Category: Creativity

Anti-Object: A Public Bench Designed to be Everything-Proof

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

While many individuals desire multi-functional and space-saving furniture, many cities want quite the opposite: an object that one can sit on but that foils attempts at anything from sleeping, littering and vandalism to street theft and drug-dealing.

Designed by Factory Furniture and named after the city for which it was commissioned, the Camden Bench is largely (and fascinatingly) defined in the negative, its creators boasting what it cannot do rather than what it can do, made to “resist criminal and anti-social behaviour.” It all sounds well and good in theory, but in practice: does this approach constitute a public service or an unnecessarily prohibitive way to design urban furniture?

Made of cast concrete, the bench’s ridged top and sloped surfaces make it hard to lie down on and help keep skateboarders at bay, while its smooth finish is made to be graffiti-resistant. Its solid sides feature no slots or crevices in which dealers could hide drug stashes, while its slight recesses allow sitters to slide their bags safely behind their legs. Its smooth finish and lack of gaps also help keep it clean – dirt has nowhere to accumulate and water washes grime away.

As Frank Swain muses on Medium, “it a strange artifact, defined far more by what it is not than what it is. The Camden Bench is a concerted effort to create a non-object. [It] is strange kind of architectural null point. A piece of the city that by design will not interact with it in any way. It is a bench by the slimmest of margins – hardly comfortable, affording none of the qualities that would make it more than simply a place to sit. This is the bench’s sole concession to being part of the city, and it does it with the least conviction possible.”

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Got Wood? 14 Brilliant Carved Wooden Bench Designs

Designed to seat a specific number in a particular way, to rock, roll, wheel and more. From artful to artisan, tentacled to transforming, here are 14 brilliant …
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Social Seating: 14 Public Benches Foster Urban Interactions

Breaking, bending, twisting and warping wood, this ongoing series of installations fosters new forms of interaction within cities, challenging that …
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Bench to Bedroom: Urban Furniture Turned Homeless Shelters

Whereas London and Montreal have installed spikes on the sidewalks to keep homeless people from getting too comfortable, Vancouver offers a kind welcome with …
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[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

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WebUrbanist

October 5, 2014
365 Postcards for Ants: Impossibly Tiny Daily Illustrations

[ By Steph in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

The most minuscule details of a floral bouquet, an old-fashioned camera, a jockey on a horse or a VW bus are rendered with incredibly fine paintbrushes to create paintings smaller than a quarter in artist Lorraine Loots’ series, 365 Postcards for Ants. Loots has been creating a new tiny painting every single day since January 1st, 2013, posting each one on Instagram and engaging fans by allowing them to book sentimental dates and request specific images.

The Cape Town-based artist accumulated a year worth of paintings, nearly all of which pre-sold as they were released, and put them on display in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa, before distributing them to their new owners.

“I’ve always had a love for detail and I think that little square space, that little piece of fabric, gives me a place to make something that I feel is close to perfect.”

Follow the ’365 Postcards for Ants’ series on Instagram @LorraineLoots, and check out the archive of nearly two years’ worth of daily paintings over at Tumblr.

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Animated Still Lifes: 7 Relaxing Cinemagraphic Illustrations

Reclining in the space between the extremes of sped-up, movie-style GIF files and traditional, immobile paintings, this artist brings lazy scenes of everyday …
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Power of Books: 6 Graphic Illustrations of Literal Imaginings

Ever get done reading a chapter and feel like the book is more real than the room around you? Now, what if that imagining came true?
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Pointless Diagrams: Daily Architectural Nonsense Drawings

A quick doodle drawn in the heat of the moment on a napkin at an architectural cocktail party is more likely to be a concept diagram than a phone …
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[ By Steph in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

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WebUrbanist

October 4, 2014
Space-Saving Sleepers: Sofas Convert to Bunk Beds in Seconds

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

Convertible couch beds are great if you are having a couple over to stay and have the space to fold out into, but these double-decker solutions is a great alternative for smaller apartments or multiple-but-single overnight guests. Here are three designs from different companies that show off the potential of this strategy (and give you a few color, size and style options to choose from, too).

First, the Coupe deploys as fast as a regular transforming sofa, but expands vertically rather than horizontally to create a pair of beds stacked on top of one another. Based out of Greece, Proteas is a 50-year-old furniture company specializing in high-end designs. The Coupe comes in blue, red, green, brown or beige.

An alternative option that transforms slightly less quickly but unfolds along similar lines (and may be more robust due to its use of side supports) is the DOC.

Designed by BonBon, a UK company, it likewise lifts up to reveal a ladder and second-level sleeping area for guests, starting as a sofa. The DOC comes in in red, purple or orange.

Finally, from Resource Furniture, “the Palazzo bunk bed system, an innovative design that transforms from a sofa to a bunk bed, provides multiple functions while maximizing space. The beds are available with low or high armrests and come equipped with wood-slatted bed springs and removable mattresses. The bunk bed system includes exceptional safety features, including a locking mechanism and a complete barrier around the top bunk.”

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LiftBed & BedUp: 2 Space-Saving Beds Stored on Ceilings

In a bid to one-up the traditional fold-up Murphy bed, two companies are switching a wall-based storage approach for a ceiling-centric alternative. For those …
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Beyond Sofa Beds: 7 Creative New Kinds of Sleeper Couch

Sofa beds have a bad reputation for being low on style and high on discomfort, but this new crop of sleeper couches is changing that perception for the better.
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Prototype to Reality: Super Space-Saving Bedroom Set

The Matroshka all-in-one, space-saving furniture set starts out as a compact cube and unpacks into an entire room of furniture, including a bed and dining …
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[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

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WebUrbanist

October 3, 2014
Insane Yacht’s Floating Garage Doubles as an Indoor Pool

[ By Steph in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

File this one under ‘billionaire toys that will simultaneously make you envious and give you a rage headache:’ the J’ade by CRN is the world’s first mega-yacht featuring a floating garage, which doubles as an ‘indoor’ swimming pool when not in use.

The hydraulic-operated bay of this ‘flooded garage’ makes it easy to store and access smaller watercraft (in this case, an 8-meter Riva ISEO speedboat) without the need for a tender lift, drying out in just three minutes. The doors can also be closed with water in the bay to create a protected ocean pool, potentially making open-sea night swims feel a lot less scary.

The 60-meter J’ade has room for 13 crew members and 10 guests, with an appropriately luxurious marble and rosewood interior, four decks, an outdoor diving table for up to 14 people, an audio/video entertainment system and a marble bar in the main salon with an aquarium backdrop. There’s also a hot tub on the spacious upper deck.

“Ready for delivery to the billionaire owner,” this insane super yacht doesn’t have a public price tag, but it’s safe to say that only the wealth hoarders of the world can even afford to get a close-up look.

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4 Fantasy Yachts that Blend Sleek & Silly in Style

Come aboard and set sail on a tour of the extremely luxurious and incredibly well-designed offerings from one fledgling yacht company.
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Dream Boats: 15 Insanely Luxurious Super-Yacht Designs

If you have a few hundred million in the bank (or just like to fantasize about it,) you’ll want to peruse this selection of superyachts decked out with …
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Flip for Fun: 4 Clever Pool Tables that Convert & Transform

Pool is one of those great American hobbies that never seems to get old. As much as we might want to play every day, not everyone has the space to fit an …
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[ By Steph in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

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WebUrbanist

October 2, 2014
Transforming Transit: 13 Compact Scooters, Skates & More

[ By Steph in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

Zoom past backed-up traffic and crowded sidewalks on an electric unicycle, motorized skates or a fold-up scooter/backpack combo. Urban personal transit is going electric and ultra-compact so you can reach your destination faster and then pack up your wheels and slide them under your desk or into your locker.

Olaf Scooter Backpack

The Olaf is a carry-on suitcase, trolley, kick-scooter and skateboard in one, with an instant ‘pedal transformation system’ enabling the switch from one function to the next. It has everything a business traveler needs in a compact, airline-approved suitcase, but it’s also suited for urban commuting, with a soft wooden longboard that flips up and down with a kick of the foot. The creators are currently raising funds on Kickstarter to bring it into production.

Motorized Skates

If you find roller blades too dorky or slow to be a real option for travel around the city, maybe you just need a little boost. SpnKiX are motorized skates that strap on over your shoes, operated by a hand-held remote control so you can control your acceleration at the press of a button.

Snap Folding Skateboard

Skateboards may be portable, but they can be annoying to carry around all day. Enter the ‘SNAP,’ a foldable skateboard designed with students and commuters in mind. The full-sized longboard fits inside any locker with hinges that fold the deck in thirds. According to the designers, dividing the deck in three makes each individual section much stronger and more durable than a full-length wood deck.

Urban Glider

This lightweight single-wheeled cycle will get you around town quickly, but is as easy to transport as a suitcase. The Urban Glider uses a gyroscopically-stabilized electric mono-wheel to keep you upright as you stand on the pedals, and you control it by leaning back, forward or to either side. While it only goes about 13 miles per hour at most, it’s faster than walking, and the battery lasts up to 6 hours per charge, taking just 30 minutes to juice back up.

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Transforming Transit 13 Compact Scooters Skates More

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Urban Glider: Compact Portable Electric Unicycle for Cities

Light, small and surprisingly fast, this single-wheeled cycle is designed to let you zip around cities, then stop and pick it up like a suitcase when you …
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Odd-Wheel Wonders: 11 Novel Vehicles with 1 or 3 Wheels

When you get around, it’s usually on two or four wheels. But the inventors of these crazy vehicles decided to go a different route by using one or three wheels.
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Rockin’ Chairs : 12 Concept Personal Mobility Scooters

These 12 personal mobility scooters are to aging Baby Boomers what souped-up Harleys were to Easy Rider’s Wyatt & Billy, just less quick and more quiet.
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[ By Steph in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

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WebUrbanist

October 2, 2014
IKEA Flips Condo Sideways to Create Furniture Climbing Wall

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Guerilla Ads & Marketing. ]

Furnishings become footholds, supports and resting spots as you scale the flipped-over floor of this fanciful apartment, opened to the public as a method to market a new IKEA store location.

Set up in front of an historic church in Clermont-Ferrand, France, locals were invited to scale various routes (four paths in total) of different difficulties made for both children and adults, created in collaboration with Ubi Bene, a local communications agency.

The mock apartment features beds, bookcases, chairs, tables and other fixtures set against prints, carpets, tiles and textiles, all actually on sale in the store being advertised.

Professional climbers were on hand at the opening to help people get outfitted and learn to climb – probably not something that would have been an easy sell in a country like the United States with its safety restrictions.

Spanning roughly 30 feet vertically and horizontally, the area is effectively that of (close to) a 1000-square-foot living space.

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Climbing Wall Treadmill: Exercise Machine Rocks Your House

Far more exciting than a walking treadmill or elliptical machine, this infinite rock wall brings the challenges (and hard exercise) of scaling sheer cliffs …
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Off the Wall: 14 3D Graffiti Designs from Furniture to Homes

Flat paint on two-dimensional surfaces springs to life in surprising ways in these 14 graffiti-inspired projects ranging from sand sculptures to entire …
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Transforming Furniture: Fitting 5 Rooms into 640 Square Feet

With a mostly-open floor plan tucked into 60 square meters of space, the design challenge was to effectively fit the functionality of five rooms into the …
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[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Guerilla Ads & Marketing. ]

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WebUrbanist

October 1, 2014
Guerrilla Moss Graffiti: 8-Step DIY Guide to Green Wall Art

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

Seed bombs and shotgun shell sprouts are not the only weapons in a guerrilla war for urban gardens and green street art – moss is a great material that can be rapidly adapted and deployed to make statements on city surfaces as well.

Indeed, using mosses allows artists to go above and beyond the ground, shifting from horizontal to vertical spans for a different look and added visibility. And, as it turns out, creating moss wall art is not as difficult as you might guess – do-it-yourself directions are shown in detail below.

First, you have to gather some moss, naturally, which you can then mix with water-retention gardening gel and some buttermilk then blend together for a few minutes to form a gelatinous substance.

Shift your creation into a portable container then select and paint it onto a surface of choice – if the area will not be exposed to moisture, you may want to come back by and spray on some water from time to time.

Remember, too, that there are many ways to take this process further and create additional kinds of green artwork, mossy or otherwise.

Meanwhile, if you find a surface already mossed over thanks to time and nature, selectively erasing sections of growth can be a fun form of expression as well.

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Removing Moss as Art: Reverse Graffiti Goes Subtractive

Artist Strook uses a pressure washer to remove moss from a wall in certain patterns, revealing a mural of an urban scene.
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Painting the Town Green: 7 Works of Plant, Grass & Moss Art

Here are seven examples of green creativity that involve alternative uses of natural materials, including grass-covered cars and farm-field murals.
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Gratuitous Graffiti: Wild Robot Makes Random Wall Tags

If there is s science to the art of graffiti, well, this is not it – except insofar as this robot-artist was itself born of scientific experimentation!
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[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

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WebUrbanist

September 30, 2014
Street Sign Sports: Urban Alterations for Physical Fitness

[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

Street signs and lamp posts turn into soccer goals, basketball hoops and mini golf courses with the addition of just a few pieces of plug-in sports equipment. The year-long installation by Florian Brillet and Nicolas Lelievre in collaboration with ad firm JCDecaux, which will be up until June 2015, turns the city of Paris into one big playing field.

This urban hack is entitled ‘Mens Sana in Corpore Sano,’ a Latin aphorism that translates to ‘A Sound Mind in a Sound Body.’ The route that leads from one of these installations to the next has become a fitness trail, encouraging passersby to engage with their environment in a new, more active way.

Take a moment to let out a little bit of stress boxing, try your hand at hoops or kick a ball around. The creators call it “an appeal to the imagination,” saying “each post can be seen as a small chimera hybridizing existing forms to play in the same object sport, the image of the sport and the idea of traveling around the city” [translated from French.]

While this project was (presumably) officially sanctioned by the city of Paris, it’s another cool example of DIY urbanism, hacking the city environment to make it more efficient, useful and fun for the people who live there.

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7 Extreme Urban Sports Videos: Parkour, Biking & Blading

Here are some extreme city sports you aren’t likely to see in a sports stadium – fasten your seat belt and strap on your helmet for seven really wild rides.
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Surprise! 20 Subversive Works of Urban Guerrilla Street Art

Whether using the streets as a blank canvas or masterminding ‘interventions’, these street artists help change the public perception of everyday urban life.
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LED Throwies: Subversive Street Art Adds Urban Color

Watch some people create ‘LED Throwies’ out of simple lithium batteries and paint the town with multicolored lights to a mellow tune.
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[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

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WebUrbanist

September 30, 2014
Future Typing: 15 Creative Keyboard Designs & Concepts

[ By Steph in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]

If your hand has ever molded into a claw from typing on a conventional keyboard for too long, or you’re in the habit of hovering over your workspace with a bowl of noodles, pay attention. These 15 unusual keyboard designs include built-in bowls, flip-out panels for the fat-fingered, virtual displays and one-handed grips.

Keyboard-Plate Combo

Our computer keyboards are known to be among the most germ-ridden places known to man, but that doesn’t stop most of us from hovering over them as we eat our meals (thus, making the problem even worse.) This keyboard/plate combo by Dutch designer Hella Jongerius aims to solve that problem by adding a bowl to the center. Unfortunately, as much as gamers, students and over-achievers would probably love this to be a real product, it’s just a tongue-in-cheek concept.

Virtual Laser Keyboard

The future of keyboards is almost certainly virtual, with lasers projected onto a flat surface and optics that track the movement of your fingers. Keyboards like this still seem futuristic to many people, but they’re already available. This model goes for $ 119.99 at Brookstone.

Inside-Out Keyboard

The Inside-Out keyboard by designer Min Koo Yeo might just be a peek at what gesture-based keyboards will look like just a few years from now. While the front side is a standard keyboard with its own mini track pad, the back side is one big “smart” track pad for a greater range of gesture-based commands.

Wearable Sensors as Keyboards

The tiny keyboards on mobile devices can be frustrating for anyone with larger fingers. What if you could just cuff a couple devices onto your hands and ‘type’ on a flat surface instead? AirType detects the movement of your fingers and translates them into alphanumerical input. According to the creators, the device will learn from you, adapting to your personal typing style and habits.

Paper Keyboard

The Verbatim Virtual Keyboard by designer Florian Kraeutli turns a simple piece of paper printed with letters into a fully functioning keyboard. It puts the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer to work measuring and identifying the location of letters on the paper. At 80% accuracy, the concept still needs work, but it’s an intriguing start.

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Future Typing 15 Creative Keyboard Designs Concepts

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Retractable extension cords that work like tape measures, circular wall outlets and modular power strips are among these 13 electrifying innovations.
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[ By Steph in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]

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WebUrbanist

September 30, 2014
Sewer Pipe Sofa: Rusted NYC Tubes Recycled as Urban Seating

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

The latest in a long line of city-centric upcycling projects, this modular couch turns the ultimate in untouchable urban infrastructure into a chic industrial work of furniture.

Carlo Sampietro created the Cloche Sofa after seeing a section of sewage pipe abandoned by a construction site, its spot being fit for replacement with a new set of tubes.

He then fitted the ends with stabilizing structural circles and plasma-cut sections for seats, welding them back into place, hinging them and creating two locked positions (open and closed). Various configurations can be achieved by opening and closing sections to create a pair of chairs, a love seat or a full sofa.

This is far from the first time that Sampietro has reworked urban elements into new forms – his Cloche Chairs turned safety barrels from “symbols of caution into objects of comfort.”

Some of his pieces draw on the visual language of familiar street objects, but interpret them in new ways, like this police barrier table constructed from walnut, steel, resin and using LEDs (which light up through its lettering below).

More about the sofa from the artist: “It represents landscape evolution that dismantles established structural standards and elements of construction materials, and repurposes a found material into sophisticated design, reshaping a common object into a meaningful amalgam. This piece harnesses objects that outlived their original uses, were discarded, reclaimed and renovated. The evolution of this landscape design could be achieved by taking in consideration other material such as concrete, stainless steel, wood or marble, all cylindrical forms present in existing construction materials or natural environment. The tube shape is accented by LED side panels and the conic footing. This renders the object’s hybrid functionality almost invisible, unnoticeable at the first glance.”

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Ultimate Modular Sofa Fits in Endless Configurations

Multi-functional, multi-configuration, multi-shaped sofas can be manipulated to the heart’s content and pulled into seemingly endless configurations.
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Refab: 20 Eye-Catching Pieces of Recycled Urban Furniture

These urban furniture designers prove recycling can be a lot more interesting than stuffing cans, bottles and cardboard into the proper containers.
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WebUrbanist

September 29, 2014