Core77

An Architectural-Scale Kintsugi Project

Rain Noe

In the 1960s, college students stumbled across an abandoned ruin in the wilds of Warsaw, Virginia, outside of Richmond. The crumbling stone structure had been abandoned following a hurricane in the 1930s, and weather had taken its toll. It presumably made for a great party spot for the co-eds.

As it turns out, the house had historic significance and was older than America. Callled Menokin, it was built in 1769 by Revolutionary leader Francis Lightfoot Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. When the abandoned house was a little over 200 years old, in the 1970s, it suffered a major structural collapse.

By the 1990s, a group of historic preservation advocates formed the nonprofit Menokin Foundation, to raise money to save the building. It took until the 2000s to put together enough cash to start, and form a plan. Preservation architects Charles Phillips and John Lee proposed the missing parts of the house be replaced not with masonry, but with glass, in a sort of architectural-scale kintsugi.

The concept was radical, but agreed to by the Foundation. In 2013, Boston-based architecture firm Machado Silvetti won the bid to design its actual construction. Work didn't actually begin until 2020, which should tell you something about the glacial pace of historic restoration architecture.

First a massive roof was built over the structure, to keep workers out of the elements while they restored the foundation to prevent further collapse. In 2022 they rebuilt and stabilized the south and west walls of the house.

Next the arched central entryway and the north wall had to be repaired. This was painstaking work, requiring masons to recreate missing stones that had been too damaged in the previous collapse to be reused.

The north wall restoration was completed just last year.

The tricky bit, the glass portions of the north and east wall envisioned in the original concept, are forthcoming. The foundation is still trying to raise the money for it.

Cost-Cutting Disguised as Minimalism: Volvo's EX30 Dashboard Goes Too Far

Rain Noe

This year Volvo brought the EX30, an electric SUV, to the U.S. market. (In Europe the car has been available since 2023, but tariffs and red tape delayed the U.S. launch.) Starting around $38,000, it's meant to be an affordable EV and gateway vehicle to the brand.

The car looks smart enough on the outside, but the interior is a damning indictment of cost-cutting. Multiple speakers have been eliminated in favor of a single soundbar, to reduce wiring, but that's the least of the troubles. Take a look at the dashboard:

That's right, there's no instrument cluster behind the steering wheel. That little black thing you see houses a driver-monitoring camera. To see your current speed, you need to flick your gaze sideways to the central screen. There is no option for a heads-up display.

There's also no buttons, knobs or switches on the dash. Instead you must use the touchscreen for climate control, to adjust your headlight settings, select your wiper sensitivity and even open the glovebox.

I know that Tesla owners are already accustomed to this trade-off. However, I find it surprising from Volvo's designers because the brand built their name on safety. Having to fiddle with a touchscreen to adjust even basic functions seems antithetical to their design principles.

"Putting everything into a single screen means we can create a feeling of space around the driver," Volvo writes in a bit of spin, before being completely honest: "…as well as save on materials."

The Easy Roller: An Alternative Take on the Pizza Cutter

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While the traditional form of a pizza cutter is this…

…Japanese manufacturer Fireside has a different take, offering a much more compact form factor:

It's no surprise this Easy Roller came from Japan, where storage space is limited. But the company also says the form is more ergonomic and makes it easier to cut.

The stainless steel tool measures 95mm (3.7") wide and weighs just 100g (3.5 oz). It runs ¥1,650 (USD $11) in Japan, but with international shipping you're looking at closer to $18.

A Minimalist Low-Cost Japanese Sketchbook

Rain Noe

These Blank Note sketchbooks by MUCU, a Japanese stationery brand, almost look like some kind of military surplus. But in fact they're just as minimal a sketchbook as possible: Two pieces of recycled paperboard for the covers, a canvas strip for the spine, and 60 pages of recycled "comic paper" (what manga is printed on in Japan).

They come in three sizes, and have the model numbers printed on the spine, presumably for manufacturing/inventory purposes.

These run ¥770 (less than five bucks) in Japan, but there's no U.S. distribution. Tariffs and shipping would eat up any cost savings.

The images here are from New Zealand importer Kiosk.

Motomorphosis: MSCHF's Radically Modified Lexuses

Rain Noe

Art collective MSCHF is at it again, this time with Lexus. For their Motomorphosis exhibit, which opens tomorrow at NYC's Armory Week art fair, they've stretched two real cars into unlikely forms.

Motomorphosis presents sculptural transformations of two Lexus vehicles, altered into impossible shapes through a recurring MSCHF motif: the application of the vernacular of digital-native operations to physical objects.

The resulting works, Twisted Car and Circle Car, are installed alongside their unaltered versions - the RX 450h+ Plug-in Hybrid and the All-Electric RZ 450e, respectively. Twisted and stretched, the cars become abstracted, blurring the lines between consumer luxury and sculptural form.

MSCHF takes the world around itself as raw material for sampling, recombination, transformation and collage. We live in a world of objects, and exist against this ubiquitous background noise of utilitarianism; it is only reinvention, transformation, that abruptly defamiliarizes these things in our lives and suddenly calls our attention afresh to the full suite of details and decisions that make up our experience of a car.

The works are dynamic, implying their motions. In animation smear frames are intermediary images in which objects and characters distort beyond their realistic shapes and boundaries so that, when played back, motion becomes fluid. The sculptures capture an idea of motion that exists in our mind's eye - true to the car's nature rather than the constraints of reality.

The vehicles, if you can call them that, will be on display at the Chelsea Industrial event space from Sept. 24th to 26th.

Cory Johnson's Infinite Pocket Jeans

Rain Noe

Remember these ridiculous jeans created by Werther's Originals? They had 30 coin pockets up and down the legs, intended to provide stash space for the candy company's treats.

Now Cory Johnson, a Missouri-based fashion artist who works with found materials, has gone a step further. His Infinite Pocket Jeans have been Frankensteined together from thrift shop jeans, yielding some 41 pockets.

Constructing the pants out of the most substantial parts of jeans brings a trade-off. "These jeans are very thick and are warm," Johnson writes. "Best for fall and winter."

These are a one-of-one creation, sized for a 38" waist with a 32" inseam. Johnson's selling them for $5,000.

Early Transforming Furniture: Richard Neutra's Camel Table

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In the 1930s Richard Neutra, the Austrian architect who'd made his home in California, designed an early example of flexible-use furniture. Neutra conceived of a table that could transform from dining height to coffee table height, using a simple mechanism in the legs:

Neutra made no secret of his inspiration for the design:

He had it prototyped in 1940, and in 1951 designed a steel-leg version for a client.

The table never went into mass production, but was occasionally produced for clients; occasionally these pop up on auction sites.

The UI of a Stencil Machine

Rain Noe

Just over a century ago, Illinois businessman John W. Marsh launched his Marsh Stencil Machine company. His firm produced stencil-cutting machines, inks and oilboards (the oil-treated paperboards stencils are made out of).

Their Marsh Model H machine, which rolled out in 1940, is still in use and sold today.

Inside are case-hardened steel dies and zinc alloy punches designed to maintain crisp edges over time.

The interface is quite interesting, and perhaps a function of 1940s UI design, when rotary phones were a thing. Here's how it worked:

via Typewriter Chicago

Today a Model H will set you back around $2,400.

What an Anodized Aluminum Baseball Cap Holder Says About Our Product Landscape

Rain Noe

You have to wonder what the pioneers of industrial design would make of this day and age.

The original promise of ID was to harness the power of mass production to create useful objects for the masses. But now, in the second (or arguably third) century of ID as a field, we're awash in disposable junk, much of it plastic, none of it durable enough to be passed down to grandchildren.

And there has been a reaction. So accustomed have we become to junk, that to design something durable is practically seen as subversive. As a case in point Hidden NY, an online tastemaker turned product brand, commissioned this aluminum Hat Organizer from industrial design studio Caliper:

It's not clear if it will actually go into production; the product appeared on Caliper industrial designer Yumy Gu's account, and is part of a collection of sheet metal objects designed for Hidden by Caliper which apparently number in the hundreds. "Over the last four years, CALIPER has worked closely with HiddenNY, developing hundreds of home goods for monthly drops and collaborations," the firm writes. "The material database and form language developed via these products has become an integral part of HiddenNY's storytelling."

Given that the Hat Organizer is made of anodized aluminum, you can only imagine how much it'd cost. We're slipping into a bifurcated product landscape with cheap junk on one side, for those who are struggling. On the other side, expensive, overbuilt products for those with discretionary income.

Industrial Designer Alberto Essesi's Pen for Precision Sketching

Rain Noe

This beautiful Exclamation Pen is by industrial designer Alberto Essesi. Both the pen and the rest are made of aluminum with a satin finish.

With the pieces paired, it's easy to see where the name came from.

The point is severely tapered, with sketching in mind; Essesi seeks to provide a clear view of the tip, allowing for precision linework. This is a tool by an industrial designer, for industrial designers.

Essesi self-produces the pen, and has trouble keeping it in stock; the first three batches sold out. Now he's thinking of doing a run with a mirror polish finish:

The pen weighs 68g and takes Fisher Space Pen refills.

No word yet on whether this will make production; Essesi's seeking feedback on his Instagram.

The Celluveyor: A Next-Generation Omnidirectional Modular Conveyor Belt

Rain Noe

Factories, warehouses and distribution centers all use conveyor belts. These are great for moving objects along a single route. However, should you need to turn, sort, descramble, separate or space the objects, additional machinery is required: Diverters, rotators, alignment stations and the like. All of these bring added cost, additional space requirements and of course, installation time.

German company Cellumation has invented a system that does away with all of these extras. Their Celluveyor consists of a hexagonal module containing three omnidirectional wheels, and motors inside.

These modules are built into a line, honeycomb-style.

Working in concert, the modules can sort, divert, rotate and more:

The system provides flexibility, obviating the need for mechanical changeovers. Maintenance, too, is fast; problematic units can be popped out for service, with a fresh one swapped in.

The system was devised over a decade ago at the Bremen Institute for Production and Logistics, then spun off into its own company. Today they've got a subsidiary in Texas and clients on multiple continents, DHL among them.

KAIST Develops a Way to Detect Hidden Cameras Using Your Smartphone

Rain Noe

As a society, we've accepted that security cameras are everywhere in public. But inside hotel rooms or AirBNBs, we still have an expectation of privacy. In 2024, there were some 75 lawsuits against AirBNB filed by guests who discovered they had been secretly recorded by their hosts. The platform subsequently banned hidden cameras, but detection and enforcement remain tricky.

Researchers at KAIST (the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, something like South Korea's MIT) have developed an inexpensive way to detect hidden cameras using your smartphone. The researchers built an LED rig (reportedly costing $7 in parts) called SweepLED that attaches to your phone. You turn it on and sweep the room, with the intention of getting the LEDs to return reflections from glossy objects.

While all glossy objects return reflections, camera lenses, due to their optical construction, return a particular type of reflection. The researchers used AI to train software to recognize these lens reflections and flag them. In their testing, the SweepLED device detected hidden cameras with 94% accuracy.

The team has not announced any plans to commercialize their invention. They should; with a BOM that low, I imagine these would sell well and be hugely profitable.

Core77 Weekly Roundup (9-14-26 to 9-18-26)

Rain Noe

Here's what we looked at this week:

An ice cube alternative: Frozen titanium spheres.

Chinese cars are now achieving 5-star safety ratings (in Europe, where standards are stricter than in the U.S.).

Konstantin Grcic's industrial-looking grinder for Alessi.

Cea Design's incredibly Modernist hideaway toilet.

How much should you weigh? This 1970s scale told you.

The Rainwater Wall: A space-saving water harvesting tank.

Strutt's awesome powered wheelchair is not a wheelchair (for legal reasons).

Industrial designer Erina Caldeira's steel twist on woven baskets.

Examples of well-worn objects. Ideally, we'd see everything we own reach these states.

Why did the aerodynamic look go away, and will it come back? Volkswagen's Mission Efficiency suggests it will.

Furniture designer Chiara Verde's cork lounge chair.

Pedestal's power strip accessories, by Swiss industrial design firm Big Game.

Allround, by industrial designer Hirotaka Tako, is a minimalist wheeled stool that doesn't look like a wheeled stool.

A 1973 Fiat pickup truck.

A 1973 Fiat Pickup Truck

Rain Noe

Have you ever wondered what an Italian pickup truck would look like? Well, here's your answer:

It's even got a sunroof:

Apparently in the 20th century, a handful of Italian motorists with quirky tastes hired coachbuilders to convert their Fiat 500s into pickup trucks. This example, first commissioned in 1973, was recently restored by French company Parfait Etat.

Check out the speedometer:

I imagine it was used as an ultra-efficient fish hauler. And that's not a dig; if I had an opportunity to own one of these, I'd snap it up and find some fish to haul.

A Minimalist Wheeled Stool That Doesn't Look Like a Wheeled Stool

Rain Noe

This Allround stool is by industrial designer Hirotaka Tako. It comes with a little surprise: Casters hidden beneath the base.

There's also a taller version with a third disc to act as a footrest.

Conceived as a new archetype, this stool is designed to aid communication while embodying ultimate minimalism. With built-in casters hidden in the base, it floats across the floor, moving effortlessly between people in workshops and collaborative spaces, stimulating conversation and fostering creativity.

The name "ALLROUND" carries a double meaning: it refers to the full-round fillet—an engineering term for a curved surface applied to edges—and its character as an "all-rounder" adaptable to diverse settings.

While made with robust metal construction, its softly rounded form combined with a range of colors and finishes creates a delicate, melting impression.

The Allround ships flatpack. It's in production by Japanese furniture brand NII, where Tako is the Creative Director.

Core77

An Architectural-Scale Kintsugi Project

Cost-Cutting Disguised as Minimalism: Volvo's EX30 Dashboard Goes Too Far

The Easy Roller: An Alternative Take on the Pizza Cutter

A Minimalist Low-Cost Japanese Sketchbook

Motomorphosis: MSCHF's Radically Modified Lexuses

Cory Johnson's Infinite Pocket Jeans

See Also:

Early Transforming Furniture: Richard Neutra's Camel Table

The UI of a Stencil Machine

What an Anodized Aluminum Baseball Cap Holder Says About Our Product Landscape

Industrial Designer Alberto Essesi's Pen for Precision Sketching

The Celluveyor: A Next-Generation Omnidirectional Modular Conveyor Belt

KAIST Develops a Way to Detect Hidden Cameras Using Your Smartphone

Core77 Weekly Roundup (9-14-26 to 9-18-26)

An ice cube alternative: Frozen titanium spheres.

Chinese cars are now achieving 5-star safety ratings (in Europe, where standards are stricter than in the U.S.).

Konstantin Grcic's industrial-looking grinder for Alessi.

Cea Design's incredibly Modernist hideaway toilet.

How much should you weigh? This 1970s scale told you.

The Rainwater Wall: A space-saving water harvesting tank.

Strutt's awesome powered wheelchair is not a wheelchair (for legal reasons).

Industrial designer Erina Caldeira's steel twist on woven baskets.

Examples of well-worn objects. Ideally, we'd see everything we own reach these states.

Why did the aerodynamic look go away, and will it come back? Volkswagen's Mission Efficiency suggests it will.

Furniture designer Chiara Verde's cork lounge chair.

Pedestal's power strip accessories, by Swiss industrial design firm Big Game.

Allround, by industrial designer Hirotaka Tako, is a minimalist wheeled stool that doesn't look like a wheeled stool.

A 1973 Fiat pickup truck.

A 1973 Fiat Pickup Truck

A Minimalist Wheeled Stool That Doesn't Look Like a Wheeled Stool