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Posts Tagged ‘Spaces’

Virtual Retail Stores Repurpose Unused Public Spaces

18 Apr

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Virtual Retail Stores 1

Photos of products with codes that can be scanned by smart phones transform cramped spaces like the walls of subway stations into virtual retail stores, saving space and potentially adding function to disused city spots. PayPal is among the main companies pioneering quick and easy virtual shopping with QR codes plastered on billboards and ad spaces. Online grocery service Peapod already has virtual shelves on subway and commuter train platforms in Philadelphia.

Virtual Retail Stores 2

The concept is simple: you download an app to your smart phone, scan the codes of the products you want to purchase, and enter your payment information. The goods you buy are then delivered to the location of your choice. The process is streamlined when payment info is saved – just scan and confirm.

While brick-and-mortar stores with physical products won’t disappear completely, since there are plenty of times we just want to grab something and run, this concept could help meet the evolving needs of both customers and the cities they live in. Virtual retail stores could go up on the outside of abandoned buildings, or give use to areas that are under transition.

Virtual Retail Stores 3

Experts have predicted that shopping will change more in the next three years than it has in the past twenty, with more and more people choosing the convenience of mobile shopping and self-checkout. PayPal has expanded a portion of its ‘Shop and Pay on the Go’ services by adding QR codes to the exterior of physical stores, for those times when you need something and the store is closed. Another service, ‘PayPal Here’, enables customers to check in with their phones, grab their items and pay for them virtually without having to pull out cash or a credit card.

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Expand on Demand: Secret Deck Spaces for Small Dwellings

19 Feb

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

balcony unfolding design

When it comes to tall apartment and condo buildings, the idea of adding more space is almost always out of the question – but what if you could push a balcony outward on demand, rather than adding an entire deck or patio? Here are three designs to expand outdoor space in creative ways.

balcony extension electronic system

The Bloomframe is a Dutch architect-designed system that turns a simple set of windows into a spacious exterior extension that can be electronically deployed and retracted – like a convertible top, you can experience the outdoors during nice weather, take out the grill, then close the unit as desired.

space extension juliet balcony

An alternative from Fakro works with existing frame sizes on angled roofs, and provides you both a way to lean out (a form of Juliet balcony, with window frame doubling as front rail) as well as overhead shelter from the rain. This system is also simpler and entirely mechanical, so deploying it is as easy as opening a normal glass window.

space saving deck furniture

And for those who already have a deck, but not enough room to put any furniture on it, this space-saving furniture solution (Spaceless) by Sandy Lam is a great source of inspiration: her designs for a table and seat set that fold up for use and hide, camouflaged amid wood decking, when tucked back away.

space small balcony pictures

From the designer: “the average price of residential buildings in downtown Vancouver BC has reached $ 800 per square foot. Many people have to give up their garden living and move into concrete buildings because of this increase in housing prices. Even though living space is expensive, there is one space rarely used in condo buildings—the balcony. The goal of having “Spaceless” is to use the condo balcony to maximize living space and to improve the building environment by enhancing the functionality of the balcony space.”

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Expand on Demand: Secret Deck Spaces for Small Dwellings

15 Feb

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

balcony unfolding design

When it comes to tall apartment and condo buildings, the idea of adding more space is almost always out of the question – but what if you could push a balcony outward on demand, rather than adding an entire deck or patio? Here are three designs to expand outdoor space in creative ways.

balcony extension electronic system

The Bloomframe is a Dutch architect-designed system that turns a simple set of windows into a spacious exterior extension that can be electronically deployed and retracted – like a convertible top, you can experience the outdoors during nice weather, take out the grill, then close the unit as desired.

space extension juliet balcony

An alternative from Fakro works with existing frame sizes on angled roofs, and provides you both a way to lean out (a form of Juliet balcony, with window frame doubling as front rail) as well as overhead shelter from the rain. This system is also simpler and entirely mechanical, so deploying it is as easy as opening a normal glass window.

space saving deck furniture

And for those who already have a deck, but not enough room to put any furniture on it, this space-saving furniture solution (Spaceless) by Sandy Lam is a great source of inspiration: her designs for a table and seat set that fold up for use and hide, camouflaged amid wood decking, when tucked back away.

space small balcony pictures

From the designer: “the average price of residential buildings in downtown Vancouver BC has reached $ 800 per square foot. Many people have to give up their garden living and move into concrete buildings because of this increase in housing prices. Even though living space is expensive, there is one space rarely used in condo buildings—the balcony. The goal of having “Spaceless” is to use the condo balcony to maximize living space and to improve the building environment by enhancing the functionality of the balcony space.”

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8 February, 2013 – Spaces Open on Kimberley Workshop with Michael Reichmann and Art Wolfe

09 Feb

The Kimberly PODAS Workshop June 1 – 8, 2013 has just had a couple of cancellations and now has a Double Cabin (2 people or a couple) and 2 single share berths available.  

This is one of the premier workshops for 2013 traveling to an incredible location with the finest instructors in the business.  Join Michael Reichmann, Art Wolfe, Christian Fletcher and Kevin Raber and shoot with a Phase One medium format digital system in one of the most remote locations on the planet.  If you interested please contact Kevin Raber at kwr@phaseone.com.

On a personal note, this will be the only workshop that I will be teaching during 2013. Don’t miss it.

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Mapping Privacy in Public Spaces – Jan 12, 2013

01 Feb

Some cool visual art images:

Mapping Privacy in Public Spaces – Jan 12, 2013
visual art
Image by BMW Guggenheim Lab
Mapping Privacy in Public Spaces Project: Findings by KRVIA Design Cell
BMW Guggenheim Lab
January 12, 2013
Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum
Mumbai, India

Where do Mumbaikars find privacy in their city? The KRVIA Design Cell talked about their findings from the Mapping Privacy in Public Space research project, conducted through the Lab’s run. They discussed their methodology and their experience in data collection across the Lab’s six sites, and shared the visual imagery and maps they created from their research from over 200 participants.

Photos: UnCommonSense © 2013 Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York

Mapping Privacy in Public Spaces – Jan 12, 2013
visual art
Image by BMW Guggenheim Lab
Mapping Privacy in Public Spaces Project: Findings by KRVIA Design Cell
BMW Guggenheim Lab
January 12, 2013
Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum
Mumbai, India

Where do Mumbaikars find privacy in their city? The KRVIA Design Cell talked about their findings from the Mapping Privacy in Public Space research project, conducted through the Lab’s run. They discussed their methodology and their experience in data collection across the Lab’s six sites, and shared the visual imagery and maps they created from their research from over 200 participants.

Photos: UnCommonSense © 2013 Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York

 
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Mapping Privacy in Public Spaces – Jan 12, 2013

30 Jan

Check out these visual art images:

Mapping Privacy in Public Spaces – Jan 12, 2013
visual art
Image by BMW Guggenheim Lab
Mapping Privacy in Public Spaces Project: Findings by KRVIA Design Cell
BMW Guggenheim Lab
January 12, 2013
Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum
Mumbai, India

Where do Mumbaikars find privacy in their city? The KRVIA Design Cell talked about their findings from the Mapping Privacy in Public Space research project, conducted through the Lab’s run. They discussed their methodology and their experience in data collection across the Lab’s six sites, and shared the visual imagery and maps they created from their research from over 200 participants.

Photos: UnCommonSense © 2013 Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York

Mapping Privacy in Public Spaces – Jan 12, 2013
visual art
Image by BMW Guggenheim Lab
Mapping Privacy in Public Spaces Project: Findings by KRVIA Design Cell
BMW Guggenheim Lab
January 12, 2013
Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum
Mumbai, India

Where do Mumbaikars find privacy in their city? The KRVIA Design Cell talked about their findings from the Mapping Privacy in Public Space research project, conducted through the Lab’s run. They discussed their methodology and their experience in data collection across the Lab’s six sites, and shared the visual imagery and maps they created from their research from over 200 participants.

Photos: UnCommonSense © 2013 Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York

 
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Secret Spirals: Underground Home Wine Cellar Spaces

25 Jan

[ By Steph in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]

Hidden Spiral Wine Cellars 1

High-tech looking spiral wine cellars that either blend into the floor or glow with colored lights will entice even non-oenophiles to take up collecting Cabernet. A company called Spiral Cellars offers prefabricated cellars in traditional and modern designs that can be inserted into the floor of nearly any home, even if you don’t have an existing basement or cellar.

Hidden Spiral Wine Cellars 2

The water-tight, cylindrical system can store up to 1,900 bottles of wine. Because it relies on the surrounding earth for its insulation, and comes equipped with an air-flow system, it doesn’t require any power to keep the wine at a constant temperature. The system was inspired by a spiral staircase from 1844 found at the Pont du Gard aqueduct in France.

Hidden Spiral Wine Cellars 3

Hidden Spiral Wine Cellars 4

Wood-paneled doors practically disappear in a wood floor, especially the recessed trap doors that can be covered in timber, engineered wood or laminate flooring to match the rest of the room. Others are made to be seen, with LED lights that make them glow like some kind of space ship portal.

Hidden Spiral Wine Cellar 5

Some of the doors are motorized, so they pop up at the press of a button. A retractable round glass trap door features two semi-circular glass panels that swivel over each other to open. Craving wine yet?

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Shophouses: 6 Ultra-Small Urban Live-and-Work Spaces

10 Jan

[ By Steph in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

Shop Houses Tiny Live Work 1

What would you think if you walked into an antique store in your town, and found it overflowing with the owners’ laundry? In much of the Western world, we tend to keep our lives rigidly compartmentalized, but in Southeast Asia, the boundaries are blurred – resulting in seemingly chaotic and visually stimulating live/work spaces. German photographer and artist Peter Nitsch documented these small combined homes and businesses for his series ‘SHOPHOUSES – 4 x 8 m Bangkok’.

Shop Houses Tiny Live Work 2

Shop Hosues Tiny Live Work 4

Mechanic shops are filled to the brim with both the expected stacks of tires, and colorful art. In a hair salon, a woman sits beside a refrigerator, peeling potatoes. A watchmaker’s shop is packed floor-to-ceiling with boxes and trunks. Doors open to private spaces beyond, giving customers a glimpse at the private lives of the owners.

Shop Houses Tiny Live Work 3

Shop Houses Tiny Live Work 5

Bangkok is full of these combination home/businesses, which are usually two stories with the lower level open to the street, but the typical tourist will never notice. These shophouses can be founded on the outer edges of the city, away from the snarled traffic and blinking neon lights.

Shop Houses Tiny Live Work 6

“But if one allows the pictures to make an impression, a fractal pattern with a high degree of similarity is to be gradually recognised in the overfilled rooms, which from the sheer number of objects suddenly makes a structured Mandelbrot set,” says Nitsch. “The chaos becomes a cosmos and thus transforms into its opposite: an orderliness, to which the photographs additionally lend their characteristic power of peace.”

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Resource Furniture: Convertible Designs for Small Spaces

04 Jan

[ By Steph in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

Space Saving Convertible Furniture Main

When living in a small space, every inch counts – so multifunctional furniture that can adapt and change is a top priority. A coffee table needs to be more than a coffee table, possibly rising to offer work space when sitting on the couch or to become a dining surface. A bed platform could fold flat against the wall, or even turn into a desk. Resource Furniture offers streamlined solutions that maximize space in a variety of ways, so your furniture can be tailored to your individual lifestyle.

Space Saving Transforming Tables

What might look like an ordinary table is actually hiding a few surprises. If you only need a dining table or work desk for an hour or two out of the day, why have a separate one that just takes up valuable space?

Space Saving Transforming Bed 1

Space Saving Transforming Bed 2

An ideal solution for combination office/guest rooms, transforming beds hide away against the wall when not in use, while the desk surface slides up out of the way at night.

Space Saving Transforming Bunk Beds

Large, flat cabinets open to reveal not one, but two sleep surfaces. Resource Furniture’s convertible hideaway bunk beds include built-in storage and desks.

Space Saving Transforming Chair Bookcase

Space Saving Transforming Chair Stepladder

No room for a reading nook? A comfy chair for lounging and taking in a good book doubles as a bookcase. Another chair turns over to become a stepladder.

Space Saving All in One Office 1

Space Saving All in One Office 2

All-in-one furniture systems that barely take up any floor room when closed can hide all sorts of functions in the smallest possible space. This home office is just 13 3/4 inches deep, but includes shelving that can accommodate a printer and a PC tower, as well as a large desk surface, built-in lighting and storage space.

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28 November, 2012 – A Few Antarctica Spaces

29 Nov

My January, 2014 Antarctica by Air Expediton sold out almost immediately when announced last month, but a few people who said they were joining have not paid their deposits, so their berths are now forfeit.

There is an opening for one male in a double cabin as well as one female in a shared cabin. There is also a double cabin available for either a couple or two individuals.


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