Dezeen Showroom: Spanish designer Josep Lluís Xuclà has designed a "magical" outdoor light for Marset, which creates the illusion of floating and glowing from within.
Called Elipse, it consists of a simple aluminium tube that is cut open on both sides, allowing light to spill out.
A completely white interior amplifies the light of the LED within and eclipses its source, making it seem as if the lamp was shining of its own accord.
Elipse features a reflective base and white interior
At the base, a reflective screen projects light back out, making the Elipse appear to be hovering a few centimetres above the ground.
"My philosophy is always to create a light that has a magical element, in which you don’t know exactly where the light comes from," said Xuclà. "Since the light is somehow 'hidden' it can surprise the user and that is precisely what adds the most value."
Elipse is available in two heights and a graphite grey or brown finish, allowing it to blend easily into different exteriors.
The light is also available as an exterior sconce
It also comes as a sconce, which can be mounted to walls or facades and used to emphasise different architectural features.
According to Xuclà, the diagonal cut that runs along the top of the aluminium tube gives the light a sculptural quality even when it is not in use.
"Apart from being an outdoor lamp with an upward-focused light, it's also a design object in its own right, formally relevant during the day and giving off a special lighting effect at night," he said.
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Madrid-based Husos Architects has designed a compact timber cabin near Madrid for one of its co-founders that aims to be sustainable and sensitive to its pine forest setting.
Named (Synanthro)Love Shack, (Tele)Working Abode, the cabin was created for Husos Architects co-founder Diego Barajas and his partner as a place for them both to live and work.
Husos Architects designed the home, which is part of a housing development in a woodland area, to have the smallest footprint for its two occupants to live comfortably while aiming to have a low impact on the pine forest ecosystem.
Top and above: Husos Architects designed the Love Shack cabin as part of a housing development in a woodland
"We understand this project as an ensemble of architecture for human and non-human animals, that together form a path towards exploring ways of caring for the biological and social diversity of an urban forest ecosystem that include realities that are often undervalued and neglected," Barajas told Dezeen.
"That is the case of moths, gay families, migrant domesticities, or some of the construction challenges of architecture regarding the current climate emergency," he continued.
The project aims to both radically reduce the ecological footprint of suburban housing and imagine other forms of coexistence with the surrounding fauna.
The main living space is four metres high. Photo is by Impresiones Cotidianas
To reduce the Love Shack's environmental impact Husos Architects reduced its size by designing multifunctional rooms and furniture, and taking advantage of both indoor and outdoor spaces.
"We designed the house to be transformed to encompass the various different uses of a larger house within a relatively small footing," explained Barajas.
"First, we did that by rethinking domestic spaces such as the bedroom or the roof, parts of the home space often underused; second, by multiplying its uses by means of designing a few easily transformable furniture pieces; and third, allowing for domestic life to occur within varying degrees of interiority and exteriority."
A sleeping space is accessed by a ladder
The house has two main living spaces divided by a bathroom topped with the main sleeping space, which is accessed by an inbuilt ladder and opens onto the kitchen.
Described by the studio as the "heart of the cabin", this four-metre-high kitchen contains a seating area and is connected to an outdoor terrace that is enclosed in a metal cage.
The multifunctional room can be used as an office. Photo is by Impresiones Cotidianas
A second, multifunctional room can be used as an office, gym, dining room or guest bedroom, and is flanked by a mirror-fronted wardrobe. It has a collapsable table that can be hung on the wall when not in use and a sideboard that contains a foldable bed.
It also has a fold-out bed. Photo is by Impresiones Cotidianas
With sustainability in mind, the cabin was constructed from a prefabricated solid pinewood structure sourced from responsibly-managed forests in Soria, about 250 kilometres from the site.
It is topped with a roof terrace described by the studio as an "open-air living room", which is wrapped in a chain-metal fence decorated with small pieces of purple-painted timber.
The Love Shack cabin is topped by a roof terrace. Photo is by Impresiones Cotidianas
"The house recreates imaginary fragments of the South American landscape through the lilac and purple tones reminiscent of the Jacaranda mimosifolia, which – like us – originates in those landscapes, bringing them into dialogue with those of the Western Sierra of Madrid," explained Barajas.
"The perforated upper floor facade painted in those tones offers intimacy, and at the same time representation for our non-heteronormative, transnational family."
The roof-top space is described as an outdoor living room
Throughout the project Husos Architects aimed to integrate the building into the woodland setting, adding a series of bird feeders, nesting boxes and water fountains for birds.
"Our approach to the natural environment has been through a socio-bioclimatic cabin as well as other, small animal architectures for birds and bats that feed on a defining agent in this ecosystem: the pine processionary moth," said Barajas.
(Synanthro)Love Shack, (Tele)Working Abode is designed to be sensitive to its location Photo is by Impresiones Cotidianas
Barajas said the project aims to demonstrate the studio's concept of 'interwoven architecture'.
" For us, this project is an exploration of designing according to a concept we have been working with for years, namely, 'interwoven architecture', based in Latin-American decolonial feminist thinking, in which environmental and social issues are understood together," he explained.
"If we look at the history of the colonisation of the biosphere, we can see that the violence against nature and other species has often been accompanied by other forms of violence towards our own species, towards racialised people, women, non-heteronormative bodies and others," he continued.
"It is not only about inclusion of different forms of existence; but also, about the search for other, less painful, more pleasant ways of living."
Architect: Husos Architects Team: Diego Barajas and Camilo García with Aníbal Arenas, Almudena Tenorio, Giulia Poma, Álvaro Heredia, Agustina Zaratiegui, Iván Parra, Natasa Lekkou, Francesca Alessandro, Mónica Román and Raquel Herrera Landscaping: currently underway by Husos with Fábrica de Texturas and the collaboration of Aristides Mettas, Marta Amírola, Joao Manfrinato, Petra Sebova, Jeronime Doise, Daniel Prieto, Elena Taliano, Ilaria Sasdelli and Elena del Cura Textiles: Candelas. Special thanks to Pepo Ruiz.
Text: Camilo García and Diego Barajas.
English translation: Medina Whiteman.
Client: This is a house for Diego Barajas, one of the architects of this project, his partner and their transnational family.
Photography: Luis Díaz Díaz and Impresiones Cotidianas.
Nendo has completed a comprehensive makeover of all of Japan Airlines' in-flight amenities, from meal trays to slippers and earplug wrappers, which draws on the lines of a paper crane.
The revamp is based on the national carrier's logo – a traditional crest known as a tsurumaru, in which a crane forms a circle with its outstretched wings.
Above: blankets feature folded red corners. Top image: the design was informed by the motif of an origami crane
This motif is extrapolated into a more minimalist, red origami bird that, according to Nendo, acts as "a symbol of peace, prayer and the spirit of hospitality".
Its graphic folds are referenced throughout the entire line of products, with a tag attached to accessories such as eye masks, slippers and pillows nodding to the shape of its pointed wingtips.
Red tags pop up throughout the product line
A similar red band resembling an inverted bookmark is also wrapped around the rolled-up napkins that hold the cutlery, while the paper crane's triangular head is referenced in the folded corners of blankets, tablecloths and napkins.
Elsewhere Nendo took a more abstract approach, incorporating the tessellated patterns that are left behind on a piece of paper when the origami bird is unfolded.
Cosmetics blags are emblazoned with the crane's folding patterns
These are found on the in-flight cosmetics bags as well as on the cartes du jour, where the linework helps flight attendants differentiate between Western and Japanese menus'.
Similarly, paper placemats and dishes are crisscrossed by white and grey lines, which allow them to be perfectly arranged and stacked on the meal trays to reveal the crane's folding pattern.
Meal trays and dishes can be arranged using their crisscrossing lines as a guide
Since amenities for Japan Airlines' international flights are printed and manufactured in different places, this complicated the process of exact colour matching and led Nendo to chose not just one but seven different shades of grey to offset the red accents.
Ranging from granite to warmer beige tones, this helps to distinguish the planes' different classes while maintaining a cohesive overall design.
Different shades of grey distinguish the different travel classes
Textiles and accessories in economy feature a mix of three different lighter tones to give the cabin a sense of airiness despite its compact dimensions, and in business class, a silvery shade is contrasted with a darker, slate grey for a "sharp and modern look".
Red-tinged hues are reserved for first-class and also used to distinguish meal trays and menus designed for Western cuisine from the cool grey employed for their Japanese counterparts.
Linework on the menus helps to highlight their contents
For items that stay the same across all Japan Airlines travel classes, such as earplugs, toothbrushes and cosmetic sachets, Nendo opted for a neutral tone and unified their opening mechanism to work in the same direction along a dotted line.
Other design studios such as London-based PriestmanGoode have focused instead on cutting back on the amount of single-use plastic that is used during in-flight meal services.
The firm designed an entire table setting made from edible and commercially compostable materials, including a tray formed from coffee grounds and a cup made of rice husks and lined with algae.
The viaducts, which will be built near the village of Water Orton, have been developed for a section of the high-speed railway that branches west towards Birmingham and north towards Crewe.
Weston Williamson + Partners' proposal is intended to have a low visual impact on existing rural landscapes in the area, with both concrete viaducts developed to be as slender as structurally possible.
There will also be large spans between their supporting piers, creating space at ground level for the landscaping of green public spaces including allotments and a "community-led orchard".
The Water Orton viaducts will be surrounded by green public spaces
"Our approach at Water Orton has been to design structures which are in constant dialogue with the landscape, in parts screened and concealed by vegetation and elsewhere emerging into clearings, creating a bold and dramatic view," said Nick McGough, the studio's associate partner.
"The team has worked hard to elegantly sculpt these viaducts into the most narrow and slender structures possible, with large spans which reduce the number of piers," he explained.
"This minimises the locations where the structure touches the ground, improves the sustainability performance of the viaducts, and also creates opportunities for new green spaces and community amenities."
The structures will carry the railway over a network of existing roads
The pair of Water Orton viaducts through the Warwickshire countryside is required in order for the railway to safely continue over a network of existing roads and footpaths.
Weston Williamson + Partners' decision to prioritise landscaping in the designs was the result of public consultations, during which many local people requested that the project focused on enhancing the natural landscapes and preserving the agricultural character of the area.
Alongside the green public spaces, a series of "wildlife habitats" including grasslands and areas for planting of native tree species will therefore also be introduced.
The slender design for the Water Orton viaducts is hoped to reduce shading over these areas.
Large spans between the structural piers are hoped to minimise disruption
"As we develop the detailed design for the railway, we are listening to feedback from communities like Water Orton, and also continue to work with them and local authorities to explore further opportunities for local connectivity through pedestrian access and cycling routes," said HS2's design director Kay Hughes.
"Our goal for the landscape design around Water Orton is to tie the proposed viaduct structures into the local landscape and create opportunities to enhance it."
The structures are designed to be as slender as structurally possible
The Y-shaped HS2 railway is being built to link up London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds with high-speed rail service and is expected to complete in phases between 2029 and 2035.
Weston Williamson + Partners' designs for the Water Orton viaducts, developed in collaboration with HS2's landscape architects and engineers from Systra and Mott MacDonald, is the latest in a string of designs revealed for the rail line in recent months.
Dezeen's founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs moderated the live conversation, which is called Design in Process: Architecture, nature and technology.
He was joined by three participants in Dezeen and Dassault Systèmes' Design for Life video series, which highlights designers who are using technology and research to build a better world.
Mamou-Mani, Inglessis and Pawlyn discussed how technology can enable architects to create buildings that bring their inhabitants closer to nature, as well as how experimental projects can drive change in the wider design industry, and how the new accessibility of powerful design software is impacting architecture and sustainability.
Architect Arthur Mamou-Mani, who is collaborating with Dassault Systèmes, appeared on the panel
The project explores how architects can use recyclable materials and emergent technologies like 3D-printing to create architectural projects that contribute to a circular economy and minimise their impact on the environment.
Urban Imprint, an installation designed by Studio INI that appeared in 2019 at A/D/O in Brooklyn, featured a canopy that opens up around visitors' heads in reaction to the weight of their footsteps.
Studio INI contributed an installation named Disobedience to the London Design Biennale in 2018, in which visitors were invited to walk along a platform flanked by flexible walls that bulge open around them as they pass through the structure.
Exploration Architecture founder Michael Pawlyn also joined the panel
London-based architect Pawlyn is the founder of biomimicry-focussed practice Exploration Architecture.
Pawlyn explained how biomimicry, the process of modelling a design based on processes found int he natural world, can allow architects to make a positive impact on the environment in an episode of the Design for Life video series.
Pawlyn is also a key member of Architects Declare, a network of architectural practices committed to addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency.
Design for Life
Design For Life is a content collaboration between Dezeen and Dassault Systèmes featuring talks and videos highlighting designers who are using technology and research to build a better world.
Icelandic designer Valdís Steinarsdóttir is turning byproducts from the meat industry into vessels made of bone and a bioplastic material for packaging.
The Just Bones project saw Steinarsdóttir create containers from ground animal bones, while Bioplastic Skin transforms animal skin into packaging for the same creature's meat.
Top and above: Steinarsdóttir's Bioplastic Skin is made from slaughterhouse waste products
Her designs are an attempt to come up with new ways of reusing the amount of waste that is produced by slaughterhouses.
"I found meat processing to be both an extremely hard and morally challenging topic to explore," Steinarsdóttir told Dezeen.
"In fact, that was exactly what inspired me to go further, because I think as designers we need to be unflinching and ready to tackle uncomfortable issues."
"To make new discoveries, it is often good to look backwards and rethink accepted norms and established ways of doing things," she added.
Just Bones vases are made from ground bones
Steinarsdóttir sources her materials from local slaughterhouses and farmers before transforming them into new materials. The bowls and vases for Just Bones are made by grinding down the bones to a powder, using an advanced mortar machine.
She likens the process to the creation of MDF, which is made by breaking down wood into fine particles that are bound together by wax and a resin binder.
The designer creates the glue that works as a binder for her vessels by putting the bones in sour fruit extract and then boiling them to collect the gelatine.
"First when I mix the material it is liquid so I can mould it, similar to moulding ceramics. Once it has dried, it becomes strong and I can drill, saw, and laser cut it, for example," she explained.
"The material is biodegradable, which is a crucial part of all my material research."
The vessels dissolve in hot water
The bone vessels stay firm as long as they're dry, but aren't waterproof and will dissolve in hot water in about a week.
The different colours of the vessels are created by Steinarsdóttir – who produces all her products herself – heating the bones at different temperatures.
"Because I make the material on a small scale, I prepare the bones myself," she said. "I find it an important part of the project because I want to stay close to the process."
Heating the bone paste at different temperatures creates different colours
Similar to Just Bones, Bioplastic Skin was created as containers, but it's a thinner material made from animal skins that Steinarsdóttir envisions being used for food packaging. The designer based its production process on a historic method.
"The process of making Bioplastic Skin involves boiling animal hides to collect gelatine," she explained.
"People have been using this method for centuries to make wood glue. I modified this process in order to create the plastic-like material."
Steinarsdóttir boils animals hides to get gelatine
"I found that the natural state of the material is inelastic so the experimentation involved finding the best way of drying the material correctly so it would not deform," she added.
"To make the material soft I experimented with mixing different ratios of sugar alcohol into it, to get a variety of flexibility."
The Bioplastic Skin packaging could be used for the meat of the animal it came from
Like the bone vessels, the Bioplastic Skin packaging is biodegradable and Steinarsdóttir hopes it could eventually be used to contain meat from the same animal as the skin it came from, creating a more sustainable way of packaging meat.
The packaging, which takes a few weeks to biodegrade, could become a visual indication of how fresh the products it contains is.
"I would like the material to have the same expiration date as the meat inside it," the designer said.
"So instead of a best before date, you could see if the packaging itself is turning bad to determine if the product inside is expiring."
It dissolves in water within a few weeks
Using these kinds of materials doesn't just help to avoid waste, but can also help make the most out of limited resources.
"I live on an island where one has to be aware of materials or perhaps, the very lack of materials," Steinarsdóttir said. "It’s important to explore discarded matter from different perspectives and find new opportunities for utilisation."
"In this case, my aim is not to make more demand for animal products, rather use what is already there to reduce waste and experiment with disposed materials to discover their full potential."
