Be Open think tank

#BeOpenARCH Brearley Architects & Urbanists (BAU), the urban design practice with bases in Melbourne and Shanghai, describe their Yuandang pedestrian bridge snaking across the Yuandang Lake as a ‘hybrid structure’ as it integrates landscape design, infrastructure, and architecture. Supported by Y-shaped steel columns, the 586 meters long meandering foot bridge spans Jiangsu province and Shanghai. The deck of the bridge is divided into three graphically demarcated bands – a cycling path, a walking path and a stretch of trees and shrubs, all of which appear to be floating above the water. Transcending the typical function limited strictly to a place of crossing, it also features spaces for resting as well as a sculptural pavilion that doubles as a playground.

#BeOpenDESIGN Tokyo-based design group Intsui Design has developed Terracotta Valley Wind, an in-station passive cooling wall composed of spliced terracotta tiles, with an automatic water supply system woven between them. The system uses a stainless steel frame implanted with water pipes to humidify the tiles by reclaimed water, while terracotta allows water to quickly evaporate, cooling both the tile and the air around it. To circulate this cooled air, the system ingeniously utilizes the train-induced wind resource. Using train’s movement as free energy completely nullifies the Terracotta Valley Wind’s electrical needs, making it a cost-effective solution that is pollution-free and does not require any electricity. More analog cooling solutions in our blog

#BeOpenDESIGN Lim Heekyung, design student of South Korean Designer Dot Academy, has come up with a design that caters to the needs of people with hand amputation disabilities and patients with carpal tunnel syndrome who have trouble using the conventional computer mouse. All-in is an inclusive, barrier-free computer mouse designed to fit every human’s natural wrist movement. To operate the device, the user should place their wrist on a soft impression in the curved design. The right and left click buttons have been replaced by right and left tilt buttons positioned at different angles, so the user only has to lean their wrists to one side or the other to click links on their computer screens. More ergonomic mouse designs at our blog

#BeOpenARCH The proposal by multidisciplinary firm Jeanne Schultz Design Studio based in Austin, USA, has won the Judge’s Commendation Award for the first annual Force Majeure competition hosted by AIA Austin Design Voice. Briefed to design a middle school in a post pandemic world, the team has created a new ecosystem erected high above the ground. Building pods sit perched on twisting structural stems that sprout from the site, interconnected by a weaving, semi-transparent transit tube. Social distancing and sanitation are addressed within a matrix of pods interconnected by a preprogrammed transit system, soaring classrooms with niches for each student, and controlled interactions with nature.

#BeOpenDESIGN Today, most of the jeans are made using natural cotton fibers combined with synthetic fibers to provide elasticity, which makes them impossible to recycle. Concerned by this fact, Tel Aviv based industrial designer Daniella Efrat has found a sustainable method for reusing discarded denim items. She gets rid of the all the hard accessories, zippers, and buttons, shreds the material into pulp, which is then used to create sheets. By mixing it with different types of glue, she presses the sheets into the material called Redenim that she uses to produce a collection of bags.

#BeOpenARCH Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto has designed a new cultural landmark in the Hungarian capital as part of the Liget Budapest project — Europe’s largest urban cultural development program. Conceived as a continuation of the landscape, the new 9,000sqm building features a glass façade topped by a huge undulating roof, which appears to hover in the air. The canopy includes 100 crater-like perforations to accommodate surrounding trees, the apertures are clad in gold, which transform them into dazzling wells of light in the sunlight. Inside, the institution called House of Music hosts a range of musical experiences including a 320-seat concert hall with a sinkable stage, immersive exhibitions on the history of European music and Hungarian pop as well as concerts and educational music workshops. The three museum levels are connected by a sculptural spiral staircase.

#BeOpenDESIGN Developed as an ingenuous solution for compact apartments, FLUP by Spanish product designer Sergio Rodríguez Casado is a multifunctional piece of furniture, which can be utilized as a rug or as a seat. When not in use, FLUP looks like a conventional rug on that does not interrupt the activities of the users. With a simple movement, however, it can be folded into a 3-dimensional object that can be used as a pouf, an auxiliary seat, a footrest, or a nightstand, and taken away when no longer needed without requiring any storage space.

#BeOpenNEWS Great news for all creatives who participate in our Instagram open calls! The deadline for #BEOPENFoodIdentity open call is extended. Submission is open till Feb 7th – just share your vision of how food reflects your identity with the global community adding #BEOPENFoodIdentity hashtag to your Instagram post on the topic and get a chance to win a €300 prize. The open call is dedicated to promoting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular focuses on SDG2: Zero Hunger. Under the umbrella of zero hunger, SDG2 is not only about ending hunger, but also achieving food security and improved nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture all over the globe. Food is more than a means of survival. It is often used as a means of retaining our cultural, ethnic, religious or other identities. What we eat is an expression of who we are and where we come from. An aspirational example is the project What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diet by photographer Peter Menzel that encompasses a stunning photographic collection featuring portraits – or rather personal stories – of 80 people from 30 countries and the food they eat in one day. More details at beopensocial.com

#BeOpenDESIGN In an attempt to create a safe environment during the coronavirus pandemic, Japanese firm New Innovations has collaborated with the local coffee roaster Blue Bottle Coffee to develop a non-face-to-face coffee experience in Shibuya, Tokyo. The pop-up service uses the AI technology to allow the user to order from a screen and pick up their brewed coffee from a locker system without coming in contact with other people. When the barista sets the coffee in the locker, the cell illuminates to inform the user that the order has been completed.

#BeOpenARCH Chinese firm 00group has imagined a sculpted bookstore nestled at the foot of a mountain in Shenzhen. Conceived as a small spiritual lighthouse and poetically named ‘Catch the Sound from the Ocean’, the proposal encompasses a white organically shaped building with three large openings pointing towards the sea, sky, and woods. The architects chose not to embed any apparent boundaries between the indoors and outdoors. Instead, nature seems to wander gently into the room with its wooden floors and seating. As the sun changes positions throughout the day, the circular light spots created by the openings indoors begin to move with it. The core of the space, therefore, captures the touching moments of coexistence between humans and nature on site. More fabulous bookstores of China in our blog