Check out Nike’s newest concept shoe slated to be worn this year at the Olympics by marathon runners. The shoe implements completely new fabrication machinery, software and technology to create a shoe that is crafted to work like a sock.

The video is provocative as well.

MS

In speaking of Research and Development in it’s truest sense, it can be difficult to apply in the fields of design as a blanket statement. Research comes in many forms – papers, data, experimentation, etc. Architecture can be one of those fields that focuses its “research” on larger umbrella types of issues that have a foothold in culture, sociopolitics, economics, environment, and all the forms that those things take. It is possible however, that we are on the cusp of a return to a type of research in our profession that positions itself firmly in a realm of making. The real kind of making. The kind of making where you might get a finger cut off and you need to wear a mask. The kind of making where material and shape and structure are reimagined through a lens of craft and invention in a tangible way.

I recently had the pleasure of being presented a project by Manuel Kretzer and his team at the CAAD at the ETH in Zürich that demanded that type of reaction. To put it simply, it explores the potential application of electro-active polymer (EAP) at an architectural scale. What I found most intriguing about this however, aside from the obvious incredible potential in terms of building technology, is the spirit in which it was approached, and the delight it inspires. From the team:

ShapeShift is an experiment in future possibilities of architectural materialization.

Some interesting project results from the Tex-Fab competition.

Tex-Fab Results

Happy Friday.

MS



..When we’re dancin’ on the ceilin’.

I found this study today for a ceiling in a long dormant project.

Enyoy!

MS

MS

via dezeen

So for the coming of age designer who has traded in long nights in the studio for long nights tending to newborns, check this self heating bottle by Karim Rashid.  As a father myself, I can tell you that a portable, energy conscious method of heating bottles (not through your car) would be of tremendous value, especially with breast milk that needs refrigerated.

iiamo go is a self-heating feeding bottle that gives parents on the go the ability to serve body temperature milk to their baby anywhere anytime without the use of electricity. iiamo go is the only bottle in the world with this unique combination of a portable, non-electrical, throw-away organic heating cartridges (iiamo warm) and a patented heating technology that is integrated into the bottle itself. The process is very simple. Pour the mother’s milk, formula or milk powder in the bottle; insert the cartridge in the bottom of the bottle and then just push, wait a few minutes and serve the milk.

I would encourage all to read the article and comments, as Karim defends his design, and if you are like me, you might appreciate something else besides cynicism and negativity.

MS

The GINA Light Visionary is a BMW Concept car which might redefine the dogma of form-making in the auto industry.

The outer skin of the car is fabric, which covers the metal substructure, almost like a tunic. The cover pulls back for certain functions, including the headlights, which are hidden beneath the fabric when not in use. The rear spoiler also lifts from the skin to create more down-force on the rear axle at higher speeds.

The GINA is driveable, with power coming from a 4.4 liter V8 mated to a six-speed automatic. It rides on 20-inch wheels and is built on a lightweight aluminum space frame.

Think of the potential of limitless variations of style. Amazing.

MS

Image copyright NBBJ, LLC  2007

MS

Here is an image of a screen system I have been developing (rendered with a little 50’s newspaper panache) for a project that I have had the pleasure of helping out on. Pretty straight forward, I think the image speaks for itself, but simply put, the screen tries to achieve depth on a flat façade.

The ultimate goal is to accommodate the multiple scales and gradients of its locale (suburban Moscow) through the use of a panelized screen that can be manipulated to achieve varied effects textually and materially that may respond to program elements of the office behind it. As cost can never be overlooked the screen uses only one panel size, and the effect is achieved simply by spacing the panels differently on vertical struts that run the height of the curtain wall.

The buildings abut end-to-end such that the surface condition can both wrap the corner, and translate across from building to building.

I think all too often we associate “random paneling” with “interesting”, in lieu of actually taking advantage of inherent relationships.

All images copyright NBBJ, LLC 2007

Architecture and its subsequent production are entering a new phase in the processes of its making. It is nothing new that architecture is always a few steps behind the other related design fields, simply because of its cost and multiplicities of coordination, as well as its direct degree of physical influence. Although I don’t think we would have it any other way, other art forms can provide a window into oblique directions we may find ourselves confronting in the years to come.

Commonwealth is an upstart firm based in NYC whose principals, Zoë Coombes and F. David Boira, have recently found themselves extending their expertise gleaned from an architectural based background into the realm of product design-as-art. Having carved for themselves a distinct working studio in Williamsburg, they have begun staging exhibitions which explore the possibilities that occur at the intersection of different design fields. This ongoing investigation goes beyond simply implementing qualities from the respective fields, but rather takes the expertise and stylistic dispositions of the participants and fuses them into a singular project that creates an experience beyond the capacity of what either party might produce individually.

Tropism: Commonwealth vs. Joshua Davis is the most recent installment in these investigations. It is curated by Maxalot, and is currently on view at Espeis Gallery until July 22^nd. A more in depth description of the show can be found here, but as an overview, Commonwealth contributed a vase design that moved from a 3D digital model in Maya, output and rapid-prototyped in SLA plastics to a positive resin form, and then cast and refined in porcelain. Graphic designer Joshua Davis, the shows second participant, wrote programs for generative graphics to uniquely conform to the vase’s topology. Moving from a vector file to a paint sheet, Davis’s graphics were output as ceramic paint and fired onto the digital-porcelain vases. Davis also generated new print work to serve as a backdrop for the vase installation.

The beauty in these works is partly a product of their process. Commonwealth has used the strides in digital manufacturing beyond just making possible the impossible, but have absorbed the inherencies within the media (specifically MEL scripts and Stereolithography) to make art which exploits those potentials. The result is truly a craftsmanship that exudes a degree of control and precision that I think we as designers are constantly searching for. It is a testament to what rigorous process can bring to form, style and material.

Have a gander.

Product Design | www.commonwealth.nu
Graphic Design | www.joshuadavis.com
Curation | www.maxalot.com
Gallery | www.espeis.nu

Flickr Sets | Commonwealth
Flickr Sets | Joshua Davis

MS