No African tree is more recognizable than the Acacia with its prickly canopy that provides shade for wild animals across the savannah. Samuel Wilkinson has borrowed from this arboreal genius to design Nature – an attractive shelter that produces clean energy and an inspired rendevous spot for urban dwellers.
A year after unveiling new Lamborghini patrol vehicles for lucky members of the force, Dubai police are rolling out an eco-friendly electric motorcycle. As far as we can tell – the 15,000-strong police force has purchased just one bike, which they tested at Jumeirah Beach Residence last week.
Colonel Abdul Qader Mohammed Al Banai, Director of Jebel Ali Police Station, conducted the trial and told Gulf Today that the motorbike would be used in patrolling narrow streets and congested districts. The bike will also support security surveillance in traditional markets, shopping malls, historic sites and tourist attractions.
He added that Dubai police were working hard to create a safe, sustainable environment that meets the UAE’s “prominent international standing in regard to conservation of the environment.” So how did their Lamborghini Aventadors factor into that equation?
A staggering 15% of traffic fines issued in Dubai are for driving at speeds exceeding 130 mph, which was part of the logic in buying fancy Italian racecars for their troopers. Energy efficient motorcycles won’t stand a chance in catching speedsters, and they’ll be miserable to operate in scorching UAE summers – but they are the eco-opposite of the force’s last vehicle choice.
Adorable Vespa motorbikes get about 100 miles per gallon of fuel, while a Lamborghini Aventador averages about 13 mpg. Vehicle emissions are comparably skewed. Assuming that more than one eco-bike will be on patrol, this is a tiny step in the right direction.
Radical extremes co-exist in the UAE with apparent success – but in the case of cop cars, perhaps a move to the middle was in order. How many compact electric cars or cheap hybrid cars can you buy for a mildly used Lamborghini?
Espresso machine single serving coffee pods – those fairly newfangled units of specialty grinds – let you be your own barrista. Pop one in your countertop brewing unit and in seconds have a perfect cup of coffee.
What if fashion dolls were made using standard human body proportions? It’s a question that occurred to artist Nickolay Lamm while looking at a Barbie doll and thinking “it looked a little weird.”
It looks like aliens took over the broccoli patch, doesn’t it? Romanesco broccoli is a unique vegetable that looks like a cauliflower gone crazy but has an intense broccoli flavor. It was first grown in Italy and is now available in more European countries, the US, and in Israel.
Posterity may end up migrating from place to place to find food like our nomadic ancestors did if we don’t get a hold of desertification and climate change. To make that easier for desert dwellers, Stephane Malka and Yachar Bouhaya propose the Green Machine – a massive city on tank treads that fertilizes the Sahara as it moves.
Tel Aviv has a lot to offer visitors, including the world’s largest collection of Bauhaus buildings. But for design lovers who are unable to travel to Israel, artist Avner Gicelter has just the thing – a wonderful series of colorful graphics that illustrate each historical gem.
Inspired by José Guízar and his website ‘Windows of New York’, Gicelter says on his website TLV Buildings “I want to share my love for Tel Aviv and its unique and stunning architectural styles.”
Every week the artist uploads a new, very detailed graphic modeled after a specific home or building, accompanied by an address in both English and Hebrew.
To date, the artist has illustrated 23 out of more than the 4,000 Bauhaus structures that give Tel Aviv its nickname the “White City.”
Related: Bauhaus design goes underground in Tel Aviv
They were constructed from the 1930s on by German Jewish architects who fled Germany after the Nazis took power. They have since been remarkably well preserved. So well that the entire city was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.
In 2012, Conde Nast Traveler named Tel Aviv the “World’s Best Cities for Architecture Lovers” and the Bauhaus Center offers regular tours for those who do manage a visit. And it seems the Israeli Tourism Ministry is hoping the site will draw new visitors.
“The recent graphic illustrations provide a lively glimpse into Tel Aviv’s diverse collection of unique buildings,” said Haim Gutin, Israel Commissioner of Tourism, North and South America, “and we hope to welcome a new wave of design-focused travelers in Tel Aviv this year.”
Artist Hikaru Cho transforms ordinary foods into completely different foods, not by culinary skill, but with acrylic paint. She painstakingly camouflages veggies, fruits and even eggs into similarly-shaped but totally different foods. Viewers report they can experience the “surprise” in their mouths!
An invention that 3D prints buildings using sand as a raw material? We knew that someone would put Markus Keyser’s amazing solar sinter tool to good use! This conceptual tower featured above and conceived by a team of Chinese designers imagines a cluster of towers made of sand that are constructed with a solar-powered 3D-printer.
Two designers devised a lid design for trash cans that lures in fruit flies, trapping them in a tiny death chamber – gruesome but, hey, your kitchen will be insect-free. If this could expand to ensnare regular-issue flies, this duo stands to make a mint selling to Dead Sea resorts in Israel and Jordan.
Environmental activists, scientists, and conscious citizens have long known that our current model of unchecked resource extraction, carbon emissions and population growth would end badly. But a recent study using tools developed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center confirms that industrial society is on the brink of collapse.
Lady Gaga – who refuses to be censored – was voluntarily “filtered” during her recent appearance on American TV talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live. Her gaganess showed up in a voluminous white dress, cape and matching hat that looked like bleached (and controversial!) karakul lambskin – but was actually sewn from coffee filters.
Gaga’s frothy white outfit is a creation from the Gareth Pugh Fall 2014 collection, a young Brit designer who often turns to unusual materials such as plastic construction sheeting and paper. When asked about her upcycled dress, Lady Gaga told Kimmel, “You can do anything with your crazy ideas if you just put your mind to it.”
Gaga has rocked feathers, shells, plastic bubbles and of course, meat. But her poker face makes it tough to tell if she knows that coffee filters may be carcinogenic.
Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) has finally signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with US-based First Solar Inc. and the Shams Ma’an Consortium for a 52.5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project – the first such project in the kingdom and one of the largest in the region.
A former flight attendant has grounded himself in Thailand in a masonry dome-home he built in just six weeks. The 500 square foot structure is simply constructed much like a tropical igloo, with cement blocks stepping in for ice bricks. The best part? It cost under $10,000!
Flash floods are very dangerous; they come quickly, often catch people by surprise, and their force is formidable. This is especially true of Israel’s Wadi Zin, a deceptively dry riverbed most of the time. Visitors to the Dead Sea captured rare footage of a recent flash flood – a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
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