If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives)

Eureka! I Found It. The Perfect iPhone 4 (and now 5!) Case for Me - The Leverage Case by Graft Concepts.

Well, it only took me a few months of scrutinizing every possible case for my iPhone 4S (and now you can pre-order one for the new iPhone 5), but I finally found the one for me. I wanted something that covered the back and the edges, didn't take away from the phone's sleek design, protects without interfering with functionality and that looks undeniably awesome.

The sleek matte soft touch polycarbonate case ensures that I won't drop it and the clasp (the deciding factor for me) functions like a watch clasp found on many bracelet watches. The clasp is available in a high-polish or matte finish chrome.

The Leverage Case by Graft Concepts is both functional and stylish. Not too cute, not too bulky, not too cheap, not too outrageously expensive.

Designed in Southern California, engineered by the Swiss, and manufactured by hand picked factories to ensure high-quality standards, the Leverage case comes in either black or white, (backplate included) with your choice of high polished chrome or matte finish fastener.

The Leverage Case in Black:

the backplate is optional:

without back plate:

The Leverage Case in White:

without back plate:

A hard polycarbonate/ABS blend with a rubberized finish protects your iPhone from bumps. The sleep-wake button has been integrated into the zinc alloy latch and precise cutouts enable easy and direct access to the ringer and volume buttons.

Features:
• Confirmed compatibility with both iPhone 4S and 4 from AT&T/Sprint/Verizon
• Hard polycarbonate case with soft touch matte finish that offers drop and scratch protection
• Luxurious finish on metal latching mechanism that locks the case firmly around the phone
• Removable back plate (INCLUDED with purchase) gives you the option of having minimalist style or full protection
• Unique styling with streamlined design and minimal bulk
• free shipping within the United States. ships: 2-3 days

The video below shows you how to put the case on your iPhone 4 or 4S:

Price for the Leverage case including backplate is $59.95 USD
Buy it here or pre-order the one for the iPhone 5 here.

The Hidden House Project by 123DV Modern Villas. A Study In Modern ECO Architecture.

The Netherland's 123DV Modern Villas entered Polish architecture firm Mode:Lina's competition in which they were asked to design an ECO house. The challenge was to design a standard residential home in a standard location that performs sustainably and 123DV Modern Villas came up with the Hidden House.

The project explained in their own words:
"In a time when words like sustainable, ecological and green are almost an obligation, they are often only used as a label. That is why one of our latest projects proved to be challenging, but also very exciting: we were asked to design an ECO House. Thanks to our friends from Mode:Lina we were involved in a Polish design competition.

The assignment was clear and simple: design a house for a standard family, on a standard location, but with a highly sustainable performance.

We had faced this topic before in previous projects, but it had not yet been used as core of the design. For this competition we were asked to be bold, to push to the boundaries of sustainability.

It took us several brainstorm sessions to find the right strategy, but at the end we all agreed on one thing: our answer to the question should be architectural. Since we are not engineers, biologists or scientists, we had to look at it from an architectural point of view: does the house contribute to the quality of daily life?

As architects, we deal with space, organization, shapes, light, materials… So we took a basic shape (rectangle), used an age-old natural and ecological recourse (geothermal heat) and combined the two.

The house is a rectangle of 28 by 9 by 4.3 meters that for two thirds has been plugged into the ground under an angle of 21 degrees! With one gesture, we created both a strong visual statement and a high performance energy standard.

Simple, strong and efficient, but not without consequence. We also had to deal with the psychological impact of living in a sloped house, underneath the ground and with little natural light.

The task wasn’t easy, but in the end I think we managed to transform the problems into opportunities and create a unique and special ECO house." - 123DV

About 123DV:
123DV designs and realizes modern villas. Their goal is to create a sense of home in a modern villa. They translate your story, tailored to your needs, into the modern form, with attention to detail.

123DV Modern Villas focuses on both architecture and interior. From product design to realization. Their disciplines include architecture and interior design - from kitchens to furniture.

123DV

Dream Big - Martin Luther King Jr. Mosaic Made With 4,242 Rubik's Cubes.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, I'd like to share with you this mosaic montage of MLK created with solved rubik's cubes.

Created by Pete Fecteau, shown below in front of his work, the mural is titled Dream Big.

The mosaic is made of 4,242 officially licensed Rubik’s Cubes and measures just shy of 20 feet wide.

details:

above detail photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/bitsorf/

Pete at work on the mural:

Technical info:
It measures 19′ x 8’6″ x 2.25″ (5.8m x 2.6m x 5.7cm ). It weighs roughly 1000 pounds (454kg). Each cube has been “reversed solved” or twisted so that one of the faces maps it’s nine stickers into the total image, 38,178 stickers total.

The construction process took a little over 40 hours and the final installation to about five and a half hours with 6 volunteers helping. The cubes were rented through the You Can Do The Cube organization. The mosaic was on display during the 2010 ArtPrize competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan USA from September 22nd to October 10th. There were roughly 30,000 people who came to view the mosaic during that time. “Dream Big” placed in the top 50 out of 1,700+ entries. The mosaic was left intact for a month after the competition in an attempt to sell it. The pending sale did not materialize and the mosaic was disassembled in late November and the cubes were shipped back to their originating points.

Costs:
The cubes themselves were rented for roughly $8,000 however the total cost of the project was approximately $9,000. A private donation was made for $4,000 and fundraising through special events and Kickstarter.com helped to raise the remainder.

About the Artist:
Pete Fecteau is a designer by day. He attended Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan and attained his BFA in Digital Media Design in 2007. His design portfolio can be seen at http://buttonpresser.com. He mainly works as an interactive designer and helps build online and mobile experiences. Pete also loves illustration, painting, and sculpture and finds time between work to create more traditional art aside for his Rubik’s Cube mosaics. His wife Caitlin and he were married on August 27th, 2011 in Brighton, Michigan they both relocated to San Francisco in January, 2011 were Pete had been awarded a fellowship with Code for America.

images courtesy of Pete Fecteau and additional photos courtesy of Uthink media

Prada Revvs Up Their New Collection & Ad Campaign With Vintage Automobiles.

The Women's Spring Summer 2012 ready to wear collection for Prada didn't strut down the catwalk, it drove.

This unique clock by Taiwan's 22designstudio is meant to link time and space, like that of the fourth dimension. The result is a modern looking wall clock made of cement whose form is much like that of a spiral staircase with the hands on the the top level. Light and shadow change with the movement of time evoking the name.

Available with blue or orange secondhand:

Pride of Soldiers, A Scabetti Sculpture in A Highly Secure Military Location.

'Pride of Soldiers', this unique three meter diameter sculptural light commissioned for the Land Forces Command Head Quarters in Utrecht, has rarely been seen before due to its highly secure location.

above: The Kromhout Barracks houses the Royal Dutch Land Forces Command Head Quarters.

The newly erected Kromhout Barracks (which are really beautifully designed) stand on the outskirts of Utrecht and were designed by leading Dutch practice Meyer en Van Schooten Architects.

Dominic and Frances Bromley's unique commission, Pride of Soldiers, will only ever be seen by strict invitation. These photographs (by Frances Bromley, Jannes Linders and Stefan Van Weelden) are now the only access many will have to this remarkable work of art, as it is sited in one of the most secure places in the Netherlands; the Royal Dutch Land Forces Command Head Quarters.

above: Pride of Soldiers in the Kromhout Barracks, Netherlands by Dominic and Frances Bromley.

Installed in the Netherland's new Kromhout Barracks outside of Utrecht, this beautiful bone china sculpted light serves as a monument to the Armed Forces. The unique piece, comprised of many stylized soldiers hanging vertically to form a sphere, was crafted by Dominic and Frances Bromley of Scabetti.

The ceramic forms are slip cast fine bone china, cast by hand in the Potteries of Stoke-on-Trent:

The piece stands an impressive three meters in diameter hovering over a large table within the barrack's conference room.

Progressing around the room there's an extra dimension that reveals itself; each soldier stands in perfect formation and comes together to create the Lion of the Armed Forces emblem, with the central light at its heart.

Designing a piece so dramatic and specific to the location was a brave move for the accomplished duo and combined their unique technical and artistic approach. Pride of Soldiers must surely stand as the Bromley's most significant work to date.