DESIGN Snow White and the Apple10/8/2014Who kissed life into Snow White? Hartmut Esslinger has written a book about the early design years of Apple, the “Snow White” process, his friendship with Steve Jobs and the difficulties with managers.
INTERVIEWS The 3D-printer is not a magic machine10/6/2014But the potential the technology has and how it can alter design is explained by Belgian designer duo Unfold alias Claire Warnier and Dries Verbruggen – pioneers of 3D ceramic printing – in interview with Martina Metzner.
ARCHITECTURE Smart elevators as a model for autonomous transport10/5/2014Elevators, that know the destination of passengers, are highly efficient. Could this principle work for cars, too? Martin Lewicki talked to Paul Friedli about driverless transport systems.
ARCHITECTURE Energy remains within the interior10/3/2014Vitra Design Museum is focusing on Alvar Aalto. And the result is more than just another show on that Grand Old Master of Modernism.
FAIRS & EVENTS At home, assuming it exists?10/1/2014At the Biennale Interieur in Kortrijk, Belgium, curator Joseph Grima seeks to undermine traditional notions of the home. And the “Interieur Awards” category "Spaces" promise a mouthwatering take on design.
ARCHITECTURE The European Answer to Silicon Valley9/29/2014When Berlin´s new airport BER is in use, what will happen with the former area of the Berlin airport Berlin-Tegel?
FEATURED An open space for Milan high in the sky9/28/2014With the UniCredit Tower by Cesar Pelli, the bank is setting the tone for its restructuring, as well as with the open-space offices with furniture by Arper.
FAIRS & EVENTS Mirror, mirror on the wall9/26/2014Split cobs with Sebastian Cox Holz, admire yourself in Barber Osgerby’s huge ceiling mirrors, and watch the future of mobility through stained glass. And in addition to these attractions, this year’s London Design Festival also served up many interesting team line-ups and countless cool results.
FAIRS & EVENTS At home – what’s that? 9/25/2014No London Design Festival without some special highlight. This year, four small houses were on show outside the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square – by Jasper Morrison, Raw Edges, Ilse Crawford and Patternity, created for the “A Place Called Home” project.
DESIGN Replicants, Cyborgs and digital spirits9/24/2014Few of the things currently featured as “digital fabrication” are based on role models in literature, art and film and are serving as a source of inspiration. How flights of fancy can lead to products and products can fire the imagination.
FAIRS & EVENTS Tranquility – is to be found in salad bowls9/23/2014The “Helsinki Design Week” took place for the 10th time this year. For all those who may have forgotten what makes Finnish design so special – the trade fair complex and Helsinki’s Design District provided a lot to bring things back to mind.
DESIGN Digitalizing intuition9/22/2014A holodeck for urban planners and architects. The designer’s hand as the input tool for digital models and a client for visiting the matrix. Digital designing is a question of interfaces, and optimally the thoughts flow straight from the brain into the computer.
INTERVIEWS Everything in life is a game9/21/2014Charlotte Malz talked to Tim Chang about gaming as part of human nature and how this can support an eco-friendly driving style.
DESIGN One chair wasn’t enough for him9/19/2014Young designers can still learn a lot from him, even if this year Hans J.Wegner would have turned 100. On the occasion of his anniversary, ChristianHolmsted Olesen has dedicated an insightful book to the life, work andapproach of the exceptional designer.
DESIGN Prosthetic Sockets and Exoskeletons9/17/2014Microelectronics has led to significant improvements in prosthetics. Poorly fitting sockets are still a problem, however. Now digital manufacturing techniques involving 3D-printers are revealing new possibilities.
ARCHITECTURE Playing on the roads9/15/2014Motivation is a central aspect of “gameful design” and intends to have a positive influence on user´s behavior.
DESIGN Ata, applied?9/12/2014“Give Love Back. Ata Macias and Partners” in Museum Angewandte Kunst is an attempt to devote a show to a man who shaped Frankfurt’s nightlife with his club, Robert Johnson, and who also transformed the restaurant scene, too.
DESIGN Weave replaces brickwork 9/12/2014The properties and behavior of building materials play an important role in the robot-controlled construction process. The Institute for Computer-Based Design at the University of Stuttgart shows how a house can be built using the weaving method.
FAIRS & EVENTS Eight days on the loose 9/10/2014Once a year the “Burning Man Festival” transforms Nevada’s Black Rock Desert into a temporary city teeming with audacious buildings, fantastic sculptures, and out-of-this-world conveyances.
DESIGN The dictionary of digital fabrication9/8/2014The label “3D printing” is often used to cover all techniques enabling data to be turned into objects. Whereas there are actually any number of possibilities in terms of technology, materials and application. An overview.
DESIGN Industrial design in the postindustrial age9/8/2014We asked Stefan Diez to give us his personal take on the advantages and disadvantages and the consequences of digital fabrication for the everyday work of industrial designers. An outline.
ARCHITECTURE A car for your handbag9/7/2014The divisible car as a new interpretation of car sharing? Charlotte Malz talked to Prof. Fügener about concepts of future mobility.
DESIGN Beautiful printed world9/5/2014The world of digital manufacturing has a new hero – the 3D printer. So are we all going to be dabbling in the art of creative production soon? What are the real benefits? And what opportunities can it offer to designers proper?
DESIGN Factory - everywhere9/5/2014Digital technology, data networking and Internet have revolutionized controls and communication. Now it’s manufacturing’s turn. In a new series we will in the coming weeks be focusing on the phenomenon of “digital fabrication”.
FAIRS & EVENTS Comfy chair with a fur collar9/3/2014What happens if fashion and furniture embark on a relationship? We’ve made a few matches for you from among the novelties at the Milan Salone and the catwalk couture for the coming winter season. All just coincidence?
FAIRS & EVENTS Here come the Finns!9/2/2014Soon it’ll be book fair time again in Frankfurt. And as always, the fair’s Guest of Honor country gets to shape the face of culture in the city for a short time. So what does Finland have to offer in addition to vodka and forests, sauna and Saarinen, Artek and Aalto?
ARCHITECTURE The Secret of Happy Cities9/1/2014What kind of urban realm makes you feel good? Scientists have developed different methods to demonstrate the psychological impact of cities on their inhabitants.
FAIRS & EVENTS What lodged in NKBAK´s minds:8/31/2014Architects and designers naturally have their own view on houses, people and exhibitions. So we asked a few of them for their photographic impressions of the 14th Architecture Biennale. And for their related comments of course.