Be Open think tank

Caja de Tierra (Earthbox) is a small architecture office in Asunción, Paraguay, designed by local studio Equipo de Arquitectura. The building is made with 30cm rammed earth walls that hold the weight of the concrete slab of a roof. The wooden mold used to produce the roof was recycled to produce all the furniture and doors. The office is built around two existing trees: a flame tree that stands outside but framed, and a guavirá tree that grows in the middle of the space. More small but creative offices in our blog.beopenfuture.com

The Labyrinth by studio Gijs Van Vaerenbergh was exhibited in 2015 at the heart of the C-mine arts centre in Genk, Belgium. The site-specific installation included a collection of frames made of 5mm steel plates weighing a total of 186 tons. A series of Boolean transformations generated openings and perspectives on the environment, which became points of orientation throughout the journey. The ascension of the mine shafts nearby was included in the experience letting one witness the structure from above – i.e. from the point of view that is usually only reserved for the creator of the labyrinth. Other installations exploring the age-old form of the labyrinth in our blog.beopenfuture.com

MVRDV’s flagship stores for Warenar’s luxury brands, known as Crystal Houses, address the challenging task of maintaining the local character and individuality of Amsterdam’s one and only high end shopping street, while offering the stores enough window surface. The solution is found through extensive use of glass. Glass bricks stretch up the façade, eventually dissolving into traditional terracotta brick for the apartments upstairs, which appear to be floating above the shop floor. mvrdv.nl

Iranian studio Fundamental Approach Architects has transformed the facade of Saadat Abad Residential Building in Tehran using angular screens of perforated brick. The architects covered the façade with a double skin of glass and brick panels meant to provide the privacy required in the apartments. The brick panels on the façade have been twisted outwards to angle views from the living spaces, animate the exterior and provide natural ventilation. Inside, textured brick walls reference the external panels, and stone flooring resembles the pavement outside merging the interior into the urban context. More on the use of brickwork in architecture in our blog.beopenfuture.com

Luo Yujie and Lu Zhuojian of Chinese architecture firm LUO Studio have designed a travelling library that resembles a large ladybug. Made entirely from recycled scrap and mounted on a four-wheel bicycle, Shared Lady Beetle library hides bookshelves filled with books under its wings of repurposed metal previously used in cars. The base of the bookshelf also serves as a seat for children who would like to get a book and read. The whole project is a thrilling experience for younger ones who are fascinated with the fairy-tale exterior of the library as much as they are encouraged to interact with it to discover a wonderful world of books inside. luostudio.cn Ph: Jin Weiqi

PAL, designed by LAYER agency headed by Benjamin Hubert for Chinese electric vehicle company NIO, is a near-future prototype of an intelligent, modular electric scooter with hub motors and lean steering. Connected to a wireless earpiece, PAL’s AI can offer the user the fastest route or remind how much battery life is left. It also uses machine learning to accommodate to the user’s riding style and become accustomed to their routes over time and eventually become autonomous. This flexible city runabout caters to the user’s changing needs through a choice of various accessories – bag, basket, shopping cart – which can be affixed to the steering column seamlessly via an electromagnetic panel. Other designer solutions of the last-mile problem in our blog.beopenfuture.com

Final call for the participants of #BEOPENReflections Instagram challenge with a prize of €300! Share a picture of peculiar effects created by mirrored objects with hashtag #BEOPENReflections and seize the opportunity. The entries close today. Rules: beopensocial.com From old times #reflections are considered as something enigmatic and even mystical. They can multiply, disorient, re-organize space, create a non-existent counterpart or produce whimsical visual effects. The result is always a change of reality as we know it. Isn’t the world around just a reflection in our eyes after all?

Cristina Nan, Dirce Medina Patatuchi, Carlos Bausa Martinez - an interdisciplinary team of creative minds of multicultural background – have presented their sculptural installation Papillon D’Or (‘Gold Butterfly’) at this year’s FAV Montpellier. This temporary parametric structure takes inspiration from the suspended movement in air of a butterfly and represents the team’s interpretation of beauty. The utilized material - golden holographic mirror vinyl – refracts light and offers visitors various experiences of the installation, thus instigating childlike excitement. The computational design of Papilion D’Or transforms the space of the historic courtyard through constant interplay of light and shadow. More artworks inspired by insects in our blog.beopenfuture.com

For their Shepparton Law Court Redevelopment project in Victoria, Australia the Architectus studio @architectusau took inspiration from the River Red Gum, the enduring image of the large ancient tree which suggests shade, shelter and serves as a gathering place. The court’s welcoming entry lobby pays homage to the tree: wrapped layered bands of timber and tiles represent the abstracted tree structure with its distorted trunk and root system anchored to the ground and the canopy filtering sunlight. Externally this concept is supported by the leaf patterned perforated metal screens that distill the intense sun light, shading the courthouse. architectus.com.au

Indefinite Vases by Stockholm-based Studio Erik Olovsson is an exploration of the relationship between geometric and organic forms, transparent and opaque surfaces. Oscillating between sculptures and containers, the vases are the result of interaction between ‘melting’ mouth blown glass and various types of marbles, granite and onyx used for the base. While the former is associated with something indefinite and fragile, the latter is determined by angular forms and gravity. More bespoke vases in our blog.beopenfuture.com Ph: Gustav Almestål