Hasta La Ideas

L’agence Nameless Architecture a décidé de construire une église en béton dans une ville aux alentours de Séoul, en Corée du Sud. Avec sa façade structurée de petits carrés et faite tout en bloc, cette bâtisse imposante contient des baies vitrées qui diffusent une lumière dans un intérieur gris.

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have unveiled a prototype electric car that folds in half.

The Armadillo-T was conceived by a research team led by In-Soo Suh, associate professor of the Graduate School for Green Transportation at KAIST, to enable drivers to park in tight spots within dense urban environments.

When folded, the micro-car shrinks from 2.8 metres down to 1.65 metres. “Once folded, the small and lightweight electric vehicle takes up only one-third of a five metre parking space, the standard parking size in Korea,” said Suh.

Suh and his team based the car’s design on the behaviour of an armadillo, which rolls into a ball when faced with threats from predators. “Just as armadillos hide themselves inside the shell, Armadillo-T tucks its rear body away,” Suh said.

Watch the Armadillo-T in action:

Using a remote control, drivers can roll up the back of the car, spin it 360 degrees into the correct position and reverse it snugly into a parking space.

The prototype car features two seats and it has a motor in each of the four wheels. The vehicle’s battery and motors stay in the same place when the car folds.

It weighs 450 kilograms, has a maximum speed of 60 kilometres per hour and can travel 100 kilometres on a 10 minute charge of the battery.

Other cars we’ve featured recently include the BMW’s first fully electric production car called the BMW i3 and a preview of MINI’s new car that includes Union Jack door pockets and a disco floor.

See more car design »
See more transport design »

Here’s more information from KAIST:

KAIST unveils foldable micro electric car, Armadillo-T

The small and light electric car completely folds in half when parking, making it a perfect fit for public or private transportation in an urban environment.

Looking for a parking space for hours at a busy shopping mall or being stuck on roads jammed with cars releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide are all-too-familiar scenes for city dwellers.

A group of researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) recently developed a possible solution to such problems: a foldable, compact electric vehicle that can be utilised either as a personal car or part of the public transit system to connect major transportation routes within a city.

In-Soo Suh, associate professor of the Graduate School for Green Transportation at KAIST, and his research team introduced a prototype micro electric car called Armadillo-T, whose design is based on a native animal of South America, the armadillo, a placental mammal with a leathery shell.

The research team imitated the animal’s distinctive protection characteristic of rolling up into a ball when facing with threat from predators. Just as armadillos hide themselves inside the shell, Armadillo-T tucks its rear body away, shrinking its original size of 2.8 meters (110 inches) down to almost half, 1.65 meters (65 inches), when folding.

Armadillo-T is a four-wheel-drive, all-electric car with two seats and four in-wheel motors. Since the motors are installed inside the wheels, and the 13.6 kWh capacity of lithium-ion battery pack is housed on the front side, the battery and motors do not have to change their positions when the car folds. This not only optimises the energy efficiency but also provides stability and ample room to drivers and passengers.

Once folded, the small and light (weighs 450 kg) electric vehicle takes up only one-third of a 5-meter parking space, the standard parking size in Korea, allowing three of its kind to be parked. With a smartphone-interfaced remote control on the wheels, the vehicle can turn 360 degrees, enhancing drivers’ convenience to park the car, even in an odd space in a parking lot, the corner of a building, for example.

Professor In-Soo Suh said, “I expect that people living in cities will eventually shift their preferences from bulky, petro-engine cars to smaller and lighter electric cars. Armadillo-T can be one of the alternatives city drivers can opt for. Particularly, this car is ideal for urban travels, including car-sharing and transit transfer, to offer major transportation links in a city. In addition to the urban application, local near-distance travels such as tourist zones or large buildings can be another example of application.”

The concept car has loads of smart features on board, too: the cameras installed inside the car eliminate the need for side mirrors and increase the driver’s ability to see the car’s right and left side, thereby reducing blind spots. With a smartphone, the driver can control Armadillo-T and enable remote folding control. The car has a maximum speed of 60 km/h, and with a ten-minute fast charge, it can run up to 100 km.

Professor Suh explained that the concept of Armadillo-T was originally initiated in 2011 as he focused his research interest on the sub-A segment of personal mobility vehicles (PMVs), which are smaller and lighter than the current compact cars, as a new personalised transport mode.

“In coming years, we will see more mega-size cities established and face more serious environmental problems. Throughout the world, the ageing population is rapidly growing as well. To cope with climate, energy, and limited petroleum resources, we really need to think outside the box, once again, to find more convenient and eco-friendly transportation, just as the Ford Model T did in the early 1920s.

A further level of R&D, technical standards, and regulatory reviews are required to have these types of micro vehicles or PMVs on the market through test-bed evaluations, but we believe that Armadillo-T is an icon toward the future transport system with technology innovation.”

The research project has been supported by the Korean government, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement, since December 2012.

The post Armadillo-T foldable electric
micro-car by KAIST appeared first on Dezeen.

Coup de cœur pour le travail de Vice Versa Design Studio qui présente cette magnifique vidéo d’animation réalisée afin de présenter la « About Korean Exhibition ». Cette création propose une vue infographique de la Corée du Sud et son activité en 24 heures. A découvrir en images dans la suite de l’article.

Focus sur Daehyun Kim qui est un artiste coréen vivant et travaillant à Vienne. Avec ses dessins en noir et blanc très réussis, réunis sous le titre de Moonassi Drawings, ce dernier nous emmène dans son monde très inspiré la peinture asiatique traditionnelle. Des œuvres à découvrir dans la suite de l’article.

German artist Hendrik Beikirch has painted a 70-metre-high mural of a fisherman a few blocks away from Daniel Libeskind’s Haeundae I’Park skyscrapers in Busan, South Korea (+ slideshow).

Beikirch’s elderly fisherman represents the large number of South Koreans still working in traditional industries who have not felt the benefits of the country’s rapid economic development, signified by the glass and steel skyscrapers in the background.

Beikirch painted the mural on the side of Busan’s fishing union building located between Haeundae and Gwangalli beaches. Underneath is a statement in Korean which translates as: “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.”

The project was led by Public Delivery, a Seoul-based organisation that promotes contemporary art across Asia and Europe, who explain that Beikirch ”deliberately distances himself from the polished and artificial aesthetic of advertising” usually found in public spaces.

For more outdoor art, have a look at Dezeen’s map of Hackney locating stencil work by street artist Banksy.

See all our stories about art »
See all our stories about Daniel Libeskind »

Here’s some more information from Public Delivery:

During the last week of August 2012, German painter Hendrik Beikirch created not only a stunning work but an iconic piece that stretches over 70 metres (230 ft.) high and is yet to be considered as Asia’s tallest mural. Located in South Korea‘s second largest city, Busan, this piece showcases a monochromatic mural of a fisherman, set in contrast with the Haeundae I’Park building at the background, constructed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind.

The Haeundae I’Park is a residential building and is also a symbol for the rapid development and accumulated wealth in Korea, a poor country not too long ago. The mural that depicts an image of a fisherman represents a significant portion of Korea‘s population that has not been affected by the economic growth and until now, lives under very different circumstances compared to their affluent neighbors.

Responsible for this project is Public Delivery, a organisation who has made waves across Asia and Europe through the promotion of contemporary art. The artwork will be on display for an indefinite period of time.

The painting

The mural presents a local fisherman in his 60s, staring into an intangible space with his face marked with wrinkles, still wearing long plastic gloves – a sign that there are still men and women like him at this age working for a living. This dying profession entails six to seven days of work in a week, under difficult circumstances, while just receiving a minimum amount of financial support, just enough to buy certain needs.

However, despite the story behind the portrait, the painting conveys a positive message seen in the emotion shown by the fisherman. In addition, underneath it, Beikirch added a statement in Korean letters which roughly translate to “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.”

Beikirch is known for his artworks set in monochromatic and detailed painting and this is no difference. Unlike other artists, he painted this mural without using a projector or a sketch on the wall. This, in its true form, is a masterful performance and a task that requires enormous routine and outstanding precision.

The location

The painting is applied on the building of Busan‘s fishing union. It is located between Korea’s two most famous beaches, Haeundae (해운대해수욕장) and Gwangalli (광안리해수욕장), clearly visible from the latter. Over the past years, both beaches turned into excessive commercial areas and became heavy motors for the city‘s tourism, attracting mostly Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Russian travelers.

The building is also home to a fish market that provides the prosperous inhabitants of Busan, like those living in the Hyundai I’Park building, with Korean style raw fish (hoe, 회), a pricey delicacy that is similar to Japanese sashimi.

The artist

Hendrik Beikirch (b. 1974) is a German painter well known for his series of large monochromatic wall paintings that often show portraits of older people, visibly marked by life. In order to create these works, Beikirch secretly takes sketches of strangers whom he encounters on his travels, noticing them for their aura and expression between hope and struggle. This inspired the title of his on-going series “Faces of Hope and Struggle” and runs seamlessly on the canvases of Beikirch, which mostly displays the same frontal view of unfamiliar people. He deliberately distances himself from the polished and artificial aesthetic of advertising, which has now occupied major parts in public space.

Beikirch always works with a reduced color palette, and therefore the high recognition factor ensures that viewers now can easily find walls by him all over Europe, Canada, the USA, Mexico, Chile, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Russia and other countries, all painted in the last 15 years.

Partners

This project would not have been possible without the support of The Busan Cultural Foundation, The Arts Council Korea, Busan Metropolitan City, Indie Culture Network AGIT and Suyeong Local Government. MBC, the oldest and one of the major commercial Korean broadcasting companies, is the main media partner.

The post Asia’s Tallest Mural
by Hendrik Beikirch appeared first on Dezeen.