Be Open think tank

Porto-based creative studio FAHR 021.3 designed a concrete sculptural structure for the 10th anniversary of the creation of the Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto (UPTEC). Named Loop, this circular bench with an organic texture in front of the main building offers a space for people to meet, sit on, and interact. According to the studio, Loop assumes the idea that repetition is never equal, the same round will never be the same - with each circle new textures are generated, bringing their own identity. fahr0213.com

We are happy to announce that Saeed Zolfi, founder of film and photography studio from Iran, has been selected the winner of our #BEOPENShadows Instagram challenge! His vivid entry has brought him the prize of €300! ‘BEOPENShadows’ invited creative minds around the globe, who see inspiration in the everyday life, to share visuals dedicated to the subject of shadows in all fields of art. We thank everyone who took part in the challenge! Also, we invite everyone to join our new #BEOPENThinkFuture open call. Be our next winner!

Designed by Brooklyn-based Studio Cadena, Masa, 700 sqm multi-purpose building located in Bogota, includes a modern cafe, a bakery, and a retail space, that are organized as separate but interconnected volumes, with large triangular windows cut into the textured concrete walls. When illuminated from within, the windows reveal the life inside and tempt passers-by to peer. Internally, the linear architecture is contrasted to the curvilinear details, such as a circular cast concrete bar, round skylights, windows, and mirrors throughout. The ideal balance is maintained between the internal and external as well as between the public and private. More unique cafes in our blog.beopenfuture.com

Zhongshu Bookstore in Suzhou, China by Shanghai-based Wutopia Lab aims to create a colourful new world by endowing each of the four main areas with unique character and symbolism. The main hall, aptly named the Xanadu of Rainbows, comprises an abstract landscape of cliffs, valleys, islands, and oases made from thin perforated aluminum sheets in gradient rainbow colours. When fixed together, the multiple panels of different sizes and colours create an ambiguous effect of a veil. The translucent panels not only bring a mysterious and vague atmosphere to the space but also visually divide it into several zones of different functions. More rainbow-coloured interiors in our blog.beopenfuture.com

Portuguese studio dIONISO LAB has designed House 77, a residential project that revitalizes a legacy of the city of Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal that has been kept and transmitted through generations. The eastern façade of the house is covered with perforated panels made of stainless steel that are inscribed with the ‘siglas poveiras’, a proto-writing system of symbols which was once used for communication between fishermen of the region as well as a way to mark their belongings. dionisolab.com

Norway-based Rintala Eggertsson Architects collaborated with TYIN Tegnestue to design Refugium, a cluster of buildings serving as a hideout for tourists and an artist residence in Norway. Located on the small island of Fleinvær, the project comprises nine small holiday homes, elevated above the ground to suit the isle’s barren topography. A modern interpretation of the Sami people’s traditional storehouse – the njalla – is built on the trunk of a chopped tree at the top of the hill to be used as a place for immersion and reflection. More retreats offering immersive experience in our blog.beopenfuture.com

New York based artist Kathleen Ryan explores the question of the modern culture of excessive consumption using the image of a rotting fruit. She creates her intricate grotesque sculptures, which include over-sized lemons, oranges and peaches, from polystyrene foam bases and countless beads carved from precious and semi-precious stones. The exquisite hues of the gemstones elegantly convey the decaying flesh of the fruit, creating a contrast with a typical reaction to the exposed decay and mold. The artist intentionally makes the line between the beautiful and the unsightly very thin, to remind the viewer about perishability of things. More bejeweled fruit artworks in our blog.beopenfuture.com

Foster + Partners has created a striking building for Galeries Lafayette in central Luxembourg that is going to be a part of a major mix-use development. The department store is designed to establish a timeless yet contemporary addition to the existing quarter. The 6,500sqm building includes seven storeys, each one dedicated to a single department, and is topped by a sky garden in a structure of faceted glass and steel, which offers panoramic views of the city. The façade is made from transparent and bronze-coloured panels and, according to the team, as the sun tracks around the building, the colour, reflection and shadows on the glass animate it like a jewel. More inspirational department stores in our blog.beopenfuture.com

Win €300 in our new Instagram challenge inspired by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #12! Share visuals promoting sustainable consumption, design and production with #BEOPENThinkFuture hashtag and be our next winner. The open call is on! We only have one Earth and are utterly dependent on it for our survival and well-being. But environmental issues have grown to be a devastating problem nowadays, with much of the planet’s economic growth achieved as a result of over-exploiting natural resources. Both people and nature are going to face severe consequences if current consumption and production rates increase. We strongly believe that environment-conscious creatives will be able to get through to people all over the globe in order to increase their awareness and promote the sustainable living. Entries close March 31, 2020. Check out full rules at beopensocial.com

Guatemalan designer Elena Amato proposes to pack self-care products into bacterial cellulose sheets with qualities between paper and plastic. The material is developed from a mixture of water and a bacteria and yeast culture which is left over from local Kombucha producers. It is fully compostable and vegan. The design is inspired by the natural packaging system found in the structural layers of a fruit which consists of pulp and outer peel. The self-care product is contained in a capsule made of solid natural soap before it is wrapped up in three layers of the bacterial cellulose with branded information. More alternatives to plastic packaging in our blog.beopenfuture.com