Be Open think tank

#BeOpenDESIGN London-based Heatherwick Studio has designed Stem, a system made up of six sculptural legs of different heights and diameters, which can be applied to any surface – be it a door or an IKEA tabletop or a piece of stone – to create a modular desk, without any special tools. The legs crafted from maple wood double as planters aligned with the ideals of Attention Restoration Theory by psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, which proposes that exposure to natural environments for just 40 seconds has tangible improvements to brain functioning and to help mind recover in-between periods of concentration. The design is as functional as it is focused on emotional wellbeing: it offers the possibility to run electrical wiring through the legs and use the vessel as a storage tray or the base for a light.

#BeOpenDESIGN Better, a versatile system developed by the team of Taipei based furniture designers Lee PinYi and Su Ching Yao, includes a collection of interchangeable parts that can be used to create various furniture pieces ranging from office desks and bed frames to task chairs and coat racks. All pieces of furniture share assembly components, allowing users to swap different parts out for new ones, creating a totally new piece of furniture: e.g. the same parts are used to build a desk and a coat rack. Extra components, such as storage compartments or leg rests, can be added to enhance the fully assembled pieces. The height, finish, and integrated shelving for each element can be adjusted at any time to meet the user’s needs and preferences. More bespoke modular furniture systems in our blog

#BeOpenARCH Qishe Architectural Design Office has designed a themed container camp in the Wild World Jinan, a wildlife park besides the banks of the picturesque Wangyun Lake, China. Aiming to minimize the impact of the building on the natural ecological environment, the architects chose to rationally use the owner's over 100 containers and build modular and flexible container-style buildings that allow visitors to better connect the surrounding animal and botanical parks. Scattered in the nature of the forest, the containers are combined into independent and abstract animal modules (named after colorful and distinctive animals: "Pink-Flamingos", "Yellow-Tiger", "Gray-Elephant", "Dark Blue-Snow Wolf" and "Black and White-Panda"), not unlike playing toy blocks. Credits: Relight Photography (via archdaily)

#BeOpenDESIGN Turkey-based product designer Buse Kaya has developed Loop, a modular furniture system that aims to keep kids entertained while their parents are working from home. Designed to adapt to any living space, the system comprises a series of play and work modules that can be reconfigured in countless different ways. Each play module comes with its own function and personality, offering an array of different play spaces for children to stay entertained with a chalkboard, a bead maze or tactile puzzles, and within eyesight. At the same time, the attachable work modules can be stacked on top of one another to create a partition and standing desk, or form multifunctional storage space. More modular furniture systems in our blog

#BeOpenARCH GAS Architectures has designed a cluster of ecotourism retreats to immerse visitors in the beauty and adventure of Husteca potosina, a geographical and cultural region in Mexico’s San Luis Potosí. Each of the Cocoon Villas comprises two floors, the ground level is reserved for social gatherings, while the top floors are kept for sleeping. The villas offer panoramic views of the surrounding environment of jungle and waterfalls through a glass facade that is crisscrossed with diamond bamboo joists. The diamond bamboo framing supports and protects each villa’s structure with natural waterproof and insect repellent properties.

#BeOpenDESIGN London-based designer and RCA graduate Tessa Silva has found a way to turn excess skimmed milk created in the production of butter or cream into a compostable moldable material by combining it with chalk. Aptly named Chalk Cheese, the material has consistency of polymer clay and can be molded by hand or even spun on a potter’s wheel. The designer uses Chalk Cheese to create a series of vases using molds made from deadstock fabric to give the homeware a unique aesthetic. Silva drew inspiration from a material previously used in 16th century Britain, where sour, spoilt milk was mixed with limestone to create tough flooring that became as hard as stone after drying.

#BeOpenARCH Moscow-based architecture bureau Megabudka has combined avant-garde and tradition in their project of the Kudykina Gora park in the Lipetsk region, Russia, which aims to rethink Russian national identity. The Hospitality Center building complex of the park consists of separate blocks of different height, each with a function of its own. The volumes, which are reminiscent of a fragment of a street in the old city, are shifted off the central axis of the entrance to avoid blocking the view of the iconic landmark of the park - the Fortress.

#BeOpenDESIGN Two New York based architecture practices Studio Link-Arc and Kane A|UD Architecture have teamed up to design Banu restaurant in Zhengzhou, China, with a flowing lattice ceiling as a key feature of the design that unifies the space. The intricate yet rationalized pattern of the ceiling is made from perforated metal panels that extend externally, forming a vertical fin façade that serves as a sunshade and gives changing transparency and visual texture to the building. Through the unity of interior and exterior, the visual affect is one of a constantly changing dynamics visible from the street, welcoming passers-by into the restaurant. More statement ceilings in our blog

#BeOpenDESIGN A group of students at Umeå Institute of Design, Sweden (Stijn van Cuijk, Jakob Kohnle and Laurenz Simonis) has collaborated with Electrolux to develop Muhō, a new type of furniture for homes that doubles as a sanitization station. The device provides sanitization for both your hands using a liquid disinfectant dispenser activated by a sensor, and the objects you most interact with throughout the day, such as keys, phone etc., through ultraviolet light. The sleek design is enhanced by a smart mirror, which offers timely updates, such as time, temperature and weather conditions.

#BeOpenDESIGN Interior design studio Karv One has created a surreal art garden in a café in Fujian, China, using an artistically shaped installation made with white metal grid, which resembles a fluttering ribbon in the wind. The gradient glass further strengthens the dreamy feeling of the space and visually expands it. Lush greenery placed throughout the space adds to the dream-like, beautiful and warm atmosphere of the café experience. Materials such as terrazzo and metal, combined with soft but eye-catching linear lighting, complete the fluid interior, endowing it with a brand-new sense of lightness and imagination.