Be Open think tank

#BeOpenART London-based architecture and design studio Heatherwick Studio has erected a 21-metre-high sculpture shaped like a giant tree to celebrate 70 years of the Queen's reign. The installation has a central steel structure surrounded by stacked steel tubes that twist to form the tree's trunk and extend to form branches, which support 350 living trees on its steel branches, giving it the name Tree of Trees. The sculpture was designed to draw attention to a tree-planting program called the Queen's Green Canopy, which aims to encourage tree planting to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

#BeOpenDESIGN Hamburg-based Vakant Design has created the Fogger, a highly efficient vertical planting unit suitable for growing large quantities of food in most compact apartments. The fully automated unit uses “fogponics,” which delivers water and nutrients to plant roots via fog vapor. All the user has to do is take pre-germinated fruit or vegetable seedlings, and insert them with the neoprene plugs into the pillar, where by filling up a tank with water using the included organic fertilizer, a connected cable to an external power supply initiates automatic cultivation. The self-contained system ensures that excess water and nutrients are fed back into the circulation instead of getting lost through seepage or evaporation. We encourage you to share your vision of how we can grow our own food in our own unique ways with the global community by joining our #BEOPENGrowFood Instagram open call. The winner will receive a €300 prize. Find details at beopensocial.com

#BeOpenDESIGN Time seems to become tangible in a surreal bookstore designed by X+Living and located in Qianhai Oct, Shenzhen, China. A large glass façade breaks the spatial barrier between the interior and exterior, allowing consumers to appreciate the retail space from outside, which is almost occupied with a huge art installation – a hieroglyphic spiral ladder that embodies the spiraling and twisting development of history. A massive spiral staircase, which is actually a bookshelf lying on its side on the ground, runs in a curved trajectory through the entire concept area and connects the entrance and exit. When customers gaze at the spiral staircase from the front, they can observe a cut-out in the shape of a clock dial. The handrails in the form of clock hand allude to the fact that this is a ladder of history that has been built up over countless hours.

#BeOpenART The Scroll is the main pavilion of the newly opened Hangang Art Park, an open-air collection curated by Eun Byungsoo that includes 37 new public art pieces. Designed by local studio MOTOelastico, the three loops structure welcomes the visitors with rest and performing areas and provides a key to navigate through the art park. The 90 metres long twisting platform made of FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic) embodies the flowing energy of the water. It is a gigantic miniature covering the entire urban course of the Han River (40.5 Km) divided into 202 block/units, each one representing 200 meters. The aim is to reconnect the people with the mighty power of the river and experience the flow of its energy, both at physical and spiritual level.

#BeOpenARCH A unique staircase with open spaces for reading, drawing and drinking tea and, topped with an integral herb garden, forms the centrepiece for the creative office development Ampersand in London’s Soho district. Aptly dubbed The Living Staircase, the sculptural piece by British designer Paul Cocksedge features integrated plantable areas along the balustrade, which enables it to double function as a working garden. The design removes the load-bearing pillar from the centre of a traditional staircase design and replaces it with a series of zones for relaxation, creative thinking and informal workplace interaction. More extraordinary spiral staircases in our blog

#BeOpenARCH Conceived by Hong Kong based studio Daydreamers Design, Spiral Arches was a temporary installation built for the Islamic Arts Festival 2016 held in Sharjah, UAE. The pavilion was made out of 100 layers of arches forming an 88 metre long arcade. To trace evolution of Islamic arch in architecture from antiquity to modernity, the studio summarized the typologies into ten main groups and array in historical order: the horseshoes arch, the round arch, the segmental arch, the Tudor arch, the pointed arch, the shouldered arch, the tri-foil arch, the multi-foil arch, the ogee arch, and the parabolic arch.

#BeOpenARCH Japanese Ryuichi Ashizawa Architect & Associates has developed a residence for a family of four that features the roof planned as a spiral garden. The spiral, continuous plan includes a space called ‘niha’ at its core, which is used for miscellaneous activities, be it meditation or gathering with friends, and rooms such as storage and bedroom on its fringes. Supporting the roof garden are timber beams hand-carved by local carpenters. By introducing natural phenomena as inseparable parts of the house, the architects enable the family of the owners to be one with nature, living in a house where the earth and trees grow. More spirals in architecture in our blog

#BeOpenDESIGN Aiming to shield dogs from anxiety caused by the loud noise from fireworks, Ford has applied the active noise-cancelling technology used in cars to mask engine noise to a dog kennel. When microphones within pick up high levels of noise from the engine or transmission, the system sends out an opposing signal via speakers, and the sound waves cancel each other out. The kennel, which is a prototype at this stage, combines Active Noise Control system with high-density cork cladding for soundproofing. Inside it, fireworks noise is reduced to a level that won't disturb a dog’s keen hearing.

#BeOpenDESIGN Concerned by the World Health Organization’s statistics revealing1 in 3 people globally do not have access to safe drinking water, HelioWater, a French company conceived by Marine Tech, has developed an innovative device for purifying water. Heliowater is composed of large spheres mounted onto a metal frame and is powered by a large solar panel at its base. Seawater is pumped into the sphere, where it evaporates and condenses onto the inside surface of the top dome, after which clean drinking water drops to the bottom and is pumped away. According to the company, each module of 1 sqm produces 10 liters of water per day. The structure is made using recyclable materials and is easy to transport, install and operate.

#BeOpenNEWS BE OPEN Art is happy to announce that Camila Neumann, a freelance artist based in São Paulo, Brazil, has been voted the Artist of the Month by the visitors of art.beopenfuture.com Aiming to showcase emerging talents, every month we invite people passionate with art to choose the best artist among those exhibited in our online gallery. Congratulations to Camila, whose bespoke paintings have gained him a majority of votes in May! We also take the opportunity to applaud all the featured artists and thank everyone who voted.