Beneath the Surface Blog

We’ve all had those truly strange dreams where you awake fascinated and perplexed at the bizarre aberrations your brain subconsciously concocted during your slumber. We know the feeling here. A good number of us here have dreamt in “AutoCAD Land,” where our actions are controlled by a string of key commands in a computer-program world. Some of us have even had dreams where the surrounding environment - the sky, grass, and water – appears real, but is actually all backlit onyx upon closer inspection. (We don’t recommend diving into the pool in those dreams...)

But strange as dreams may be, have you ever thought about how that vision would be portrayed in reality? How exactly a dream would look and feel if you could recreate and reproduce those peculiar, bizarre, and eccentric nuances in a tangible form? Israel-based Photographer, Ronen Goldman, has set out on a quest to do just that.

While most dreams are fleeting, these photos most certainly are not. Working for years on what Goldman refers to as the “Surrealist Pillow” project, a single dream can take weeks to replicate in photographic form. Gathering and photographing all the necessary elements, along with all the prepping, planning, shooting, and compilations that go into these photos, these recreations can be very time consuming. But in the end, the lasting image of a nonsensical transitory fantasy is achieved.

Often Goldman finds he’s not even sure what the dreams he’s recreating mean or symbolize. However, there are still a couple things of which we can be sure: the visual portrayal of his imperceptible dreams exudes a very personal originality, and whimsically merges art and fantasy in tangible form. Pretty sweet dreams if you ask us (pun intended)!

Image credits: Ronen Goldman

As Nishi Chauhan was swept into daydreams about her ever-growing glass bottle collection, she understood that something needed to be done. Looking upon the various mason jars, wine, and beer bottles in her home, she began to see shapes emerge in the form of animals.

After visiting a local craft district just outside the city of Bangalore and seeing the hundreds of playful animal toys being created by a community of craftsmen, Nishi began a collaboration with them. Various sketches and mock-ups were produced and exchanged until Nishi and the craftsmen shared a collective vision for the bottles. From this interplay of design and making, Animal Farm was born.

These quirky and colorful pieces are an example of an adaptive reuse project which gives the upcycled glass forms new life. Some figures are also fashioned into lamps which diffuse the light and give off a soft and ‘friendly’ glow that make them great for use as a child’s nightlight.

As Nishi recounts the story of the design process:

"The real challenge was to achieve a fusing of attitude and approach between the designer and craftsman, with give and take on both sides. How do you get them to look at objects from a wider world view when their entire world has always been their community? How do you get them to understand design intent, with the interplay of materials, when they’ve only ever worked with one material all their lives? How do you get someone to pay attention to the details and finesse when they’ve spent generations earning money by producing hundreds of objects a day, so what if the curve doesn’t turn out just so?"

A true story behind each creation, we salute the process by which Nishi and the team of craftsmen envision and create the barnyard collections.

Image credits: Nishi Chauhan

As 2013 progresses, we can’t help but wonder what the next ‘Big Thing’ will be. Technology seems to grow at such a rate that it’s hard to keep up. With the advent of mobile apps to control the environment of your house, from lighting to sound, hybrid technologies are being set up to create “smart houses”. But can materials be smart, too?

A group of students in a Master of Advanced Studies class in Switzerland designed the installation Phototropia as a response to globalization, increased connectivity, and digital identity in participative and transient systems.

The students describe it as ‘a proposal for an experimental architecture that can decay while actively being renewed. Phototropia explores the use of smart materials in the built environment using “self-made electro-active polymers, screen printed electroluminescent displays, eco-friendly bioplastics and thin-film dye-sensitized solar cells”. Basically the structure is meant to harvest and store solar energy to respond to its users. As the density of users increases, the structure expands and light is emitted.

The video below was made by the students working on Phototropia, and shows how the materials were made and how the structure would move in response to various stimuli.

This responsive architecture may be the future of our built environment and as part of an on-going project, we can’t wait to see what comes next from these inventive designers.

Image credits: CAAD. Blog

The holiday season tends to bring out the inner child in each of us, and this lamp design is playing on that same nostalgic sentiment. Inspired by the plastic toy capsules inside of vending machines, the creative team at Design Systems envisioned The Capsule Lamp.

Before the capsules are filled with the brightly colored toys, the fixture appears as a rather prototypical modern light fixture. When filled with the tiny trinkets, the function is transformed from mere light source to a full blown show-and-tell session showcasing your treasured objects (or whatever you choose to display).

All of the fun of a vending machine without having to pay 25 cents – now that’s original!

Image credits: CubeMe

For as long as anyone can remember, architects, designers and artists have used color in various manners as a way to create a unique experience in a space. At the Hirschhorn Museum, Venezuela born Kinetic and Op Artist Carlos Cruz-Diez has employed color in his exhibit in a way that each viewer can experience the space in their own way.

"Color is not simply the color of things,” says Cruz-Diez. “It is an evolving situation, a reality which acts on the human being with the same intensity as cold, heat, and sound.”

Since the mid-1960’s, Cruz-Diez has been developing what is known as Chromosaturations, white rooms completely bathed in RGB light. Each room in the installation is featureless and is illuminated by various gradations between the three colors. “Cruz-Diez says the point of the installation is to show how color is essentially an experience--one that depends on participation from humans.”

Many studies have been conducted about the effects of artificial light on the psychological and physiological state of humans. Everything from the rose stained glass windows of Gothic cathedrals to futuristic light-bathed rooms each are designed to have a special effect on people. In what other ways can we as designers craft unique spaces that tap the senses of human beings?

Image Credits: Fastco Design

The developing world has crucial issues, some of which must be resolved through political action or economic involvement, but some that can be solved through clever and innovative design. One such issue is low-income households in developing nations lacking access to electricity or ample sunlight. A solution to this problem was born in Brazil, where families have designed a light source from used bottles, simplifying their access to illumination.

The light source is created by filling the bottles with a water & bleach solution, placing the sealed upper half of the bottle above ground or in a roof. The result is a reliable source of light being created from refracting the sun’s rays. The bottle creates about the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb. This solution also has another benefit in that it is recycling non-biodegradable bottles that might otherwise be discarded in a landfill (talk about a “bright” idea)!

As designers, we try to solve complex problems with innovative solutions that impact our world, but sometimes we attempt to resolve these issues with grand design schemes when all it really takes is a simple and small tweak that can make a huge difference in the lives of many people. We challenge you to think of small, inexpensive design concepts that can be simply transformed to make a positive difference in someone’s life.

Image credits: Dornob

In “Homage to the Lost Spaces”, artist Mike Hewson recaptures the history of a damaged building slated for demolition. The Cranmer Courts Building, located in Hewson’s hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand, will be demolished due to damage from an intense earthquake. To celebrate the history of the building before its demise, Hewson uses the boarded planes of plywood as billboard-like art pieces, depicting former residents of the building during their everyday routines.

We salute Hewson’s work for bringing context (the “how” and the “where”) to the forefront of architecture. Stripping away physical layers to uncover meaning through historical references, Hewson's training as a civil engineer makes his work even more poignant.

Image credits: The Cool Hunter, Mike Hewson

It’s no secret that the fundamental goal of design is to shape the world around us in new and innovative ways. As designers, we set forth to enhance the human experience by creatively solving problems, tactfully tailoring aesthetics, and bringing forth something fresh and new. But while design enhances perceptual and spatial experiences, it less often impacts and alters our own instinctual behaviors, the most basic and involuntary of human actions.

Take the instinctual act of eating, for example, a tradition which many are gathering to celebrate on this Thanksgiving Day.  No matter the setting, the type of food, or the company, food is consumed in generally the same way: put food in mouth, chew, swallow, repeat. However, it is this involuntary habit – the primeval act of eating - that Marije Vogelzang designs. Instead of focusing on the appearance of the food or the interior atmosphere in which it is consumed, Vogelzang emphasizes the visceral act of satiating hunger, highlighting how you eat, how you experience the food, how you ingest something. Below are a couple of our favorite examples of Vogelzang’s food “designs” that highlight and shape the art (and instinct) of consumption.

Sharing Dinner

Using a tablecloth to create a tent-like enclosure, Vogelzang forces a separation of head and body, while facilitating a physical connection to others at the dinner table. Forced to eat though slits in this continuous suspended sheet (almost like a harness), each person’s movements are restricted, and impact others at the table. Here, pouring yourself a glass of wine or taking a bit of your meal isn’t a solo experience. Each action (even ones that may be instinctual) will affect others at the table. The movements and habitual eating tendencies of each diner become fluid, almost like a waves in the sea, and are felt and shared by all. The meal is less about eating, and more about understanding and experiencing how other diners consume their food.

Eating on the Beat

Typically, there is no rhyme or reason to how we put food into our mouths. We need food to survive, so when we’re hungry, down the hatch it goes. But, typically, no one is timing how many seconds pass between bites, how long it takes to cut your meat, how quickly you slurp the soup from your spoon. In this event, Vogelzang eliminates instinctual timing of ingestion, and instead interjects a strict, and somewhat stressful, eating regimen. 

Allowing bites of specific food only to be taken to each and every beat of a drum, the solo act of satisfying one’s basic feeling of hunger is taken away here, leaving the diner to eat on an independent schedule unrelated to their own personal needs. So finished chewing or not, full or not, you are forced to eat as a victim of the beat, not as a human simply satiating a basic need. With everyone tasting and chewing the exact same bite of food at the exact same time, the act of eating becomes regimented, yet communal, creating a whole new dynamic to consuming nourishment.

While we’re not sure if you’ll find these food experience “designs” at to a restaurant near you any time soon, they do call attention to instinctual habits that often go unnoticed. It just goes to show how faceted design can be, and how tactful thought, creativity (and a lot of delicious food!) can impact not only our perceptual and spatial experiences, but our involuntary and most basic human tendencies as well.

Image credits: Marije Vogelzang

Remember cutting out paper snowflakes as a kid? It’s something we always looked forward to in elementary school around things time of year. Artfully folding the paper and skillfully wielding scissors with little nimble fingers to cut simple shapes and patterns out of paper - it was so simple, yet so complex. Folded into a little triangle, the creation never seemed like much. But as the creases were flatted and the folds opened, the real surprise was revealed in all its glory. Those seemingly simple contours were magically duplicated, rotated, and reflected, interacting in an integrated web of shape, movement, and fragility. It was really fascinating and really beautiful.

Well someone else also appreciated this idea of snowflake cut-outs and decided to take it to another level. Visual artist Manuel Ameztoy uses the basic idea of a snowflake cut-out and translates it to a massive scale, creating amazing installations that are precisely technical, yet wonderfully delicate. Take a peek at the video below to learn more about how his technique and artistic ability turn an elementary school art project into originally elegant works of art.

Cool Hunting Video Presents: Manuel Ameztoy from Cool Hunting on Vimeo.

Our favorite quote in the video: talking about the beginning of the creative process, Manuel is never "absolutely sure" what he is doing.

It seems nowadays that hybrids are everywhere. From modern cars to bizarre animal offspring to celebrity couple names, we seem to have a fascination with combining multiple elements into one singular entity. And while some of these creations may be catchy (aka “Brangelina”) and others downright strange (like a “Zonkey”), some really stick out from the pack by showing innovation, creativity, and panache. Below are some of our favorite hybrids making their way in the world of design!

Eco Velo Hybrid Electric Bicycles

For those of us who aren’t Lance Armstrong, this might be a good option when your legs start to give out on the home stretch on the Tour de France.

LED Twitter Dress

Part fashion, part technology, part social media, this dress, designed by digital communications company EE, hits the trifecta by combining all things trendy.

CityLight Street Lamps

Harnessing energy is nothing new, but we’ve never seen an invention that channels the calories of your work out into something for the good of the community! Light up the street while trimming your waistline by working out on these public exercise machines.

Keybrid Keys

Such a simple, and seemingly obvious idea. Why didn’t anyone think of this before? Thoughtful design eliminates the need for an extra fastener.

By combining technologies or concepts that otherwise seem dissimilar, everyday objects can be completely redefined. What other design hybrids have you noticed lately?