Be Open think tank

#BeOpenDESIGN The all-in-one flower packaging by product designer Niangui Cai is developed to act as a container for transporting the flowers to and from a store, a vase for admiring them upon receipt and a solution for transplanting them into earth to help them flourish weeks later. Named BouquetPOT, the packaging is made from a biodegradable pulp that will decompose when put in soil. via www.yankodesign.com

#BeOpenDESIGN New York based designer Ian Stell has created an expandable bench that forms two conjoined chairs when contracted. Named Austrian Loop Chair, the piece has been inspired by conversation chairs dating back to the 18th century’s France that featured two seats facing in opposite directions, which allowed sitters to converse intimately without touching. The bench consists of 800 pieces of maple wood and 200 brass pivots and is assembled using a process that brings together beading, basket-weaving and bridge-building techniques in miniature. While the seat is made from sections of wood placed lengthways, shorter pieces form legs, arms and a slanted back.

#BeOpenARCH A group of Polish designers, Damian Granosik, Jakub Kulisa, and Piotr Pańczyk, has developed a skyscraper that is foldable in a manner that resembles origami or accordion. The project was conceived by the team as a multi-purpose hub for any relief operation in the event of natural disasters. The structure offers large floor surface but is at the same time compact. When collapsed, the tower can be packed into a box only as wide as the building's base and delivered by helicopter if roads become impassable. The building can be deployed even on unstable soil with minimum amount of time and manpower requirements. The base would be anchored in place and a load-bearing helium balloon would be inserted to rapidly raise the tower. Lightweight 3D-printed slabs forming each floor would be pulled upwards by structural steel wires and fabric walls attached to the balloon. More accordion-like designs in our blog

#BeOpenARCH Shanghai-based architecture studio Wutopia Lab has converted a neglected pump house at a farm into a dreamy pavilion, conceived as a sacred space for ordinary people with shared memories. Aptly named Shine of Everyman, the cloud-like structure rests on a semi-circle platform filled with water and hovering above a river and a meadow on the outskirts of Shanghai, China. It is made of 13 translucent polycarbonate panels that stand next to each other. The translucency of the material and the pools that isolate the landscape create the feeling of sacredness, which is enhanced in the dark, as the structure is illuminated.

#BeOpenDESIGN Paul Sun, co-founder of UK-based design firm Gingko Design, has used an elegant combination of natural wood and tear-proof Tyvek paper to create his Accordion Lamp. The piece comes with two wooden ends and a pleated paper lampshade in between. When fully closed, the light appears to be a laser-cut wooden hexagon display object. To open the lamp, the user has to pull it like an accordion, thus transforming it into a sculptural light. The design has a magnetic cover on both sides, allowing the user to snap the ends together to build a ring of light, connect several lamps into an interactive illuminated installation and create a whole variety of designs. More accordion-like designs in our blog

#BeOpenARCH Kengo Kuma & Associates has unveiled a public restroom for campers and hikers in Oath Hill Park in Shizuoka, a major hiking destination at mount Fuji. The structures are reminiscent of a tiny mountain range mirroring the iconic shape of Japan’s highest peak. The wooden structure consists of beams and columns, which fan out into an umbrella-like shape and are held together by steel rings at the centre. It is covered with a membrane covered with a fluorinated coating for weather-proofing. In the daytime the restroom looks like snow-capped peaks, while they appear to be emanate a lantern-like glow.

#BeOpenARCH In Shenzhen, China, London architecture practice Sam Jacob Studio has created a shelter that combines prehistoric monumental elements with contemporary forms. Named the Yantian Dolmen, the structure doesn’t have a distinct purpose. It is constructed from a mixture of geometric and abstract elements that are made from polystyrene and covered with a hard coating. The shapes are informed by municipal structures and Neolithic monuments.

#BeOpenNEWS We are happy to announce the winner of #BEOPENUrbanGreen, a creative open call across social media. This challenge has been one in the series of open calls inspired by the UN’s SDG Programme, a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Our congratulations and the €300 prize go to Raju Ghosh, a Dubai based textile retail buyer, for the visual of architecture intertwined in complete harmony with the beauty of plants. Once again, we thank and applause all the creatives around the globe who take part in our challenges.

#BeOpenDESIGN Japanese designer Satomi Minoshima has developed Skin Totes, a collection of bags that elaborate on the beauty and diversity of skin colour. According to the designer, although the physical colour of our skin is biologically associated with protection from sunlight, it extends far into cultural and social contexts of society. The project uses bags as a metaphor – just as a bag is used as a container for our properties, the essence of who we are is contained in our skin but is not defined not in its colour. This message is communicated via a series of photos, aiming to spread the aesthetic quality and diversity of skin colours.

#BeOpenARCH Chinese studio Unarchitecte has developed a “disappearing” pontoon bridge in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The design required "creative design at low cost", breakthroughs and trials of new forms and materials, and a ten-year life cycle and a later detachability. Floating islands shaped like stretched hexagons are appropriately sized with proper intervals from each other, achieving integral rhythmical distribution. The footpaths, which are parallel to the edge of hexagonal islands, further strengthen the overall connectivity and molecular-like spatial structure. Furthermore, controllable air cushions will be used to control the elevation of footpaths. According to the team, the pontoon bridge will be partially invisible between water and sky, enabling visitors to walk on the clouds reflected in water, experiencing a sense of freedom of floating.