2026 Milan Winter Olympics medal design takes inspiration from the mountainous peaks of northern Italy

Dubbed the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, the upcoming international multi-sport event is scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, the latter of which also hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics. In the build-up to the grand event, creative outfit Weekend-works.com has revealed its unofficial design concept for the Olympic medals, inspired directly by the mountainous terrain around the north of Italy, amidst the Dolomites.

Designer: Weekend-works.com

“This medal design is inspired by the Dolomites mountain chains”, mentions Jaekyu Jung of Weekend-works.com. The dented surface isn’t just a hat-tip to the mountain’s uneven terrain but is also reminiscent of the constant work, perseverance, and unrelenting effort on the part of each athlete who participates in the Olympics. Each medal is extruded and cut out as a blank disc before the details are CNC machined along the front as well as the rim of the medal. Finally, to achieve the battered texture, each medal is manually hammer-finished by artisans as a way of honoring the sheer effort and human hours that go into training for the Olympics. The medal is finally completed with a ribbon that’s made sustainably from ocean-bound plastic.

This will be the fourth Olympic Games hosted in Italy (Cortina d’Ampezzo previously hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics), and the first hosted in Milan. It will also be the first Olympic Games featuring two host cities in an official capacity and is slated to be the first Winter Olympics since Sarajevo 1984 with opening and closing ceremonies will be held in different places.

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This interactive lotus-shaped art installation moves in response to light!





Art installations like the Lotus Oculus have all the elements that make it a piece you can stare at for hours – it is intriguing, intelligent, and inspiring. This nature-inspired structure uses a smart material that mimics how flowers act when greeted by the sun, thus the dome also is reactive to light! Lotus Oculus was commissioned by Bulgari and was placed in the Modern Art Gallery in Milan.

The story began in 2010 with a little curiosity and a lot of research on smart materials. Studio Roosegaarde’s design team was searching for a material that looked like something that came from nature and also responded to stimuli in real-time. That is how smart flowers were born and over a decade, the studio has done multiple art installations evolving in scope and shape but maintaining the common factor – they all open in response to light and Lotus Oculus is the most recent one.

Lotus Oculus pays homage to the grandeur of the Pantheon and continues the legacy by creating an organic architecture of movement and shadows. This dynamic dialogue is what Daan Roosegaarde calls Techno-Poetry,” the artist explains. When you see the art in motion, it seems to breathe in the air around it. The geometric orb is made of several small panels of smart material and each of which curls into a flower shape when stimulated!

The entire exhibit comes to life as the parts fold and unfold in response to the changing environment and light intensity which presents a show of light and movement throughout the space. The interactive installation is a mix of art and design, it was awarded the A’Design Gold Award and Media Architecture Award Denmark. Some installations are permanent like the Lotus Maffei in the Palazzo Maffei Museum in Verona, Italy and the Lotus Dome in Sainte Marie Madeleine Church in Lille, France.

This striking installation draws you in, observe, move around it and bring the petals to life as you interact with it. Roosegaarde describes this tangible connection between light and material as “a metamorphosis of nature and technology. In search of a new harmony between people and the environment, Lotus is a work of art and a pilot for more organic architecture.”

Designer: Studio Roosegaarde

The post This interactive lotus-shaped art installation moves in response to light! first appeared on Yanko Design.

The 2026 Winter Olympics torch, imagined by a designer inspired by Milan’s architecture

While the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics are currently being shifted to 2021, the games of the subsequent years are still on track, with Milan successfully bidding to host the 2026 winter games. Amidst this news, Italian designer Matteo Ercole decided to envision what the torch for the Milan Winter Olympics for 2026 would (or rather should) look like.

Ercole’s rendition of the Olympic Torch captures the true essence of Milan’s heritage and culture. Inspired by the spires of the Milan Duomo, the torch uses an inverted conical design, taking the cathedral’s intricate details and modernizing them. The modern interpretation retains the true essence of heritage Milanese architecture, while having the modern appeal of the works of architects like Stefano Boeri, who’s vertical forest also represents an iconic figure in Milan’s skyline. This fusion of styles is perhaps the perfect representation of Milan, merging the city’s rich heritage with its vibrant and colorful modern life. The top of the torch even comes with a red-colored cross, representing Milan’s flag… allowing it to act as the surface on which the ceremonial and symbolic fire burns.

Designer: Matteo Ercole

Yanko Design Heads To Milan For The Electrolux Design Lab Finals

Ciao a tutti! Yanko Design is the official media partner for the Electrolux Design Lab and we are heading to the beautiful city of Milan for the finals. We will be bringing you extensive coverage, which you can follow on Facebook and Twitter and right here. Ten finalists will be battling out, but guess what; you do have a say in it! There is a People’s Choice Award that allows you to vote for your favorite design.Before you decide, here is a quick recap of videos that showcase each of the projects. Voting closes 12:00 CET, 25th October 2012. The winner will receive the ULTRAMIX/PRO stick mixer.

Treat by Amy Mon-Chu Liu

Tastee by Christopher Holm-Hansen

Spummy by Alexandre de Bastiani

SmartPlate by Julian Caraulani

MoSphere by Yunuén Hernández

Memory by Wenyao Cai

Impress by Ben de la Roche

ICE by Julen Pejenaute 
Beorlegi

Easystir by Lisa Frodadottir Låstad

Aeroball by Jan Ankiersztajn

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(Yanko Design Heads To Milan For The Electrolux Design Lab Finals was originally posted on Yanko Design)

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  3. Electrolux & YD Present : Electrolux Design Lab LOGO Competition – Deadline Extended!


Watch ASUS’ PadFone 2 Milan press conference from the safety of your home (video)

Watch ASUS PadFone 2 Milan press conference from the safety of your home video

Spend yesterday away from the internet? ASUS' launch of the new PadFone 2 might have passed you by. Fortunately, we live in the internet age, where any action can be reviewed and examined to Zapruder-esque proportions. If you'd like to relive the press conference as if you were there with Jonney Shih in Milan, grab yourself an espresso and catch the footage we've tucked after the break.

Continue reading Watch ASUS' PadFone 2 Milan press conference from the safety of your home (video)

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Watch ASUS' PadFone 2 Milan press conference from the safety of your home (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inhabitat’s Week in Green: ten earth activities, transnatural stools and wood ash bike frames

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

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Happy Earth Day! In honor of Earth Week, this week we took a moment to think about the origins of this now-global event, exploring why we need Earth Day and how our society can possibly tackle the 7 biggest threats to our environment. If haven't yet made plans for Earth day make sure to take a look at our list of 10 Earth Day activities. One of the major themes of Earth Week this year was lighting, as green lighting innovations ranging from the useful to the absurd made it onto Inhabitat's radar screen. On the more practical end of the spectrum, we reviewed the SUNNAN, Ikea's solar-powered desk lamp, and although we found it to be a bit dim, it actually outperformed its expected charge time. On the lighter side, Randy Sarafan, the same guy who designed a chair that tweets his own farts (seriously), unveiled a lamp that shuts off whenever you shut your eyes. The downside: In order for it to work you have to attach electrodes to your face, which are plugged directly into the wall. Thanks, but we'll pass. And for those who prefer regular, old-fashioned lights, Philips launched its much-anticipated L-Prize winning 10-watt LED bulb on Earth Day. At $60 a pop, you might have to take out a second mortgage to replace every bulb in your home, but you'll recoup that money back on your energy bill, and Philips also announced some rebates to ease the pain.

Continue reading Inhabitat's Week in Green: ten earth activities, transnatural stools and wood ash bike frames

Inhabitat's Week in Green: ten earth activities, transnatural stools and wood ash bike frames originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Apr 2012 20:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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