Beneath the Surface Blog

Sometimes new and innovative ideas can overwhelm tried and practical applications such that inefficiency becomes standard. The modern use of electric lights and lamps perfectly demonstrates this fact. For the past century, artificial illumination has dominated the way we light our workspaces and homes. Fed up with the humming of florescent lights, skyrocketing electric bills, and pollution of coal-fired power plants, many have turned to sky wells, floor-to-ceiling windows, and internal windowed courtyards to bring in as much natural sunlight from the outside as possible. With this idea in mind, an anonymous German-student submitted an interesting concept, called Daylight, for James Dyson Foundation's 2011 James Dyson Award.

This notion puts a modern twist on a forgotten technology over 3,000 year old, natural reflected light. Metal louvers hang horizontally outside of windows. These adjustable aluminum features block out the harsh sun and direct light into the interior space where ceiling lamps sporting LEDs and reflective panels hang. These interior components feature light sensitive panels that can increase and decrease LED output.  These combine with the natural reflected light to reach pre-set illumination levels and can even match the outside's ambient colors.  Since the design focuses on reflecting daylight and not sunlight directly, it also eliminates hotspots and glare.

Ancient peoples used polished copper plates to illuminate their insides spaces and versions of exterior metal louvers actually hung outside of buildings up until the 20th century before Edison's invention pushed them into the periphery. The idea came to this nameless German student when he or she noticed offices and sporting complexes with drawn shades and blinds on windows to block out the harsh glare of the sun while interior lights and lamps blazed.

With the Dyson Foundation's contest open to entries until August 2nd, we won't know the results for a bit; but by transferring a supposedly antiquated idea into to the modern age, the future for the Daylight concept certainly is bright.

Browse the rest of the innovative entries and vote for your favorite >

Image credits: JamesDysonAward.com

This blog normally highlights the innovative proposals and accomplishment that propel our modern society. Sometimes though, a decades-old idea will still carry force not yet matched by current thought. This statement finds no more truth than the Barcelona home and offices of architect Ricardo Bofill. Nowadays, redesigning industrial buildings for commercial and residential use prevails in cities to the point of ubiquity. Designers adapt the practical constructs of engineers long gone and blend them with modern architectural concepts to produce unique buildings following a concept well established today. Few have surpassed Bofill's project completed almost four decades ago.

A master of post-modernist architecture, Bofill came across a decrepit and abandoned turn-of-the-century cement factory in 1973. He found crumbling walls, destination-less stairs, disproportionate features in both massive and tiny rooms, thirty silos, huge subterranean spaces, and an abandoned, trash ridden yard all of which was in ruins. A two year project saw all but eight silos demolished, massive amounts of material removed, walls torn down to reveal interesting architecture, and immense landscaping work.

The renovated buildings became the nexus for his architectural business and life, housing offices, laboratories, guest rooms, gardens, a library, projection rooms, a concert hall called "The Cathedral", and even Bofill's own living quarters. The brutalist outside features a seamless convergence of old and new construction softened by the plethora of foliage framing the yard, climbing the walls, and shading the roofs. As the years pass, concrete and plants, such as ivy, cypress, palm, olive, and eucalyptus trees merge to give an almost Romantic feel.

Inside, Bofill maintained a minimalistic approach that emphasized the spaces' previous and current functions without unnecessary clutter. Rooms make the use of eclectic flooring designs. Subtle decorations and furnishings, humongous curtains, wall-to-ceiling windows, meeting tables, beds, and even a piano coexist alongside raw concrete, aged and roughly hewn wooden beams, steel supports, and massive hoppers.

The Factory stands as an example to renovators, designers, and architects everywhere. Almost a self-contained community, Bofill has developed the buildings to suit both his personal and professional life. He once stated, “The factory is a magic place which strange atmosphere is difficult to be perceived by a profane eye. I like the life to be perfectly programmed here, ritualized, in total contrast with my turbulent nomad life.” And magic it certainly is.

Image credits: DesignYouTrust.com, Stua.Tumblr.com, Shockblast.net

Feeling nostalgic? Then head on over to DearPhotograph.com and immerse yourself in the heart-warming senses of family and time. The site's premise involves taking old pictures, holding them in front of a camera where they were originally taken, and then snapping a new photograph. The result brings bygone times back to the present, making them all the more accessible. Looking at pictures like this seems to make the past come alive and can quickly cause a phone call to a parent or close family member.

The theme of tracing development by referencing the built environment runs through many of the photographs.

The originator, Taylor Jones, arrived at the idea about a month-and-a-half ago while flipping through old family photos at his parents' kitchen table in Toronto. Still living at home after graduating from college, the twenty-one year old Taylor has seen his concept grow exponentially and already has a book deal in place. With millions visiting the site and many sending in their own pictures with captions, this idea touches the soul of a society that can often feel disconnected from its own roots and loved ones.  We salute Taylor for recognizing this longing and providing a platform for expression.

How will your architectural spaces create distinct memories and span time?

Image credits: DearPhotograph.com

Soothing and sometimes discordant sounds have recently floated along the Kattegat coast for the past month, a part of Aarhus, Denmark's version of the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. Throughout the most of June, this outdoor sculpture exhibit took place along an almost three mile seaside stretch of the Jutland peninsula. With over sixty-five pieces, the event brought in thousands upon thousands of visitors and provided countless hours of enjoyment and thought. Perhaps one of the most intriguing events was Chimecco by Mark Nixon of CZWG Architects. This artist/designer from London constructed an interactive sculpture that highlighted the convergence between natural and human movement.

Six-hundred gold-anodized aluminum pipes were suspended beneath a red, wooden foot bridge that crossed a gully adjacent to the shore. Having a uniform diameter of a little less than two inches and ranging in length from four-and-a-half inches to over twelve feet, these pipes hung between the bridge's wooden planks, attached with raised, spring-loaded screws. The golden metal chimes followed the contour of the gully and, hidden from the pedestrians' views, only their sound alerted people to their presence.

Moving with the wind, they acted as wind chimes and the spring-loaded screws also allowed visitors to "play" the peal by pressing down on the raised bolts as they strolled on the bridge. As well, event planners encouraged exhibition goers to voyage beneath and move the humongous sculpture by hand. Mr. Nixon sought to inspire both play and conversation within people with these beautiful, hidden chimes yet he also succeeded in displaying a glorious, interactive work of art.

Follow the link to see three different 360° views of the exhibit >

Image credits: Pokk.Se, Dezeen.com, Trendhunter.com

A simple concept, multiplied exponentially, can often have breathtaking results. We came across this great post over at DesignSponge. To decorate the HeARTbeat party presented by a non-profit group called ArtsFund which helps support over sixty art groups by coordinating donations exceeding two million dollars, event planners Matthew Parker Events utilized more than 1,000 used pieces of paper destined for the recycle bin.

Since ArtsFund is based in Seattle and receives generous donations from Boeing, the event planners' ideas went aerial, folding old newsletters originating from the non-profit's offices into paper airplanes. The aircraft hung on wire and converged towards the front stage, being illuminated by warm-colored lights that cast wonderful and striking shadows on the room and party goers during the event.

We applaud Matthew Parker Events for utilizing materials one more time before their date with the recycling center but wonder how long it took to fold over 1,000 paper airplanes without the help of local school children!  The project illustrates that a simple surface with deliberate lighting effects and a delicate suspension system can create dramatic spatial impact.

Image credit: Design Sponge

Make sure to wear surgical gloves and a hospital mask if you ever have the fortune to visit a Pieke Bergmans display. Her works have an infection that runs rampant through the crystal she hand blows. The disease twists and mutilates water carafes, vases, and crystal light "bulbs" of her Design Virus collection into shapes that don't belong in the ordinary world, taking mundane forms and making them into something organic, alive, and flowing.

Resting on office furniture, hanging in defiance of gravity, or scorching a table with their fever, her LED light "blubs" ignore conventional doctrine and defy the shapes to which we have accustomed ourselves. The vases lie in all different places and even lounging in a puddle seeking relief.

We enjoy the work of this Dutch artist and cannot wait to have an infected lamp blistering the studio desks at our office.

Image credits: PiekeBergmans.com

We always admire innovative engineering, and few companies can rival Bose when it comes to originality and iterative design. Whether designing astonishing sounds systems for homes and automobiles or making extremely effective noise-cancellation headphones, Bose delivers. Few realize that for the past several decades this company has been patiently developing a patented suspension system for automobiles. Since the early 1980s, Bose has toiled to design the science of the perfect system, all the while waiting for technology to catch up to the idea.

While some may question how a company specializing in audio products could make the jump to car suspension, this ignores the passion of company founder Dr. Bose. His fascination with the equipment began when he bought a brand-new Pontiac Bonneville in 1957. The air-ride suspension intrigued him and he later bought a Citröen ten years later that was similarly equipped. Though susceptible to break-downs, the unique system inspired Dr. Bose to find the solution to a common automotive problem. To make a ride that feels smooth to the passenger, one must make the coils and shock absorbers loose so that they soak up the bumps and dips that proliferate roadways. This comes with a sacrifice to handling, making the car feel like a ship sailing the seas. Alternately, when one tunes a tight suspension for quick maneuverability, every pebble and nick in the road travels through the car and up to the passenger.

The result could be called nothing more that extraordinary, one of the most important developments since independent suspension. The system allows for tight cornering with virtually zero sway. The body remains level during braking and accelerating, experiencing little to no diving or squatting. A bane for speed bumps, the car's chassis barely feels the energy from driving over rough and uneven roads. Watch the whole video below all the way to the end and you'll see the car literally hop over an obstruction, even performing a bow at the end of the demonstration. Throughout the video you'll see side by side comparisons with an auto sporting the conventional suspension system. The results speak for themselves.

Image credits: Bose.com

Update: new field photos and video from our 1828 L Street project

Original blog in [italics] below posted in April 2011

[Contact closures, relays, Cue servers, DMX decoder units, din rails… if you’re a conceptual designer, you’re probably not too interested in what those mean, but when implemented through a thoughtful electrical engineering process, these items can add a whole new element of fluctuation to your spaces.

Imagine synchronizing the vertical movement of an elevator with a lighting effect that “speaks” to the waiting patrons. At the renovation of 1828 L Street in Washington, D.C., lighting designers MCLA and architects DEP Designs envisioned a full scale elevator lantern that capitalized on the dynamics of time and movement (fitting for an elevator lobby). The elevator call lanterns take on a modern architecture with full height panels of backlit glass. Goodbye, standard call buttons!

Standard Elevator Indicator Buttons - small scale, appear "additive" to the architecture (Image Credit: robinsonsmay) 

Re-designed Backlit Lanterns - large scale, integral to the architecture

The design intent was to have the elevator lanterns illuminated at a dim level at all times. When the elevators descend to the main lobby at the first floor, the lanterns slowly brighten up to 100%, signifying the arrival of the elevator cab.  Pretty cool visual reinforcement of movement!

Custom controls by GPI sync the elevator control system with our Flat-Lite™ LED panels

Only one of the elevators descends to the basement; the designers wanted the lantern at this elevator to illuminate in a red color. At this area, GPI designed a dual-illumination red and white LED panel to backlight the glass. The colored and white settings were engineered to be controlled independently. When the cab is above ground, the lantern remains white like the others. The relay to the red LED string only fires when the elevator drops to the basement level, at which time the LED panel changes to its red hue.

Flat-Lite™ LED panel on white and red settings

This is just one job that goes to show the value of integration when it comes to backlit features. As you’ll often hear us advocate, to have a truly well-executed backlit feature, it’s much more about the LED panels themselves. In this case, the LED panels were properly designed to both seamlessly illuminate the surface and interface with the existing elevator control system, for a lighting effect that strengthens the architecture. The challenges of the project were perfectly suited for our team and we’re looking forward to publishing the final installation photographs soon!]