Be Open think tank

#BeOpenDESIGN Sergii Gordieiev, engineer and YouTuber extraordinaire, is known for his ingenious inventions such as a bicycle that wraps around a pole. His new video shows the building and operation of a working model of a bicycle with square wheels. The wheel on the bike doesn’t actually roll, rather the rubber on a conveyer belt-like platform rotates as you put the foot to the pedal, just like with a war tank. The concept is fully working and you can ride and make turns.

#BeOpenARCH Architecture studio Edmonds International has created a hotel a resort on the Mayan Riviera near a nature reserve in Mexico. The project consists of a series of interlocking circular and semi-circular pavilions embedded in a mangrove forest. The facades were designed to open the resort up to the natural surroundings, and to the sea. Surrounding natural landscape was physically protected during construction. The extensive use of prefabricated elements and precast concrete foundations together with above-grade steel structure was used to avoid excessive onsite concrete pours during construction.

#BeOpenARCH Architect Shail Patel has used an artificial intelligence design tool Midjourney to conceptualize a series of modular bridge pods for the homeless. The project offers a sustainable solution to address the issue by activating underused urban spaces. It is designed to be self-contained living spaces that provide privacy and comfort to the occupants year-round. The pods are integrated with ample natural light, ventilation, and heating and cooling systems, and built out of eco-friendly materials. Allowing for easy assembly, the project is easy to expand it quickly.

#BeOpenDESIGN Flemish designer Dirk Wynants has re-imagined the classic picnic table for his own furniture brand Extremis. Named Hopper, the outdoor furniture piece comprises a long table and two benches formed of a single continuous piece of aluminium. The table silhouette is inspired by the hop fields of Belgium's “Westhoek” region. Its characteristic feature is easy entry points at the ends to get oneself seated. This eliminates the need to scramble over the tablemates to reach the table. More extraordinary takes on a picnic table in our blog

#BeOpenART Erwin Wurm is a contemporary Austrian artist working across several media. For him, humor is primarily a method for getting people’s attention—it should ultimately prompt people to look at things more carefully. This June, the exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK, will showcase over one hundred works spanning thirty years of the artist’s career, some of them displayed for the first time. Among them are three pieces from Wurm’s ‘Bags’ series, which explore objects of status and consumer culture. One of these sculptures, called ‘Big Step’ (2021), is five meters tall and pastel blue, and is designed to resemble the Hermès Birkin bag — a contemporary symbol of prestige and wealth.

#BeOpenDESIGN Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary design studio The Urban Conga has created Together, a community table, a place for social interaction where people listen, learn and connect with one another around the past, present, and future of Highland Park in Pittsburgh. The design contains a series of stepped surfaces that wrap and frame two existing old ash trees that sit within the site serving as natural shade for the space during the summer. The design of the pattern cut into the surfaces of the platform was generated from images of water ripples to create a feeling of movement within the work and space.

#BeOpenDESIGN Wilson, the company that produces the official NBA game basketball, has introduced the world’s first 3D-printed basketball that doesn’t need to be inflated to keep its spherical shape but is truly playable. The company claims it nearly fits the performance specifications of a regular basketball, including its weight, size, and bouncing capabilities. The airless ball was created in collaboration with General Lattice, who provided computational design services; DyeMansion, who gave it its black color and finishing touches; and EOS, a 3D-printing solutions company. The 3D-printed basketball made its debut during the first round at the 2023 Slam Dunk contest, as it was used by Houston Rockets player Kenyon Martin Jr.

#BeOpenDESIGN South Korean designer Jay Sae Jung Oh, now based in Seattle, revives everyday objects with handcraft. She combines sculptural discarded objects, such as a broken chair, a bicycle missing a wheel, or a damaged rocking horse, with pieces of trash like bottles and packaging and then wraps them in natural jute cord to form bespoke works of functional art. Her first Savage chair debuted as her Cranbrook graduation project in 2011. Today she experiments with the technique to create elaborate furniture pieces.

#BeOpenNEWS New open call is on! Our new Instagram open call #BEOPENGoodMorning celebrates all those things that help us wake up and get ready for the day – be it coffee in your favourite mug, your morning stretch, the sunlight on your windowpane, capture those precious details and turn them into little stories of yourselves. We invite you to share those visuals in order to connect with people worldwide, because we believe in your ability to creatively interpret all the details of your morning routines turning them into unique and meaningful visuals. Please share your visions of a good morning with the global community by contributing to our #BEOPENGoodMorning Instagram open call. The entries will close May 31st, 2023. The winner will receive a €300 prize. Learn more at beopensocial.com