The founder of THIS – a small design company that is distributing a contemporary version of the Miswack, an organic, biodegradable, all-natural toothbrush that could potentially render both toothpaste and toothbrushes obsolete – is launching a Middle Eastern chapter of the AIGA design hub at the upcoming Beirut Design Week.
A belt made of tin. A hat made of cardboard. A dress made of newspaper with DVD and CD accents. These were some of many designs showcased during Qatar’s “long” celebration of World Environment Day starting in May continuing until after World Environment Day on June 5.
A US developer recently approached Barcelona City Hall with plans to build a soaring Dubai-style “Space Hotel” complete with a zero gravity spa, but the city mayor rejected the concept on the grounds that it would create too much of a “spectacle.”
It was only a matter of time: the 3D printing revolution has officially arrived in Lebanon, where artists, architects, and designers are eager to keep pace with Europe and the United States. French Architect Guillaume Crédoz has founded the region’s first 3D printing shop in the Mar Mikhayel neighborhood of Beirut, a bustling hive of […]
Ever wonder what an Arabian lighthouse looks like? Mariners approaching the Red Sea harbor at Thuwal, about one hour north of sprawling Mecca, Saudi Arabia are now guided to shore by a soaring new honeycomb lighthouse designed by the Australian firm Urban Art Projects. Commissioned by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), […]
We have to admit that this isn’t anything particularly “green” about this see-saw, but it does harvest the movement of people to make music. And that’s just downright cool. A temporary installation designed for last year’s Marrakech Biennale, The Rise and Fall blends architecture and art to question how people occupy spaces and how those spaces […]
Build a Better Rubber, They will Come? The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will grant $100k to the inventor of the next generation condom. Condoms have been around for 400 years, with very little improvements over the last 50 years, according to Grand Challenges in Global Health, a research foundation established by the Bill and […]
We are accustomed to writing about art and architecture that addresses environmental and social problems in the Middle East, but nothing as interesting as Larissa Sansour’s Nation Estate has crossed our desk before. Conceived in 2011 when Palestinian authorities appealed to the United Nations for nationhood status, the sci-fi short film and photographic series takes […]
The Sea of Marmara is swamped with plastic pollution and other byproducts of our rampant consumerism, but according to ONZ Architects, the issue is “swept under the carpet” and most residents of Istanbul faced with continued development look the other way. The designers’ strategy to encourage a new awareness involves sweeping that carpet right back out […]
While some designers spend time figuring out how to deal with today’s rampant problems: urban density, water shortages, lack of public transportation in many cities and other pressing concerns, the team behind MAKH Architects have concerned themselves with zombies. More specifically, they have devised a conceptual home for future residents who will roam the globe […]
Three thousand years ago four stone lions guarded a temple in Iraq, but their work was short lived. The Assyrians invaded the city Nuzi and annihilated everything in sight, including the lions and other artifacts. One lion that remained almost intact now lives at University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, while fragments of […]
Concerned to reconnect hands and minds and make a worthwhile environmental impact, a few women from Saudi Arabia are crocheting recycled plastic bags into colorful bean bags and other quality crafts. The founder of Ateeq, which is Arabic for vintage, Diane Rayyan teamed up with crochet master Ishrat Khawja to hold a two day “trocheting” […]
Just when we thought that urban cycling had reached its zenith, Israeli designer Udi Rimon essentially rendered Tel Aviv’s cars redundant with his design of Tel-O-Porter – a genius bike trailer that connects to the city’s shared Tel-O-Fun bicycles. Made of aluminum tubes and stainless steel mesh, the trailer doubles as a hand held cart and […]
This is the fourth time that the Biomimicry 3.8 institute is staging their international design competition and this year they are inviting students to submit water management solutions that take inspiration from nature. Biomimicry is not a well known design strategy in the Middle East, though it is possible to learn what camels and scorpions […]
Farshid Moussavi’s inaugural project in the United States, the sharp Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, is expected to achieve LEED Silver certification if it performs as designed. Born in Iran but currently based in London, Moussavi recently split up with her former work and life partner and beat out a lot of competition to win the […]