Be Open think tank

#BeOpenARCH Called Sculpting Vitality, the winning proposal for the Czech pavilion at The World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, designed by international studio Apropos Architects, comprises a barrier-free ramp that doubles as exhibition space, spiraling upwards around the conceptual centerpiece. At the top, the spiral ends on a terrace hosting a restaurant and bar. Fostering visitors into physical activity through continuous motion, the dynamic spiral movement upwards serves as an allegory of the ideal life path. Besides, wrapped around a central auditorium, the glazed transparent sculpture pays homage to the rich history of glassmaking in the Czech Republic. More spiral-shaped buildings in our blog

#BeOpenNEWS This year BE OPEN Art launches a new format of competition to support those emerging artists whose art best represents their regional, cultural and ethnic identities – BE OPEN Regional Art. For the second quarter of 2023, BE OPEN expert community team has started selecting those of the artists who best represent the artistic tradition of the Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. The stage will last 3 months, the winner will be awarded 500 euro.

#BeOpenNEWS BE OPEN Art is happy to announce March 2023 Artist of the Month. Our congratulations go to Ana Espriella, Latin American artist and illustrator for the magazine and sociocultural association OperaLife. Ans’s delicate and feminine illustrations inspired by German expressionism and minimalist art gained her a majority of votes from the visitors of our website. We also take the opportunity to applause all the featured artists and thank everyone who voted!

#BeOpenARCH Taichi Kuma of the renowned studio Kengo Kuma & Associates has recently completed a bespoke wood-clad turban shell like bathhouse at a glamping facility in Naoshima, Japan. Inspired by the unevenness of seashells, the architect envisioned the sauna as a cave-like space cut off from the outside world by a thick wall. Punctuating the tip of the sauna is a light oculus that illuminates the interiors. In order to feel the light and introduce an immersive play of shadows, countless folds and undulations were created with laminated plywood. More extraordinary saunas in our blog

#BeOpenARCH Berlin-based Studio Other Spaces (SOS), founded by artist Olafur Eliasson and architect Sebastian Behmann, has defined the appearance of the Meles Zenawi Memorial Park, an architecture and landscape project on the northern edge of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. The path follows the site’s topography, and along it there is a series of pavilions that are inspired by Ethiopia’s recent history and political developments and are built by merging traditional local craft and materials with contemporary technology. The campus’s Research Centre hosts circular workspaces organised around a central meeting place, which allows for ease of communication among researchers. The building’s unorthodox design frames the public terraces cascading out from beneath it.

#BeOpenARCH Conceived by Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Qing Studio, Chic Chic Bird is a noodle shop and café in Wuhan, China, which is characterized by a façade of dozens of timber nest boxes. Two monumental columns define the outline of the store located on the ground floor and form a canopy that hosts two excessively enlarged bird sculptures nestling in a large-scale roost boxes.

#BeOpenDESIGN Los Angeles based architect Michael Kovac of Kovac Design Studio has come up with a playful solution for a lighting fixture that doubles as a whimsical design object. Named Spot, the cordless lighting powered by a rechargeable LED bulb provides soft yet targeted illumination. The design allows for an endless array of arrangements whether attached to the wall, on the shelf, or in motion.

#BeOpenARCH Named Star House after the street on which it is located in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the four-storey house designed by local architecture studio Atelier Gratia has been turned inwards, with a series of balconies and terraces overlooking a lush courtyard garden. The volume of the building is arranged in a U-shape and is kept narrow, which maximizes the size of the courtyard. This, in its turn, ensures the whole interior is well-lit and ventilated.

#BeOpenNEWS We are happy to announce that Abdelrahman Mahmoud, illustrator and visual artist from Alexandria, Egypt, has been voted the Regional Artist of the month (March). Abdelrahman has become the last of the three candidates to the title of the Regional artist (Eastern Mediterranean) and a money prize of EUR500, alongside Christina Kyriacou and Jovanna Theodosiou who were selected the Regional Artist of the month in January and February correspondingly. Very soon, BE OPEN Art expert team will select the one winner whose artworks best represent the Eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus, Turkey, the Greek Dodecanese islands, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Egypt). Stay tuned!

#BeOpenDESIGN UK-based startup company Maawa has launched a waterproof and solar-powered pop-up housing solution that is constructed from cardboard but is sturdy enough to be used for emergency or refugee situations or for homeless camps. Weighing as little as 13.7 kg, this innovative house titled Maawa X can be packed into a suitcase and does not need any tools for assembly. When put up, it expands to 3.5 sqm and can accommodate up to two people. The team assures that setting the house up is as easy as assembling a box. More pop-up homes and travel pods in our blog