The GINA Light Visionary Model by BMW is a concept featuring a flexible fabric skin stretched over an articulated metal frame, meaning the car can change shape. Developed by BMW Group Design and unveiled yesterday, the concept is meant to provoke discussion about the possibilities of car design in the future. Doors open upwards and outwards, creating folds in the material that disappear when the..
Young Spanish architects CrystalZoo have designed an extension to the Seu University of La Nucia, an external site of the University of Alicante in La Nucia, Spain. The two-storey extension wraps around one wing of the existing college building and includes a new reception area and cafeteria. Photographs by Guillermo Luijk and Crystalzoo Studio. The following text is from the architects: – Seu..
Dutch architects MVRDV and Spanish architects GRAS have won a competition to design a new carbon-neutral city in La Rioja, Spain. The development will cover two hills and will include 3,000 social homes with sports facilities, retail, restaurants and gardens. The buildings will occupy 10% of the 56 ha site, with the remaining space used for energy production and as a public park. All energy requ..
An exterior view of the new California Academy of Sciences designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano.Nicolai Ouroussoff writes: "If you want reaffirmation that human history is an upward spiral rather than a descent into darkness, head to the new California Academy of Sciences, in Golden Gate Park, which opens on Saturday." "Designed by Mr. Piano on the site of the academy’s demolished home,..
Architects Foster + Partners have designed the 40 Signature Series yacht for YachtPlus. The 41-metre yacht is under construction at Rodriquez Cantieri Navali boat yard in Italy and will be available from September. The following information is from YachtPlus: – Exclusive to YachtPlus, the Foster designed 40 “Signature Series” is a new concept private luxury super-yacht for a new generation of ya..
The Toyota iQ, a compact city car that is thought to be the smallest four-seater on the market, is about to go into production. The production version, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, has seating for three adults and a child and is 2.985 metres long and 1.5 metres high. Toyota expect to produce 100,000 iQs a year when it goes into production in October. The following is from..
Industrial designer Michael Young has designed Cityspeed, an urban bike for Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer Giant. The bike features LED headlights and tail lights integrated into the frame. This is the second collaborative project between Young and Giant after the Citystorm range, which was released in Japan last year. Giant, the largest manufacturer of bicycles in the world, will officially lau..
Mark Sanders, designer of the Strida Bike, has given Dezeen access to his archive of drawings, models and photographs (including his very first sketch of the bike, above). Here he tells us how the project came about: Dezeen: Why did you first decide to design a folding bike? MS: I am a designer and an engineer and I love to work on mechanical stuff that also has a big aesthetic side. I love the ..
Another product from Normann Copenhagen: Danish architect Britt Kornum has designed a steel version of her Norm 03 Lamp for the Danish brand. The lamp will come pre-constructed, unlike the original version which required the user to assemble the lamp themselves. Norm 03 Steel will be available from September. Below: Britt Kornum See our earlier stories on new Normann Copenhagen products: Cogna..
Portrait is an installation at Somerset House in London, created by designers Fredrikson Stallard for champagne brand Veuve Clicquot. The steel structure, which represents the grain of a block of timber, is illuminated from within at night. The installation was part of the London Design Festival and will be open to the public until the end of this month. Here’s some more information from Veuve C..
