Be Open think tank

#BeOpenNEWS #BeOpenART With the beginning of 2023, BE OPEN expert community team has started selecting those of the artists who best represent the artistic tradition of a certain region. We have started with the Eastern Mediterranean region that includes such countries as Cyprus, Turkey, the Greek Dodecanese islands, and the countries of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Our first candidate to the title of the Regional artist and the 500 euros prize is Christina Kyriacou from Cyprus, who has been selected the Regional Artist of the month (January) by the highest number of votes of BE OPEN Art online gallery visitors. The identity of Christina’s paintings is influenced by modern architecture, modern buildings and their various geometric shapes, landscapes and geometric patterns, design and digital art.

#BeOpenDESIGN Tokyo-based designer Haruka Misawa has prototyped a series of Waterscapes, architectural aquariums that include white methodical shapes dividing water environments. This not only allows fish to conform in new ways, but also creates a real eye stopper for any contemporary interior.

#BeOpenART Traditional tea set has inspired young local artist Cheng Tsung Feng to create Tea Nest, a site-specific installation in Miaoli, Taiwan. Made with rice straws and stuffed with cotton fabric, these containers named cha shou (茶壽) are used as a heat preserving tea set for teapots. The artist has used the same materials and made the tea nest big enough to welcome people inside to sit around and imagine they are bating in a huge cup of tea.

#BeOpenDESIGN Hasu tea table by Dieter Mortelmans pays homage to the Japanese tea time ritual. What at first glance look like a minimal compact structure can be transformed into a complete furniture set for tea time. Four upper tabletops can be unfolded to uncover an extensive tea collection that are hidden away within the table when it is not in use. At the same time, floor chairs can be pulled from the table offering seating for four guests. More designs reimagining tea time rituals in our blog

#BeOpenARCH Occupying a total area of approx. 40,000 sqm on an underused waterfront in New York City, the concept of Aquatrium designed by Lissoni Architettura , with BEOPEN Community member Piero Lissoni as team leader, includes a large water basin with the aquarium and a marine centre located on a submerged, two-level island. The main attraction, the aquarium, consists of eight cylindrical transparent biodomes representing the four oceans and four seas, with the North and South Poles being expressed by an iceberg in the centre of the atrium. The structure has a retractable roof enabling it to become a living shell that opens up to the sky during the day to reveal the sea worlds and closes as darkness falls to take on a 'second life' as a planetarium. More bespoke aquarium buildings in our blog

#BeOpenDESIGN Italian design studio Viviana Degrandi has reimagined the salad spinner, an efficient but bulky object, whose shape and function have remained the same through the years. Boasting an extremely simple design, Drop consists of two complementary parts which, when joined together, form a shape similar to a drop of water. To rinse the vegetables, the user should put them in one of the two parts and place the hollow handle under running water and rotate it. Rubbing the handle will create centrifugal force and eliminate excess water.

#BeOpenNEWS The ‘Staring at the Sun’ online challenge was dedicated to raising awareness of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular focused on SDG7, calling to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all". We invited Instagram users to join our #BEOPENStaringAtTheSun open call and share visuals expressing and depicting what the Sun means for them personally, and our planet. Today we celebrate all the participants for their ability to creatively interpret the reality around them. BE OPEN Community members have selected the winning post from a shortlist of submissions with the highest number of likes by Instagram users. Our congratulations and the €300 prize go to Liliana Nicolae, a photographer and storyteller from Frankfurt, Germany.

#BeOpenARCH Occupying a total area of approx. 40,000 sqm on an underused waterfront in New York City, the concept of Aquatrium designed by Lissoni Architettura , with BEOPEN Community member Piero Lissoni @pierolissoni as team leader, includes a large water basin with the aquarium and a marine centre located on a submerged, two-level island. The main attraction, the aquarium, consists of eight cylindrical transparent biodomes representing the four oceans and four seas, with the North and South Poles being expressed by an iceberg in the centre of the atrium. The structure has a retractable roof enabling it to become a living shell that opens up to the sky during the day to reveal the sea worlds and closes as darkness falls to take on a 'second life' as a planetarium. More bespoke aquarium buildings in our blog.beopenfuture.com

#BeOpenDESIGN The foldable Folio Chair by Korean industrial designer Jeongwoo Seo solves the problem of limited space in compact homes without sacrificing aesthetics in exchange for flexibility. The leather-covered seating does not require hinges or screws but rather takes inspiration from the Japanese art of origami. Pulling the top of the chair upward causes the folds of the seat and the back legs to straighten up and lie flat on the middle layer that serves as the supporting structure of the chair. When folded away, the chair is as flat as a folder, which makes it easy to store away. It I also easy to carry around, whether by the handle or under your arm.

#BeOpenARCH Dutch architecture studio MVRDV has unveiled designs for the new Wuhan Central Library in China. Poised to become one of the largest libraries in China, the 140,000 sqm project combines traditional and non-traditional functions with diverse study, living room, reading, and studio spaces. The building connects to its surroundings via three large openings that will act as visual displays of life inside, sparking curiosity and intrigue. This distinctive, three-faced flowing shape takes cues from the topography of the “city of 100 lakes” at the confluence of two rivers, and will become a new recognisable landmark for Wuhan.