Be Open think tank

#BeOpenARCH Local CplusC Architectural Workshop has developed their Totoro House, a renovation project on an existing family residence in Sydney, Australia, as a physical manifestation of Studio Ghibli’s animated fantasy film ‘My Neighbor Totoro.’ The concept behind the design is derived from the Japanese concept of ‘shakkei’ (Japanese for ‘borrowed scenery’), which harmoniously bridges the relationship between interior and exterior. Through a gradual vertical transition that joins interior and exterior places, the new extension acts as the missing link between the original house and backyard garden disconnected by the downward sloping terrain.

#BeOpenART NeSpoon, a Polish street artist based in Warsaw, incorporates recurring theme of lacework patterns to transform neglected urban spaces in cities around the world. Her delicate artworks described by the artist as jewelry for public spaces range from painting to sculpture, from ceramics to textiles. Depending on the piece, NeSpoon’s works might integrate seamlessly into their environment, or create such contrast that they become impossible to overlook. Clay is one of the artist’s primary materials. Over the last 10 years, she has left several hundred ceramic urban art objects on the streets of various cities worldwide, contrasting traditional techniques, materials and motifs with the urban, frequently concrete-dominated setting.

San Francisco based studio Emerging Objects has 3D printed a cozy dwelling where the user can spend an entirely lockdown in with their special one. The walls of the dwelling, named Casa Covida, that is designed to revolve around three connected cylinders is printed from a mixture of sand, silt, clay and water. The central space contains earthen benches and an open fireplace for cooking and heat. Adjoining it is a bedroom in a raised platform on the one side and a sunken bathtub on the other side, its water source coming from an aquifer below the mountain desert landscape. While the sleeping area is topped by a solid roof and the bath area features a round skylight that frames the night sky, the central volume has a bright-pink inflatable roof that can be erected depending on the weather. All the furnishings around the residence, including door handles, cookware, and benches are also 3D printed. More amazing 3D printed buildings in our blog

#BeOpenARCH The winning entry of the Urban Confluence Silicon Valley Competition, which sought for a design that could deliver an artistic and iconic structure embracing the extraordinary spirit of Silicon Valley innovation, is Breeze of Innovation tower designed by Australian studio SMAR Architects. Designed to gently sway in the wind, the project will encompass a conical void within a 200-foor tower, creating a unique vertical space, multiple levels of walkways, and a dramatic viewing platform from which visitors will enjoy 360 views. Poetically integrating innovative wind power, the ethereal building will use the natural movement of 500 dynamic rods generating enough power to light the structure at night. Aiming to inspire interaction and activation of the site and surroundings, the design will also incorporate an exhibition space and room for a café.

Young Italian designer Marco Zagaria has developed an electricity-free heater that uses candles to store and gradually emit heat. Named Egloo, the device encompasses two terracotta domes that are placed on top of four tea lights set underneath a metal grill. An exterior hole in the domes allows warm air to circulate up and into the room. The heater takes five minutes to warm up and after only 30 minutes the temperature of the environment surrounding the Egloo increases between two and three degrees. The device heats a 30 sqm room for five hours, and terracotta covers release warmth even after the candles have gone out. The monthly cost of using Egloo is around $3 – significantly less than using an electric heater. Handmade in Italy, the heater is available in several different colours and finishes, including enamelled and natural versions.

London-based start-up Gumdrop, founded by product designer Anna Bullus, has developed Gum-Tec, a recycled compound that contains a minimum of 20% chewing gum. Recently, the start-up has collaborated with Explicit Wear to design Gumshoes, sneakers that come with a Gum-Tec sole and a leather upper body and are as good as any other rubber shoes. It takes about a pound of discarded gum to create a pair of Gumshoes. The gum waste is collected from the streets of Amsterdam, a city where an incredible 3.3 million pounds of gum are incorrectly disposed on the sidewalks each year. To recycle the waste, Bullus works with a moulding specialist in Leicester, which grinds the Gumbins into pieces and compounds it with other recycled polymers. The mixture is then put into an injection moulding machine where it is heated and then ejected as a paste, which can be moulded as it cools. More recycled chewing gum ideas in our blog

Designed by Rotterdam-based studio Casanova + Hernandez, the Albanian Carpet is a waterfront plaza in the Albanian village of Shiroka, near the border with Montenegro. Informed by traditional Albanian homes, it features paving that replicates a traditional carpet pattern using black and white granite blocks and the layout for open-area zones, which takes hues from an oda, a room used to entertain guests. The studio reinterpreted this room, which typically features low benches lining the space on three sides, by introducing U-shaped benches made from wood. This enables visitors to enjoy the views over the lake and stimulates interaction between them, offering an array of different uses such as a playground room, picnic room, lounge room, and the fishermen's room. Besides, the stone paving in these “rooms” serves as seating, when the plaza is used as an arena for performances or events. More bespoke public plazas in our blog

Designed by Beijing-based OPEN architecture as part of the International school in Shanghai, the Pinghe Bibliotheater combines a library and two theaters within one building, uniting the skills of reading, thinking, and performing. Named The Blue Whale, the building comprises a slanted roof, spiky skylights, and porthole-like windows, which makes it look like an ocean liner. The lower part of the structure is occupied by the proscenium theater and the black box, spaces which require the least amount of natural light and the most acoustic isolation. In the meantime, the upper level accommodates the terraced library that adapts to the various heights of the theaters below and culminates with a central reading area that is surrounded by books and light.

Pipeline is a reconfigurable pneumatic structure by Madrid-based architecture practice DOSIS, founded by Isabel Collado and Ignacio Peydro. Developed to house the KENZO autumn-winter show in Paris before the pandemic, this lightweight and transformable structure, contained within a PVC membrane, instantly activates its setting. As the collection was inspired by nomadism and travel, Pipeline is designed to dynamically adapt to new situations and locations. Today it inhabits the world allowing distinct uses in various places, moving around the world without a pre-established destination, and transmutes depending on the conditions of the ecosystem that hosts it.

The House of Wood, Straw and Cork by Milan-based architecture studio LCA Architetti, founded by Luca Compri, is a simple and sustainable house, commissioned by a young couple who wanted to live more. As its named suggests, it is made from natural and renewable construction materials, including a prefabricated timber structure, straw insulation and cladding made from cork. The size and shape of the dwelling takes its cues from neighbouring agricultural barns and boasts a palette that is derived from the colours of the earth. The design of the house is deliberately pared-back, so the cladding of the textured cork appears to be the focal point of the home’s exterior. The use of cork, alongside the straw insulation, helps minimize the building’s energy demand providing a thermally efficient skin for the house. More straw-built houses in our blog