Be Open think tank

#BEOPENShadows Instagram challenge is in full swing and we go on sharing exciting examples of shadow related artworks for your inspiration. Shadows are a great tool to play with how humans perceive abstract images and endow them with meaning. The UK artists duo Tim Noble and Sue Webster take ordinary things including rubbish and fracture them to create their shadow art. The resulting projected shadows show a great likeness to something identifiable including self-portraits. Check out more their transformative art at timnobleandsuewebster.com Inspired? Joining our open call is as easy as sharing your visuals via Instagram with #BEOPENShadows hashtag. The best work will be awarded with a prize of €300. Rules: beopensocial.com

Danish studio COBE architects has designed Karen Blixens Plads, one of the largest urban plazas in Copenhagen, as a hybrid between a park and a public square, situated between the newly built University of Copenhagen and the nature reserve Amager commons. The 20,000 sqm project comprises a unique undulating landscape with room for more than 2,000 parked bicycles, two-thirds of them in covered spaces inside the bicycle hills. Karen Blixens Plads masterfully addresses the university's need for urban spaces and bicycle parking, promoting green transportation, climate change adaptation and biodiversity. cobe.dk

Done with the help of digital fabrication techniques, the Imaginary Geographies coffee table by the Chilean collective GT2P, short for Great Things to People, is covered with ripples adapted from topographical maps of the Andes mountain range, which is Chile’s natural frontier to Argentina as well as an icon molding the nation’s culture. It is rendered in lenga, a Chilean wood also known as ‘Patagonian cherry,’ and black basalt leaving a larger flat surface in wood. With an irregular spiral expanding from the inner basalt circle to the edge of the table, the texture gradually decreases in depth, transforming a geographical image into a solid geometry. More nature-inspired coffee tables in our blog.beopenfuture.com

Neko Cat Tree by Japanese designer Yoh Komiyama offers a private space for cats, while also acting as a decorative interior object. Its three-tiered structure is surrounded by a cylindrical form created by multiple rods of Japanese hardwood. The spaces in between each cylindrical post provide glimpses in and out of the tree for a greater intimacy between a human and a cat. Komiyama chose to use minimal materials: the central pillar supporting the structure is wrapped in hemp cord to be utilized as a scratching post, while felt partially covering each of the three floors offers cats a comfortable sleeping surface. The tree is stabilized by the base of Greek marble which also helps cats to regulate body temperature more effectively. Discover more cat-related design in our blog.beopenfuture.com

Silhouette art was a hugely popular and democratic form of portraiture in the 19th century and can be rightly called forbearer of shadow art. Canadian artist Kristi Malakoff has created her Maibaum installation cutting figures of black paper. Malakoff uses layers of paper, foam core and hardware to make life-size sculptures depicting a children’s Maypole dance that suggests animated motion and energy unexpected to be found in such an inanimate installation. kristimalakoff.com If you are into shadow art, join our Instagram challenge for an opportunity to win €300. Share your visuals dedicated to the topic of shadows with #BEOPENShadows hashtag and be our next winner! Rules: beopensocial.com

Chinese firm Beijing Fenghemuchen Space Design have developed Yue Library, a reading-themed living space with an integrated social platform. The 10-meter-high interior is divided into several horizontal layers, forming platforms for various cultural experiences, including reading and book borrowing, literature and arts salon, movie concerts, international music festival, and a children’s playground. Natural wood is used to create a strong ecological ambience, making the space a soothing and relaxing retreat from urban pressure, while the wall-like bookshelves produce the impression of wandering in a forest of books. Discover libraries that are more than just stores of books at blog.beopenfuture.com

The Kebne outdoor gym equipment designed by Swedish studio Kauppi&Kauppi is named after Sweden’s highest mountain Kebnekaise and bears resemblance to the summit’s shape. It is a family of five units for unlimited customizable workouts employing the user’s own body weight for resistance. Just as the Kebnekaise mountain gathers a wide diversity of people with different backgrounds, the Kebne crossbars placed at different heights and featuring different types of grips can be used by people regardless of age, height or level of fitness. Beginners and experts alike can create their perfect workout by simply adjusting grip and body position, the system is also suitable for users in wheelchairs. Read more on gym equipment that is pleasing to the eye as much as it is functional at blog.beopenfuture.com

Chinese architecture firm X+Living has completed a brand store for a renowned green tea brand, Zhuyeqing, in its producing area Chengdu, visiting which feels like a walk in the clouds. The furniture and decorative elements of the retail space represent the motif of ‘cloud and mountain’ often found in Chinese traditional free ink painting. The mountain-shaped counters appear to be shrouded in the mist, with bent panels connecting them by graceful arches. The curvaceous shapes not only meet the functional requirement of displaying goods, but also contribute to the aesthetic composition of the space. http://xxxxxx.design/

Akos Huber, Hungary-born and Portland-based architect and designer, was influenced by unworldliness and lightness of the iconic statue of Nike of Samothrace at the Louvre when designing his Wing Sofa. Crafted by fixing veneers of beech plywood to a template by vacuum suction, the winged organic-looking structure resembles a sculpture. The seat is created from a flexible rope stretching in between the two bent plywood sheets of the base and the back and ending in a marine knot as a nod to the history of the statue, as back in 190 BC the Greek sculpture was created in celebration of a naval victory. More impressive plywood furniture at blog.beopenfuture.com

Full of creative ideas? Our #BEOPENShadows Instagram challenge presents an opportunity to win €300 for the most ingenious photo, art or video on the subject of shadows. Rules: beopensocial.com Our inspiration today is Shadow Spaces project by Owen Gildersleeve, an award winning artist specializing in handcrafted illustration based in London, in collaboration with still life photographer Stephen Lenthall. The project encompasses a series of miniature architectural paper spaces, using light as a map to shape each form. The simple white paper structures were brought to life with intense light creating a powerful display of dramatic shadows. owengildersleeve.com