Next time you watch those stunning triple axles and gnarly tricks from the skiers and boarders, take note of the following architectural marvels:

The Beijing National Stadium

Built ahead of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, the Beijing National Stadium (also known as the Bird’s Nest), was conceived by the inventive Swiss architecture studio Herzog & Meuron.

Following the Olympic Committee’s decision to start reusing venues for a more eco-friendly, sustainable approach, the National Stadium has the distinction of being the only stadium to host both winter and summer Olympics. In addition to its unique shape and dynamic design, the Bird’s Nest also just so happens to be the world’s largest steel structure — making it the ideal place to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 Olympics within its illuminated latticed walls.

National Speed Skating Oval

Designed by architecture studio Populous (themselves no strangers to spectacular stadiums), the National Speed Skating Oval is one of only a few new structures built for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Built on the former site of the 2008 hockey and archery fields, the Oval’s mind-bendingly melty shape (designed to let the spectators hear even the faintest ice scrape) is certainly distinctive — but it’s the 22 strands of electric blue light circling the stadium that really make it a showstopper. Dubbed “The Ice Ribbon,” the Oval is destined to be one of the highlights of this year’s Winter Games.

Big Air Shougang

Completed in 2019, the rollicking ramp Big Air Shougang marks another new addition to the Beijing Winter Olympics roster. Designed by TeamMinus, the structure is “the world’s first permanent big air structure” and will, not surprisingly, host skiing and snowboarding’s trickiest, most extreme big air events. Set on the site of a former steel mill, the ramp itself has an industrial feel to it, while the colorful aluminum side panels add bravado and flair to the scene.

National Sliding Center

Located in the Yanqing Olympic Zone north of Beijing, the National Sliding Center is yet another new addition to the Winter Olympics’ stellar architectural lineup. Designed by Atelier Li Xinggang, the over one-mile-long sliding track is topped with an impressive tiled wooden roof covering the winding trails below.

The primary site of the bobsledding, skeleton, and luge events at the 2022 Olympic Games, the Sliding Center is the first of its kind in China — and only the third to be built in Asia.

National Ski Jumping Center

Another inventive TeamMinus creation, the National Ski Jumping Center hosted the ski jump and Nordic combined events during the 2022 Winter Olympics. Now, it’s set to become an athlete’s training facility and luxe tourist resort post-games.

Nicknamed “Snow Ruyi” because of its resemblance to a ruyi, a traditional Chinese talisman representing power and good fortune, the center is located in the Zhangjiakou Zone northwest of Beijing — itself already a popular ski destination. Topped with an over 100-foot-high circular viewing platform complete with a panoramic restaurant, the Ski Jumping Center will surely be a destination for years to come due to its fabulous location, stunning vistas, and proximity to a new intercity railway.

While many of the structures at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics were repurposed faves from the 2008 Summer Games, we also saw an impressive new lineup of structures built expressly to host this year’s exciting events.

Next time the games roll around, take a moment between cheering Team USA and catching some curling to get a glimpse of some of the most inventive new architecture out there. You’ll be glad you did.

The post The Architecture of the 2022 Winter Olympics Gets a Gold Medal in Cool first appeared on Dornob.

No combination of quarantining and winter storms can keep the engineers from quirky science YouTube channel The Q inside. Replacing a traditional bike’s wheels with circular sawblades, the Q team recently created an “icуcycle” for getting some high-level thrills and exercise even in the slickest conditions.

In a video entitled “Epic Cycling on Ice” that’s garnered 43 million views in two weeks, the designer starts by dissembling the wheel systems of a Corso Number One Spirit bicycle. After deflating the tires, the spokes are removed from the hubs to fit the new sawblade discs. The Q engineer then takes apart the bike’s rear cassette, welding and equipping them for the heavier steel drums. After some slight adjustments, the original chains are carefully reinstalled.

After all that laborious work, the test run on a frozen lake was much less than epic. As the video shows, the sharp blades dug downward into the ice, getting stuck rather than propelling it forward.

The Q scientist returned to the lab, deciding to turn each blade point into a “T” by welding on a tiny additional metal horizontal piece. This modification was a success, allowing the bicycle to speed forward on the icy terrain by keeping the discs from sinking into the ice and creating the right amount of traction. The effect was essentially the same as attaching snow chains on car tires – except for the fact that these tires could kill you. Falling on those knife-edged wheels could certainly puncture an internal bodily organ, let alone the skin. While there are no specific warnings on the video, it is hopefully obvious that viewers should not try this modification at home.

There may be safer alternatives to biking in the ice than perching precariously over steel razors. Back in 2018, YouTuber Shifter welded an ice skate blade to the front of a cycle frame with decent results. And the company Ice Bikes of Buffalo has been producing two-wheelers mounted to an entire frame of ice blades for years now, renting them out on the frozen New York canal.

If you like the Q’s edgy style though, the channel – whose awesomely head-scratching creations have generated over 11 million followers – has produced a few other inventive few bike alterations that might be less hazardous to one’s health. For instance, the Q team once replaced another bicycle’s rubber tires with spinning wheels of running shoes. Handcrafted spokes were fitted with six Nike kicks on each hub. While the effect was a rather bumpy ride, it got the job done.

And then there’s the video where the Q turns a bicycle into an unconventional tricycle. Although unclear what the added benefit of this might be, the inventor cuts apart a traditional two-wheeler and creates a custom frame to house three tires all in a line.

And perhaps the most bizarre redesign is the Q’s robot-like walking bike. Swapping out the back wheel with a contraption of moving metal rods, this bicycle appears to mechanically walk as the rider pedals.

The post Behold the Icуcycle: a Sawblade Bike for Winter Rides first appeared on Dornob.

More than a decade ago, after his family relocated to Utah from California, Christensen experimented with sprinklers and icicles in his front yard to forge a one-of-a-kind ice cave for his children. People from all over the neighborhood soon started stopping by as word of the “castle” spread.

“I don’t know if I would call myself an artist, but I do love to create,” Christensen tells Dornob. “Ever since I was young, I’ve looked at things a little differently. There’s something about the creative process…to be able to step back and look at something, whether its paper or metal or ice…that wasn’t there before you came along. It’s very empowering and very satisfying.”

And what started as simply a winter boredom-buster for his kids has since expanded into a 400-employee, multi-site business for Christensen. Beginning with an interactive display in Midway, Utah in 2011, he and his company have put up Ice Castles all over the country to share the magic of their masterpieces.

This year’s frozen palaces – located in New Hampshire, Colorado, Utah, and Wisconsin – each required two months of construction before the season opened. Every hand built castle starts with an icicle farm: metal racks where anywhere from 5,000 to 12,000 icicles are grown daily. After being hand-harvested and placed into deliberate arrangements, these icicles get doused with water and subsequently together. This process is repeated layer by layer, aided by wind and different freezing temperatures, until the magnificent glacial cathedrals emerge.

“It is artwork, but I think the art is out of our hands. We set up the pipes, we design what we want this experience to be like, but then the real artwork is what happens at night when its freezing and water is running and it’s God taking over,” says Christensen, who adds that he’s “very careful to not take credit for what Mother Nature does – that’s something that just happens. When you spray water at 10 degrees Fahrenheit you get these crazy, amazing, beautiful formations. That’s the art in my opinion.”

Every location has its own unique architectural plan. “All designs are very different,” Christensen says. “I used to do them all myself. The designs tend to be a collaborative, cooperative effort, which always ends up better because you allow the individual site managers to get creative.”

Each frosty structure includes more than 25 million pounds of ice, taking up about an acre of space. The team takes care that the water is never wasted though.

“In almost every case it] goes right back into the water source,” Christensen explains. In Colorado, the melted ice is directed to a lake that heads downstream to become drinking water. And in Midway, the abundant geothermal resources are recycled into the water table at the end of the season. “We’re just borrowing it and freezing it and then returning it right back. It’s like water storage.”

Christensen’s frosty fortresses also incorporate music and colored LED lighting to foster added ambiance, but the entire operation uses very little electricity, making it an overall earth-friendly experience. His frozen inventions are also breathtakingly gorgeous, providing the perfect backdrop for family photos sessions, numerous wedding proposals, and even a music video.

“What I love most is bringing something novel and beautiful for people to experience,” Christensen explains. “I remember the first time I built one in my yard. A car stopped and it was an older couple. They got out and [the gentleman] said, ‘That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in 85 years.’”

“The number one thing [I enjoy] is the satisfaction, the gratitude involved in something that brings so many people joy, even if it’s just once a year.”

The Ice Castle season runs from late December through early March, depending on local weather conditions, with prices varying by location. Visitors should be aware that the attractions are operating at a reduced capacity this year due to COVID-19.

The post These Enchanting Ice Castles Add Wonder to a COVID Winter first appeared on Dornob.

There’s a term for that feeling in many languages. Popularized by the Danish as “hygge” (pronouced roughly “hoo-gah”), its also “koselig” in Norwegian, “gezellig” in Dutch, and “Heimlich” in German (though there’s unfortunately no word for it in English). Of course, it doesn’t just apply to the cold months; it’s inclusive of anytime you feel a thorough sense of well-being in a pleasant atmosphere, though its certainly something most of us are craving right now as ornery weather pushes us indoors.

If you’re feeling the need to get hygge with it this winter to put all this 2020 craziness behind you for a minute, here are four ways to usher that convivial feeling into your home — or at least enough until you can invite in the cherished company that completes it.

Light

Build the hygge foundation with the perfect amount of radiance. Try taking the brightness down a notch with candles or string lights, thinking along the lines of Urban Outfitters’ Paddywax candles that will give off hints of suede, rose, and wild fig while also providing some flickering ambience. Alternatively, these warm LED curtain lights from Home Depot will instantly cozy up your space. And this prismatic orb table lamp from West Elm is sure to convey a hygge glow on a chilly winter night.

Texture

There’s no better way to create a cozy feeling than by putting soft, touchable textures all around you. You could begin with something like Pottery Barn’s plush Faux Fur Ombre Throw. A snuggly bathrobe like this fleece and sherpa-lined one on Amazon also gives you those warm hygge fuzzies, and knitted coffee sleeves like these start that feeling of well-being flowing with your first morning cup.

Simplicity

Hygge exists in opposition to complexity and chaos. Furnishings and accessories in warm neutral tones accomplish the goal of simplicity and serenity. Williams Sonoma’s Olivewood serving ware carries that feeling to the tabletop with its restful wood hues. A supple but unpretentious rug under foot like this one from Loloi Rugs candidly welcomes you into whatever space it’s in, and a smooth leather firewood tote like this one from CB2 brighten ups your wintry nights with its classic beauty.

Imperfection

Nothing about hygge demands perfection. In fact, accepting the little irregularities around you can help you create the same contentedness it implies. And you can find that anywhere. Hygge can exist in a tiny apartment as well as in the largest mansion. While there may be a few dings or creases here and there in your home (or your life), the key is to expel the clutter and love the rest.

It may be some time yet before the COVID-19 pandemic lets us get back to our normal lives. But who knows? Perhaps adding a little more hygge to our surroundings can carry us through the uncertainty of the coming weeks and months.

The post Mastering the Art of Hygge for a Cozy Winter first appeared on Dornob.

Reintroduced on Kickstarter this fall, “Snowfeet” is a pretty simple concept. They’re made of a highly durable, lightweight fiberglass-reinforced material with metal ski edges and adjustable bindings. They’re only slightly longer than your footwear, too, upturned at the ends like regular skis so you can slide down snowy hills with ease. They also have heel brakes, giving you a bit of control over your speed.

The Snowfeet creators say these strap-on mini skis are ideal for bringing to downhill ski slopes, cross-country ski trails, and snow parks, but you could also use them on forest trails, hilly public parks, and other places with enough snow pack to ski on. Because they’re so compact, you also have more freedom of movement than you normally would with skis, enabling you to attempt more tricks than you might ordinarily dare. But they’re also friendly to total beginners, and arguably less intimidating than conventional ski gear.

They come in two versions: Snowfeet II and Snowfeet X. The latter is a bit more robust, featuring an additional pair of toe straps and ladder straps as well as extra screws, nuts, and an edge tuner stone. The company says that while the original design is “great for those who just want to have fun in the snow,” the X is “great for those who take this sport seriously and require the highest quality without compromise.”

The design is small enough to easily fit into a backpack, though each pair already comes with a storage bag of its very own. You don’t even need ski poles to use them, though you might want to have some anyway, just for fun. The creators recommend using Snowfeet with any winter shoes or snowboard boots with bindings, particularly waterproof shoes that fit your ankle firmly.

They add: “You can use Snowfeet on snow that is not deeper than +/- 20 centimeters. Snowfeet are best on ski slopes, snow parks, forest paths, and off the slopes too, just not in deep powder. By the way, most skis and snowboards are not suited for deep powder either.”

One size fits men’s sizes five through 13 and women’s sizes 6.5 through 14.5, which does, unfortunately, leave some people out — including kids. Maybe a future version will be a little more inclusive of people with smaller and larger-than-average feet.

Feeling intrigued? The original Snowfeet design is currently available online at the company’s website or on Amazon for about $150.

While the Kickstarter campaign for the new, updated versions has already ended, you can still preorder your own pair of Snowfeet II or X on Indiegogo for $118. Even better, initial orders are expected to start shipping in January 2020, so you’ll have them in time for the upcoming winter sport season. The more pairs you buy at once, the more money you save.

The post Snowfeet Instantly Turn Your Shoes into Mini Skis first appeared on Dornob.

At first glance, the Inner Expanse Infinity Coat is an ankle-length puffer jacket with a trench coat on top. From there, it separates down to three core pieces: a vest, a puffer jacket, and a trench coat, each of which you can wear in a variety of ways.

The jacket is so adaptable because it’s been well equipped with strategically-placed buttons and zippers. These elements allow you to transform it by simply adding or subtracting parts depending on the temperature or your mood. The hood and neck piece are also detachable, and you can zip the sleeves off and on to your liking. If you want to show off the puffer underneath, the trench coat can be backless. If you want the full coat, no problem. The beauty of the Inner Expanse Infinity Coat is that you can pretty much turn it into anything you want.

The coat is made out of wind-proof, water-repellent fabric and comes in two different color options. The first is a classic and subdued combination of black and true navy. The second is much more daring. Dubbed “Marvel,” “Honeycomb,” and “Candy Pink,” this jacket celebrates color with hues of vivid magenta, soft pink, and rich yellow. The puffer jacket is also reversible, with a different color on each side. Both color combinations offer adjustable and reflective cords, thumb holes in the sleeves, snap pockets, and side zippers for better mobility. One last cool feature: when you’re done wearing it, you can take it off and neatly tuck it into a pouch that’s actually inside one of its own pockets. Not much outerwear comes with that kind of built-in storage!

The Inner Expanse Infinity Coat is part of a larger collaboration between designer Roksanda Ilinčić and Lululemon. Ilinčić is a London-based fashion designer with a very successful self-titled brand. She studied architecture as an undergraduate and went on to receive her masters in womenswear. As a designer, she aims to make her clothing experimental but still comfortable and wearable.

The collaboration combines Roksanda’s “bold and feminine aesthetic” with Lululemon’s “technical innovation” to create fashion that is unique, unexpected, and functional. The jacket is one piece of a 16-item collection available on Lululemon’s website right now. The collection includes a duffle bag, sports bra, running shorts, and other assorted athletic wear. Some of the most uncommon pieces include water-repellent trousers and a “Technical Satin” skirt, both meant to be worn over your workout gear. The whole collection shares the same color palate and striking utilitarian style.

Buying this coat may alleviate the need to buy other jackets, but it will also do serious damage to your wallet. The coat retails for a whopping $998, but hey, high-fashion comes at a price, right?

The post Lululemon Partners with Roksanda to Create Transforming Jacket You’ll Never Want to Take Off first appeared on Dornob.

Situated in the Sierra National Forest of California, miles above sea level, this gorgeous rustic modern vacation rental property boasts Yosemite as well as swimming holes, hiking trails,  rolling landscapes, waterfalls and boulders all around – an eclectic mix seen in the architecture of this structure as well.

At high elevations, shedding snow and deflecting moisture is a crucial roll of residential rooftops, hence the steeply-angled aluminum that shapes this triangular a-frame cabin. A matching communications tower plus outbuilding sits alongside the primary dwelling space. However, equal attention is paid to the rural surroundings, reflected in the use of rough, rusticated and weathered timber siding and deck-topping slats.

Standard modules are used throughout the prefabricated cabin to aid in the prefabrication process – 4 by 8 feet becomes the organizing principle when it comes to anything (plywood panels, metal siding, etc…) that can be cut and shaped to this simplified scale.

This kind of quaint abode is unlikely to win any awards, but not all good designs aim for such accolades – nor should they. Here it seems sufficient that the place serves its purpose, feels unique and responds to the needs of both renters and owners alike – namely by providing a fun experience and durable property. 

“Far Meadow is heaven for all of us who seek the call of the wild, and the remote places that shift our senses back to the natural essentials.”

“Brought to life by Boutique Homes founders and design connoisseurs, Heinz Legler and Veronique Lievre as ‘a simple retreat for chic nomads’, it’s so much more than that. It’s classic design where you’d least expect it. It’s escape without compromise or crowds. It’s adventure and carefree fun with friends (including the furry four-legged kind who are always welcome in our world).”

“Set within beautiful, unspoiled meadows high in the Sierra Nevadas, ringed by majestic forests, this cabin rental in Yosemite is both timeless and modern. A place of unplugged peace, where you can leave the world behind, embrace simplicity and marvel at nature’s amazing display.”

The post Modern A-Frame Log Cabin in California first appeared on Dornob.

The clients, a married couple, are (respectively) a professional BASE jumper and a former member of the Swedish skydiving team, so they’re no strangers to adventure, and they wanted a home that suited their daring lifestyle and personalities. But it wouldn’t just be a standard home for a nuclear family. Instead, the couple envisioned a spectacular home base for their extended family and network of friends, and Strawn + Sierralta delivered an award-winning design that prioritized connection to the outdoors and its unusual setting.

Not only is “Ski on Home” perched directly beneath the Squaw Valley gondola, but it’s also been built into the mountainside, so visitors can ski right into any of the home’s three levels. The mountain also provides natural insulation and protection from avalanches. Guest bedrooms and a standalone suite with its own living room, laundry room, and patio are tucked into the earth on the ground level along with a few spacious garages. At the heart of the home, the architects have created a “ski room,” whose warm radiant floors have been covered in recycled rubber to avoid ski boot damage and withstand tracked-in snow.

Numb-fingered skiers can remove their gear and head straight to the six-foot-long fireplace and its heat-absorbing wraparound concrete bench to enjoy beverages from a well-stocked wet bar. If they’re still feeling chilled, there’s always the sauna room, which itself is big enough to accommodate a large group. Sliding glass walls can be opened completely to reveal what the architects call the “ski terrace.” Three bedrooms, including a master suite with its own private terrace, can also be found on this level.

The glassy top floor offers expansive views of the surrounding snowy landscape, high ceilings, plenty of comfy seating for everyone, and a heavy-duty kitchen made to handle cooking for large groups, with plenty of counter space and sinks on both sides of a gargantuan island at its center. The kitchen’s open-plan layout and full-height glazed walls let you take in the scenery from anywhere in the room.

The 6,427-square-foot, five bedroom, five-and-a-half bath home was temporarily placed on AirBnB as a rental for $5,000 per night, which might seem a bit steep until you realize that the offer also included a 4×4 GMC Sierra truck, whose studded tires and snow chains allowed guests to get in and out with ease. And lest you think this dream vacation home is only usable for a few brief months out of the year, check out this photo captured at the height of summer, which shows  the second-floor terrace in full bloom as a vegetable and herb garden.

It sounds like the process of designing “Ski on Home” was pretty fun, too. “A wide variety of prototypes were used across the entire design process,” explain the architects. “A series of massing models were made to better understand how to fully integrate outdoor living spaces into the complex terrain. More detailed experience models were utilized for scenario planning and user journey design. On-site, full scale mock-ups were also built during the construction process to help the homeowners visualize critical design moments and finishes.”

The post Ski Right Into This Dreamy Winter Vacation Home first appeared on Dornob.

But other nations, like Japan, offer examples of simple ways in which we could adapt these architectural typologies to create homes that are both unique and well-suited to their respective environments.

The “One Year Project,” a vacation home at the foot of Mount Bandai in Fukushima, Japan, gets around the problem of high snow drifts with the help of stilts. Designed by the firm Life Style Koubou Workshop, the home has a treehouse-like feel, clad in narrow strips of cedar and lifted high above ground level on slim, angled white columns. When the snow gets high, these minimalist supports seem to disappear, making the home look like it’s floating on air.

The architects separated the residence into two main volumes: a “wet” area and a “dry” one. One contains the open living space and bedrooms (which don’t require plumbing), while the other contains the kitchen and bathroom. A charming suspended bridge connects the two. To enter, guests walk up a matching set of spiral stairs into the kitchen.

Each volume is entirely walled with operable glazing, allowing inhabitants to gaze out onto the landscape from every angle, and when these floor-to-ceiling windows are open, they give the home the feel of a real treehouse. The architects reused the trees that were felled to clear the building site in the home’s exterior and interior cladding and floors, and they planted new trees to replace the ones used in the construction process.

The stilts supporting the house pierce its floors and continue into the interiors to meet the roof, creating dynamic diagonal lines that add visual interest and contrast the raw, natural wood with their glossy finish. Thanks to these stilts, even enormous amounts of snowfall won’t make the house feel inaccessible. Wouldn’t it be cool to see rows and rows of houses in snowy parts of the U.S. raised on stilts like this?

Other notable residential designs that utilize light stilts for a floating effect include a stark white private chalet by Delordinaire in Quebec, Canada, nicknamed “High House,” and the “Delta Shelter” mountain cabin in Mezama, Washington by Olson Kundig. The former aims to immerse residents in the wintery landscape, emphasizing its connection to the snowy conditions and views of the distant Mont Saint Anne.

The latter is designed to be completely shuttered and protected when the owner is away, creating a private, secure and “virtually indestructible” vacation home that’s safe from both high snow drifts and potential flooding from the adjacent Methow River.

The post One Year Project: Forest House Built on Stilts to Withstand Snow first appeared on Dornob.

Take, for instance, this highly unusual prefabricated home in Stockholm, Sweden. Conceived of by Street Monkey Architects, the roof of the “Pulkabacken House” (Swedish for “Sledding Hill”) doubles as a bunny slope.

Pulkabacken House is deceptively simple when viewed from the back. Constructed from concrete modules and black steel panels, the home mostly looks like a standard modernist unit and contrasts beautifully with both winter snow and summer vegetation. Walk around to the front of the house, however, and you’ll think you’ve accidentally wandered into a ski resort.

Built on a sloping site on Värmdö, an island in the center of the Stockholm archipelago, Pulkabacken House is warmed and protected by its neighboring hillside. The clients wanted their home to feel like a refuge, camouflaged and obstructed when viewed from the road despite its close proximity to other houses. In reality, the architects chose to angle the home’s roofline down toward the higher end of the hillside for privacy purposes just as much as they did for recreational ones.

Most of the ramp’s surface has been made smooth for sledding fun. Below, on the home’s second story balcony, a ladder conveniently leads back up to the roof for those who want to go down the hill a second (or third?) time. This same balcony opens into the main living area, which looks out onto the sea. This floor boasts living and dining spaces, a kitchen with a study bar, a master bedroom, and two bathrooms. An internal stairwell leads down to the ground floor and features a cozy reading nook for those days when it’s just too cold to go outside.

Three more bedrooms, a family room, and a bathroom are all located on the Pulkabacken House’s bottom level, along with an outdoor terrace that steps out into a garden. The entire interior makes heavy use of a wintry color palette, whose recurring shades of white and silvery gray help blend the home into the surrounding outdoor landscape. The result is very much in line with the clean, orderly aesthetic of modern Swedish design.

During the summer, the rooftop ramp is covered in grass, transforming the slope into a terrace that the architects have called a “party deck.” In fact, Street Monkey sees the home promoting a vacation lifestyle all year long. While most homes on Värmdö are only used in the summertime, Pulkabacken House seems to have been made for all seasons. Plus, as Stockholm continues to grow, more people are beginning to inhabit its surrounding islands beyond the summer peak season.

“In the summer, the population of this area doubles and children migrate in packs from house to house,” explains architect Cage Copher. “One night you could end up with all of your friends’ children sleeping over, so the bedrooms are large and many.” On the local reception to the sledding roof, he says, “The kids who live nearby seem to be making the most of it!”

The post Sloping Roof Doubles as a Sledding Hill first appeared on Dornob.

Halo by Manooi

Taking its name from the optical phenomenon that sometimes seems to form a circle around the sun or moon, “HALO” is a minimalist chandelier made of Swarovski crystals applied to a galvanized bowden cable affixed with LED lights. The circular design, which can be layered in various sizes, is hung horizontally or vertically, either secured to a wall or suspended from the ceiling. Designed by János Héder, HALO casts sparkling refractions of light throughout the room, whether it’s turned on or glittering in natural daylight.

Ice Chandelier by Daniel Libeskind

It’s no surprise that this chandelier was designed by an architect, given its skyscraper-like arrangement of clear glass, which protrudes from the base like a city block. Daniel Libeskind’s signature ultramodernism translates beautifully to interior accents, taking a fresh look at overhead lighting by discarding tired conventions to bring something new to the table. The Ice Chandelier features glass cells blown into angular molds for a frozen effect. The glass is suspended from a reflective triangular plate, which can be arranged in groupings to create larger-scale lighting installations. The glass elements were hand-blown by glassworkers at the Czech Republic factory of lighting brand Lasvit.
“It is so gratifying to collaborate with skilled workers whose expertise derives from centuries of design intelligence and artistic ambition, yet who are willing to experiment and do things differently to help realize my ideas,” says Libeskind. ”I am always mindful when designing products, just as I am as an architect, to create something truly unique and functional.”

Sparks for Swarovski Crystal Palace by Gwenael Nicolas

Swarovski crystals get yet another modern makeover in the hands of Gwenael Nicolas of the Japanese design studio Curiosity. “Sparks” is an illuminated swag that hangs from one corner of the room to another. Part of an art installation at the Swarovski Crystal Palace, which also included LED lights floating in helium balloons, the design is more than it seems at first glance. The individual crystals produce tiny refractions which seem to leap across the room like electrical sparks. While most people aren’t going to want a swag of crystal lights hanging so low in their homes, it would look pretty cool pulled more taut across the ceiling.

Planet by Tokujin Yoshioka

This faceted globe glitters like an icy jewel, whether placed on a stand like a table lamp or held in the hands of its designer, Tokujin Yoshioka. Created for the Italian furniture brand Kartell, “Planet” diffuses luminosity randomly through a lens effect as the light passes through various thicknesses of transparent resin.

The post Crystal Light: Four Icy Lamps Marry Warmth and Wintry Visuals first appeared on Dornob.

In some parts of the world, wearing a surgical mask whenever you leave home to protect yourself from pollution and disease is commonplace. In other places, it will get you mercilessly teased or avoided as if you had the plague. In places where the face mask still isn’t embraced as a healthy accessory, the Scough might be the answer to keeping you healthy.

The Scough, developed in Brooklyn, is a stylish alternative to the type of filtered mask that protects against transmission of coronavirus and other contagious diseases.

It’s available in several different colors and patterns, so you can coordinate your “healthware” with your outfit. But more importantly, it comes with a removable filter to keep out all of the nasty, nasty things in the air.

The filter is composed of activated carbon impregnated with silver – the same kind of filter used by the military to protect troops from chemical warfare. The filter material traps and kills airborne bacteria as well as filtering the polluted air around you. If it’s treated well, the filter can last up to three months. There’s no guarantee that the Scough will keep you totally illness-free, but it will certainly cut down on the likelihood that you’ll get infected with something icky on your daily bus ride.

When the Scough isn’t in use, the makers suggest that you keep it in a sealed plastic bag or airtight container to protect the integrity of the filter. If you wear the Scough while you are ill, it also helps to protect the people around you from catching your bug. The first designs produced were for cooler weather, but the Scough team has since debuted a range of lighter anti-virus scarves and bandannas for warmer weather.

“We started Scough six years ago as an investigation into how we might use an incredible technology—industrial-grade woven carbon barriers—to bring awareness to our world’s growing air quality issues.”

The post This Virus-Killing Scarf is a Mask Alternative first appeared on Dornob.

This forest structure that takes site-specific design to new heights, bending its entire layout around trees and, in a few cases, even building them into the structure itself.

For this remote home in Japan, K2 Design and their clients wanted to preserve the existing forest of pine and cherry trees, consequently creating a series of small interconnected volumes that break up the home into a series of cozy spaces.

Much of the structure is also lifted off the ground, making the experience of using the connective rooms and pathways feel like more like passing through the forest canopy than simply walking in the woods.

There were functional benefits to raising the building as well – a reduction of snow buildup around its edges during the winter, and protection against ground moisture in the summer.

“This is a guest house located in the forest of Daisen piedmont, Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture. The house site is situated in the midst of abundant cherry and pine trees, standing at natural well-balanced intervals with trunks reaching towards the sky with bountiful leaves. The figures of the trees are beautiful. They are the legitimate habitants of the forest.”

“Sensitive dialogue with the site is requisite to building a house that lies in coexistence with nature. Our building plan was drafted according to this idea. We arranged the house with most surrounding trees untouched and ensured the living space in the aperture to a maximum extent. A style coexisting with the forest is the keystone of our design, so we carefully surveyed and analyzed the lot for building, and designed a way to connect each function space of the house by short connecting passages. Differently-pitched roofs snuggling up to the extension of branches and foliage made it possible to take in sunlight effectively.”

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Most portable dwellings are made to roam a range of climates, but few can boast winter-proofing like the Leaf House, a $50K model made to take anything the tundra can through at it and keep on rolling.

Designed by Laird Herbert, the structure has an aesthetic that matches its season-sensitive goals, looking rather like a modular combination of trailer-home elements and log-cabin materials, mixing metal and cedar wood siding. The sloped roof provides for a lofted sleeping space, but is also critical for shedding snow in northern environments.

But beyond its appearance, it also features a great deal of in-wall insulation as well as triple-paned windows and other features made to help keep things warm in the worst conditions. Traditional and cozy detailing extends inside to stone floor tiles and a vintage gas range, contributing to the sense that one is snuggled up inside a cabin-esque retreat.

Laird explains some of his thoughts on the project at Tiny House Blog:

“This is my second tiny home that I have built. I lived in one full-time for a year over the winter and sold it last spring. I’m 28 years old and have lived in the Yukon for the past five. I am pretty happy puttering away building things. I’d much rather do this then sit in a cubicle! My passion is actually the design, that’s what I enjoy the most. So I’m diving into it full-time (hopefully) and will be building two more this summer (one for myself and another to sell), under Leaf House, which is my new company named after the famed Leaf House on Hornby Island which is where I spent my summers as a kid.”

“Anyway, I hope you enjoy this northern rendition of a tiny house! It is much more challenging build tiny houses in an extreme winter climate. I’ve learned quite a bit about what you need to do when it’s -40 outside and your space is 160 ft2. I’ve also learned that it is a lot more expensive to build things in the North!”

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