Lake Lugano House by JM Architecture
Italian studio JM Architecture has designed the Lake Lugano House, a 3,700 square foot polygonal glass house built around the lake in the south-east of Switzerland, at the border between Switzerland and Italy.
The glass pavilion overlooks two very defined areas: the first, toward the mountain, is a very private zone resulted in the area between the property line and the building setback line according to the local building code. The second is a garden overlooking the lake. In the same way, the bedrooms face a garden enclosed by the building and the perimeter wall.
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Tower of Power Incorporates 2000 Flower Shaped Wind Turbines by NL Architects
Tower of Power by NL Architects is an entry for the Taiwan Tower Competition. The 300-meter high freestanding tower with sightseeing and recreational functionsr incorporates 2000 flower-shaped wind turbines that generate about 8MW of renewable electric power. The striking tower hides wind turbines neatly within it to investigate how power plants of the future can be converted into objects of beauty.
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‘Auto Parachute,’ Concept
Hoyoung Lee, Jinyoung Yun, Hejin Yeo and Jaesik Heo together designed this auto parachute concept which is an active and efficient life saver in case of fire or other disasters in high-rise buildings.
It is built with a wind hole that helps users to jump distant enough from the building, a sensor that sends out singles to make the device parachute automatically, as well as an LED light that blinks to give the rescuers indication of the location once the user gets a safe landing. Moreover, considering that escapees may need some medical attention when waiting for the rescue, a first-aid kit is also equipped with the Auto Parachute.
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Passive Walking Robot Propelled by Its Own Weight
“This robot is walking down a slope, and its only source of power is potential energy. It doesn’t use any kind of motor or control, so we think it’s very environmentally friendly.”
“The robot has three main parts: thighs, lower legs, and ankles. It’s made of aluminum, and it contains only mechanical components, which have been adjusted so that the robot has the same thigh and leg lengths as a person, and weighs the same.”
In a walking test last year, this robot walked continuously for 13 hours, taking 100,000 steps and going 15 km. That achievement has been listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
“We plan to develop a commercial version with System Instruments, which is exhibiting with us today. We’re thinking of applying the principle this robot uses to walk in sports equipment as well. Also, people who need care or find it hard to walk could wear this robot to help them walk. Right now, we’re at the prototyping stage, as we’d like to release a commercial version in 1-2 years.”
Sarreguemines Nursery by Michel Grasso & Paul Le Quernec
Paul Le Quernec and Michel Grasso sent us photos of their recently completed nursery in Sarreguemines, France. The first intention was to provide a protective and protected building, for comfort and safety of children, but also for the tranquillity of their parents. The second intention was to introduce the concept of double standards within the building, the children and adult, because the architects ddidn’t lose sight that it is primarily children who are the main subject of this institution.
Finally, the third purpose was to find a way to modify the perception of the building. Indeed, the requirements impose a development on the ground floor of the 1350 square meters of the building. Read More…
‘Precious’ Mirror by Les M Design Studio
‘Les M,’ Design Studio have created this multifunctional mirrored ‘system called ‘Precious’, for the organization of jewellery and fashion accessories’. The round corner and a wooden frame mirror incorporates a number of cleverly-positioned built-in drawers and hooks for small items such as cosmetics or jewellery. Read More…
USB Hub by Simone Spalvieri and Valentina del Ciotto for Lexon
This USB Hub that looks like a green peas necklace is a self-powered and contains four ports each in their own pod. They come in different colors, including pink and other wholesome hues, plus a really drab black. Read More…
‘Reading Between the Lines,’ Church by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh
This sculptural church id the result from the collaboration between young Belgian architects Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh The see-through church is built in the Belgian region of Haspengouw. The church is 10 meters high and is made of 100 layers and 2000 columns of steel. Depending on the perspective of the viewer, the church is either perceived as a massive building or seems to dissolve – partly or entirely – in the landscape.
On the other hand, looking at the landscape from within the church, the surrounding countryside is redefined by abstract lines. The design of the church is based on the architecture of the multitude of churches in the region, but through the use of horizontal plates, the concept of the traditional church is transformed into a transparent object of art.
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‘Fragmented 01 & 02,’ Storage & Seating Modules by Lanzavecchia + Wai Design Studio
‘fragmented 01 + 02′, storage design by Francesca Lanzavecchia and Hunn Wai of the Italian-Singaporean studio Lanzavecchia + Wai. The series of furniture types replace the solid side panels of typical storage units with bands of flexible fabric. The material chosen doesn’t creates a textural pleated surface, it allows the units to be accessed from all sides.
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The Meissner Effect, Quantum Levitation
Tel-Aviv University shows the phenomenon of “Quantum Levitation“ using a track around which a superconductor can float. Superconductivity and magnetic fields are like oil and water, they don’t mix. When it can, the superconductor will push out any magnetic fields from the interior in a process called; the Meissner effect. It happens when a sample is cooled below its superconducting transition temperature, where it then cancels out its magnetic flux.
Because of electromagnetic induction (where an electric current is created when a conductor is moved through a magnetic field), a perfect conductor won’t change the magnetic flux when it cruises through at zero resistance. However, when cooled to the superconductor state the magnetic flux is expelled. Now we have perfect diamagnetism – where the interior magnetic field nears zero. At this point, if an external magnetic field is introduced, it will create an opposing magnetic field.
We start with a single crystal sapphire wafer and coat it with a thin (~1µm thick) ceramic material called yttrium barium copper oxide (YBa2Cu3O7-x ). The ceramic layer has no interesting magnetic or electrical properties at room temperature. However, when cooled below -185ºC (-301ºF) the material becomes a superconductor. It conducts electricity without resistance, with no energy loss. Zero.
Superconductivity and magnetic field do not like each other. When possible, the superconductor will expel all the magnetic field from inside. This is the Meissner effect. In our case, since the superconductor is extremely thin, the magnetic field DOES penetrates. However, it does that in discrete quantities (this is quantum physics after all! ) called flux tubes. Read More…
147 Highly Interconnected Companies that Rule the World
To tell you the truth what attracts me in this picture found on Neatorama, is that I just find it very aesthetic. But actually that is not just a pretty picture, this graphic represents the 1,318 highly interconnected transnational companies (with a core of 147 “super-entities”) that rule the world, as visualized by scientists at the Swiss Federal Insitute of Technology:
Fennell Residence, Floating House by Robert Oshatz
Portland, Oregon-based organic architect Robert Oshatzcreated created the Fennell Floating House for his clients who purchased a mooring on the east side of the Willamette River, an active commercial and recreational body of water. They turned to Oshatz, known for his curvaceous, swooping architecture, to create a floating house as their weekend and summer retreat. The 2,364 sq. ft.-home features a passive approach to site, daylighting and ventilation.
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Floating LED Jellyfish
These light-up jellyfish from Swim Ways have LEDs inside and glow as they float across the surface of your swimming pool with their legs dangling beneath the water.
They cost $43 at Amazon.
Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera by Jonas Pfeil
Created by Jonas Pfeil for his graduate thesis at TU berlin, the Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera captures a full spherical panorama when thrown into the air. The unit uses 36 2-megapixel cell phone camera modules mounted in a padded sphere to snap a 360-degree panorama.
The camera contains an accelerometer that lets the exposure be trigged at the calculated climax of flight, when it is hardly moving. The taking of a single photograph at the same moment by multiple cameras prevents the ghosting effects that occur when creating a panorama by taking and stitching sequential images.
The camera modules are mounted in a robust, 3D-printed, ball-shaped enclosure that is padded with foam and handles just like a ball. Our camera contains an accelerometer which we use to measure launch acceleration. Integration lets us predict rise time to the highest point, where we trigger the exposure. After catching the ball camera, pictures are downloaded in seconds using USB and automatically shown in our spherical panoramic viewer. This lets users interactively explore a full representation of the captured environment.
‘”Apartment H,’ Constanta, Romania by Re-act Now Studio
Apartment H designed by Re-act Now Studio is located within a block of apartments in Constanta on the Black Sea coast. Their first intention was to create an open space wwith a distinct beach-side feel.. The interior has a predominantly white glass partition that separates the living room , the bathroom and bedroom. Colored film has been stuck onto the glass to add a funky touch of coulour in the apartment.
Hanebrink, Electric All Terrain Bike
The hanebrink is designed to work on almost any surface from sand to snow and even ice. The hybrid electric mountain bike features a carbon fiber seatpost and handle bars, Shimano cranks, chains, and deraileur, 14-speed gears, hydraulic disc brakes, Hanebrink hubs and wheels with 20×8 inch tubeless tires, and a run time of up to one hour with a single Lithium-Ion battery.
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Open-Centre Turbine, Tidal Turbine by OpenHydro
OpenHydro is an Irish energy technology company whose business is the design and manufacture of marine turbines for generating renewable energy from tidal streams. The company’s vision is to deploy arrays of tidal turbines under the world’s oceans, silently and invisibly generating electricity at no cost to the environment. The Open-Centre Turbine is designed to be deployed directly on the seabed. Installations will be silent and invisible from the surface. They will be located at depth and present no navigational hazard. Farms of Open-Centre Turbines will provide a significant and undetectable supply of clean, predictable, renewable energy. Communities that benefit from power supplied by Open-Centre Turbine technology will never be conscious of the turbines’ existence.
OpenHydro and French utility company EDF are in the final stage of deploying the first of four 16m tidal turbines off the coast of Paimpol-Bréhat.
The first stage of a project which in 2012 will create the world’s largest tidal array generating power onto the French grid. The turbines are supplied by Greenore-based OpenHydro and each has the capacity to generate over 2MW of energy.
Openhydro and its partner DCNS have now completed the assembly of the first turbine for the Paimpol-Bréhat project. The installation is performed using the custom designed installation barge, the ‘Openhydro Triskell’.
‘Girls in the Windows,’ Photograph by Ormond Gigli
‘Girls in the Windows,’ is the signature piece of photographer Ormond Gigli, who shot for such publications as Life,Paris Match, and the Saturday Evening Post. The famous photograph has been sold at Christie’s in New York in the beginning of Oct.
Ormond Gigli says;
“I was inspired to somehow immortalize those buildings. I had the vision of 43 women in formal dress adorning the windows of the skeletal facade,” Gigli writes. “The day before the buildings were razed, the 43 women … climbed the old stairs and took their places in the windows. I was set up on my fire escape across the street, directing the scene, with bullhorn in hand. Of course I was concerned for the models’ safety, as some were daring enough to pose out on the crumbling sills.”
