New York Horizon

The city life in New York City is often a hectic and chaotic one, due to the large amount of inhabitants and busy roads. New York is therefore called the city that never sleeps, and with a little imagine you will understand what that means for the people over there. New York is full of skyscrapers which indicates their busy urban lives. However, the solution is near and it contents a surprising component.

A new Central Park

Yitan Sun and Jianshi Wu proposed a design for the 2016 Skyscraper Competition which is judged by the Evolo magazine, and they actually won the first price. Their design contents a new central park, wherein the bedrock is being revealed and central park is being reduced. Besides, the soil from central park will be re-used by adding it into the new Central Park and thus creates a lively landscape. This new landscape offers a great abundance of activities as biking, climbing and swimming. In addition, the new central park will be surrounded by a 1000 feet tall and 100 feet wide glass wall which reflects the nature of the park and creates the illusion that the nature is never-ending, middle in the busy urban lifestyle.

Other designs who proposed for the 2016 Skyscraper Competition:

Why does this appear?

It is a certainty that this new design creates a balance between the urban life and the nature we know in New York. The fact that this design intertwines the two different environments into a megastructure is related to the society’s need for some experience. A large amount of disciplines in the society are much more connected to the other ones, what results in products and services which are a bit out of context. Therefore, the strangest inventions are now valuable to the customers. The society wants more and the slogan ‘the bigger, the better’ identifies this need. A normal park with a few seats and a lawn doesn’t match with the preferences any more, there should be more, and technology plays a huge part. This design of the New York Horizon breaks with the current perception of the large-scale skyscrapers.

Furthermore, the inhabitants from New York need a space to escape when the urban life is getting too complicated. The desire to search for simplicity and clean, natural surroundings can be concluded from the trend ‘wonderlust’. The acceptation of the small things in life is very important in this trend, which we also see in the part when citizens want to escape from the city and its high-pressure standardization.  The landscape offers you a moment of nature, a moment of release, a moment for yourself and especially a moment to wonder what in life is most valuable.

Future

When the landscape and city combine in the future, the dynamism will increase immediately. In this manner, the traditional perception may change and the spaces we know today are in a deep connection with each other in the headland. The vision will change, since Yitan Sun and Jianshi Wu are creating new spaces in this world, by re-using the nature and implementing it into a new, creative mega structure. I think that if this will set through, there will be a lack of space to escape to in the future.  The landscape is a place to relax, to make up your mind and to enjoy the nature. However, if the urban life and the nature are so closely connected and dynamism is the new standard, what will there be left of the real nature? In that case, there will be a need to invent new ways to escape the busy life.

What do you think; how will the society escape their busy, urban life in the future?

See you next time,

Amy Melenboer ♥

---

Sources:

http://www.designboom.com/architecture/central-park-1000-foot-glass-walls-new-york-horizon-yitan-sun-jianshi-wu-evolo-skyscraper-competition-03-25-2016/

http://www.evolo.us/competition/new-york-horizon/

 

Small homes & small prices

Currently, the diversity of the home industry has been developing new ways of living, due to some changes in the society. In this post I will point out a variety of examples, who all share the same intention: the fact that small homes are upcoming which costs way less money.

What is it like?

One of the examples is the yurt, which is related to the tiny-house movement. This movement is based in the USA but now also finds its first followers in the Netherlands. You don’t have to pay mortgage for such a tiny house and it also includes a much smaller footprint. The difference between a yurt and recreational houses like a mobile home or a holiday home is the fact that one is allowed to live in these yurts or tiny houses permanently.

Another sample is an idea of Kasita, a designing firm, who invented tiny homes which can move from place to place. The homes are exactly the same size and set up with small technology. All facilities are included, only in a clever way. It is the tendency to begin in Austin in 2016. This link will explain how homes like these can move from a place to another: ://www.facebook.com/CollectiveEvolutionPage/videos/1887653478127712/

 

Alejandro Aravena

The last signal is from Architect Alejandro Aravena, who won a Pritzker Price by offering  free designs for small homes.These designs are based on a low budget, which means that these houses can be rented for moderate prices. His intention of offering these design is related to the prospect that in 2025 1.6 billion people will live in unsafe housing.

 

The reasons behind the story

In former times, there was also thought of a house for exchanged students which is called ‘space boxes’. These models of homes are a kind of harbinger for the current tiny homes for reasonable prices. The overall factor of the tiny houses is the occasion that money is sometimes not that important to people anymore, or people don’t make that much money. As a result of the descent in the house market and the economic crisis, it is hard to pay the amount of money which is asked. There is less cash in circulation due to these happenings. Therefore it is necessary to live in a smaller house.

However, for some people money is not significant any more. This can be concluded due to a combination of the trends individualization and sustainability, which both enclose a longer period of time. The need for the freedom of an individual to operate the way he or she likes is growing. The perception of freedom changes, and money happens not to be an issue. The open world and the internet brought us more knowledge about every topic we can think of, such as a sustainable way of living. The main point is, that the individual of today wants to live their own way, because knowledge taught us there’s more freedom in life when you seem to care more about the environment than about products and belongings.

Technology also had an impact on houses, especially the designing part. Homes can be built in a more efficient way than before, because technology invented new ways of implementing facilities into our homes. Just like mobile phones and computers, technology can increase by inventing smaller gadgets with the same (or even more) options than a previous one. Houses become smaller, however the technology part becomes bigger.

Future perspective

So, smaller houses for smaller prices. It seems very logic and not that special, nevertheless there is more to discover. If this will continue, it will have an impact on the environment. The footprint of many houses will be smaller, the amount of empty houses will reduce and the term ‘less is more’ will be an environmental slogan.

If people have the opportunity to simply change their homes any time they want, why want to travel all around the world a few times a year? In that case, we will have less travellers, so less traffic and less co2 emissions. At the same time, it is exactly the opposite of globalization. People do not longer want to travel all around the world, but want to stay at their own comfortable places. Are we going back to former times, in which we felt safe in our own country with our own species? We will see…

See you next time,

Amy Melenboer ♥

---

Sources:

://www.facebook.com/CollectiveEvolutionPage/videos/1887653478127712/

http://www.ed.nl/regio/eindhoven/spaceboxen-op-tu-e-1.2140712

http://www.nrc.nl/next/2016/01/04/liever-een-yurt-1574418

http://www.techinsider.io/alejandro-aravena-publishes-home-designs-for-free-online-2016-4

A walk through the city

The world of today is stuffed with people, buildings and a lot of traffic. The city life is not always that comfortable, let alone the fact that it is a hectic way of living. However, still many people decide to build up their life in the big city, which I think is related to the fact that a city has so much to offer. The city is a sparkling place which is full of activity. It has many places to work and nice hotspots for filling up your free time. Anyhow, the benefits of living in a city are not always that noticeable anymore. So the future needs a solution.

Two examples

 

First of all, mobile provider Vodafone and Philips are collaborating on a lightning product, in which they combine the Internet of Things network with the LED street light system.  Vodafone’s network, which content the machines that pass on information to each other, uses every separate light dot and connects it to the single machines they have. Therefore, the machines will pass on the information to the next one, by using Philips’ City Touch. In this manner the street lightning connects the different devices and creates a whole lightning network.

Paris is being redesigned

Besides, Paris is redesigning its largest crossings in the city, due to the lanes of traffic that ruin the once so popular memorials. The seven largest intersections are being redesigned to take away the cars and to make place for (especially) pedestrians and cyclists. In this manner, there should be less noise, smog, traffic and Paris would definitely be less chaotic.

Another square in Paris

Why is this appearing now?

Cities have been growing for a long time, due to some trends which appeared a bit earlier. Think of urbanisation, the time when people decided that they want to live together in a small community. Also globalization and migration have caused a removal of people from all around the world to the wealthy and developed cities.

However, some kind of cities are becoming too full, which has a negative effect on the inhabitants. Like I said before, the city got stuffed with buildings, people, traffic and a lot of other stuff. I explicitly call it ‘stuff’, since that reflects the way many people think about the current situation.  Owing to this opinion, the need for normally taking a walk in the city and the possibility to breathe, both literally and figurative, is coming up.

The society has much more knowledge about the threats that can harm the world, as a result of the need to be more open and transparent to each other. Sustainability is therefore a value which is very significant at the moment. The question how we can build on a sustainable future is often discussed.

A green view in Paris

Paris wants to hitch in by removing some occupied roads around the memorials you can find in the city. By doing that, they create an open space filled with people, bushes, trees, benches and a lot of fresh air.

Vodafone and Philips are also willing to dive into a sustainable city, by developing a lightning network that is connected because of the internet. It saves a lot of energy by using LED lights, and also the co2 emissions will be reduced.  Finally, the quality of life will be improved as a result of the safety which has grown in the cities. These lightning makes people feel embraced during their walk, and in this manner the streets will be more pedestrian-friendly.

Prospects

In the city of the future we are able to walk many more miles than before. The guidance we receive during a walk, is also improved by that time. We have created the space and joy to put on some decent boots and parade through the streets of our favourite city. The city of the future is a combination of technology and offline happiness at the same time. The internet of things will help us to create a more sustainable way of living in our own town. The city of the future will also contain separated areas. It can be very chaotic, hectic and full of traffic in one area, but extremely quiet, peaceful and with full of pedestrians in the other. There will be places to escape from the busy life and where you can have a little break, and just breathe.

Eventually, everybody wants to walk the line

 

See you next time,

Amy Melenboer ♥

---

Sources:

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3058685/paris-is-redesigning-its-major-intersections-for-pedestrians-not-cars

http://www.brainport.nl/en/news-developments/philips-and-vodafone-join-forces-for-connected-lighting

http://www.cbronline.com/news/internet-of-things/smart-technology/vodafone-m2m-tech-to-make-city-lights-smart-connected-with-philips-lighting-4839100

Quality of Life- Food

Hello everyone,

After the sector Food and all the written coolhunts, I want to highlight the Quality of Life from these different blogposts. Like always, I will continue the blogpost in Dutch due to the fact this is a school assignment.

Quality of Life- Felce and Perry

Ik maak gebruik van het model van Felce en Perry om de Quality of Life te beoordelen. Felce en Perry maken onderscheid in emotional wellbeing, physical wellbeing, social wellbeing, material wellbeing en activity en development.

Durable energy for lasting consumers

Deze coolhunt gaat over een better-building-challenge tussen de bedrijven Whole Foods Market en Hilton Worldwide wat op televisie wordt uigezonden. Het is de bedoeling dat ze tijdelijk ‘wisselen’ of ‘ruilen’ van bedrijven en vervolgens elkaar feedback geven op de gang van zaken om zo tot verbetering te komen.

Dit sluit goed aan bij emotional wellbeing, omdat de consument op deze manier (weer) vertrouwen krijgt in bedrijven. Dit vertrouwen is beschaamd door verschillende schandalen van de laatste jaren en daardoor kan deze wel een boost gebruiken. Door open en transparant naar de consument te zijn, kan je op die manier weer respect en geduld ontvangen van de consument. Uiteindelijk zorgt dit voor een toename van voldoening en tevredenheid.

Trace my fries

Deze coolhunt gaat over het traceren van jouw eten door middel van het invullen van een specifieke code op de website van Lamb Weston. Hierdoor kan de consument meer kennis vergaren door de uitgebreide informatie die op de website te vinden is over het product.

Dit past goed bij development & activity, omdat je hierdoor meer kan leren over de origine van het product. Deze kennis is een vorm van educatie die past bij je persoonlijke ontwikkeling. Daarnaast past het ook bij emotional wellbeing, omdat je een gevoel van tevredenheid en vertrouwen kan ervaren wanneer je zelf op zoek kan gaan naar de informatie achter een product en bedrijf.

Grocery receipts as a healthy tool

Deze coolhunt houdt in dat de hoeveelheid voedingsstoffen van je gekochte producten in de supermarkt onderaan de kassabon komen te staan. Hierdoor krijg je overzichtelijk de hoeveelheid vet, suiker, zout en dergelijke weergegeven.

Dit sluit goed aan bij development & activity, omdat er wederom wordt gezorgd voor inzicht en kennis bij de consument wat een vorm van educatie is. Daarnaast geeft het men de keuze om wat met deze informatie te doen, en dat is dan hun eigen keuze positie.

Ook past het bij physical wellbeing, omdat het weleens een keerpunt kan zijn in de gezondheid van de mens. Als consumenten hierdoor beter op hun voeding gaat letten, worden we uiteindelijk een gezondere gemeenschap.

LEGO City is taking it to the next level

Deze coolhunt gaat over LEGO City die een nieuwe collectie genaamd ‘Fun in the park’ heeft gelanceerd. Het betreft een verandering in de traditionele rollen tussen man en vrouw en verschillende leeftijden, aangepast op de huidige samenleving.

Dit sluit aan bij het onderdeel social wellbeing, omdat het duidelijk weergeeft dat de sociale verhoudingen zijn verandert. Het gaat erom dat de consument geaccepteerd wordt voor wie hij of zij is, en dat zij gesteund worden in de manier waarop zij hun zelf profileren in de maatschappij. Daarnaast past het ook bij emotional wellbeing, omdat men respect moet tonen naar de ander toe en de huidige situatie moet erkennen zoals die is.

Food: beautiful on the inside

Deze coolhunt gaat over het verminderen van voedselverspilling door minder voedsel weg te gooien. ‘Ugly food’ wordt hier op een voetstuk geplaatst en juist gebruikt om meer monden te kunnen voeden. De kromme en verdraaide groenten kunnen namelijk nog steeds gewoon gegeten worden, terwijl ze bij selectie vaak worden weggegooid.

Dit past goed bij het thema material wellbeing, omdat we met zijn allen op deze manier meer voedsel tot ons kunnen krijgen en dus meer voedsel kunnen bezitten. Dit zorgt voor meer zekerheid van voedsel en meer stabiliteit alom de situatie waarin een hoop (vaak arme) mensen zich bevinden.

 

Tot de volgende keer,

Amy Melenboer ♥

---

Sources:

• Felce and Perry model (1995)