Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

Architecture to Explore

Posted: 28 Nov 2016 09:35 AM PST

Conceptualized for the city of Sagres, this architectural wonder called Star-Taker is an homage to Portugal’s exploratory contributions in the Age of Discovery. Set on the tip of the promontory where sailors, astrologers, and navigators set sail to find new lands, this stargazing center’s aesthetic is that of a deconstructed astrolabe (translated “stark-taker”) navigation tool.

When you visit the site promontory, you will start a journey on a single star-path towards the Star-Taker, then rest in constellation squares where you can look up to the stars at night with a similar craving for discovery. Continuing on, you will reach star-paths surrounding the landmark. These paths have brass triangular plates with carvings of various stars and star systems, which point towards corresponding stars at certain times.

You can either go to lookout platforms protruding from the cliff and contemplate open seas; or go inside, walking past the Beacon. The Beacon is not a guiding light, nor it is as bright as the neighboring lighthouse, but it is a reminder to passersby that something worth discovering is here.
Once inside, you discover a stellar theme and after you look outside, you will be reminded that there are new horizons out there, waiting to be discovered.

Designers: Keremcan Kirilmaz & Erdem Batirbek

Jarvis that brews perfect coffee? Yes Please!

Posted: 28 Nov 2016 06:28 AM PST

Coffee isn’t a drink. It’s a hug… And a hug done right can save the day, can’t it! When I say ‘done right’, I mean the entire ritual. None of that coffee-pod Nespresso hokum. A coffee bean is a relic and must be treated as such. The beans need to be freshly roasted, ground, and the coffee then prepared according to the origin and tradition of the beans. Sounds like something your local favorite barista would do, right? How about if that local favorite barista could live inside your home, in your kitchen, making the best coffee you ever tasted? Everyday?

The Spinn coffee machine is designed to bring the entire ceremony of preparing coffee the ‘right’ way, all the way to your home, allowing you to get the best cup of coffee with the simple push of a button right in your home. Spinn takes care of everything and with absolute finesse. It ditches the coffee pod approach for the real deal. Beans. Buy your favorite brew and empty them into the Spinn’s upper tank. The beans are ground and brewed using a proprietary spinning method to extract every bit of flavor from them, giving the brew a creamy dreamy consistency. Even the water used for preparing the brew is nano-filtered to give you sheer quality. The bean you choose also has an effect on the mouthfeel of the coffee and Spinn familiarizes itself with that. Once you empty the beans into the upper tank, Spinn downloads all the recipes it is capable of creating. It uses a spinning cylinder (capable of temperature and pressure control) to agitate the ground beans and water. The cylinder is spun slower for full-cup black coffee, and faster for a shot of espressp (talk about being an expert!). You can have your brews prepared remotely via your smartphone, or even speak to the Spinn telling it what you want to drink. If you’re the old fashioned kind, Spinn comes with a capacitive touch panel that gives you that perfect cup at just the touch of a button. Spinn even tells you when you’re running out of coffee, allowing you to order more of your favorite beans through the Spinn app. Spinn takes care of everything; literally the only thing you have to worry about is curbing your coffee addiction because your brews are so spectacular!

Spinn isn’t just an ace coffee brewer. It’s good for the planet too. Since beans are being manually crushed, there’s no plastic pod disposal involved. Plus, the used coffee grounds work wonders on your soil, making a great pH-neutral fertilizer. Each cup of coffee even works out cheaper because the beans are being crushed by the machine, as per your cup/recipe requirements.

Spinn brings absolute coffee mastery to your home. Everyone deserves the perfect cup of coffee, right? Because coffee is a hug… And a hug done right can save the day!

Designers: Serge de Warrimont & Martin Binkhorst

Buy It Here: $299 $499

Versatile Interior Vibes

Posted: 28 Nov 2016 03:34 AM PST

Simply called “This House”, the point of this interior/spatial design project by Taipei Base Design Center isn’t about style at all. Rather, it’s been thoughtfully designed to check and allocate resources with consideration of the possibilities of this house in the future.

The living room, dining room, kitchen and office are all open, but they can also be used independently. Each can be connected or separated depending on necessity and situational requirements. Many of the spaces can be transformed for different uses in the future such as the office into a bedroom. Other spaces like the dining room double as a second working area, or the main closet which houses video/audio equipment on one side while the reverse side serves as dining room storage. In keeping with this ultra-versatile vibe, you won’t find any frill or over-decoration in any single space, making it easy to envision and execute an easy spatial switch if needed.

Designer: Taipei Base Design Center

This Mazda Rocks!

Posted: 28 Nov 2016 12:26 AM PST

In fact, it was inspired by just that… rocks! This far-out concept by Younsik Bae takes subtle inspiration from the naturally smoothed cobblestone. Unlike the stone, however, the Mazda Vision Granturismo was designed to do anything but sit idle.

Its low slung profile, sharp aerodynamics, ultra-wide stance and barely-there ground clearance help it slice through the air to achieve top speeds. A view from the front and you’ll notice the muscular arches in the body closely mimic the Mazda symbol while effectively moving air over and around the body. It’s not what you’d expect from a Mazda… and we have no complaints!

Designer: Younsik Bae