Hasta La Ideas

Francesco Bordin—creative director and co-founder at Dudebike—best explains the recipe that led to the increasing success of its new creation: “Take a typical Italian folding bike of the ’60s and ’70s with 20-inch wheels, take away…

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London designer Paul Cocksedge has launched a set of circular bike lights on Kickstarter that can be locked to a bicycle by slotting them over a standard lock (+ movie).

Cocksedge said he wanted to design a stylish light that also confronts issues associated with theft and glare resulting from light sources that are too bright.

“I’ve used many bike lights but I feel some things could really be improved,” the designer explained. “The inspiration for Double O comes directly from the shape of the bicycle. I wanted something that almost looked like the bike had designed it itself.”

The round lights feature a polycarbonate shell with a robust silicone backing housing 12 LEDs that are more spaced out than the densely arranged ultra-bright bulbs used by many other bike lights.

Cocksedge said this configuration produces a bright glow that is less dazzling for other cyclists and car drivers. “We use more LEDs at less power, which means the harshness is gone but the brightness hasn’t,” he said. “There is no compromise, you can see and be seen.”

A button on the back of the light enables the user to switch between steady, flashing and eco modes.

The lights contain magnets that allow them to clip onto a bike mount when in use and snap together to protect the LED surface when they are removed from the bike.

Once attached to one another, the two lights can be slotted over a typical D-lock and locked up with the bike so cyclists don’t need to carry them around.

Cocksedge has launched a campaign on crowdsourcing website Kickstarter aiming to raise £75,000 to fund prototyping, tooling and manufacture of the product.

Photography is by Mark Cocksedge.

Here’s some more information from the designer:

Paul Cocksedge launches the Double O bike light on Kickstarter

Today Paul Cocksedge Studio® launches its second innovative design on crowd-funding platform Kickstarter. Following on from the success of the Vamp®, Paul has this time turned his attention to bike lights, creating a product that will revolutionise the market and provide an intuitive and practical solution for cycling enthusiasts and leisure users alike. Cycle safety was a crucial element in the design and the resulting product is a simple, safe and secure light for everyday cycling.

Double O, named after its distinctive shape, is inspired by the form of the bicycle and the fluid motion of cycling. Double O attaches magnetically to the bike-mount supplied, making it super easy to get on and off, minimising any fiddling that gets in the way of the flow of cycling. It consists of two ‘O’ shaped lights, one white light for the front, one red for the back. When not in use, these magnetically connect together to protect the LED face.

One of the most common problems with bike lights is the safe keeping of them whilst a bike is locked up. The unique shape of the Double O allows users to thread the lights through a D lock and leave them secured along with their bike, eliminating the need for cyclists to carry their lights around with them.

Most existing bike lights use ultra-bright LEDs which are packed too closely together. This causes a very bright light which is blinding for car drivers and approaching cyclists. Double O tackles this issue by using 12 LEDs which are spaced out creating a bright yet soft glow, enabling cyclists to be seen without dazzling others. The light has three modes: steady, flashing and eco which can be changed via a push button.

Double O is made from a polycarbonate shell with silicone backing and is extremely robust and hardwearing. Bike lights come in all shapes and sizes but none as practical and as stylish as Double O’s. These powerful lights are very likely to be the last ones you’ll ever need to get for your bike and also do away with batteries as they are USB chargeable.

Paul Cocksedge says: “As with so many people, cycling is an essential part of my life, and cycling safety is crucial. I’ve used many bike lights but I feel some things could really be improved. I wanted to design a bike light and the inspiration for Double O comes directly from the shape of the bicycle. I wanted something that almost looked like the bike had designed it itself.”

The post Paul Cocksedge’s Double O bike lights
slot securely around a D-lock appeared first on Dezeen.

Architecture studio AOC has renovated a four-storey townhouse in north London, adding wall-hung vintage bicycles and timber mouldings based on the faces of the resident family.

Named Bonhôte House, the nineteenth-century property was remodelled by London-based AOC to create a contemporary family home for a boutique owner, a film producer and their young children.

The house now features an open-plan interior designed to meet the family’s need for space, with a two-storey-high gallery added for displaying vintage bicycles and artwork.

A large portion of the original ground floor was removed, enabling the architects to create the double-height gallery at the front of the house.

The new entrance hall allows natural light to fill the room through an original Victorian window with folding shutters. Two bicycles hang on hooks from an adjacent wall, ensuring that they can be seen from various angles.

Shelving built into the walls provides a space for displaying the family’s large collection of books and objects.

“The family had a fascinating collection of artefacts they wished to display, from Dan Holdsworth prints to Paris flea market nicknacks,” architect Geoff Shearcroft told Dezeen.

To add character, the architects used the facial profiles of each family member to produce a series of bespoke timber mouldings, which are dotted throughout the interior.

These create a ripple effect when joined together and act as a contemporary counterpoint to the original Victorian skirting boards and architraves.

“Much ornament in architecture has the human form as its basis and we continued this tradition with a very literal translation of facial profile into moulding,” said Shearcroft.

Across the lower ground floor, a tiled floor with a basket-weave pattern connects the living space with the kitchen and provides a hard-wearing surface for the growing family.

“We explored a variety of patterns but the basket weave offered the right combination of rich associations, closed openness and playful variation,” said the architect.

In the kitchen, mirrored laminate surfaces create an extension of the pattern and reflect light back into the room.

A slumped concrete sofa sits at the foot of a brass decorative staircase, which leads up to bedrooms and bathrooms on the first floor.

Continuing up through the property, the original floor plan has been altered to connect the master bedroom to an en suite that overlooks the park.

“We re-configured the plan to create a series of different character spaces that were visually and vertically connected,” added Shearcroft.

The house is located in Stoke Newington, just a stone’s throw away from Dezeen’s offices. AOC Architecture previously remodelled an Edwardian property in Golders Green, north-west London.

Photography is by Tim Soar.

Here’s a description of Bonhôte House from the architects:

Bonhôte House, Stoke Newington, London

The Bonhôte House is a four storey townhouse in Stoke Newington, home to a film producer, a boutique owner and their young children. The couple needed more room for a growing family, and for their contemporary art and vintage bicycle collections, than their previous Shoreditch, East London mews house offered. They asked AOC to design a home that felt big yet intimate, luxurious yet useful, sophisticated yet playful, beautiful yet cosy.

The original 19th century property was narrow, dark and unwelcoming, and had been stripped bare by its previous owners. A key architectural move has been to remove a large area of floor, merging basement and ground levels at the front of the house to create a generous double height gallery, into which a new decorative stair descends from the entrance hall. This act of opening-up brings natural light into the basement living space, and creates expansive walls for display of large artworks and objects and for storage of valuable books.

On the upper levels, non-structural walls have been relocated to shape a range of spaces appropriate to the family’s lives. Throughout the property, new doors and internal windows connect individual rooms while maintaining distinctions between them, offering glimpses through the house itself, and then out into the city beyond.

The family wanted a characterful home, contemporary in tone without feeling ‘new’. In response, AOC enriched bare walls with bespoke timber profiles created from the facial profiles of family members – a reinterpretation of traditional mouldings. Used as skirtings, architraves and linings, these ornamental features ensure each room is uniquely tailored to its inhabitants. In the lower, more public, levels, all four mouldings are combined to create a rippling timber lining that softens and connects.

A unique domestic character has been created through deploying a range of materials, chosen for their associative qualities, to create diverse surface effects. A slumped concrete sofa, tinted green, anchors the new staircase at the centre of the plan, before evolving into a kitchen work surface. The use of mirrored laminate on storage units helps them dissolve into their surroundings, while providing endless games of reflection for the children. A basket weave floor pattern, used in a variety of scales and materials, reinforces the individual characters of different parts of the house whilst creating a coherent whole.

The architects worked closely with the family to ensure the house could support the visual choreography of special objects, while still being a practical space, able to manage their storage needs in a discreet, integrated way. The subsequent combination of bespoke panelling with open shelves, interspersed with glazed, mirror and even secret doors, bestows an ‘instant maturity’ upon the home, as though the family have been there for generations.

The post AOC adds wall-hung bicycles and basket-weave
flooring to London townhouse appeared first on Dezeen.

Transportation start-up Kolelinia has created a vehicle that uses pedal power to transport riders around town while standing up, like a low-tech version of a Segway (+ movie).

The Halfbike by Kolelinia features pedals like a bicycle that the user balances on while holding on to a single waist-height handlebar in an upright stance.

The pedals are connected to a large front wheel by a chain that drives the Halfbike forward, while two smaller wheels at the back provide a stable base and a brake on the joystick-like handlebar is used to slow down.

The motion of pedalling results in an experience similar to low-impact running, while the upright riding position provides good visibility.

“Its combination of cycling and smooth assisted running provides a remarkably quick and fun way of urban travel,” said the designers. “Its innovative rider position, at the same time both upright and higher, gives you a new perspective on the city.”

The user steers the Halfbike by leaning to either side, which shifts the balance between the front wheel and the rear axle.

Kolelinia said the Halfbike was designed for commuting short distances and provides a compact alternative to a bicycle that is easy to carry or store.

“It is compact enough for an elevator, light enough to carry on stairs, and fits into spaces too small for a normal bicycle,” the designers explained.

A handlebar made from plywood is fixed to the laser-cut aluminium frame, which is currently white but will eventually be available in six additional colours.

“We see the Halfbike as an alternative for people tired of sitting in traffic jams, which at the same time improves their experience of travel,” the designers added.

Prices for the Halfbike start from $799. Kolelinia founders Martin Angelov and Mihail Klenov have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the first batch of production.

The post Halfbike by Kolelinia lets riders
stand up while pedalling appeared first on Dezeen.

“Sporty Supaheroe” is a stylish cycling jacket for the urban warrior! This new kind of digital apparel proves that safety gear doesn’t have to look lame. Using stretchable circuit board technology, it offers improved visibility and security in the dark with bright LEDs.

The circuit board is made out of thermoplastic polyurethane, onto which meander-shaped copper conductors are applied. Therefore, the circuit board can easily be integrated into textiles by lamination.

Designer: Utope

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(Be a Supahero… Safely was originally posted on Yanko Design)

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