Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos 561 Clock by Marc Newson
No stranger to designing for time, Marc Newson recently collaborated with luxury watch manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre to produce the Atmos 561 mechanical clock. Atmos clocks will stay accurate for years powered by incremental temperature changes inside a bubble block of Baccarat crystal.
Their power source is a hermetically sealed capsule containing a mixture of gas and liquid ethyl chloride, which expands into a chamber as the temperature rises, compressing a spiral spring; with a fall in temperature the gas condenses and the spring slackens. This motion constantly winds the mainspring. A variation in temperature of only one degree in the range between 15 and 30 degrees Celsius is sufficient for two days of operation.
article: coolhunting
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Brazil: the natural knowledge-economy
The landscape for innovation in Brazil is changing fast. Research budgets are rising. Brazilian scientists and innovators are at the forefront of developments from biofuels to genomics and software. And Brazil is now the fifteenth largest producer of scientific publications, up eight places in under a decade.
A new report by the UK think tank Demos argues that Brazil is a 'natural knowledge-economy' where the intertwining of knowledge, skills and innovation with environmental and other natural assets holds the key to competitive advantage.
Very relevant for the design community is the chapter on culture, which discusses aspects of Brazilian culture that are pertinent to science and innovation: values, democracy, diversity and creativity.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sony makes e-book Reader compatible with other booksellers
In an effort to compete with Amazon's Kindle, Sony is opening up their Reader to be compatible with all publishers of e-books who use the EPUB standard. Currently Amazon offers over 140,000 titles while Sony is struggling with about 45,000.
"This upgrade opens the door to a whole host of paid and free content from third-party e-book stores, Web sites and even public libraries," said Steve Haber, senior vice president of consumer product marketing for Sony Electronics.
This is a positive step towards helping the e-book industry evolve in general. Read the full article here.
via engadget
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
100,000 Portfolios at Coroflot.com - Our Portfolio & Design Job Site Flips to Six Digits!
We are proud to declare:
COROFLOT HIT 100,000 PORTFOLIOS !
That's right, some lucky designer posted their work at coroflot.com and rolled the odometer to 100,000!
For those of you who might not know: Coroflot is Core77's portfolio hosting / design job board / creative social networking site. It started out here way back in '97 and got its own digs a few years thereafter. It's been growing ever since and is now the largest site of its kind, serving up millions of page views of designers' work and 100's of design jobs each month.
Go check it out today, we have some cool additions in the works so sign up before the rush!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Landrover Sculpture by Gerry Judah
Concept Designer Gerry Judah attached a bevy of Land Rovers to a colossal steel framework at the Goodwood estate for their Festival of Speed in England last weekend. The 34-metre high sculpture, which weighed 120 tonnes and consisted of nearly 3500 parts connected by 4900 bolts, was commissioned by Land Rover (surprise surprise) and was fabricated by Littlehampton Welding, which also made Thomas Heatherwick's East Beach Cafe.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
In the creative world, the only constant is change
Design is all about change, writes Alice Rawsthorn in her weekly International Herald Tribune piece.
"[Design] can help us to understand the changes in the world around us, and turn them to our advantage by translating them into things that make our lives more efficient or enjoyable, sometimes both.If you rewind through design history, the most thrilling periods are the ones of the greatest change, when designers interpreted shifts in science, technology, behavior and politics for the rest of us. Take the explosion of innovation during the 1920s "machine age" and the 1960s "space age."
The pace of change is faster than ever today. Advances in technology are accelerating. The environmental crisis is deepening. The social and political systems that underpinned our lives in the last century are breaking down. (Ever watched "The Wire"?) All of these changes present designers with doughty challenges and exciting opportunities."
So how are designers responding?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Geek out, get a p8t.ch for your website
Does anyone remember skim.com, the Swiss fashion label who raised a load of venture capital back in the dot com boom with their high-concept clothing that discreetly displayed a unique number fellow tech savvy insiders could email.
Fast forward almost a decade and you have the Commando Nerd patch, a mobile phone-readable physical hyperlink similar to the Semipedia project. Install the QRcode reader for the iPhone, take a snap of the barcode and you'll automatically be sent to whatever blog, link or YouTube movie the p8t.ch has been configured for.
>> see more
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
New Milan Showroom for Fritz Hansen
Italian architect Stefano Tagliacarne, responsible for those Artek installations you might have seen in Milan & New York has completed the first Milan showroom for Danish furniture company Fritz Hansen.
A major challenge to Stefano Tagliacarne was to overcome the spatial irregularity of the showroom, composed by three levels of different size and shape. Tagliacarne links these three levels by the means of a big red column and a wood clad wall, both developing from the bottom of the basement to the top of the first floor.
The concept for the space highlights the brand's collection while emphasizing the classics of Arne Jacobsen and Poul Kjaerholm and expressing the values of Danish culture in an Italian context.
Fritz Hansen
Corso Garibaldi 77
Milan
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Knoll Sued Over Mies van der Rohe Furniture Designs
Knoll who've held the rights to numerous mid-century furniture classics maybe in trouble. They originally sued Alphaville's customers for selling the 1920's Mies van der Rohe "Barcelona" designs, the case was dismissed and now Alphaville's president David Lee is striking back.
"...Our case will clarify the law and show that Knoll cannot keep others from using these 1920's designs that have been made by a myriad of manufacturers for over 40 years. We seek a full cancellation of Knoll's trademark registrations with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Cyber Clean Slime
Vincent in Gattaca would have loved a secret stash of Cyber Clean slime. Detox your keyboard by simply rolling a dollop of the Swiss goop over the surface to collect fingernails, hair, food particles and everything else that made it in there. Now brace yourself:
Did you know that the average computer keyboard is proven to accumulate more germs than a public toilet?
eeek!
via boing boing
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Compact Stairwell Home
Next time your friends complain about lack of space in their apartment, point them to this ultra-compact stairwell dwelling completed by H2O Architects in France, June 2007. Built for the families teenager, the 12 sqm. house has four split-levels and is an exercise in extreme storage solutions.
While you probably spend more time on the steps then actually in a room, the house offers a place to sleep, work, live and wash--meals are taken inside with mum's cooking. Perfect.
via frame
>> see more
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Irwin's tape measure: no pencil necessary
Tool manufacturer Irwin has come up with a nifty tape measure: The Strait-Line. We're not sure why they lost the "gh" in "Strait," but we're glad they lost the pencil; the Strait-Line has its own integrated marking tip, so you can leave a cut line with the other hand free, and you no longer have to leave that #2 tucked behind your ear.
via toolmonger
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
CityRacks Design Competition Finalists Announced
The finalists for the CityRacks Competition have been announced, entrants were asked to design better bike racks for New York City with the incentive that the winning design will be implemented as the cities standard for bicycle parking.
Pictured above is Andrew Lang and Harry Dobbs solution which allows for multiple locking opportunities, click through for more entries.
>> see more
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Penta Pendant Lamp
Italian designer Luca Casarotto's Penta pendant lamp was developed during a Foscarini Lab workshop. The lights intensity can be adjusted depending on your mood with sliding flat shades made from a recycled polyethylene.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Treepac Shipping Box Wins IDSA's Ecodesign Award
Treepac is a reusable shipping container intended to replace cardboard boxes. Its structure is made entirely of sustainable wood-based polymer cellulose acetate and is used like cardboard packaging but is designed to enable and encourage people and companies to improve their environmental footprint.
Why replace cardboard? Design Researcher Dave Siedzik notes: "We were disheartened that recycling cardboard is a completely inefficient process." Essential's researchers, designers and engineers estimated that a recycled cardboard box can have up to eight uses but must be reconstituted in an energy-draining production facility each time. The Treepac, on the other hand, can be reused again and again.
The judges at the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA) honored the concept with a Silver International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) in the Ecodesign category. Need more green inspiration? See all Ecodesign winners here.
Treepac is still a concept but you can enjoy some usage scenario's here.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Paint Or Die But Love Me
No it's not real, but you've got to give French designer John Nouanesing props for his collection of concepts including this table which while needing some structural help is pretty fun.
via ffffound
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Rendered image of Jet Blue's new Terminal 5 at JFK. Courtesy Gensler.
Eero Saarinen and the new JFK Jet Blue terminal sneak peak
And finally, if you're in New York the next couple days, you can grab a sneak preview of Jet Blue's new $750 million terminal incorporating Eero Saarinen's iconic building at JFK. A discussion about the challenges and creative potential for redesigning New York City's airports will take place Wednesday July 30th, 2008 at 6:30pm.
Featuring Richard Smyth, Vice President, Jet Blue, who is in charge of the new JFK Jet Blue terminal; David Z. Plavin, consultant and former president, Airports Council International-North America; Charles Van Cook, P.E., Vice President, PB World, who plans airports all over the world; William R. DeCota, Director of Aviation, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; and Jeff Zupan, Senior Fellow for Transportation, Regional Plan Association.
For free admission, mention Core77 when registering:
Call 212 534 1672 ext. 3395, or e-mail programs@mcny.org
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Special thanks to Mark Vanderbeeken for his contributions to this week's newsletter!
Please share the Monday Morning Must Read with colleagues, clients and collaborators. Many email programs do not forward messages in their original format, so please use this link: http://www.designdirectory.com/blog/newsletter
Email us your feedback and comments. We are looking for stories, case studies and global news on where and how design can make the difference.
