Coil Collection, Auto and Control of Creativity

HOME 

Coiled comfort
Twist, helix, roll, gyre and more. These are the words that would correctly describe the latest invention of Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay of Raw-Edges Design Studio. The Coiling Collection, as the series is called, features furniture made of concentric circles. Are you wondering how that is possible? The London designers took woollen felt and then simply coiled it to make furniture. One side of the felt remains untouched so that it retains its soft texture, while the other side is coated with coloured acrylic resin. The pieces are supported on wooden legs held in place with the hardened resin. Thus, the felt becomes both, the structure and the upholstery. The Coiling Collection has been inspired by composite materials, which are a combination of bonding and structural materials similar to cob (formed with clay-rich soil, straw, sand and water). Seven prototypes of the collection were featured at Paris’ Fat Galerie. More at
raw-edges.com


Tree Living

Imagine camping outdoors… and now tweak that image with you hanging above the ground, suspended from the trunk of a tree. Bizarre as it sounds, there is actually an invention that allows you the joy of swaying softly among a tree’s branches. Originally developed for tree-sitting activists, these droplet-shaped tents designed by Dutch sculptor and designer Dré Wapenaar also make wonderful treetop housing for outdoor enthusiasts. With a height of 13 ft and a diameter of 9 ft, these ‘Treetents’ are made with a steel frame that’s enveloped by canvas. Inside, a hardwood sleeping platform with round mattresses can accommodate two adults and two children.
More at inhabitat.com/treetents-by-dre-wapenaar/attachment/16579/


TECH

Sound Barracuda
Designed to hide behind your laptop, the Asus 2.1 soundbar uBoom is like a great barracuda (a salt water fish). It has a long silver aluminium body with tapering ends (quite like the fish) and captures your imagination, although, at 3 kg, it does raise doubts about portability.   
The docking extension of the soundbar has a rubbery surface to give laptops a grip to sit on and also enough air circulation. uBoom has a USB input and lets you control the volume from your laptop or the connected media player.

Played on Windows media player, most tracks with acoustic guitar and vocals have clean deliverance. But delivery of bass is just about satisfactory. The uBoom’s forte seems to be the mid region — not the low or high ends. But with the laptop sitting on the soundbar, typing and using the track pad can become a problematic task.  Compared to a conventional 2.1 system, the soundbar does save you the hassles of handling unattractive and messy cables and also buys you more space on your desk.

AUTO

Cat out of hell
The C3 X132 Hellcat features  Confederate’s minimalistic design style. Like most Confederates, it’s built around a 2163cc V-twin engine. The American bike maker claims that this is its toughest bike and the engine casing, being an integral part of the chassis, is carved out of a single 200 kg block of aircraft grade aluminium. Although the engine weighs just about 20 kg, the construction gives it superior rigidity. The powertrain has been developed in partnership with S&S Cycle and develops a crazy 200Nm of torque while the power output is rated just ‘sufficient’ as per the company’s spec sheet. The engine has been specifically tuned for massive low rpm torque, straight off the idling revs and is coupled with Confederate’s close ratio five-speed gearbox, derived from drag-racing. The company has posted computer generated images on its Web site  to take orders and make only 150 bikes priced at $45,000 (Rs. 20.29 lakh).

UP-STANDING!

The Just Mobile UpStand is just what the doc ordered for your Apple iPad. This stylish desktop stand is made of solid aluminium and has a wide, rubber-lined radial-finish base, along with a V-shaped arm to hold the iPad. The arm that holds the iPad is rubber-clad so that it does not scratch the device. It lets you place the tablet in landscape or portrait positions. The stand is great for desktop use while working with a Bluetooth keyboard.
Rs. 2,300,