IKEA Unveils Solar-Powered Flat Pack Shelters for Easily Deployable Emergency Housing IKEA Refugee Shelter - Gallery Page 7 We’ve all seen IKEA’s innate ability to transform any area into a cozy, homey space (just look at how comfortable their store displays are), and taking on disaster and refugee relief is a no brainer for the company. Until the IKEA collaboration, the UNCHR was only able to provide tents or converted mass-shelters for the influx of refugees into countries around the world. Prior to the IKEA collaboration, the UNCHR was only able to provide tents or converted mass-shelters for the influx of refugees into countries around the world. Now, with IKEA’s help, these displaced citizens will not only have privacy and comfort, but the dignity of having their own place. IKEA’s shelters come flat packed, making for the easy transport of lightweight plastic shelters at once. Assembly of the 188 square foot hut is easy and can be built in just four hours. The new IKEA/UNHCR shelters will make their first be deployed in Ethiopia next month. + IKEA Foundation Via Fast Company
Cut Feather Shadowboxes by Chris Maynard Using feathers acquired from zoos and private aviaries, artist Chris Maynard creates delicately constructed shadowboxes that play with aspects of light and negative space. The artist admits to being “feather obsessed” and is fascinated not only with birds and flight, but with the color and texture of their plumage which he explores through his small dioramas. You can see much more on his website and Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe will soon be showing some of Maynard’s larger work. (via Colossal Submissions) 10 Sentences That Can Change Your Life for The Better The power of a single sentence is tremendous.A single sentence can either make your day or in the same time ruin somebody’s day. It can change your mood. Just a few words put together, yet they make such big impact. But there are few sentences that can inspire us to change our life for the better. #1 “People aren’t against you; they are for themselves.” #2 “Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” #3 “You learn more from failure than from success; don’t let it stop you. #4 “The most dangerous risk of all – The risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.” #5 “Go where you’re celebrated, not where you’re tolerated.” #6 “The person that you will spend the most time with in your life is yourself, so you better try to make yourself as interesting as possible.” #7 “If you accept your limitations you go beyond them.” #8 “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Your turn now…
Hivehaus Inspired by the hexagonal honeycomb structures built by honey bees to store honey and pollen within a beehive – HIVEHAUS® has been designed by Barry Jackson to be an ultra compact but extremely comfortable living space suitable for a wide variety of applications. Identically proportioned hexagonal cells can be joined together at any time by any or all of their six sides to create a modular cluster of connected cells or ‘Hive’. Each cell has an internal floor area of 9.3 m2 and is designed to be used as a specific work/live space i.e. office cell, lounge cell, Kitchen cell, sleep cell or bathroom cell, uniform internal partition walls (with or without pocket doors) can be added or removed as required allowing airy open plan spaces to become cosy individual rooms and vice versa.The flexibility of the HIVEHAUS® modular system permits easy bespoke expansion of the ‘Hive’ allowing it to grow with the individual users requirements. Photos by Barry Jackson. More info. here.
The Bizarre Street Art of Daan Botlek Street artist and illustrator Daan Botlek is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands and is known for his strange form of character-driven street art. His generally simplistic, site-specific figures often interact with the space around them, passing in and out of unseen dimensions, shedding skin in the process. Kind of like morbid Keith Haring, no? You can see much more of his work over on Flickr. (via Lustik) 23 Funny Facebook Status Updates | Whether we’re laughing with people or at people, there are a lot of funny status updates on Facebook. Here are 23 prime examples… via via via via via via via via via via via via via via You may also like:
Hivehaus » Modular Living Space An Aerial Kinetic Sculpture with 256 Helium Balloons Embedded with LEDs Cyclique was an aerial light and sound installation created by audiovisual artist Nohista and Collectif Coin for Nuit Blanche 2013 (previously). The array of 256 large white balloons was embedded with LEDs that blinked in sequence with various audio tracks and was further enhanced by the impact of wind which altered the layout and motion of the piece. Submerged landscape discovered under Atlantic Ocean Buried deep beneath the sediment of the North Atlantic Ocean lies an ancient, lost landscape with furrows cut by rivers and peaks that once belonged to mountains. Geologists recently discovered this roughly 56-million-year-old landscape using data gathered for oil companies. "It looks for all the world like a map of a bit of a country onshore," said Nicky White, the senior researcher. "It is like an ancient fossil landscape preserved 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) beneath the seabed." So far, the data have revealed a landscape about 3,861 square miles (10,000 square km) west of the Orkney-Shetland Islands that stretched above sea level by almost as much as 0.6 miles (1 km). History beneath the seafloor The discovery emerged from data collected by a seismic contracting company using an advanced echo-sounding technique. The researchers traced eight major rivers, and core samples, taken from the rock beneath the ocean floor, revealed pollen and coal, evidence of land-dwelling life.
ÁPH80 A transportable 290 square feet home manufactured in Spain. Photos by Juan Baraja. Designed by Ábaton. Translucent Hermit Shell Crabs Adorned with Architectural Cityscapes by Aki Inomata NYC / © Aki Inomata courtesy of Ai Kowada Gallery Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou / © Aki Inomata courtesy of Ai Kowada Gallery Bangkok / © Aki Inomata courtesy of Ai Kowada Gallery Zaanse Schans / © Aki Inomata courtesy of Ai Kowada Gallery Tokyo / © Aki Inomata courtesy of Ai Kowada Gallery Santorini / © Aki Inomata courtesy of Ai Kowada Gallery Honfleur / © Aki Inomata courtesy of Ai Kowada Gallery Installation view at Ai Kowada Gallery / © Aki Inomata courtesy of Ai Kowada Gallery Created in 2009 by Japanese artist Aki Inomata, these fantastic little cityscapes atop hermit crab shells were part of a body of work titled “Why not hand over a shelter to hermit crabs?.” As hermit crabs outgrow their shells it becomes necessary to find a new, larger home.
Shogi: Japanese Chess (the Chess Variant Pages) Japanese Chess Shogi is recognized as a CLASSIC Chess variant, distinguished for its immense popularity and rich history. It has been featured at the top of our pages in February 2002 and January 2011. Introduction Shogi is the Japanese cousin of Chess. The similarites between Chess and Shogi suggest a common origin, and it is commonly held that their common origin was a game called Chaturanga, which arose in India in approximately the 7th century AD. (shô ) (-gi) Shô means general and Gi means board game. Perhaps the enduring popularity of Shogi can be attributed to its 'drop rule'; it was the first chess variant wherein captured pieces could be returned to the board to be used as one's own. Setup Shogi is played on a 9x9 board. Shogi begins in the position shown below in either of the two diagrams. Traditional board, pieces, and notation Checkered board, Chess Motif pieces, and international notation. Pieces Rules Black moves first. Video Instruction Computer Programs Play Online Photographs Shop
Nomadic Resorts Portable Looper Home Prefabricated housing units have become all the rage all the design scene, but nothing has impressed us quite like the Nomadic Resorts Portable Looper Home. This 30 foot long structure has been built from a sustainably sourced wooden frame draped in a lightweight tensile fabric. Although the caterpillar inspired design allows for maximum ventilation, the solar canopy atop the unit helps to power an air conditioning unit if the outside temperatures are just too unbearable. In addition to powering the AC unit, the solar canopy also powers LED lights and the solar heater for the hot water, while the harvesting tank recycles waste water. Each pod includes a a changing room, sleeping area, bathroom, lounge with entertainment system, and even a small office with Wi-Fi to get some work done on the go.
Air Plant Jellyfish by ‘PetitBeast’ LA-based designer and art director Cathy Van Hoang had the novel idea of using sea urchin shells as upside down planters for air plants to create little aerial jellyfish. She sells them in her Etsy shop, PetitBeast. (via Steampunk Tendencies)