Competition: Dezeen has teamed up with Intier Automotive Eybl to give readers the chance to win one of three chairs moulded from flax.
The FLAXX Chair by Austrian designer Martin Mostböck has a seat shell made from natural flax fibres taken from linseed crops, which are moulded into a three-dimensional form by pressing multiple layers of the material.
All four legs are connected at the front of the chair, so the seat and backrest are cantilevered. This form allows the chairs to neatly stack on top of each other.
Available in a range of colours, the pictured model with a sand seat and white frame will be received by winners of this competition. For more information about the design visit the FLAXX website or check out the company on Facebook.
To enter this competition email your name, age, gender, occupation, and delivery address and telephone number to competitions@dezeen.com with “Flaxx chair” in the subject line. We won’t pass your information on to anyone else; we just want to know a little about our readers. Read our privacy policy here.
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Competition closes 18 December 2013. Three winners will be selected at random and notified by email. Winners’ names will be published in a future edition of our Dezeen Mail newsletter and at the top of this page. Dezeen competitions are international and entries are accepted from readers in any country.
Here’s some more information from Intier Automotive Eybl:
The FLAXX Chair is a hybrid design which offers the comfort of a free-swinging chair as well as the functionality of a conventional four-legged chair. The novel structure of the support frame and the combination of advantages from both designs is a contemporary interpretation in both form and function. The seat shell is made from natural fibre mats, which are moulded into a stable three-dimensional form by pressing multiple layers of the material. The mats predominantly consist of flax, an annually renewable raw material, and are held together by textile polypropylene as an adhesive.
The seat shell and frame are made of 100 percent recyclable materials. The FLAXX chair is part of permanent collection of the Design Museum Holon/Tel Aviv and the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art – MAK in Vienna.
Swedish design collective Front has designed a cloud-shaped ice cream in collaboration with dessert company Häagen-Dazs.
Häagen-Dazs‘ ice cream by Front comes in two graduated colours named dawn and dusk.
The flavour of the red dawn cloud is champagne truffle with Belgian chocolate whilst the dusk orange cloud incorporates Haagen-Dazs’ well-known flavours, dulce de leche and cookies and cream.
“As Scandinavians snow is an essential part of our winters,” said the designers. “We were inspired by how the snow clouds in the north transform the landscape. We made an ice cream snow cloud that sprinkles snowflakes on your plate.”
The Clouds are sold throughout France and in Brussels, Liège, Madrid, Barcelona, and London.
Le studio barcelonais Llobet & Pons a imaginé dans le cadre de la triennale Setouchi 2013 ce projet : Multibasket Backboard, qui propose non pas un seul panier mais six. Une création incongrue, qui permet ainsi de multiplier le nombre de joueurs à découvrir en images dans la suite.
“I don’t want people to buy our cars simply because they’re made in America. I want them to buy them because they’re the best.” -Bob Boniface, Director of Exterior Design Based on…
L’architecte et designer Alexander Pincus, à l’origine de Pincus A+D, a imaginé Money Talks, un papier-peint composé de billets de 1 dollar. Et finalement, installer un mur avec ce genre de papier ne coûte pas selon eux forcément plus cher. Un choix étonnant à découvrir en images dans la suite.
Interview: the designer of the original 1959 MINI “would have a lot of respect for the cleverness” of the latest incarnation of the car, according to Adrian van Hooydonk, head of design at MINI parent company BMW Group(+ slideshow + interview).
Portrait of Adrian van Hooydonk
“I think he would simply be happy that MINI as a brand is alive and kicking today,” Van Hooydonk told Dezeen at the global launch party for the new MINI, held in London last night. “He probably would not have imagined that in his wildest dreams.”
The launch was held on what would have been the birthday of Greek-born engineer Alec Issigonis, who was born in 1906 and died in 1988.
“I think he would have a lot of respect for the cleverness of the engineering,” said van Hooydonk. “I think he would also respect us for being such a custodian of the original idea. Doing a car that is as compact as this in today’s world is actually quite an achievement.”
MINI designer Alec Issigonis standing next to his creation
The car was originally launched in 1959 by UK conglomerate British Motor Corporation, with Issigonis’ compact design, which featured a revolutionary space-saving transverse engine, remaining on sale more or less unchanged until 2000.
Alec Issigonis’ original 1959 MINI Mark 1
The iconic British marque was acquired by German car brand BMW Group in 1994 and relaunched in 2001. Yesterday’s launch is the second major overhaul of the car since then.
“I think it has worked out very well,” said van Hooydonk of the acquisition. “BMW has been very respectful of MINI’s history.”
The new-look MINI is longer, wider and taller than its predecessor, partly due to modern safety regulations, van Hooydonk said. “I think the MINI is the most compact vehicle that any car company can do today because the safely requirements have become much tougher.”
The new car takes many design cues from the 1959 original, including short overhangs, round headlights and an enlarged front grille.
“[The grille] is now larger; it still has a MINI typical shape and it now refers to the MINI Mark 1, which also had a very large front,” van Hooydonk explained. “The headlamps and tail lamps are still referring to the iconic shapes but they are now packed with very modern LED technology.”
Concept sketch for the new MINI
“To make a MINI recognisable as a MINI, you need to use full surfaces; rounded surfaces,” he continued. “But we’ve added sharp lines so the overall effect is one of a crisper car. I feel it’s a tighter car so the perception of quality and the actual building quality have gone up.”
Concept design for the BMW Active Tourer, which will share a platform with the new MINI
The new MINI was developed by MINI head of design Anders Warming under the guidance of van Hooydonk. The car features a new platform, which it will share in future with a new generation of BMWs.
Clay modelling the new MINI
Van Hooydonk said that BMW Group investigated sharing the MINI platform with other car brands to save costs but in the end decided to develop the platform themselves. “We simply found that no one was able to do compact cars like MINI do,” he said. “Nobody had a package or the proportions that we need to do a MINI, so we decided to do it on our own. “
Clay modelling the new MINI
Here’s an edited transcript of the interview:
Marcus Fairs: It’s 19 years since BMW Group bought MINI and 12 years since the car was first relaunched. How has the marriage between a German corporation and a British marque worked out?
Adrian van Hooydonk: I think it has worked out very well. Of course it needed a Dutch guy in between to sort of translate…
Marcus Fairs: And a Danish guy [MINI head of design Anders Warming]?
Adrian van Hooydonk: And a Danish guy. It needs some neutral elements from small countries that have no car industry to make ends meet. BMW Group actually did very well because I think it was a decision with a lot of foresight, to keep hold of MINI, because I think people are going to look for smaller cars in the future.
People want cars that have a strong character. People don’t want boring cars. It’s perfectly set up for years to come. BMW has been very respectful of MINI’s history and the same is true for Rolls Royce [which BMW Group bought in 1998] so I think that’s been part of the success story. This is why MINI is still here today.
Marcus Fairs: What’s new about the new MINI?
Adrian Van Hooydonk: Well of course to make a MINI recognisable as a MINI, you need to use full surfaces; rounded surfaces. But we’ve added sharp lines so the overall effect is one of a crisper car. I feel it’s a tighter car so the perception of quality and the actual building quality have gone up.
On the front, we have redesigned the grille. It is now larger; it still has a MINI typical shape and it now refers to the [1959] MINI Mark 1, which also had a very large front. The headlamps and tail lamps are still referring to the iconic shapes but they are now packed with very modern LED technology. It has daytime running lights so you will be able to recognise the MINI day and night.
In the interior, the level of luxury has gone up considerably and it’s packed with very clever technology as well like internet connectivity and a heads-up display that you will see the most relevant navigation on. So I think we have upgraded the new car both inside and out while retaining this friendliness that MINI stands for.
Marcus Fairs: It’s also bigger. MINI is not such a small car any more. Why is MINI getting bigger?
Adrian van Hooydonk: I used to own and drive an original MINI when I was a little bit younger. I actually fitted in that car and I have to say I had one accident with that car; it was written off completely. I was happy that I got away unharmed and that answers your question pretty much. I think the MINI is the most compact vehicle that any car company can do today because the safely requirements have become much tougher and I think this is a good thing.
MINIs today are very safe and are filled with airbags and are designed and engineered to face things that our customers never want to experience. But I think any MINI will always be the most compact offering in its segment.
Marcus Fairs: What about the platform [the chassis and other major engineering components]?
Adrian Van Hooydonk: We developed a completely new platform, not just for this MINI, but the MINI was the lead car for this set of mechanicals. It will also lead to some new BMWs; some front-wheel drive BMWs. We looked at working with other brands to share the platform but in the end we developed this platform from scratch on our own.
We set the parameters in terms of proportions. As a design team, we were able to get the proportions for the new MINI just the way we wanted it, with very short overhangs. It’s a very compact vehicle; it’s slightly wider than the previous car. What is good for MINI will also be good for BMW later on.
Marcus Fairs: Why did you want to work with other car brands and why did that not happen in the end?
Adrian Van Hooydonk: If you are able to work on an architecture that will lead to, let’s say, twenty vehicles or so, that will give you some economy of scale. Our customers are prepared to pay a premium but that’s not unlimited. So we need to find a way to make it affordable and do more cars.
Doing one type of architecture will allow you to do that but as we scanned the industry, we simply found that no one was able to do compact cars like MINI do. Nobody had a package or the proportions that we need to do a MINI, so we decided to do it on our own.
Marcus Fairs: So this will lead to a new type of BMW based on this shared platform? Will BMWs and MINIs share other parts?
Adrian van Hooydonk: We have already shown a concept car called the Active Tourer, which will be a new type of BMW that will launch in the near future, which will also have front wheel drive. But if you know the concept car, then you will see that it looks completely different. Not even the gearshift or any button or any element from the MINI will be carried over to the BMW. It’s all happening underneath the skin; so in some suspension parts or mechanical parts where we were then able to get some economy of scale [there are shared parts] whilst keeping the brand identity of MINI and BMW very pure.
Marcus Fairs: BMW is now positioning itself as a mobility solutions provider rather than a car brand. It’s about helping people make mobility choices rather than simply selling them cars. How does that translate to MINI, which is a fun, urban brand?
Adrian van Hooydonk: That’s a very good question.MINI is a very urban brand so it’s designed for people who live in the city; people who lead a very active life. You can tell from looking at a MINI that the people that drive it like to enjoy life. MINI is not as serious as many of the car brands out there.
I think new mobility would fit the MINI brand. As it stands, the MINI product line-up actually uses far less fuel than the BMW brand does. So far, we don’t feel there’s an immediate lead to electrify a MINI; also a smaller car is a little harder to do.
We are launching a whole new brand, BMWi, to deal with that identity and we went a long way towards achieving zero emissions, making the car out of carbon fibre with the i3 [electric car] or reinventing the sports car with the 8 [plug-in hybrid concept car]. We learned a lot from those projects and that knowledge will certainly filter back into both the MINI brand and the BMW.
Marcus Fairs: If Alec Issigonis, who designed the original MINI, was to see the new MINI, what would he say?
Adrian van Hooydonk: He would probably say, in all honesty, that a lot of design has gone on, knowing that he wasn’t a designer – he was an engineer. I think the same is true for all products in the world today. I think he would have a lot of respect for the cleverness of the engineering. I think he would also respect us for being such a custodian of the original idea.
Doing a car that is as compact as this in today’s world is actually quite an achievement. I think he would simply be happy that MINI as a brand is alive and kicking today. He probably would not have imagined that in his wildest dreams.
Marcus Fairs: What’s the relationship between your design team at BMW Group and Anders Warming and his team at MINI? Is the new MINI their design or yours?
Adrian van Hooydonk: It’s his team’s design and we are more than colleagues, we are friends. He started a little bit later than I did in the company but we worked together in Design Works, [BMW Group’s] Californian studio. Now we are both in a position that we can give a direction to whole brands.
I like to give the design teams a lot of freedom. If there is a disagreement then that’s okay because people have different opinions about design. If they have no opinion or they start agreeing with me, that would be the moment that I would start worrying.
I know that Anders is an extremely talented designer because I’ve seen him sketch and I’ve seen him grow. And I know that he works the same way that I do. I feel very privileged to now have guys like him in charge of each of the brands that I lead. It makes my life easier and more rewarding, working with people like him.
Marcus Fairs: What’s the next step?
Adrian van Hooydonk: Well today we’ve just launched the new core car. It’s the anchor for the brand so you have to be respectful and careful. Now for the next cars that you’ll see coming from MINI are around the core cars. I think you can expect each of these cars to move away from the core cars slightly: more distinct identities for the other products, a little bit more about today’s MINI family which is very closely related we feel, to the core car. We want it to really grow as a family.
Marcus Fairs: What kind of family are you talking about?
Adrian van Hooydonk: Well that’s a question that I’m not really at liberty to answer now. You know that today the MINI family consists of seven cars. We are still investigating what the family will consist of. But the new family members that will come out will have more of a stand-alone character. You will recognise them as part of the MINI family, but each of them will have a more distinct character of their own which I think is the next step for the MINI brand.
The annual World Toilet Day has a serious purpose: to raise awareness of sanitation and draw attention to the 2.5 billion people who do not have access to a clean and safe toilet.
However most of the toilets we’ve published are designed for the convenience of people in the developed world, including a surprising number of solutions for people attending open-air concerts. There’s even a portable urinal for festival-going girls.
We’ve also featured a few unusual toilet blocks, such as the new golden public toilet in Wembley that aims to “inspire confidence” and “pride in a place”.
London studio MAP worked with computer company Kano to create parts for the machine, designed as kit for learning about how computers work.
The kit runs on the Raspberry Pi platform – a customisable single-board computer that allows the user to add components.
MAP created a transparent case for the Raspberry Pi board, comprising two C-shaped transparent shells that clip together to secure the cable connections but leave the top open for the user to experiment with adding additional parts.
“We knew that it was important to protect the Raspberry Pi board and we were frustrated to see that most of the cases on the market actually seal the board in a box,” said MAP director Jon Marshall. “Our two-part bumper case provides protection while encouraging Kano users to experiment and make.”
A clear cover can be added over the board to protect the components or a speaker and small amplifier powered directly from the Raspberry Pi can be clipped on the top.
The kit comes as a case full of colourful parts with an instruction manual containing assembly details.
It includes a wireless keyboard, the Raspberry Pi with its customisable case, a speaker module, packaging and accessories. These elements can be used with a generic computer screen or monitor.
The parts are packaged in a bright orange box, designed to fit through a standard letterbox for easier delivery and be used to store the kit when not in use. The inner box is printed to show how the coloured wires connect to the Raspberry Pi board.
“We wanted to create the first computer that anyone can make – simple, fun, and powerful,” said Kano co-founder and head of product Alex Klein.
A Kickstarter campaign to crowd fund the project launches today.
Keep reading for more text from MAP:
Creative consultancy MAP and computer company Kano have together created a hands-on computer kit that you can make yourself. Using the well-known Raspberry Pi as its platform, users can learn and have fun while making it.
The prototype is now complete and a Kickstarter campaign will launch on 19 November. The kit costs $99 or £69. You can buy one for yourself or sponsor kits for a student, school, or institution through Kano’s not-for-profit programme, Kano Academy.
MAP worked with Kano on designing the kit and all of the components as a complete experience. MAP’s design team set out to make the Kano kit as friendly and as fun to use as Lego. The kit includes a new wireless keyboard, Raspberry Pi and a new type of customisable case, a unique speaker module, packaging and accessories.
MAP designed the Kano kit to guide users quickly and intuitively through the set-up. The packaging was designed to be kept and used as storage for the kit and its components, rather than being thrown away. A colourful outer sleeve keeps the kit protected, with the overall size optimised to fit through most letterboxes (reducing costs and making delivery easy). The inner box has a printed diagram of the cable connections to ensure a fast and easy-to-follow set-up. The components are clearly laid out to ease understanding. Reminiscent of a traditional board game, the robust inner tray keeps the components organised when you have finished playing and pack them away.
MAP designed a protective plastic case for the Raspberry Pi computer board that consists of two C-shaped bumpers in clear plastic. These snap around the board making it easy to handle and stabilising the cable connections while leaving both the top and bottom open for experimentation. There are additional clip-in covers that can be added when you want to enclose the Pi, or connect more components. For a first “making” project based on the basic kit, MAP have developed a special cover with a speaker and small amplifier that is powered directly from the Raspberry Pi.
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This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
