#BeOpenARCH
The Grand Ring, designed by Sou Fujimoto Architects for Expo 2025 Osaka, is the world's largest wooden architectural structure, spanning 61,035 square meters. Built using traditional Japanese joinery techniques, including Nuki joints, the 2-kilometer circular structure serves as the main circulation route at the expo, providing shelter from the elements and symbolizing unity among the 150 participating countries. Made from 70% locally sourced timber, the modular design features an elevated skywalk offering panoramic views of Osaka and the bay.
The Grand Ring, designed by Sou Fujimoto Architects for Expo 2025 Osaka, is the world's largest wooden architectural structure, spanning 61,035 square meters. Built using traditional Japanese joinery techniques, including Nuki joints, the 2-kilometer circular structure serves as the main circulation route at the expo, providing shelter from the elements and symbolizing unity among the 150 participating countries. Made from 70% locally sourced timber, the modular design features an elevated skywalk offering panoramic views of Osaka and the bay.
#BeOpenDESIGN
At Carnegie Mellon University, a team of researchers led by undergraduate designer Sapna Tayal has developed a method for transforming flat fabric into deployable 3D furniture using a computer-controlled sewing machine, cords, magnets, and modular pockets. Inspired by origami, the system stitches fold lines and inserts stiff panels into layered fabric, allowing users to assemble chairs, tables, and lamps with a simple pull or fold. Unlike previous small-scale or 3D-printed attempts, this approach enables lightweight, scalable, and reconfigurable furniture, opening new possibilities for portable, adaptable design rooted in overlooked textile technologies.
At Carnegie Mellon University, a team of researchers led by undergraduate designer Sapna Tayal has developed a method for transforming flat fabric into deployable 3D furniture using a computer-controlled sewing machine, cords, magnets, and modular pockets. Inspired by origami, the system stitches fold lines and inserts stiff panels into layered fabric, allowing users to assemble chairs, tables, and lamps with a simple pull or fold. Unlike previous small-scale or 3D-printed attempts, this approach enables lightweight, scalable, and reconfigurable furniture, opening new possibilities for portable, adaptable design rooted in overlooked textile technologies.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Designer Maria Olhovnikova reimagines everyday carry with a transparent, modular backpack concept that brings order and visibility to chaotic routines. Built from see-through materials and outfitted with four detachable, differently sized compartments, the bag lets users instantly spot and access their gear—whether it’s tech, snacks, or gym clothes—without digging through clutter. Each compartment functions independently, allowing for customized loadouts and lightweight travel.
Designer Maria Olhovnikova reimagines everyday carry with a transparent, modular backpack concept that brings order and visibility to chaotic routines. Built from see-through materials and outfitted with four detachable, differently sized compartments, the bag lets users instantly spot and access their gear—whether it’s tech, snacks, or gym clothes—without digging through clutter. Each compartment functions independently, allowing for customized loadouts and lightweight travel.
#BeOpenDESIGN
RoboCake, created by researchers from EPFL and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, is a robotic wedding cake powered by edible rechargeable batteries. This multi-tiered dessert features dancing gummy bears, animated by an internal pneumatic system, and powered by dark chocolate discs that act as edible energy cells. These chocolate discs, made with vitamin B2, quercetin, activated carbon, and chocolate, not only animate the dancing bears but also light up LED candles on the cake. Crafted with input from pastry chefs and food scientists at EHL Hospitality Business School, RoboCake is a perfect fusion of technology and culinary art, while also supporting sustainability by reducing e-waste through its biodegradable components.
RoboCake, created by researchers from EPFL and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, is a robotic wedding cake powered by edible rechargeable batteries. This multi-tiered dessert features dancing gummy bears, animated by an internal pneumatic system, and powered by dark chocolate discs that act as edible energy cells. These chocolate discs, made with vitamin B2, quercetin, activated carbon, and chocolate, not only animate the dancing bears but also light up LED candles on the cake. Crafted with input from pastry chefs and food scientists at EHL Hospitality Business School, RoboCake is a perfect fusion of technology and culinary art, while also supporting sustainability by reducing e-waste through its biodegradable components.
#BeOpenDESIGN
The Plate-Oh, designed by Jordanian innovator Sahar Madanat Haddad, is a clever reinvention of disposable tableware that eliminates the need for washing dishes. Made from stacked layers of biodegradable paper, the plate allows users to simply remove the top layer after a meal to reveal a fresh one underneath. This eco-conscious design not only reduces water use and cleanup time, but also cuts material waste and manufacturing emissions by up to 60%.
More innovative disposable tableware on our blog.
The Plate-Oh, designed by Jordanian innovator Sahar Madanat Haddad, is a clever reinvention of disposable tableware that eliminates the need for washing dishes. Made from stacked layers of biodegradable paper, the plate allows users to simply remove the top layer after a meal to reveal a fresh one underneath. This eco-conscious design not only reduces water use and cleanup time, but also cuts material waste and manufacturing emissions by up to 60%.
More innovative disposable tableware on our blog.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Students from Cambourne Village College in England have won the Design Museum’s Design Ventura 2025 competition with Loopy Loom, a simple loom designed to combat fast fashion waste by enabling users to transform unwanted garments into new products. Responding to a brief focused on “Change,” the team created this family-friendly tool, featuring a laser-cut wooden frame, to encourage creativity and learning between parents and children by weaving strips of old clothing into versatile panels. Selected by a panel of expert judges, Loopy Loom will now be sold in the Design Museum shop, highlighting the competition’s goal of nurturing creativity and innovation among young people.
Students from Cambourne Village College in England have won the Design Museum’s Design Ventura 2025 competition with Loopy Loom, a simple loom designed to combat fast fashion waste by enabling users to transform unwanted garments into new products. Responding to a brief focused on “Change,” the team created this family-friendly tool, featuring a laser-cut wooden frame, to encourage creativity and learning between parents and children by weaving strips of old clothing into versatile panels. Selected by a panel of expert judges, Loopy Loom will now be sold in the Design Museum shop, highlighting the competition’s goal of nurturing creativity and innovation among young people.
#BeOpenARCH
BAT Studio has designed and built The Blooming Shed, a dynamic structure located in the community garden of Chase Farm Hospital in north London. The building features a unique facade with three glazed arches mounted on giant drawer runners, allowing them to open and close independently like a set of drawers. This innovative design dissolves the building's boundaries, inviting the outdoors in and creating a space that shifts and adapts with the seasons. The flexible structure serves as a venue for storage, workshops, and events, promoting mental health and community engagement.
BAT Studio has designed and built The Blooming Shed, a dynamic structure located in the community garden of Chase Farm Hospital in north London. The building features a unique facade with three glazed arches mounted on giant drawer runners, allowing them to open and close independently like a set of drawers. This innovative design dissolves the building's boundaries, inviting the outdoors in and creating a space that shifts and adapts with the seasons. The flexible structure serves as a venue for storage, workshops, and events, promoting mental health and community engagement.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Toshiyuki Kawada's concept modular pen, NEWRON, is designed to stimulate creativity by engaging the fingertips through its innovative structure. Comprising three interlocking parts that users assemble, the pen features 12 different grips that apply gentle pressure to the fingertips, activating the somatosensory cortex of the brain. This tactile stimulation is believed to enhance brain activity related to creativity and idea generation. The pen's design, featuring 3D-printed components with various shapes, from stacked discs to geometric tips, is inspired by massage tools and aims to trigger new ideas through touch.
Toshiyuki Kawada's concept modular pen, NEWRON, is designed to stimulate creativity by engaging the fingertips through its innovative structure. Comprising three interlocking parts that users assemble, the pen features 12 different grips that apply gentle pressure to the fingertips, activating the somatosensory cortex of the brain. This tactile stimulation is believed to enhance brain activity related to creativity and idea generation. The pen's design, featuring 3D-printed components with various shapes, from stacked discs to geometric tips, is inspired by massage tools and aims to trigger new ideas through touch.
#BeOpenARCH
The Blue Insight Cave Space, designed by 3andwich Design, is a coastal viewing platform and event space located in Fujian Province, China. Perched above the rocky coastline of Ningde City, the structure is designed to blend seamlessly with its natural surroundings, featuring a green roof that mimics the landscape and cave-like interiors crafted from brown-pigmented concrete. The building's design emphasizes integration with the environment, embodying three key principles: precipitousness, concealment, and integration. Visitors descend through a vaulted tunnel into the space, where textured concrete walls and floor-to-ceiling glass windows provide sweeping views of the ocean and nearby Bijia Mountain.
The Blue Insight Cave Space, designed by 3andwich Design, is a coastal viewing platform and event space located in Fujian Province, China. Perched above the rocky coastline of Ningde City, the structure is designed to blend seamlessly with its natural surroundings, featuring a green roof that mimics the landscape and cave-like interiors crafted from brown-pigmented concrete. The building's design emphasizes integration with the environment, embodying three key principles: precipitousness, concealment, and integration. Visitors descend through a vaulted tunnel into the space, where textured concrete walls and floor-to-ceiling glass windows provide sweeping views of the ocean and nearby Bijia Mountain.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Designed by Argentina-based Marcela Coppari, Cosmoplast is a modular furniture system grounded in circular design principles—reuse, flexibility, and modularity. It features geometric plates in various shapes and sizes that connect using recycled plastic connectors and aluminum tubes, enabling users to build customizable furniture like
Designed by Argentina-based Marcela Coppari, Cosmoplast is a modular furniture system grounded in circular design principles—reuse, flexibility, and modularity. It features geometric plates in various shapes and sizes that connect using recycled plastic connectors and aluminum tubes, enabling users to build customizable furniture like
#BeOpenDESIGN
The Imagiro carpet, designed by students at EINA University of Design in Barcelona, reimagines the traditional rug with its innovative, origami-inspired design. Unlike static floor coverings, Imagiro features subtle crease patterns that allow it to be folded into sculptural shapes, inviting playful engagement and transforming the carpet into a dynamic centerpiece or spatial divider. This merging of textile craft with origami principles offers a smart, tactile solution for dynamic spaces, challenging the conventional idea of home textiles as passive elements.
More origami-inspired design on our blog.
The Imagiro carpet, designed by students at EINA University of Design in Barcelona, reimagines the traditional rug with its innovative, origami-inspired design. Unlike static floor coverings, Imagiro features subtle crease patterns that allow it to be folded into sculptural shapes, inviting playful engagement and transforming the carpet into a dynamic centerpiece or spatial divider. This merging of textile craft with origami principles offers a smart, tactile solution for dynamic spaces, challenging the conventional idea of home textiles as passive elements.
More origami-inspired design on our blog.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Norwegian ceramicist Lillian Tørlen's Annoyingly Dependent Objects (ADO) series reimagines traditional tableware by introducing deliberate instability into each piece. These irregularly shaped sharing plates are intentionally designed to require external support—such as wooden blocks—to remain upright. This design choice transforms functional objects into interactive sculptures, encouraging users to engage with them in unconventional ways. Tørlen's work challenges perceptions of utility and aesthetics, prompting reflection on the relationships between objects, their environments, and the people who use them. Through this series, she invites a reconsideration of the roles everyday items play in our lives, blurring the lines between function and art.
Norwegian ceramicist Lillian Tørlen's Annoyingly Dependent Objects (ADO) series reimagines traditional tableware by introducing deliberate instability into each piece. These irregularly shaped sharing plates are intentionally designed to require external support—such as wooden blocks—to remain upright. This design choice transforms functional objects into interactive sculptures, encouraging users to engage with them in unconventional ways. Tørlen's work challenges perceptions of utility and aesthetics, prompting reflection on the relationships between objects, their environments, and the people who use them. Through this series, she invites a reconsideration of the roles everyday items play in our lives, blurring the lines between function and art.
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#BeOpenDESIGN
Tenniix by T-Apex redefines the traditional tennis ball machine by merging AI, robotics, and intuitive design into a compact, mobile coach that trains you like a real opponent. Equipped with a 1080p vision-based AI system, Tenniix tracks the user's movements, adapts its shots in real time, and even mimics the playstyle of pro athletes — all while fitting in a car trunk. With features like gesture control, a smart wristband, and personalized training drills, it turns solo practice into an immersive, data-driven experience.
More projects blending design and AI on the blog.
Tenniix by T-Apex redefines the traditional tennis ball machine by merging AI, robotics, and intuitive design into a compact, mobile coach that trains you like a real opponent. Equipped with a 1080p vision-based AI system, Tenniix tracks the user's movements, adapts its shots in real time, and even mimics the playstyle of pro athletes — all while fitting in a car trunk. With features like gesture control, a smart wristband, and personalized training drills, it turns solo practice into an immersive, data-driven experience.
More projects blending design and AI on the blog.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Kogani is a smart speaker holder designed by Tokyo-based Metal Goat Studio, blending traditional Japanese origami principles with modern technology. Shaped like a crab, Kogani is made to house compact smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo Dot or Google Nest Mini, giving them a defined and aesthetically pleasing presence in any interior. Constructed from lightweight synthetic paper, acrylic, and brass, the holder’s folded geometric design offers both structural stability and visual complexity. Kogani is customizable in color and pattern, with each piece linked to a unique NFT for authenticity.
Kogani is a smart speaker holder designed by Tokyo-based Metal Goat Studio, blending traditional Japanese origami principles with modern technology. Shaped like a crab, Kogani is made to house compact smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo Dot or Google Nest Mini, giving them a defined and aesthetically pleasing presence in any interior. Constructed from lightweight synthetic paper, acrylic, and brass, the holder’s folded geometric design offers both structural stability and visual complexity. Kogani is customizable in color and pattern, with each piece linked to a unique NFT for authenticity.
#BeOpenDESIGN
Schwa is a wearable breathing companion designed by University of Illinois Chicago student Minoo Marasi to gently soothe anxiety through somatic connection. Inspired by the calming effect of a shared, steady breath—like that felt during a therapeutic hug—Schwa rests on the chest and mimics a slow, rhythmic rise and fall, encouraging the wearer’s breath to unconsciously sync in return. Subtle in form and quiet in function, it offers emotional support without demanding focus, tapping into the body’s natural rhythms to foster calm.
Schwa is a wearable breathing companion designed by University of Illinois Chicago student Minoo Marasi to gently soothe anxiety through somatic connection. Inspired by the calming effect of a shared, steady breath—like that felt during a therapeutic hug—Schwa rests on the chest and mimics a slow, rhythmic rise and fall, encouraging the wearer’s breath to unconsciously sync in return. Subtle in form and quiet in function, it offers emotional support without demanding focus, tapping into the body’s natural rhythms to foster calm.
#BeOpenART #BeOpenNEWS
Tania Calvo, a rising visual artist from Vanuatu, has been selected as BE OPEN Art’s Regional Artist of the Month for May in the Oceania stage of the 2025 competition. Deeply inspired by her multicultural heritage and Vanuatu’s vibrant artistic traditions, Tania’s work is a celebration of identity, self-expression, and cultural continuity.
The BE OPEN Regional Art competition is open to emerging creatives from Oceania—which includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Island nations. Each month, one artist is selected from submissions from the region. Tania joins April’s winner, Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho of Aotearoa (New Zealand), and is now in the running to be named Regional Artist for Oceania.
The title comes with a €3,000 prize, and the final selection will be announced in July, as BE OPEN continues its mission to empower the next generation of artists through visibility, opportunity, and cross-cultural dialogue.
Tania Calvo, a rising visual artist from Vanuatu, has been selected as BE OPEN Art’s Regional Artist of the Month for May in the Oceania stage of the 2025 competition. Deeply inspired by her multicultural heritage and Vanuatu’s vibrant artistic traditions, Tania’s work is a celebration of identity, self-expression, and cultural continuity.
The BE OPEN Regional Art competition is open to emerging creatives from Oceania—which includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Island nations. Each month, one artist is selected from submissions from the region. Tania joins April’s winner, Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho of Aotearoa (New Zealand), and is now in the running to be named Regional Artist for Oceania.
The title comes with a €3,000 prize, and the final selection will be announced in July, as BE OPEN continues its mission to empower the next generation of artists through visibility, opportunity, and cross-cultural dialogue.
#BeOpenNEWS
We are pleased to announce the First Prize winner of the international competition Designing Future 2050, organised by BE OPEN Foundation to support young visionaries addressing sustainability challenges.
The First Prize and €5,000 grant have been awarded to Ajisafe Damilola Ifeoluwa (Nigeria), a Medicine and Surgery student at the University of Ilorin, actively engaged in youth advocacy, climate action, and health education. Her initiative Redefining Global Healthcare: Adjusting the SDGs for Scalable Practical Impact proposes a new approach to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in ways that are locally relevant and practically scalable.
We congratulate Damilola for her thoughtful and impactful work in reimagining healthcare for a sustainable future!
We are pleased to announce the First Prize winner of the international competition Designing Future 2050, organised by BE OPEN Foundation to support young visionaries addressing sustainability challenges.
The First Prize and €5,000 grant have been awarded to Ajisafe Damilola Ifeoluwa (Nigeria), a Medicine and Surgery student at the University of Ilorin, actively engaged in youth advocacy, climate action, and health education. Her initiative Redefining Global Healthcare: Adjusting the SDGs for Scalable Practical Impact proposes a new approach to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in ways that are locally relevant and practically scalable.
We congratulate Damilola for her thoughtful and impactful work in reimagining healthcare for a sustainable future!