Hasta La Ideas

British designer Ross Lovegrove will unveil a concept car he has designed for French car manufacturer Renault in Milan next month (+ movie).

“[Our] intention is to reveal nature’s underlying blueprints and transfer them into a new design language,” says Lovegrove.

“These methods are process-driven and aim to explore tessellation, performative surfaces, lightweight structures and new material behaviours rather than the literal translation of appearances found in nature into visual design,” he adds.

The car will be on display from 9 to 14 April 2013 at the Triennale di Milano exhibition.

Ross Lovegrove presented another futuristic car concept at Biennale Interieur last year, and has also suspended a silver spaceship from the rafters of Lille railway station.

A concept vehicle without a windshield and a fuel-efficient 3D-printed car are the latest stories about cars we’ve covered recently.

See all our stories about car design »
See all our stories about designs by Ross Lovegrove »
See all our stories about transport design »

The post Concept car by Ross Lovegrove
for Renault appeared first on Dezeen.

Product news: London designer Paul Cocksedge has launched a gadget on Kickstarter that plays music wirelessly through vintage speakers (+ movie).

Paul Cocksedge created the small portable device to give old and unused speakers a new lease of life.

The Vamp connects to the back of any speaker via a two-way jack or red and black speaker wires, and can stream music from bluetooth devices within a ten metre range.

Shaped like a cube with a corner sliced off, it can be attached anywhere on the speaker using a foam pad or a magnet that pairs with one inside.

The battery inside the device that powers the speaker can be kept on constant charge while hooked up using a USB port or power adapter and has a rechargeable life of over ten hours when not plugged in.

The Vamp is available in a choice of red, white or black for £35 through the Kickstarter campaign, which runs until the 28 April.

Cocksedge suspended a mysterious neon phone number above a London street for our Seven Designers for Seven Dials installations, and contributed a lamp made from heat-shrunk polystyrene cups to the Stepney Green Design Collection we curated.

Photography is by Mark Cocksedge.

Paul Cocksedge sent us the following information:

Paul Cocksedge launches The Vamp on Kickstarter

Thanks to modern technology, we’re now able to carry our entire music libraries in a range of portable devices, from laptops to mobiles and tablets. For sheer sound quality, however, the devices have not matched the superior audio quality of the conventional speaker. And portable Bluetooth speakers, which give consumers the freedom to link devices wirelessly and play music at any location, are expensive. Now, however, an established British designer, already renowned in international design circles for his innovation and creativity, has come up with a way to bring life back to the millions of speakers which still exist in our homes.

London-based designer Paul Cocksedge has created The Vamp which will launch on Kickstarter, a crowd-funding platform for creative projects. The Vamp is a gadget which allows traditional hi fi speakers to communicate with today’s world of portable digital devices, allowing them to be used in the house, the garden or the park – in fact, anywhere. Old speakers can now be transformed into a portable Bluetooth speaker –for as little as £35. New technology can quickly make our gadgets and appliances obsolete, The Vamp makes a real contribution to allowing us to retain the craftsmanship and quality of well-made speakers and use them to embrace the newest wireless technology.

The Vamp is a cute cube shaped object with an inner magnet that allows it to stick to the side of the speaker. The internal battery can power any size speaker and means all the wires and clutter we are used to seeing are gone. It can receive sound via Bluetooth from any Bluetooth device within 10m.

Paul Cocksedge says: “For me, reusing perfectly good technology makes sense. Hearing the rich sound coming out of these older speakers in a new way is a delight. They are a part of our music history.”

The post The Vamp by
Paul Cocksedge appeared first on Dezeen.

This movie by German art director Mike Meiré for bathroom and kitchen brand Dornbracht features one shower that makes you feel like you’re washing outdoors and another that you use lying down.

Created by Sieger Design for Dornbracht, Sensory Sky has a wide and flat shower head with separate sprinklers for head and body and a “rain curtain” that creates a solid wall of water, as seen in the movie by Cologne-based art director Mike Meiré. There’s also a nozzle that uses cold water to create a foggy mist.

Users can programme their own settings or choose from three options: one that projects coloured lights on the rain curtain, another that combines fog and cool water with the smell of herbs and berries, and a third designed to evoke a summer storm by combining cold and warm water with a tropical fragrance.

The movie also shows the Horizontal Shower, which sprays water in a curtain along the length of the user’s body while they lie on a heated plinth.

Sensory Sky is on show at the ISH trade fair in Frankfurt until 16 March and will be available from autumn 2013 in brushed stainless steel and platinum or high-gloss stainless steel and chrome.

We previously featured a square tap by Sieger Design for Dornbracht that produces a wide row of individual streams of water.

Other unusual showers we’ve published include an outdoor shower that connects to a hosepipe and a circular shower that rotates to become a bath.

We recently featured a bathroom collection that appears to have been unpacked from the crate-like wooden bath and a bathroom with orange details by Marc Newson for Caroma – see all bathrooms.

Mike Meiré curated an exhibition for Dornbracht in Cologne a few years ago featuring street food stalls from around the world, as he explained in a movie filmed by Dezeen.

Here’s more information from Dornbracht:

The innovation: Sensory Sky
The vision: The feeling of showering in the open air
The special feature: Complex scenarios of rain, fog, light and fragrance
Design and concept: Sieger Design

Available for delivery: Autumn 2013
Dornbracht premiere: Sensory Sky – a feeling of showering in the open air

With Sensory Sky, Dornbracht makes showering a unique experience that stimulates all the senses. Different types of rain, fog, light and fragrance complement one another to create complex choreographies, inspired by weather phenomena and the moods of nature.

Throughout product development, the focus has been on keeping technology in the background. Sensory Sky combines technological complexity with minimalist design. The wide and flat rain panel has separate shower fields for head sprinkler, body sprinkler and rain curtain, a cold-water fog nozzle and light and fragrance functions.

Controls are easy and convenient to use thanks to the new digital Smart Tools that Dornbracht has developed on the basis of Smart Water technology. Smart Water stands for the vision of enlisting the numerous possibilities for digitisation in the bathroom (and kitchen), and making individualised applications convenient and easier to use.

A gentle press of the controls and the desired scenario begins:

Readjust is a choreography that invigorates the user and sharpens the senses. Temperature controlled fog (36-39°C) and light rain (28°C) reduce the daily flood of stimuli to a soothing minimum – until the gentle light of dawn begins, the sky gradually clears and perception becomes more alert, more intense once again. The composition of fresh woody meadow herbs and sweet hints of berries is reminiscent of the soft, pleasant fragrance of a dry forest floor and reinforces feelings of liveliness after showering.

Release is derived from the natural phenomenon of heavy summer rain that cleanses and liberates at the same time. Pent-up energies are unlocked in an expressive choreography of different kinds of rain, and invigorating changes in temperature and light. The choreography is accompanied by a refreshing, tropical fragrance with hints of citrus fruit and an earthy base. The change from cold (18°C) and warm (35°C) water in the rain curtain, together with the fascinating interplay of summer shower and sheet lightning, promote a feeling of liberation – a fresh beginning for body, mind and soul.

Rejoice protects, envelops and stabilises. The outer, warm rain curtain (35-38°C) becomes a projection screen for the light effects as water droplets glisten in the colours of the rainbow. A poetic fragrance composition combines fresh, clear notes with a sweet-spicy and woody finish. A multi-faceted and harmonious play with colours, fragrances and rain types that gradually transfers over the entire body and harmonises all of the senses.

A special feature of Sensory Sky is the fragrances synchronised to each choreography and inspired by the various weather phenomena and moods of nature. These fragrances are produced using high-quality natural essential oils and balms in co-operation with Kemitron, a specialist for spa and wellness fragrances. All fragrance compositions have also been tested by the International Fragrance Association IFRA, ensuring that they are of high quality and safe to enjoy.

Alongside the three scenarios, spray heads, nozzles, light and fragrances can also be separately set, independently of one another, for an individual shower experience. Whether the choreography is programmed or personal, Sensory Sky creates a uniquely sensual feeling, like showering in the open air.

Sensory Sky will be introduced at ISH 2013 and from autumn 2013 will be available in two different finishes: brushed stainless steel (in combination with matt platinum) and high-gloss stainless steel (in combination with chrome).

The post Sensory Sky by Sieger Design
for Dornbracht appeared first on Dezeen.

Construction is now underway on a Zaha Hadid-designed cultural complex on the edge of a lake in Changsha, China (+ movie).

The project, which broke ground in October, features an 1800-seat theatre, a contemporary art museum and a smaller multi-purpose venue. Each building is planned as a grouping of petal-shaped volumes that curve around one another to create a central plaza and a series of connecting lawns, terraces and pathways.

Zaha Hadid Architects won a competition in 2011 to masterplan the site, which sits opposite Festival Island on the edge of Meixi Lake. As part of the project, the architects will add two pedestrian bridges leading over to the island.

The Grand Theatre will be the largest of the three buildings and will positioned at the entrance to the site, while the smaller 500-seat venue is to be positioned opposite and will open out to a sunken courtyard lined with shops and restaurants.

The museum is planned for the edge of Meixihu Road and will feature a central atrium that separates to form three wings. On one side, the gallery will lead out to an external plaza for use as a sculpture exhibition area or as a temporary event space.

Zaha Hadid Architects has been working on a number of other projects in China. The firm completed the mixed-use Galaxy Soho complex at the end of 2012 and is also racing to complete the Wangjing Soho complex before a rival developer that has pirated the design.

Other recent masterplans by Zaha Hadid Architects include a cluster of towers in Bratislava’s city centre and the redevelopment of an old textile factory in Belgrade. See more architecture and design by Zaha Hadid.

Other radical proposals for Changsha include a shape-shifting “transformer building” and plans to construct the world’s tallest building. See more architecture in China.

Here’s some extra information from Zaha Hadid Architects:

Changsha Meixihu International Culture & Art Centre

The International Culture & Arts Centre embodies a unique variety of civic nodes and spaces: A Grand Theatre, a Contemporary Art Museum, a Multipurpose Hall and supporting facilities. The central plaza is generated by the relative position of these separate buildings and offers a strong urban experience whereby the flow of pedestrian visitors that come from all sides of the site intersect and meet. In parallel it also stretches outwards to the neighbouring streets with unfettered and phenomenal views across Meixi lake with access towards Festival Island.

The Grand Theatre is the focal point of the Changsha International Culture & Arts Centre. It is the largest performance venue in the city with a total capacity of 1800 seats. Designed to host world-standard performances the building contains will contain all the necessary front of house functions, such as lobbies, cloakrooms, bars, restaurants, and VIP hospitality, as well as the required ancillary functions, such as administration, rehearsal rooms, backstage logistics, dressing and make-up rooms, and wardrobe.

The Museum’s composition of three fluid petals around its internal central atrium, juxtaposes of the various patchworks of gallery spaces in a truly seamless fashion. With outward views and balconies to its exteriors, it aims to engage the site’s unique location and surrounding views into some of its gallery spaces. An external plaza which faces Meixi Lake Road allows for outdoor sculptures, exhibitions and events to be extended to an expansive outdoor space.

The Small Theatre (Multipurpose Hall) is characterised by its flexibility. With a maximum capacity of 500 seats, it can be adapted and transformed to different configurations. It can therefore accommodate a broad range of functions and shows that span from banquets and commercial events to small plays, fashion shows and music. A commercial attraction, this venue shares seamless public access to retail areas and restaurant facilities, which are seated in an open and gently sunken courtyard linking visitors to and from the basement level.

Although these civic institutions are uniquely defined and separate, they supply each other in all respects within its setting with plazas offering visitors a tapestry-like sequence of urban ambiances that relate to the different institutions, inject the site with urban vitality. The working hours of the different venues also overlap to ensure continuity during the full 24 hour cycle; Operated during the evening, the Grand Theatre becomes active as the Museum begins to conclude its day-time operations whilst the Small theatre and retail/restaurants would be commercially available day and night. In this regard, they benefit from each other’s vicinity, ensuring that the site is lively 24 hours a day. This dynamic composition further establishes a powerful relationship with its surroundings, which confers monumentality to the ensemble.

Embodying values of functionality, elegance and innovation, the Changsha Meixi Lake International Culture & Arts Centre aims to become the new cultural and civic node for the city of Changsha, and well as global cultural destination.

The post Changsha Meixihu International Culture
and Art Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

In this movie by Gwenael Lewis, Canadian lighting company Bocci’s creative director Omer Arbel describes how bubbles in the firm’s latest chandelier look like an “internal universe” when illuminated.

The film show glass blowers using tools to form spheres of molten glass that they mould together and reheat into a cohesive, cloud-like piece. “We began with the idea that we can manipulate the malleability of glass based on its temperature,” says Arbel.

Blowing air into the glowing glass creates bubbles and pockets depending on the temperature of different areas. “The air is pushed into the assembly and makes its way out through the path of least resistance, which is where the glass is hottest,” Arbel explains.

The light appears to be a smooth, shiny bobbled surface while off, but the air pockets become visible when it is turned on. “When lit, an internal universe comes alive,” Arbel says.

The 57 Series will be unveiled as the centrepiece for Bocci‘s stand at Euroluce trade fair in Milan during Salone Internazionale del Mobile next month. We’ve featured a few movies by Gwenael Lewis about the making of Bocci chandeliers, including the 28 series and 14 series lights.

See all our stories about designs by Bocci »
See all our stories about chandeliers »
See all our stories about lighting »

Here’s some more information from Bocci:

Bocci at Eurolace 2013

During this year’s Milan Saloni, Bocci will be exhibiting for the first time at Euroluce. In conjunction with the world’s largest furniture exhibition, Salone del Mobile, the biennial Euroluce trade fair serves as a major platform for luminaire manufactures with high design ambitions. At the centerpiece of their 280 square meter stand, Bocci will unveil a new flexible chandelier called 57 in a dramatic installation.

Designed by Omer Arbel, Bocci’s Creative Diretor, 57 is an exploration of a technique of making analogous to that used for producing open cell foam. The process involves trapping voids of air of different sizes and configurations within a glass matrix, and then injecting air into the composition, yielding a shape loosely referencing a rain cloud. These pockets of air remain invisible when the piece is off, but come alive to reveal an interior universe when the piece is turned on. As with all of Arbel’s recent body of work, it is the technique of making that yields 57’s form, which is unique in every iteration of the procedure.

A flexible suspension system allows easy composition: Pendants may be clustered such that they touch each other, referencing a cloudy sky (an especially poignant reference in the City of Vancouver, where the idea was born); they may also be composed as a field, such that each piece can be perceived individually, perhaps referencing a child’s drawing of a could (equally poignant but in a more universal manner). Most chandeliers are fundamentally vertical in composition, which is why they work best in rooms with high ceilings; in contrast, 57 is conceived as a layer or strata of light, or in other words, a horizontal chandelier.

The post 57 Series by Omer Arbel
for Bocci appeared first on Dezeen.