Hasta La Ideas

News: Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde has developed an “electronic vacuum cleaner” that can remove smog from urban skies and is working with the mayor of Beijing to use the technology in a new park in the city (+ interview + movie).

The concept uses buried coils of copper to create an electrostatic field that attracts smog particles, creating a void of clean air above it.

“You can purify the air so you can breathe again,” Roosegaarde told Dezeen in an exclusive interview during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. “It creates these holes of 50-60 metres of clean air so you can see the sun again.”

Roosegaarde’s company Studio Roosegaarde has signed a memorandum of understanding with the mayor of Beijing to create a public park to showcase the technology.

The authorities in Beijing are finally admitting the huge problems caused by smog. This weekend the Beijing Environmental Monitoring Center warned children, the elderly and those with heart and breathing problems to stay indoors due to extreme levels of pollutants in the air.

Working with scientists at the University of Delft, Roosegaarde created a working prototype of the project last week. “We have a 5×5 metre room full of smog where we created a smog-free hole of one cubic metre,” he said. “And now the question is to apply it in public spaces.”

The buried copper coils produce a weak electrostatic field that extends into the sky above. Smog particles are drawn down towards the ground, punching a clean hole in the air and allowing the particles to be collected. The coils can be buried beneath the grass of a park and are completely safe.

“It’s a similar principle to if you have a statically charged balloon that attracts your hair,” Roosegaarde explained. “If you apply that to smog, to create fields of static electricity of ions, which literally attract or magnetise the smog so it drops down so you can clean it, like an electronic vacuum cleaner.”

Roosegaarde had the idea for the project while staying at a hotel in Beijing and looking at OMA’s CCTV building from his window. “I saw the CCTV building,” he said. “I had a good day when I could see it and I had a bad day when I could not see it. On a bad day the smog is completely like a veil. You don’t see anything. I thought, that’s interesting, that’s a design problem.”

Roosegaarde’s team will now spend up to 18 months developing the technology before starting work on the ground in Beijing.

Here’s the text of the interview between Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs and Daan Roosegaarde:

Marcus Fairs: Tell us about the smog project.

Daan Roosegaarde: As you may know I hop from obsession to obsession, from fashion to highways to a problem we have right now which is smog. So it’s weird, because in a way we as human beings have always developed tools to enable ourselves. Wheels are an extension of our legs; glasses are an extension of our eyes; we developed cars to travel around.

But the weird thing in China, where growth is going so fast, is that these machines are striking back. They create side effects that we never thought about, which is pollution, which is smog. And Beijing is getting so incredibly worse that the American Embassy had to buy a new meter, because it was hitting the top all the time.

Marcus Fairs: How did the project come about?

Daan Roosegaarde: I was in a hotel in Beijing where I saw the CCTV building. I had a good day when I could see it and I had a bad day when I could not see it. On a bad day the smog is completely like a veil. You don’t see anything. I thought, that’s interesting, that’s a design problem. We could use smog as a material to design with, to draw.

Marcus Fairs: How does it work?

Daan Roosegaarde: We learned a lot from the Crystal project we’ve done in Eindhoven, which uses static electro-magnetic fields of ions. It’s a similar principle to if you have a statically charged balloon that attracts your hair.

If you apply that to smog, to create fields of static electricity of ions, which literally attract or magnetise the smog so it drops down so you can clean it, like an electronic vacuum cleaner. You can purify the air so you can breathe again. And it creates these holes of 50-60 metres of clean air so you can see the sun again.

So we teamed up with the Technical University of Delft, with a smog expert, and he said the technology is possible, so we have a big indoor prototype working. And I spoke to the mayor of Beijing who, when the microphone is turned off, admits they have a big problem, and so they are investing in making it happen.

The idea is to make a park in Beijing where you will see the old world and the new world. We’ll drag nature in. It’s Dutch landscape design in a most radical way.

It’s similar to how static electricity works, where you create a field. By electrifying particles they gravitate and fall down. It’s similar to how they spray-paint metal onto surface [by a process known as vacuum metallisation, in which electrostatically charged metal particles are attracted to the surface of an object, creating a metallic surface on it].

Marcus Fairs: Could this be a solution to smog in future?

Daan Roosegaarde: It could be a first step in creating awareness of how bad it really is. Because you see the difference really clearly. Of course the real solution lies in dealing with reality in a different way; it’s a human problem not a technological problem. But for sure my goal would be to apply it to parks, to public spaces which are for everyone, where people can meet and enjoy life again.

Marcus Fairs: What does the device look like?

Daan Roosegaarde: It’s copper coils that we put in the ground and put grass over them so you don’t see it. It sounds a bit dangerous but it’s pacemaker-safe, you can walk through it, the electric field is quite low. It’s an induction thing similar to how your toothbrush gets charged.

Marcus Fairs: How high can it reach?

Daan Roosegaarde: That’s what we’re testing now. The smog is quite low, which is good, especially in Beijing. Basically the more energy you put in it, the higher you can get. It’s high voltage, low ampere, and the more power you put in the more smog you can attract.

Marcus Fairs: If you switch it on would you see the smog suddenly disappear into the ground?

Daan Roosegaarde: Yes. You would literally see it on the ground. What I would like to do is capture all that smog and then compress it. So for example you could make a smog ring of all the smog in a cubic kilometre. It would show the reality and question why we accept it.

Marcus Fairs: Have you tested it?

Daan Roosegaarde: Yes. We have a 5×5 metre room full of smog where we created a smog-free hole of one cubic metre. And that happened this week. And now the question is to apply it in public spaces.

Marcus Fairs: Is the Beijing project going to happen?

Daan Roosegaarde: Yes. We signed a memorandum of understanding to do it. They just launched [another] project, a €2.3 million project to purify air, to reduce cars, more cycling. But it’s peanuts. It’s not going to work.

Marcus Fairs: How much does your concept cost?

Daan Roosegaarde: The research and development is the biggest hurdle as always. It will take another 12-15 months with a good team of people to make it work, to make it safe. But we know it’s possible and you know me by now: I have a scientist who says it’s possible, you have me, a designer who creates the imagination and you have a client who is desperate. And now all we have to do is find the “merge” button. It’s a new challenge.

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could solve smog problem appeared first on Dezeen.

Product news: Austrian design collective Mostlikely has created a set of posters that can be cut up and folded into lampshades shaped like cartoon animal heads.

To create the DIY Lampshades, Maik Perfahl and Wolfgang List of Mostlikely collaborated with Vienna based artist BOICUT, whose illustrations cover the designs.

The poster arrives in a tube as a roll of paper, which can be framed as a 2D picture.

The paper pattern can also be cut out, folded and glued together using the tabs drawn onto the image.

The colourful graphics form different faceted animal heads, which can be used as lampshades, stacked up to create a totem pole or worn as masks.

See more information from the designer:

The goal was to create complex objects at a low price that can be used as masks, posters, lampshades or something else. To achieve a low price and be able to ship our designs worldwide we deliver our lampshades as construction sets in a role of paper.

The customers have to cut out, fold and glue the parts together by themselves – DIY. The aim of our company is not only to design lampshades, we produce them also by ourselves. All designs were printed on a large format printer and packed in our workshop in Vienna.

Until now we only produce lampshades in a simple white design. Since sometime we have the idea to bring more colour in our world and to offer our customers lampshades with designs and colour all over. We want to invite artists and designers from all over the world to be part of our company and deliver colour designs for our lampshades.

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by Mostlikely appeared first on Dezeen.

Designer Kacper Hamilton has created a port decanter set that encourages users to constantly share the drink around.

Hamilton‘s glassware is named after the British tale of the Bishop of Norwich, about a nineteenth-century gentleman who was notorious for forgetting to pass the port.

To ensure the drink is shared by users of this set, the bottoms of the decanter and glasses are pointed so they can’t be put down. This means they will be constantly sipped and drained, so the port is always passed from person to person.

The vessels only stand when returned to their individual brass bases. The bases hold six glasses and a decanter with a matching brass stopper, which are displayed in a row on a wooden tray.

The project was exhibited at the Mint shop during London Design Festival 2013. Kacper Hamilton has also created a set of seven wine glasses inspired by the seven deadly sins.

Here is more information from the designer:

Influenced by and named after the classic tale of the ‘Bishop of Norwich’, a nineteenth-century gentleman notorious for forgetting to pass the port. This set brings about the return of humble rituals from the past through a drink that has become quintessentially British.

With respect to the tradition, the ‘Bishop of Norwich’ has been specifically designed to encourage the user to drink their port and pass the decanter. Due to their elaborate design the port glasses and decanter cannot be put down on the table unless placed within their individual brass bases, hence the port is continuously passed, shared and quaffed.

An elongated wooden tray brings all the parts together, making the complete creation a grand central piece. The ebony finish creates a striking contrast with the brushed sheen of the brass and a distinctive sculptural form appears when all the elements are displayed alongside one another.

Each solid brass base is engraved with the KH Studio monogram. The large decanter base displays the edition number (Limited Edition of 12), date of production, and ‘Made in England’.

When Port wine is passed around at British meals, one tradition dictates that a diner passes the decanter to the left immediately after pouring a glass for his or her neighbour on the right; the decanter should not stop its clockwise progress around the table until it is finished. If someone is seen to have failed to follow tradition, the breach is brought to their attention by asking ‘Do you know the Bishop of Norwich?’; those aware of the tradition treat the question as a reminder, while those who do not are told ‘He is a terribly good chap, but he always forgets to pass the port!’

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by Kacper Hamilton appeared first on Dezeen.

This fashion collection made of heavy-duty black tarpaulin by graduate designer Martijn Van Strien is on show at Design Academy Eindhoven as part of Dutch Design Week, which kicked off yesterday.

Martijn Van Strien made each garment in his Dystopian Brutalist Outerwear collection from a single piece of tarpaulin, with only straight cuts and sealed seams so they are easy to manufacture.

“This series of coats explores the possibilities of combining very durable but inexpensive materials with fast and effective ways of putting them together,” said Van Strien.

“After the economic downfall and the decline of our society life on this planet will be tough and unsure,” he continued. “For people to survive they will need a protective outer layer which guards them from the harsh conditions of every day life.”

The Dutch designer explained that the basic shapes were inspired by Brutalist architecture. “It has an austere feeling due to the linear, fortresslike and blockish look,” he said. “The style comes off cold, distant, sober and mysterious.”

Martijn Van Strien was awarded the Keep and Eye Grant for his project at the opening of the show yesterday morning.

Images are by Imke Ligthart.

Here’s some more information from the Design Academy Eindhoven:

The future may be bright, but it might also be very dark, says Martijn van Strien. He considered the worst-case scenario and came up with the ultimate back-to-basics collection for harsh conditions.

Made with minimum cost and effort from a single piece of heavy-duty black tarpaulin, with only straight cuts and sealed seams. The styles are inspired by Brutalist architecture, giving this outerwear a linear, invincible look.

The design says it all: brace yourself and be safe.

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by Martijn Van Strien appeared first on Dezeen.

News: Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen’s Voltage collection featuring 3D-printed garments has been awarded the Golden Eye prize at this year’s Dutch Design Awards.

Iris van Herpen‘s collection was shown during Paris Fashion Week in January and included two outfits made using additive manufacturing.

She collaborated with MIT researcher Neri Oxman and 3D printing company Stratasys to create a textured cape and skirt. An intricate dress made by selective laser sintering (main image) was designed with Austrian architect Julia Koerner and printed by Belgian company Materialise.

Van Herpen spoke to Dezeen about the garments in an interview for our one-off magazine dedicated to 3D printing Print Shift.

The Voltage collection also included outfits that looked like they were covered in white anemones and one piece built up from faceted mirrored triangles.

The jury commented: “With Voltage, Van Herpen gives the world a view into the future of fashion. It is impressive to see how she, at such a young age, succeeds in giving so much body to her work, without any loss of experiment and challenge. With her designs she shows better than anybody else what is going on in the Netherlands at the moment.”

Also at the awards, graphic designer Femke Herregraven took home the MINI Young Designer Award. The judges called her a “subtle and intelligent social activist who is not afraid of complexity and proceeds in a thorough and restrained manner”.

The awards were announced this evening at a ceremony in Eindhoven, as part of Dutch Design Week 2013, and all the shortlisted projects will be on show at Gebouw Gerard, Torenallee 62, 5617 BD Eindhoven until 27 October. The nominated projects are also collated in the Dutch Design Yearbook and there’s still chance to win one of five copies in our competition.

Last year’s top prize was awarded to an animation celebrating fashion house Louis Vuitton.

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at Dutch Design Awards 2013 appeared first on Dezeen.