Produced in collaboration with The Woolbeding Charity and the National Trust, Glasshouse acts as a spectacular focal point for a new garden that takes visitors on a 12-step journey through a mock Silk Road. The ancient network of Eurasian trade routes played a central role in cultural, political, and religious interactions between the East and the West, and it still influences the designs of English gardens to this day. Some favorite English garden plants like rosemary, lavender, and fennel were brought to Britain for the first time along this route.

Following the garden path, visitors will discover over 300 plant species across 12 regions of the Silk Road, including Mediterranean evergreens and Gallica roses brought to Europe by traders from Persia. Inside the Glasshouse, they’ll find tropical species like umbrella trees, magnolias, bananas, and a rare Aralia vietnamensis. During colder weather, the structure’s ten steel “sepals” remain closed to protect the plants. When it’s warm, the sepals open using a hydraulic mechanism to provide access to sunlight and ventilation.

“This is a place and a project that literally unfolds,” says Heatherwick. “You step through this bewitchingly beautiful garden and discover an object that starts like a jewel and ends like a crown as the Glasshouse slowly unfurls. I think it also speaks of our need to keep creating amazing pasts. Weaving contemporary inventions into the fabric of historic settings and having the confidence to let each one speak to the other.”

It takes about four minutes for the Glasshouse to fully open, a process that must be a spectacle to behold in person. The structure already looks like a beautiful gem when closed, but once the sepals unfurl and point toward the sky, it catches the sunlight in a whole new way, scattering spiky geometric shadows all over the lawn.

“This Heatherwick Glasshouse represents the cutting edge of technical design and engineering, but it’s also a restoration of something that is part of Woolbeding’s history,” says Mark Woodruff of The Woolbeding Charity. “It stands as a crowning achievement in contemporary design, to house the flora of sub-tropical south-west China at the end of a path retracing the steps along the Silk Route, from temperate Europe and across mountains, arid lands, and high pastures that brought the plants from their native habitat in Asia to come to define much of the richness and glory of gardening in England.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChkJ7_3Y4PA

The Woolbeding Glasshouse and Silk Route Garden were created with the help of engineering firm Atelier Ten, MRG Studio landscape architects, moving structure specialist Eadon Consulting Ltd., Bellapart glasshouse engineering design and construction, and others.

The post Heatherwick Studio’s Sculptural Glasshouse Unfurls into a Crown first appeared on Dornob.

The Orphosis’ ergonomic shape is created by strong folds and an angled bottom that balances the distribution of weight. The folds remain in place while you walk, hike, bend over, or toss the bag into the backseat of your car. The double-layer fabric is durable and water resistant, and the backpack features both padded shoulder and chest straps for the most comfortable carrying experience possible, even when you’re packing it to its maximum capacity.

When folded, the Orphosis origami backpack measures 19.3 inches tall, 12.2 inches wide, and 4.7 inches deep. When expanded, the depth increases to 9.4 inches. Changing the capacity is as simple as folding in the sides and snapping them together.

The Orphosis doesn’t sacrifice functionality for its minimalist looks. You can’t tell from the outside, but it actually has all the special pockets you could ask for in a backpack. The security pocket on the side is the perfect place to tuck your wallet and phone, since you can reach in without taking the backpack off. The chest strap also tucks into its own pocket in one of the main backpack straps when you don’t need it.

A deep side pocket with magnetic closure is capable of holding various water bottle sizes up to 32 ounces, or an umbrella. Inside, you’ll find a pocket that fits laptops up to 16 inches long, a tablet pocket, pockets for other tech like charging cables and ear buds, and even an anti-RFID pocket for the security of your personal data. The whole backpack unzips like a clam shell for easy access to everything you carry.

The backpack’s Kickstarter page explains that the design is “based on research and good understanding of the way people use backpacks. Orphosis was designed and prototyped in California by James Piatt, a well-rounded industrial designer in innovative product design solutions, materials, product engineering, and architecture. ‘We like to think of Orphosis Backpack a piece of functional art, and we hope our designs inspire our users to also think creatively,’ says Piatt.”

The design team adds that the backpack is “socially responsible…and sustainable by design. Longer product lifetime is better for the environment. We have a top-notch and responsible supplier who has supported some successful global brands and well-known crowdfunding brands. Their high-quality testing and quality control system can meet our high function and quality requirements.”

Want to snatch up an Orphosis minimalist backpack of your own? Check out the Kickstarter campaign to back the project. A pledge of $79 or more will get you a backpack at 40 percent off the expected retail price of $129.99.

The post Orphosis: Origami-Like Backpack Expands and Contracts on Demand first appeared on Dornob.

How can paper (even the toughest, thickest paper) be used as a vessel to hold liquids and transport them on-the-go? The answer becomes immediately clear upon an introduction to the genius design of the Uphold Cup.

Unlike the folded swans and fantastic folding fans of origami yore, the Uphold Cup isn’t made of paper. Instead, it uses polymer polypropylene (PP) as the basis for its construction. Stiff yet incredibly foldable, PP is malleable in its own right, allowing the user to fold over and over with relative ease while retaining a shape strong enough to hold both cold and hot beverages (up to 100°C in temperature).

Of course, in an age where more and more people are looking to sustainable materials in everything from their homes to their beauty products, a reusable travel cup is nothing new – many people have made the switch to things like reusable water bottles and straws in an effort to ditch unnecessary plastic consumption. But the Uphold Cup does edge out its competitors with one small (but very important) caveat: it’s not only portable and reusable, it’s foldable, transforming into a flat disc when not in use, making it both cute and super easy to store.

And it’s not just a novelty, either; the Uphold Cup’s materials are food-grade and BPA-free, so users can expect foldable functionality that’s both sturdy and long-lasting (not to mention fun to play with!)

There’s something hypnotizing about the Uphold Cup’s accordian-like unraveling that, similar to its traditional inspiration, instills thoughtfulness and peace — something extremely satisfying about the design that gives it that extra je ne sais quoi not found in your standard reusable coffee cups and water bottles.

A winner of the 2021 Goldreed Industrial Design Award, the Uphold Cup was, according to Yanko Design, “made as a rejection of single-use culture,” and it certainly delivers with its origami-inspired flair that’s both hypnotic and eco-friendly. Compact, reusable, refoldable, and most of all, fun, this cup is sure to fold its way into users’ hearts before long.

The post The Reusable Uphold Cup Folds Away Like Origami first appeared on Dornob.

Thankfully, retailers are starting to offer more small space solutions at affordable prices. Amazon just launched a collection of space-saving furniture that’ll help you make the most of your square footage, even if your budget is as small as your space.The pieces in this collection start at just $19, and most are under $500.

Here are six of our favorites:

Sleekform Folding Desk

Let’s be real, most folding tables are just plain ugly – but here’s one you won’t have to cover up with a dated tablecloth. The Sleekform Folding Desk is just the right size for working or dining, and it’s made of 100-percent real fir wood with stylish black metal hairpin-style legs. Best of all, it costs just $199.

Zinus Suzanne Twin Daybed and Trundle Frame Set

So you’d like to invite guests over, but you have no place for them to sleep. Pull-out couches are rarely comfortable, and forcing people to cram in together can be awkward. This $225 daybed sleeps two on their own comfy mattresses, and all you have to do to set it up is pull out the trundle. Tuck a comforter around the top mattress, throw on some pillows, and it functions like a couch in between visits.

Tiptiper Folding Dining Table with Storage Racks

This versatile piece of space-saving furniture offers three functionalities in one: a slim console table when it’s all folded up, a desk when it’s partially opened, and a dining table for up to four people when fully expanded. Two drop leafs pop up in seconds to give you extra surface area, and there’s space underneath for dishes, office supplies, and whatever else you need to tuck away. It comes in three colors, starting at just $122.

Velvet Three-Seat Sofa with Folding Back

If you want to offer a place to crash but aren’t willing to sacrifice style, maybe this cute $395 velvet three-seat sofa will fit the bill. Available in fun shades like pink, peach, mango, light blue, and teal, it’s a far cry from the boring gray folding sofas you’ll find at most stores. The back folds down into a flat surface for sleeping.

Fit Choice 5-in-1 Kitchen Island

Who says you can’t have a kitchen island in a small space? The Fit Choice 5-in-1 kitchen island is just $119, measures 38 inches wide when unfolded, and slides around on casters. Two leaves expand it to its full size, but when it’s folded up, it barely takes up any space at all. It also integrates three baskets and a drawer for extra storage.

Zenithen Hexagon Folding Chair

Folding chairs aren’t exactly known for their comfort, but this hexagon-shaped offering changes all that. Outfitted with padded wide-wale corduroy upholstery and roomily sized, it costs just $87 and comes in four colors.

The post Furnish Your Home on a Budget with Amazon’s New Space-Saving Furniture Store first appeared on Dornob.

But what about your everyday, run-of-the-mill laser printer? Could such a device be used to create technologies that make it possible for us to interact with our electronics in an entirely different way?

Prelonic Technologies thinks so. The company envisions a future where paper-printed objects like keyboards could serve as the interface for our phones, tablets, and smartwatches, all without the excess waste that’s created with other wireless, more temporary hardware. Take wireless keyboards, for example – a popular alternative for those that want to work exclusively on their phones or watches, but require a keyboard to handle more complicated tasks like editing photos, building spreadsheets, or even performing music. But while these wireless keyboards are affordable, they’re not always practical, used a little only to be quickly discarded, and creating waste that our already beleaguered planet certainly doesn’t need.

Enter Prelonic Technologies. Founded in 2007, the company’s aim is to create “flexible printed electronics” to produce cheaper hardware that’s more eco-friendly, according to Gizmodo. Temporary, more affordable hardware that’s also recyclable? Who couldn’t get on board with that?

The company recently demonstrated this technology, dubbed Prelonic Interactive Paper (PIP), by posting a video on their site of a set of printed piano keys created by a standard laser printer. So much more than a piece of paper, however, the sheet is adapted with a circuit layout sandwiched between layers of conductive carbon, with a tiny NFC (near-field communication) chip in between. This is actually less complicated than it sounds, as the layout itself is relatively simple. And unlike NFCs that usually drain power quickly, this printed paper keyboard actually gets all the power it needs from your smartphone. Just place it atop the board, pair it with the accompanying app, and you’re ready to jam.

This application, while useful and impressive, is nothing compared to the possible applications of PIP. Think not just piano keyboards, but full-on QWERTY keyboards that make it easier to interface with your smart devices without having to bust out the laptop. And it could also be used to create custom interfaces for specific applications like Photoshop, an already existing technology that’s not nearly as cost-effective as PIP. Printed, custom keyboards and interfaces created on-demand that are also environmentally friendly and have the capability to be powered by your smartphone? Now that’s what we call making beautiful music.

The post This Printed Paper Piano’s Power Comes from Your Smartphone first appeared on Dornob.

Likely taking cues from Smacircle, a company that produced a popular electric folding bike, industrial designer Rice Mak showcased plans on Behance for a “Mini Folding Electric Scooter” under the company’s name that would fit right into their repertoire.

The actual Smacircle electric Folding Mobility bike can fold down to about the size of a tennis racket and weighs just 15 pounds. It can run at a top speed of roughly 13 miles per hour and carry someone weighing up to 220 pounds. While those specs are impressive, Guangzhou-based Mak seems to have invented an even more compact mode of transportation that could be that much easier to carry around.

Mak says he was trying to solve the “last kilometer” problem when creating this concept. In most large urban cities, car traffic is horrendous, so many residents or commuters rely on the well-linked subway systems instead. However, data shows that the average distance between each subway station and the riders’ destinations is still approximately one to two kilometers (0.6 miles to 1.2 miles). Having a foldable electric scooter would make things a lot easier for these people, allowing them to easily carry it onto the subway and unfold it outside for quick use. Owners of the Smacircle scooter could also head into the bike lane, avoiding foot traffic while still keeping up with vehicles in their path.

Thanks to the scooter’s three hinge points (one on the foot plate, one at the front wheel, and one in the hand support bar), it could then get folded down to be stored away at the office or in a backpack. Images give us a better look at just how narrow the scooter’s build is, and the folded size looks to be no more than about two feet, maybe less.

As an added benefit, the e-scooter’s schematics also highlight built-in shock absorbers, making for an all around more comfortable ride and enhancing its maneuverability.

To measure speed, battery life, and mileage, the Smacircle scooter plans call for a digital display panel on the handlebars. A USB socket is also included on this panel so you can easily charge your devices on the go. And for safety, the scooter also boasts a pair of powerful high beam headlights to help riders navigate dark city streets. Finally, a kickstand makes it easy to keep the scooter upright when not in folded mode.

While the designer (also a self-described graffiti artist) doesn’t give specs on the speed or weight of this folding scooter concept, if taken on by Smacircle, it would likely have similar measurements to their folding e-bike, which itself has a rechargeable lithium battery that can travel 13 miles on a single charge. And of course, it’ll still provide faster transportation than walking even when the battery runs out, as it can always be used as a traditional kick scooter.

This isn’t Mak’s first foray into green transportation design. His Behance page features his previous creative plans for an X-Motos electric off-road motorcycle, an electric folding childrens’ balance bike, and even an electric golf caddy.

The post Mini Electric Scooter Folds Down to a Third of Its Size for Extreme Mobility first appeared on Dornob.

“The only company I can think of that could do that is my company,” King told Business Insider. “We’ve got the software developers; we’ve got the AI; and we’re really creative. We wanted it to be a Tesla-like experience even when you were in an RV.”

That means the CyberLandr is more than just a hunk of metal and plastic that fits into the back of Tesla’s controversial pickup. It’s a piece of high-tech machinery that aims to level up the whole camping experience using Stream It’s AI sensors, solar power, and the ability to connect to Elon Musk’s StarLink satellite internet service. In other words, anyone toting this camper around in their Cybertruck definitely won’t be roughing it.

The uniqueness of the CyberLandr’s design starts with its form factor. Since it fits so snugly into the truck bed, it’s only revealed when the tailgate is opened, offering a fold-out set of stairs and a pop top that rises surprisingly high for comfortable standing height inside. This compactness when closed means the pickup’s center of gravity is maintained during travel, its aerodynamic drag is unaffected, and the driver’s rear visibility is unimpaired. The 1,200-pound weight of the camper is estimated to reduce the range of the electric truck by just five percent, and the whole thing can be lifted in and out of the truck using a special dolly.

Capable of holding 40 gallons of fresh water and 20 gallons of gray water, the CyberLandr camper manages to pack a functional bathroom into its tiny footprint, featuring a spa-style shower head, heated one-piece porcelain floor, and a self-cleaning dry flush toilet that eliminates the need for a black water tank. The shower and sink water can be continuously recirculated thanks to an onboard four-stage water filtration system with UV sterilization, which also allows you to safely refill the fresh water tank from a source like a river or stream.

Inside, you’ll also find a built-in kitchen with an intelligent faucet featuring touchless voice control, a built-in colander, wash bin, drying rack, and cutting board, along with a five-square-foot porcelain countertop, an invisible induction cooktop, and a compressor fridge. A set of freestanding chairs and pivoting tables slide out of the walls to offer seating inside the camper or outside, if you want to dine al fresco, and they transform into a queen bed when it’s time to hit the hay. A 32-inch smart TV, dual pane windows with electrochromic dimming, a built-in surround sound system, and voice-activated home automation with a 360-degree-view surveillance system add to the sense of a luxury home on-the-go.

All 20 initial CyberLandr offerings at a discounted price of $39,995 have sold out, but you can still place a preorder at the $43,995 tier for a deposit of just $100. If you prefer to wait until this thing is actually built and on the market, you’ll pay $49,995, which is higher than the base price of the Cybertruck itself. Let’s be real, though – the kind of people who would drop the cash on this high-end, Tesla-specific camper aren’t sweating the price. Production is supposed to start later this year with development and testing beginning after the Cybertruck is available sometime in 2022.

What does Elon Musk think of the CyberLandr camper? One word: “cool.”

The post High Tech CyberLandr Camper Slots into the Back of Tesla’s Cybertruck first appeared on Dornob.

Part of what’s so satisfying about the Canoo is the fact that it finally nudges vehicular design into the future after decades of minimal aesthetic changes. The electric Ford F-150 looks more or less the same as it always has, and Tesla’s Cybertruck goes so far in the other direction, it’s been the butt of countless online jokes. Like its self-driving van, Canoo’s truck falls somewhere in the middle, which is right where most people want it to be.

Unveiled ahead of an Automobility LA event in March, Canoo’s truck is about the size of a Ford Ranger and features a rounded nose, an oversized bubble-shaped windshield, and far more cargo capacity that you might think. Though it has a small footprint, its cab is generously sized, placing the driver almost right over its front wheels, and its six-foot-long cargo bed offers a pull-out extension for eight feet in total available length. A second layer of tailgate doors swivel out to the edges of the extension to protect whatever you’re transporting.

The coolest parts of the design are a series of fold-out “secret compartments” that make the truck feel kind of like a Transformer. The first is a fold-down work table and storage compartment right between the headlights, which holds extra gear. The work surface has two sliding components that stretch it the full width of the truck, and electrical outlets on either side are available to power tools and gadgets.

Flip-down side tables on either side of the cargo area also become work benches with their own multi-functional power sources, and a hidden side step makes it easy to step into the truck bed. Beneath that step is yet another storage area for a first aid kit, a cooler, and lockable laptop storage. The bed itself is modular, too, with a space divider system that keeps items from sliding around while you’re in motion. Optional roof racks expand storage options, and the bed is designed to accommodate a variety of different camper shells.

The company explains that “the pickup truck is the third vehicle that will be based on the company’s proprietary multi-purpose platform architecture, enabling the accelerated development timeline. Canoo’s EV platform functionally integrates all the critical components of an electric powertrain to be as flat and efficient as possible. Traditional EV platforms have power units, shock towers, and mechanical steering columns that protrude into the vehicle and take up space.”

“By incorporating steer-by-wire and other space-saving technologies, Canoo’s thin platform, with no need for an engine compartment, allows the company to offer a flatbed size comparable to America’s best-selling pickup truck on a smaller footprint. This makes the vehicle easier to maneuver and more convenient to drive and park in any terrain.”

With more than 200 miles of battery range, 600 horsepower, and a payload capacity of 1800 pounds, Canoo’s truck is equipped to meet the needs of both workers and adventure seekers. GM, Tesla, Rivian, and Lordstown expect to introduce their electric pickups later in 2021, with Ford following in mid-2022 and the Canoo truck hitting the market the following year.

The post Canoo’s Electric Pickup Truck Makes the Future Look Both Cute and Practical first appeared on Dornob.

Friedman, a food and beverage venture investor and innovator, decided to rebuild, but not in the Georgian Revival style of the larger dwelling on the southern Ontario property. After becoming friends with Partisans co-founders Pooya Baktash and Alex Josephson, he shared his ideas for a fresher, more nature-oriented edifice.

“Architecture is not just the act of designing a building, it’s a way of seeing, thinking, and making that expands and even revolutionizes our experience of the world,” as the firm says on its website. This build would challenge the idea of how materials perform, requiring more plasticity in the quest for a more biological vibe.

The Partisans team came up with a “shapeshifting structure” to create a new retreat for family and friends. The 4,473-square-foot building incorporates three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a heated pool, and pavilion, as well as common areas like the kitchen and living spaces. But the home’s most dramatic feature is decidedly the “folding” roof line of the pool area, which plunges down at one end and remerges on the other side of a steel staircase that leads to a garden-filled rooftop and connects to the rest of the quarters.

Achieving that type of bend in the structural materials required some cutting-edge engineering feats. Using a technique normally only employed in the construction of musical instruments and furniture, Partisans was able to bend wood into the desired shape using compression, a rare application on a project of this scale. The pool is also encased on one side by a sliding 80-foot by 10-foot glass wall, providing breathtaking views, while the roof is held up by a hidden 90-foot steel beam that gives it a floating appearance from the outside.

The slope of the home mimics the topography of the property, which sits near an escarpment and is surrounded by rolling hills of forest. To create this nature-blending result, the Partisans designers first made a 3D scan of the area, inserting a digital model of the building to check for optimal placement. The firm also chose a green roof to help blur the lines between the organic and manmade features on the property.

For energy efficiency, the windows of the main guest house have been offset checkerboard style to maximize winter sun and limit summer heat. The kitchen was also expanded to serve as a food-testing lab for Friedman’s many culinary business endeavors. His family of five can gather there to taste the latest flavor experiments and give feedback. The Fold House is both reminiscent of the enfolding landscape around it and Friedman’s wholistic approach to life.

“Architecture is … a brand, it is a statement of one’s values manifested into brick and mortar,” the Partisan website says. “This is why we do what we do and why we work for such special people.

The post Partisans’ Groundbreaking “Fold House” Bends Into the Surrounding Geography first appeared on Dornob.

While tiny homes and RVs have been growing in popularity for years now, the Haus designs manage to combine both those constructions and provide something new on top. Each building is prefabricated, foldable, and delivered in a compact shipping container via truck. Once on site, the homes are unfolded and set up by two people in less than three hours – and that includes connecting to water, sewage, and electricity.

The whole package weighs in at around 9,479 pounds. Hinged edges provide the mechanism for folding and unfolding the homes, which can be repeated up to 100 times. This makes them an especially convenient option for people and businesses who need temporary space and move around a lot: simply pack up and move the entire dwelling. The homes can be placed just about anywhere from a city lot to a vacant hillside. They don’t even need a foundation, and off-grid options are also available.

“The mission of Brette Haus is to fabricate quality mobile homes, considering that nowadays people are flexible and not attached to only one place,” the company said in an official press release.

The company currently offers three patent-pending designs, with around 10 others in the works. Each house is built with the same goals of creating a healthy, versatile space that can be used as an escape, an office, or even a guest house. All of their tiny home designs were inspired by Scandinavian minimalism. Brette Haus founder and CEO Gennadii Bakunin told Insider he was inspired by the shipping container home trend, as well as a “rustic and a bit Nordic” look.

Only the basic features are included in the baseline models, but the design’s modular aspect allows owners to add features that range from a full IKEA kitchen to off-grid solar kits. Each Brette Haus comes with a minimally equipped kitchen, a bathroom, a living room, and a bedroom.

The Rustic model is available in three sizes ranging from 237 to 506 square feet. It features a tall, steep roofline, copious windows, and a fold-out patio.

The Compact model comes in 193-square-foot and 290-square-foot options. The exterior is boxy and business-like with large windows and room for the basics.

The Urban also offers two sizes, 270 and 420 square feet. This modern style features two full stories, resembling one box stacked on top of the other.

All designs evolved from customer feedback and a “passion for optimization,” according to Bakunin. Costs range from $22,000 to $61,500 USD. Customers in Europe can receive their tiny home in eight weeks, delivered and installed on site. Americans will have to wait around 12 weeks for the same service. While the buildings are mobile and don’t necessarily require permits, regulations vary widely from one area to another.

Even with building components composed of natural, recyclable materials, Brette Haus tiny homes are still designed to withstand harsh weather conditions. While most of the homes sold are currently being used by tourism-related businesses, their potential is endless. They offer a solution for temporary housing following a natural disaster, an answer for homelessness, and a clean option for construction site offices, among many other uses.

The post Brette Haus Tiny Homes are Big on Versatility, Sustainability, and Portability first appeared on Dornob.

If you’ve been following our posts about designing small spaces over the years, you probably already know the answer to this problem. A combination of built-in cabinetry and hideaway furniture that’s easy to access and put away can make even the most challenging tiny spaces livable, and that’s exactly what K-Thengono Design Studio did for their “3-in-1 Living” apartment design.

The designers gave the couple the master bedroom of their dreams, clean and simple with plenty of storage, closets, display spaces and room to walk around the queen bed. The bathroom is a standard size, as well, so they didn’t have to sacrifice any functionality there. They also managed to fit a small bedroom for guests or future children. But as you can see in the original floor plan, that didn’t leave much room for anything else.

K-Thengono’s alteration incorporated additional built-in storage into every room and created a streamlined cabinet system that takes up an entire wall of the remaining space. Hidden behind the minimalist white cabinet doors is everything you’d find in a bigger apartment, including a fold-down dining table and two fold-down benches, a couch hidden in its own little nook, and tons of room for all the couple’s stuff. Some of those cabinets even become displays when various components are in use, like the dining set. Others remain closed to hide things the couple doesn’t necessarily want to show off.

“When all the panels are closed, the clutter is hidden inside, the living space allows some extra activities like yoga and home workout to take place,” the designers say. “Both the master bedroom and bathroom are connected with a translucent pivot metal door to maximize the daylight penetration. Sliding panels are used to hide unorganized closet space in the rooms or allow the veneered wooden rack for displays. Functionality is key to the various design strategies, making every piece of furniture as efficient as possible for multiple uses.”

The wall opposite the cabinet is almost entirely mirrored, including the doors to the bedrooms and bathroom, to create the illusion of additional space. With a sliding glass door and balcony on the end and all that white, there’s plenty of daylight to go around, and the view becomes the focal point. It seems like the couple isn’t much into cooking, either, since the kitchen remained the same size before and after, located just inside the front door.

Another thing to note: there’s no loft involved in this small-space renovation. Lofts are often a great way to make use of vertical height, which often just ends up being wasted space. Sometimes, when ceiling height allows, they’re placed on top of new built-in cabinetry units like this one to free up even more floor room. It’s a smart tactic, but not everyone wants or is able to climb up into a loft to go to bed. But this design demonstrates that you really can make a tiny apartment work even if you treasure your bedroom as a spacious, private sanctuary.

The post Hidden Fold-Down Furniture Makes This Ultra-Narrow Jakarta Apartment Livable first appeared on Dornob.

Unveiled on December 11th at the China International Industrial Design Expo, the “Slide-phone” features three foldable screens attached by hinges folding over vertically in the same direction. Technically, there’s no real sliding action involved, but rather an “unfurling,” as Engadget put it. The first segment offers a clock and notifications, the second opens the camera for selfies or video calls, and the third reveals the full seven-inch widescreen display you need to perform most tasks, play games, or watch movies.

A built-in stylus provides a finer level of precision on the touchscreen than your fingers allow. Another unusual feature is the suede leather-covered hinges, a material you don’t see on phones…well, ever, really.

“In addition to playing videos with an operable side panel, the user may also enjoy the phone as a controller in game mode with panels on either side, in multitask mode with numerous apps displayed in a row, and panoramic photography mode in full screen,” says Nendo. “The controls on the side of the phone are shaped like ellipses cut in half, functioning as two to four buttons, becoming small, semicircular buttons or combining into one large button as the folds slide up and down.”

“Further, the stylus ordinarily inserted in the phone may be taken out for use and the phone folded in half to give the user the feeling of writing in a notepad. The notion resulted in an interface allowing the user to open and close the upper half of the screen to, as it were, flip the page. The hinges are covered with suede leather to prevent the impression that, for having three hinges, the phone is an inorganic, rigid contrivance.”

The “music-link” feature allows the Slide-phone to interact with a constellation of other devices like a smartwatch, an AI speaker, a portable charger, and a wireless charger, all designed with a similar sleekness. As OPPO explains, “when the TWS earphones and portable charging case are placed on the AI speaker, users can enjoy a seamless music experience transitioning from headphones to speaker. This symbiotic design between devices, and the emphasis on portability and convenience, reflects OPPO’s integration of technology and human-centricity in its design philosophy.”

Folding smartphones aren’t a brand new concept, of course. Samsung’s book-style folding Galaxy Z Fold and Fold2 are widely available now for about $1,379 and $2,000 USD, respectively, and Huawei offers the similar Mate Xs with an edge-to-edge outer display for about $3,900 USD. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip and Motorola’s Razr 2020 are clamshell-style folding phones that become impressively compact when closed. But none of these designs are quite as flexible in use as the Slide-phone, nor do they fold down as impressively small (about the size of a credit card).

For now, the Slide-phone is just a concept, and it’s hard to say whether it’ll ever actually go up for sale. But it could be a peek at where smartphone design is headed in the future. Are you intrigued?

The post Nendo’s New Folding Slide Phone is the Size of a Credit Card 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.

The built-in discs suspend around the outfits’ bold-hued and simple silhouettes. A pair of bright red trousers has a stack of halos circling the legs. A single giant hoop angles over the shoulder of a sky-blue shirt. A violet and lilac dress incorporates a corkscrew band that extends to the floor. There’s even a smoky hat that shields the body instead of the head.

The collection’s surreal looks appeal to the Seoul-born designer because of her life-long struggle with social connection. She explains that “When I was in London, I saw homeless people sleeping in their pop-up tents and carrying them as portable homes. I thought that was the lifestyle I had dreamed of, as I somehow felt that I never really belonged to a certain group since childhood. Based on these ideas, I started to create garments as portable homes, like ‘refuge-wear’ from my reality.”

Mimicking tent construction, the clothing rings are made by stretching cloth over poles. The unique shapes are held in place with steel wire encased by PVC tubes. Those tubes are then pushed through stitched fabric tunnels.

All throughout the journey, Chang uses a combination of careful placement and fluid movement, as opposed to rigid, pre-fabricated patterns. The garments come with specialized stowing bags that preserve the shapes.

“I normally just drape onto the body and build up the shape with pattern paper or cardboard. This makes it much more interesting and can create unexpected outcomes, especially once the wire is inserted,” she says in an interview with Dezeen. “I would say it’s more like an engineering method, putting the pieces together, rather than just pattern cutting.”

There are a few looks in the collection that embrace the billowy image of a canvas tent rather than the pop-up variety. In these designs, the material is draped and gathered around the body with zippers and elastic pulls.

Chang first articulated her “portable home” concept in 2018 with a collection produced as part of her BA graduate project at Central Saint Martins in London. Labeled “Portable Refuge Wear,” it featured similar lines and collapsible loops, but in muted tans and blue plaids. The revamped anthology, along with all its vibrant, solid colors, is available for purchase through online retailer APOC, a company that specializes in drawing attention to a “new generation of creatives.” According to the company website, APOC is “devoted to curating and sourcing progressive and consciously-created pieces from artists and fashion designers across the globe.” The firm allows artists to get a foot into the retail industry while remaining authentic and avoiding the commercial hurdles required in more conventional enterprises.

Chang fits the bill for an APOC fashion engineer, producing “artwear” that’s practical but also “experienced and consumed as a work of art.” The APOC platform has helped other emerging makers go viral this year, including Harikrishnan with his inflatable trousers and Ying Ching’s paper furniture assemblage.

The post South Korean Designer Creates “Home on the Go” With Collapsible Fashion first appeared on Dornob.

Miracle TimeCube Timer

There’s probably a lot of things competing for your attention right now. After all, it’s hard not to constantly check the news, Facebook, and Twitter for updates, all of which tend to only get in the way of completing your tasks. One simple way to maintain your productivity while working from home is the TimeCube, a simplified desktop timer with sides that display the time period of your choice, from five to 60 minutes.

Use this device to divide your work tasks, lunches, and other breaks into set periods with tangible start and end times. For example, you can flip the TimeCube so that “25 minutes” displays on the top, close out all your distracting tabs, and focus on a single activity until it beeps. Then you can flip it to another number for your next activity.

Zoom

If you consider regular face-to-face meetings an essential part of keeping your team on track, you’re going to need software that can keep everyone connected. Right now, there’s simply nothing better than Zoom, a free app that’s both reliable and easy to use.

Unlike FaceTime, Zoom can be used on both Macs and PCs. It’s easy to start video calls from, too, and they don’t cost anything as long as they’re under 40 minutes with 100 participants or fewer. It’s also a great way to stay in touch with friends and family by holding virtual dinner parties or karaoke sessions.

Adjustable Standing Desk

Sitting all day long is bad for your health, especially if you’re already stressed out. An adjustable standing desk will let you stretch your legs and keep your posture in check throughout the day. This one by Avantree is ultra budget-friendly, folds and unfolds with ease, and can be tilted, raised, or lowered to match your preferred angle. You can even use it to work from your bed by having it straddle your lap.

External Monitor

When you’re used to having multiple monitors at the office, it can be hard to downgrade to a small laptop screen. That’s why an affordable external monitor can really change the game when it comes to working from home, making it easier to multi-task and stay focused. The 27-inch Dell FreeSync Monitor is one great option, complete with a full HD IPS LED screen and Dell’s ComfortView technology to reduce blue light and glare. Get it for $199.99 at Best Buy and other retailers.

Slack

Commonly used to connect offices and employees in different locations, Slack is a great way to work together remotely, and it can make the shift to working from home a lot easier on everyone. Use it to create separate channels for various teams, deliver important announcements, and just casually chat with your friends. The app also enables direct messaging and built-in voice and video calling, which is a great alternative to Zoom when you only need to talk to a couple people.

Google Docs and Sheets

Google’s suite of free web-based documents, spreadsheet, and presentation apps won’t necessarily replace all the functions you’re used to having on, say, the Microsoft Office platform — but there are a couple big reasons to consider using it instead, for now. For starters, they make it easy to share documents and keep track of all the changes made by various people, which is invaluable when you can’t get together in person.

But above all else, these apps’ offline sync feature might just be their biggest pro, especially if you’re dealing with unpredictable Wi-Fi. It’ll make sure whatever changes you make while the internet is out are synced automatically when it reconnects. The catch is that it only works on Google’s Chrome browser.

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones

Working from home is hard when you’ve got kids running around. If you need to block out the background noise, there’s nothing better than Sony’s noise-cancelling headphones, which are also very comfortable to wear. The stellar sound quality, soft padded ear cups, and 30-hour battery life make them a worthwhile investment.

Bose SoundLink Mini II

If you’d rather not wear headphones but still need ultra-crisp sound and a built-in microphone for taking calls, check out the Bose SoundLink Mini II: a powerful speaker that fits in the palm of your hand. Roughly the size of a smartphone and weighing just 1.5 pounds, this lightweight speaker easily connects to virtually any Bluetooth-equipped device and can interface with Siri or Google Assistant.

Apple Magic Keyboard

Tiny laptop keyboards just don’t cut it for people who usually type on large external ones. The Apple Magic keyboard falls somewhere in between, but it’s ultra-portable, pairs automatically with Macs and features an incredibly long-lasting battery that can stay juiced up for a month or more.

BackBlaze Backup Software

For just six dollars a month, you can have peace of mind that your work won’t be lost, even if your toddler spills your coffee directly onto your laptop keyboard. BackBlaze’s “Personal Backup” plan will automatically back up all your files, including documents, photos, music, and movies, so it’s great for graphic designers and other professionals whose work from home isn’t necessarily text-based.

All data is stored at a secure data center with 24-hour staff, biometric security, and redundant power, and there’s also an option for businesses that expands coverage to multiple computers and servers.

With all this handy gear in tow, you’ll be more than ready to hunker down for the next few weeks of social distancing.

The post 10 Tech Essentials You’ll Need to Work from Home During Quarantine first appeared on Dornob.

You don’t have to trade in your existing desk for a new one to make this work. There are lots of options for products that simply add a bit of height to your work surface, so you can switch between standing and sitting with ease. The MOFT Z, a four-in-one convertible laptop desk, is among the most portable of the bunch.

Measuring a mere half an inch thick, the MOFT Z is a magazine sized sit-stand desk device that’s so thin when collapsed, you can easily tote it around in your briefcase. It boasts an origami-inspired one-piece structure that folds out in seconds to offer a desk platform for standing, as well as three angles for sitting mode: 25, 45, and 60 degrees. No tools are needed for set up, either — you just fold or unfold it like a piece of paper.

There are a lot of benefits to this design. First of all, most people don’t want to stand all day long. You probably stand for a little while, sit down, and repeat. And if you’re using a bulky standing desk accessory or something that requires an assembly process, you’ll find that using it quickly becomes cumbersome, and you usually have to find someplace to stash it afterwards. The MOFT Z is easy to stow in a bag, under a stack of paper, or alongside binders on your desk.

It won’t fold under the weight of heavier laptops, either. The Z-shaped structure of this convertible desk is capable of holding up to 22 pounds, so it’s compatible with just about any laptop you can think of.

The desk’s official crowdfunding page reads: “Sitting all day in the office can be stressful to both your body and mind. A quick switch to standing not only helps you stretch a bit for a relaxing back, but also refreshes your mind with a different angle to see your works. When you are standing, MOFT Z offers a natural height for your palms to rest onto the laptop, and your eyes to look at the screen with no strain or tension.”

“Surely, you would want to sit back after a short break. Does MOFT Z stop working by then? Absolutely not. We also prepared three modes to fit your own working style while sitting. 25 degrees offers natural typing with palms resting on your laptop; 45 degrees offers a write/read/flexible working setup with peripherals, and 65 degrees allows browsing on smaller devices like tablets.”

The designers note that they “didn’t trade thinness for durability. Apart from the rock-steady Z structure and tri-angle bottom support, [they] used fiber glass to ensure the toughness of panels and a maximum of 22-pound weight, the magnetic flap to reinforce the frame, and the PU material to shield all the scratches and heat while keeping everything soft and premium to touch.”

Bonus: you can also use the MOFT Z right on your lap, which is good news for all those folks out there working from home while firmly planted on the couch.

With a retail price of $69, the MOFT Z is cheaper than similar folding options, and also weighs considerably less at just 31.4 ounces. Back the project now on Kickstarter to receive a folding laptop desk of your own at a discount.

The post Ultra-Portable Sit-Stand Desk Adjusts Its Angle in Seconds first appeared on Dornob.