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Magnetically Attractive Furniture & Decor: 14 Floating Designs

28 Jan

[ By Steph in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

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A billionaire who’s really into magnets could fill his entire home with levitating objects, from a bed platform that costs nearly two million dollars down to his clothes hangers, houseplants, lamps, computer mouse and even salt and pepper shakers. While some of these designs are utterly lacking in practicality, others make up for it in fun.

Floating Bed
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Tethered to its base with steel cables, a heavy slab of wood levitates in midair, clearly unsupported. Sold as an ‘art piece,’ which appears to be an implicit acknowledgement that few people will ever actually have this thing in their homes, the Floating Bed fittingly debuted at the Belgium ‘Millionaire Fair.” It uses the power of permanent opposing industrial-strength magnets and can hold 900 kilograms (1984 pounds) of weight. A smaller fifth-scale version can be used as a table. Truly a toy for billionaires, the bed version will set you back $ 1.75 million.

Air Bonsai
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Everything about this little potted plant looks like an ordinary bonsai – except the fact that the tree is actually floating. Hidden inside the pot and moss ball are two powerful magnets that literally levitate the entire plant above the ‘energy base.’ No optical illusions here. Currently raising funds on Kickstarter, the project is called ‘Air Bonsai’ and comes in a range of pots, with plants to be procured locally.

Hovering Computer Mouse

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Designed to relieve pressure on the median nerve of the wrist to prevent injuries like carpal tunnel, The Bat is a levitating computer mouse that hovers 40 millimeters above the pad when not in use, or 10 millimeters with the pressure of your hand. The design was supposed to be released a few years ago after a period of testing, and since that never happened, it seems unlikely it’ll ever be for sale, but it’s an interesting prototype.

FLOAT Table
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Push on this Rubik’s cube-like arrangement of wooden blocks and it’ll give slightly and then bounce back, each individual cube separated from its neighbors by an inch or so of space. The tiny steel cables that can be seen between them aren’t holding them up – they’re keeping the whole thing together. The walnut blocks of the Float Table by RockPaper Robot are, of course, embedded with magnets to produce this cool-looking effect. “Each handcrafted table is precisely tuned to seem rigid and stable, yet a touch reveals the secret to Float’s dynamic character.”

Cliq Magnetic Clothes Hangers
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When you need a specific garment, just tug gently on the Cliq hanger by Flow Design, which is magnetically held to any metal clothes bar. Replacing the hooks with strong earth magnets, the hangers each support up to two kilograms of weight and can also be used underneath larger metal surfaces like shelves.

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Magnetically Attractive Furniture Decor 14 Floating Designs

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Cyclist-Centric Decor: Furniture with Built-in Bike Racks

28 Jan

[ By Steph in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

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Bikes are a convenient way to get around in the city, but if you’re like most of the cycling masses in crowded urban locales, you probably don’t have a dedicated and tidy-looking spot for your bike inside your apartment. Space is always at a premium, so sometimes, just hanging it from the ceiling is your only option. But what if an existing piece of functional furniture could be adapted not only to store your bike, but put it on display, too?

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This series of bike-centric furniture by Chilean designer Manuel Rossel features simple cut-outs for bike wheels. Not only is there always a place to put your bike, you’re basically making it a major focal point in the room (which could be a good or bad thing, depending on whether you’re riding a replaceable thief-unfriendly beater or a bike that’s a work of modern design in itself.)

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That’s intentional, says Rossel, noting that when you put a bike on top of a bookshelf, it take the place of what would normally be the center of attention: the television. “It changes the cult of the TV to one of the bike,” he told Fast Company. “It’s a way to optimize space that’s scarce in urban centers. If you already store your bike inside, it’s a way to avoid marking the walls. It also turns into a firm support that keeps the bike from falling.”

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The furniture line includes single-tier bookshelves with either straight or angled bike niches, a sideboard and a couch. The bikes are currently only available in Chile, but may soon go on sale internationally.

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Last Stop: Japan Keeps Old Train Station Open for Lone Passenger

27 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Culture & History & Travel. ]

japan railways deserted abandoned

In a remote area of Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, a train stops just twice a day, as it has for years: once to pick up a girl on her way to school, and once to drop her back off afterward.

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The otherwise-abandoned Kyu-Shirataki station remains open, thanks to Japan Railways, which honored the request of two parents to continue transporting their daughter back and forth until she graduates.

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The physical space is remarkably well-kept despite its relative disuse, still containing route maps and schedules as any other station would, despite serving as essentially a single-person shelter for the place’s only daily passenger.

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As the country’s population continues to shrink as well as urbanize, rural routes like this one have been forced to close – only high-speed railway lines remain on the rise. Fans of Japan Railways’ actions in this case see it as a victory for common courtesy as well as education. The line will ultimately close completely after the girl graduates and moves on (via CityLab).

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America’s Oldest Mall Now Houses Affordable Micro Apartments

26 Jan

[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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Built in 1828, the first enclosed shopping mall in America now has affordable housing beyond its grand Ionic columns in place of cramped, struggling retail stores, with most of the historic architectural details preserved. Rhode Island’s Providence Arcade began its long tenure in the capital city’s downtown district as Westminster Arcade, three stories of shops under a glass gable roof with sunlight streaming down to the first level in the airy atrium. But even back then, nobody seemed to want to go beyond the first level, putting the mall at risk of being razed decade after decade.

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Preservationists intervened to save it in 1944, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976, which still didn’t do much for business. It languished, with most of its retail spaces empty, until its closure in 2008, when its owners realized it had become “economically obsolete.” But as housing costs in the city rose through the proverbial roof, one developer saw the potential for the Arcade to shift its primary purpose.

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A $ 7million renovation completed in October 2013 added 38 standard rental units  and eight larger apartments to the second and third floors, keeping the bottom floor for commercial use. The micro apartments measure from 225 to 300 square feet and include a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and storage, including built-in bed platforms and wardrobes. Some even have sleeping spaces for guests in the form of twin Murphy beds.

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Residents at the complex also have access to a game room, laundry facilities and additional storage space, and in case you’re wondering what it would be like to basically live in a mall, the commercial spaces on the bottom floor are enclosed by bay windows to keep noise to a minimum. Rent starts at just $ 550 a month, luring in a waitlist that’s at least 4,000 names deep.

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Cannabis to Grand Pianos: 14 Radical Modern Retail Designs

26 Jan

[ By Steph in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]

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Whether selling recreational marijuana or grand pianos that cost almost as much as a house, this eclectic mix of retail stores really sets off their products with eye-popping interior design schemes featuring unusual architectural elements. Some of the shops might even be at risk of outshining what they sell with modern sculptural displays, dramatic hanging staircases and faux truck facades.

Stunning Steinway Piano Showroom

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The stainless wires on the facade of the flagship Asian Steinway & Sons showroom mimics those inside the luxury pianos on display, only slightly obscuring them and the people who test them out within the beautifully illuminated space. Designed by SALT, the shop’s main room mimics the living rooms of European manors.

Clear as Day: Crisp White at Optimist Eyewear Store

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A perfectly clean, crisp white terrace that looks almost like a pristine glass cube from the street is tucked into a dingy alleyway in Greece as part of optical shop c_29 / optimist. The airy space by 314 Architecture Studio modernizes the classic Greek aesthetic, with the products tucked into prismatic sculptural furniture.

Hawaiian Theme for Pineapple Express Cannabis Store
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A creative firm called McBride company is anticipating the day when the sale of both medical and recreational marijuana becomes legal nationwide, and has designed a concept for a national chain of cannabis retails stores called Pineapple Express. “The industry needs to provide a sales experience that reflects the evolving perception of marijuana,” says CEO Pat McBride. “The store design and atmosphere we created offers consumers a space that incorporates all the elements of great retail design, but addresses the unique display and service challenges faced by the cannabis retail industry. Our goal was to make this a true retail experience, meaning customers should feel completely comfortable and entertained, while also safe and secure. Some elements of cannabis shops today have the opposite effect, especially when the focal point is a long consultation counter where customers must wait to be helped.”

Greenhouse Effect at Mit Mat Mama in Barcelona
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Shoppers feel like they’re walking into a tropical greenhouse as they enter the Mit Mat Mama maternity store in Barcelona by architect Román Izquierdo Bouldstridge. Emphasizing a feeling of freshness, harmony and natural beauty, the store consists of a modular system of wooden ladders stretching up to the ceiling that are used to display plants. The scheme adds visual interest without blocking views of the entire space.

Fiberglass Cave at SND Fashion Store by 3GATTI
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Vertical sheets of white fiberglass hang from the ceiling of SND Fashion Store in Chongqing, China to create an undulating canopy that utterly transforms the entire interior. Shanghai-based studio 3GATTI gets a little catty in their explanation for the design, saying “We used a very thin white translucent fiberglass material because of its fire resistance and the way it reacted to light, thus creating a ceiling landscape that would be a spectacular source of beauty and emptiness; perfect for every fashion victim.”

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Cannabis To Grand Pianos 14 Radical Modern Retail Designs

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Uncanny Volley: 15 Abandoned Tennis Courts & Clubs

25 Jan

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Shed no racket tears for these abandoned tennis courts as there’s no bawls in tennis… OK, that’s out of line but these courts ARE out of service.

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Looking like a set from The Walking Dead, this precariously covered tennis club in Europe’s Benelux region appears to have been abandoned twice – once by tennis players, then by the artist who owns (or owned) the place.

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The former club must have been more than just a private backyard court – at least one line judge’s chair can be seen, shunted off to the side. Odd that the artist adaptively reusing the club as a studio would save such a specialized piece of furniture. Kudos to Flickr user Tunebm, who somehow was able to access the abandoned court in early July of 2010.

Wimble-don’t

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Flickr user John Haslam (foxypar4) titles the above November 2008-dated photo “Malta in audacious bid to stage ATP Masters Series Final!,” and you can bet that’s an event anyone would gladly pay to see. Set into the long-dry moat surrounding the ancient fortified city of Mdina, the court has at least one thing going for it: chances of a successful Ottoman invasion are very unlikely.

The Open is Closed

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Blue-blooded businessman and banker William du Pont, Jr (1896-1965) was quite the sportsman in his day. In the depths of the Great Depression, he had a grandiose recreation center housing basketball and badminton courts, a bowling alley, a swimming pool and a large clay tennis court built at his Bellevue Hall, Delaware estate.

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By the early 1970’s, none of du Pont’s heirs had any interest in the estate’s deteriorating sports facilities nor the expense required for their upkeep. The property was purchased by the state of Delaware in 1976, opened to the public under the name of Bellevue State Park… and continued its inexorable decay. By 2014 when the above images were taken by Kyle Grantham for The News Journal , the sky-lit tennis court was overgrown with vegetation, infested with wildlife, and had been slated for demolition.

Get A Grip

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This gorgeous abandoned tennis court in Herzliya, Israel would appear to have everything but regular maintenance and the odd player or two. According to Flickr user Elinor Zach (who snapped the seaside scene on January 2nd of 2008), “This tennis court used to belong to a hotel that was super posh in the 80s. I wish I could see the characters that used to bounce their little green balls there.” That’s what SHE said.

Net Loss

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Flickr user Franck VIALA (Artretros) got down & funky – or should we say, fuzzy – back in September of 2011 when he snapped this shot of an abandoned French tennis court. “An abandoned tennis court where I used to play since I was 10 maybe,” states the photographer, possibly with the pictured tennis ball.

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Uncanny Volley 15 Abandoned Tennis Courts Clubs

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Trail Blazing: ‘Freezeway’ Path for Ice Skaters Opens in Canada

24 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

freezeway opening canada edmonton

The new Freezeway pilot project now live in Edmonton aims to draw residents out of hibernation, encouraging them to skate along an iced trail system slated to double as a seven-mile commuting corridor.

freezeway frozen pathway

What started as a landscape architecture student’s conceptual project has already become a 1,300-foot ice pathway in winter that also serves as a bike route during the summer.

freezeway pilot program

The vision is well-adapted to the conditions of the city, which faces below-freezing temperatures for up to five months out of the year, and has been nicknamed Deadmonton for its lack of wintertime outdoor activity.

freezeway concept

The opening of the first stretch of Freezeway has been accompanied by a disco-style light show of rainbow colors projected onto the frozen path.

From the designer: “This project is not meant to be a tax payer’s burden. The Freezeway is meant upgrade city infrastructure for a multitude of uses, potentially doing wonders for the redeveloping City’s core, our international reputation, as well as attract investment into the City. The proposed route exists entirely on existing City infrastructure; the land is already secured. The numerous character areas along the route could be developed in phases, lending themselves well to private funding/sponsorship, like Calgary’s GlobalFest, or Vancouver’s Festival of Light fireworks shows, funded by donations of over 1 million dollars annually.”

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Halfway House: Townhouse Duplex Split Straight Down the Middle

23 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

halfway house real

It looks more like an optical illusion or photo edit than a real dwelling, but this hundred-year-old halved townhouse really stands (out) on the streets of Toronto.

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54 1/2 St. Patrick was built in the early 1890s as part of a set of six homes with shared walls. Starting in the 1950s, owners of the neighboring units started to crumble under pressure from a developer, slowly selling their domiciles one at a time.

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As a result, each of the other structures was torn down with surgical precision. When the occupant of the final house in the row refused to sell at any price, they cleaved off the other half of the building and the shared structural wall running down the middle was reinforced and covered in concrete.

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The neighboring Village by the Grange opened in the mid-1970s. According to author and photographer Chris Bateman, “54 1/2 St. Patrick is currently vacant. No-one answered when I knocked at the door and the front room has been stripped to the floorboards. Perhaps it’s being spruced up, it would surely be worth it. The current assessment on file with the city lists the value at $ 648,000.”

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Dyslexic Designer Creates Custom Typeface Addressing Disorder

21 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Graphics & Branding. ]

dyslexic typeface

Designed to address the visual processing problems associated with dyslexia, this font uses a set of tailored strategies to make reading easier for those with the disability.

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Christian Boer developed Dyslexie from first-hand knowledge of its effects. “When they’re reading, people with dyslexia often unconsciously switch, rotate and mirror letters in their minds,” he explains.

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“Traditional typefaces make this worse, because they base some letter designs on others, inadvertently creating ‘twin letters’ for people with dyslexia.”

dyslexie mirroring dislexic address

dyslexic p b q

For simplicity, clarity and consistency, most typefaces involve numerous mirrored letters, such as an ‘m’ that is a doubled ‘n’ which in turn is an upside-down ‘u’, or ‘b’ flipped to become ‘p’s and ‘q’s.

dyslexie design principles

To address this, Boer thickened the bottom portions of letters, making it more clear which end is up and creating clearer distinctions between different characters in the process. Larger spaces and punctuation are also made to make everything more legible.

dyslexie design strategy

“By changing the shape of the characters so that each is distinctly unique, the letters will no longer match one another when rotated, flipped or mirrored,” Boer said. “Bolder capitals and punctuation will ensure that users don’t accidentally read into the beginning of the next sentence.”

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Masterpiece Mashup: Genre-Crossing Digital Art Compositions

21 Jan

[ By Steph in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

masterpiece mashup 2

Diverse artistic disciplines from graphic design to architecture come together, crossing boundaries and merging eras, to bring the likes of Marina Abramovic and Marcel Duchamp together in this series of digital compositions. Italian architecture student Davide Trabucco diagonally bisects square-shaped sections of classic paintings, film stills, ad campaigns and photos of buildings and installations, putting them together in unexpected ways.

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The series, entitled Confórmi, has artists, designers and architects stepping into each other’s work, juxtaposing mediums and genres that you’d never imagine seeing in one image. These seemingly disparate masterpieces seamlessly meld together, revealing the basic elements of design that they all have in common, like composition, color, lines, tones and textures.

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The Nike swoosh (designed by Carolyn Davidson in 1971) merges into the rooftop terrace of Curzio Malaparte in Italy. Architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe steps in for the bartender in Manet’s famous 1882 painting of the Folies-Bergéres. Darth Vader’s light saber becomes an illuminated gallery installation by Dan Flavin.

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Says the artist (translated from Italian), “I created this ‘archive’ to manage my ‘heritage’ of knowledge and references in art and architecture. The new images, then are born like this: at the very moment in which a painting, a facade, a sculpture I remember another. The subtitle of the work then, the forms belong to no one, aims to highlight that the artist and his products are independent… most forms are often already present in nature, and only need us to process them and give them new meaning.”

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