Light is a childish, playful creature: airy, natural and free. The light of stars spreads in the universe with the same ease and freedom. It extends to infinity without any effort or obstacles. There is a kind of unbelievable silence in light. One observing this unbelievable deep silence formed by light may be struck by the same silence like the soul of a child playing and listening. This ease, this silence and this entirety that is so natural for a child, is beauty itself. Observing the silence of light one can experience this beauty.

The object created by us is the impersonation of light. Light is materialized as it erupts from the lamp-shell and starts it journey. To actualize this in an object a technique was developed. With this technique we are able to create forms that strain on objects like a light and slim foil, yet maintaining a strong and self-maintaining structure. Hence an airy and insubstantial material is created being really suitable for actualizing the above philosophical object. The dematerialized kind of the foil is the materialized visualization of light. We did not form the object that spreads light. We formed light.

However, we would not be able to achieve this purpose without the present technological levels of light sources. LED allows us to put the light source at a place where it is not visible. Therefore the where about of the light is not perceived creating an effect as the light was materialized in itself. In addition, it is small and light enough to hold the LED technology, moreover, it does not heat up so much to melt the foil-like material. The plasterwork is made of a system of polymer and glue, which decomposes in nature and fits to the biological cycle.

credits:

Designers: Alberto Vasquez, Peter Toronyi

About the Google Lunar X Prize and Puli Space Technologies

The goal of the competition called Google Lunar X Prize is to give inspiration for developing new technologies on the field of space research. The grand prize will be won by the team – financed by private equity – which can first accomplish the given criteria that is to send a spacecraft to the Moon until 2014. 26 out of 33 participants are still in the competition in the project also known as Moon 2.0. One of them is the Hungarian Puli Space Technologies.

Puli Space Technologies came to the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design to organize a 5-day-workshop to design a Lunar Rover. The aim of the workshop was to help the Puli Space Team’s work at the competition with finding new solutions and ideas for the spacecraft that will be sent to the Moon.

The concept   I   3-wheel-set-up

A 3-wheel-construction was created during the designing. With this construction we wanted to place the wheels as far as possible from the box containing the cameras and the instruments. Hence we have a relatively big spread and the Lunar Rover will be more stable underway. At the same time we tried to lift the whole structure as high as possible from surface to prevent the solar panels and the instruments from the ascending dust. The other advantage of the construction is the adjustable height of the rover which is possible with pulling together or releasing its legs. Therefore when small stones and swells come across underway, it can change to standing position, so the obstacles can fit between the legs and there is no need to bypass them. Moreover, this helps in case of panorama pictures, giving extra height to the camera in standing position. The adjustment of the control and the spread work with the sedentary rotation of the wheels, depicted in the picture.

Tetrahedron shape

The 3 wheel structure is embedded into a tetrahedron shape, allowing the rover to be compactly folded, while the sides holding its legs give plenty of space for solar panels and advertising slots. The tetrahedron shape is able – similarly to the also tetrahedron shaped lander, transporting the Mars Rover – to tilt to its bottom from any position by splitting, and then install itself. In addition this creates the opportunity to the landing unit and the rover to be one structure, therefore allowing the rover to have a greater size, to contain more instruments and to execute more duties. In this case, the rover lands with the airbag method.

Placement of the wheels in folded position inside the tetrahedron shape

Wheels

The spiral structure of the wheels is responsible for shock absorption and for being able to be wrapped up to very small size. The spiral frame is covered by a canvas layer to avoid dust getting into the wheel spokes and to reduce the possibility of digging itself into Moon dust while turning. The loose stretch of the canvas on the wheels allows them to slick to smaller obstacles, resulting in a stronger grip on them. Therefore the rover is able to climb 30-degree inclines more effectively.

Sponsors on the Moon

According to the tender of GLXP, the main sponsors must be displayed on the Lunar Rover, and pictures have to be taken with the sponsors and the surface of the Moon visible in them. An appropriate surface could be the triangle shaped leg component. In addition, an alternative solution has been worked out for displaying the sponsors. According to our concept, a projector will be installed on the rover next to the cameras. Therefore the logos of the sponsors will be projected on the Moon surface, even in such sizes, that a unit orbiting around the Moon could take a picture of them. In displaying there can be new possibilities, such as animation or the display of the complete cast.

credits:

MOME project

designers: Alberto Vasquez, Csaba Kálmán, Gyula Bodonyi, Lajos Juhász

design consultant: Balazs Lenkei

A report has been shot at the office of Akiyai in Bucaramanga, Colombia about the new social network for Colombians. The report has been broadcast in chanel Caracol in Colombia. I’ve also been interviewed about the design of the website.

You can watch more photos about the shooting in the rest of this entry.

Design concept:

It was an important aspect that the design must fit in the local culture. Colombian people are very sensitive for their cultural identity. Colorfulness basically characterize this culture through its architecture, textiles and crafts so it was important to display it in the identity.

The typography of the logo is based on the visual language of a local native tribe called Huitoto. The mascot figure in the logo had been chosen from Huitoto signs and had been redesigned.

First lunch of the site in 2009

The site view in 2011

Akí y aí screen when the server is overloaded

credits:

client: Empresa Akiyai

designer: Alberto Vasquez

practices:

graphic design, complete corporate identity, system design, brand building

The bamboo made Flow lamp has been selected as a finalist at the Victor Papanek Social Design Award. The winners and the finalists are exhibited now at the University of Applied Arts Vienna (November 10, 2011—January 31, 2012) and later at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and/or the Austrian Cultural Forum New York (March 6—June 17, 2012). You can read an article in detail about the competition and the results at Core77.

The finals of the Bosch design competition have been broadcast on the Heureka show at DunaTV hungarian channel. Our design called Molnárka have won the competition. The program is in Hungarian, but you can download the video with english subtitle from here.

When we decided to use the cardboard as raw material, it was very important for us that the objects we design cannot be only paper-made copies of existing objects. We was searching for that paper-like form which is or which could be typical for this material. This form should be able to give something – also functional and emotional – which can only be added by using paper.

The structure of the lamp was inspired by a blade of grass which becomes a construction by only one lengthwise folded edge. This way we have created a built construction which merely just holds the light- source and by this it also defines it’s exact position in the space.

The backlight ocated on the backside of the lamp cause lower contrast so our eyes do not get exhausted so fast as in case of a regular desklamp. In addition because of the double sided lighting we do not have to use other light source while we are work- ing as it enlights the whole room pleasantly reducing the energy wasting. The lamp operates with coldwhite LEDs which lights with the color gamut of the sun at noon. This colour makes the customer wide-awake using the lamp because of our reflexes.

Daru lamp is made of strong natural-colored corrugated cardboard which fits well in both the tech- nological and the biological cycle. This not only reduces but eliminates the production of waste.

Because of the easy shipping and storing the lamp can be sold unfolded. The customer folds the prefabri- cated body to the appropriate form. With this process even the users get involved in the creation and so the object itself become more important to them.

credits:

Designers: Alberto Vasquez and Daniel Lőrincz

Photographer: Balazs Mate

In my opinion, before making eco-consciousness the basic principle of our approach to designing, it is important to analyze an almost cliché tending question: do we have to design objects to be eco-conscious at all? Of what extent does our need to “eco” originate from our resistance to change, passing and to our replacement? It is commonly known that if we don’t change the present structure of industry and economy in reasonable time we will disappear from Earth dragging lots of other species with ourselves. However, the question arises: why do we judge this to be absolutely negative?

The fact itself, that other species are becoming extinct due to our present way of life raises the question, if this is a moral question of humans or much rather the law of natural selection. Considering the latter, humanity is more viable than other species as it is able to radically change its environment, to solve its problems by inventing new technologies and to exploit resources much more effectively than other species. Out of the other possible traits (e.g. the Amazon Indians against the Northern-American civilization) of humans, those populations possessing industrial thinking, proved to be more viable than others, thus becoming dominant and conquering (see Spanish conquests). From this aspect, it will also be the result of evolution when we will become extinct due to our eco-harmful way of life, and will be superseded by other species. As dinosaurs disappeared quickly from Earth and were replaced by others, this could happen to humanity as well. We make the Earth unhabitable thus clearing away every existing creature. The planet will be covered by ash and dust for a long time until the first, primitive living beings come to existence again from nothing.

From an objective point of view, the number of species becoming extinct is absolutely insignificant, these cyclic changes on Earth are normal. However, most of the people respond to this by saying there is a need for sustainability and evaluate the extinction of a species – especially its own – negatively. Why? In my opinion, the answer is in the theory of gene selection out of the many evolution theories. According to gene selection, the base of natural selection is not the individual, but a much smaller unit, a gene. This theory considers individuals as machines – from amoebae to human – that built their genes for the sole purpose of their survival. The gene has only one aim: to ensure its survival. Ergo every living thing has one basic task: to reproduce itself with an adequate amount of errors. Thereby it can maintain the state to have a replica every moment – and only the most successful in dominant amount. With other words, the task of genes is not growth or “development”, but the sustainable diversity. I draw the conclusion that in the design business eco-consciousness is not a question of ethics, but the fulfillment of an elementary task that is valid for every creature.

We make lots of complex operations in the kithcen which sequences must be very precisely coordinated in a fairly dangerous environment – hot oven, sizzling frying pan etc. In such a complicated ambience like the kitchen we need simple tools and usability. Hence when I designed the removable handles my aim was that the instruments must be as simple as possible but not simpler.

The handles are made of a special kind of refractory silicone material that can handle 300-400 Celsius, so you could probably even put it in the oven by accident without incident.

The red clip fixes the handle when you close it. It’s made of the same material but different color – it can be produced by multicomponent injection molding. The clip style of the handles provides plenty of space for water and detergent to spray, splatter and clean (in the sink or the, ahem, washer)

There is a metal part inside the silicone to brace the handle. the metal part has concave incisions in
its form and therefore after the injection molding as the silicone surrounds the metal part it will be wellfixed inside the polymer and so it cannot spin in the silicone when you shake the pot.

The deep finger grooves and lengthy side plate should keep fingers cool and happy.

Credits:

MOME project,

Designer: Alberto Vasquez

Design consultant: Pál Koós, Vladimir Monostori