The Helsinki Central Library Oodi, designed by ALA Architects, is topped with large open-plan reading room under an undulating roof punctured by circular skylights. Finnish studio ALA Architects‘ design for the country’s flagship library, which stands opposite the Finnish Parliament, aims to “embrace technology and progressive values to provide a variety of innovative services alongside its lending collection of books.” In fact, the 17,250-square-metre […]

With its tropical climate, Singapore is well-suited to greenery-covered architecture and boasts the award-winning Oasia Hotel and Kampung Admiralty projects. Serie Architects and Multiply Architects’ lush Oasis Terraces is another worthwhile addition to the architecture-rich city state, providing locals with a versatile mixed-use space that contains a community center and health clinics. Oasis Terraces has a total floorspace of 27,000 […]

Acoustic products brand Baux has worked with a team of scientists specialising in biomimicry to create a line of biodegradable acoustic panels, called Baux Acoustic Pulp. Made from a new paper-like, plant-based material, the series of nine panels was developed with Swedish industrial design studio Form Us With Love, in collaboration with scientists from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). The new […]

Russian studio Asketik has designed a cafe with bright white interiors in Moscow, offset with many indoor plants to soften the industrial space. Bloom-n-Brew occupies a former Soviet silk factory overhauled by Asketik, which also led the branding design, including a new logo and menu with a type-based graphic. The cafe’s name refers to the fragrant smell that is released when brewing a fresh […]

Alphabet could be looking to seriously step up its fitness tracking game — no pun intended. According to a report from CNBC, Verily, Alphabet’s “life sciences” organization, is looking for partners to develop shoes that can track fitness by including things like the wearer’s movement and their weight. According to the report, Verily has been showing off prototypes of the design […]

Back in 2016, Nike first announced its HyperAdapt 1.0 training shoes, which automatically tighten their laces around the wearer’s foot. Now Puma is getting in on the self-lacing game, with its Fit Intelligence (Fi) line of footwear. Unveiled this Thursday in Hong Kong, Fi builds upon the company’s earlier AutoDisc system, which never reached the market. It incorporates cables that […]

It’s been 30 years since Marty McFly donned a pair of self-lacing Nikes in Back to the Future II, but sneaker enthusiasts are still dreaming of the day they can slip into their own. Though special edition models have offered lucky individuals a taste of this in recent years, Nike is preparing to launch a new self-lacing basketball shoe for […]

Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo has added the finishing touches to an impressive interior space inside an old railway station, rebirthing it as an “urban living room” known as the LocHal Library. In reality, its a co-working space, library and cultural center rolled into one, styled to make its visitors feel at home through an open and playful layout that honors […]

The Apple Watch Series 4 has been heralded for being the first direct-to-consumer wearable that allows the average person to measure an electrocardiogram (ECG). Cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), this function can help detect atrial fibrillation (AFib) and notify wearers of irregular heart rhythms, potentially saving lives. But the $400 price tag, along with the need […]

It’s always a special moment when wandering around the massive, sprawling halls of CES 2019, you come across something you hadn’t heard of, and didn’t expect to see. That’s how we stumbled on the Oskron smartwatch. Produced by the same company responsible for the Lunar solar smartwatch, it has a party trick to end them all — a screen you […]