Explanation from Petr:
The exhibit is an active relaxation and rehabilitation bath with special features that permit the changeability of water volume (0-410 L) and provides a pleasant form of relaxation due to its continual and smooth changes to the ergonomical shape of the structure. The bottom contour of the bath adjusts in order to conform to the required position and height of the user. The various geometrical changes to the shape enables the bath to be “shortened” for example, creating a backing for the legs in order to maximize on comfort.

For the purpose of saving on water consumption, one can simply change the depth of the bath so it becomes shallow or select a shape that is most suitable for the user. The changes to the shape of the bath floor can be modified & readjusted anytime. Another wonderful trait of the bath is that it is equally convenient for bathing children, because one can adjust a safe depth of bath, reducing risk of drowning as well as being equipped with soft finish of the base. In addition to creating minimal dimensions, the bath itself can be used as a baby changing table. Getting in and out of the bath tub is simple and effortless. There’s no need to climb over edges of the bath. This way, it is beneficial for people with physical disability or those completely immobile.

Uniquely, in this bath we can experience an unmissable feeling of soft, rippling of the bath floor during bathing or when having a massage. This is a new form of relaxation which we can daringly refer to as “kinetic therapy”. The type of technology used forms system of 10 pneumatic pistons (compressed air powering pistons) and includes inclinable segments covered with soft upholstery. This lining creates a pleasant feeling without causing pressure on the body even in the case when the bath is low filled or during the filling or draining of the bath tub. The movable segments are covered by special, highly elastic, hygienic and strong foil (used in the concept of BMW Gina. The geometric shape of the head rest can be partially changed and is also made from movable structures, covered in flexible foil. The type of material`s used are synthetic rock (e.g. ceramics, plastic shroud), glass, elastic foil.

Other systems used are classic hydro/air massaging jets capable of being rotated and powered by electric motor. The connection to mains water supply, water outlet, air and hydro massage jet is through flexible hosing. The bottom of the tub is sealed and the whole base can be raised or lowered over a flat surface of the inner side-panels of the bath. That is how water tightness is ensured.

Everything is controlled electronically with a remote control. As a result, it is possible to select filling/draining of the bath, change water temperature, adjust hydro/air massage settings (duration, intensity, cycle program) and change the shape of the bath floor whit comfortably resting in the bath tub. This is done with the help of sensor button on the display of a remote control. The geometry of the bath can be altered simply by means of accessing touch display screen on the remote control. Naturally, the program remembers previous settings and if the conditions allow, the bath immediately fulfills the command of the user. Simultaneously however, whilst making the change, the height of the water surface, its volume and temperature as well as the total water consumption is electronically monitored.

The filling of the bath is possible through water inlets positioned right beneath the head rest, whilst draining is carried out through the segment located in the middle of the bath tub. If we were to come back to the principle of shaping the bath floor, an alternative method exists, which replaces pneumatic pistons and electrically tilted segments with air pouch system (ballonet). In addition, the foil covering the surface of various segments can also be replaced with a variety of other materials available on the market, that have similar properties.

Designer : Petr Kubik

Text from John :
Imagine sleeping while you drive. This notion may sound insane, but it is very possible with the Saucer. The world today is growing at a very fast pace and will continue to do so, meaning that people will not have enough time for anything and sadly that includes our precious sleep-time. Just to mention a few, perhaps you often have late nights from work and are too tired to drive or you need to get to an appointment, which is hundreds of miles away, early as possible the next morning or maybe you were invited to a party, but too drunk to drive back home. This is where the Saucer comes in…

Of course, the vehicle is not designed for an alcoholic individual or to cure insomnia, rather it is designed for those with very busy lives that leave them with little or limited sleep time.

The Saucer is a self-driven vehicle with a single size bed arrangement, where the driver is no longer the driver and instead take the time to sleep as he/she travel to his/her destination. This unique vehicle is especially targeted at night-shift individuals who are a long way from home. Simply put, if you’re feeling too tired to drive, don’t leave home without it.

The interior is soundproof and is equipped with a set of programming consoles that self-drive the vehicle. Even when awake, while traveling to your destination, there is enough room for you to lay back and relax, and keep yourself busy. Perhaps reading a magazine or newspaper, or simply turning-on some entertainment. A medium-size cargo compartment is also integrated at the rear end of the vehicle where you can store up some of your gear, such as a briefcase or a suitcase. – inspired by the Alien Flying Saucer.

Designer : John Bukasa

Text from Rafael :

Problem
To develop a plant system, for a circular house, based on the silver generation theme, that would bring a comfortable time for the couple together during cooking, with a healthy life concept behind.

Concept
A product that can help them at the kitchen, integrate the environment (kitchen at the middle of the circular house), providing a healthy life style with organic foods, making the cooking moment easy, simple and fun. A hydroponic indoor system witch the aim is to rescue the pleasure of growing and prepare our own food without working hard or spend so much time, exploring the shape of the DNA molecule, the grow of a new life. The product is made simple, two vertical metal tubes where the germinated seeds of the plants are placed into some small holes around the tubes. A net hold it till it starts to grow.There also a light system, with a mobile light focus that can be programed along the path where it moves, providing the right time of light for certain plant. The hydroponic process is based on the NFT hydroponic system, a active process where a solution with nutrients its bombed from a deposit to the culture channel. Part of the root of the plant its getting a constant water flux, while the other part is in direct contact with the humid air.

Justification
Sören and his wife have not so much time together, so when they are able to have a meal at home, his wife likes to prepare it herself, with calm and love. This rare moments that the couple have together are the main point that this project explores.

Materials and Fabrication Process
3 Metal tubes; 2 running from top to bottom of the kitchen, 1 that works like a path for the light. The tubes have a shape conformation, till it reaches the shape of the DNA. They have small connexions outside the house that makes the water flux works in a cycle, with a bomb to provide this. A small programed engine makes the movement of the light along the third tube, right on the middle of the structure.

This project was based on a briefing of the International Design Award (IDA2009).

Designer : Rafael Fernando and Débora Nogueira

The economical mass-production design of e-Bin includes high quality carbon fiber sheets, making it strong, durable, lightweight and suitable for all weathers. It doesn’t require an electricity source since it uses solar power for its touch screen lid. An administrator needs to be logged in to customize the different settings of the smart bin.

Designer : Baharash Bagherian

From the website:
JS BACH / ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS CHAMBER MUSIC HALL AT MANCHESTER ART GALLERY FOR MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL.Zaha Hadid Architects have created a unique chamber music hall specially designed to house solo performances of the exquisite music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

A voluminous ribbon swirls within the room, carving out a spatial and visual response to the intricate relationships of Bach’s harmonies. As the ribbon careens above the performer, cascades into the ground and wraps around the audience, the original room as a box is sculpted into fluid spaces swelling, merging, and slipping through one another.

“The design enhances the multiplicity of Bach’s work through a coherent integration of formal and structural logic. A single continuous ribbon of fabric swirls around itself, creating layered spaces to cocoon the performers and audience with in an intimate fluid space.” said Hadid.The process of realizing the design involved architectural considerations of scale, structure and acoustics to develop a dynamic formal dialogue inseparable from its intended purpose as an intimate chamber music hall.

A layering of spaces and functions is achieved through the ribbon wrapping around itself, alternately compressing to the size of a handrail then stretching to enclose the full height of the room. Circulatory and visual connections are continually discovered as one passes through the multiple layers of space delineated by the ribbon.

The ribbon itself consists of a translucent fabric membrane articulated by an internal steel structure suspended from the ceiling. The surface of the fabric shell undulates in a constant but changing rhythm as it is stretched over the internal structure.It varies between the highly tensioned skin on the exterior of the ribbon and the soft billowing effect of the same fabric on the interior of the ribbon. Clear acrylic acoustic panels are suspended above the stage to reflect and disperse the sound, while remaining visually imperceptible within the fabric membrane.

Programmed lighting and a series of dispersed musical recordings activate the spaces between the ribbon outside of performance times. The installation is designed to be transportable and re-installed in other similar venues.

Pivotal to its function is the performance of the ribbon. It has been designed to simultaneously enhance the acoustic experience of the concert while spatially defining a stage, an intimate enclosure, and passageways. It exists at a scale in which it is perceived as both an object floating in a room as well as a temporal architecture that invites one to enter, inhabit and explore.

Designer : Zaha Hadid Architects via Dezeen

How it works:
The Capshell is a medication storage device that records when medication was taken and alerts the user at the correct intervals programmed by the pharmacist. If not attended to, then via Bluetooth an SMS alert is sent out to the users phone.

The outer shell slides round, revealing the corresponding opening for the time of day. This eliminates the use of the pinch grip by enabling the medication to easily fall into the palm of the user’s ready hand.

The user reloads the Capshell daily by removing the inner capsule and replacing it with a new one. Each capsule holder has the name of the day on the circular end.

The memory chip in the casing records what time the case has been opened. This information is logged for reference so that the health care professional can monitor if needed. The following week, the user returns to the pharmacist to reload the containers and the pharmacist can check the data. The pharmacist checks whether the user has been able to access the medication and at what times, and whether the user has missed any intervals.

A doctor would also be able to check the device for the same purpose. The recording device in the product assists the doctor in keeping accurate patient records. If the patient’s symptoms have not improved with a prescription, the doctor can discover whether it is due to the choice of medication or if it because of incorrect medical adherence on the patient’s behalf.

Designer : Steven Grech

Patrick’s own words :

Due to the growing number of private hand research facilities, the erratic spread of innovation in nanotechnologic increases, before ethic guidelines can be set up by governments. I use a critical and critical picture to point out a topic-related vision of our world in 40 years. The study’s fundamentals in technology and science are based on literature and ongoing science forecasts by well known scientists, to not drift off into science fiction but to create a reliable vision.

Because one can still argue about assets and drawbacks, this topics needs to be displayed as transparent as possible, in order to encourage designers to look into the subject and deal with it in a responsible way.

The nDoo’s powerful (autonomous) capacity to act represents not only the subject of nanotechnology, but also every new and extreme kind of innovation. The contrast within this concept is the nDoo’s medical ability to heal. On the basis of this gap, the concept aims to show the explosiveness and ethical-moral arguments of the subject.

The nDoo is a medical, autonomous communication device which serves as an interface between humans and nanobots in their bloodstream, constantly monitoring all body functions and keeping up a steady exchange with an up to date database of all diseases and therapies. The nDoo forwards commands to the nanobots or writes his own code. Humans can access information about their state of health and the nanobots’ activities via a three-dimensional hologram. The visualization happens in nDoo’s floating position. While in passive mode, the nDoo can be carried like a hand-held computer.

Nanobots act as a self-organized swarm, swimming through the body’s bloodstream – powered by a nano-engine – able to localize, reprogram, destroy or mark cells, viruses etc. The nDoo serves as an extension to the immune system, detecting possible viruses at an early stage and preventing diseases. Even the emotional situation and human senses can be analyzed and influenced autonomously. Humans are accompanied by nDoos from the cradle to the grave. Energy is transfered by an electromagnetic field.

Designer : Patrick Decker

Designer : BSC Architecture

[Press Release]
The future headquarters of Antwerp Port Authority will be designed by the London firm of Zaha Hadid Architects. The choice of architect was made at the Port Authority board meeting on 13 January. The new Port House will occupy the site of the technical services building on quay 63.

The Port Authority aims to make its operations more efficient by centralising the administrative and technical services which are now divided between the Port House and quay 63. The new headquarters will also solve the pressing shortage of workspace in the present Port House on the Entrepot quay. Some 500 people will be able to move into the new building when it is completed in 2013.

In addition to offering better accommodation, the future Port House will contribute to further development and upgrading of the part of the city known as Het Eilandje. The brief for the new building specified that it had to symbolise the Port of Antwerp as a world port and economic driver of Flanders and the Antwerp area. It also had to be built according to the principles of sustainability.

In selecting the architect it was decided to use the Open Call for Tender procedure of the Flemish Government Architect’s team. The procedure was launched in December 2007, and nearly 100 architectural firms responded. A shortlist of five firms was chosen:

• Consortium of TV A2O Architecten / Atelier Kempe Thill / Marcq & Roba / BEG from Hassel, Belgium
• Vier Arquitectos from La Coruña, Spain
• Xaveer De Geyter Architects from Brussels
• Zaha Hadid Architects from London
• Rapp + Rapp from Rotterdam

The jury/board of directors finally opted for the proposal by Zaha Hadid Architects, because:

• The design preserves as much as possible of the dignity of the present building as a monument, adding a new object to the site;
• The board and its advisors had confidence in a team such as Zaha Hadid Architects being able to further develop the project so as to achieve a high quality end result that can act as a “shop window” for the Port Authority.

The estimated construction cost is 31.5 million euros excluding VAT and architect’s fees. This includes all the work for an office building with around 12,000 m² of floorspace for around 500 people, together with underground parking for 300 or so cars.

The new building fits in with the Port Authority’s future-oriented investment policy. At the same board meeting it was also decided to purchase four tugs as part of a renewal series of nine. And of course there will be further investments in infrastructure for expansion and renovation of the port. The various Flemish port authorities are currently holding discussions with the Flemish Government about financing for basic port infrastructure.
The new Port House forms part of a programme of improvements to the Port Authority’s own buildings. In addition to various renovation and new construction work that has already been carried out, a public call for tender has been issued for the new VTS (Vehicle Traffic Service) building beside the Zandvliet lock.

Design proposal

The design team from Zaha Hadid Architects proposed a very dynamic architecture that strikes up a dialogue with the Oosterweel road link, with the Lange Wapper bridge forming a backdrop to the New Port House. With its unique design, its facade architecture and its height of 46 metres, the new Port Authority will be an iconic building, visible from many different directions.

The concept is a free interpretation of a beam-shaped volume raised above the existing fire brigade building and supported on three sculptured concrete pillars housing the stairs and lifts. Two of the pillars are situated on the covered inner courtyard of the firehouse, while the third is located beside an external support point and consists of a panoramic lift shaft.
The new volume is oriented North-South parallel to the Kattendijk dock. The head of the building on the South side is a frame that looks towards the city and clearly marks the start of the port area.
The outside walls are made up of glass triangles, some transparent and some reflecting. These do not all lie in the same plane but are rotated slightly with respect to one another, creating an attractive reflecting play of incoming light in a reference to Antwerp’s diamond industry.

The present firehouse will be kept free of building all around, so that the four outside walls will be fully respected. As for the arrangement of the inside spaces, consultations will be held with Flanders Real Estate Heritage and the Monuments department of the City of Antwerp to determine whether open-plan offices (as laid down in the schedule of requirements) are possible, either partly of throughout.

The inner courtyard will be roofed over at the height of the second story so as to create an air-conditioned inside space. This central entrance hall will be considered as a semi-public space, with various enquiry desks (Personnel department, Harbourmaster’s Office, Planning Permission & Environment Permit office and Port Dues payment desk) integrated in the inside wall portals.

A sculptural, sloping roof unites an underground lobby with the covered inner court. Access to the underground car park is an important aspect of the overall concept, with the loading & unloading bays and the refuse handling facilities also located here. The car park has space for 300 or so cars and consists of a single underground level. The design of the square can be arranged so that daylight is allowed to enter. The above-ground layout forms part of a design project that is being carried out in consultation with the city departments responsible, with the main imperative being to “preserve the visual quality of the outside spaces in the Het Eilandje area.”

The open plan offices are indeed very open, so that office staff will have a great impression of space with a view along the various outside walls. The concept for the open plan office also allows for small areas in which to hold meetings, along with separate study offices.

Designer : Zaha Hadid Architects via Bustler

Here is some info from Zaha Hadid Architects:

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Site Analysis

The Farrer Court site is located in a strategic position within the residential area of Singapore, close to the amenities of Holland Road and the future MRT station. The absence of high rise buildings in the near surroundings and direct connection to the main traffic route of Farrer Road make this a prestigious and highly visible site across the whole city.

Site Proposal

ZHA’s Proposal for the Farrer Court site is generated by the study of the existing alignments and the main axis surrounding the site, which are brought in and connected to generate a series of construction lines highly connected to the neighbourhood. The ground landscape level is visualized as a very green layer, which wants to emphasize the presence of florid vegetation in the Singapore’s climate.

The site levels are re-organized into a series of terraced plateaus to maximise the area dedicated to communal site amenities. The orientation and placement of the buildings is optimized in relation to the local environment as well as to maximize views out towards the surrounding city and landscape.

Building Proposal

The program is organized into 7 towers, which grow from sunken private gardens within the site landscape. The lower floors kink in to highlight the point where buildings meet the ground, enabling yet a greater open area and the creation of highly private gardens which are quite unique given the scale and density of the development. The towers are subdivided into petals according to the number of residential units per floor, with a common principle a series of diverse and unique towers can be generated.

The petals are expressed in three dimensions thanks to vertical cuts which give definition to the building’s façades and, at the same time, allow for cross ventilation of most of the flats. The buildings culminate at the top with a series of fingers stepped at different heights, which blend the transition between the architectural fabric and the sky. Through rotating the buildings across the site, and the careful use of balconies and façade panelling a combination of self similar towers produce an incredible amount of diversity across the development.

PROGRAM: 7 high-end residential towers and landscape deck

CLIENT: CapitaLand, Singapore

ARCHITECT: Design Zaha Hadid with Patrik Schumacher

Project Architects Michele Pasca di Magliano, Viviana Muscettola
Project Manager Charles Walker
Project Team Effie Kuan, Bozana Komljenovic, Sophie Le Bienvenu, Helen Lee, Kelly Lee, Evan Erlebacher, Ludovico Lombardi, Annarita Pape schi, Hoon Lee, Clara Martins, Dominiki Dadatsi, Eleni Pavlido Federico Dunkelberg, Gorka Blas, Loreto Flores, Hee Seung Lee, Feng Lin, Jose M. Monfa, Sandra Riess, Selahattin Tuysuz, Zhong Tian, Ta-Kang Hsu, Emily Chang

CONSULTANTS: M&E Engineering (Concept) Max Fordham, London

Landscape Architect (Concept) GROSSMAX, Edinburgh
Local Architect RSP, Singapore
Structural Engineering Maunsell, Singapore
M&E Engineering BECA, Singapore
Landscape Architect ICN, Singapore
Quantity Surveyor DLS, Singapore

SIZE: Gross Floor Area 220.000 sqm towers + 70.000 sqm basement

Height of towers 150m

Designer : Zaha Hadid Architects via Dezeen