Populous says :
Incheon Metropolitan City is a world class city, and this will be an innovative design, benchmarked against world’s best practice.

The multipurpose stadium builds on the design developed by Populous for the main stadium for the 2012 Olympic Games in London and illustrates a new level of sustainable design in public infrastructure built for major events such as an Olympics or an Asian games.

The key to the stadium’s success will be reducing it down and linking it into the surrounding parklands, to make it an open accessible building, for its people. This way it can achieve a connection with the community that is vital to securing its long term sustainability and a true legacy for the people of Incheon.

Designer : Populous and Heerim Architects and Planners

[Press Release]

Live life in the fast lane with the XPERIA™ X2 from Sony Ericsson. Designed for those who always need to be connected, whether it’s for business or personal life, the XPERIA™ X2 blurs the boundary between work and play.

London, UK – September 2, 2009 – Today Sony Ericsson announces the XPERIA™ X2 a new Windows® phone that offers a best in class email and multimedia experience. In the modern world where 24/7 communication is key, users can instantly synchronise their mail and calendar and open and edit Microsoft® Office Mobile documents quickly and efficiently to stay connected with colleagues wherever they are.

The XPERIA™ X2 also includes the unique SlideView feature, which provides quick access to frequently used phone activities. Providing quick interaction with contacts, messages, media and more, SlideView gives an overview of missed incoming activity, notifying the user of any missed calls, e-mails and text messages so users don’t overlook an important contact.

With 14 specially designed preloaded XPERIA™ panels and 16 more to download, users can work with no boundaries with the XPERIA™ X2. From Skype, Mytopia and Google™, to games, CNN and Windows Live™, the panels ensure users are up-to-date with what matters most to them. With an improved touch interface and new 3D signature panel users also benefit from flexible desktop panels designed to categorise business, fun and communication features. Just set favourites to appear during certain times of the day and can get the latest news in the morning, YouTube™ at lunchtime and games for the journey home.

Powered by QWERTY messaging, Windows Mobile® users can even show their presentations on the big screen with the TV out cable – the XPERIA™ X2 makes a day at the office a walk in the park.

“In the fast moving world we live in, the need to stay connected has never been so important.” said Sumit Malhotra, marketing business manager, Sony Ericsson. “We constantly rely on our mobile phones as an extension to the office and the XPERIA™ X2 debuting with Windows Mobile® 6.5, allows users to work quickly and efficiently while on the move. The XPERIA™ X2 also features a new range of interactive panels as well as SlideView, which provides quick access to frequently used phone activities – perfect for those who need to see any missed incoming activity at a glance.”

Entertainment is not compromised on XPERIA™ X2. Enjoy amazing multimedia with the 3.2” high resolution touch screen and DVD quality and take advantage of the 8.1 megapixel camera to capture and instantly share experiences with friends and family. Personalise the panels and users can access Facebook™ to upload their party or holiday images and they can chat with friends across the world via Skype. Whether it is music, photography, email, video or gaming the XPERIA™ X2 has it all.

“Windows® phones allow people to manage their whole world – from work to home to play – on a single handset,” said Stephanie Ferguson, general manager, product management, Microsoft Corp. “The XPERIA™ X2 taps the powerful messaging and multimedia capabilities in Windows Mobile® so customers can be in touch, productive and entertained wherever they are.”

With the need to stay connected 24/7 Sony Ericsson has designed XPERIA™ Services, a bespoke and unique after sales package designed to help XPERIA™ X2 users get the most out of their mobile phone. With a specialised technical team standing by to support busy users and talk through the outstanding features the XPERIA™ X2 has to offer users can get help from troubleshooting to how to access their favourite websites. And if their XPERIA™ X2 stops working while they are abroad, XPERIA™ Services can replace the mobile phone via a simple phone call.
XPERIA™ Services really has been devised with the consumer in mind and to help consumers discover more about their XPERIA™ X2.

Live life without boundaries

* Windows Mobile® 6.5 – work on the move easier
* Make the most of the day – flexible desktop panels categorised for life: communication and fun, multimedia, business and internet
* Work without boundaries – instant synchronisation of mail, calendar powered by QWERTY keyboard messaging and Windows Mobile®
* Slide view – quick access to frequently used phone activities and overview of missed incoming activity
* Present documents on the big screen – TV out cable
* Never get stranded – XPERIA™ exclusive travel insurance
* Enjoy amazing multimedia – 3.2” high resolution touch screen and DVD quality
* 8.1 mega pixel camera with Photo light – easily upload images to web albums
* Real 3D panel – 3D effects and zoom, music playback controls

Big business meeting? Arrive charged with the Car Charger AN300 – ultra fast, ultra-safe and ultra-reliable. A perfect accessory for the XPERIA™ X2, it charges 40 per cent faster than most car chargers – just plug into the cigarette lighter and go.

XPERIA™ X2 supports GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSPA 850/900/2100. XPERIA™ X2 will be available in selected markets from early Q4 in the colours Elegant Black and Modern Silver.

Designer : Sony Ericsson

The bicycle is designed to generate energy when riding and this energy can be used as currency to pay for your bus rides. The bike electronically folds into the bus seat storage mode for space and weight efficiency and to fit on the bike stand. Bike stands can be found at the bus stops where the bikes will be stored securely in order to collect energy from the sun and wind. Moreover, it contributes energy to the bus system that was generated during riding and stored in inner batteries. Finally, the energy will be accumulated from all the bus stops into the London Garden network system, which is the Universal Electricity Network of this concept.

Designer : Marten Wallgren, David Seesing, and Miika Heikkinen

Designer : Veritas via [AutoBlog]

[Press Release]
Priestman Goode has designed the new first class suite for airline Swiss.The suite will enter service in April as part of the airline’s new first class cabin. This is in conjunction with a fleet renewal programme that will see Swiss’ Airbus A330-200s replaced with A330-300s. Priestman Goode has previously worked on the interiors of Lufthansa’s intercontinental fleet and the Airbus A350 cabin design. Goode says the consultancy worked with Swiss on the design concept, and then worked closely with the super first class division of US manufacturer BE Aerospace to develop the suites.

He says, ‘BE has a seat mechanism that has been certified and passenger tested, and everything else in the suite is bespoke. We worked closely with BE, at this level you have to be very precise.’

Designer : Priestman Goode

[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

Sergio says “Outside the car industry technologies have been developed in order to regenerate power, like kinetic watches, wind turbine, geothermic energy absorption even a sustainable dance floor is developed that regenerates the energy from the bouncing of the floor.

Around those ideas I designed a car with a central kinetic axis that generates the power of the movement as the vehicle turns like two attached motorbikes.

Second, I thought electrical cars should be designed aiming for sensations and not for speed in order to preserve the batteries longer. At high speed the battery range drop considerably, so this vehicle would provide sensations at lower speeds.

Drivers that have lived in a virtual computer game word that want to drive a vehicle closer to a spaceship, something that can provide them with different sensations.”

Designer : Sergio Loureiro

Designer : Stevie Miles Brewu

Text from the website:
The Freight*BUS is designed for several possible propulsion systems, including batteries that are automatically recharged when the bus stops and the potential for fuel cell operation in the future. Thanks to in-wheel electric motors, the bus can manoeuvre into tight bus stops in a ‘crab’ like movement.

Designer : Hugh Frost via Yahoo

Designer : RenewSolution