http://www.rksdesign.com/index.php?page=gc/gallery10

(…) a collapsible eyeglass and self-encasing system

Foldable Glasses= Opti-gami! Actually all glasses I know are foldable, but these “concept glasses” do something better: they fold in the middle in a way so that the arms encase the lenses, thus protecting them from scratches. One could perhaps argue that as a result the arms themselves are perhaps too big, but the solution is clever and convenient. The whole RKS site worths a visit: they design all sorts of cool products for others, they make some of the best-looking guitars I have ever seen, plus they have coined the term “psycho-aestetics“, in their own words

(…)a proprietary design methodology in which a product’s design creates a promise of physical and emotional benefits to the user as well as guides us to address the product’s key attributes and consumer desires.

… a design that makes you feel better, powerful… that path can only lead to making rock guitars, obviously! XD

a self-sustainable shrimp tank

http://www.eco-sphere.com/home.htm

(…) the world’s first totally enclosed ecosystem - a complete, self-contained and self-sustaining miniature world encased in glass(…) you never have to feed the life within.

The Ecosphere is not only a water tank with a few red shrimp, bacteria, and some algae. Actually, it is the succesful result of serious research on managing closed ecosystems.

In brief, an ecosytem is a community of living beings, plus their habitat. When an ecosystem exchanges energy, but only energy with the outside, it is said to Read the rest of this article »

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/totm/index.php

It is no wonder why Pieter van Suijlekom’s reef aquarium has been chosen as “tank of the month” by the Reefkeeping online magazine. With a lenght of 6 metres and weighing 8000 kg, this is the largest private aquarium I have ever seen, and I guess it must be one of the most impressive ever constructed. (My dentist has an impressive aquarium, too: a very good idea to soothen up the patient´s nerves before the torture). It is so big that a 22-mm thick safety glass sheet had to be custom made by Tetterode Glass so that it could stand the tremendous pressure of the water inside.

The number and kinds of fish and corals lodged inside this tank is by no means less impressive. To mention a few, you will find here examples of Seriatopora hystrix, Poccilopora verrucosa, one Halichoeres chrysus and three Naso literatus (naso literatus? this must be the Cyrano de Bergerac among the fish, I guess). The tank has been accomodated on the second floor of the “Open fireplace Center”, a shop in Vlaardingen, Netherlands. As you may see in the pictures, the room has been fitted with two comfortable armchairs (I have to talk to my dentist about it), and I´m sure that if I lived nearby I would probably grab some popcorn and go to the dock of the tank to watch the fish roll in, instead of spending my money going to the movies.

ps. I have just found the monster-megatank. Still, if not in size, I think that Pieter´s aquarium is much more impressive in terms of style.

Related Article: The minitank!

Related Article: The Ecosphere

http://www.bathsheba.com/crystal/largescale/

The cosmological model for this piece is tuned to match the Sloan Survey, an investigation of all galaxies we can see in one quadrant of the sky. It takes us out to within 1000 megaparsecs of Earth. The survey isn’t finished yet, so you are looking at current research.

Bathsheba Grossman is an artist who finds herself at ease in the convergence between sculpture and science. The subjects of her work, whether mathematical shapes, proteins or galaxies, are by their complex nature impossible to render by means of traditional techniques, which has led her to Read the rest of this article »

http://www.designboom.com/

The tiles are layers of glass and colour fused together, with a specially made LED pcb contained at the back, which illuminates the bubbly texture of the glass.

Great! I´ll never again have trouble finding the bathroom at 4 am! The article doesn´t make any comments on how are the tiles powered and the pictures don´t show any type of plug, so I hope it won´t be necessary to knock down the walls in order to change the batteries
Very nice idea, and practical too. The whole designboom site is just as interesting, whether you´re a contemporary industrial design lover or just want to see some cool, -even useful- stuff.

Related Article: Switched on Air