Be Open think tank

#BeOpenDESIGN Berlin-based Studio Aisslinger has reinvented an office cubicle. Aiming to provide cosy intimacy of a private hideaway in the middle of the openness of a co-working space, Work-Capsule has everything the user might need. It features a seat and a table, shelves for storing belongings, power outlets, a light, the signature bubble window to peep out at the world outside, and a rolling curtain with a zipper that lets the user have their own private space while working. The pods come in a variety of vibrant colors and can be placed in any space in a variety of arrangements.

#BeOpenDESIGN Mexican design studio Sulkin Askenazi has arranged Ikigai Sisu, a school in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, around a giant timber tree in the lobby. The trunk made from locally sourced white oak slats serves as bespoke furniture for children to sit on when learning indoors. Developed to encourage learning through play and exploration, the design also features splashes of bright yellow and round openings among other playful touches. The vibrancy of yellow, applied to the ever-flowing spaces is intended to trigger imagination and the ever-changing minds of young children who roam the space.

#BeOpenNEWS BE OPEN Art is happy to announce that David Molina-Molina, an emerging artist from Venezuela, has been voted the Artist of the Month by the visitors of art.beopenfuture.com Aiming to showcase emerging talents, every month we invite people passionate with art to choose the best artist among those exhibited in our online gallery. Congratulations to David, whose figurative studies have gained him a majority of votes in April! Working with drawing and mixed media, he explores themes of loneliness, lack of space, isolation, longing, the home, and family relationships through his careful consideration of composition and line. We also take the opportunity to applaud all the featured artists and thank everyone who voted.

#BeOpenARCH When local firm Zandigan Architects was commissioned to build Niavaran Residential Building in Tehran, they discovered there were around 120 trees on the lot, about 60 years old, 40% of which were to be conserved according to the area’s building regulations. Conservation of the trees prioritized everything else in this project. The original floorplan was devised regarding the positioning of the trees on the lot. The building was divided into two major volumes according to the location of the main line of central trees. The placement of the green area on both sides of this line informed the overall shape of the building. More buildings built around trees in our blog

#BeOpenDESIGN Singapore Airlines has partnered with local handbag manufacturer Tocco Toscano to develop an accessory line created by upcycling life vests and seat belt buckles from retired commercial aircraft. For TOSxSIA collection, each vest is transformed into six functional things - a mobile phone bag, a coaster, a bifold wallet, an everyday pouch, a long wallet, and even a wristlet clutch. The seatbelts are turned into bag straps, which can be purchased separately to upgrade any bag or pouch in need of a strap.

#BeOpenDESIGN Inspired by the legendary Cabanon, a tiny wooden house dating back to 1952, Paris-based Döppel Studio has created Fields of Possibilities, an installation encompassing six micro-architectures. The project invites visitors to question the concept of housing and how it responds to our essential needs, such as the need for food, water, shelter, sleep and work as evidenced by the present furniture. Besides, clad in yellow jackets in agricultural tarpaulin stuffed with cereal waste, the installations elevates microarchitecture to the rank of an artwork.

#BeOpenDESIGN Polish veterinary student Maciej Szczepański uses the Zortrax Inventure, a desktop 3D printer with an accessible and intuitive interface, to print artificial limbs for dogs who lost their paws in accidents. Szczepański begins with using alginate to make an imprint of the dog’s stump, which is then filled with special ceramic plaster. After that, he 3D scans the obtained cast of a residual limb, so that the 3D designer can prepare a digital model for the vet to 3D print prostheses right on the spot. The printed components include a socket that holds the dog’s stump and an extra ‘foot’ element that comes in direct contact with the ground. All in all, the artificial limb can be ready and passed on to the animal with an orthopedic problem in no more than three days.

#BeOpenART Aiming to bring urbanity to the suburban sprawl in the Coachella Valley, design and research studio Architensions has built a colourful installation named Playground for this year’s festival. It comprises four steel-framed towers, each of which features a variety of geometric forms and materials. The team used cyan, magenta, and yellow dichroic film, mirror film, and polycarbonate sheets to create the vibrant colours of the installation. While the parts with dichroic film blend with the surroundings as the sun shines through them, the ones with mirror film encourage visitors to interact with the architecture, the space and its materiality. Festivalgoers could not actually climb the towers, but were invited to walk through the installation and inhabit the piazzas. More immersive installations of Coachella 2022 in our blog

#BeOpenDESIGN The Gateway Foundation has announced that it intends to open the first hotel in space, named Voyager Station, as early as 2027. The central un-pressurised ring structure will contain the docking hub, while the 200-metre-diametre outer ring truss will be assembled and connected to it by a network of spokes. This ring will support the 24 habitation modules, which will be used for hotel accommodation, restaurants, bars, gyms, crew accommodation and scientific research pods. The rotating hotel will have a ring-shaped form and will give its guests gravity equivalent to one-sixth of the Earth's, that will provide them with a similar experience to visiting a high-end hotel. The space station will offer holiday accommodation options ranging from 500-square-metre "luxury villas" to 30-square-metre hotel suites. More design solutions for space travel in our blog

#BeOpenDESIGN Italian cycling equipment brand Fizik has collaborated with Silicon Valley-based digital manufacturing company, Carbon, to create Adaptive, a performance bike saddle that features revolutionary 3D-printed lattice padding. Accompanied by a high-modulus full carbon shell and carbon rails, the resulting design is comfortable, supportive, and resistant to both UV exposure and prolonged, repeated use. To produce the saddle, the team utilized a process known as Digital Light Synthesis (DLS), which employs digital ultraviolet light projection, oxygen-permeable optics, and programmable liquid resins. This technology enabled the team to focus on elements such as power transfer, shock absorption, stability, and comfort.