#BeOpenDESIGN
Named after the Portuguese word for “moon,” the LUA smart speaker concept developed by Indian industrial designer Arshad Asaaf has been inspired by the dark side of the moon. It is represented by the bottom half of the device, while the upper half, where the indicators and controls are located, embodies the “bright” side of this celestial body. The flat bottom of the otherwise spherical speaker doubles as a levitation platform. The idea is that the strong magnets in the base and in the bottom of the speaker activate to repel each other once the speaker is fully charged.
More lunar-themed designs in our blog.
Named after the Portuguese word for “moon,” the LUA smart speaker concept developed by Indian industrial designer Arshad Asaaf has been inspired by the dark side of the moon. It is represented by the bottom half of the device, while the upper half, where the indicators and controls are located, embodies the “bright” side of this celestial body. The flat bottom of the otherwise spherical speaker doubles as a levitation platform. The idea is that the strong magnets in the base and in the bottom of the speaker activate to repel each other once the speaker is fully charged.
More lunar-themed designs in our blog.
#BeOpenARCH
Designed by Estonian designer ÖÖD, Golden House is probably the most exclusive compact home in the world, boasting a breathtaking mirrored gold glass exterior that leaves a lasting impression. This stunning limited-edition dwelling comprises a sleek rectangular shape adorned with a custom-made golden-shimmery glass finish.
More buildings wrapped in gold in our blog.
Designed by Estonian designer ÖÖD, Golden House is probably the most exclusive compact home in the world, boasting a breathtaking mirrored gold glass exterior that leaves a lasting impression. This stunning limited-edition dwelling comprises a sleek rectangular shape adorned with a custom-made golden-shimmery glass finish.
More buildings wrapped in gold in our blog.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Collaborating with top-tier custom premium keyboard vendors, Awekeys startup is transforming ordinary mechanical keyboards into stunning works of art. Each key in this set is crafted from recycled metal, breathing new life into discarded materials while reducing the environmental impact of production. With cutting-edge CNC machining, these metal keycaps are not only durable and resistant to wear but also feature intricate designs and exquisite textures.
Collaborating with top-tier custom premium keyboard vendors, Awekeys startup is transforming ordinary mechanical keyboards into stunning works of art. Each key in this set is crafted from recycled metal, breathing new life into discarded materials while reducing the environmental impact of production. With cutting-edge CNC machining, these metal keycaps are not only durable and resistant to wear but also feature intricate designs and exquisite textures.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Seoul-based product designer Jinkyo Han has conceptualized a pocket timepiece for the visually impaired. Instead of traditional numbers, the Blind Watch features braille markers for hours, allowing users to feel the time. Its thick overlapping hands, one for hours and one for minutes, provide a tactile experience. Additionally, the piece has two hooks at the top and bottom, enabling users to attach a thread and wear the watch as a necklace.
Seoul-based product designer Jinkyo Han has conceptualized a pocket timepiece for the visually impaired. Instead of traditional numbers, the Blind Watch features braille markers for hours, allowing users to feel the time. Its thick overlapping hands, one for hours and one for minutes, provide a tactile experience. Additionally, the piece has two hooks at the top and bottom, enabling users to attach a thread and wear the watch as a necklace.
#BeOpenARCH
Nestled in Pilar, Buenos Aires, Olivos House by Argentinian studio Gonzalo Bardach seamlessly integrates landscape and architecture through a central patio covered with native vegetation that acts as the home's focal point. The exterior of the building is understated, cleverly concealing a vertical, curved structure that resembles terraced hills, which allows light to flood the interior and promotes cross ventilation. The use of raw concrete, wood, iron, and glass enhances the connection to nature while adding warmth to the living spaces.
Nestled in Pilar, Buenos Aires, Olivos House by Argentinian studio Gonzalo Bardach seamlessly integrates landscape and architecture through a central patio covered with native vegetation that acts as the home's focal point. The exterior of the building is understated, cleverly concealing a vertical, curved structure that resembles terraced hills, which allows light to flood the interior and promotes cross ventilation. The use of raw concrete, wood, iron, and glass enhances the connection to nature while adding warmth to the living spaces.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Atelier Zeros’ design for the ZHANGYU Gallery at CITIC Pacific Plaza in Shanghai showcases the potential of computational design and prefabrication, enhancing visitor interaction with the artwork. The installation juxtaposes algorithm-driven elements with Zhang Yu's hand-drawn ink paintings, creating an immersive, dreamlike environment. The entrance, made of over 1,000 colorful galvanized steel pieces, resembles a burst of rice paper, echoing the dynamic strokes of Zhang Yu’s art. Prefabricated off-site for quick, weld-free assembly, the entrance seamlessly blends form and function.
Atelier Zeros’ design for the ZHANGYU Gallery at CITIC Pacific Plaza in Shanghai showcases the potential of computational design and prefabrication, enhancing visitor interaction with the artwork. The installation juxtaposes algorithm-driven elements with Zhang Yu's hand-drawn ink paintings, creating an immersive, dreamlike environment. The entrance, made of over 1,000 colorful galvanized steel pieces, resembles a burst of rice paper, echoing the dynamic strokes of Zhang Yu’s art. Prefabricated off-site for quick, weld-free assembly, the entrance seamlessly blends form and function.
#BeOpenARCH
Argentinian studio Bracamonte Hajnal Yerba Arquitectos has transformed a 1980s house known as Casa Wiz in Buenos Aires by adding a two-storey gabled greenhouse. The design team thoughtfully expanded the upper floor, mirroring the original roofline and introducing a garden terrace surrounded by a greenhouse form constructed of a lightweight metal frame. This frame is wrapped in a translucent mesh screen that supports climbing vines, fostering a dynamic, living façade and creating a serene retreat.
More rooftop greenhouses in our blog.
Argentinian studio Bracamonte Hajnal Yerba Arquitectos has transformed a 1980s house known as Casa Wiz in Buenos Aires by adding a two-storey gabled greenhouse. The design team thoughtfully expanded the upper floor, mirroring the original roofline and introducing a garden terrace surrounded by a greenhouse form constructed of a lightweight metal frame. This frame is wrapped in a translucent mesh screen that supports climbing vines, fostering a dynamic, living façade and creating a serene retreat.
More rooftop greenhouses in our blog.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Studio Yellowdot, based between Hong Kong and Istanbul, collected approximately 60 eggshells over a month to create a diffuser from this waste for their pendant light series, Hatch, whose form is inspired by heat lamps used for incubating chicks.The eggshells, sourced from homes and local bakeries, are meticulously arranged and bonded with resin, creating a semi-translucent effect that scatters light beautifully. Suspended by three fine cables, the semi-translucent eggshells produce a captivating light-scattering effect when illuminated.
More innovative ways to repurpose eggshell waste in our blog.
Studio Yellowdot, based between Hong Kong and Istanbul, collected approximately 60 eggshells over a month to create a diffuser from this waste for their pendant light series, Hatch, whose form is inspired by heat lamps used for incubating chicks.The eggshells, sourced from homes and local bakeries, are meticulously arranged and bonded with resin, creating a semi-translucent effect that scatters light beautifully. Suspended by three fine cables, the semi-translucent eggshells produce a captivating light-scattering effect when illuminated.
More innovative ways to repurpose eggshell waste in our blog.
#BeOpenNEWS
BE OPEN Art is excited to announce that Wilson Ilama, a visual artist based in Costa Rica, has been chosen as the Regional Artist of the Month for September 2024, receiving the highest number of votes from visitors of the BE OPEN Art online gallery. The second stage of this program focuses on Central America, encompassing Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Wilson Ilama joins Raúl Cárcamo from El Salvador and Isabella González from Honduras as the three candidates for the Central America Artist of the Region. The regional winner will be announced soon, and one of the three monthly winners will receive a €500 award.
BE OPEN Art is excited to announce that Wilson Ilama, a visual artist based in Costa Rica, has been chosen as the Regional Artist of the Month for September 2024, receiving the highest number of votes from visitors of the BE OPEN Art online gallery. The second stage of this program focuses on Central America, encompassing Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Wilson Ilama joins Raúl Cárcamo from El Salvador and Isabella González from Honduras as the three candidates for the Central America Artist of the Region. The regional winner will be announced soon, and one of the three monthly winners will receive a €500 award.
#BeOpenNEWS
BE OPEN Art launches the last regional competition of 2024 to support emerging artists of Southern Africa. This stage will cover Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The stage will traditionally last three months, and the regional winner for Southern Africa will be announced and awarded 500 euro at the end of December 2024. In the meantime, artworks by 20 emerging artists from the listed countries will be posted at the online gallery every month, and a public vote will select the Regional Artist of the Month. At the end of the stage, one of the monthly winners will become the Artist of the Region, based on the amount of votes by the public and the BE OPEN art community members.
BE OPEN Art launches the last regional competition of 2024 to support emerging artists of Southern Africa. This stage will cover Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The stage will traditionally last three months, and the regional winner for Southern Africa will be announced and awarded 500 euro at the end of December 2024. In the meantime, artworks by 20 emerging artists from the listed countries will be posted at the online gallery every month, and a public vote will select the Regional Artist of the Month. At the end of the stage, one of the monthly winners will become the Artist of the Region, based on the amount of votes by the public and the BE OPEN art community members.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Iceberg is a project by Lim Wootek from the design studio Egosystem that investigates the shapes of used and discarded plastics by turning them into transparent objects. The designer collects soft plastics like bags, packaging, and bubble wrap, which are then suspended on frames or wrapped around containers to create molds. Then she pours resin into these molds, capturing the textures of the original materials and resulting in objects or trays with organic curves shaped by gravity.
Iceberg is a project by Lim Wootek from the design studio Egosystem that investigates the shapes of used and discarded plastics by turning them into transparent objects. The designer collects soft plastics like bags, packaging, and bubble wrap, which are then suspended on frames or wrapped around containers to create molds. Then she pours resin into these molds, capturing the textures of the original materials and resulting in objects or trays with organic curves shaped by gravity.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Located in Richmond, USA, Plenty Richmond Farm is recognized as the world’s first vertical farm utilizing AI to cultivate strawberries indoors on a large scale. Within the facility, 30-foot-tall towers can produce over four million pounds of strawberries annually, all within a space of less than 40,000 square feet. Unlike traditional outdoor farming, which is subject to unpredictable weather and soil conditions, Plenty’s vertical farm offers a controlled environment. Here, AI-driven software manages the temperature to create optimal growing conditions and uses artificial lighting that simulates sunlight to regulate the amount of light the strawberries receive.
Located in Richmond, USA, Plenty Richmond Farm is recognized as the world’s first vertical farm utilizing AI to cultivate strawberries indoors on a large scale. Within the facility, 30-foot-tall towers can produce over four million pounds of strawberries annually, all within a space of less than 40,000 square feet. Unlike traditional outdoor farming, which is subject to unpredictable weather and soil conditions, Plenty’s vertical farm offers a controlled environment. Here, AI-driven software manages the temperature to create optimal growing conditions and uses artificial lighting that simulates sunlight to regulate the amount of light the strawberries receive.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Portuguese designer Luís César N. Giestas offers a series of YouTube videos that demonstrate how to create shoes using everyday household items and biodegradable ingredients, which are literally baked in an oven. The result, the Baking Vegan Slippers, provides a sustainable and biodegradable alternative to traditional shoes made from plastics and fossil fuels. The shoe's upper is crafted from alginate, a thickener derived from algae, while the sole combines ground cork bound with agar, an algae-based gelatin substitute. To add color, saffron or black tea is used. Design-wise, there are various options available for customizing the shoe tops.
Portuguese designer Luís César N. Giestas offers a series of YouTube videos that demonstrate how to create shoes using everyday household items and biodegradable ingredients, which are literally baked in an oven. The result, the Baking Vegan Slippers, provides a sustainable and biodegradable alternative to traditional shoes made from plastics and fossil fuels. The shoe's upper is crafted from alginate, a thickener derived from algae, while the sole combines ground cork bound with agar, an algae-based gelatin substitute. To add color, saffron or black tea is used. Design-wise, there are various options available for customizing the shoe tops.
#BeOpenDESIGN
The Carpentopod by engineer Giliam de Carpentier is an innovative walking wooden table that can deliver snacks and drinks at the user's command via a fusion of craftsmanship, technology, and creativity. Using advanced computer software, de Carpentier generated thousands of linkage variations for the table's crawling legs, employing a machine learning approach to optimize their design based on criteria like stability and smooth movement, ensuring the table glides horizontally without jiggling, reducing the risk of spills. Control is intuitive, with a custom wand-like remote reminiscent of a Wii-mote, making it easy for users to command their Carpentopod from a distance. This unique creation not only serves a functional purpose but also stands as a testament to innovative design in the intersection of art and technology.
The Carpentopod by engineer Giliam de Carpentier is an innovative walking wooden table that can deliver snacks and drinks at the user's command via a fusion of craftsmanship, technology, and creativity. Using advanced computer software, de Carpentier generated thousands of linkage variations for the table's crawling legs, employing a machine learning approach to optimize their design based on criteria like stability and smooth movement, ensuring the table glides horizontally without jiggling, reducing the risk of spills. Control is intuitive, with a custom wand-like remote reminiscent of a Wii-mote, making it easy for users to command their Carpentopod from a distance. This unique creation not only serves a functional purpose but also stands as a testament to innovative design in the intersection of art and technology.
#BeOpenNEWS
BE OPEN Art is thrilled to announce that Akindele John has been voted Artist of the Month by the visitors of art.beopenfuture.com for September 2024. Each month, we invite art enthusiasts from around the globe to select the best artist from those featured in our online gallery. This September, Akindele John's paintings, which pay tribute to his African-Nigerian identity and express gratitude for Black feminine representation in African society, resonated deeply with voters, earning him the majority of votes.
We also want to extend our appreciation to all the featured artists and thank everyone who participated in the voting process.
BE OPEN Art is thrilled to announce that Akindele John has been voted Artist of the Month by the visitors of art.beopenfuture.com for September 2024. Each month, we invite art enthusiasts from around the globe to select the best artist from those featured in our online gallery. This September, Akindele John's paintings, which pay tribute to his African-Nigerian identity and express gratitude for Black feminine representation in African society, resonated deeply with voters, earning him the majority of votes.
We also want to extend our appreciation to all the featured artists and thank everyone who participated in the voting process.
#BeOpenDESIGN
When heading out on a hike, three essentials are a water bottle, a light source, and a compass. Indian industrial designer Anantvijay has ingeniously combined all three into a single item. Constructed from lightweight polyethylene terephthalate, the Beacon Bottle for Hikers serves as both a hydration vessel and a reliable light source. It features a compass integrated into the polypropylene cap, minimizing the number of items one need to carry, and the handle is designed for easy transport and can be attached to a backpack.
More multifunctional bottles for hiking adventures in our blog.
When heading out on a hike, three essentials are a water bottle, a light source, and a compass. Indian industrial designer Anantvijay has ingeniously combined all three into a single item. Constructed from lightweight polyethylene terephthalate, the Beacon Bottle for Hikers serves as both a hydration vessel and a reliable light source. It features a compass integrated into the polypropylene cap, minimizing the number of items one need to carry, and the handle is designed for easy transport and can be attached to a backpack.
More multifunctional bottles for hiking adventures in our blog.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Researchers at UMass Amherst have developed a groundbreaking biofilm that generates electricity from sweat, utilizing bacteria that convert evaporative energy into power. This innovative technology adheres to the skin like a Band-Aid and offers an eco-friendly solution for powering small devices without the need for bulky batteries. By eliminating toxic waste and minimizing processing requirements, this biofilm represents a significant advancement in sustainable energy. Currently, it can power small devices like medical sensors, with plans for larger versions to harness more evaporation energy.
More innovative portable power devices in our blog.
Researchers at UMass Amherst have developed a groundbreaking biofilm that generates electricity from sweat, utilizing bacteria that convert evaporative energy into power. This innovative technology adheres to the skin like a Band-Aid and offers an eco-friendly solution for powering small devices without the need for bulky batteries. By eliminating toxic waste and minimizing processing requirements, this biofilm represents a significant advancement in sustainable energy. Currently, it can power small devices like medical sensors, with plans for larger versions to harness more evaporation energy.
More innovative portable power devices in our blog.
#BeOpenARCH
The Mineless Heritage Restoration Project by Taiwanese studio Divooe Zein Architects revitalizes abandoned industrial structures from the Chungyi Coal Mine, located outside Taipei. After mining activities ceased in 2000, these buildings fell into disrepair, becoming overgrown by the surrounding forest. Divooe Zein transformed them into a secluded retreat featuring a tea room, small theatre, and meditation spaces, all designed to foster human connection while retaining the original rough finishes. Using materials like black iron with an oil-shell-like sheen and recycled wood, the restoration beautifully blends new elements with the site’s industrial past. The aging textures of these materials harmonize with the architectural style, ensuring that the history of the location is preserved and celebrated.
The Mineless Heritage Restoration Project by Taiwanese studio Divooe Zein Architects revitalizes abandoned industrial structures from the Chungyi Coal Mine, located outside Taipei. After mining activities ceased in 2000, these buildings fell into disrepair, becoming overgrown by the surrounding forest. Divooe Zein transformed them into a secluded retreat featuring a tea room, small theatre, and meditation spaces, all designed to foster human connection while retaining the original rough finishes. Using materials like black iron with an oil-shell-like sheen and recycled wood, the restoration beautifully blends new elements with the site’s industrial past. The aging textures of these materials harmonize with the architectural style, ensuring that the history of the location is preserved and celebrated.