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| Atelier Tekuto’s Poetic House Experiments Posted: 13 Oct 2008 06:29 AM CDT Architectural home designs rarely push the boundaries of actual living: they often boil down to 3 bedrooms and 3.5 baths. Atelier Tekuto is not only pushing these boundaries. The office seems to live in a world where the boundaries simply do not exist. The project names themselves are poetic, because in English they seem utterly unconnected to architectural design which of course makes them fabulous:
My favorites are Reflections of Mineral, with its mind-bending tiny spatial arrangement, and Skin-House Project Number 5, with its trippy grid windows alternating between room-lining shelving cubes (called “cell brick”). Architectural Firm: Atelier Tekuto          Skin House Project Number 5         |
| Posted: 13 Oct 2008 06:28 AM CDT It’s official, the 2008 London Design Festival is now over! In its 6th year and with over 150 events held all over London, I was lucky enough to be able to view the best of the best within furniture, craft, architecture, fashion, multi-media, graphic and industrial design. And if London is any indication of where the design world is moving, emerging trends are leaning towards conscientious, sustainable design and a renewed relationship with craft. Besides introducing many of their own new and emerging designers, London also graciously hosted new talent from Norway, Korea, Berlin, as well as others from around the world. Exhibition: 100% Design London
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| Must Run with the Beat, Yamaha BodiBeat Review Posted: 13 Oct 2008 03:10 AM CDT Runners know music can provide that extra oomph to make that last mile. The right music can relax us, put us to sleep, or heal us, so it makes sense it can also energize us. The Yamaha BodiBeat is part DJ, part heart monitor, and part trainer to keep you at your peak performance during workouts. Armed with new running sneakers and a snazzy outfit, I strapped the BodiBeat onto my arm and took to the Los Angeles jungle. My review after the jump. The Bodibeat comes with reverse earbuds, a clip-on earlobe heart rate monitor, USB cable, velcro arm strap, and software to manage your music. The user-interface is a bit confusing thanks to the non-traditional 2 main buttons. It takes some getting used to but I can see why Yamaha designed them to be pinch style buttons instead of push button. When you have it strapped to your arm, it really is easier to pinch than push. The small monochrome screen is a bit of a cop out since small color screens are becoming the norm but thankfully it’s so bright, reading isn’t a problem. There are 3 modes to choose from. Free Workout lets you run at whatever pace you want and the Bodibeat will dynamically play a song to match your pace. The Jog and Walk Fitness modes both take your age, weight, and height into account, calculate how fast you should be moving and for how long, then plays a song to keep you on track - literally. In use, the Free Workout mode was the most enjoyable when doing mundane things like walking to the store or even walking the dog. By constantly monitoring my heart rate, the BodiBeat knew exactly how hard I was working and picked a song accordingly. The only downside is the song will constantly change if your heart rate changes. One minute I’m getting into an upbeat song, the next its switches to a medium up-tempo song. Although you can lock-in the song you’re listening to, it defeats the purpose since I would then just use a regular MP3 player. The Jog and Walk Fitness modes are unrelenting, but in a good way. I decided to take a quick jog around my neighborhood on Jog mode and it immediately assigned a medium tempo song to get me warmed up and walking. About 5 minutes later it gave me a few audible beeps and a faster song started. The workout seems to be based on the latest fitness science, constantly switching back and forth from a slow jog to an all out run. These burst cycles are much more effective since they shock the muscles, never allowing them to adapt. The included software is sorta like iTunes but simplified. Just dump your favorite songs into it and they’ll upload to your BodiBeat but be forewarned, there’s only 512 MB so be frugal. It’s also advantageous to choose songs of varying tempos otherwise the BodiBeat will use one of its built-in circa 1990 techno songs to fill in gaps. The software will take both MP3s and AACs but runs on Windows only, sorry Mac users but you probably don’t care anyways with your iTunes and fancy iPods (natch!). What we liked:
What could be improved:
My time with the BodiBeat has proven two things to me. One, I can run regularly for exercise and not give up. Two, I can no longer deny how much dance music I listen to. The BodiBeat is meant to be a workout companion; one that offers encouragement with metronome like precision, but at $299 it’s not really affordable. Most people serious about music while working out will probably invest in a Zune or iPod and manage custom playlists themselves. The BodiBeat’s only saving grace is that it does all that for you. Designer: Yamaha
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| Move Over Grand Central, WTC Transport Hub Revealed Posted: 13 Oct 2008 03:07 AM CDT Last week, the Port Authority of New York, New Jersey, and Santiago Calatrava released revised renderings of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. I’ve always been enamored with the grand hubs of Europe so it’s about time we got something new. As grand as this is, it’s hard to imagine this plan is scaled back, YES SCALED BACK. Gone are the sweeping column-free span, originally envisioned by the Spanish architect known for his expressionistic structures. Tapered columns have been added. The sad thing is the skylights, which were to bring natural light into the mezzanine have also been eliminated. Boo! A number of reasons contributed to the scaled back plans, namely being cost and timeline. The original plan called for uncalled for amounts of steel and in today’s economy, cost projections sky rocketed. The new hub needs to be completed by 2012; tho that sounds far away, it really is only right around the corner. Even tho Calatrava’s original idea has been revised, I really hope it stands up to New York’s Grand Central. It could be a modern testament to urban mass transportation and give the city new architectural wonders to love. Designer: Santiago Calatrava
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| Posted: 13 Oct 2008 03:05 AM CDT One of the most important tools in a designer’s arsenal is software. We receive loads of questions about what software to use but like any other tool, it’s only as good as its master. There are a number of industry standards but we want to hear from you - what 3D modeling/rendering solution do you use? I started with Lightwave 3D in the 90’s, then took on the daunting task of learning Maya. Today I use Modo exclusively. Most of these packages have free learning editions students can download. What about free open source solutions like Blender? Any others?
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| Posted: 13 Oct 2008 03:00 AM CDT Ahh, the wonders of concrete. A technology invented by the Romans continues to astound me with what is possible. In the case of dupli.casa, it is the perfect, seamless material for the whizzy computer shapes coming from the office of Berlin architect Jurgen Mayer H. What makes this project noteworthy is that it shows a powerful grasp of shapemaking, and it never feels like you’re sitting in a big sculpture that someone grudgingly cut windows in. In addition, the integration of non-swoopy elements like windows is nothing short of masterful. Designer: Jurgen Mayer H
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| Posted: 13 Oct 2008 01:14 AM CDT Place both elbows to the railing, place hands to skull, hear airplanes, bombs, and air-raid horns fill your eardrums the same as if you were there, Dresden Germany, 1945. Markus K has designed a different kind of memorial, one that allows the person visiting to not only stand in the place where history happened, but to hear and experience it as well. Markus Kison designs a new kind of memorial: “‘Touched Echo’ is a minimal medial intervention in public space. The visitors of the Brühl’s Terrace (Dresden, Germany) are taken back in time to the night of the terrible air raid on 13th February 1945. In their role as a performer they put themselves into the place of the people who shut their ears away from the noise of the explosions. While leaning on the balustrade the sound of airplanes and explosions is transmitted from the swinging balustrade through their arm directly into into the inner ear (bone conduction). “The sound is not transmitted in air and throught the middle ear but instead through the skull bone. To send the sound over the arm and hand to the skull bone, the railing of the Brühlsche Terasse is equipped with several custom made sound conductors and set into a vibration.” Looks (and sounds!) like an extraordinary kind of memorial! Imagine these installed at sites of great marches, addresses by presidents, and first takeoffs! This could be as common as the everyday plaque, and much more meaningful. And then think of the other applications: Touched Echo gravesites and tombs. Oooh… Designer: Markus Kison
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| Posted: 12 Oct 2008 11:40 PM CDT OLO Computer updated their site with a mysterious laptop with what looks like an iPhone as the trackpad and OS X on the screen. Now I’m only thinking out loud but the iPhone, tho powerful, isn’t powerful enough to run a full blown version of OS X. Does OLO know something we don’t know or are they just reaching for pie in the sky? Care to ruminate? Designer: OLO
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