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Photo courtesy of snohetta.com
Snøhetta designs its first Tokyo project, a restaurant called Burnside, with an all-black interior.
+ Set above a convenience store in Harajuku, Burnside was designed in collaboration with Ghetto Gastro, a Bronx-based food, design, and art collective.
+ The immersive restaurant space was designed to transition from day to night, with a monochromatic black interior that references the dark atmosphere of Tokyo’s izakaya bars and the finish of Shou Sugi Ban charred wood.
Photo courtesy of Emeco
In other creative news, Emeco launches Za, a collection of recycled aluminum stools designed by Naoto Fukasawa.
+ The defined rim of the stools, which come in three heights, keep you seated in the center—a design choice based on Naoto’s vision of making the stool comfortable and giving people “a happy mood when sitting.”
+ Za, which translates to “a place to sit” in Japanese, speaks to the multifunctionality of the stools, which can be used indoors and outdoors.
The most tense part of designing the Ford Bronco: the horse, says Paul Wraith. Photo courtesy of Ford
Looking back on how McKinley Thompson, the first major Black automotive designer, led Ford into the future.
+ McKinley started at Ford in 1956, within Ford’s legendary Advanced Design Studio, where he got his start working on groundbreaking concepts like the Gyron, a futuristic two-wheeled gyrocar.
+ One of McKinley’s early sketches—an open-air 4×4 concept from July 24, 1963— eventually became the Ford Bronco.
Photo courtesy of 60chairs.com
One man, two hands, and three days define Max Lamb’s 60 Chairs project.
+ Part performance and part test of strength, 60 Chairs project was an experiment to explore the challenges of a human production line. Max made each chair by hand over the course of three days—cutting, gluing, and assembling slabs of polystyrene before spraying the chairs with a high-gloss plastic.
+ “The making process was a constant counting game,” Max told Dezeen. “So much repetition. So much counting. So much longing to get to chair number 60.”
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Balloon artist Masayoshi Matsumoto dishes on how he makes his playful balloon creatures.
+ Masayoshi’s intricate balloon animals, fragiles sculptures made by layering balloons, started with his love for creatures, he told It’s Nice That.
+ Each one starts with a trove of reference photos. “Then, I am creating through trial and error, by referring to those photos,” Masayoshi says, during which he wears gloves soaked in water-based wax to stop the balloons from bursting.
Photo courtesy of mecanismo.org
Mecanismo founders Pedro Rica and Marta Urtasun redesigned the classic city bench for Concentrico.
+ As part of the architecture and design festival, which focuses on the urban environment, the pair decided to “analyze an existing urban element with untapped potential,” Marta told Interior Design.
+ The result is an oversized—65 feet—bench called Banquin that is curved almost like a seesaw, which is meant to create a static piece that engages passersby instead of a traditional bench that encourages rest.
Courtesy of populous.com
Populous unveils a new eSports arena in Toronto, marking a new era of eSports architecture.
+ The new venue, to be completed in 2025, will be turtle-like in appearance with wraparound LED screens and 7,000 seats for eSports viewers.
+ The design firm isn’t the first to jump into the eSports design arena. Herman Miller partnered with Logitech G last year for the furniture brand’s first gaming chair.
Photo courtesy of studioroosegaarde.net
Studio Roosegaarde designs a UV light that rids public spaces of coronavirus.
+ Called Urban Sun, the light was created with a team of scientists and can safely clean up to 99.99% of coronavirus.
+ Urban Sun shines a large circle of far-UVC light into public spaces, providing an additional layer of sanitizing. The studio hopes the light can help improve social gatherings and combat social isolation.
Photo courtesy of luciekaas.com
Danish design collective Lucie Kaas memorializes Ruth Bader Ginsburg with Kokeshi Doll for International Women’s Day.
+ Although Lucie Kaas also designs light fixtures and other home objects, it is most known for its Kokeshi Dolls. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the latest in the collection, which includes other notable people such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Frida Kahlo, and Amy Winehouse.
+ The doll is available March 8, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the American Civil Liberties Union—a fitting tribute.
Photo courtesy of orbitalassembly.com
Looking for a luxury retreat that’s out of this world? The first space hotel is set to open in 2027.
+ Conceptualized by Orbital Assembly Corporation, Voyager Station will be a Ferris wheel-like structure in Earth’s low orbit. The attached pods will host a slew of amenities, such as Earth-viewing lounges, bars, a health spa, and rooms that can accommodate up to 400 people.
+ The hotel, which will circle around the earth every 90 minutes, will begin construction in 2025. Talk about a globetrotting getaway.
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