Design

Clocky: The Uncheatable Alarm Clock

Clocky the alarm clock
As sleeping-in rates skyrocket, it might be a good time to take some time to re-evaluate your choice of alarm clock. There are plenty of options out there — from the eminently practical to the amusingly gimmicky to the totally sublime — but this one has us slapping our heads in amazement. When Clocky goes off, you've got one chance to wake up. If you go for the snooze, Clocky fires up its wheels and rolls off your night stand to go hide. Yep, it runs away. It's a design choice that can only be described as "bold."

S.S. Great Britain

S.S. "Years of exposure to the elements had taken their toll on Brunel's ss Great Britain -- the world's first iron hulled passenger liner." So the ss Great Britain Trust called on Arup and Alec French Architects to help repair and preserve the "wrought iron fabric of the historic vessel." Looking at the image below, they appeared to have done a splendid job.

S.S.But taking a closer look at the image below reveals something interesting: the ship appears to be floating on a glass sea! After the ship's reparations, the preservation of the hull required a dehumidified environment. This area is located under the false waterline, 50mm () of water sitting atop laminated glass plates supported by horizontal steel joists and glass beams, the latter especially helping to give the impression of the ship floating on water.

Waterless Washing Machine?

Electrolux Airwash

Check this out: The Electrolux Airwash

What is it? A washing machine of course! No, seriously.

It’s a washing machine that doesn’t use water.

This is the information that I got from their website. "Airwash is a waterless washing machine for the home of 2020. Eliminating the use of detergent and precious water resources, it cleans clothes with pressurized air and negative ions - nature's cleansing agent. Its form is inspired by the waterfall, nature?s negative ion generator. Its touch-light interface marries function with emotion, humanizing the often-mechanical experience when handling household appliances. Liberated from the laundry area, Airwash is a symbol of wellness and sophistication, designed for living spaces and focal points in the home."

Element Space Heater

Element Heater

In a research study called Static, the Swedish Interactive Institute has redesigned ordinary household objects using design and energy to communicate to the user a tacit experience of energy use. By involving the senses people are invited to reflect on their energy use and behavior. The “Element” is their version of a space heater.

If your house is heated by direct electrical heating you might not be aware of the tremendous amount on energy consumed. Radiative heaters contain a heating element that reaches a high temperature. Usually packaged with a reflector inside a glass envelope, the inside of these heaters resemble a light bulb, emitting infrared radiation that travels through the air, heating you house. The Element uses traditional, incandescent light bulbs to produce the energy that would normally be produced by your heater. Emitting light as it heats, it becomes a focal point in the home. Open the window on a cold day and it needs to works harder to maintain the heat of the room; all the while glaring at you as it reaches its highest energy use.

Urban Cactus

I know that this Project has been around for about a month. I just recently came across this project designed by UCX Architects. Since the website project description is in Dutch, it's hard to get specific information on this building anywhere on the internet, but I'll share what I've been able to get translated. Urban Cactus will have 98 residential units on 19 floors, and because the project abuts the harbor, the architects chose to give the building a more green, natural feel.
Urban Cactus

http://www.ucxarchitects.com/

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