#BeOpenARCH
Architecture studios BIG and Carlo Ratti Associati have completed a 51-storey mixed-use CapitaSpring skyscraper in Singapore designed to offer visitors a seamless transition between the garden and the city. The exterior of the biophilic tower is defined by a dynamic interplay of orthogonal lines, lush greenery, and contrasting textures, with multiple green oases blooming from the base, core, and rooftop “sky garden.”
More extraordinary skyscrapers that marry the urban and the natural in our blog
Architecture studios BIG and Carlo Ratti Associati have completed a 51-storey mixed-use CapitaSpring skyscraper in Singapore designed to offer visitors a seamless transition between the garden and the city. The exterior of the biophilic tower is defined by a dynamic interplay of orthogonal lines, lush greenery, and contrasting textures, with multiple green oases blooming from the base, core, and rooftop “sky garden.”
More extraordinary skyscrapers that marry the urban and the natural in our blog
#BeOpenARCH
Chinese studio Vector Architects @vectorarchitects has designed a monolithic, concrete concert hall within the public square in the coastal resort of Aranya in Qinhuangdao as an exquisite musical instrument landing. Its three concave walls were informed by the Echo Wall that encircles the Imperial Vault of Heaven in Beijing – also known as the Whispering Wall because its curving shape transmits sound over long distances. As the performance unfolds, the sound fills the hall and transmits down to the rotunda through nine brass sound transmission tubes embedded among the seats.
Chinese studio Vector Architects @vectorarchitects has designed a monolithic, concrete concert hall within the public square in the coastal resort of Aranya in Qinhuangdao as an exquisite musical instrument landing. Its three concave walls were informed by the Echo Wall that encircles the Imperial Vault of Heaven in Beijing – also known as the Whispering Wall because its curving shape transmits sound over long distances. As the performance unfolds, the sound fills the hall and transmits down to the rotunda through nine brass sound transmission tubes embedded among the seats.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Spanish studio Mano de Santo has collaborated with flooring manufacturer Tarkett, to develop ELVI, an urban birdhouse game that explores the transformative power of reusing materials. With its user-friendly and adaptable design, the game showcases how second life given to raw, renewable materials such as discontinued samples linoleum, can provide opportunities for learning, awareness, and coexistence with small animals and birds that cohabit with us in urban environments. Its mount components, becoming part of our everyday life, adapt perfectly to various urban elements such as streetlights, trees, bars, balconies, and signs, either individually or in groups.
Spanish studio Mano de Santo has collaborated with flooring manufacturer Tarkett, to develop ELVI, an urban birdhouse game that explores the transformative power of reusing materials. With its user-friendly and adaptable design, the game showcases how second life given to raw, renewable materials such as discontinued samples linoleum, can provide opportunities for learning, awareness, and coexistence with small animals and birds that cohabit with us in urban environments. Its mount components, becoming part of our everyday life, adapt perfectly to various urban elements such as streetlights, trees, bars, balconies, and signs, either individually or in groups.
#BeOpenARCH
Researchers from ETH Zurich have collaborated with the cultural institution Nova Fundaziun Origen to develop the world's tallest 3D printed tower. Dubbed the White Tower or Tor Alva, the 100-metre-tall building is currently being prepared for assembly in a village called Mulegns in the Swiss Alps. It will be printed in different sections, prior to being transported to the site. Massive 3D-printed columns will feature five floors connected by a spiral staircase, and a semi-open facade. The facade is a removable lightweight membrane that will protect the inside of the tower from weather conditions.
Researchers from ETH Zurich have collaborated with the cultural institution Nova Fundaziun Origen to develop the world's tallest 3D printed tower. Dubbed the White Tower or Tor Alva, the 100-metre-tall building is currently being prepared for assembly in a village called Mulegns in the Swiss Alps. It will be printed in different sections, prior to being transported to the site. Massive 3D-printed columns will feature five floors connected by a spiral staircase, and a semi-open facade. The facade is a removable lightweight membrane that will protect the inside of the tower from weather conditions.
#BeOpenNEWS
BE OPEN Art is happy to announce that Lisa Einkemmer, a self-taught painter from Austria, has been voted the Artist of the Month by the visitors of art.beopenfuture.com
Passionate with art as we are, every month we invite art enthusiasts to choose the best artist among those featured in our online gallery. In February, paintings by Lisa have gained her a majority of votes. Lisa was trained as a graphic designer and began painting only a few years ago.
We also take the opportunity to applaud all the featured artists and thank everyone who voted.
BE OPEN Art is happy to announce that Lisa Einkemmer, a self-taught painter from Austria, has been voted the Artist of the Month by the visitors of art.beopenfuture.com
Passionate with art as we are, every month we invite art enthusiasts to choose the best artist among those featured in our online gallery. In February, paintings by Lisa have gained her a majority of votes. Lisa was trained as a graphic designer and began painting only a few years ago.
We also take the opportunity to applaud all the featured artists and thank everyone who voted.
#BeOpenDESIGN
As its name suggests, Gere Multifunctional Crockery Shelf developed by German designer Florian Beser seamlessly combines plates and... shelves. The partitioned plates double as decorative panels for kitchen furniture, which can be efficiently utilized to store more crockery, cups, glasses, and other kitchen essentials. Every plate has a uniquely different partition design, so it not only enhances the dining experience separating main courses and side dishes but also contributes to the shelf’s eye-catching facade.
More multifunctional plates in our blog
As its name suggests, Gere Multifunctional Crockery Shelf developed by German designer Florian Beser seamlessly combines plates and... shelves. The partitioned plates double as decorative panels for kitchen furniture, which can be efficiently utilized to store more crockery, cups, glasses, and other kitchen essentials. Every plate has a uniquely different partition design, so it not only enhances the dining experience separating main courses and side dishes but also contributes to the shelf’s eye-catching facade.
More multifunctional plates in our blog
#BeOpenDESIGN
Berlin-based design agency EMAMIDESIGN has come up with a way to easily take a selection of your favourite felt-tip pens with you. Aptly named PenFan, the compact, easy-to-carry set of eight flat-head pens looks like something between a Pantone colour swatch book and a Japanese fan. With a height of only 3 mm per pen, the fan remains as compact as possible and offers a wide range of colors for you to choose from. Each individual sketch pen is detachable too, which allows you to snap off and on pens to create a palette of their choice.
More extraordinary coloured markers in our blog
Berlin-based design agency EMAMIDESIGN has come up with a way to easily take a selection of your favourite felt-tip pens with you. Aptly named PenFan, the compact, easy-to-carry set of eight flat-head pens looks like something between a Pantone colour swatch book and a Japanese fan. With a height of only 3 mm per pen, the fan remains as compact as possible and offers a wide range of colors for you to choose from. Each individual sketch pen is detachable too, which allows you to snap off and on pens to create a palette of their choice.
More extraordinary coloured markers in our blog
#BeOpenARCH
In Hangzhou, China, Danish architecture studio BIG has designed an infinity-loop shaped skyscraper named the O-Tower for an R&D team of OPPO, China's largest smartphone manufacturer. According to the studio, the building's form is supposed to "connect ground to sky in a continuous loop of collaboration".
In Hangzhou, China, Danish architecture studio BIG has designed an infinity-loop shaped skyscraper named the O-Tower for an R&D team of OPPO, China's largest smartphone manufacturer. According to the studio, the building's form is supposed to "connect ground to sky in a continuous loop of collaboration".
#BeOpenART #BeOpenNEWS
We are happy to announce that Zhyldyz Bekova, a painter and digital artist from Kyrgyzstan, has been selected the Regional Artist of the month (February 2024) as an artist who best represents the artistic tradition of Central Asia.
In 2024, BE OPEN Art continues to run BE OPEN Regional Art, the regional competition for emerging artists, whose art best represents their regional, cultural and ethnic identities. The first stage of the second year of the programme will cover the countries of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The stage will last 3 months, with a winner named and awarded 500 euro at the end of March.
Zhyldyz Bekova has become the second of the three candidates to the Artist of the Region and the 500 euros prize, alongside Guzel Zakirova (Kazakhstan). In her paintings, Zhyldyz uses themes from myths, customs and traditions of Turkic ethnic peoples of Central Asia.
We are happy to announce that Zhyldyz Bekova, a painter and digital artist from Kyrgyzstan, has been selected the Regional Artist of the month (February 2024) as an artist who best represents the artistic tradition of Central Asia.
In 2024, BE OPEN Art continues to run BE OPEN Regional Art, the regional competition for emerging artists, whose art best represents their regional, cultural and ethnic identities. The first stage of the second year of the programme will cover the countries of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The stage will last 3 months, with a winner named and awarded 500 euro at the end of March.
Zhyldyz Bekova has become the second of the three candidates to the Artist of the Region and the 500 euros prize, alongside Guzel Zakirova (Kazakhstan). In her paintings, Zhyldyz uses themes from myths, customs and traditions of Turkic ethnic peoples of Central Asia.
#BeOpenARCH
Local studio Medprostor has topped a 900-year-old Romanesque church in Slovenia with a semi-foldable folding roof to improve its functionality for tourism and events. The half-gable roof structure spans the length of the church and can be opened to the sky. When lowered, it enables the smooth running of events in the church regardless of the season and weather, while when raised, it preserves one of the most important intangible moments of the ruin: contact with the open sky.
Local studio Medprostor has topped a 900-year-old Romanesque church in Slovenia with a semi-foldable folding roof to improve its functionality for tourism and events. The half-gable roof structure spans the length of the church and can be opened to the sky. When lowered, it enables the smooth running of events in the church regardless of the season and weather, while when raised, it preserves one of the most important intangible moments of the ruin: contact with the open sky.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Alice Hultqvist, Emelie Sjöberg and Linnea Nilsson, design students from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, have created a chair that is used for cultivating plant life. The extraordinary furniture is named Chia-Chair and comprises a knitted tube of a seat with chia seeds planted in it. As a result that chair primarily serves as a planting bed for the seeds, and only then as a seating for humans.
Alice Hultqvist, Emelie Sjöberg and Linnea Nilsson, design students from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, have created a chair that is used for cultivating plant life. The extraordinary furniture is named Chia-Chair and comprises a knitted tube of a seat with chia seeds planted in it. As a result that chair primarily serves as a planting bed for the seeds, and only then as a seating for humans.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Danish design and innovation studio Swift Creatives has unveiled Sculptural Surveillance – a brand new concept of architectural outdoor lighting and monitoring system. This striking range challenges the conventional with visually impactful structures that seamlessly combine lights, speakers, and monitoring devices, serving as statement pieces for gardens and grounds. Crafted from powder-coated recycled aluminium, the motion sensor-controlled motorized cameras offer a 360° field of vision, accompanied by speakers, tracing lamps, and WIFI connectivity. The concept ushers in a new era of home surveillance that echoes current trends in the smart-home sphere, where functional devices are modeled to blend with their surroundings without compromising the home’s aesthetic.
Danish design and innovation studio Swift Creatives has unveiled Sculptural Surveillance – a brand new concept of architectural outdoor lighting and monitoring system. This striking range challenges the conventional with visually impactful structures that seamlessly combine lights, speakers, and monitoring devices, serving as statement pieces for gardens and grounds. Crafted from powder-coated recycled aluminium, the motion sensor-controlled motorized cameras offer a 360° field of vision, accompanied by speakers, tracing lamps, and WIFI connectivity. The concept ushers in a new era of home surveillance that echoes current trends in the smart-home sphere, where functional devices are modeled to blend with their surroundings without compromising the home’s aesthetic.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Compact and lightweight, POCO portable capsule coffee machine by Designer Dot and Seunghun Song can easily fit into a backpack. The sleek and modern device is easily rechargeable using an USB-C on a laptop or a portable charger, which makes it the perfect choice for people who are always on the move. What makes the design remarkable is that it incorporates a built-in thermal insulation function, which keeps water warm, eliminating the need for a separate coffee thermos.
More portable coffee makers in our blog
Compact and lightweight, POCO portable capsule coffee machine by Designer Dot and Seunghun Song can easily fit into a backpack. The sleek and modern device is easily rechargeable using an USB-C on a laptop or a portable charger, which makes it the perfect choice for people who are always on the move. What makes the design remarkable is that it incorporates a built-in thermal insulation function, which keeps water warm, eliminating the need for a separate coffee thermos.
More portable coffee makers in our blog
#BeOpenDESIGN
Eli portable coffee maker by NYC based designer Chenchen Fan lets you master the pour-over brewing method and make the taste more consistent. This brewing kit makes the process more intuitive, dividing it into three phases – material preparation, brewing setup, and final brewing. It even features an automatic rotating water nozzle so each ground can be evenly coated with water, which is usually done by hand with traditional machines. What's more, an integrated electromagnetic heating pad is used to boil water to make the device truly portable.
Eli portable coffee maker by NYC based designer Chenchen Fan lets you master the pour-over brewing method and make the taste more consistent. This brewing kit makes the process more intuitive, dividing it into three phases – material preparation, brewing setup, and final brewing. It even features an automatic rotating water nozzle so each ground can be evenly coated with water, which is usually done by hand with traditional machines. What's more, an integrated electromagnetic heating pad is used to boil water to make the device truly portable.
#BeOpenART
Botanical artist and "urban gardener" Christophe Guinet, better known as Monsieur Plant, delicately twists and contorts robust pieces of tree trunk, modeling them into five hyper-realistic sculptures recalling everyday symbols and objects for his Twist project.
More furniture and art created using tree trunks in our blog
Botanical artist and "urban gardener" Christophe Guinet, better known as Monsieur Plant, delicately twists and contorts robust pieces of tree trunk, modeling them into five hyper-realistic sculptures recalling everyday symbols and objects for his Twist project.
More furniture and art created using tree trunks in our blog
#BeOpenDESIGN
Designed and fabricated by Madrid-based studio Caliper for Manhattan clothing brand Hidden as part of store display, the Mac Pro Bench – just as its name suggests – is comprised of two recycled first-gen Mac Pro shells, deprived of any electronic components, with a folded aluminium bench top.
Designed and fabricated by Madrid-based studio Caliper for Manhattan clothing brand Hidden as part of store display, the Mac Pro Bench – just as its name suggests – is comprised of two recycled first-gen Mac Pro shells, deprived of any electronic components, with a folded aluminium bench top.