futuristic-concept=believe?: 27 May 2007

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Fab Tree Hab low-impact house takes the term 'treehouse' literally

Money doesn't grow on trees, but this house does. It's not really built, it's grown over five years, with its supporting trees trained to grow in the right direction with scaffolding holding it in place. Its creators, architects Mitchell Joachim and Javier Arbona, teamed up with environmental engineer Lara Greden to figure out how to grow vines, roots and trees to create a framework for a house that's perfectly normal inside.

After the shell of the house is grown in the right shape, the walls are filled in with mud and plaster, and then the insides of the house are constructed using conventional building materials. The only sticking point so far is the windows, and the designers are now experimenting with transparent plastic materials made of soy they hope will expand as the house's supporting trees grow. Take a video walk-through of the house on the next page.

This modernized grass hut is bristling with green tech, run by solar power, and using a septic system that collects rainwater and then treats and recycles it. Still in the concept phase, the design has no takers so far, but the architects say they're close to their first sale. – Charlie White

PopSci, via Newsweek

Friday, June 1, 2007

Wall clock stripped to the gears

For whatever reason, we all seem to be obsessed with time; whether a timepiece on the wrist, or alarm clock by the side of the bed, timepieces ensure we measure our lives one second at a time. But who says clocks need to be boring?

The Wall Gear Clock by Wil Van Den Bos takes the traditional wall clock and gives it a unique spin by exposing all the moving gears. Instead of hands, the large central gear spins slowly to tell the time. It would be cool if this were an all metal design, but considering the clock is an impressive 22 inches across, that much weight might be too much for wall hanging. If you are ready to throw out the grandfather for the Wall Gear Clock, you'll have to wait until mid-June and be willing to fork over $150. — Stephen Schleicher

Contemporary Heaven, via Oh Gizmo!

Concept Fashion Watch tells time uniquely

Designer Zviad Tsikolia has fashioned the...er, Fashion Watch concept that is made from modern material, featuring an electronic date indicator and a couple of characteristic circles that take over the role of hands. The date indicator, being an electronic display, can be placed virtually any where on the face. The upper zone of the Fashion Watch holds the winding mechanism for convenience's sake as it does not leave any trace on the wrist. I wonder whether the watch designers at Swatch skim through concept designs such as this in order to achieve an "Eureka!" moment for future use in watches.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Independent Music Arts Council of China

Located in an artist commune of Shenzhen, China a proposal for an Independent Music Arts Council of China. A conceptual architectural walk through describing the major components of the interior.

futuristic-sci-fi-01

futuristic-sci-fi-01, originally uploaded by elensarxito.

Oriental Pearl

Oriental Pearl, originally uploaded by dragonroy.

This is the futuristic Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai China as seen from the observation deck of the Jinmao building which stands near to it. The haze in the distance is there pretty much all the time.

Dork Sells Star-Trek Themed Pad For Mucho Loot

Face it. Loving Star Trek is about as dorky as a dork can get. But one Star Trek fan had the last laugh when he sold his one bedroom flat for more than five times the market value. Tony Alleyne sold his home that he transformed into the deck of the starship Voyager for a staggering $843,242 or £425,000.

As you would imagine, transforming your bachelor pad into a flight deck is not an easy (or cheap) task. Tony spent nearly £30,000 and eight-hours a day for two years working on the project. When completed, he went and did what any shrewd businessman would do: he sold it on eBay. Tony hasn’t announced his next project, but a Pirate-themed home would be pretty badass to say the least.

Star Trek fan soldly goes… [MAKE]

Feature: Creative iPod Designs that Never Were

If Apple drew inspiration from fan-made designs, this is what the iPod would look like.

iPT PDA

The iPT PDA features a 100GB hard drive, built-in iSight, Wi-Fi, touchscreen display, and a miniSD card slot.

[Source]

iPod DS

The iPod DS features dual touchscreen displays that allow you to “rearrange everything to create your own look and feel.”

[Source]

iPod C: Apple Card Media Player

Slim enough to fit in your wallet, the iPod C boasts a transparent display and a brushed metal design.

[Source]

hiPod

If Apple made an iPod watch, this is what it would look like, or so we’d like to think.

[Source]

Phillips London Simplicity Event

Phillips London Simplicity Event
Uploaded by bunnybroadcast

Phillips unveils funky futuristic lifestyle concepts to make people’s lives healthier and simpler

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

NTT DoCoMo's forward-looking video overlooks the present

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

We've seen prophets get their agendas past the marketing department a time or two before, but NTT DoCoMo's latest peek into the "future" seemingly forgets to look at what's actually available right now. The lengthy spot showcases how mobile phones will "one day" be even more tightly integrated into our everyday lives, and while the ideas of using mobile-based keychains and passwords, geo-locators, and video telephony are certainly novel, deeming them events of the future seems a bit ignorant. Additionally, it demonstrates the phone's ability to assist with grocery shopping, take care of hailing a cab, act as a tutor, and prevent children from straying too far away -- all of which have either already been implemented or are quite a ways along the development pipeline. Of course, the pen-sized handset with retractable holographic display certainly hasn't hit mainstream channels just yet, but otherwise it seems we're all way ahead of our time. The pseudo-futuristic video awaits you in the read link.

[Via PSFK]

Folding Bike Bag Charges iPods

A backpack that recharges your gadgets isn't even news anymore, but what if it could also turn into a bike? Frag Woodall, a student of University of Technology Sydney, has designed a backpack, called the Everglide, that amazingly is a backpack bike than can charge your iPod.

The backpack can be carried normally, wheeled like luggage or, converted into a bicycle. Instead of utilizing photovoltaics, it charges handheld devices by using "frictionless magnetic dynamo technology." Carbon fiber and aluminum materials make it lightweight and durable. His inspiration for the Everglide came from wanting to address the problems of bicycles being heavy and difficult to store and carry after the user is done riding.

Despite it looking like a funky scooter, there definitely is a need for a convenient bike like this. In any case, it could always be a fun way to power a lightbulb during a power outtage... or your iPod.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Microsoft’s Mystery Product: Game Table? Yah, Probably

Gizmodo’s got word that Microsoft will be releasing “something totally new coming out of the Entertainment and Devices division, and it’s going to change the way people interact with technology.” At first we thought it might be the watermelon Zune Phone, but then we started asking around. Three different internal MS worker bees mentioned it’s likely a game table.

No really, a table for playing video games. It’s partially a throwback to old tabletop arcade games the old-school pizzarias favored. But it also features touch-sensative controls and multi-touch, much like the iPhone. Also expect xBox Arcade interoperability.

We saw a rough prototype when visiting Microsoft’s campus last year, and we weren’t that impressed. The proto we saw, though, didn’t have multitouch as far as we know, so this could be much cooler. We guess we’ll see at midnight.

Top Secret Microsoft Product To Launch At Midnight [The Giz]

Cell Phones That Should Have Never Been Made

Once in a while you come across a cell phone that just looks like it was designed by someone who drew a few shapes and tacked on a keypad, check out a few after the jump.

Samsung/Bang & Olufsen Serene

This strange looking phone by Samsung definitely wasn’t designed with portability in mind. On the bright side, it offers a 2.1-inch QVGA TFT-LCD display, 0.3-megapixel camera, and Bluetooth.

[Source]

Monday, May 28, 2007

futuretech

Foster unveils green utopia in the desert
By Vikki Miller
May 8th, 2007

Foster + Partners says the walled city of Masdar in Abu Dhabi will be the world's first zero-carbon and zero-waste city. Foster + Partners has revealed these images of what it claims to be the first zero carbon, zero-waste city in the world.

The Masdar development in Abu Dhabi is a 6 km sq, car-free "walled-city" scheme. The development is being driven by Abu Dhabi's Future Energy Company and will include a new HQ for the company as well as a new university.

Norman Foster said: "The environmental ambitions of the Masdar Initiative – zero carbon and waste free – are a world first. They have provided us with a challenging design brief that promises to question conventional urban wisdom at a fundamental level. Masdar promises to set new benchmarks for the sustainable city of the future."

Unveiled today at the Cityscape conference in Abu Dhabi, Foster + Partners said Masdar would be a dense, walled development constructed in two stages. The first phase would see the construction of a large photovoltaic power plant, which would later become the site for the second phase.

The surrounding land will contain wind, photovoltaic farms, research fields and plantations, so that the city will be entirely self-sustaining, the architect said.

The development is set to open in late 2009.

SOURCE

Marcedez VAR FACTORY

YDN Design Guide

find out about new creatives in the fields of fashion, music photography, illustration, graphics, film, interior and product design.

Show website: http://www.designguide.tv

Lima_Blood-Sugar-Analyzer

Lima is the new generation of blood-glucose-measuring devices using the innovative non-invasive measurement technology. The diagnosis is painlessly and simply measures blood-glucose without the need to draw blood and without inconvenient, expensive extra supplies. Lima does not require that patients prick their fingers to obtain a sample of blood to test their blood glucose. users only need to place the medical device in the carpus of their hand.