Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Cube-Shaped Cloud: Lightweight Tricycle-Pulled Mini-Home

Posted: 08 Jan 2013 10:00 AM PST

The term ‘home’ is used somewhat generously in this context, but if a home’s primary purpose is to provide shelter, it fits – and focusing too much on function in this case would be an easy way to miss the point.

Sure, the Bao House (a play on both Bau Haus and the Chinese word for ‘bulge’) sleeps three, but what is neat about it is its mode of transport – you can tow it along on a trike – and its lightweight visual effect.

Like ultra-light concrete, spray polyurethane foam forms what looks like loose material to the casual observer, lending the piece an air of lightness and simplicity, reinforced by a translucent ceiling panel. So the appearance of lightness is real, but the source of it is not at all what one would expect.

The result is the visual opposite of the material used to mold the hard substance, but the impact is much the same – a surprise to those who reach out and touch it. Design by Dot Architectsand images by Yuming Baia &Vanessa Chen.

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Impossible? Bookshelf With Both Flexible & Fixed Bookend

Posted: 07 Jan 2013 04:00 PM PST

Fixed-end shelving defines the boundaries for your books with no flexibility – bookends on longer shelves, however, always feel somehow additive, sometimes fall over when moved (or stationary), and may not mingle well with your collection. There had to be a middle path – and here it is.

From creators Colleen & Eric, “Your books are no longer in danger of toppling over. Over-sized wing-nut allows bookend to slide into place and be secured wherever it’s needed. Offered in Beech, Walnut and Oak. Water based stain and all natural Shellac finish. Aluminum cube and wingnut powder-coated.”

Right now it remains a prototype, but unlike many more far-fetched and high-tech concepts, this one is a very reachable reality for the designers if there is enough interest in their work.

More about the makers: “Colleen & Eric’s products strive to provoke thought, or at least make you smile, while upholding the highest standards of craft, quality and sustainability. Most of their work is done in-house, using North American grown woods, water-based glues and natural finishes. Outsourced work is done locally, and U.S. made components are used whenever possible. Winners of the NASA/Etsy SpaceCraft contest, an image of their Northstar Table was flown aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor on its final voyage.”