GM+AD

It has to be said that Glasgow has produced (yet again) an astonishingly good firm of architects in the form of GM+AD (Gordon Murray and Alan Dunlop).

GM+AD do not have a specific GM+AD-ness, they are not selling a specific style a la macintosh, or an architectural school or movement.  What actually happens is this:

Polanti

On this site you will find a lot of very, very expensive wristwatches.  These are hand-made works of art and can only be owned by the very rich who commission them. Although inexpensive Polanti has been included here, not merely for their design and artistry, but because they have an unusual business model that have made them iconic.

Cool Dentistry

Many people are scared of a visit to the dentist, some are scared of the drill, others of the needle, but everyone is scared of the pain.

BioMedDevice Limited have developed a flexible dental mouthpiece (called gumEase) that is stored in a freezer, and which after only a couple of minutes, numbs the mouth for up to 20 minutes at a time.

The manufacturer has produced a rather graphic video depicting a hypodermic-free tooth extraction on YouTube.com:

Hautlence

The HAUTLENCE brand was created in 2004, with the first wristwatches ready for September 2005, and the first collection by 2007.

Approximate Cost: 20 278.00 GBP

The company has set up a watch-maker’s college in

FP Journe

I have attempted to draw attention to the wonders of hand crafted wristwatches, the most exclusive, valuable and prestigious being those made by the likes of Roger Dubuis, Patek Philippe, Parmigiani, Girard-Perregaux, Chopard, Blancpain, Audemars Piguet, Breguet, Vacheron Constantin, and IWC, all of which draw on a long tradition of precision engineering, ingenuity and intricacy.

In 1999, Richard Mille seemed to herald a new chapter to this horological history, using new techniques and materials to threaten the established “big boys”.

• But these “big boys” were already under threat — from FP Journe!

François-Paul Journe is the man behind the “Chronometre à Resonance” and the “Tourbillon a Remontoir d’Egalité” (launched in 2000), and is one of the most talented and exciting watch maker of his generation. A true maverick.

His Geneva factory is

Latest Folding Furniture

Furniture use permutations are fascinating and not restricted to caravans, boats and camping equipment! Sometimes you need flexibility from everyday furniture, like a table for four that can expand on occasion to sit six or eight, with the extra chairs able to fold away or stack when not required. In extreme cases, everyday furniture may have to be folded or dismantled in some way to allow a room to provide multi-functionality, such as a fold-away bed, or cupboard kitchen. Here’s are some videos of new designs:

Foster

I am going to argue here that Sir Norman Foster is the number one architect in the world today, with an unprecedented track record of instantly recognisable buildings that enrich and excite and basically go against the grain of the present architectural and planning trends.

It all started when, in the mid-1980s, Norman Foster became famous.

The XO-1

Yves Béhar headed the design team charged with coming up with a laptop for children throughout the developing world — one laptop per child and at a unit cost of just 100 USD.

The Charity is called ‘One Laptop Per Child‘ — check out the website at www.laptop.org/

Free Wheelchair Mission

Don Schoendorfer is the designer of a revolutionary wheelchair and the Chief Executive of The Free Wheelchair Mission.

The design uses cheap plastic garden chairs! It has to be seen to be believed, but it is amazingly true.

The Free Wheelchair Mission accepts donations: visit them on www.freewheelchairmission.org/

Check out the website to find out why and how!

Also on this site:

• Trekinetics k2
• Wheelchair

Trekinetic’s K2

The classic everyday folding metal wheelchair was designed and built a long time ago — when the world was a very different place, back in the 1930s. Not only were lifestyles different, but so were production tools, materials and manufacturing methods.

This occurred to Formula One parts designer Mike Spindle as he watched a man struggle through an airport departure lounge in a metallic purple wheelchair. Mike thought that somebody ought to be able to do an awful lot better.