Hasta La Ideas

Biggest design news story of the week? Well, if you were paying attention, you noticed that it was the hubbub surrounding the blog Serious Lunch discovering that the new set where Conan O’Brien delivers the opening monologue in his new hosting duties at the Tonight Show looks an awful lot like a level map for a chapter in the Super Mario Brothers franchise. There’s really nothing more than that to this story, but it’s making the rounds like wildfire. After all, Serious Lunch’s filling in of the background is pretty convincing, as is their transfixing animated gif.

If you somehow found yourself in possession of a time machine, what would be the first thing you’d do. If you said “I’d like to see what Burger King looks like in the future” then we would respond with: “That’s stupid.” But we say that out of care for you, dear reader, because we don’t want you wasting your precious time machine tokens on something you can see today. Nation’s Restaurant News has published information about and photos of the new store layout designs for the fast food chain. It’s all flash and sizzle, from LCD menus to lighting that looks like flames — though the long and short of it seems to be that if you’ve ever been to a sports bar chain, you probably won’t be seeing anything particularly new. It certainly isn’t as snazzy as the McDonald’s redesign from a little while back (though Burger King probably won’t get in trouble with Arne Jacobsen for their new digs). Also unfortunately, all of this will be moot anyway because, if the 1993 film Demolition Man taught us anything, it’s that the only restaurants in the future will be Taco Bells anyway. So enjoy the new BK look while you can.

Selective Insulation is a project by Berlin architects Davidson Rafailidis that creates insulated workspaces within a larger, cold room. (more…)

French designer Matali Crasset has completed the reception area and canteen of arts venue Ménagerie de Verre in Paris, France. (more…)

London-based design practice The Klassnik Corporation have designed the interior of creative agency YCN’s new home, located in a former warehouse in Shoreditch, London. (more…)