The Design blog |
- Les Grandes Tables restaurant made using recycled shipping containers
- Colorful and energy saving street lighting - Twist
- PS Square: A conceptual smart mobile device for users aged 12-14
- Innovative 'Motorsports' themed wrist watch
- Fashion for smokers: Clean City Lab portable ashtray concept
- Fit@Work fitness chair lets white collar workers workout at their workstations
- paNBin: A dustbin-dustpan combo for minimalistic home
- FindR Communication System brings people closer in real life
- Innovative packing for a ball makes soccer merchandizing greener
| Les Grandes Tables restaurant made using recycled shipping containers Posted: 27 Dec 2011 05:20 AM PST Sahil Khurana: The Concept: Shipping containers have been put to good use by Jean Nouvel, as he has crafted a clean and green restaurant concept, named Les Grandes Tables, using them. The concept has come up on Seguin Island situated in Western Paris.
 Les Grandes Tables restaurant The eco-friendly plan by Jean is quite massive and will bring commerce, culture and green spaces on a single platform for people to relish. The awesome concept will comprise of hotels, cinemas, artist studios, music halls and museums, which will offer a variety of activities under one roof. Les Grandes Tables was completed recently as part of the first phase and comes draped in environment-friendly traits. The 1000 square foot restaurant comprises of a timber framed structure that has been caked with glass. The use of glass will let sunlight kiss the inside of the design and encourage natural light to flow freely. Salvaged shipping containers have been used to make this attention-grabbing design, which will help eco-warriors dine sans any regrets. It has a minimalistic look and also consists of an agricultural greenhouse. This will offer fresh vegetables and will also be a sight for striking plants. Inspiration: Encompassed in glass, the timber frame structure of the building makes it an obvious choice for diners to dine in. The cargo containers have been placed strategically, ensuring that people inside get maximum light, air and of course, the best French cuisines to enjoy. Flanked by a seasonal garden on one side and a greenhouse on the other, the restaurant sets forth tradition along with a soothing ambiance for everyone around. The container was discarded by car manufacturer Renault some 20 years ago and it has now been tastefully decorated to cater to the modern diners’ whims and fancies. Serving authentic French food is the famous French Chef, Arnaud Daguin. Delight yourself with traditional, mouth watering delicacies while Les Grandes Tables soothes your nerves and delights everyone. The restaurant plays host to a number of Parisians all throughout the year. As per Jean Nouvel, if everything goes well, he would revolutionize the whole island and make it a tourist spot to attract crowds. Eco Credentials: Jean made it a point to make his restaurant as environment friendly as possible. He has made use of a discarded ship container to seat his customers. Sprucing up this make shift building with some glass, windows, and suspended bare bones, Jean Nouvel was able to rig up a comfortable dining place. As he wants nothing but the best for everyone who come to enjoy his restaurant's food and facilities, he has hired the famous French chef who prepares his amazing culinary delights with the vegetables grown in the restaurant's garden. The buck, however, does not stop here. Nouvel has also ensured to put a greenhouse in place so that there would never be a shortage in the supply of fresh vegetables for his customers and clients alike.His revolutionary idea has enabled one and all to enjoy the magnificent, finger licking creations by the chef, and of course, to enjoy nature in its originality. Feasibility: Seguin Island, which has often been looked down upon by fellow Parisians is up for a changed outlook, all thanks to designer Jean Nouvel. Not only has he added a bit of glamour to the wrecked image, but has also thought of lifting up the island’s image as a place of tourist attraction. With no doubts lurking in the mind about the feasibility of the project, he has big plans for the island's future. As of now, only the restaurant has been finished in order to cater to meetings, parties, etc. However, in the coming two years, that is by 2013, Nouvel has plans to create an ambiance where practically everyone would be able to revel in nature's lap. Having said this, it is to be noted that the designer's project has set the expectations rolling for one and all.
Picture Gallery  Les Grandes Tables restaurant by Jean Nouvel Architects Trends: 1. Starbucks Drive Through:
 Starbucks Drive Thru Starbucks, the famous coffee brand has made a small endeavour to make a big difference when it comes to building strategically. Tukwila in Washington has been appraised with a coffee house that has been made using nothing but shipping containers. The drive-through has been made according to LEED building standards. This has been designed by resident Starbucks architects and encourages the creation of clean and green buildings just to bring down the operational cost and energy use. Enjoy coffee in Starbucks’ new building ávatar. 2. Seattle's Firestation 30:
 Seattle's Firestation Seattle's Firestation 30 is an eco-friendly building when it comes to design and utility as well as facility. Built on the intersection of Rainier Avenue and Mt. Baker neighborhood, the firestation acts like the best intermediary on the cross junction. Read on to find what makes this building environment friendly. The haven has been fitted with clerestory windows, skylights, north glazing, sun shading devices, etc. If you wonder what are the benefits of all these, it's quite simple. The whole place makes use of natural lighting to light up the interiors, thereby creating a very balanced atmosphere for the occupants. To further this point, the building is constructed out of a lightweight wooden frame, sheet metal skin, and an elevated structural slab which is further supported by an auger cast pile system. The interiors derive their heating and cooling by a geothermal heat pump. The building epitomizes and accentuates the term 'eco-friendly' in the perfect way. 3. Acorn House:
 Acorn House London got its first sustainable restaurant in the form of Acron House. This will make restaurants slip into the eco-friendly slot and will give an all new meaning to the way people dine. Acorn House will encourage composting and recycling of waste materials. It will use seasonal as well as local ingredients to prepare dishes, which will bring down CO2 emission and will also save precious resources. The restaurant will encourage healthy eating and will have fresh seasonal menus. It will support organics and fair-trade and will discourage industrial farming. Even the boxes in which ingredients are supplied will be sent back so that the suppliers can reuse them. 4. Paul Morgan Trunk House Springs:
 Paul Morgan Trunk House Situated right in the midst of a rolling forest in Victoria's central highlands, the Trunk House by Paul Morgan Architects is a piece of vintage art and beauty. Made from salvaged tree forks for support, cured wooden pieces, and natural material sourced from the surrounding areas itself, the Trunk House spells out beauty and eco friendliness in every breath. If the exteriors have you dazed, then wait till you lay your eyes on the interiors. All the furniture inside are designed as part of the house and the interior is as nice and dainty as the exteriors. The sitting room has been fixed with elegant sliding glass doors, an overhanging roof to protect from rain, and the natural surroundings to provide you great company .
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| Colorful and energy saving street lighting - Twist Posted: 27 Dec 2011 03:16 AM PST Radhicka S Saxena: Sleek and colorful, these new age lamps have a slim built unlike other street lamps which are usually bulky and rather ordinary looking. The slender shade of the lamp rests on a metal pole, and there is also a windmill on the top of the lamp. The lamp dubbed as Twist has been designed by Olesya Smirnova, a Russian artist based at Moscow who specialized in architecture, interior and industrial design. Her wide array of work includes lamps, furniture and some buildings like a shopping center, fitness complex and even few homes.
 Twist energy saving street lamp
Pros The most important feature about this street lamp is that it can function using different sources of power supplies such as electricity, wind energy, solar power and batteries. LED or any other light source can be fitted in these lamps. Depending on the program setup, the lamps can be illuminated with different colors. The colorful lighting makes them really interesting as it is something not common at all with street lighting. Another very innovative program can be activated in these lamps, which can change the color across the body of the entire shade spirally thus creating a fascinating effect. This modern looking lamp is truly an innovation adding beauty to streets and bylanes. Green quotient Not only do these lamps conserve energy, but they also can work using renewable energy sources like wind or solar power. There is a windmill on the top while the drive between the wind mill and lampshade accommodates the solar panels. The lamps have been ergonomically designed to ensure maximum usage of solar and wind power. The momentum of the spinning windmill in the lamp helps to create the spiral lighting effect with changing colors. Via: Russian creators
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| PS Square: A conceptual smart mobile device for users aged 12-14 Posted: 27 Dec 2011 03:03 AM PST Jaspreet Kaur Walia: Hirotaka Matsui has designed a conceptual smart phone device named the PS Square, which has been made keeping children aged 12-14 in mind. The tablet will help facilitate school work, entertainment, gaming and social networking. It will encourage children to befriend modern technology and help them explore the world in a much interesting way.
 PS Square
Everyone has got drenched with the effects of modern technology and it is hard to escape the hi-end gadgets present in the market. Children own gadgets like iPods, Wii, Playstation and DS, which has made them tech-savvy as well. PS Square has a wide capacitive OLED screen that measures six inch. This will make reading, writing and checking mails easy and clear. It has a unique keypad array, which means an extra large keypad. This will make typing fun and it will no more sound like a burden. The keypad is customized in a way that will be a perfect fit for the natural finger movements. A full QWERTY keypad will enable instantaneous communication when using social networking sites, blogging and completing school work. The smart phone device will let children battle with friends on favorite online games as there will be a variety of games available on the network. The presence of Wi-Fi will make the device a universal remote that will help a user access all the media that has been stored in other gadgets. The presence of a front camera with mic will be of utmost help when video chatting. It has a micro SD slot and mini USB port for easy storage and transfer of data. Stereo speakers in the design will produce a quality sound and make the design all the more impressive. PS Square has a very simple yet eye-catching facade. It will help nurture an all new lifestyle and has been formed keeping future times in mind. Via: Hirotakamatsui
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| Innovative 'Motorsports' themed wrist watch Posted: 27 Dec 2011 02:54 AM PST Kamlesh Kandasamy: Ever wondered about a watch that reads time with colors? UK based designer, Peter, has proposed a mind-boggling concept of a watch, which he designed with ‘Motorsports’ as the theme. His extraordinary idea captivates the viewers at the first glimpse itself. Right from the straps to the display, every part of the watch has racing vibrations which are carved on them. The versatility of the concept adds beauty and keeps the readers hooked to motorsports. Peter submitted this concept for an online design contest.
 GP race watch
Inspiration and design Undoubtedly, the sport of racing is the inspiration behind Peter’s mind-blowing concept. He opened up that he wanted a watch that shows time in an unconventional style, but in a recognizable way. That made him to use the three basic colors: red, blue and green to represent the hours, minutes and seconds, respectively. Peter’s imagination of bringing the GP race track’s circuit as the timeline is the highlight of this concept. The watch’s display has a checkerboard design in its background, while the circuit will be the foreground. The individual colors show the time according to their positions on the circuit. Numbers are denoted on the sides of the circuit for easy recognition. The straps of the concept have a tire’s design with treads and lines. The watch’s fascia is removable; the face of the watch can be swapped with different circuits as per user’s wish. This interchangeable feature makes the concept versatile and user friendly. Though reading the time may seem difficult at first, they become very easy once the users adapt them. LED technology creates the color marks on the right positions in the circuit. Unlike a conventional clock, the laps of the circuit represent the time zone in this concept. Let’s hope that manufacturers will come forward to produce this astonishing concept for the racing fans and enthusiasts. Source: Tokyoflash
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| Fashion for smokers: Clean City Lab portable ashtray concept Posted: 26 Dec 2011 11:47 PM PST Asmita Prasad: Created by designer Mandana Dilmaghani for JTI and Future Concept Lab, the Clean City Lab is an innovative concept, which seems to bring about a change in the way smokers dispose off their cigarette butts. Most smokers on the go tend to chuck their cigarette butts in trashcans or on the sidewalk, which poses threat to fire safety and leaves pavements littered with unseemly smashed cigarette butts and ash. The Clean City Lab provides smokers with an alternative way of disposing cigarette ash and butts.
 Necklace ashtray In order to provide a cleaner urban environment without asking smokers to give up smoking or setting up a widespread ban on smoking in public, the design uses a pendant-shaped portable ashtray to allow users to changing their habit of throwing their cigarette butts on the streets. This ashtray concept turns something as undesirable as an ashtray into a funky fashion accessory, which appeals to the fashion sense of smokers and allows them to indulge in their guilty pleasure without being a nuisance to others.
 Necklace ashtray The structure of this ashtray concept was inspired by the ‘Neuer Zollhof’ building in Düsseldorf, Germany created by Frank Gehry. The necklace itself features a flexible plastic lid sitting atop an organically shaped aluminum body, which ensures that the cigarettes that the users dump in it extinguish properly. The airtight sealing lid also prevents the residual smoke from escaping the container and clinging to the users' clothes. Via: Carbon Made
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| Fit@Work fitness chair lets white collar workers workout at their workstations Posted: 26 Dec 2011 11:35 PM PST Asmita Prasad: The level of development in any industrial nation is often judged by the number of people it employed in less menial white collar jobs. However, sitting in a chair in front of a computer or sitting at a desk for the duration of an eight-hour workday often contributes to a growing number of diseases and physical ailments in this demographic. Since most people working in these situations don't have the kind of time in their busy schedules to hit the gym or get in a full workout, they end up with various ailments like stiffened neck and shoulder muscles and lower back problems. The Fit@Work fitness chair concept aims at allowing office goers the opportunity to workout without getting up from their office chairs. The ergonomically designed chair is a fully functioning stationary fitness center in itself which allows users to perform a number of gym-like exercises.
 Fit@Work
Picture Gallery  A radically fresh and sporty shape inspired by the human body and its muscles. The sporty looking office chair is inspired by the shape of the human body and functions as fully functioning workout station. The handles of the Fit@Work fitness chair can be used from time to time to stretch the upper body and to train the arms. The core of the chair is fitted with five strong springs that provide a sturdy counterforce while working out. The sophisticated technology embedded within the armrests of the chair allows the users to use them as a rowing machine. This lets users train the chest and arm muscles without leaving their desks. The foot rests of the Fit@Work fitness chair keep users grounded while they perform crunches and rowing exercises ensuring that they are never working out in an incorrect posture or form. The rodeo seat function of the Fit@Work fitness chair helps them workout their spine and posture. This function of the seat can be adjusted between loose and fixed orientations. In a loose setting, users can train their back and abdominal muscles. The special base of the chair allows users to develop their flexibility, while built-in omni wheels ensure that the users are able to perform all exercises without injuring themselves. Via: James Dyson Award
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| paNBin: A dustbin-dustpan combo for minimalistic home Posted: 26 Dec 2011 10:38 PM PST Asmita Prasad: With space at premium in most urban homes these days, it becomes almost necessary for every item needed in the house to be as space efficient as possible. Most people prefer not to have bulky vacuum cleaners in their home because they take up too much space in the broom closet. However, having a big dustbin is a little more unavoidable than that though most people still would like to find an alternative to having those unseemly and equally unavoidable dustpans in their homes. The paNBin dustbin-dustpan combo by designer Sudhanwa Chavan is hence the perfect answer to the spacing woes of urban house owners. The combo basically allows users to do away with having a big, space-hogging dustbin in their homes and since the gizmo also serves as a dustpan, users do not need to have a separate one lying around the house taking up valuable space in a closet or a cupboard.
 paNBin dust collector
The paNBin concept is a fully functional dustpan, which also doubles up as a dustbin when stored horizontally. The minimalistic approach to the design allows it to be as ergonomic to use as possible, while the dual function allows it to serve both purposes seamlessly. The paNBin also redefines the contemporary visual language of dust bins and transforms it into a chic décor item instead. The specially designed antislip mouth of the pan allows it to take in dust and trash easily and makes it perfect for cleaning up corners and smaller areas that cannot accommodate the use of a larger dustpan. Via: Coroflot
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| FindR Communication System brings people closer in real life Posted: 26 Dec 2011 10:14 PM PST Asmita Prasad: Developed along the lines of the predictions propagated by Nokia’s ‘circular entertainment’ theory, the FindR Communication System by designer Oskar Santamaria looks to blur the lines between individualism and an increasingly socially open lifestyle of the youth today. Most young people these days prefer to hang out with friend via virtual portals like social networks rather than being with them physically. Though these virtual hang outs are massively popular, they restrict the movement of people in real life which promotes an unhealthy lifestyle. The FindR Communication System looks to use the current notions of online social networking and use the method to bring people together in real life.
 FindR Communicator
Picture Gallery  FindR Communicator is a device that encourages people to spend their free time outside, sharing the time with their friends or families. The FindR Communication System uses this theory of circular entertainment to allow people to locate friends when they are outside and prompts them to hangout together. The device encourages people to spend their time outdoors without asking them to miss out on their virtual lives. The device uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies to connect people of a group to one another. When two or more people from a predefined group meet in a local establishment, their FindR Communication System sends a message to other members of the group with the location of the hangout and asks them to hangout. The other members can then accept or refuse the plan and let their friends know whether they will be joining them or not. Via: Behance
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| Innovative packing for a ball makes soccer merchandizing greener Posted: 26 Dec 2011 09:54 PM PST Asmita Prasad: Currently, most boxes used to pack soccer balls are square in shape which means that the buyer often has to ask the store for a carry bag to carry the boxed soccer ball in. This creates additional and totally unnecessary waste which can easily be avoided by the use of an ergonomic method of packing like the ‘packing for a ball’ created by designer Ilya Avakov.
 Packing for a ball For a global sport like football (or soccer, as our friends from across the Atlantic like to call it), maintaining a high level of sustainable in the way it retails its merchandise can be very difficult. Since the sport is popular and played in almost every country and continent on the planet, a huge amount of waste is created in the process of packaging, promoting and marketing the balls used in the sport itself. Since the box or tin packaging that the ball comes in is of no use to the user after they unbox the ball, the package is instantly thrown in the trash. The innovative cardboard packaging is made of cardboard, which makes it very economical to manufacture for brands and also makes it very easy to recycle for users. The simple fold-up design of the packaging allows the soccer ball to be held in place firmly, while the cut-out handle allows it to be easily carried around as well. The recyclable packing can be made fancier by using cotton laces that can be customized with club and country colors and the packing can also bear brand logos in ecofriendly paints. Via: Behance
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