World Kitchen “What’s Bubbling? Kitchen Tools!” Design Competition

“Put that emotion in the food, because it’s so much more rewarding down the line”; says Hell’s Kitchen celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey. Cooking has become such a habitual ritual that we rarely put in the extra effort for gourmet meals. Blame it on time constrains or pressures of life, but home-cooking has undergone major transformations, demanding serious changes in our kitchen too. The future foresees requirement for tools that will comply with our instant-food needs, helping us to whip up tasty treats in a jiffy. The future requires designers like you to come up with kitchen tool solutions today!Designs that offer sustainable tools and techniques that comply with our evolving lifestyles, demographics, cultural expectations and economics.

Can you rise to the challenge of creating new kitchen tools and techniques, cross-pollinating from other cultures, or perfecting our tried-and-true tools, improving the cook’s experience while prepping, cooking or serving?

It took us almost 2,500 years to evolve from the basic Neolithic tools to the present-day kitchen equipments; the future is not that patient…so we need to hurry! What’s Bubbling? Invites you to present your ideas for the“Kitchen Tools” international design competition!

World Kitchen believes that great tool design goes beyond function and aesthetics so it has established criteria for the jury to use in evaluating entries.

• Opportunity Identification and Research
• Innovation, such as in materials, use, function, shape, and market need
• User Experience, such as ergonomics, safety, and enhancement of a key demographics’ daily life
• Appropriate Aesthetics, which enhance the preparation, cooking and serving area and support the function and experience
• Manufacture-ability, including environmental considerations in material choices and energy usage

To participate, register here NOW!

Three winners will get to attend the International Home & Housewares Show (March 2011), where the housewares industry will get aquanited with their works. The prize includes $6,000 USD, in addition to travel, accommodations, and $250 for travel expenses for each winner to attend the International Home & Housewares Show.

The deadline for entries is January 7, 2011, USA/Central

Yanko Design

The Nail Within!

I see carpenters fumble for the nails in their span or gripping a mouthful quite hazardously. The Nail Hammer is an easy solution, where the handle holds a silicon case full of nails and is easily accessible. I guess this means one less nail swallowed, one finger less hurt and a nail hammered right on its head!

Designers: Jinsoo Cho & Ahjin Choi

Yanko Design

Sphere of Dry Shoes

Of all the footwear dryers in the world, boy oh boy, this seems to me to be the best one I’ve seen all year. I don’t have that much experience with shoe thawers or dryers, but I do remember putting my boots on the heater when I was a kid to dry off all the snow. That I remember. I also remember that when they were put on the heater, they’d get mostly dry, but there’d always be that little pocket of squish left over. Nasty. This “Orbicle” we’re talking about here has no squish.

Designer Seo Jin Hyeon informs us that most of the shoe dryers in the world are basically unhygienic. I believe it! Shoes can get pretty nasty, especially if they’re getting wet all the time. Fungus grows in there down by your toes, and that’s gross. With this shoe dryer by the name of Orbicle, you can check on your shoes as they dry from the inside out. Get yourself either the single sphere or the triple threat!

I bet the big one’s for people who’ve got a daycare with lots of kids who get into the snow on a regular basis.

Designer: Seo jin hyeon

Yanko Design

8 House: Bike to the Top of BIG's Newest Mixed-Use Building

The just completed 8 House, probably named for its bow-tie shape, is the newest and final addition to Bjarke Ingels Group's trilogy of housing projects with developer Hopfner Partners. The building, located in the Orestad neighborhood of Copenhagen, is the largest private development in Denmark. The essential "ingredients of a neighborhood are stacked in horizontal layers and then twisted, imitating the condition of a city block, where buildings and houses co-exist. In this one, though, you can ride your bike from the ground all the way to the 10th floor.

Thomas Christofferen, the 8 House Partner in Charge, says:

The apartments are placed at the top while the commercial programme unfolds at the base of the building. As a result, the different horizontal layers have achieved a quality of their own: the apartments benefit from the view, sunlight and fresh air, while the office leases merge with life on the street. This is emphasized by the shape of 8 House which is literally hoisted up in the northeast corner and pushed down at the southwest corner, allowing light and air to enter the southern courtyard.

We like the idea of a "three-dimensional neighborhood," as Bjarke Ingels describes the concept. Perhaps the project starts to get at new ways we can live communally—at the center of the figure 8 are 500 m2 of shared facilities for residents. We imagine this might include a gym, a concierge desk and a pool, but what about kitchens? Gardens? Party-sized living rooms? Woodshops?

While we're talking about BIG, we should also mention that Bjarke was just awarded for the European Prize for Architecture, to be delivered on November 5th in Madrid. Try not to hate him for being only 38.

Many more seductive, heroic images of the new building follow.

Photography by Jens Lindhe.

Core77

Design Academy Students Awarded Unconventional Pig-Head Trophies Instead of Diplomas

Every year, the Design Academy in Eindhoven commissions a designer to create a special trophy for the graduating students. We didn't want you to miss this year's version, simply a 3-D printed pig head that comes apart in slices to become giant amulets, customized for each student and stating their degree.

Designed by Ted Noten, and fabricated by Freedom of Creation, the trophy celebrates the pig as a long-time Dutch icon, honoring the students in a beautiful, memorable, and slightly tongue-in-cheek way.

Thanks, Alissia!

Core77