Be Open think tank

#BeOpenARCH The municipality of Milan has announced the results of the competition to design the new European Library of Information and Culture (BEIC) in Milan, Italy. The winning team is led by Onsite Studio, a Milan-based architectural office, and composed of baukuh, Yellow Office, SCE Project, Studio Mistretta, Starching, Stain Engineering, Dotdotdot, (ab)Normal, Atmos Lab. The proposed design comprises two naves with a trapezoidal cross-section. While the northern volume houses the Forum and one is lighter and open towards the square, the southern one, which is more dense, reserved, and silent, accommodates the Departments. Reminiscent partly of a greenhouse, station, and factory, the intensively glazed building embraces its role as a contemporary hub of the Milanese cultural life.

#BeOpenDESIGN Naomi Rachel Muirhead, an American artist living in Florence, Italy, makes art pieces with collage and mixed media and sterling silver jewelry with vintage Italian text, images, old maps, watch parts and other found objects. Coming across a copy of a vintage vocabulary book of words (Dizionario Pratico Della Lingua Italiana) by Giulio Orsay Ponard, she has developed a series of jewellery. The definitions are implemented onto rings, necklaces and pendants in a simple rectangular format made using sterling silver, paper, and resin.

#BeOpenDESIGN Modeled on a typical Chinese apartment, Ordinance of the Subconscious Treatment by Shanghai-based artist and designer Duyi Han is a project where each room is conceived as a visual projection of a mental state and a neuroaesthetic prescription. Used for guest short stays, art exhibitions, tea ceremony, games, and other events, the apartment is a collection of physical and virtual neuroaesthetic environments investigating the themes of mental health and contemporary Chinese culture. Intended to be both provoking and hypnotic, intimidating and soothing, the rooms and furniture interweave religious and folkloric references with scientific cues informed by contemporary mental health practices. Here, for example, the visitor can find silk embroidery that features chemical symbols such as dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.

#BeOpenARCH Chilean architect Ivan Bravo has developed a series of micro-greenhouses that seek to exploit to the maximum the capacities of a constructive system from minimal elements. The design balances between a miniature of the main production system that sustains the nutrition of the human race and a habitable enlargement of the vegetable container as a piece of design .The structures are composed entirely of 1x2"and 2x2" elements, through a simple and intuitive fastening system. One of them, shaped as a triangle, is made to be walked horizontally flanked by a side of plants, while the other is walked vertically between the plants that are arranged around the central void.

#BeOpenNEWS Time for your creative vision to bring you a €300 prize! We invite you to join #BEOPENCleanEnergy Instagram open call (which supports UN’s SDG7: Affordable and Clean Energy) and post visuals that represent a cleaner, safer, happier and more sustainable world, achievable with affordable and clean energy. What picture or artwork, or photograph of today represents that better future for you, and inspires you to move forward? The entries will close September 30, 2022. BE OPEN Community members will then select the winning post from a shortlist of submissions with the highest number of likes by Instagram users. The winner will receive a €300 prize. Find details at beopensocial.com

#BeOpenDESIGN Modeled on a typical Chinese apartment, Ordinance of the Subconscious Treatment by Shanghai-based artist and designer Duyi Han is a project where each room is conceived as a visual projection of a mental state and a neuroaesthetic prescription. Used for guest short stays, art exhibitions, tea ceremony, games, and other events, the apartment is a collection of physical and virtual neuroaesthetic environments investigating the themes of mental health and contemporary Chinese culture. Intended to be both provoking and hypnotic, intimidating and soothing, the rooms and furniture interweave religious and folkloric references with scientific cues informed by contemporary mental health practices. Here, for example, the visitor can find silk embroidery that features chemical symbols such as dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.

#BeOpenARCH Designed by Danish studio Norm Architects, Äng is a Michelin-starred restaurant located in the middle of a meadow in Ästad Vinga rd – one of Sweden's largest vineyards. The design of this minimal building resembles an inside-out greenhouse, with the steel structure on the inside and a smooth exterior of glass panels that reflects unspoiled Nordic nature around. Inside, the glass building is designed to give diners a holistic, sensory experience of sitting in the middle of the meadow with nothing but clear skies overhead.

@BeOpenARCH Aiming to create a home that feels unique and “unapologetically contemporary,” while still having cues to the traditional ideas of ‘house,' Canadian firm StudioAC has designed a three-storey building that has stacked boxy forms. The structure is clad in aluminium, which was selected for its durability and affordability - while façades are finished in corrugated aluminium siding, upper windows are covered with a mesh made from custom-perforated aluminium panels. The residence is topped with a gabled roof that alludes to the local housing stock. This element is reflected in the building's windows and interior features.

#BeOpenARCH Community-stewarded floating eco-park The Wild Mile was officially open for use in June in Chicago. Developed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the 139 sqm project seeks to transform a branch of the Chicago river from an industrial canal into an inviting habitat for wildlife and a living laboratory for education and research. The team introduced a sculptural and modular walkway to complement the landscape. This comprises a zigzagging composition of aluminum frames and dock floats supporting the wooden paths made of Kebony, a chemically modified timber.

#BeOpenART In her recent project ‘The Metamorphosis of Beautiful Bodies,’ artist Kumi Kaguraoka investigates possible evolutions of beauty standards 1,000 years from now. After careful research, Kaguraoka created a series of wearable devices and body casts that help reconstruct and reshape one’s physique and refer real techniques adopted in certain parts of the world – from foot binding in ancient China to ‘beauty shots’ of today. The artist imagines several possible scenarios that could unfold in the next millennium based on her research exploring how beauty has been conceptualized through environments, histories, and cultures.