of the headphones directs the sound inward, so a person close by will not hear the music,” said Defrancesco.
Comparing his design to large padded noise-cancelling headphones, Defrancesco’s list of advantages includes being able to share music with others if they touch their ear to the other side of the headband and not causing sides of the head to overheat.
The band can also be covered in padded fabric for added comfort. Defrancesco showed the project at the Ecole Cantonale d’art de Lausanne‘s Half-Time exhibition earlier this month.
News:NASA is developing robots made from a tensile system of interlocking rods and cables that can transform from flat components into a ball shape then tense and flex to roll around the surface of planets.
Researchers at the Intelligent Systems Division of NASA‘s Ames Research Center in California designed the Super Ball Bot robots as a more flexible and robust alternative to conventional probes, which can be damaged by the impact of landing on a planet’s surface.
“Current robot designs are delicate, requiring combinations of devices such as parachutes, retrorockets and impact balloons to minimise impact forces and to place a robot in a proper orientation,” said the research team led by Vytas SunSpiral and Adrian Agogino.
“Instead, we propose to develop a radically different robot based on a ‘tensegrity’ built purely upon tensile and compression elements.”
Concept drawing of the Super Ball Bot structure
Constructed from a network of rods and cables that surround and protect the scientific payload at its centre, the lightweight collapsible design is developed using the principles of tensegrity pioneered by American architect and engineer Buckminster Fuller in the 1960s.
Instead of employing wheels or tracks, the robots move by using a system of motors to shorten and lengthen cables connecting the rods, which changes the balance of tension in the structure and causes it to jerk and roll across the ground.
Super Ball Bot mission concept
The flexibility of the system enables the different points that touch the ground to adjust according to what they’re interacting with, allowing the robots to navigate across hills, debris and uneven terrain.
The robots could be flat-packed for transportation and unfold into a three-dimensional configuration in preparation for landing on a planet’s surface, at which point the structure would compress to absorb the energy of the impact.
Super Ball Bots could be deployed from a spacecraft and would bounce to a landing before exploring the planet
“These robots can be lightweight, absorb strong impacts, are redundant against single-point failures, can recover from different landing orientations and are easy to collapse and uncollapse,” the researchers added. “We believe tensegrity robot technology can play a critical role in future planetary exploration.”
Groups of dozens or even hundreds of probes could be launched onto a planet and operate as a coordinated and interactive team to gather samples.
The scientists have constructed prototypes using poles around one metre in length to demonstrate their principles, but claim that much larger versions could be built to carry larger scientific instruments.
A skin of chestnut shingles covers the facade of this multipurpose building at a school in the French town of Hostens by Dauphins (+ slideshow).
French architecture studio Dauphins designed the building containing playrooms and offices for a plot on the southern border of the school’s site, which is connected to playgrounds and other facilities by two bridges.
“The south orientation of the plot requires that the multidisciplinary leisure centre stretches and closes the composition of the existing school,” the architects explained.
“A dialogue is established with the playground so that the children’s universe is rounded off and can be fully shared,” they added.
The facility is constructed from a pine framework raised above the ground on concrete pillars.
Its undulating facade is clad in wooden shingles that reference local vernacular building methods.
“The skin made of chestnut tiles gives the building its character and allows an infinite variation of composition, making a contemporary citation of the traditional wooden skins,” said the architects.
South-facing windows are shielded from the sun by bulges in the facade, while the windows on the opposite side of the building push outwards to maximise space inside and create small alcoves.
An entrance porch at the end of one of the bridges connects to a corridor along which the building’s rooms are arranged.
Offices for staff are contained at the western end of the centre, close to a small kitchen and male and female bathrooms.
Multipurpose activity rooms for children aged from six to twelve are contained in the centre of the building, with rooms and toilet facilities for younger children at the eastern end.
Internal walls are made from a wooden framework filled with cob that contrasts with the exposed industrial ducting and wiring on the ceiling.
The height of the roof alters along the building’s length, adapting to the height of the children who use the different spaces.
Windows are positioned at a low level so children can see out when sitting or standing, while smaller windows higher up the walls introduce ventilation and provide views for the staff.
Photography is by the architects.
Here’s a project description from Dauphins:
Vaisseau d’essente – Multidisciplinary leisure center for childcare in Hostens
Presentation
The south orientation of the plot requires that the multidisciplinary leisure centre stretches and closes the composition of the existing school. A dialogue is established with the playground so that the children “univers” is being rounded off and can be fully shared. The program is divided into three sequences along the main circulation. Gateway entry enters the volume by creating a porch home, around which are organised local staff. In continuity then there are the room dedicated to “les grands”, associated with the multipurpose room, and finally separated by the connection to the school, the room dedicated to “les petits” punctuate the composition.
Around the circulation, are organised two trays which can be separated into two by a moving partition. Enjoying the greatest height, the volume is suitable for activities for children 6 to 12 years old. Framing the landscape, the windows are positioned at a particular height providing children a strong relationship with the landscape as they are sitting or standing. All along the main circulation the partitions are made with a wooden structure fill with cob. The project claims its local identity through the use of regional knowledge and the use of local material, the maritime pine. The structure is part of a dynamic recovery of the local industry, and the most rational means to optimise production costs and assembly.
The skin made of chestnut tiles, gives the building its character and allows an infinite variation of composition, making a contemporary citation of the traditional wooden skins.
The inflection of the roof has a direct effect on the inside, permitting variable heights (3.40m to 2.40m), adapted to users. The position of the large windows follow that logic and participates in the organisation of the facade. South openings create prominent integrating protections, while in the north, the window is moved to the outside to enjoy the small alcove from the inside. Above the large bow windows, small openings are provided for generating natural ventilation North/South, provide additional natural light and offer views to the management staff.
Next generations/Playful transmission
Childhood memories are a powerful base in the collective unconscious. We therefore consider valuable to be able to intervene in the development of young people. Our architect responsibility in this program lies in its ability to convey a positive vision and a healthy and supportive environment for generations to come. We started an educational and entertaining participatory approach to educate children about the building process. Some workshops/meetings were enough to interest them, and confirmed the belief that this approach really brings the project in the long term. Accompanying users is an integral part of our design work and conduct of the project.
Client: Communauté de Communes du Pays Paroupian Size: 400 m2 SHON Price: 700 000 €HT Team: dauphins architecture, BERTI, BET TCE Vecoor, OPC, B.Ing, BET bois Location: Hostens, Gironde, FR Completed: August 2013
News: alternatives to the current United Kingdom flag presented by a national flag charity have provoked a debate about whether a new design should be commissioned if Scotland chooses independence in its upcoming referendum.
The union jack flag with gold St David’s cross added
The Flag Institute, an independent charity dedicated to the study and documentation of flags, asked experts and members of the public to design new versions of the union jack that would reflect Scotland’s independence.
Design exchanging the blue of Scotland’s cross of St Andrew with the black of Wales’ cross of St. David
The designs were proposed by people responding to a survey conducted by the Flag Institute, in which 65 percent of respondents claimed the Union Flag should change if Scotland becomes independent.
Design with a colour change from blue to black and symbols representing the different (current) home nations
The United Kingdom’s current flag features the saltire of St Andrew representing Scotland, the English cross of St George and the red saltire of St Patrick for Ireland.
Design incorporating the green of the Welsh Dragon flag
Suggestion for a possible new flag included replacing the saltire with colours or shapes representing Wales, which was part of the English kingdom when the flag was originally designed.
Design with black and gold from the St. David flag
One proposal showed the blue saltire of St Andrew replaced with the black ground and yellow cross of the patron saint of Wales, St David.
Design combining elements from the existing flags
Other designs employed the red, white and green colours of the Welsh Dragon flag, or featured the dragon itself. A design by John Yates fragmented the colours and crosses of each nation into a pattern of overlapping shapes, while others integrated royal iconography.
Modern interpretation of the flag with the colours of St David’s flag and the Scottish blue
The Flag Institute’s chief executive Charles Ashburner pointed out that the organisation is neither encouraging nor discouraging a change to the flag, but is “simply here to facilitate and inform the debate if there is an appetite for such a thing.”
Design with the Royal Coat of Arms added and surrounded by a garland of items symbolic of the Commonwealth nations
“As this subject has generated the largest post bag of any single subject in our history ever, there clearly is such an appetite,” Ashburner added.
Design with the white of St Andrew’s saltire removed and a crown and Royal Standard included
Design with elements of the Welsh Dragon flag (Y Ddraig Goch)
The Scottish public will vote on the issue of independence on 18 September 2014, however the College of Arms, which oversees matters relating to flags and heraldry and acts under Crown Authority, told British broadcaster ITV that there are no plans to change the Union Flag if Scotland becomes an independent state.
Shimmering golden panels clad the monumental folded ceilings of this new airport terminal in St Petersburg designed by London studio Grimshaw (+ slideshow).
Grimshaw collaborated with engineering firm Ramboll and delivery architect Pascall+Watson to complete the first terminal of Pulkovo International Airport, which is expected to bring 12 millions passengers in and out of the Russian city each year.
The architects gave the airport a large flat roof so that it will be able to cope with heavy snowfall. This allowed the underside to be expressed as a series of folded surfaces, which help to distribute weight to different parts of the structure.
“We used this language of folding to take weight away from the mid-span and then to create more space and height for the passengers in the key spaces,” explained Grimshaw associate Ed Ross.
Tessellating metal panels give these folded surfaces their golden colour, intended as a reference to the gilded spires of churches around St Petersburg. Lighting fixtures run along the folds, while voids between surfaces reveal skylights that help passengers to navigate the terminal.
“This building represents a point of departure for Grimshaw,” said Grimshaw partner Mark Middeton. “We are known for our expressive structures and attention to detail. We wanted to keep all of those elements – the practicality and the buildability, and our interest in sustainability – but also try to make this building more about form and space.”
The layout of the terminal is divided into two parts; the first accommodates check-in and security, while the second contains the departure lounge. According to Middleton, this arrangement was designed to reflect the islands that make up the landscape of the city.
“We did this for several reasons,” said the architect. “Firstly to reflect St Petersburg as a city of islands and bridges, and secondly to celebrate arrival by providing a void over the baggage reclaim area, to allow arriving passengers to experience the terminal.”
Large windows spans the front and rear facades of the building, and were engineered to maintain indoor temperatures and to reduce glare from low sun.
The design team are now working on the second and final phase of the project, which will increase capacity up to 17 million passengers. Construction is set to complete in 2015.
Scroll down from more information from Grimshaw:
Grimshaw’s first project in Russia opens to the public
Grimshaw’s new terminal at Pulkovo International Airport is now officially open to the public. Grimshaw has worked in a team with Ramboll and Pascall + Watson to design the airport, based in St Petersburg, Russia.
The opening of the new terminal marks the completion of phase one of a staged sustainable masterplan for the airport, and is predicted to transfer 12 million passengers per year. Grimshaw won the project in 2007 in an international competition against a shortlist of world leading architecture practices. Working towards a completion date of 2015 for phases one and two, the finished airport will cater for 17 million passengers annually.
Pulkovo Airport, the third largest airport in the country, will act as a gateway to St Petersburg and Russia, while reflecting the city it serves. The internal layout of the new terminal consists of distinct zones connected, designed to echo the external layout of islands and bridges that make up the city. These open rooms are comparable to the many civic spaces found in St Petersburg, emphasising the airport’s role as the first and last great public space of the region for air travellers.
The masterplan of the airport represents and responds to the climate and heritage of St Petersburg. The striking new terminal roof and envelope are designed to accommodate the extremes of climate experienced by the city, including the characteristically heavy snowfalls of winter.
Funding for the airport scheme comes via a €1bn public-private partnership development programme – the first of its kind in Russia. The Northern Capital Gateway Consortium (NCG) was awarded the 30-year concession and appointed Ramboll as the lead design consultant in 2008. Grimshaw has been retained on the project as concept guardians, while Pascal + Watson were appointed as executive architects.
Here are some wintery views of the new spotty stadium for Belarusian football club FC BATE Borisov designed by Slovenian firm OFIS Arhitekti, which is nearing completion and looks set to open later this year (+ slideshow).
The new Borisov Arena will replace FC BATE Borisov‘s existing home stadium, providing up to 13,000 seats for spectators on a new site to the south of the city centre.
OFIS Arhitekti designed the building with a domed shape, intended to resemble “fabric stretched over a skeleton”. The outer walls are clad with shimmering aluminium panels and are punctured by an assortment of blob-shaped windows.
Shops, bars and other visitor facilities will be located behind the facade at ground level, while staff offices, press rooms and VIP areas will occupy the level above.
The rounded shape of the arena is expected to improve acoustics during both training and matches.
Here’s a project description from OFIS Arhitekti:
Football Stadium Arena Borisov
The concept takes into account the natural advantages of the location and the existing interventions within the terrain, while maintaining as many of the existing trees on site as possible. Besides 13,000 seats there is additional 3,000 m2 of public space and are classified 4 stars according to UEFA categorisation. Traffic and parking is organised between the forest.
The arena forms a unified rounded dome, giving the impression of a single enclosed object. The skin of the dome gives an impression of a fragile stretched perforated textile pulled over the stadium skeleton. The covered space between the skin and the tribunes is a public street – a vestibule with public program (shops, bars, services, toilets) and galleries above (offices, VIP, press)
Internally, the rounded arena provides good acoustics and encourages an extrovert atmosphere from the players and the fans alike during the game, but focuses concentration during training time. The playing surface has N-S orientation, with a total area of 85 x 105m, on which 68 x 105m is used for playing. The remaining area allows enough space for the installation of advertising screens, photographers and cameras. The seats are arranged around the playing field in rows of 17 along the sides and rows of 27-28 along the short sides. The upper west gallery is reserved for press cabins, with seats and tables for 40 journalists and direct stair access to the press room and mix zone. In the east are the VIP stands, with 250 seats and bar and entertainment spaces. The VIP is accessed directly via an elevator from the entrance area with a car driveway. The athletes have a separate access on the lower platform, with passage to team buses and parking. At each entry point to the field are two dressing rooms, mix zone, physiotherapy and a space for doping control.
There are 4 floors with extra program and service facilities under the west stand area and 3 floors under the east side. The foyer for visitors is located on the first floor level and has 4 stairway access points. It is a covered plateau, naturally ventilated and unheated. Extending all around the inner stadium arena, this space contains the visitor’s toilets, bars, first-aid room and detention: it is a place to break during half-time. 3.000 m2 of public program is distributed at ground level on the north, south and east ends of the structure. In the east, a restaurant and bowling area are located. The restaurant prepares meals for the VIP during the match, with a service elevator for catering to the VIP lounge and bar within its public foyer. In the south, there are public fitness/gym studios. Other public area spaces are designed for various commercial activities. All restaurants have access from the public platform. Around the platform is a rounded pedestrian square, as a peripheral roundabout and meeting area. Parking pockets are organized into the existing forest area.
Architect: OFIS Arhitekti Engineering and local office: Magnus Group Client: FC Bate, County of Borisov
Location: Borisov, Belarus Status: commission 2010 Construction 2011 Completion 2014 Program: football stadium + public program Type: public + private Area: public program 3,628 m2, offices 480 m2, service 2,000 m2 Capacity: audience 13,000 seats, VIP 620 seats, press seats 100, parking spaces 800 Structure: steel, reinforced concrete; roof structure- metal beams with aluminium cladding
A wood and steel chair created by Danish Modernist designer Hans J. Wegner in 1955 has been put into production for the first time by furniture brand Carl Hansen & Son.
The CH88 was designed by Wegner almost 60 years ago and has been launched by Carl Hansen & Son to commemorate the one-hundredth anniversary of the designer’s birth.
A slim steam-moulded wooden back support has upturned ends for resting arms, combined with an oval wood seat and a tubular steel frame.
“Wegner was an unsurpassed master when it came to exploring the applications and compatibility of different materials,” said Carl Hansen & Son CEO Knud Erik Hansen.
“It is precisely the fusion of organic wood and industrial steel that produces a versatile chair suited to a range of different styles and settings.”
The CH88 was first unveiled as a prototype at the H55 Exhibition in Helsingborg, Sweden, in 1955.
Carl Hansen & Son slightly tweaked the proportions of the original design to accommodate users who are taller today. The company also altered the shape of the seat so the chairs can be stacked.
The design is available in beech and oak, in a range of coloured finishes, and the frame comes in stainless steel, powder-coated black or plated in chrome. On display at Stockholm Furniture Fair earlier this month, the CH88 chair is due to go on sale in May.
News: British designer Thomas Heatherwick has unveiled plans to create a new art gallery at the V&A Waterfront museum in Cape Town by hollowing out sections of a grain silo complex.
Presented at the Design Indaba 2014 conference this week, Heatherwick Studio‘s proposal is to give the V&A Waterfront a building dedicated to contemporary African art within the cluster of 42 concrete tubes that make up a historic grain silo structure.
“How do you turn 42 vertical concrete tubes into a place to experience contemporary culture? Our thoughts wrestled with the extraordinary physical facts of the building,” explained Thomas Heatherwick.
“There is no large open space within the densely packed tubes and it is not possible to experience these volumes from inside,” he continued. “Rather than strip out the evidence of the building’s industrial heritage, we wanted to find a way to enjoy and celebrate it. We could either fight a building made of concrete tubes or enjoy its tube-iness.”
A elliptical section will be hollowed out from the centre of the nine-storey building to create a grand atrium that will be filled with light from a glass roof overhead. Some silo chambers will be carved open at ground level to accommodate exhibition galleries, while others will accommodate elevators.
Heatherwick added: “Unlike many conversions of historic buildings that have grand spaces ready to be repurposed, this building has none. The project has become about imagining an interior carved from within an infrastructural object whilst celebrating the building’s character.”
Layers of render and paint will be removed from the existing facades to reveal the raw concrete of the silos, while windows will be created from bulging transparent pillows.
“Thomas Heatherwick understood how to interpret the industrial narrative of the building, and this was the major breakthrough,” said V&A Waterfront CEO David Green. “His design respects the heritage of the building while bringing iconic design and purpose to the building.”
Named Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), the building will be a partnership between V&A Waterfront and entrepreneur Jochen Zeitz, whose art collection will provide the museum’s permanent exhibition within some of the 80 proposed galleries.
Education facilities and sit-specific exhibition areas will be provided within the existing underground tunnels. Other features will include a rooftop sculpture garden, an art conservation facility, bookshops, and cafe and restaurant areas.
Heatherwick will partner with local firms Van Der Merwe Miszewski, Rick Brown Associates and Jacobs Parker on the delivery and fit out of the museum.
Read on for the press release from V&A Waterfront:
V&A Waterfront unveils architectural plans by Heatherwick Studio for the historic Grain Silo Complex
Imagine forty‐two 33-metre high concrete tubes each with a diameter of 5.5 metres, with no open space to experience the volume from within. Imagine redesigning this into a functional space that will not only pay tribute to its original industrial design and soul, but will become a major, not-for-profit cultural institution housing the most significant collection of contemporary art from Africa and its Diaspora.
The brief given to Heatherwick Studio was to reimagine the Grain Silo Complex at the V&A Waterfront with an architectural intervention inspired by its own historic character. The project called for a solution that would be unique for Africa and create the highest possible quality of exhibition space for the work displayed inside.
The V&A Waterfront’s challenge to repurpose what was once the tallest building on the Cape Town skyline caught the imagination of internationally acclaimed designer Thomas Heatherwick and his innovative team of architects.
This was a chance to do more than just appropriate a former industrial building to display art, but to imagine a new kind of museum in an African context.
The R500‐million redevelopment project, announced in November 2013 as a partnership between the V&A Waterfront and Jochen Zeitz will retain and honour the historic fabric and soul of the building while transforming the interior into a unique, cutting‐edge space to house the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA). Considered the most extensive and representative collection of contemporary art from Africa, the Zeitz Collection has been gifted in perpetuity to this non‐profit institution by ex‐Puma CEO and Chairman, Jochen Zeitz. The collection will be showcased in 9,500m2 of custom‐designed space spread over nine floors, of which 6,000 m2 will be dedicated exhibition space.
Heatherwick Studio, based in London, is recognised internationally for projects including the UK Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, The London 2012 Olympic Cauldron, the New Bus for London and the redevelopment of Pacific Place, a 640,000m2 complex in the centre of Hong Kong.
For the Zeitz MOCAA project, Heatherwick Studio will partner with three local delivery partners; Van Der Merwe Miszewski (VDMMA), Rick Brown Associates (RBA) and Jacobs Parker. Jacobs Parker will be the lead designer for the Museum fit out.
The key challenge has been to preserve the original industrial identity of the building, which is heritage listed, and to retain choice pieces of machinery to illustrate and maintain its early working character. Heatherwick Studio has met the brief with characteristic boldness and creative flair. The final design reveals a harmonious union of concrete and metal with crisp white spaces enveloped in light.
The solution developed by Heatherwick Studio was to carve galleries and a central circulation space from the silos’ cellular concrete structure to create an exceptionally spacious, cathedral‐like central atrium filled with light from an overhead glass roof. The architects have cut a cross‐section through eight of the central concrete tubes. The result will be an oval atrium surrounded by concrete shafts overhead and to the sides. Light streaming through the new glass roof will accentuate the roundness of the tubes. The chemistry of these intersecting geometries creates an extraordinary display of edges, achieved with advanced concrete cutting techniques. This atrium space will be used for monumental art commissions not seen in Africa until this construction.
The other silo bins will be carved away above ground level leaving the rounded exterior walls intact. Inside pristine white cubes will provide gallery spaces not only for the Zeitz MOCAA permanent collection, but also for international travelling exhibitions. Zeitz MOCAA will have 80 galleries, 18 education areas, a rooftop sculpture garden, a state of the art storage and conservation area, and Centres for Performative Practice, the Moving Image, Curatorial Excellence and Education. Heatherwick Studios have designed all the necessary amenities for a public institution of this scale including bookstores, a restaurant and bar, coffee shop, orientation rooms, a donors’ room, fellows’ room and various reading rooms. The extraordinary collection of old underground tunnels will be re‐engineered to create unusual education and site specific spaces for artists to dialogue with the original structure.
Cylindrical lifts rise inside bisected tubes and stairs spiral upwards like giant drill bits. The shafts are capped with strengthened glass that can be walked over, drawing light down into the building.
The monumental facades of the silos and the lower section of the tower are maintained without inserting new windows. The thick layers of render and paint are removed to reveal the raw beauty of the original concrete.
From the outside, the greatest visible change is the creation of special pillowed glazing panels, inserted into the existing geometry of the grain elevator’s upper floors, which bulge outward as if gently inflated. By night, this transforms the building’s upper storeys into a glowing lantern or beacon in the harbour.
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