Harmonia 57 is a residential project by france’s triptyque architects and is located in a neighborhood in the west side of Sao Paulo. Like a living organism, the building breathes, sweats and modifies itself, transcending its inertia. Most noticeably the home’s face is covered in small holes filled with vegetation. In this great building, where the rain and soil waters are drained, treated and reused, a complex ecosystem is formed within the local. The front face also has massive louvered doors which open up the windows or shade it from the sun. “Its volume is quite simple, but also remarkable: two grand vegetal blocks are connected by a metallic footbridge, cut by concrete and glass windows and terraces. Between the blocks a internal plaza opens like a clearing and acts like a place of encountering.”
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Simple yet brilliant design! The Stock Back from Cubisto is designed to neatly and prettily organize your newspaper and magazine recyclables. It is made from tough, durable “eco” felt and is designed to simplify the (required) process of tying everything together with a plastic string.
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The “334″ bench is the first furniture of the “X days project” series by Oscar Lhermitte who studys product design at Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design. The “334″ bench is made of three parallel bars of metal and 334 old newspapers folded and stacked next to each other. Because of the large number of newspapers stacked in the 3 bars, the whole structure is very strong and can support more than 5 persons. The “334″ bench costed around 5 pounds.
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I like this Ceramic Kitchen Radio by Agata Norkroos. Ceramic Kitchen Radio is following the language of kitchen, it has minimal functions and can be easily cleaned. To enjoy your morning coffee with it you just turn the lid to tune into your favorite station.
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This huge cruise ship is one of five Solstice ships launching between now and 2012 and is the most widely heralded ship to enter the cruise industry this year. Weighing approximately 134,000 tons, the Solstice is over 1,000 feet long and can hold 4,350 people (or about 3,000 paying customers). It also is the first one to boast an authentic grass lawn on its top deck. Continue reading for more pictures.
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Ctrl-Alt-Del key cups from MOD Design in Taiwan. These cups and circuit board saucers offer your favorite drink for those moments when you need to reboot or login to your computer. Made from porcelain, thay’re in both a white-on-black and black-on-white version, so you can match them with the color of your keyboard.  [via..]

Do you have the experience for using cardboard boxes for tables, chairs, shelves, tv stands and many more? If no, you can see this cardboard work of Tim Brown. These cardboard furniture look quite nice, and thay’re easy to transport as well. Each Idea* product is a cardboard construction which opens and constructs into itself, creating the shelf or chair or whatever it says it is on the box.

“Idea* is a self-initiated final year student project, commenting on the value of waste packaging and the perception of contents. Each box claims to contain a product, but instead can be deconstructed and reconstructed inside out to become its intended contents. After construction it forms a functional product and also a memorable reminder of how little we appreciate the bland, brown cardboard box.”  - From designer: Tim Brown
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Designer Justin Porcano always has a way of turning inanimate objects into items of mass sex appeal. I really appreciate his new work - Wallplate with added hooks for keys or umbrella and a holder perfectly suited for a couple of mails. Slightly improving our quality of life, these wallplates can be installed everywhere, no new hardware, and no new holes. The bad thing is that Wallplate isn’t available right now, but there are several big-box stores are interested in turning Justin Porcano’s idea into a real product, so we don’t wait too long.  [via..]

Are you brilliant at math? Check out this Pop Quiz Math Clock from thinkgeek. Each hour is marked by a simple math problem. Solve it and solve the riddle of time.

Artists, poets and architects Arakawa with his wife, Madeline Gins built these “reversible destiny” loft-style apartments in Mitake, Japan. “Designed to stimulate the senses and force inhabitants to use balance, physical strength and imagination, the lofts feature uneven floors, oddly positioned power switches and outlets, walls and surfaces painted a dizzying array of colors, a tiny exit to the balcony, a transparent shower room, irregularly shaped curtainless windows, and more.” Two rental units are now available for 220,000 and 250,000 yen ($2,000/$2,400) per month.
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