Seeking a home for their young family and their retired parents, one Belgian couple purchased such a property and contemplated their options. Ultimately, they decided they wanted to preserve the history and character of the existing buildings, hiring Aalst-based firm Objekt Architecten to bring their vision to life.

The design brief was relatively unusual. The clients wanted one home for themselves and their children, and a separate but connected “care home” for their elderly parents. This aging-friendly home would need to be set up so that the parents could live there for the rest of their lives, even as their abilities changed. Both homes would require privacy and nice views of the surrounding farmlands while maintaining easy access to each other in case of emergencies.

Objekt Architecten started by preserving as many of the exterior walls of the crumbling buildings as they could. They chose concrete as a primary material to complement the neutral tones and textures of the existing brick, plaster, and mortar. Red terracotta floor tiles and traditional red clay roofing tiles were also brought in to mimic the look and feel of the original elements.

The architects left the appearance of the existing house and barn unchanged, turning the old farmhouse into the care home portion of the estate. Designed with accessibility in mind, the single-level structure contains sleeping quarters, a bathroom, and several spacious storage rooms, as well as covered outdoor areas. This home connects directly to the young family’s new house, which was built within the shell of the adjacent barn.

Clad in a striking bronze-colored aluminum finish, the new volume is set back from the original walls under the same new roof to create covered outdoor walkways. The roof of the care home was extended to stand perpendicular to the new volume. On the other side, the roof rests on the original exterior wall. One long hall links all the bedrooms, and skylights let in an abundance of natural light.

The architects call this project “Old & New,” reflecting both the contrast in historic and modern architectural styles and the contrasting but complementary needs of various generations of the family.

The team explains that “in the new house, the choice fell on a low-maintenance, polished concrete floor. In the sitting area — which houses the lounge and the play area — a contrasting sandblasted oak herringbone parquet was chosen. In the center of the house, we find a royal blue core, which on one side houses a toilet, a cloakroom, and a staircase, and on the other side is part of the kitchen and storage room. The rounded kitchen island, finished in a natural wood tone, has a peach-colored countertop.”

“Together with the brass accents, these give the whole a contemporary, luxurious look. With this renovation, we tried to transform an existing house into a care home where the original residents feel at home and can live a lifetime, while the clients do not have to sacrifice modern comfort and privacy.”

The post Old & New: Belgian Farmhouse Converted into a Contemporary Care Home first appeared on Dornob.

Some find the 64-square-foot size and seeming flimsiness of such tiny houses inhumane, while others believe they’re an important stepping stone to getting people off the street permanently. The architects feel that Alexandria Park Tiny Home Village was always meant to be transitional, giving occupants a sense of security and ownership as well as access to necessary services and facilities until they can move on to more stable housing. They expanded upon that idea in their latest project, creating larger permanent homes for disabled and formerly homeless veterans.

The firm certainly has the experience to back up its ideas. They’ve been creating shelters for vulnerable populations for over 20 years. Six years ago, they partnered with nonprofit developer Restore Neighborhoods Los Angeles and community bank Genesis LA to create a variety of housing prototypes that could help ease the homelessness and housing affordability crises in California. These projects are all rooted in the idea that everyone deserves dignity and a sense of community.

Located in the South Los Angeles community of the same name (just south of Watts and northwest of Compton), Willowbrook Apartments is a seven-unit complex occupying an awkwardly shaped, long-vacant plot of land close to public transit and a community church. Each unit is 300 square feet and includes a private bathroom, kitchenette, and universal design features for accessibility.

Galley-style kitchens and plentiful natural light create a feeling of expansiveness. The units are mirrored back-to-back to save space, and they’re all anchored to a communal outdoor space. A taller structure offers a community meeting room, storage space, and offices to form a “coherent urban campus, even on a small scale.”

The colors are acid-bright, with neon yellow paths winding around small stone patios and drought-tolerant landscaping. The architects wanted it all to feel very California: cheerful, sunny, and fresh. “Each bend and turn in the path provides real or implied mindful pause from the street to the front door, enhancing the separation from the public realm to the private,” the team explains. “This is something that is meaningful and critical for all residents, but even more so for those that have previously been unhoused.”

The complex will serve as a model for similar developments. The team chooses urban infill lots that are considered less than ideal by most developers, inserting either individual affordable starter homes costing $200,000, 5-bedroom duplexes for troubled teens, or small communities for vulnerable populations, like Alexandria Park Tiny Home Village and Willowbrook Apartments. The projects aim to be livable, reproducible, and anything but depressing.

“I hope this project captures the imagination of the culture, showing how such housing can actively enhance its neighborhood, no matter where the residents lived previously,” says Michael Lehrer, founder and president of Lehrer Architects. “This is critical to destigmatize these types of housing projects, and to destigmatize the people who live there, demonstrating the true beauty of complete neighborhoods that take care of all residents.”

The post Lehrer Architects Create Cheerful Permanent Housing for LA’s Disabled Vets first appeared on Dornob.

The XRAI Glass company collaborated with augmented reality firm Nreal to harness the power of their existing AR glasses and use translation software that can be downloaded onto any smartphone.

Commenting on the release of this breakthrough invention, XRAI Glass CEO Dan Scarfe says, “We are so proud of the ability this innovative technology has to enrich the lives of people who are deaf and have hearing loss, so that they can maximize potential. Whether that means being able to have a conversation while continuing to make dinner or keeping a conversation going while walking with a friend. The scale of the opportunity is huge.”

Scarfe got the inspiration for the glasses after watching his grandfather struggle to keep up with conversations at family gatherings. “There was just a little epiphany moment where I thought, ‘Hang on a second. He watches TV all the time with subtitles. Why can’t we subtitle the world?’”

The idea is already receiving rave reviews from deaf and hard of hearing advocacy groups. “This is a great example of the positive difference innovative technology can make for people who are deaf or have hearing loss,” says Mark Atkinson, CEO of RNID, a British hearing loss charity. “At RNID we are excited about the potential for technology to transform the lives of our communities. XRAI glass is intuitive and simple to use and could be a powerful tool in ensuring people with hearing loss don’t feel excluded in social settings. We support and applaud this endeavor and are keen to play our part in connecting innovators with our diverse communities.”

Steve Crump, the founder and chair of DeafKidz International, personally attests to the viability of XRAI Glass. “As a profoundly deaf person myself, I was blown away by this technology. When I tried on the glasses, I was astonished – real-time subtitles that enable you to engage and participate as never before. I see XRAI Glass as a hugely positive force, and I can’t wait to work with the team to help bring this to life.”

He adds: “To me, this technology enables me to be involved. It empowers…me to be in the conversation in the moment. I’m getting a real-time stream of subtitled information where ordinarily I might be behind. I might not quite catch everything, but this is giving me a real-time narrative which … enables me to make decisions because I know what is being said.”

The product is initially launching only in the United Kingdom, where there are more than 12 million adults affected by deafness or hearing loss. If successful, the glasses and app could have global implications, as it ‘s estimated that more than 5 percent of the world’s population, or 430 million people, suffer from disabling hearing loss, including 70 million suffering from full-blown deafness. XRAI Glass is currently working to develop software that could also translate any language.

The post AR Glasses Allow Deaf People to “See” Conversations first appeared on Dornob.

“We wanted to design a museum that not only eliminated physical barriers but created a completely shared experience, as well,” said Benjamin Gilmartin, a partner at Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the Manhattan-based architecture firm that designed the building.

The accessible experience begins in the lobby, where visitors can request transport chairs, noise-canceling headphones, assistive listening devices, touchscreen styluses, and sensory-input items like fidget tools and weighted lap pads. Additionally, before they get started, patrons can customize their museum tour by adding preferences to an electronic tag. They can select aids like audio-described videos, high-contrast or enlarged fonts for captions, and text-to-speech screen readers. As the visitor enters each exhibit, the programmed tag automatically turns on the desired effects.

The tour starts with an elevator ride to the top floor and works its way through the exhibits, descending each floor with accessibly sloped ramps that are wide enough for two wheelchairs to comfortably pass. “From the earliest stages of design, the team consulted a committee of Paralympic athletes and persons with disabilities to ensure that, from entrance to exit, all visitors with or without disabilities could tour the USOPM facility together and share a common path,” the architects say on their website. In a cool symbolic way, that common 400-foot-long path also allows people to emulate the journey of an Olympic skier on their downhill run to glory.

All the flooring in the 60,000-square-foot museum is a uniform polished concrete, eliminating mobility obstructions. Plus, all videos play with open captions and American Sign Language translations. All touchscreens have tactile keypads to assist the visually impaired.

The 12 gallery halls housed within the museum’s three floors tell the story of Olympic contenders stretching back as far as the first Greek Games in 776 B.C. Visitors can read about each of the 154 inductees to the Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame, race against their favorite animated athlete on an interactive track, take on the giant slalom via simulator, and see a collection of modern Olympic torches. And of course, there’s also a plethora of gear, uniforms, and inspirational quotes from many beloved athletes throughout the space.

Outside, in keeping with the athleticism of the Olympians, the multi-angled facade of the exterior structure and its nearly 9,000 reflective anodized aluminum panels continue the feeling of motion. Across a pedestrian and wheelchair-friendly plaza, Diller Scofido + Renfro also designed a multipurpose structure with an outdoor amphitheater. The interior contains a café, a flexible theater that can accommodate up to 26 wheelchairs, and an event space with mountain vistas and a 500-square-foot terrace.

Nestled in the shadow of Pikes Peak, the Colorado Springs museum is located just three miles from the Olympic Training Center, where more than 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes hone their skills each year. While the OTC is not currently accepting visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, patrons at the new museum are welcome seven days a week from 10 AM to 5 PM.

The post New Museum Makes the Olympics an Inclusive Experience for All first appeared on Dornob.

All of the new software will be released to the public this fall, just in time for fresh hardware drops like the anticipated iPhone 13, but developers have access to the updates now, with public beta tests expected to go live in July.

iOS & iPadOS 15

The next iOS will come with lots of fresh features, including bigger app icons, photos of your contacts on text notifications, and new filter modes called “Focus” that let you fine-tune groups of custom settings like “Work,” “Sleep,” and “Do Not Disturb” according to how reachable or distractible you feel like being at any given moment. Photos shared in iMessage will be grouped into collages or stacks in your photo gallery or memories, and a new feature called LiveText will use AI to digitize any text in your images so you can copy and paste it.

The new iPadOS 15 will let you add widgets to the home screen and introduce a new “Shelves” feature that will show open windows within an app, making multitasking a lot easier. A new “Swift Playgrounds” app will also make it possible not just to learn how to code but build apps and submit them to the App Store.

FaceTime Upgrades

Soon, the days when you could only FaceTime with other Apple users will be a distant memory. Android users will also be able to participate in video calls via shareable links, so nobody in the family or friend group needs to be left out of the fun. Portrait mode-style blurring will eliminate distracting backdrops behind your head, voice isolation will help reduce background noise, and spatial audio will change where sound seems to come from based on the speaker’s location on your screen. Users will also be able to share music and video during FaceTime calls using SharePlay.

More Functions for macOS Monterey

Apple’s next big MacOS update will offer many of the same features debuting on the iPhone, like the enhanced FaceTime features and Focus notification filters, but we can also expect Universal Control, which will let Mac users transfer content between a Mac and iPad using a single mouse and keyboard. That means you could seamlessly drag and drop something like an image between your iMac, MacBook, and iPad in a single motion, an ability that’s been sorely missing. Look for some helpful additions to Safari, too, like tab groups to organize all your open tabs.

New Privacy and Security Features

Continuing its bid to position itself as more privacy-focused than competitors like Google, Apple will soon begin obscuring the IP addresses of its users on the Mail App and Safari, so companies won’t be able to identify and track you based on your activity. You’ll also be notified anytime an app uses features like the camera, microphone, or address book.

With the new iCloud Plus, you’ll be able to create obscured email addresses to hide your personal info with “Hide My Email,” shield your clipboard data from other apps with “Secure Paste,” log into sites across the internet using Face ID or Touch ID instead of passwords, and more easily erase all your personal data with a single click.

Health and Accessibility

Need to keep tabs on the health of your kids, elderly parents, or other family members? You’ll soon be able to share data from the Health app with chosen contacts, including heart rate and movement data. Even better, alerts for events like falls or long periods of inactivity can be sent directly to the phones of caregivers. The as-yet-unreleased Apple watchOS 8 will also have some cool new health features, like a Mindfulness app, new workout types in the Fitness app, and the ability to track your respiratory rate while sleeping.

For those with hearing difficulties, the new AirPods Pro will include a “Conversation Boost” feature that isolates the voice of the person closest to you and reduces background noise. You’ll also be able to see exactly where your AirPods are at all times with enhanced “Find My” abilities.

That’s not all — there are also new features coming to Siri, Wallet, and more. To learn about them all, check out the video recaps Apple created for days one, two, and three of WWDC21.

The post New Privacy Features, iOS 15, and More Revealed at Apple’s WWDC 2021 first appeared on Dornob.

As part of an award-winning graduate project at the Royal College of Art, designer Dani Clode invented a mechanical “Third Thumb” to see if the human brain could incorporate a bonus digit. The idea got her invited onto a neuroscience research team at University College London, where the theory was put to the test.

The 3D printed, customizable Third Thumb was worn on the hand next to the pinky finger. It was controlled via pressure sensors attached to the wearer’s feet, under the big toes. Using Bluetooth technology, the sensors wirelessly connect to the extra digit, sending directions that vary based on subtle pressure changes from the toes.

Over the course of a week, during which wearers got several hours of daily training in a lab and several more hours of at-home practice, the study revealed that users easily learned to control the extra thumb, using for it for things like holding mugs, carrying multiple balls, and even blowing bubbles from a container one-handed.

Participants adapted so well they were even able to use the Third Thumb while multitasking, like building a wooden block tower while doing a math problem.

“Our study shows that people can quickly learn to control an augmentation device and use it for their benefit, without overthinking,” Clode explains. “We saw that while using the Third Thumb, people changed their natural hand movements, and they also reported that the robotic thumb felt like part of their own body.”

Taking fMRI brain scans before and after the training, researchers found that subtle changes had been made in the way the brain represented the augmented hand in the sensorimotor cortex. A week after the study concluded, more fMRI scans were taken showing those changes had reversed back to their original scans, suggesting the brain adaptations are reversible.

The implications of the Third Thumb research could be life and even species-altering.

“Body augmentation could one day be valuable to society in numerous ways, such as enabling a surgeon to get by without an assistant, or a factory worker to work more efficiently,” says Paulina Kieliba, study co-author and researcher at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. “This line of work could revolutionize the concept of prosthetics, and it could help someone who permanently or temporarily can only use one hand, to do everything with that hand. But to get there, we need to continue researching the complicated, interdisciplinary questions of how these devices interact with our brains.”

Clode hopes that her design will help people change their perception of what prosthetics are and can facilitate.

“The Third Thumb instigates a necessary conversation about the definition of ‘ability’. The origin of the word ‘prosthesis’ meant ’to add, put onto’; so not to fix or replace, but to extend,” she writes on her website. “The project is inspired by this word origin, exploring human augmentation and aiming to reframe prosthetics as extensions of the body.”

The post “Third Thumb” Experiment Suggests Human Brains Can Handle Extra Fingers first appeared on Dornob.

Combining “soft robotics technology” with mobility devices like scooters, wheelchairs, and motorcycles, Poimo aims to offer soft, safe, and lightweight rideable creations that can be easily carried around as necessary. Their latest offering, created in collaboration with Kawahara Lab/Niiyama Lab of the University of Tokyo and Mercari R4D, is a scooter that weighs just 5.5 kilograms and can be folded into a reasonably-sized backpack.

The scooter’s inflatable body is made of a durable thermoplastic polyurethane attached to an electronic and mechanical base which includes the electric motor, handlebars, battery, front and rear wheels, and a wireless controller. It takes just five minutes to get it ready to ride. The Poimo’s creators have already tested it in Tokyo, and for now it at least seems like it actually works.

They explain that “this mobility [scooter] aims to support the first mile / last mile and connect public transportation and destinations seamlessly. To reduce the weight of its body along with its inflatable structure, we have developed a wireless / battery-less powering system suitable for this mobility in cooperation with the wireless power transfer group.”

Poimo’s other equally weird and cool creation is a customizable inflatable vehicle that acts as both a manual wheelchair and an electric motorcycle. In this case, even the wheels are inflatable. They’re definitely a few steps beyond folding bikes in terms of portability, but one wonders just how long they’d last in real-world conditions on the road. Info about this particular model has disappeared from the company’s website, but you can still see how it works in the YouTube video above.

The creators add that they “developed the personal mobility Poimo with a balloon structure that can be designed to suit each individual simply by taking a riding pose. We have prototyped an electric motorcycle type and a manual wheelchair type that can be completely folded when the air is removed. By developing a new vehicle whose body and wheels are made of balloon structure, it has become possible for the first time to customize each vehicle one by one. Newly developed design software makes it easy for anyone to design personal mobility.”

“The light and soft Poimo, which can be deflated and folded, opens up a new field of personal mobility. Taking advantage of being custom-made for each individual, we will contribute to the realization of an inclusive society where everyone can acquire the means of transportation that suits them.”

This invention in particular seems to present an intriguing potential step forward in accessibility: allowing a wheelchair user to seamlessly transition from indoor use to outdoor commuting, going just as fast as anyone else on the road. Whether “Poimo” is really the answer is up for debate, but it’s a great example of thinking outside the box that could lead to more practical innovations in the near future. For more details on how it works, check out the press release from Mercari.

The post Poimo: Inflatable Wheelchair Transforms Into an Electric Motorcycle first appeared on Dornob.

There’s been a lot of innovation in this space recently, and this new entry to the market brings a particularly novel approach. The SEEUS95 Mask has no ear loops, no straps, and no nose wires or folds that pinch, irritate, or leave deep marks on the skin. Frankly, it looks like something out of a sci-fi movie as well, but that could be a pro depending on your fashion sense. It gently sticks to the face without any adhesives and easily peels off when you want to remove it.

Made almost entirely of clear, reusable, medical-grade silicone, this completely transparent protective face mask has another huge benefit that’s immediately obvious. It can help alleviate accessibility problems currently caused by masks, specifically allowing deaf and hard-of-hearing people to read lips without exposing them to viral particles. The air the wearer inhales and exhales enters and exits through two removable N95-rated filters on either side.

Unlike most fabric options, this silicone mask forms a tight seal over the face, offering additional protection. The flexible material adjusts to accommodate a wide range of facial sizes and shapes without losing that seal. In moments when you need a little more air, like when you’re performing strenuous activities, you can pull the silicone off the contact point under the chin area. The “skin therapy layer” that makes the mask stick is made of a skin healing material called chitosan, an organic biopolymer found in the shells of shrimp. It’s naturally antimicrobial and antibacterial, and it’s often used for post-surgical wounds, to boot.

The filter itself is made of several layers of natural fibers consisting of bamboo, silk, nano silver, and activated carbon. Each of these materials has its own particular antimicrobial and antibacterial properties while acting as physical filters for air that may contain viral particles. The filters were independently tested for efficacy by the Lincoln Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, consistently blocking between 95 and 99 percent of various particle sizes.

Cleaning it is simple, too. The designers explain that “We designed the Light Warrior Masks to be easily cleaned and sanitized in many ways. If you are on the go and need a refresher, just wipe with alcohol. If you’re at home, just pop in the microwave for three minutes (but MAKE SURE YOU TAKE OUT THE FILTERS FIRST)! Doing a load of dishes? Take out the filters and put the Light Warrior mask in the dishwasher. With a dishwater, some water spotting may occur, but that’s okay; just wipe off the water spots with a soft, clean cloth, and you’re good to go!”

Fresh off a round of crowdfunding on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, the masks are currently in production and set to be sold for $59 each, including four filters. It comes in three sizes: extra small, small, and large.

The post Transparent Filter Mask Sticks to Your Face With Silicone first appeared on Dornob.

Artist and educator Jordi Ferreiro is known for shaking up the status quo in museums and other cultural institutions by inserting installations and performances into guided tours. In 2020, he was commissioned to take an experimental approach to the educational program at La Capella museum in Barcelona, itself a beautiful, cathedral-like space in the neighborhood of El Raval.

His immediate goal was to create more intimacy between guests and exhibitions while making the space more comfortable for the local residents it hopes to serve. El Raval is a vibrant neighborhood that’s historically working class but rapidly gentrifying. Throughout the year, Ferreiro has been working with schools and local organizations to bring art to the people, even temporarily relocating some children’s exhibits to public spaces.

Inside the actual museum, Ferreiro wanted to turn this space “into a nexus for residents in the Raval,” forging deep and lasting connections between the historic institution and the city. La Capella and Ferreiro then collaborated with artist Lluis Alexandre Casanovas to create “Exedra,” portable auditorium-style seating that removes the barriers between viewers and art.

“One of the aims of the design was to move away from standardized institutional approaches to participation and social engagement — ones which emphasize do-it-yourself aesthetics and the use of primary colors referencing pedagogic spaces,” says Casanovas. “This design emphasized light, and was made to be portable, in order that it could be placed amidst the exhibition space, directly confronting the artworks to be discussed.”

“This presented a two-fold challenge. On the one hand, the design needed to create an intimate space for conversation in the huge, gothic venue. On the other hand, the design needed to not interfere and distort the actual environment of the exhibition space. The final design consists in two symmetrical stands, each of them weighing only 70 kilograms and movable by a single person, thus easing the relocation of the piece in a facility with reduced staff.”

Of course, the coronavirus pandemic has altered some of the museums’ plans for the year, subsequently rendering “Exedra” a little less powerful than it might have been otherwise. It was originally intended to be used in groups of two or more, creating modular semi-circular seating that faces the art and the museum guide while allowing interaction between the guests. The seating allows anyone of any age and ability level to participate equally, effectively placing all visitors at the same level, since wheelchair users can simply park beside the benches.

To stay safe in the COVID-19 era, La Capella keeps the two main seating areas separate from each other, placing similar accessory structures and chairs among ambiance-enhancing indoor plants nearby. They also help establish appropriate distancing between groups who aren’t in the same household.

The post Exedra: Group Seating for Art Museums Enhances Accessibility first appeared on Dornob.

You’re not just imagining it — urban architecture has gotten a lot more uncomfortable lately, and not by accident. So-called “defensive architecture,” also known as “hostile architecture,” is a real design strategy that aims to displace homeless people in public places all over the world.

Seats are slanted too steeply to sit for long. Benches have armrests dividing up the space, so it’s impossible to lay down. In some cases, seating is removed altogether from entire city blocks, or locked up to be unusable at night. Steps outside stores are studded with spikes and bolts. Boulders and other obstacles appear in the only shaded areas where someone could pause and rest out of the hot summer sun. Even handrails get spikes of their own, ostensibly to thwart skateboarders. Awnings have subtle gaps built in so if you hang around too long, you’ll eventually get wet.

https://www.reddit.com/r/HostileArchitecture/comments/d2gxn5/benches_in_a_philadelphia_subway_station/

There’s an entire bustling subReddit devoted to finding and photographing this kind of design, making it clear just how prevalent it’s become. In Toronto, the #defensiveTO project maps each instance out with accompanying images. Some attempt to be artful, masquerading as sculpture, like the metal benches installed at the South Philadelphia Transit Authority. Most are plain about what they mean to accomplish, practically glowing with hostility.

https://www.reddit.com/r/HostileArchitecture/comments/dkgvyc/this_bench_in_oxford/

https://www.reddit.com/r/HostileArchitecture/comments/ddaogt/how_dare_you_want_to_sit_manhattan_new_york/

All over the world, features like these have been installed in response to a rise in homelessness. Proponents of hostile architecture claim that it’s necessary to maintain public safety, discouraging loitering or “rough sleeping.” As the argument goes, customers shouldn’t have to look at such distasteful signs of poverty while attempting to patronize businesses, and loiterers are associated with crime.

https://twitter.com/SeattleDSA/status/949731164356411392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E949731164356411392%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Finterestingengineering.com%2F15-examples-anti-homeless-hostile-architecture-that-you-probably-never-noticed-before

https://twitter.com/CaraChellew/status/994945838190288904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E994945838190288904%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Finterestingengineering.com%2F15-examples-anti-homeless-hostile-architecture-that-you-probably-never-noticed-before

Of course, homeless people aren’t the only ones affected by hostile architecture. Everyone who lives in or visits the city has to see and deal with it, including disabled, pregnant, and elderly people. Then there’s the casual cruelty of installing such features in the first place while completely failing to address the root causes of homelessness, asking people to go “somewhere else” without ever thinking about where that “somewhere else” is supposed to be.

COVID-19’s effect on the economy has given more people a sense of just how thin the line can be between “getting by” and having nowhere to live, especially as housing becomes increasingly less affordable. Homelessness has increased on a national level in the United States for three consecutive years, with hundreds of thousands of people lacking shelter altogether. Even worse, that figure is only expected to rise in 2021.

Public spaces should accommodate the public — and that means everyone. They should make us feel appreciated and supported as citizens. They should encourage us to linger, enjoy our surroundings and interact with each other. When urban environments fail to meet these basic needs, they’re also altering the mood of the entire city, making it more cynical, unfriendly, and just plain ugly.

Hostile architecture isn’t a design problem. It won’t be corrected by asking designers to twist themselves into pretzels to produce public spaces that are somehow equitable, attractive, social, and also aggressively unwelcoming to people who are seen as undesirable. It has to be addressed on a social and political level, starting with our own individual actions. If you’re disturbed by increasingly hostile urban design in your area, call it out publicly and hold your local authorities accountable for change.

Top image by u/supremecrafters via r/HostileArchitecture

The post No Defense: How Hostile Anti-Homeless Design Darkens Our Cities first appeared on Dornob.

If this new home and work environment in Australia by Sibling Architecture hits like a jolt of electricity, maybe that’s because it reinforces the fact that everybody deserves good design. These interiors were created with aging and disability in mind, but they’re bursting with color, attention to detail, and an energetic feel. It’s especially telling that a result like this feels so rare.

The designers were determined not to get caught up in the tendency to reduce accessibility in architecture to a list of legal requirements like grab bars and standard countertop heights. They didn’t want “Frenches Interiors” to look anything like a medical facility, in fact, so they rethought what meeting those requirements could look like, developing “a different and domestic type of accessibility.”

Taking inspiration from their clients, who help people acquire care and living environments that allow them to retain as much normalcy as possible, the architects transformed the interiors of an existing Melbourne terrace house with furniture and decorative elements that are both functional and beautiful. The overall effect is bold, graphic, fresh, and even youthful.

“The former sitting room is converted to a workplace with the theatrics of curtains that conceal sitting and standard desks,” they explain. “The circular table, which allows for uncomplicated circulation, has deep tubular pockets that hold office pens and plants, or flowers, champagne, and crostini after taking care of business. The rear living room centers around a ‘cake’ couch where slices can be removed in order to include wheelchair-users within the seating arrangement. One slice features pink powder coated handles to assist visitors to get seated.”

“A circular motif is featured in Frenches Interior as a symbol of inclusion and sharing, for example, found in the form of the sturdy terrazzo lazy Susan on the dining table. Other symbols, or totems, also appear in the space, which contain valued objects, such as books and whiskey, of the clients. This project extends Sibling Architecture’s interest in how to design an age-friendly city. Frenches Interior explores the potential of accessibility to be domesticated through highly-spirited gestures where space can be reconfigured according to different needs and desires.”

Sibling Architecture takes an unconventional multidisciplinary approach to just about everything, so it’s no surprise that they were able to pull this off. The firm, consisting of Amelia Borg, Nichola Braun, Jane Caught, Qianyi Lim, and Timothy Moore, prioritizes a sense of community building and never fails to take a risk. Their practice combines architecture, urbanism, graphic design, art, and cultural analysis to respond to social needs of all kinds.

It’s time to discard old ideas about what makes spaces accessible and start designing them so they can be used and enjoyed by everyone, regardless of their cognitive and physical capacities. As Sibling Architecture beautifully demonstrates here, aesthetics are just as crucial to that equation as anything else.

The post Colorful Interiors Reimagine What Accessible Architecture Can Look Like first appeared on Dornob.

Roombots, a group of shapeshifting modular robots that have been in development since September 2014, handle this problem with ease. They were created to form adaptive furniture, or pieces that can be continually shaped into anything you might want.

Simple and Practical

Roombots easily attach and detach themselves from one another. They change form and can even move themselves to any location in a room. Not only can a chair become a table, but it can also transform into a stationary structure like a wall or divider. All this is done through robotic self-reconfiguration and assembly.

Over the past five years, Roombots have significantly advanced, and their interior workings have been revamped. They now have an innovative low-backlash gearbox, an upgraded link mechanism, and fresh electronics. On top of that, the latest Roombots also boast gripping capabilities and proximity detectors. Most impressively, the number of dynamic Roombot modules has grown from just two (the bare minimum required to test for docking, undocking, and general movement) to 12, which is sufficient to do significantly more stimulating things.

Vision for the Future

The applications for Roombots are numerous. They could be used as beneficial “assistive” furniture for people with motor disabilities or the elderly, configurable conference room pieces, collaborative space or satellite station essentials, or modular art, among other things.

Of course, these bots were mainly designed with the first of those applications in mind. The researchers behind the project envision user-interactive furniture that can help people recover more easily from slips and falls, change positions between laying, sitting, and standing, and automatically move towards or away from another object in the room. All this would be made possible through partnerships with CHILI lab and DomoSafety.

All these practical and altruistic applications are amazing, but how could Roombots stand to help out other groups, like the tenants of ultra-cramped apartments? The idea is for everyone to buy a practical number of them based on the size of your family, or enough to create enough furniture pieces when you need them to. You could then, for instance, use Roombots to create enough extra chairs for a dinner party. For a relaxing night of watching movies with friends, just have them transform those chairs into an extra bench or two. If you have enough components, you’ll never run short of essential comforts like these. Best of all, when you don’t need any or all of it, the modules can simply be stored in boxes and stowed in closets, or add another wall to a room that feels too big. Even for larger homes, it’s always nice to have extra seating for guests that doesn’t take up space when it’s not needed.

The post These Modular Robots Turn Into Any Furniture You Want first appeared on Dornob.

What if housing was simply designed to accommodate a broader range of human bodies and abilities? The “universal design” movement advocates an “architecture for all” approach with features like doorways, aisles, and counters that are easily usable by people seated in wheelchairs. In this way, young, able-bodied people can still use the spaces as they normally would, while elderly and disabled people don’t have to struggle to do simple things like reach a cup in a cabinet, turn on the sink, or get into the shower.

A new prefabricated house kit by Japanese retailer MUJI offers just that. The single-story “Yō no le house,” or “plain house,” takes inspiration from the “hiraya” style of living, which eliminates most interior walls. The company envisions “connection” as the central theme of the design — with one’s family, with community, and with nature. Three large glass doors open directly onto a spacious wooden deck with a sunken fire pit, so the inside never feels lonely or cut off from the world outside.

It may be designed with seniors in mind, but “Yō no le house” would work for virtually anyone, including wheelchair users. The transitions between indoors and out are smooth enough to roll over, and kitchen counters and tables have plenty of space beneath them to sit comfortably. Many of the company’s furniture items are pictured inside as a perfect complement to the design, including a rolling dining table and a platform bed that’s incredibly easy to get in and out of.

While some people might like the open layout as it is, owners do have the choice to customize the interiors. You can add walls to create separate rooms, and the windows are placed evenly to make sure there’s plenty of natural light in each area.

High ceilings painted white give the 800-square-foot house a spacious feel, warmed up by plenty of wooden surfaces. Cube shelving in the bedroom area eliminates the need for closets. If users need all the shelves to be lower, or want to make any other changes, they can also fine-tune all of the built-in elements to perfectly match their unique needs.

Like all of MUJI’s prefabs, this house is designed to be long-lasting. The durable metal roof and cedar siding will look beautiful for decades to come, with little need for maintenance. It’s easy to imagine this home serving a single person or couple for many years, even as they age.

This prefab house design for seniors is currently only available for sale in Japan, with prices starting at $150,000. MUJI has even installed a model unit in a forested area in Isumi, about two hours from Tokyo, for anyone who’d like to see one in person.

The post Japanese Retailer MUJI Offers a Prefab House Kit for Seniors first appeared on Dornob.

GE Kitchen Shift

This design concept sees a “shift” in the kitchen to suit the needs of all cooks. With countertops that raise and lower automatically, the kitchen easily accommodates people of all heights, including kids and chefs with walking disabilities. Even the upper cabinets in this system slide down for easy access.

Sepura Automatic Composting System

Composting is nothing new, but Sepura makes the process a lot easier and less messy. Replacing the traditional garbage disposal, Sepura cuts down on food waste with a two-part unit that sits below your kitchen sink. The upper portion diverts liquids as they head down the drain, while the lower portion collects solid foods. The system also provides an alert when the food bin is full so it can be taken to your backyard compost or streetside bin.

Smart Fridges

No CES would be complete without a display of the new advances in refrigerator technology, most of which center around convenience. While Bosch showed off their two-camera system, LG promoted its InstaView clear front door. Several companies now incorporate inventory management, too, creating alerts and automatically reordering foods as needed. Samsung even premiered software that will suggest recipes based on what’s currently in your fridge. It’s safe to say the marriage between smart tech and refrigerators is here to stay.

PantryOn Food Inventory Control

Speaking of inventory management, PantryOn keeps an eye on your pantry inventory to keep you stocked at all times. By installing the app, you’ll always know if the kids took that last box of cereal or if you’re out of flour. It’s a bit of a luxury, of course, but that doesn’t make the technology any less interesting.

Julia the Assistant Chef

An all-on-one product by CookingPal, Julia can weigh your food, chop, steam, knead, and perform many other functions. The blending component even works as a self-cleaning mechanism at the end of the meal. Julia also comes with a separate tablet screen that allows you to control your smart appliances, find and adapt recipes, use voice commands, and monitor your meal through a central hub.

Simplehuman Voice Activated Trash Can

Sometimes the best ideas are the simple ones. Anyone who’s attempted to throw something away with greasy fingers understands the struggle of traditional garbage receptacles. Although the convenience will cost you $200, the Simplehuman 58L sensor can opens with an easy wave of your hand or voice command.

GE Kitchen Hub

Everyone knows that the kitchen is the hub of the household, and now GE is launching a smart system to help cement that status. The Kitchen Hub mounts above the cooktop and features a built-in microwave and exhaust fan. It also allows you to look up recipes, monitor ingredients, turn the oven up or down, play music, identify when the meat is cooked to the proper temperature, and even connect a camera to your meal to share with others.

The post Our Favorite Kitchen Appliances from CES 2020 first appeared on Dornob.

The defense is often that there’s no money for an elevator and no room for a ramp. And in crowded urban spaces, building a ramp with the gentle grade required to make it usable can, indeed, take up quite a bit of space — but that certainly doesn’t mean it’s impossible. A recent project called “Song House” by AZL Architects demonstrates a smart approach to exactly that problem.

In China, many rural villages have high populations of elderly people living in places that aren’t well-equipped to meet their needs as they age. Meanwhile, younger generations flock to bigger cities to find work and raise their families. AZL explains that the past 40 years of rapid urbanization in China have caused a “hollowing-out” of millions of old, culturally significant villages. But these rural places still have something to offer all generations of families.

The architects state: “The natural humanistic values of rural settlements need to be reactivated through new production cycles and lifestyles. Shanghai, having the highest GDP in China and being a world-famous metropolis, is also facing difficulties and conflicts between its urban and suburban [populations]. Those living in the city are constantly under the pressure of high living costs, [while] the declining of rural communities and human settlements in suburbs is happening at the same time.”

The answer might lie in redeveloping these suburban and rural communities in a way that makes them appealing and accessible to people of all ages, says AZL. Their client for “Song House,” retired electrician Lao Song, needed to take in his elderly mother, but his apartment in Shanghai just wasn’t designed for it. He and his wife dreamed of moving back to their hometown of Nanson Village to demolish their dilapidated family home and build something new “suitable for both the elderly and the young.”

“In order to help relieve the living pressure of their daughter and son-in-law, Lao Song and his wife thought about inviting the parents of their son-in-law, who are in bad health conditions, to return to the Fengxian countryside together with them and take care of each other in their old ages. For this to happen, the families almost spent all of their savings as normal working-class [people]. This house also embodies the beautiful imagination and anticipation of a relaxed rural life for these families of eight.”

The architects’ solution was a multi-story concrete home arranged around an atrium —an update to the traditional Chinese courtyard house that’s fallen out of favor in recent decades. An external ramp visibly wraps around the outside of the house, reaching each of the three stories so the oldest generation of both families can get around while maintaining a sense of privacy and independence for everyone.

The atrium offers “a center of space and daily activities,” and off of it five bedrooms are splayed, each facing a different direction. Wheelchair accessible restrooms are located next to some of the bedrooms, though all parts of the house have their own small sitting areas. The interiors are designed to promote intergenerational contact and assistance while offering the refuge of private spaces when they’re desired.

This home may be located in a rural area, where there tends to be more space for such constructions, but it’s a beautiful example of thinking outside the box to be more inclusive of anyone who might want to enter. More than that, it turns an accessibility feature into an integral part of the design, and it looks fantastic to boot.

The post Accessibility Gets Graphic with a Cool Wraparound Wheelchair Ramp first appeared on Dornob.

IKEA Israel recently joined forces with non-profit groups Milbat and Access Israel to introduce 13 new designs under a line called ThisAbles. These 3D-printed embellishments make existing IKEA furniture and accessories much more user-friendly for people with physical disabilities. The schematics for these hacks are all free online, too, which means you really just need a 3D printer to make them. The instructions are written in Hebrew, but it’s nothing Google Translate shouldn’t be able to help you out with.

Shuki Koblenz, the CEO of IKEA Israel, says of the collection: “IKEA has vowed to create a better daily life for as many people as possible, and we feel it is our duty to create this initiative and allow people with disabilities to enjoy a wide range of products, furniture, and household items.”

Once a hack is created, you simply place it over your existing IKEA products. The process is demonstrated on IKEA Israel’s YouTube page, along with an explanation of how each hack benefits the physically disabled.

Although there are only 13 disability hacks currently available, more are expected to be unveiled soon.

Glass Bumper

This protective plate shields glass doors on furniture from breakage in case of accidental contact.

Mega Switch

An extra-large switch so lamps and light fixtures can be turned on and off without using individual fingers. The Mega Switch was specially designed to help those with sight and/or hand-based disabilities.

Easy Handle

This add-on lets those with sight and/or hand-based disabilities easily open doors with their forearm or open hand. It’s also available in both right and left-handed versions to meet users’ varied needs.

Insider

Made specially for wheelchair users, the Insider allows a sitting individual to see objects on high shelves via three fasteners connected to a mirror.

Popup Handle

This handle pops up so doors can easily be opened by an entire hand or forearm as opposed to just a few fingers.

Couch Lift

This easily-installed lift elevates seating heights to make sitting down and getting up from chairs and couches less physically and mentally taxing.

Friendly Zipper

Zippers are often difficult for those with sight and/or hand-based impairments. These rings attach to them for smooth and easy operation.

Curtain Gripper

Tub and shower curtains are hard to grip from a wheelchair, but this stiff handle makes the task a total breeze.

Cane By Me

This simple walking cane stand ensures the disabled homeowner always has a little assistance nearby.

Stuff Reader

Connect a scanning pen to this device, and it converts text into a message read out loud.

Snap Cup

This handy holder keeps a cup or glass nearby and in place by snapping onto the side of chairs and couches — a major boon for those in wheelchairs or with vision problems.

Finger Brush

Attached to either hand, this tool holds painting and drawing tools in place, making it ideal for those who have trouble holding such instruments steady.

Spot On Shelf

This simple tool easily identifies the borders of shelves in cabinets and bookcases for those with visual impairments.

The post IKEA Israel Introduces 3D-Printed “ThisAbles” Add-Ons to Make Furniture More Disability-Friendly first appeared on Dornob.