Yanko Design - Latest Posts

Trod the Untrodden Path! GeoCane and Upward! Posted: 20 Oct 2008 03:23 AM CDT Presenting the best way to get lost in a walking stick. The GeoCane by Felix Hardmood Beck takes the idea of a divining rod and finds you some great adventure in the great hiking pilgrimage. Stamping the ground creates a path that noone else has followed, creating a unique experience for you, the final and last one true highlander. Designer Felix Hardmood Beck puts it like this: “The goal of this project was to translate the central aspects and values of the pilgrimage into a digital object – a new interpretation of the traditional walking-cane: The GeoCane. This new cane shows various references to the historic and modern pilgrimage, as well as historic and modern forms of navigation. By using the GeoCane, the user receives a new understanding of the historic identity of pilgrimage. “Geographical coordinates for a specific goal are loaded onto the GeoCane through a docking-station. Throughout the Neo-Pilgrimage an integrated microchip traces the chosen path, so that you are never guided on an already known road. By a slight vibration at grasping hight, the cane leads the way for the user. The place of destination remains unknown for the user and is not of such great importance as the path in itself.” Heigh Ho! Designer: Felix Hardmood Beck Felix Hardmood

Nesting Doll House Posted: 20 Oct 2008 03:21 AM CDT House N is a new house in Oita, Japan , by one of our favorites, Sou Fujimoto Architects. The house is a series of nesting boxes, another departure from a glorified 3 bedroom 3.5 bath architected ’stravagazna. The Japanese are light years ahead of everyone else in this regard.  Look no farther than the powerful, simple, and effective section for proof of this. It is astoundingly transparent even as it is smartly layered to create privacy where needed. Of particular interest is the fact that the center box holds dining and living spaces , and not what westerners would generally try to hide away. The bed, er, area, something westerners would generally consider the most private area (leading to the warren of bedrooms we refer to earlier) is not in the innermost box, but in the second box, the semi-private layer. Of all the non-traditional houses we’ve got in our catalog, this one is one we’d like to live in.  Or at least design a copy of for ourselves. Designer: Sou Fujimoto Architects Photographer: Iwan Baan No Tags

Sherwood Forest’s Fantastic Treehouse Posted: 20 Oct 2008 03:20 AM CDT London-based architects Make created the winning design for the Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre (yes, that Sherwood Forest ). Their solution makes this little installation in Madison Square Park look really weak. In fact, Make Architecture’s take seems to owe more to Tadashi Kawamata’s early work than anything in contemporary architecture. While obviously pumping up the drama in order to draw upon a child’s greatest treehouse fantasy, this is decidedly grown up architecture too. It redefines contextually-sensitive architecture, sustainable architecture, and destination architecture all at once. Oh and if this ever gets built, you’ll see my climbing that thing for hours. Designer: Make Architects No Tags

Top 10 of Green Design Posted: 20 Oct 2008 03:10 AM CDT Never one to let a trend pass without jumping on the bandwagon ourselves, here is Yanko Design’s top 10 list of the most impactful green designs of recent memory. Given so many criteria available to judge the concepts, ordering the list was tough, but in the end we shot from the hip as well as flipped a lot of coins. Without further ado, hit the jump for your daily dose of feeling good about Mother Earth. 10) Com-bat: A solar powered, robotic spy plane, the 6″ wide Com-bat uses hair trigger sensors to navigate the battlefield and relay data back to base. 9) Lotus Eco-Elise: Drawing on friendly materials like “eco wool”, sisal and hemp, the new Elise stands apart from its hybrid brethren by also incorporating solar roof panels to power its electrical systems. 8 ) River Plant Aquarium: Like a self contained bio-dome (less the Pauly Shore), the aquarium uses fish and water to provide nutrients to the plants, while the plants oxygenate the water for the fish. 7) Vertical Farm: Aiming to solve the problem of slash and burn farming as well as prevent watershed contamination by pesticides, the vertical farm skyscrapers attempt to condense the whole farming operation into a sealed environment.  LEED Diamond here we come. 6) Architectural Wind: Attempting to sidestep the ordinances keeping wind generators out of urban areas, Aerovironment developed these smaller modular turbines that require little installation as well as looking good enough not to ban. 5) frogLight: Putting their foot in the ring of home-use LED bulbs, Frog Design’s concept effectively ties together the technology with our traditional view of a bulb. 4) Twirl n’ Take: Part of Sony’ Odo line of earth friendly gadgets, this camera uses energy from rolling its end around on a table to power its functions. 3) gDiapers: While not typical fair for a site like this, there is something to be said for the legitimate significance of Gdiapers’ ability to be flushed down the toilet, avoiding the landfill entirely. 2) Saverclip: Reading the electrical throughput on your electrical cords, the Saverclip informs us of how much precious lifeblood were leeching from Gaia. 1) Kupe furniture:  Made by Brooklyn studio Uhuru, the Kupe collection includes such reclaimed materials as Truck springs and bourbon barrel staves.  Now you can torment your recovering alcoholic friend by inviting him over to see your new furniture. No Tags

A New Way to Bike Posted: 20 Oct 2008 03:09 AM CDT That cushy padded seat on your bike is hindering is a fitness hinderance, preventing the toned legs Lance Armstrong would envy, and keeping your back unnaturally aligned. The TAURUS bike eschews the seat for a unique cab forward design. Designed specifically for children, you stand leaning forward enabling correct posture while making the largest muscles in your body work harder. The pedaling action is more akin to stair stepping. You’ll be fit and tone in no time. In the back wheel hub of the bike, there are six condensers that store energy created from pedaling. This energy can be called upon when needed. There’s a display describing the relationship between the amount of energy created and stored. This provides the child with real time data encouraging them to pedal harder. To assure ease of transport within a car, the steering wheel and wheels themselves can be removed. Okay, Julia Meyer - please design one for adults too. I need this. DO WANT! Designer: Julia Meyer Julia Meyer

I Got a Knuckle Duster For Ya Posted: 20 Oct 2008 03:06 AM CDT For serious tho, isn’t this the sweetest mug you’ve ever seen?!?! It’s aptly called MUG! by the lads at Thabto. I saw a picture of it somewhere and tracked down the company for a review. They graciously sent me one and I’ve been drinking knuckle duster teas and staring daggers at everyone in my office. Thankfully people find it amusing and it’s become quite the conversation piece. There’s an interesting backstory of how this mug came to be. James and Steven came up with the idea during a beer fueled brainstorming session a few weeks after graduating from Central Saint Martins. The inspiration came from the cockney term “mug” which means fool. They envisaged greased up mechanics sipping coffee from brass knuckle handled mugs - just to keep up tough appearances. Surprisingly the brass knuckle handles are ergonomically comfortable. You can’t scald your hands and the cup’s weight is evenly distributed. It’s a total attention grabber too. My MUG! stands out among the sea of generic mugs in the kitchen. Even that cute Winnie the Poo mug gets overshadowed. It’s a little oversized which is how I prefer mugs anyway because I tend to use them for both tea and soups. It’s made of porcelain so the microwave happy can look tough while heating their joe. I personally think these would make AWESOME gifts and Christmas is really just around the corner. Think about it. I may need to purchase a few too. What we liked: Porcelain and microwavable. Brass knuckle handle is stylish and ergonomic. Love the price! Only £11.99 ($19 U.S.) What could be added: Maybe some color options. A recessed slot at the bottom to hold cookies and biscuits. Designers: James Wosiek, Steven Smith [ Buy it here ] No Tags

Remote Luggage for the Rich and Well Traveled Posted: 20 Oct 2008 03:05 AM CDT Okay, both Victoria Beckham and I are drooling over this concept. “Follow Up” is a concept motorized luggage bag by Alex Schulz. The owner holds a remote that transmits his/her position to the bot to follow. Inside is a removable luggage bag to make packing a lot easier. This iteration is pure luxury (ahem - Hermes) but Schulz believes the technology could be applied for use with the disabled. Follow Up was an entrant in the Prix Emile Hermes 2008 contest. Designer: Alex Schulz Alex Schulz

Ecsotype for the Modern Urbanite Posted: 20 Oct 2008 03:00 AM CDT We featured them last year and if you didn’t love them then, you’ve got to love them now because their new line of bags and soft goods epitomize modern luxury. There’s a sense of unabashed utility which I love because many bags in this price range ($200+) seem frivolous. I especially love the new Presse laptop bag. It’s masculine with just enough hardware to easily transition from work to a gallery exhibition at night. I have a phrase for bags like these - “quiet luxury”, deceptively difficult to pull off. This is what I call quiet luxury. Designer: Ecsotype Ecsotype Ecosse Ecsotype Flag Ecsotype Presse Ecsotype Presse Wallet ecosse, ecsotype, flag, presse, presse waller

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