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Wednesday 16 December 2020

Mecanoo proposes sinuous maritime museum for Rotterdam harbour

An exterior view of the Maritime Center Rotterdam by Mecanoo

Mecanoo has unveiled its proposal for the Maritime Center Rotterdam, a spiralling museum that will be wrapped by walkways and built partially below the water in Rijnhaven harbour.

Composed of three linked pavilions, the 15,000-square-metre museum in the Dutch city of Rotterdam will feature exhibition spaces dedicated to international maritime history.

Its bright, sinuous form has been developed by Mecanoo to deliberately contrast with the "rational" aesthetic of the port and attract the attention of passersby.

An aerial view of the Maritime Center Rotterdam by Mecanoo — Maritime Center Rotterdam will be built in the Rijnhaven harbour. Visual is by AtChain, courtesy of RED Company

"It is elegant, versatile and invites you to discover," Mecanoo explained.

"It will be a place for maritime entrepreneurs, science and culture. The centre will be accessible to the public and will create a place to stay, on and in the water, with a view of the surrounding port."

The exterior of the Maritime Center Rotterdam by Mecanoo — It has been designed to contrast with its surroundings. Visual is by AtChain, courtesy of RED Company

Mecanoo will create the spiralling form of the Maritime Center Rotterdam through a series of walkways and viewpoints, which will weave in and around the three individual pavilions.

At its edges, these walkways will unravel like a "ribbon" and span outwards to meet existing paths surrounding the port, including a jetty path that runs over the harbour.

"A multi-layered route that runs under, along, over and through the Maritime Center gives shape to the design and structures the organization of the building," explained the studio.

"An elegant ribbon winds around the pavilions and stimulates interaction between different program components."

The centre of the Maritime Center Rotterdam by Mecanoo — It will comprise three pavilions linked by walkways

Few details have been disclosed about the design of the individual pavilions, though their lowest levels will be conjoined and submerged underwater in a bid to maximise space for the museum, without imposing on the port.

Lit by round skylights that protrude above the water, this lower level is described by Mecanoo as an "underwater world" and is expected to comprise a mix of logistical spaces and theatrical exhibition areas.

A visual of the Maritime Center Rotterdam by Mecanoo within Rijnhaven harbour — It forms part of a wider masterplan to develop Rijnhaven. Visual is by Plomp

Once complete, the Maritime Center Rotterdam will form the centrepiece of a wider masterplan to transform the area surrounding Rijnhaven, called Codrico Terrain, which is being developed by Dutch real estate developer RED Company.

Mecanoo, a studio founded in the Netherlands in 1984 by Francine Houben, Henk Döll, Roelf Steenhuis, Erick van Egeraat and Chris de Weijer, also recently completed a glass house partly submerged below water in the UK. The idea was to create the feeling of "living outside on water".

Elsewhere, it recently completed a giant red cultural centre in China and is currently developing a copper-coloured tower to sit alongside Frankfurt station.

Visuals are by Mecanoo unless stated.

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HiveMind Pendant by August Green

HiveMind pendant light by Kyle MertensMeyer for August Green

Dezeen Showroom: design studio August Green has created a hive-shaped pendant light, which aims to represent the idea of collaboration.

Envisioned by August Green founder Kyle MertensMeyer, the HiveMind Pendant was originally intended as a one-off piece to encourage collaboration within the company's own studio.

Kyle MertensMeyer designed the HiveMind Pendant for August Green

The pendant lamp consists of two elements – an exposed bulb and a hive-shaped glass shade – that the studio believes to represent the benefits of working together as a team.

"An exposed bulb represents the placement of an idea at the centre of the fixture, while the second element is a hive-shaped glass lantern representing the collaboration and hard work of the collective," said the studio.

"With these two components together the fixture creates a powerful symbol, inspiring the collective ideas of the team through collaboration rather than the single idea of an individual. All of us together are smarter than any one of us."

August Green is now manufacturing the HiveMind Pendant commercially, hung from either a steel cable or single fixed rod, which is available in brushed brass or stainless steel. The company is donating half of the proceeds from sales of the pendant light to the non-profit Green Missions Foundation.

Photography is by Kaleidoskope.

Product: HiveMind Pendant
Designer: Kyle MertensMeyer
Brand: August Green
Contact: info@augustgreen.com

About Dezeen Showroom: Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

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BMW iX "heralds a new age in mobility"

Dezeen promotion: conceived and designed to be purely electric, the BMW iX is first in a new generation of cars made by the German car manufacturer.

Set to go into production during the second half of 2021, the electric BMW iX has a forward-looking design that was designed from the inside out.

"The BMW iX heralds a new age in mobility and focuses on a fresh interpretation of design, sustainability, driving pleasure, versatility and luxury," said the automaker.

Created from the inside out, the BMW iX's minimal yet striking exterior is the result of placing the vehicle's occupants at the heart of the design,

"The minimalist use of character lines and generously shaped surfaces conjure an aura of supreme assurance," said the company. "The crisp lines, clear structure and almost rectangular contours around the wheel arches contribute to an imposing body design."

"The reduced design language steers the eye onto precisely constructed details which accentuate the sophisticated character, brand identity and optimised aerodynamics of the BMW iX."

The exterior features a number of almost-undetectable intelligent technology features which they call "shy tech", including the BMW logo that doubles as a lid for the windscreen washer fluid.

Due to its electric drive system, the car requires a minimal amount of cooling, therefore the kidney grille at the front of the BMW iX serves as an intelligence panel.

Other "shy tech" elements include discreetly positioned cameras and sensors that are placed behind transparent surfaces or integrated into the BMW rear logo, and flush-fitted door openers that can be operated at the press of a button.

The fully electric iX concept car by BMW in red — Cameras and sensors are integrated into the BMW logo at the tailgate

"The BMW iX shows how we can give new technologies a very modern and emotionally engaging design," said Adrian van Hooydonk, senior vice president of BMW Group Design.

"The car is technologically highly complex, but it feels very clear and uncomplicated," he added. "The BMW iX offers a mobile living space in which people will feel at ease and the car's intelligence is always available without becoming obtrusive."

The kidney grille also serves as an intelligence panel

BMW compares the iX to the BMW X5 in length and width, and to the BMW X6 in height and in terms of its "flowing roofline".

The size of its wheels, however, is comparable to the BMW X7.

The car's lightweight structure is made from a mixture of carbon fibre, steel and aluminium, making it robust yet lightweight. Its low weight and aerodynamic shape also supports its all-electric drive system, increasing its electric range by reducing drag.

The BMW iX is fitted with the fifth generation of BMW eDrive technology, which incorporates two electric motors, the power electronics, the charging technology and the high-voltage battery.

The electric powertrain is estimated to be able to have a maximum output of over 370 kilowatts, or 500 horsepower, which will allow the car to go from zero to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometres per hour) in under five seconds.

It also features new fast-charging technology that enables it to be charged from 10 to 80 per cent of its full capacity in under 40 minutes.

More information about the BMW iX can be found on BMW's website.

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Dezeen's top 10 British architecture projects of 2020

In a year when few public buildings opened in the UK, the focus shifted onto unusual housing buildings, clever civic projects and small-scale structures. For our review of 2020, here are 10 of the best.

Maggie's Centre, Leeds, by Heatherwick Studio

Thomas Heatherwick's studio explores the healing power of nature with this cancer care centre in the grounds of St James's University Hospital in Leeds.

Like other Maggie's Centres, the building is designed as a supportive environment for those dealing with cancer. It is built from sustainably sourced spruce wood and contains more than 17,000 plants.

Find out more about Maggie's Leeds ›

Town House at Kingston University, London, by Grafton Architects

Kingston University has been completely transformed with this major new teaching building by Grafton Architects.

Intended as a new gateway to the university's campus in southwest London, Town House is enveloped by a facade of colonnades, which create sheltered walkways and balconies around the exterior. The aim is to open up the building's activities to the neighbourhood.

Find out more about Town House ›

The Parchment Works, Northamptonshire, by Will Gamble Architects

One of the most unique houses extensions on Dezeen this year, this project is built within the ruins of a 17th-century parchment factory and cattle shed.

Will Gamble Architects cleverly reworked the dilapidated structure to add an open-plan kitchen, living room and dining area to a listed Victorian house.

Find out more about The Parchment Works ›

95 Peckham Road, London, by Peter Barber Architects

British architect Peter Barber continued to innovate the British housing sector in 2020, with various projects including this tenement-style housing block.

Drawing from the past, the building explores how dual-aspect and multi-level homes can be combined in a single structure. The block contains a mix of apartments and maisonettes, dotted with south-facing roof terraces and balconies.

Find out more about 95 Peckham Road ›

6 Orsman Road, London, by Waugh Thistleton Architects

One of this year's best UK projects was built right next door to Dezeen's offices.

This office building by sustainability specialist Waugh Thistleton Architects is built from a mix of cross-laminated-timber and steel. The building is designed to be demountable, meaning its structure could be reused at the end of the building's life.

Find out more about 6 Orsman Road ›

Bunhill 2 Energy Centre, London, by Cullinan Studio and McGurk Architects

This ground-breaking infrastructure project was shortlisted for a Dezeen Award this year. Built around a former London Underground station, it harvests energy from the trains speeding past below to provide central heating for nearby homes and workplaces.

With a facade of red prefabricated metal panels, it chimes with the tiled facades that characterise many old Tube stations.

Find out more about Bunhill 2 Energy Centre ›

English National Ballet, London, by Glenn Howells Architects

With its translucent facade, it's possible to make out the forms of dancers through the walls of this ballet school in east London.

Home to the English National Ballet, the building includes an exhibition gallery, cafe and retail spaces, as well as rehearsal spaces and production facilities for the school.

Find out more about English National Ballet ›

Flat House, Cambridgeshire, by Practice Architecture

Hemp forms the walls of this zero-carbon home in rural Cambridgeshire.

Practice Architecture worked with hemp farmers to create a pioneering system of pre-fabricated panels, so the house could be erected in just two days. The building generates all its own power, thanks to a biomass boiler and an array of photovoltaic panels on the roof.

Find out more about Flat House ›

The Coach House, London, by Selencky Parsons

In a middle of an exciting streetscape, in a space measuring just 3.5 metres wide, Selencky Parsons found enough room to build this four-bedroom family house.

The building widens out at the back, creating a sunken living room that opens out to the garden.

Find out more about The Coach House ›

Mother, Cambridgeshire, by Studio Morison

One of 2020's smallest buildings is this thatched hideaway, designed by artists Heather and Ivan Morison to look like a haystack.

Located within the Wicken Fen Nature Reserve, it offers a moment of solitude and shelter for those out walking.

Find out more about Mother ›

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Shahar Livne designs fossil-like jewellery for Balenciaga from ocean plastic

Dezeen-Awards winner Shahar Livne worked with Balenciaga to design a line of "dystopian" ocean-plastic jewellery for the luxury fashion brand's latest Fall 2021 collection.

The jewellery range, which comprises three different bangles, one ring and two pairs of hooped earrings, was designed to complement Balenciaga's Afterworld: Age of Tomorrow collection.

The Balenciaga accessories team adapted the shapes of vintage jewellery pieces from their archives, before handing them over to Livne, who remolded them to give them a new "fossilized" texture.

This was done by recreating them from a mixture of ocean plastic retrieved by Oceanworks and calcium carbonate – a waste product from the marble industry.

Jewellery designs by Shahar Livne for Balenciaga's Fall 2021 collection — Dezeen-Awards winner Shahar Livne designed the jewellery for Balenciaga's Fall21 line

As the designer told Dezeen, she and Balenciaga's creative director Demna Gvasalia used the same method that Livne developed during her personal Metamorphism project to create the jewellery.

The project saw her develop a clay-like material called Lithoplast using discarded plastic that she imagined could be mined as a precious material in the future, when plastic production will have ceased.

This was done by mixing the materials, using heat and pressure, before shaping them by hand.

After this had been done, the final pieces were 3D scanned and 3D printed to create a unified look for the collection. These models were then reproduced, moulded again using the same, initial process of heat, pressure and hand-shaping.

Each piece was finished by hand by Livne, who employed techniques used by goldsmiths to give the accessories a unified, yet still handmade look. This included fitting the jewellery with metal parts such as the ear pieces of the earrings.

"I applied [the material] here with a lot of handwork and craftsmanship attitude," said the designer. "The plastic composite becomes natural-looking and becomes precious as a futuristic semi-natural and scarce material."

Both the garments and the jewellery also took inspiration from Gvasalia's idea of "the comeback of youth, where nature and youth co-exist", Livne added.

Balenciaga's Fall 2021 collection featuring jewellery by Shahar Livne — The Fall21 collection was released as part of a video game

The Afterworld: Age of Tomorrow collection was released earlier this month in the form of a video game, which takes players through different levels in a wonderland-style future world filled with avatars dressed in the new garments.

The collection is set to be made available for purchasing in May 2021.

According to Livne, the collaboration between her and Balenciaga was "a great match", as the brand's vision for the future and her philosophical and material research blended together to turn classic plastic designs into "a dystopian futuristic look".

Render of the jewellery designs by Shahar Livne for Balenciaga's Fall 2021 collection — Livne and Balenciaga wanted the jewellery to have a fossil-like appearance

At this year's Dezeen Awards, Livne won the title of emerging designer of the year, which the judges said is a "great example of how design is about designing the future, designing how we live and how we can use our voices – to communicate to others."

The designer's previous work has seen her create a pair of sneakers that have alternative-leather inserts made from the wasted fat, bones and blood of animals.

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