Zerogra: Eyewear for Japanese Retailer Megane-Ichiba by Nendo

innovative hingeless titanium design. m.

nendo brings a new vision to major japanese eyewear retail shop megane-ichiba‘s feature product ‘zerogra’ — a name derived from ‘zero gravity’. characterized by a moulded form of curved thin titanium plates, ‘zerogra’ has no hinges on either side resulting in eyeglasses that are lightweight and offer extreme wearability. but on the contrary, as a result of its single-body construction, the frame does not fold inwards, thus making the specs and their accompany case bulky. to enhance the practicality of ‘zerogra’, nendo has introduced a reverse-hinge, enabling the frame to naturally fold inwards. however, just merely doing this would result in excessive stress concentration on a singular point, and the frame would not meet the strength standard of the company; which is to endure 20,000 repetitions of opening and closing. to resolve this issue, nendo has incorporated two slits around the reverse-hinge structure which enable the load to be evenly distributed over the entire frame. these enhancements bring forth in a design that remains compact when not in use, as well as improving wearability, while still maintaining a high level of strength.

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Landmark Architecture helps turn Miami into The “Capital of Latin America”

nice seeing these projects take shape in my latest home-city. m.

international architects are leading Miami’s transforming from a retirement resort into a major cultural destination, according to architects and developers working in the city.

An influx of money from South America coupled with the impact of the Art Basel art fair is driving the change, with a roster of global architects including Sou Fujimoto, Bjarke Ingels and OMA working on prestige cultural and residential projects in the south Florida city.

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Top 10 Museums of 2015

some sharp selections in the mix. m.

there is no doubt that 2015 has been a bumper year for museum buildings. across the globe, a host of recently completed schemes facilitate the human desire to congregate, offering areas designed for the exchange and dissemination of knowledge, inspiration, and creativity. from beirut to moscow, big names in the field of architecture were charged with the task of establishing new cultural landmarks to attract local, national, and international audiences. as we move into december, designboom kicks off its annual round up of the year’s most talked about projects with a look at ten museums that opened their doors in 2015.

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Video — Ascent: An Interactive Light Installation by Nocte

terrific design, context and implementation. m.

commissioned by outdoor equipment specialists the north face for nightray fest in vedron, france, nocte created ‘ascent’ — an interactive light installation that draws on nature for its form, blurring and highlighting its surroundings through varied luminosity. with smooth lines and soft light, the sculpture creates a relationship between humans and the natural landscape. intimately connecting to its site, ‘ascent’ reinterpreted its mountain backdrop and stood as a visual focus of the event. in collaboration with marketing agency octagon, nocte was able to connect with visitors using social media hashtags to interact with and influence the behavior of the geometric visual.

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Tsubomi House by Flat House

wildly creative loft design — love the use of utilitarian materials. m.

Description by Flat House
Takumi Ota Photography

This house is very tiny.

Footprint of this house, including the biscuit shop that is part of the house, is only 26m2. The entire house is divided into seven split levels without partitions and all levels are connected by a staircase situated in the middle of the house. From the shop on the ground floor, this metal staircase connects the kitchen and the dining on 1.5 level, then the living space on 2 level, and finally the sleeping area on the top floor that is shared by all family members. A second set of concrete steps continue from the ground floor to the basement, housing the shop and its bathroom.

Every split level is small – there is barely enough space to place essential furniture. But each space feels sufficient and roomy. This is because all spaces are divided and isolated by different levels but connect one space from another. This gives a feel that each resident lives in multiple small spaces yet one large space simultaneously.

Almost all interior surfaces are made of larch plywood. Each panel is cut into parallelogram and laid out in herringbone pattern. This pattern is repeated on the ivory façade made of galvanized steel sheets and consistently applied to the exterior as well as the interior, evoking more three-dimensional experience.
Today, people communicate, get information and watch television by mobile phone or smart phone in a public space, like inside train. Each family member already has his/her private media even without his/her own private room. So, no one feels the inconvenience.

With every space being so small and further without walls, can be advantageous — residents can move quickly from one space to another. This constant movement can be compared to “mutters of Twitter” where short messages are sent out through the internet. Each space is very small but every action in these small spaces is unique. And the various actions connect one another. Sometimes, the wife stands talking with a customer in the biscuit shop on the first level, then drinks a cup of tea at the dining space on the 1.5 level, then moves up to the second level and watch TV, all in a very small time frame.

We hope the house resembles a closed flower bud squeezed into a metropolis.

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In Suspension by _Naturehumaine

flexible design solution. m.

The concept of In Suspension consists in removing the floor currently separating the two levels to create a wide-open space in which two large boxes appear to float in mid-air. These suspended boxes, adorned with unfinished plywood panels, each contain a bedroom and a bathroom. This configuration creates three gaps, each being two floors high; the centre gap becomes a physical exercise room with a pair of gymnastics rings. The whole structure is connected lengthwise by a block that is painted black; the block accommodates different services, including stairways, a shower room and part of the kitchen. A large island with unfinished wood painted white delineates the kitchen space, with sliding lacquered bookshelves underneath the wooden boxes.

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