Rotterdam-based designer Reinier de Jong has designed an extending bookcase. Called REK, the bookcase consists of five parts, which slide out to accommodate books in the resulting voids as the user accumulates them. “REK is a bookcase that grows with your book collection. The more books, the bigger the bookcase,” explains de Jong. The following information is from the designer: – The zigzag shap..
Dutch atchitects MVRDV have won a competition to design a city centre for Gwanggyo, a new town south of Seoul, Korea. The design will be one of two centres envisioned for the future new town, a self sufficient city of 77,000 inhabitants located 35 km south of Seoul. The Gwanggyo Power Centre will comprise housing, office, culture, retail, leisure and education spaces. “This diverse program has d..
[Image: The Waiting Room, Rome, by Jeffrey Inaba/Inaba Projects]. Jeffrey Inaba of Inaba Projects has a new pavilion on display now in Rome, sponsored by Enel, Italy's largest utilities provider. Because of that sponsorship, Inaba "wanted to use numerous forms of alternative energy applications," but decided, in the end, to apply "just one that was highly productive and cost effective." The pavi..
French car manufacturer Citroën have designed Hypnos, a diesel-electric hybrid 4×4 concept car, which was awarded concept car of the year by British motoring magazine Autocar last month. The 4.9m car features rear hinged back doors and an offset seating arrangement with seats upholstered using “prism-shaped components”. A camera installed in the ceiling monitors the driver’s facial expressions a..
Belgian designer and artist Arne Quinze created a temporary installation at five-star Parisian hotel Le Royal Monceau last month, before the hotel’s closure for a year-long refurbishment. The installation, called Rebirth, lasted just one night as part of Demolition Party, a VIP event on 26 June at which guests were invited to help destroy fixtures at the hotel. Le Royal Monceau will reopen next ..
Design Miami 08: An exhibition of sculptures by Belgian artist Arne Quinze is on show at Wolfgang, Roth and Partners Fine Art as part of Art Basel - Miami Beach in Miami, USA. Quinze describes the Bidonvilles as “shanty towns competing with skyscrapers… Social gravity pushes up the social mass, into the sky.” “The houses will extract all the energy they can from wind, water, sun or frequencies t..
Ofthe countless trains running on Japan’s 20,000-kilometer (12,000-mile)rail network, a few are decorated with images of anime and mangacharacters, colorful ads, and designs by notable artists. Here is asmall sample. Pikachu on Seto line, Aichi prefecture * * * * * Galaxy Express 999 train, Furusato-Ginga line, Hokkaido [Photo] Characters from Leiji Matsumoto’s “Galaxy Express 999″ anime/mangaad..
Another winner from our Dezeen x Design Association container design competition - KT: the listening room by designers MAT Studio and Elastik. The 20 foot shipping container was filled with CNC-cut layers of corrugated fiberboard and compressed-polyester foam panels, which cut out noise and vibration from the outside while the occupant listened to classical music. Fifteen speakers were oriented ..
Milan-based architects Iosa Ghini Associati have designed an extension to a hotel in Budapest, Hungary, called New York Residence. The project comprises an extension to the adjacent New York Palace Boscolo Hotel, including 60 new rooms and a floor of offices. A conference centre attached to the hotel will include an auditorium to seat 500 people, while a commercial gallery and business centre wi..
Here is a full set of images of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, designed by architect I.M. Pei, which officially opened yesterday (Monday). Here is some info from the museum: – MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART OPENS DECEMBER 1 IN QATAR IN ICONIC I.M. PEI-DESIGNED LANDMARK BUILDING Inaugural Exhibition Celebrates Cultural Diversity and Complexity of Islamic Art Doha, QATAR, November 22, 2008 – The..
