Be Open think tank

#BeOpenARCH Höweler + Yoon, creative studio based in Boston, has developed a concept of a ring-shaped floating platform that invites Philadelphians to experience the Schuylkill River and its ecology in a meaningful and unprecedented way. Named Floatlab, the fluorescent green structure features a system of eight ballast chambers and employs techniques of architectural design, marine engineering, and naval architecture to form a stable structure that remains on a consistently level even with the tide. Apart from a circular walking platform, offering an eye-level view of the river, the project will combine a laboratory and community center that will host remediation workshops and educational events. The completion is set for 2022.

#BeOpenARCH The New School in Sundby, Denmark, by the local architecture studio Henning Larsen is going to be the country’s first school to be given a Nordic Ecolabel, the official sustainability certificate for the region that takes into account the project's energy consumption, indoor climate, chemical exposure and sustainable material use. The design comprises a two-storey C-shaped structure topped by a walkable green roof that merges into the terrain and can be accessed by the public at all times. Inside, a number of spaces will open up to the outside to take advantage of its proximity to nature. All school's interior spaces can be changed, reorganised and relocated to suit its needs. The building’s structure also allows for an expansion from two to three storeys, which enables its future growth. More innovative school architecture in our blog

#BeOpenDESIGN Brooklyn designer Drew Seskunas, founder of the Saw Earth studio, has created a modular vertical garden system that can create easily customisable and cost-efficient green walls. Named Prism Planters, the system consists of faceted plant pots that can be piled up in different arrangements to make efficient use of limited space, while adding much needed greenery to the urban landscape. The project could be a great entry for our #BEOPENUrbanGreen Instagram open call. Share your visuals of plants in the cityscape with #BEOPENUrbanGreen hashtag to get a chance to win €300. More details: beopensocial.com

#BeOpenDESIGN The Originals range of flat-pack furniture developed by London-based Fuzl Studio uses heavy-duty steel fasteners from the commercial packaging industry to clip the birch plywood components together. Normally used to hold together plywood shipping crates, the clips are strong enough to withstand forklift trucks, tonnes of dynamic forces and various drop tests. Being under spring tension, they can keep the furniture strong and stable for years to come, without the need to tighten it up, which considerably extends its lifecycle. Besides, they endow the range with a distinct industrial appeal. The plywood for the furniture is sourced from responsibly managed forests in Europe, while the paint finishes are derived from linseed oil enriched with pigments that are free of the volatile organic compounds (VOC) and food-safe. More unparalleled flat-packed furniture in our blog

#BeOpenNEWS BE OPEN Art is happy to announce that Yulia Virko, Switzerland-born and Moscow-based artist exploring the complexity of human nature and consciousness, has been voted the Artist of the Month by the visitors of art.beopenfuture.com website. 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 Yulia, whose saturated and harmonious paintings have gained her a majority of votes this May! We also take the opportunity to applaud all the featured artists and thank everyone who voted.

#BeOpenDESIGN Federica Sala, Milan-born and Barcelona-based architect, has created a kinetic sculpture and an icon of the love a mother has for her child. Designed by Federica after the birth of her son Bruno and aptly named Bruno’s Swing, the architectural structure comprises a heart-shaped seat suspended from a bent-metal frame that is styled to look like a mother – and the artist confesses, it came out in the form of a self-portrait. When the child swings, it almost looks as if the heart is beating with the child within it, creating a wonderful metaphor for motherly love.

#BeOpenDESIGN Aiming to minimize the impact light pollution and growing energy consumption has on both humans and animals, Berlin design student Tobias Trübenbacher has developed a wind-powered street lamp with an insect-friendly light spectrum. The motion-activated design incorporates a wind turbine that makes use of complex airflows in urban environments including natural currents, wind tunnels created by tall buildings and smaller airstreams caused by passing vehicles. The wind’s kinetic energy is then converted into mechanical power, which an integrated 300-watt generator turns it into electricity and stores it in a rechargeable battery. The Papilio streetlight is available in freestanding and wall-mounted options.

#BeOpenARCH Responding to the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale’s theme “How Will We Live Together?”, the project by Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena seeks to resolve the conflict between Chileans and the Mapuche, a group of indigenous inhabitants of present-day south-central Chile, who have clashed over land ownership and occupation since the formation of the republic of Chile in 1818. The architect suggests an alternative path to violence through recovering the old tradition of parlays, negotiation talks that the Mapuche used to have with the Incas, with the Spanish crown, and with Chileans many centuries ago. The project presented at the Biennale is named Koyauwe, which is a fusion of the two words - “koyak” (to parley, to speak) and “uwe” (place). Conceived as a place to bring people together, it comprises a structure made of timber logs in the shape of the circle as a kind of natural gathering, with the maximum distance where somebody speaking can be heard by the others. More timber architecture presented at the Biennale in our blog

#BeOpenARCH Architect Wendy Teo of Borneo Laboratory has designed a gathering venue at the rooftop in the center of Kuching, Malaysia. Realized during the semi-lockdown period as an alternative for existing enclosed or indoor public spaces, the Butterfly Garden aims to visualize and inspire hope among locals, encouraging them to gather, up-cycle, grow vegetables and cook together. The design of the space, Teo says, is inspired by the quote ‘What the caterpillar thinks is the end of the world, the butterfly knows is only the beginning.’ It features timber seating covered by a patterned canopy resembling motives on the butterfly’s wings. Since the project was carried out during the semi-lockdown period, a strategy of minimizing large group gathering was developed for the construction process. The whole structure was assembled on site within three days after two months of planning.

#BeOpenDESIGN Concerned by 60 billion sqm of textile waste the fashion industry produces yearly, Icelandic designer Valdís Steinarsdóttir has created Shape.Repeat collection featuring garments that are cast into moulds rather than cut from a pattern. The collection consists of translucent plastic-like vest tops made using either gelatin or agar, a gelling agent derived from red alagae, mixed with water and sugar alcohol for flexibility. The liquid is cast into a mould in the shape of the finished piece and left to cure for around a day. The method only uses the exact amount of material needed to produce a garment, which means it generates no waste. The tops are available with different textures, which are achieved with moulds with different patterns, while their colours range from fleshy pink to cherry red due to the use of natural cochineal dye derived from insects. When no longer needed or worn down, the vests can be heated to a certain temperature, melted down and re-cast into a new garment using the same material as part of a closed-loop system.