The Nihon Uni company a uniform manufacturer in Chuo Ward, Osaka, has developed a T-shirt intended to provide protection against knives, following an increasing number of malicious crimes that have victimized children and late-night convenience store clerks. The company used a slightly thick fiber that is three times stronger as cotton for the T-shirt. The strength of the T-shirt made from ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene fiber is equal to that of aramid fiber used in body armor. The lightweight T-shirt is machine-washable and provides superior protection from slashing attacks. Be careful as the mesh fabric can be punctured by a sharp point.
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Japanese designer Hiroyuki Miyake has a penchant for pumpkin ice cream. That’s one of the roughly 40 flavours available at the Rono ice-cream parlour in Tokyo.
The length of the display case limits the number of flavours on offer at any one time to seven (current assortment: almond-caramel, strawberry, honey, rum-raisin, black sesame, pumpkin and cookie-crunch), and the selection is in part determined by seasonal influences (strawberries happen to be available at the moment).
Ice cream is no minor detail here but key to the whole interior. The floor and walls are covered in tiles the designer describes as deliberately characterless – devoid of colour, texture, reflections. Miyake wanted nothing to come between customers and the happy colours in the tubs, which have the potential to induce a dreamlike state in observers and whisk them off to Italy, the land of gelati. That destination is also evoked by the plain, graphic arch etched onto the glazing to mark the doorway, inspired by buildings the designer once saw on an Italian street.
A sense of dreaminess is also prompted, Miyake explains, by the end wall, whose mirrored surface separates the space from its fictional double, which can be entered only in fairy tales. The apples that line the framed recess in the mirrored wall are another allusion to childhood favourites like ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’.
We have a passion for following future-forward architecture that pushes the envelope of environmental design. Imagine our excitement when we saw these recently released photos of Taiwan’s Next Gene 20! The project challenges 20 acclaimed architects to design 20 villas along the north-east coast of Taiwan. The selected architects include big international names such as MVRDV, Graft, Kengo Kuma, and Julien De Smedt as well as 10 up and coming Taiwanese architects. The designs showcase an impressive array of styles ranging from minimalist modules to elaborate biomorphisms, yet they are all united around the common goal of integrating seamlessly with their environment. These results are the fruit of an exciting cultural exchange, and they provide some cutting edge concepts for the future of architecture.
The Next Gene 20 project was developed by Genuine Group as a way to foster an exchange of ideas between Eastern and Western architects. Each design takes great strides to integrate harmoniously with its immediate environment. The results of this year’s Next Gene20 emanate these ideas with stunning, innovative designs. Above, ‘Floating Courtyard’ by Ray Chen, cuts a modern silhouette with its sleek facade.
