CubeMe

‘Forms in Nature,’ Pendant Light by Thyra Hilden & Pio Diaz

Shan Tara — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:08:26 +0000

Thyra Hilden and Pio Diaz has created this impressive pendant light that projects shadows of forest tree into the walls.

The lamps has an organic shape. Forms in Nature is a artwork with a light source surrounded by a dense and unruly tree and root system created in minature sculpture. The forest is mirrored around it’s horizontal central axis and forms a circle 360 degrees around the light source and thereby leads one onto the notion of a real world versus an underworld.

Bon Vivant’s Cheese Grater Business Card by JWT Brazil

Shan Tara — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:11:58 +0000

Advertising agency JWT has created this unusual business card for Bon Vivant cheese store in Brazil.

The challenge was to achieve something that was top-notch while generating a prompt identification with the sold product. It had to be simple and functional. And had to quickly introduce the company. Everyone who looked at our creation would remind Bon Vivant instantly. The place’s owners wish somenthing functional that people could carry and always remember Bon Vivant’s Brand. Like a business card. Grater card could grate all sort of cheese, that’s why it became a great gift. 1,000 manufactured units were over within 2 weeks. ‘People came here, chose the cheese, paid, and then asked for the card. Many became customers after that. We had to set a minimum spent amount for the cards not to be over within 2, 3 days.’ Says Beto Rogoski, one of the Bon Vivant’s owners. In other words: a simple business card helped reinforce Bon Vivant’s brand amongst its consumers.

Fast Belgian Racing Pigeon Sold for Record Price

Ian — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:01:26 +0000

Flying well above the European crisis, the auction for racing pigeon has reached its peak.The faster racing pigeon with an outstanding pedigree of proven champions to match called Bolt has been sold to a Chinese businessman for a world record price of 310,000 euros by belgian pigeon fancier Leo Heremans.

Nikolaas Gyselbrecht, chief executive of the auction house, said he was stunned by the prices being offered for Bolt. “It was pretty clear something special would happen,” he said.

Spectacular Staircase by Dust Architects

Shan Tara — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:31:33 +0000

This cage spectacular staircase, was drawn by the architects ‘Dust’. The steps let in light through the drawings engrave in the metal. The engraved shapes on the metal steps form and reflect a play of light and shadow on the walls. This staircase is just a piece of art and of zen way rising towards the light.

Microsoft Unveiled the New Xbox One Console

Ian — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:02:31 +0000

Microsoft has finally announced its successor, the Xbox One. The New Xbox One Console has the ability to detect subtle things like your balance and heart rate using the improved Kinect alone. The Xbox One, which will be available by the end of 2013, will be powered by 300,000 servers, more than the entire world’s computing power in 1999, said Whitten.

An improved, ultra-sensitive Kinect sensor will track wrist and shoulder rotations and be able to read users’ heartbeats. Its main camera can record 1080P RGB video at 30 frames per second.

Microsoft executive Yusuf Mehdi said:
“a new set of universal gestures to control your TV” would banish the fumbling confusion many feel with existing remotes. TechCruch called it a “massive, massive upgrade” from the original model.
A “snap mode” similar to Microsoft Windows 8 experience allows users to run two activities – such as watching TV and browsing the internet, or using Skype – simultaneously. It offers a second screen.

The Xbox One has 8GB of Ram, along with a Blu-ray drive, 64-bit architecture and a 500GB onboard hard drive. Microsoft also unveiled a new version of its camera-based Kinect system with better motion and voice detection. It showed how users can watch live sports on TV while getting updates on fantasy leagues on a split screen. In an effort to stay ahead of rivals, Microsoft said new content for the popular Call of Duty game can be downloaded on the Xbox One before any other system.

Via Guardian

Loft Lo Curro by Matias Silva & Arquitectos

Shan Tara — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:54:17 +0000

in a natural way. Also, the loft is integrated into a landscape of lush trees.

The idea on Matias Silva & Arquitectos’ mind was to create a workshop-studio that would features the arts and the entertainment of a Greek philanthropist. This construction is a project that had for target to stimulate senses and which would be a place that allows people feel disconnected and isolated from the urban environment. The land is located in a large hill surrounded by nature, trees and abundant vegetation, and where at the mean time you can find spectacular views of the city.

We decided to make two separate locations that are located at each end of the ground and which are related by different internal routes, which were carefully designed.Location 1: Workshop room, kitchen-dining room, Desk-Bedroom, and Bath-Sauna. The internal organization of the loft was based on a concrete floor plan. From the inside you can see the city through a vegetal portico of double height.
Location 2: Barbecue area, pool, bathroom and cellar. This place generates a transversal section in the natural terrain and organizes the loft in a linear way.

Both locations are related through different paths creating rest and contemplation areas.

The materials chosen are mainly striated concrete blocks and metal structures lined in rusted steel. These materials simultaneously become supports for climbing plants that will eventually convert large concrete walls into plant (green) walls. To enhance the vegetation we took advantage of the slope in order to conduct the waters and water the vegetation.

Cloudy Lamp by Mathieu Lehanneur

Hans — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:47:02 +0000

Mathieu Lehanneur has created a lamp made of glass, called Cloudy, has the irregularity of shape and opacity of the glass. The lamp is built of steel moulds, which have given it an almost magical lightness, a glass cloud floating in the air.

Mathieu Lehanneur says: The Cloudy “cloud”, when switched on, thus reveals all its luminosity and evokes sunlight after the rain. A design lamp containing in itself a positive sign of hope and optimism.

Mattress Fitted to Woman’s Body Shape

Ian — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:40:46 +0000

It is true that when I’m sunbathing on the beach, I already had for habit to mold the sand in the shape of my body and I have the feeling that I am not the only one. Michael C Riley have launched a new project on Kickstarter for women who have prominent breasts and who are having problems to sleep on their stomach. The ComfyBreasts Relaxation System is a giant pillow cover with hollowed out section so you breast can feel out of pressure. This may seem a little strange, considering that a mattress should adapt to all that would exceed your corpd, nose, breasts, penis, buttocks, but this is probably an invention that will satisfy more than one.

Outdoor Air Filter and Urban Lighting Project

Shan Tara — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:07:56 +0000

Industrial Design students, Niya Stoimenova, Kristina Nikolova, Lennard Bunk, Ido van der Wolf, Luiza Galska from The Hague University of Applied Sciences in Netherlands has developed as part of the curriculum, a self-sufficient outdoor air filter and urban lighting system.

IDair is a result of 8 weeks work and extensive desktop and international research. Its technology is energy-efficient and operates off the grid, gathering solar energy during the day to use for air-filtration and for LED lighting at night. It is designed in accordance with the current trends and customers’ needs and it’s a tool for forward thinking municipalities to show the world their commitment to a greener future: (for more information see the attachment below). As part of the design process we are in the middle of concept testing and your website, being one of the most visited and innovative, will provide us with the opportunity to really test the concept and to connect to the community we are aiming for – people interested in innovation; people who know that the future really does matter.

Solar Vineyard House by Michael Jantzen

Shan Tara — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:52:53 +0000

The Solar Vineyard House is a conceptual proposal for a house designed especially for wine lovers in the temperate climate of California. The 5000 square foot structure incorporates a small wine making facility, and it would be built in the middle of its own private vineyard. The house would be partially powered by four large curved solar panels that are integrated into the south side of the structure.

The house also incorporates natural ventilation and the interior is shaded with large overhangs that extend over all of the glass windows and doors. Sustainably grown wood slatted pathways run throughout the small vineyard that surrounds the house. Five of these pathways flow up and over the structure and three of them cover and partially shade three large sections of glass that bridge between four concrete composite arch shaped segments of the building.

Rainwater will be collected off of the roof and contained in storage tanks for use in and around the house. The interior of the house is naturally illuminated during the day by the sun, which is filtered through the slatted wood panels. There is a lower and upper level that form the interior of the house. Both levels are primarily open spaces that contain cylindrical shaped modules of different sizes. These modules are symbolic of the fermentation tanks used in wineries to make wine. Most of these modules are mounted on wheels so they can be easily moved. The facilities needed to live in the house, including the wine making equipment, food preparation, baths, storage, etc. are contained inside of the modules, and can be easily accessed whenever needed. The entire shape of the Solar Vineyard House is symbolic of the oak covered hills that usually surround the wineries in California.

Baker Cookstove, an Energy Efficient Cookstove by Claesson Koivisto Rune

Shan Tara — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:01:05 +0000

The majority of women in the developing world prepare food on a technology called a three-stone fire. It is basically three rocks that support a pot with an open fire in the middle. This cooking method is very inefficient and leads to many environmental and health problems. One very real side effect being that children are denied education and future because they are sent to collect firewood. Wood that every day is founder at further distances. The walk takes all day and leaves no time for school.

However, since the three-stone method is a tradition since thousand of years a new stove must allow the user to keep their way of life intact to be successful. The solution found by Claesson Koivisto Rune is to make a stove that burns wood, but as efficient as possible.

The design approach has really been the same as with any design project. Design is about solutions – function, usability, unification – and about adding an immaterial – humane, aesthetic, iconic – dimension.

You can still cook over burning wood, but with the Baker stove you need only one third of the wood of before. In numbers from tests at the University of Nairobi the
Baker Cookstove achieve a 56% reduction in CO and 38% reduction in particulate matter.

Kids’ Superhero Raincoats

Shan Tara — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:13:57 +0000

You already how much we love super hero on CubeMe. A new accessory has been added to our fan club, the Superhero Raincoats for kids. Instead of hiding from the rain, make your child feel like a super hero.

Blood Bath Shower Gel

Ian — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:02:37 +0000

To make your shower look like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock movie, nothing like ‘Blood Bath Shower Gel’. The gel looks like a thick blood but with the convenience that it smells of cherry and it is much more easy to clean.

BUY IT HERE

Bark Furniture Launches New Additions Seatings

Ian — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:23:25 +0000

Bark Furniture is delighted to announce the launch of their new Acorn One-Seater and Two-Seater chairs alongside launching Bark Jr with a mini version of the Kustom armchair. Their latest additions to the Acorn range were inspired by an old piece of furniture spotted in a second hand shop while travelling through South America, and the resulting designs are neatly infused with a sense of history while still remaining firmly in the present.

Windworks by Merel Karhof

Shan Tara — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:05:44 +0000

Windworks, the latest project of Merel Karhof, just opened last week on the Dutch National Mill Day at the well-known and typical area of the Zaanse Schans, in the north-west of the Netherlands.
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Unique to this project is that the materials (dyes, fabrics and wood) are all created at the Zaanse Schans and all use a free and inexhaustible energy source; the wind. Visit Windworks until 19 May at colour mill ‘De Kat’, and experience how windmills that are working together can turn into a complete production process.

Windworks can be seen as an urban factory, using wind as its main source of energy. According to Merel Karhof there is an important element missing in the discussion around free sources of energy as she explains the idea behind her project as follows: ‘’Everyone is talking about green energy, but nobody knows what that means, how much wind energy do you need to make a scarf? In this project I have visualised the wind, and what it can produce.”
A variety of little colourfull pillows form the upholstery of the stools, chairs and benches. Each size of the pillow represents the amount of time needed by the wind to make it, thus giving insight into length of the production process.

The pillows are made from the knitted wool created by the Wind Knitting Factory (designed by Merel Karhof herself), and are then felted and stuffed to make solid and comfortable upholstery. The yarns of the knitted fabric are coloured by natural pigments ground by colour mill ‘De Kat’.
The wood of the furniture where this upholstery is integrated into, is sawn at saw-mill ‘Het Jonge Schaap’.
As a true miller, but above all as product designer, Merel Karhof will be knitting away, if the wind allows it, at her Windworks presentation with her Wind Knitting Factory, until 19 May at the Zaanse Schans.

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Kiki van Eijk – Co-evolution Exhibition

Shan Tara — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:06:50 +0000

Kiki van Eijk has been invited, together with Joost van Bleiswijk, to exhibit an overview of their works for the re-opening of Het Noordbrabants Museum in
‘s-Hertogenbosch. The exhibition, designed by Kiki and Joost themselves, will show their individual artistic evolution as well as their joined evolution: Co-evolution.

The exhibition consists of 80 masterpieces from the first ten years of the careers of the designer duo. In the form of a timeline Kiki’s work will be on display, starting with her first design the “Kiki carpet”, which signifies the beginning of her international career, up to her miniature decors for La Montre Hermès from 2013.

In her designs Kiki never loses her playfulness, like of a child, out of sight! The festive opening, on 24 May, of the exhibition and the ”Museumkartier
‘s-Hertogenbosch”, consisting of Het Noordbrabants Museum and the Stedelijk Museum ‘s-Hertogenbosch, will be attended by Princess Beatrix.

Swarovski Stand At Baselworld 2013 by Tokujin Yoshioka

Shan Tara — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:45:27 +0000

At BASELWORLD 2013 in Switzerland known as an international trade show of watch and jewellery, the new stand of SWAROVSKI designed by Tokujin Yoshioka was presented.

‘ Wings of Sparkle ’

SWAROVSKI stand is an immense circular stand that covers more than 2,000 m2 over two levels, taken up its residence within the fair’s new hall.

The stand is entirely surrounded by a 7 meter high curved wall of 155 meters circumference. This is made of 253,231 reflectors with a mirrored surface that symbolize the facets so characteristic of Swarovski, and on these 60 mm reflectors, 22,856 LED lights were positioned on the Sparkle wall.

In the stand, its watch and fashion jewelry collections are displayed, and it is a poetic reference to Swarovski’s brand signature concept. Visitors enter the world of Swarovski by being veiled with light of luminance and immerse in a bath of light. This fascinating glow also evokes images of a swan on a lake spreading its wings gracefully.

With the great curvature and the dynamic space of lights, the visitors are enveloped in the sparkle and experience the light itself as if entering into the dazzling crystal and expresses Swarovski’s ‘ world of luminance ‘ with its pursuit of beauty.

’38,’ Pendant Light by Omer Arbel for Bocci

Shan Tara — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:01:33 +0000

Designer Omer Arbel has designed a new collection for light brand ‘Bocci’ made of recycle glass. The pendant light features spheres of glasses suspended to semi-rigid copper cables forming irregular arcs floating in the air. The orbs comprises between four to six blown glass balls wherein inside three of them LED are inserted. Small plants can be insert in the rest of the cavities to form a harmonious illumination that united greenery, light and ecology.