Thales: Aeronautical Group by LCR Architectes

innovative green project from the french based studio — creative screen design! the site is zoned for only 9 stories — would love to see these as high-rise towers in a city context. m.

french studio LCR architectes have recently completed the design of a complex for the aeronautical industry group thales, in the south of france. one major component of the site is the lake which is accompanied by thick and large vegetation — offering a green lung to the whole neighborhood.

one characteristic aspect of the complex is the unique layout of sun blocker blades that make up the front skin, creating the desired graphic effect to blur the stratification of different office levels. half of these elements are lacquered in white, and the other half in anthracite grey. this alternation is highlighted by the effects of light and shadow cast unto the blades. as a result, a dynamic depth can be perceived.

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Lenovo’s Smart Speaker Marries Up Alexa Smarts and Harman Kardon Sounds

does anyone know if there is a sound output on the alexa or other similar devices for external speakers? i want mine to go to my b&o speakers. m.

Lenovo’s Smart Assistant Houses Amazon’s Alexa brains in Harman Kardon Speaker Hardware.

Voice-activated speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home have become indispensable as smart assistants. As speakers, though? Not so much. Lenovo’s first foray into the field aims to remedy that shortcoming. Its Smart Assistant houses Amazon’s Alexa brains in hardware with Harman Kardon’s audio-expert approval.

What you gain over Amazon’s hardware offering, though, is an upgraded design and presumably hardier soundscapes. The Smart Assistant still goes the “tall cylinder” route, but looks less like a monolith and more like a thoughtfully engineered Thermos. It’s an improvement. And while it doesn’t offer quite the rainbow of color options as Google Home, it does come in pleasant light gray, green, orange. It comes with eight 360-degree far-field microphones (the Echo has seven, for what it’s worth), with noise suppression and acoustic echo cancellation to help your commands ring true.

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Shrimp Armchair by Jehs+Laub

classic design — reminiscent of the eames lounge with a thinner profile. m.

The name of this piece — Shrimp Armchair, designed by Jehs+Laub for Cor — is quite fitting for its aesthetic. Looking as though it belongs twenty years into the future, this armchair envelops your body as you sit in its sleek, curving cushions.

The plywood is bent into a peculiar shape, molded into its final form due to the slight gaps in between each flap. Overall, I am mesmerized by Shrimp Armchair’s reductionism. Its elegant form is smooth, continuous, and flowing. Although several materials were used in its production, each provide an unobtrusive addition to the chair’s characteristic. The leather looks as though it sinks directly into the plywood, while the entire structure sits a top a beautifully minimal four-pronged support.

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Video — Quarter Mile Arc, Laguna Beach by Phillip K Smith III

stella minimalist installation! m.

An arc of mirrored posts installed by American artist Phillip K Smith III reflected the colours of the Southern Californian landscape as they changed throughout the day.

The Quarter Mile Arc installation stretched in a gentle curve along the sand at the seaside town of Laguna Beach.

Clad in polished stainless steel, the thin posts were embedded into the beach so they stood vertically in a line.

Each measured almost twice the height of an average adult, and were spaced evenly to create a partial barrier between the town and the sea.

Smith used the slithers of reflective surfaces to mirror the landscape, as well as the soft light and dramatic sunsets that Southern California is famous for.

“Stretching along much of Main Beach, the arc forms a visible marker between the man-made and natural worlds, and reflects the changing colours of the ocean, sky, and shoreline throughout the day and night,” said the artist.

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