The ‘Coolest White Paint’ can cool down an entire city

Over 50% of our population lives in urban areas. Areas with concrete buildings built with heat-absorbing aluminum cladding or greenhouse-effect enhancing glass panels. Combine this with the lack of large green spaces and you get something called the “Urban Heat Island Effect”… an effect which explains why urban areas are so much hotter than forests or areas without urban settlements.

In a bid to combat this trapping of heat, UNStudio has developed a paint dubbed The Coolest White Paint, a fluoropolymer-based paint that has the highest TSR (Total Solar Reflectance) in its category. By limiting the amount of light and therefore heat a building absorbs, the paint reduces the need for air-conditioning and the impact of urban heat islands. Aside from its interesting reflective property, the paint is also 2.5 times stronger than traditional polyester-based paints. With a lifetime of 40 years for a single coat, the guys at UNStudio say the paint is well suited for even high-quality metallic facade elements and aluminium, steel or fiberglass structures. The use of the paint could dramatically bring down the amount of heat absorbed by buildings, and effectively the overall temperatures of cities and districts!

Designers: UNStudio & Monopol Colors

A Twist on Cutlery

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This chic cutlery set is named “Giro” (from the Italian word for “turn”) for both its twist in the geometry and how the cutlery is turned in your hand when finding the best position for use.

The set, designed by Ben van Berkel/UNStudio for Alessi, features a twist that originates from the point where the handle transforms into blade and graduates along the length of the utensils. The ergonomic silhouette that is created by this gradual transformation creates a dynamic motion frozen in solid material and presents a balance between modern and classical.

A three finger concept for the holding and balance of the cutlery has been adopted in the design. The weight of the cutlery transfers from the lifting position to the position when in use, supporting and balancing the utensils in both situations.

Designer: UNStudio

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Floating Architecture

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UNStudio’s Le Toison d’Or in Brussels is a hybridization of a traditional building-block typology and a mixed-use development with a retail podium. Located on the Avenue de la Toison d’Or between two historical gates (the Porte Louise and the Port de Namur), the mixed-use complex integrates into the urban fabric of its surroundings, whilst simultaneously merging a retail and residential system. 

The design includes 72 apartments, 13,000 m2 of commercial space, a daycare, 330 parking spaces and an elevated city garden of 2,950 m2.

In order to avoid the monolithic qualities common to block structures, the façade of Le Toison d’Or is broken up by means of variations in texture, depth and the repeating rhythm of a series of curved vertical frames. These frames serve to enclose the balconies of the apartments on the upper floors, whilst also facilitating the large display windows of the retail units.

According to architect Ben van Berkel, it was important that the retail units be as open and light as possible. This is in contrast to the apparent solidity of the upper floors to create the illusion that the vertical balloon-like frames were carrying the building, as if the whole block almost had the potential to float above the avenue.

Designer: UNStudio

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Heel Appeal

With footwear like this, it’s obvious that you want to make a grand entrance. Not just visually, because with heels like these, I doubt you could quietly walk into a room! The UNX2 isn’t just a hulking piece of footwear. It’s designed to be a work of art that ensconces your feet. It has a unique design that, at certain viewing angles, gives the illusion of transparency. Coupled with the movement of feet while taking steps, the entire process of walking is celebrated in a stunning marriage between art and science.

Designer: UNStudio

Author: Sarang Sheth

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(Heel Appeal was originally posted on Yanko Design)

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