Be Open think tank

Our #BEOPENShadows Instagram challenge is in its full swing! Don’t waste your time and share your visuals on the subject of shadows via Instagram to get a chance to win €300. Rules: beopensocial.com We thank all the creatives for their submissions made so far – that is something to be impressed with. The featured visuals are by Mikhail Kapychka, Astore Remo, Clemence Lerondeau, Ankit Mittal, Saeed Zolfi and Yannick Bernede.

Sydney-based artist Kendal Murray creates allegorical worlds of sculptures, miniature gardens and doll houses imbued with social, symbolic and personal meanings. Her miniature works feature assembled found household objects such as purses, mirrored compacts, bobbins and mallets that create a nostalgic feeling. Populated with miniature trees, plants, people, birds and bikes, they suggest numerous narrative possibilities and make viewers fantasize they are a part of the tiny scenes walking through the landscape discovering even tinier items which were not revealed at first sight. More miniature art in our blog.beopenfuture.com

Royal College of Art graduate Alessandra Fumagalli Romario has developed Imaginary Language, a set of archetypical geometric objects that can be combined to create a variety of new forms to foster creativity in children and be used as tools to aid actors in improvisational exercises. The project is based on Irving Biderman’s theory of psychology, according to which the human brain recognizes objects by isolating them into basic geometrical forms named 'geons'. Users can then assign functions and meaning to their creations by projecting their own socio-cultural experiential knowledge onto them. More building blocks reimagined by designers in our blog.beopenfuture.com

Join our open call and win! We invite you to share your artwork on the subject of shadows via Instagram with #BEOPENShadows hashtag for a chance to win €300. Rules: beopensocial.com Interplay of light and shadow gave birth to the art of photography. Shadows can bring rhythm or depth into the picture, their contrasted outlines and silhouettes can even become the very subject of an artwork. The portrait of Pablo Picasso by Dora Maar, the Surrealist photographer primarily known as the subject of Picasso’s paintings and his muse, is a great example of visual effects created by hard shadows.

The Gun Violence Memorial Project at this year's Chicago Architecture Biennial is an installation by architecture and design collective MASS Design Group that is aimed to preserve individual memories of gun violence victims and communicate the magnitude of violence epidemic in America. The exhibit features four houses built of 700 hollow glass bricks filled with items belonging to the victims contributed by families who have lost a beloved one, alongside a plaque that details their name, birthday and year they died. The number represents the average number of gun violence victims every week in America. massdesigngroup.org gunviolencememorialproject.org

COBE, Danish community of architects, has presented the first of 48 ultra-fast charging stations in Scandinavia for the Germany-based energy giant EON. The idea behind the new stations is described by the team as a ‘meaningful break’ for the driver and the passenger. Based on a sustainable rethink of a conventional gas station, the station is formed by a series of structural ‘trees’ with ‘crowns’ that create shade. The modular system allows to scale the design, with ‘trees’ forming ‘forest’ if required. The stations are constructed in certified wood and concrete with a roof clad in solar panels. All components of the structure can be reused or recycled. More bespoke charging stations in our blog.beopenfuture.com

Join #BEOPENShadows open call and win €300! It is as easy as sharing relevant photography, video or art that reflect this topic via Instagram with #BEOPENshadows hashtag. Rules: beopensocial.com Arranging the delicate balance of shadow and light in his project ‘Light. Shadow. Perfect Woman’, Russian photographer George Mayer explores the controversial nature of perfection as well as dual concept of femininity. On the one hand the perfect woman is monumental and complete, while on the other hand she is naked and vulnerable. georgemayerstudio.com

Foster+Partners designed a series of modular stations for Haramain High-speed rail link between the major Saudi Arabian cities of Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and KAEC. The team used common design elements for all the four stations, inspired by the ancient architectural traditions of the region. They are all covered by flexible vaulted roofs supported by grids of steel columns – described by the practice as structural trees. Thanks to this grid and modular system, each station can be designed to fit its site and extended to increase capacity in the future. More visually expressive train stations in our blog.beopenfuture.com

CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, an international design and innovation office, has developed an experimental Circular Juice Bar “Feel the Peel” that 3D-prints bioplastic disposable cups out of the orange peels for the freshly squeezed juice. When a person orders a juice, oranges slide down into the squeezer, while their peels are accumulated above to be transformed into polymer filament through a process of drying and milling, which is then used by an incorporated 3D printer. In the next iterations of the project, CRA plan to add new functions, such as printing fabric for clothing. More ideas of getting the world better with the help of 3D printing in our blog.beopenfuture.com

It is a great day to celebrate people’s ability to creatively interpret the reality around them. We thank all the creatives around the globe who took part in #BEOPENReflections Instagram challenge and applause Gabrielle Aquadro, South African architect and photographer, who has won €300 for her visually expressive entry. You can be our next winner! Our #BEOPENShadows open call is on! Rules: beopensocial.com