They have a FLARE for kinetic movement...

Some of you might know my obsession for the pneumatically actuated installation known as Hyposurface. I can't figure out if it's the flow or limitless functional possibilities that intrigues me more, but I'm fascinated by every color, click and wave.



Recently, a robot junkie peep of mine in San Fransisco pointed me to the water sculptures of William Pye and, for whatever reason, I was reminded more so of the mechanical movement in Hyposurface than the organic, hypnotic movement of Pye's water sculptures.

Call it an obsession with simulated movement, but for whatever reason, I'm more impressed with technological mimicry than its natural brethren. So I decided to go back to the Hyposurface concept and see if there was anything new on the market.

Needless to say, I'm in love with a new piece of technology. Take one part wall curtain, two parts stealth bomber, multiply by peyote and you've got:

FLARE: Kinetic Ambiant Reflection Membrane

FLARE turns the building facade into a penetrable kinetic membrane, breaking with all conventions of the building surface as a static skin. The FLARE system consists of a number of tiltable metal flake bodies supplemented by individually controllable pneumatic cylinders.


Due to the developed pattern, an infinite array of flakes can be mounted on any building or wall surface in a modular system of multiplied FLARE units.

Each metal flake reflects the bright sky or sunlight when in vertical standby position. When the flake is tilted downwards by a computer controlled pneumatic piston, its face is shaded from the sky light and this way appears as a dark pixel.

By reflecting ambient or direct sunlight, the individual flakes of the FLARE system act like pixels formed by natural light. The system is controlled by a computer to form any kind of surface animation. Sensor systems inside and outside the building communicate the buildings activity directly to the FLARE system which acts as the buildings lateral line.

Read more about FLARE Facade HERE.

Gary Fisher hits nail on head...

“Cars are the new smoking.”

-Gary Fisher

via Bike Portland, via via Matt Haughey on Twitter.

If cars are the new smoking, then SUV drivers are the new meth addicts.

Like Matt Haughey, I love love love this Gary Fisher quote. Can't wait to use it in a bar.

It's diamond-polished on the soles of your shoes...

As we all know, I like my concrete. OK, so maybe not in a like-like sort of way, but a simple like.

Raw? It really does nothing for me raw. But inherent simplicity of the material, when spiced up a bit, can have a dramatic effect on a room (throw in a heating element and I'm sold!). Given its widespread use as a base in both residential and industrial design, I've yet to figure out why it is so underutilized as a final application.

So as we began tearing up 800 sf of carpet and began the process of prepping the concrete for an impending acid stain, I couldn't help but wonder what else was on the market to just treat treat/finish the floor as is; the term acid stain don't necessarily scream "chemical free" now, does it? One company that repeatedly surfaced in the blogosphere is the Utah-based Retro Plate Concrete Polishing System. They take an old floor, polish it up, and make it super shiny. Easy, eh?

Well, as it turns out, treating a raw concrete floor has other advantages I didn't know about:

From BuildingGreen.com:

Covering concrete with cosmetic layers can increase environmental and financial costs significantly over the lifespan of a structure as compared with using concrete in a structure-as-finish capacity. Polished and densified concrete floors (old or new) combine diamond stone-polishing technology with silicate chemical treatment to provide a significantly better alternative to film and wax coatings—highly durable, nearly maintenance-free, noncombustible… and the improved reflectivity can also reduce lighting requirements.

Who knew?

Neato.

More on Retro Plate and their sustainable polishing system:

Concrete in its “natural” state is a porous product that is susceptible to efflorescence, spalling and dusting; and it does not provide an aesthetic finish, nor is it easily cleaned.

That's why Advanced Floor Products has created a science and art that revolves around the conversion of concrete from being a plain, boring, and porous industrial floor, to being one of strength, longevity and beauty.

Rather than continually having to cover up the floor and trying to hide the inherent problems, only to create new ones, our skilled Certified Applicators create a floor that meets your long-term needs.

Through the use of our patented process of diamond grinding and polishing, in conjunction with the specially formulated RetroPlate, we eliminate your need for all topical sealers. We eliminate moisture vapor problems.

Bottom line: Look at the true costs of the product that you choose…and RetroPlate will generally be your cost effective choice. Short term or long term: we deliver the best!

-Retro Plate Concrete Polishing System

Anyway, now that the carpet is gone (but not forgotten) it amazes me to think how much acoustic insulation we will need. Even for a room that small, there is a tremendous echo. Such an echo would be minimized in residential applications (given the softer furnishings), but how do you make up for such a void in industrial applications? Where does the trade-off begin to level out of sound vs. durability?

Put it away after using the restroom...

Insanely busy at work/home right now, so the posts have been few and far between. Here's a quicky for ya...

As someone that used to live in an 750 sf house --yes, house-- I can appreciate the size of a bathroom. Every single square inch counted as we bumped morning elbows with one another, sometimes reaching for the faucet while the other was spitting. Well, two of these would have made a world of difference.

But think bigger.


Airplanes, trains, metro stops...

Freedom Towers aren't free...

Looks like even a bake sale couldn't save the proposed retractable roof for the World Trade Center transit hub, that is, unless you can sell about $40,000,000 worth of snickerdoodles.

Due to ongoing budget woes, it looks as though the Santiago Calatrava-designed structure will need to undergo a post-design facelift. Some might find this sad, but judging by the comments section in the story below, NY locals think the money should obviously be spent elsewhere.

From Gothamist:

Now that everyone knows rebuilding efforts at the World Trade Center are over-budget and very delayed, Port Authority executive director Christopher Ward announced that the Santiago Calatrava-designed transit hub would undergo some changes. Namely, the hub's "wings" will no longer close and open.

CityRoom notes Calatrava had previously said of the hub, "On a beautiful summer day, the building can work not as a greenhouse but as an open space,” on beautiful days and the anniversary of September 11 each year. Now, the Port Authority says, “This is a tough choice, but it is the right choice. It’s reflective of the kinds of choices we simply must make in the coming weeks and months if we are to establish priorities and milestones, to which we can be held accountable.”

Read the rest of the article HERE.

Bringing the Green Indoors: Beyond Humbolt County

For centuries, naturalists have want to live, work and play among the flowers.

Why?

Well, the answer is simple.

The mere presence of nature in an indoor setting acts as a powerful agent of calm, emboldening the porliferation of atmospheres contradictory to that of a-typical office/home/leisure habitats. Add a few plants and a water feature, and what was once a "daily grind" is now a workplace oasis. Spruce up a wall treatment with live foliage and open some windows for natural ventilation, and what was once flourecent and cold is now lush and tropical. Sick buildings are getting better, and good buildings are getting great.

With the growing resurgence in the popularity of greenspace --in addition to the numerous quests for modernity and LEED points-- I was interested in seeing how much decoration and design was now being centered on the interior, rather than the landscaped, space.

Not surprisingly, there are literally thousands of new products catering to the urban gardener/ horticulturalist/resident/emplyee/designer. Some are unique, some enhance user experience, and some even heal.

Others are, well, just a little loopy.

This post samples 10 concepts or products that bring the green behind your front door (and I need to say that I've had so much fun visiting and revisiting some of these concepts, that I might just do this again).

Eco Ball Garden Chair by Krejci

The Dutch designer's dual-purpose Eco Ball will be offered in eco-friendly materials: recycled plastic, biodegradeable plastic and shredded wood, binded together with biodegradable adhesive.

Green Fortune Plantwall at Uppsala Konsert & Kongress

This vertical application of greenery provides a powerful impact on the envirnonment where it is built. It is almost like being outside inside. Plantwall can be varied both in size and shape. Depending on the size of the wall and the impact you want to create the choice of plants can be adjusted. It is possible to create a sophisticated wall that keeps its look over time, as well as a wild, heavily growing wall.

The Fung + Blatt Lawnchair

...fabricated from renewable materials of steel, rubber and felt, and then finished with a layer of sod or ground cover. It is contoured for comfort and fully functional. Before sod, the chaise body weighs 25 lbs. and can be shipped dissembled from its base. When “upholstered” with sod, the lawnchair is easily movable by two people. The lawnchair is equipped with a built-in “moisturizing” system that promotes even distribution of moisture under the sod, thereby minimizing evaporation and run-off.

Living Wall Planters

This innovative growing system graces penthouse apartments in Paris and chic restaurants in Italy. It's easy to see why; no other plant display creates such drama while being so easy to maintain. These wall-mounted and freestanding models are an easy way to add a breathtaking plant display to your home. Each kit includes the planting grid, top and bottom trays, a cedar frame, mounting hardware and complete instructions.

Interior Weeds by Arwin Caljouw

Interior Weeds is a project about nature. The way that weeds emerge and grow in the streets, are for designer Arwin Caljouw a beautiful thing. It shows the power of plants in the human environment. With the center piece you can create an interior plantation from street weeds or other personal selection of plants. The graphic tiles are an addition to a plain tile collection, which you might apply in a random and unique way. Being aware of our environment is the starting point for this project.

Indoor Grass Planters by Metaphys

The Metaphys products are designed with the common idea and they are consistent with the idea even though different companies produce the products: the idea is that all the creative process should start from "observation." By observing things, you have the perspectives of the second and the third persons, and thereby you can avoid being subjective. [Here]

Wallplant Presentations by Christopher Steele

Metal objects used around plants must be selected very carefully and prepared for planting. Many metals form toxic salts on their surface when exposed to air and water. These salts may build up and kill any plant life that comes in contact.

So why plant on metal anyway? For me it represents the wabi-sabi nature of existence. Changing and decaying. The persistence of life transcending technology.

The Outdoor Room - Steven Harris Architects

The building's interior organization is driven by its unique south facing rear yard which is enclosed by blind 35 foot high walls, creating a condition of total privacy. This allows the rear façade to be completely transparent. It also makes a private outdoor room that serves as an extension of the living and dining spaces; entry to it is across a marble slab that bridges a reflecting pond. [$16.5 million]

Folding Greenhouse by Daniel Schipper

A light-weight, flexible, modular greenhouse especially suitable for small spaces like cityhouses, balconies, roof terraces or town gardens. My folding greenhouse is a frameless folding construction made of different components of recyclable plastic which can be folded flat or expand when required.

Schiavello Vertical Garden by Joost Baker

The ethereal beauty of the found product... metals and petals. Joost Bakker, a sculptor who uses leaf and flower, raw steel and discarded objects among his construction materials. "I'm not really into luxurious finishes, I like using things that people perceive as ugly", says Joost. Vertical Garden is a sculptural, almost architectural form, allowing leaf and flower to inhabit spaces, to create spaces, with a natural raw beauty.

Callebaut, take me away!

Still healing, still taking waaaay too long to type shorts sentences, so please pardon my mess. In the meantime, here's some more eye candy that's been floating around (sorry) the interwebs for the last week or so.

Seems Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut isn't expecting any of us to change our ways any time soon, and is developing a prototypical auto-sufficient amphibious city to float our future away. While I have no architectural/design background, I find myself questioning the feasibility of these 50,000-person eco-dorms, but fully embrace the wonderful futurist concepts presented in the following images.

Vincent Callebaut's Lily Pads

This form of Aqua Urbanism --from underwater hotels to floating foundations to power stations to epdimic outbreak barges-- has really begun to take off.

But you need look no further than the floating marketplaces like Benjarmasin, Damnoen Saduak, or Cai Be to see that the burdens of over-crowding and limited space have, indeed, taken us to see on more than one occasion. That being said, I'll take a Lilly Pad over Cai Be anyday, but only if I can choose my other 49,999 floaters.

Here's a view of two different levels...

Green mountain walls, solar panel roofs, submersed sea beds, palm lagoon rainwater purification systems, and a Co2-processing tiatium dioxide skin all help to maintain and improve the surrounding conditions without introducing any further degredation to natural resources. And if you live to 2100, you just might see it...

According to the less alarming forecasts of the GIEC (intergovernmental group on the evolution of the climate), the ocean level should rise from 20 to 90 cm during the 21st century with a status quo by 50 cm (versus 10 cm in the 20th century). The international scientific scene assesses that a temperature elevation of 1°C will lead to a water rising of 1 meter. This increase of 1 m would bring ground losses emerged of approximately 0.05 percent in Uruguay, 1 percent in Egypt, 6 percent in the Netherlands, 17.5 percent in Bangladesh, and up to 80 percent approximately in the atoll Majuro in Oceania (Marshall and Kiribati islands [my former Peace Corps locale] and step by step the Maldives islands). - Vincent Callebaut

And it's kind of purty at night...

Skin your car...

Alas, my elbow is still broken and my arm is still casted, so the slacker posts shall continue. One of these days, I'll be able to type my standard 40 wph...yes, hour.

Actually, I wish I could write more because design-wise, BMW is currently on crack. Wonderful, tremendously addictive crack. Crack that makes you see illusory possibilities and make them concrete. Crack that turns design on its head.

If you are in a shipwreck and all the boats are gone, a piano top. . .that floats by makes a fortuitous life preserver. But this is not to say that the best way to design a life preserver is in the form of a piano top. I think that we are clinging to a great many piano tops in accepting yesterday’s fortuitous contrivings.

-Bucky Fuller

Have you ever ripped the side of your car? I didn't think so.

Behold, the BMW GINA Light Concept Car!

Instead of the standard aluminum, plastic or steel, BMW is experimenting with a textile fabric skin stretched around a metal and carbon fiber wire frame, thus allowing the car to be lighter in both performance and production footprint.

The concept is so flexible, in fact, that a design could conceptually change its shape. Imagine a Bugatti Veyron that pops up a spoiler to act as an airbrake. Now imagine something similar, only this time the airbrake is actually the shape of your car.

This innovative approach also affords other advantages for a clean design. Lighting can actually be placed subcutaneously, exposing itself through the transparent skin when needed.
The GINA Concept is based on the Z8 chassis -- a chassis where the frame carries the crash and structural load-- so the the addition of steel instead of textile skin would not improve, nor detract, from GINA's protection inside of the cockpit. The rider would be just as safe in a GINA as a Z8.

Watch as Chris Bangle, Director of Design BMW Group, explains the craziness behind the GINA concept...