Iconic stool turns 80

One of the most iconic and yet simplistic pieces of furniture turns 80 this year.

Artek’s Stool 60 is a familiar sight to many, and it is not really a surprise that this beautifully simple stool was designed by highly acclaimed architect Alvar Aalto. 

The unique design of the stool relies on the fact that it was the first 3-legged stool made of wood, and not tubular steel, with the iconic L-shaped legs taking years to perfect, the result being a simple and stackable stool that has survived the test of time for the best part of a century.

To commemorate the 80th birthday, Artek is releasing a series of the stools in the same colours that Alvar used in his designs at the time of their creation. They are also working with well known architects and designers to produce a new series of stools, with the first ones being released designed by Mike Meiré.  

There is a video showing the creation of his colourful stools below. Read the 80th Birthday press release here.

Dutch architects to build first 3D printed building.

You can't read the news today without seeing something about 3D printers and their possible uses.

Now Janjaap Ruijssenaars of Dutch firm Universe Architecture, is working with the Italian inventor of the D-shape 3D printer, Enrico Dini, to build the world's first 3D printed building.

The project is to create a two storey building, due for completion in 2014, using pieces made by the 3D printer.
It will be made by printing  6 x 9 metre chunks of frame, which will be made of sand and inorganic binder. The frame will be fitted together and then filled with fiber-reinforced concrete, to create a study and solid structure.

Ruijssenaars describes the project as, “One surface folded in an endless möbius band. Floors transform into ceilings, inside into outside. Production with innovative 3D printing techniques. Architecture of continuity with an endless array of applicability.”

Book-less library set to open in Texas

Yes, you read that right, America's first book-less library is set to open soon in Texas.

In a move in-line with the growing trend of using e-readers, iPads and tablets to read books, the library, which will be called BibloTech (a play on the French bibliothèque), will resemble an Apple store more than a traditional library, with not a book in sight, but instead rows of desks and computers screens.

Visitors to the BibloTech in Bexar County, Texas, will be able to borrow ebooks via ereaders, which will be available from the library for a period of 2 weeks, just like a traditional library. To start with, the library will have 100 ereaders, 50 ereaders for children, 50 computer stations, 25 laptops and 25 tablets and, through a deal with ebook providers, has access to over 10,000 titles, a number that they hope will grow substantially as time goes by.

The idea of a book-less library is not completely unique; schools and universities have already started them, but this will be the first one open to the general public.

Canstruction returns to New York

Although delayed by Hurricane Sandy, Canstruction is finally returning to New York City.

The event, which we have featured before on it's trip to London, involves 25 teams of architects, designers, engineers, and the students they mentor,  who are tasked with constructing sculptures out of cans of food, which are then donated to feed the hungry. The event uses over 10,000 cans of food donated by those taking part and the general public, and are distributed by City Harvest.

The event is travelling around North America, and is a fantastic spectacle for both the innovative designs made only from cans, and also the good it does to support those unable to buy food for themselves and their families, including those effected by the hurricane.

The construction of structures for the New York section will take place on the 31st of January and the finished articles will be on display to the public from 1st February to the 11th, with free admission, although visitors are encouraged to bring a donation of canned food. 

Glass farm for Dutch town

After waiting 23 years for their market square to be redeveloped, the people of the Dutch town of Schijndel have an incredible new structure that pays homage to the local farming heritage.

Architects MVRDV noticed that the area put aside by the town planners resembled the layout of a traditional local farm. They used this idea to create a 1.6 times bigger model of a farm, made from glass and printed with images of a variety of different buildings from local farms, taken by artist Frank van der Salm.

The structure isn't just for show, it also houses several retail and business premises on the 1600sqm of Schijndel’s large market square.

Images from MVRDV and Persbureau van Eijndhoven.

It may be time to think about warmer places

After all the snow, cold and miserable weather we've had over the last few days, we think it's time to start looking for a break in warmer climbs.

So where better than the Southern Hemisphere, where they are experiencing much warmer weather. Our favourite destination in the office is currently South Africa, and if you're feeling the same then Moongate Lodge could be just the ticket for you.

Located on the East Coast, and only 10 minutes from Port St. Francis, it boasts some stunning views in a naturally beautiful area.

Find out more at their website here.

10 Ways to optimise your Twitter feed

In the first of a series of Social Marketing pieces, we are going to discuss how to optimise twitter, for either personal or business use.
Below is a list of 10 major ways you can optimise your twitter account and how you use it

1:  Your password
If you created your account many moons ago there is a good chance that your password has not been updated and is not as secure as it should be. Standard tips are to include numbers, special characters, and a capital letter. You can use http://howsecureismypassword.net to test how “strong” your password is.  

2: Your design
Like most social media platforms, you can customise how your profile looks, from background image to “header” image; you can add in your own images or use a site like Kuvva to get access to artistic images. Header images are important for when people look at your profile on mobile, but need to fit in with your background. Your profile picture may need updating too, especially if again, it hasn’t been changed since you set it up.  

3: Your profile info
What do you put here? It can vary in terms of what is best, but generally it is best to talk about yourself in the way you use twitter; What do you tweet about? Why should people follow you? If it’s a professional account talk about your services, and make sure you have a link to your website. If it’s a personal account, make sure if you mention your job to specify that views are your own.  

4: Following / Followers
Just because twitter suggests you follow someone doesn’t mean you have to, likewise if some-one follows you be sure to consider if what they tweet about is the sort of thing you want to read. if you wish to build and keep a good number of followers be sure to make your tweets informative and interesting, especially if you are representing a brand. There is a free online tool to help clear up which accounts you follow – Manage Flitter, it will tell you who doesn’t follow you back, who isn’t active, and if they may be a spam account.

5:  Apps
If you want to become a “pro” user, then use of apps is important. Check your profile to see what is connected to your account, anything that you don’t use get rid of, then try to use something like tweetdeck, a great way to monitor your twitter feed and more without having to click through. Hootsuite is similar, and can provide analytics, but the free version has limitations. There are also some great paid for tools if you wish to go down that route, but read reviews and take trials, make sure it is right for how you want to use twitter. Mobile apps are great for being on the move; twitter obviously has a mobile app as do most web apps.  

6: Links
Whilst twitter shortens links for you, using bitly or even tinyURL will allow you to put more content in as it shortens links to 20-26 characters as standard, and with bitly, you can track clicks, and it’s free.  

7: Getting people to follow you
Whilst a lot of people will follow you back if you follow them, having too big a ratio of who you follow to who follows you can make you look like a spammer, even if you have a fully complete profile. Gain authentic follows by promoting your twitter account; put it in your email signature, on your Facebook, on your blog and even on your business cards. Never buy follows, as it doesn’t gain anything for you.  

8: Messages
Keep an eye on when people message you, remember they can only message you if you follow them and vice versa, so if you work in customer service for a brand, follow people who have an issue and get them to send you a message. At the same time, delete old messages, including sent, and avoid clicking links from people who claim there are dodgy photos of you online or that someone is saying bad things about you, these are viruses/spam.  

9: Engaging
Twitter is not just about tweeting your own thoughts, retweeting shows you value others thoughts and gives them credit for content.  
Using @handles is good practise too for when you are talking about other people, brands or products, liekwise for #tags, these allow for people who don't follow you to see your tweets. Always reply to people when they mention you or favourite your tweets. Following back is also good, but again, be wary, it can be just a way for them to gain followers.  

10: Notifications
Getting emails from twitter left, right and centre? Phone going off every time someone mentions or follows you? That’s fine if it doesn’t happen often, but if you are using twitter a lot you will see all of this, so do you really need emails? Change your settings to avoid this, but be sure that you keep on top of your feed and interactions.

Does a bear wash it's pelt in the woods?

Washing machines these days are one of the bare-necessities of life, or at least that's what Samsung would like you to think with its new ad.

The fantastic ad features their Eco-bubble washing machines, with a filming crew in a frozen landscape, proving that the machine washes "brilliantly", even with the coldest of water, until they are approached by a huge bear.

The bear, after scaring off the crew, begins to disrobe and take advantage of the machine.
The ending is very clever, so definitely worth a watch

Amazing ice photos from inside a building

Photographer Gary Jensenwas asked to snap some incredible photos prior to the thawing of a former cold storage building that was about to be renovated in Chicago. The thawing itself was also caught on video.

The building was the former home of Fulton Market Cold Storage company, and was recently sold to Sterling Bay, who are renovating the building with help from architects Perkins & Will. Before they could start, they had to defrost the enormous storage area that had turned into an icy cavern. Luckily Gary was able to take these incredible photos first. 

See more photos on his website. 

Kit Kat crowd-sourcing a new bar.

In a move to determine a new flavour, Kit Kat has turned to social media to find out which flavour "chunky" bar is most popular between mint, coconut, fudge and hazelnut.

The campaign is similar to one they ran last year, where consumers were asked to vote for their favourite chunky from a selection, via text message. This time round the company is using Facebook as the voting medium.

To vote, you need to go to the Kit Kat page, where there's an app which is 'like-gated', meaning you must like the page before you can vote, then finally you can choose your favourite of the four flavours.

The Facebook campaign runs alongside a television advert, with the flavours given the persona's of superheroes albeit cumbersome ones.

This is a clever use of social media and crowd-sourcing by the company, one that saw peanut butter chunky being voted winner last time around.