update (photos) on tesla’s first battery swap station.
update (photos) on tesla’s first battery swap station. three hours southeast of san francisco close to being finished. via gigaom [RK]
update (photos) on tesla’s first battery swap station. three hours southeast of san francisco close to being finished. via gigaom [RK]
Lamborghini showed off a future plug-in hybrid concept car, the Asterion LPI 910-4 in Paris in September. With 910 horsepower, this is no wimpy green mobile—more gesture than environment changer. The exterior offers an experiment in how Lambo might evolve beyond its contsricting, over macho design language of rough facets.
‘There is enough plastic in the sea to circle the world three times’, says Studio Swine. They wish to embark on a voyage into the North Atlantic Gyre with a solar 3D printer, turning ocean plastic into bespoke furniture – made at sea from the sea.
Studioswine works across many disciplines from interiors to branding. Central to their practice is the notion of research led design as a tool for placemaking in a globalizing world. Swine is founded by Azusa Murakami and Alexander Groves. This project will be funded on Friday 10 Oct 2014 1:01 AM CDT on [ kickstarter ]. There’s still seven days to contribute.
date> 18 september 2014 | 6:30p CST
>the lecture is being webcast. [ link ] password: wilsonart
grace jeffers to give closing lecture entitled “Man Made Natural” at the 9-city wilsonart roadshow.
the lecture, which is CEU Accredited, will explore our definitions of nature and what we consider natural. it will examine our ill-informed rejection of man-made material and illustrate how they functionally surpass natural materials. more importantly, she reveals how man-made materials are a vital part of the strategy to protect our environment.
@TheGraceJeffers @Wilsonart #Cre8tivity #ManMadeNatural.
On 6 August 1882 this printing press produced copies of Le Chaleur Solaire (Solar Heat) by Augustin Mouchot, a newspaper that he created in the Tuileries Gardens, Paris, for the festival of L’Union Francaises de la Jeuenesse. It printed 500 copies an hour, using solar thermal technology.
Solar power and the electric car are not new. Designers and engineers, as early as 1870, were creating working prototypes from Cairo to Boston. Over 500 electric cars were registered in Boston in 1902. In Paris in 1870, a solar powered printing press printed over 500 newspapers an hour.
What stopped this innovation? At that time, new technology driven by oil and war. Large ships, planes, and tanks were developed to be powered by oil. According to author David Thorpe, “around 1900 there were three types of powered vehicles on the street, each with a third of the market: steam-powered, electric and gasoline.” In 1900, early champions of the electric car argued that it was safer (gasoline engines at the time risked explosion) cleaner, noiseless, and unlikely to cause environmental problems. Much has changed in the past 100 years, and this storyline has sustained.
1900 columbia electric omnibus
library: private members club / see below
[ exhibitions | installations | open houses ]
event> [ ama 2014 ]
venue> v&a | cromwell road SW7 2RL | south kensington tube | 10a > 5.45p
info> Michael Anastassiades in collaborates with Flos presenting lighting installation Ama, made by mouth blown opaline spheres and brass. An appreciation of the pearl diving mermaids of Japan.
event> [ disobedient objects ]
venue> v&a | cromwell road SW7 2RL | south kensington tube | 10a > 5.45p
info> As the central hub location for the London Design Festival for the sixth year, the V&A will again house a broad range of commissioned activity which will be spread throughout the Museum and include installations, events, talks and workshops.
event> [ Double Space for BMW – Precision & Poetry in Motion ]
venue> venue> v&a | cromwell road SW7 2RL | south kensington tube | 10a > 5.45p
info> The exhibit is a kinetic sculpture created from huge reflectors measuring around 10 x 15 meters. One side is flat and the other is like a lens, reflecting the gallery in differing ways as they move in a choreographed fashion.
event> [ high street highline camden collective ]
venue> collective | 26 camden high street | 10a > 5p mon>sat
info> Collective invites artists and designers to produce temporary installations for the roof tops of Camden High Street. We explore the creative possibility of these vacant upper corridors and offer an alternative perspective, taking inspiration from New York’s regeneration project, ‘The High Line’.
event> [ library: a private member’s club ‘open house’ ]
venue> 19 greek street | 122 st-martins lane, covent garden WC2N 4BD | charing cross tube | 10a > 6p
info> Designed by Marc Peridis of 19 greek street, LIBRARY is London’s new member’s club targeting an intellectual elite of architects, interior designers, writers, playwrights and more. Opening in September, the exclusive club will open it’s doors to the public For the duration of LDF.
event> [ louis kahn: the power of architecture ]
venue> design museum | shad thames SE1 2YD | london bridge tube | 10am – 5.45pm
info> The American architect Louis Kahn is one of the great master builders of the 20th Century. In this exhibition, discover how Kahn created a modern form of expression for the eternal and essential qualities of architecture.
event> [ off | cut ]
venue> | fritz Hansen showroom | 13 margaret street W1W 8RN | oxford circus tube | 10a > 6.30p / wed 10a > 9p
info> an experimental, deployable structure that investigates the inventive re-use of Fritz Hansen’s material waste. Designed by Chung Tyson Architects.
event> [ open studio ]
date> 20 september | 11a > 6p
venue> sebastian bergne studio | 2 ingate place SW8 3NS | queenstown Road station |
info> Sebastian Bergne will be opening his studio to visitors. Displayed in the context of his working environment will be new and old projects for the arrangement of flowers.
event> [ space and light ]
venue> sir john soane’s museum | 13 lincoln’s inn fields WC2A 3BP | holborn tube |
10a > 5p tue/sat
info> A pop-up exhibition inspired by Sir John Soane’s use of space and light. Leading contemporary designers and artists, including Ab Rogers, Paul Schutze, Sebastian Bergne and Tiipoi install their work in the Museum’s historic interior.
[ party! ]
event> [ heal’s tottenham court road party ]
date> 17 september | 6 > 9p
venue> the heal’s building | 196 tottenham court road SW2 4DR | the goodge street tube |
tesla selects Nevada to host electric vehicle gigafactory. fundamental change in large scale battery production would be running by 2017. via abc news [RK]
Five teams in five cities: Chicago, New York, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle – competed to redefine the category of the urban bicycle. On 4 August 2014, the winner is… ‘Denny’. The voting period lasted a week and over 136,000 voters selected the winner. They are no losers here, all pretty cool bikes.
Denny (Seattle) wowed voters with its ingenious handlebar lock design, unique fender system, automatic shifting and modern styling. “It’s inspiration? The diverse community and unpredictability of our home, Seattle. From the auto-shifting electric assist, smart reactive lighting, integrated locking and the redefining of the fender, we’ve created the purist biking experience possible for Seattle riders. Now you don’t have to worry about the hills, rain or an impromptu ‘farmer’s market’ trip. [ Teague ] x [ Sizemore Bicycle ]
blackline | chicago
Blackline (Chicago) takes its name from Chicago’s iconic elevated train lines that run throughout the city, non-stop. A custom smart handlebar with integrated LED headlight and side blinkers utilize GPS enabled turn-by-turn navigation and be securely tracked using a connected smartphone app. The virtually maintenance-free drive train utilizes a sealed 3-speed hub and belt drive, designed to endure the extreme conditions of rural Africa the daily commute in the harshest winters. [ Minimal ] x [ Method Bicycle ]
merge | nyc
Merge (New York) is inspired by the variety of cycling needs in New York City, a tough proving ground for an urban bike. Merge is a compact and nimble ride, offering its rider confidence when navigating tight spaces. Merge’s thoughtfully designed features include cargo, lighting, security, and a USB charging port. [ Pensa ] x [ Horse Cycles ]
solid | portland
Solid (Portland) is inspired by the diverse beauty and soul of Portland’s urban energy and raw beauty of its surrounding forests. Solid is the first connected (“Discover My City” mobile app) 3D-printed titanium lifestyle bike, capturing the essence of the city and the best of both worlds – hand-built craft and modern manufacturing. [ Industry ] x [ Ti Cycles ]
evo | san francisco
EVO (San Francisco) is a hybrid blending utility of a city bike with robustness and geometry of a mountain bike to satisfy the city’s diverse lifestyle and terrain. An innovative plug-and-play quick-connect mounts enable users to rapidly attach or detach cargo accessories, ranging from a child seat to different racks for carrying everything from groceries to surf boards. Inspired by San Francisco’s famous towers and bridges using 3D-printed steel lug and tube construction. [ Huge Design ] x [ 4130 Cycle Works ]
[ The Bike Design Project ] a pioneering bike design competition which partners five high-level design firms with American bicycle craftsmen to create the Ultimate Urban Utility Bike. The 2014 competition includes teams from the city of Chicago, New York, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle. The winning design will be will move into production with the competition’s Manufacturing Partner, Fuji Bikes, for its retail debut in 2015. “The Bike Design Project” teams created their unique vision of tomorrow’s bicycle for the everyday rider with innovative designs and features that benefit transportation cycling.
[ Oregon Manifest ] exists to celebrate and amplify bike craft, design and innovation. They provide an independent innovation platform for designers, engineers, craftsmen and makers to collaboratively develop bike designs that can expand transportation options for the everyday citizen. They are a nonprofit organization that values the process of making, the spirit of ingenuity, and the passion of brave undertakings.
richard branson explains why he cut beef from his diet. meat consumption today contributes to global warming and environmental degradation. via ecorazzi [RK]
A new Harley-Davidson electric motorcycle was unveiled Tuesday at an exclusive preview on a closed runway at the former Marine Corps Air Station in Irvine. The name is LiveWire.
LiveWire weighs 460 pounds and is capable of zero to 60 in under four seconds. Harley isn’t saying much about the drivetrain beyond saying the bike uses a lithium-ion battery with a range of 53 miles. It charges in 3.5 hours at 220 volts.
“As a company, we have always been about strength and freedom and power,” Matthew Levatich, Harley-Davidson’s president and chief operating officer, said on the former El Toro airstrip. “So it’s really a question of ‘why not?’ instead of ‘why?’ This isn’t some sort of ploy for us. This is real.”
It’s a pretty big bet by the 110-year-old company who’s built a reputation on power and rebel attitude because this bike is not loud, but quiet. It doesn’t sound like the prototypical Harley—or a “fighter jet landing on an aircraft carrier” as Harley puts it. But the whirring noise of Harley’s electric is in special jarring contrast to the well-known sound of its engines — They won a well-publicized legal action protecting the “potato potato” sound of its Vtwin engine as a design feature and brand element.
Electric technology in the motorcycle world has not kept up with automobiles for several reasons. Motorcycle manufacturers are not required by federal agencies, as carmakers are, to produce a certain number of electric vehicles or to maintain an increasingly low average miles per gallon rate. Also, a motorcycle frame cannot accommodate massive battery packs as easily as a car chassis.
There are well-regarded electric bikes on the road now. Ashland, Oregon-based Brammo has leading-edge electrics, but it’s not gaining market share.
Electric motorcycle industry leader, Santa Cruz-based Zero Motorcycles, produces and sells only a few thousand units a year of its S and SR street bikes.
San Francisco’s Mission Motor Co. bikes can go zero to 60 in three seconds with a top speed of 140 mph-plus. They’re pricey starting at $32K.
An electric motorcycle made by Lightning set a new record at last year’s Pikes Peak mountain race, beating records set by gas-powered superbikes.
BMW is the only major that has an electric two-wheeler in production, a scooter called C Evolution, but not yet available in the U.S.
The big four Japanese bike makers, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki — are believed to be deep into research and development. Electricity might be something every motorcycle manufacturer will have to investigate –just like every automobile manufacturer.
What’s a little interesting is how the company plans to expose LiveWire and see if it will be accepted. They’ve made a number of prototypes to be released around the world starting with New York City Monday, 23 June.
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