Foster + Partners designs reusable open-source face shield

Architecture studio Foster + Partners has created a laser-cut face shield to protect health workers from coronavirus, which can be disassembled and sanitised so that it can be reused.

Foster + Partners is the latest architecture studio to design a piece of personal protective equipment (PPE), with studios including BIG, KPF and Handel Architects already making face shields.

"Protecting front-line health workers is key and we felt this was an obvious way that we could contribute," Grant Brooker, head of studio at Foster + Partners, told Dezeen.

The mask is specifically designed so that it can be manufactured quickly and disassembled, sanitised and reused after wearing.

"We wanted to look at simple cleaning and reuse, as we know that materials are scarce and in high demand, so reuse is essential," explained Brooker.

The masks are fabricated from plastic using a laser cutting machine, as Foster + Partners believes this is faster than 3D-printing components.

"It's the approach to production that we are encouraging others to look at – we started off printing in 3D then realised we could do something a lot faster by focusing on cutting-machine technologies," Brooker said.

Each face shield is made from three components – a visor, headband and strap – which can all be laser cut. The visor is made from a 0.5-millimetre-thick piece of clear plastic, the headband a piece of the same material that's o.75 millimetre-thick and the strap from silicone.

The components for the face shields can be cut within 30 seconds and assembled in under a minute. Using one cutting machine, Foster + Partners cut and assembled 1,000 face shields in a single day.

These masks have now been distributed to health workers in London to test and the studio is exploring how to get the design approved for mass production.

The studio has made the design and material specifications available to enable others with laser cutters to begin fabrication.

Numerous designers have turned their attention to creating face shields. MIT has developed a one-piece Covid-19 face shield, while alumni from Rhode Island School of Design are also fabricating the items to meet the growing demand.

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A Massive Wave of Luminous Figures Scales a Dark Wall in Ataraxia by Eugenio Cuttica

All images © Eugenio Cuttica

One-hundred five fiberglass figures stand atop white chairs in rows that extend from the floor to the ten-meter high ceiling. Part of an exhibition titled Ataraxia, the LED-lit installation invokes the ideas behind the Greek phrase, which roughly translates to imperturbability, equanimity, and tranquility. The glowing project by Argentinian artist Eugenio Cuttica was on view in 2018 at the MAR Museum in Buenos Aires and explored the ways subjects can achieve balance and happiness through freedom from desire.

Ataraxia, the artist said in a statement, “points to a calm beauty, a calm but agitating act, moves the spirit and can even cause fear. It is an art that refers to the observer’s consciousness in its own insignificance and in unity with nature.” In addition to the expansive wave, the exhibition also featured a series of wooden boats and paintings meant to reflect on fertility, abundance, the sublime qualities of Argentinian landscapes, and the ways art and food intersect. The same feminine form is interspersed throughout and can be seen standing in one of the suspended vessels.

Cuttica currently splits his time between his studios in Buenos Aires, New York, Miami, and Milan. For more of the artist’s figurative projects, follow him on Instagram. (via Sophie N Gunnol)

 

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10 miniature clay homes created in self-isolation

Designers share on Instagram the tiny clay versions of their ideal homes they created to keep busy while in isolation.

The clay sets were created for a competition that Brooklyn designer Eny Lee Parker launched on Instagram, just as New York began to tighten measures amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"I started three weeks ago when New York City started to quarantine," Parker told Dezeen.

"I knew that for me, I'd have to keep myself busy so my mind wouldn't focus on the bad news happening everywhere," she said. "You need a balance of being well-informed, and keep living while finding positivity to stay sane and safe."

Parker kicked off the Clay Play contest with her polymer clay creation and then called for others to make their "ideal room".

"I thought of ways to start a challenge that people could do while being home," Parker continued. "Polymer clay was my go-to since I focus on ceramics, and creating an 'ideal room' seemed fitting since we are all in our homes."

Parker, who bought clay for seven people to encourage participation, has since received 46 entries to the competition from architects, designers and set designers. They include a sunken, curved seat facing a round window, a mirrored room and a lounge covered in plants.

She has whittled entrants down to nine finalists and opened the competition to a public vote on her Instagram. Two winners will be announced tomorrow; first-place will receive a small version of 00 lamps and second-place will be awarded her Daisy Sconce light.

Listed below are 10 designs, including Parker's and the nine finalists.

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Anna Kamerer (@painting_goddess)

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Eny Lee Parker (@enyleeparker)

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Julie Dumas (@__julesrose__)

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Liz Mydlowski (@dustybluelizard)

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Jessie Cundiff (@jessccbell)

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Justine Savage (@justinejacsavage)

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Cristine Webb and Julien Leyssene (@istiwebb & @jgleyssene)

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Calila Baca (@ccalila & @calilastudio)

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Rachel Thomson (@iwetmyyplants)

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Caitlin Mulligan (@sadsack92)

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Virtual Design Festival partners with Ron Arad, Li Edelkoort, Dutch Design Week, Serpentine Galleries and more on digital cultural programme

The Design Museum, Dutch Design Week, Design Indaba, Ventura Projects and The World Around are among cultural partners who will be contributing to Virtual Design Festival, which launches on 15 April.

Creative partners include designer Ron Arad, artist Lucy McRae, musicians Beatie Wolfe and Rosey Chan, and trend forecaster Li Edelkoort, who will be creating content for the festival.

Other partners include Lisbon's MAAT museum, Serpentine Galleries, What Design Can Do, London Festival of Architecture, Forward Festival, The Artling, Vienna Design Week, Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair and Stockholm Design Week, San Francisco Design Week, Pecha Kucha and architecture photography festival Zoomed In.

A digital version of Ron Arad's Mickey Mouse exhibition will be part of the festival

Conceived as the world's first online architecture and design festival, Virtual Design Festival will run from 15 April until 30 June and include contributions from designers, festivals, institutions and brands around the world.

Curator Beatrice Galilee of New York architecture conference The World Around will curate a full day of interviews, essays and videos for Earth Day on 22 April.

Beatrice Galilee will curate a day of Earth Day content as part of Virtual Design Festival

Ron Arad will present a digital version of an exhibition celebrating the 90th anniversary of Mickey Mouse that was due to be held at OTI gallery in Los Angeles, but which has been cancelled due to coronavirus.

Arad described VDF as "a great initiative to bring us all together at this extraordinary time".

Musician Beatie Wolfe will be performing during VDF

Musicians Beatie Wolfe and Rosey Chan will contribute live interviews and performances. Terreform One co-president Mitchell Joachim will launch his new book.

Architecture photographer Edmund Sumner will stream an exclusive series of movies featuring the work of Indian architects that he filmed in India earlier this year.

Architecture films shot in India by Edmund Sumner will be part of the schedule

In addition, as part of the festival, Dezeen will conduct a daily video interview with leading creatives around the world.

We will also premiere a series of exclusive video interviews with fashion designer Iris van Herpen, plus another series about influential architecture collective Archigram featuring exclusive interviews with Archigram co-founders Peter Cook and Dennis Crompton.

Rosey Chan will also be performing at VDF

Media partners include Observer Design, Dirty Furniture and Sight Unseen.

All Virtual Design Festival content will be free to all readers everywhere, with no registration required.

Trend forecaster Li Edelkoort will be contributing to VDF

Dezeen is looking for commercial partners and sponsors to help us make a success of Virtual Design Festival, which will celebrate both the culture and commerce of architecture and design during these difficult times.

Brands can get involved by using VDF to launch and promote their products and services and by supporting the festival's cultural programme.

Ron Arad described VDF as "a great initiative"

Want to get involved? Email us at virtualdesignfestival@dezeen.com. If you have a suggestion or a question, please use the comments section below. Further details can be found here.

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Five RISD graduates design face shields to protect against Coronavirus

Rhode Island School of Design alumni have designed face shields to meet the growing demand for medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.

Five graduates of the art and design school in Providence have turned their studios away from the production of clothes and furniture and into fabrication sites for personal protective equipment (PPE).

Textile artist Jungil Hong and Matt Muller, who runs design collective Pneuhaus, have teamed up to create a face shield with a vinyl cover and velcro strap

The alumni includes Providence textile artist Jungil Hong and Matt Muller, who runs design collective Pneuhaus. They have teamed up to create a face shield that comprises a curved vinyl cover and simple velcro strap to attach the device around the user's head.

The team said it aimed to create a simple design that can be reused and sanitised onsite. The velcro strap detaches from the shield so it can be disinfected in a bleach solution, while the vinyl cover is designed to lay down flat so it can be wiped clean.

"We can sustain our business and provide a product that's a quarter the price of what's out there because our design is so much simpler," Muller said. "We have the capacity to make between 1,500 and 3,000 shields per day once we get going."

In addition to making personal protective equipment Hong and Muller are distributing it to essential workers in the region

In addition to making PPE, Hong and Muller are also working to distribute it to essential workers in the region.

"Complex loopholes make it hard for hospitals to do this critical purchasing," the team added. "So we're distributing shields and masks directly to health care providers, postal workers, housing and social services advocates and other essential workers across many fields in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York and Maine."

Co-principals of Brooklyn design consultancy Studio Den Den, George Coffin and Jillian Wiedenmayer, meanwhile are prototyping reusable 3D-printed face shields.

Coffin and Wiedenmayer are using the open-source files created by Swedish company 3DVerksta, which comprises a laser-cut shield and 3D-printed visor strap. The template is also being used by America architects like BIG, KPF and Handel Architects as part of an open-source project to create PPE.

George Coffin and Jillian Wiedenmayer of Brooklyn design consultancy Studio Den Den are prototyping reusable 3D-printed face shields for New York City hospitals

As part of their process, Coffin and Wiedenmayer are sending completed designs to local health care facilities to test and get feedback on.

"We vetted these products for function, comfort and ease of production," the team said. "So far the prototypes are quite durable, offer flexible comfort, don't fog up much and fit well over goggles and masks."

The duo are also raising money to fund the production of reusable 3D-printed face shields they are giving to health care workers in New York City, which has reported over 100,0000 cases of Covid-19.

The designers are using the open-source 3D print files created by Swedish company 3DVerksta

"We quickly saw how dire the situation was and it was glaringly obvious that we had the skills and the passion to meet the need," Wiedenmayer said.

Naomi Mishkin, who is now a New York fashion designer, is also working with local hospitals and her manufacturers on hospital-grade cloth masks. She has launched a series of Instagram workshops to teach viewers how to sew their own.

New York fashion designer Naomi Mishkin is sewing hospital-grade cloth masks

"It's really important for people to connect and add what they can to the conversation, rather than reinvent every wheel," Mishkin said.

The RISD alumni join a number of architects and designers also fabricating PPE and medical supplies to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have begun mass-producing disposable shields for medical workers, while 3D-printer manufacturer Creality has created a buckle that makes wearing masks more comfortable.

Photography is courtesy of Rhode Island School of Design.

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