I live in Portland, Oregon, which is home to several large above-ground water towers. When I first moved into an apartment near one of these enormous green mushrooms I couldn't shake the sense that it loomed over the neighborhood watchfully. Like that ominous iron-shaped edifice in FLCL. Smaller towns are likely more used to these contraptions, and larger cities have too much visual clutter and land value to think about them much. Whether they're part of your daily landscape or not, we could take some pointers from the Japanese on how to make our bulbous and off-putting industrial architecture a bit more approachable. 

Japan uses a good deal of natural gas—as of 2014 they were around the 5th largest consumer market internationally—which means they hold and process a lot of gas. While that kind of bloated architecture might be embarrassing in other cultures, the Japanese have found plenty of ways to embrace and work around their bulging buildings. 

Painting them like fruit and vegetables seems to be a common way of blending them seamlessly into their surroundings.

Nature scenes are popular too. Think it's anything like the trend of naming condos and gated communities after the stuff they cut down to make them? Probably not. The Japanese have a great respect for nature.

Maybe this gas was made from millennia-old hummingbirds? That's certainly cuter than decomposing dinosaurs and ancient plant matter.

Yeah, I don't really know. Is it steering? Why you'd want a carp in a rolling cart at all, let alone on the side of an enormous gas tank, is not something I can answer. But I'd still enjoy having it outside my window.

Everything's going to be great, I can feel it. Might just be gas though.

Have a happy weekend! 

You can find many more creatively decorated tanks (Tandem bicycles! Fat children! Soccer balls!) and their locations at the Gastank Map.

Core77's editors spend time combing through the news so you don't have to. Here's a weekly roundup of our favorite stories from the World Wide Web.

All Aboard!

If you've ever had the pleasure of traveling by rail in Japan you know they take train design very seriously—from the super smooth Shinkansen to the jam-packed commuter lines, each mode of travel is a reflection of Japan's hyper-efficiency. This week, in honor of its 100th anniversary, the Seibu Group has unveiled a new train designed by architect Kazuyo Sejima. The express train is designed to blend into the surrounding landscape with semi-transparent and mirrored surfaces, and an interior designed to function as a relaxed living-room space. It's expected to start rolling out on Seibu Railway's commuter network around Tokyo in 2018.

—Rebecca Veit, columnist, Designing Women

How My Art Degree Made Me a Better Tech CEO

I am personally not someone who followed a linear career path (product designer-turned-editor here), so this article about art majors making great leaders resonated with me as I'm sure it does to many creatives in this generation. Design thinking may not be something I literally practice each day, but it has given me the ability to problem solve on a multidimensional scale, and that right there is an indispensable skill gained from a seemingly tangential field of study. We can't necessarily expect to end up going into the field we studied in school, but we also shouldn't forget that the overarching lessons we learn there can be highly indicative of the way we end up dealing with everyday hurdles.

—Allison Fonder, community manager

In Defense of Homogeneous Design

For all the differences between physical and digital product design, the two fields share quite a few similarities and I constantly find myself pulling from one to the other. In this Medium post, Yaron Schoen writes a compelling argument for homogeneous design, championing accessibility over slick home pages. "Jackets all look the same too, but hey, I'm pretty sure I know where my pockets are."

 —Carly Ayres, columnist, In the Details 

If the World Began Again, Would Life as We Know it Exist?

This exploration of what might have happened if we were to rewind "the tape of life" is filled with more questions than answers, but it's an endlessly fascinating rabbit hole to go down, as we follow the evolutionary experts who are trying to figure out "whether every living thing is the result of a several-billion-year-long chain of lucky chances, or whether we all—salamanders and humans alike—are as inevitable as death and taxes."

—Alexandra Alexa, editorial assistant

The Minutiae Man: Paul Lukas and the Universe

Core77 old-schoolers will remember the days when Paul Lukas filled these very pages with his obsessive inquiries into consumer culture and will no doubt be pleased to catch up with him in this piece over on Vice. Speaking about the Brannock Device—the thing you use to measure your shoe size—he notes: "It's a universal touchstone in our culture; like there's literally nobody in America you can think of whose foot has not been in a Brannock Device at some point. But almost nobody knows what it's called. So it's simultaneously ubiquitous and anonymous, which to me is a very powerful combination." Lukas's work seeks mainly to elucidate that anonymity, to give it names and histories and cultural context. His devotion is such that he sports a Brannock Device tattoo.

—Eric Ludlum, editorial director

Here's your weekly roundup of our favorite videos featured on Core77's Instagram feed!

5. This Knife Cuts Through Trees Like Nobody's Business

A hunting knife for you or your favorite lumberjack. 

4. MIT's Transforming Metamaterial

This week, we covered Harvard researchers' new transforming, internally actuating metamaterial based on origami that could revolutionize emergency shelters.

3. Tuba Time

Who know watching someone turn a tuba could be so calming? 

2. Little Blue Man is Shown No Mercy

Can't. Stop. Watching.

1. Make a Camp Stove with Just a Soda Can, Cotton Balls, and Some Lighter Fluid

Can't afford that fancy camp stove you've had your eyes on? Well, you're in luck...(Find the whole tutorial within this week's Maker's Roundup) 

There isn't much to say about this vehicle that the pictures don't already convey—it is a rare thing. This well-pedigreed mongrel, possessing a classic and familiar shape yet visibly strange disposition, bears testament to the many hands and hours required to forge such a beast. But these few pics are just a taste, so we highly encourage you to give work (or Facebook) a break this Friday and read/see the whole story—singular, yet familiar to designer-types—of its path to realization:  It’s Not A Land Rover. It’s That Land Rover…

Even fixie riders can't resist its animal allure.

Yes! A spray gun shifter knob.

Details, details

All photos via Speedhunters& Larry Chen

Ever worried about the safety of your wheels or seat when your bike is out of sight? Hexlox is a miniscule new solution to easily stolen bike accessories that's getting pretty big on Kickstarter. The system is based around the ever-present Allen head bolts found all over all kinds of bikes, with a couple unusual features. 

Allen bolts are used for virtually everything in modern bikes, from attaching brake levers, to adjusting seat height, to clamping on wheels. The ubiquity is a huge selling point: pick up any set of metric Allen wrenches and you'll be able to fiddle with a bike. But for those of us who want to be alone in the fiddling, there are very few surefire ways to protect these parts.

The Hexlox is a magnetized nut with a smooth domed profile and a spike in the middle, which fits directly into the head of the Allen bolt. The nut is inserted and removed with a similarly small–but very keychain-friendly–key. It fills the bolt head entirely to block tools, and adheres through magnetic connection strong enough to resist removal by bumpy road or hand-held magnet.

The smooth rounded head sits nearly flush and is resistant to removal by screwdrivers, vice grips, lock picking tools and more. It is being offered in the three most standard sizes used on modern bikes (4mm, 5mm, and 6mm), and the company has adapter options for bikes with titanium or other non-ferrous bolts. They're under 2 grams

Absolutely not to scale

To the best of my understanding the keys and bolts are a distinct match, and with each set you'll also get a code to buy replacement bolts or keys that fit. There are understandably few close photos of the keys or Hexlox nuts, so it's hard to get a gut sense of how accurate their claims are or how it really really works. That said, they've demoed their wares at Eurobike and a couple high level bike shows, and run them by a Berlin Lockpicking Society member who couldn't undo it. 

I'm normally unimpressed by proprietary and keyed bike security (beyond the classic U-lock), because you normally get nominal security at the detriment of the parts' mechanical functionality or a key that's too small to tighten anything well. That these adapt existing hardware, pop in and out in a second, and can be used on virtually any removable bike part is very interesting.

The biggest downsides I can imagine are the small (ergo losable) size of the Hexlox, and the small (ergo losable) size of the key. As of this writing the campaign creators have gotten feedback about including multiple keys in each pack and are looking into it. 

All in all this seems like a low-fuss and seriously low-profile way to secure the more permanent components on a bike. In cities where most bikes stolen are stripped for parts, the Hexlox could save the seats and sanity of concerned bike parents. 

Would you use them?

Jumpstart your week with our insider's guide to events in the design world. From must-see exhibitions to insightful lectures and the competitions you need to know about—here's the best of what's going on, right now.

Monday

The risk of potential failure can be a fragile concept for students in creative fields, but it can also be one of the most valuable learning experiences. How do we make room for exploration without fear within design school programs? What strategies are creative educators implementing to reframe the notion of failure and encourage risk-taking among their students? These questions will be explored during What if...Why Not...? a one-day symposium on the nature of creative risk taking in art, design and performance education. 

London, UK. March 21, 2016 at 9:30 AM. 

Tuesday

The annual Phil Patton Memorial Lecture series debuts this week, in honor of the late design critic. Patton was fascinated by cars so in this inaugural edition, Women and Cars, professor Russell Flinchum will trace the overlooked role female designer's played in transforming the horseless carriage into the first modern automobiles of the 1920's. 

New York, NY. March 22, 2016 at 6:30 PM. 

Wednesday

Opening this week at the Museum of Arts and Design is the first American retrospective featuring the work of Studio Job, the collaborative duo composed of Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel. Occupying a hybrid space between art and design, their work (created mostly in their Belgian studio, pictured above) revives traditional applied-arts techniques such as bronze casting, stained glass, and marquetry through their characteristically humorous and provocative designs, which will be on display in an immersive installation that includes art objects, furniture, sculpture, lighting, interiors, and wall and floor coverings. 

New York, NY. On view through August 21, 2016. 

Thursday

Built in 1857, Central Park has since become an integral part of New York City's DNA, a true oasis in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world. In this presentation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, architectural historian Barry Lewis will chart the park's design and realization, revealing how it became Gotham's very own Garden of Eden.

New York, NY. March 24, 2016 at 6:30 PM. 

Friday

Earlier this month, the first comprehensive retrospective of interior designer and textile artist Alexander Girard, A Designer's Universe, opened at the Vitra Design Museum. Through 700 pieces including rare archival content, the museum has staged a joyful show depicting the full extent of his oeuvre and highlighting some of his most important influences, such as pop art and folk art, in which he found echoes of a playful spirit that he ended up seeking in his own work: "The objects were not designed for deep contemplation but rather as simple expressions of delight, amusement or reverence. They were created by the spirit of the craftsman. Invented and fashioned by an individual for the enjoyment of others."

Weil-am-Rhein, Germany. On view through January 29, 2017. 

Saturday/Sunday

Don't miss the final days of e-waste Tsunami, an exhibition featuring the work of students in the Parsons' School of Constructed Environments, Industrial Design MFA program and STUDIOFYNN. Through photographic documentation and data visualization, the show traces the life of electronic products from the desktops of affluent households to the poorest corners of the world, while trying to find new ways to see the global ecosystems behind the creation, use and disposal of e-waste.

New York, NY. On view through March 26, 2016. 

Upcoming Deadlines

March 25 - Call for Submissions: Young Package 2016

Packaging design can no longer afford to be mainly about aesthetics—how can we create multi-functional packages that work on multiple levels? 

Check out the Core77 Calendar for more design world events, competitions and exhibitions, or submit your own to be considered for our next Week in Design.

As a child, I had a mild fear of the dark. Okay, I would scream hysterically whenever left in a pitch black room. I had a Peter Cottontail nightlight for most of my childhood, upgrading to a plain white one in the hallway for a few years after that, and now I live in New York where light pollution does the trick just fine. The thing is, I'm not alone in my irrational terror. I share this anxiety with tons of small children around the globe — children who would probably be excited to hear about LeeLuu, a touch-controlled nightlight.

Featuring special touch sensors, LeeLuu is part-nightlight, part toy. Born out of an interactive prototyping class at Aalto University, the team evolved post-graduation to Lisa Gerkens, Hanna Markgren, Emmi Pouta and Heini Salovuori, women from Germany, Sweden and Finland with talents ranging from product development and design strategy to textile innovation and business development.

"LeeLuu wasn't anybody's idea, but more the result of working together as a team and going out and talking and building with children," says Gerkens, who heads up product development for LeeLuu. Together, the team participated in an early idea startup program in Helsinki in Summer of 2014, deciding pretty quickly that they wanted to take their idea further. "We started presenting our work in the startup community and founded our company LeeLuu Labs Oy in December 2014," Gerkens says.

The interactive textile sensor

Stemming from their own personal experiences and that of co-founder Pouta's own children, the team decided to focus on the time a child needs to learn to sleep in their own beds and rooms. "We wanted to make that moment less frightening," Gerkens says. Pouta, a textile designer by profession, had been working with interactive fabrics and textile sensors for quite some time, and wanted to bring that knowledge to tackle this problem.

Focusing on developing different ways to interact with the sensors, the team created "soft" interfaces that could be activated through gentle squeezing — or hugging — and light patting. "When it comes to our product we realized that we want to have a very "human" soft interaction and in order to do that we simply had to develop our own technology as well," Gerkens says. "The sensor we developed can sense touch and pressure at the same time and does so more efficiently than other solutions. Now we are working on improving manufacturability."

The team developed a few different physical prototypes in the form of soft, white balls wrapped in their patent-pending sensors that would light up in different ways upon touch. (Gently squeezing turns the light on, while brightness can be controlled through lightly patting the device.) They contacted schools and kindergartens in the area to test out their concept, workshopping with over 100 children.

Giving children the prototypes, Gerkens and the LeeLuu team would tell them that the ball has abilities, leaving the kids to their own devices to figure it out. "All of them found out the capabilities and could replicate the interactions within under a minute," Gerkens says.

The workshops also informed the final size of LeeLuu, as the team offered children a range of forms to play and interact with. "Originally we were quite worried that the [product] needed to be small and we would have to fit all the electronics super efficiently, but then all the kids actually rather liked bigger sizes and were quite proud using the toy with two hands," Gerkens says. Weight was also determined through these tests, as the team looked to find a balance between what children found comfortable and "huggable," while still meeting requirements for batteries and the other electronics inside.

Deciding the final characters LeeLuu would take was a whole other matter. "The original designs (seen in the images) were much more grown up," Gerkens says. "When we were starting to think of the commercialization, we started creating entire families of animals, monsters and so on. The kids related most to the real animals, so we started to developing those." The team finally settled on a cat, owl and hedgehog as the initial manifestations for LeeLuu—the first round of animals have similar forms differing only in the detailed illustrations applied to their exterior skin.

As for the biggest challenge of all? "Ears, definitely ears, should they be purple — or what's the perfect shape?" Gerkens says.

All LeeLuus have a removable, washable linen skin, embedded with haptic touch sensors. Beneath that, LeeLuus have a foam piece that firmly secures the base for a pat textile sensor, electronics and lights. "I believe that the core of what's under the hood is our expertise with textile sensors and how to work with users," Gerkens says. 

Glowing Owl LeeLuu

LeeLuu Labs is just getting started. The team just launched an Indiegogo campaign last week to fund the product, offering an early bird price for LeeLuu at €69 (~$78 USD) and looking to raise €50,000 (~$57,000.00) over the next month. "With our expertise in textiles and work with users in mind we are looking at designing more consumer products," Gerkens says. "For now, all focus is on LeeLuu."

The most notable thing about comparing power tools for professionals and power tools for consumers is that there are actually really minor differences—mostly, they are just power tools that don’t perform quite as well or last quite as long. The form factors and especially the design language of these craft tools are usually identical to the professional counterparts.

This situation leads to a very specific user base of consumer power tools. Their aggressive, rugged and “manly” style stereotypically appeals to middle aged men doing so-called “hard DIY” projects. These individuals usually have their own workshop or tool collection and try to mimic professionals as much as possible.On the other side, you have people doing “soft DIY” projects, often executed by young adults and women of all ages.

The currently available range of power tools on the market don’t really reflect the needs of these users. They are oftentimes overpowered, scary and don’t reflect the lifestyle of people not interested in hard DIY.

BOSCH toolkit tries to be an answer to not only the way tools will be used and adapted in the future, but also to define a friendlier, more approachable aesthetic that is inclusive to a wide ranging user base.

When Nike came through with an actual pair of self-lacing Mags, presented to Michael J. Fox on October 21st, 2015, we all thought the Back to the Future callback was cool. What we didn't expect was that Nike would actually pursue the technology in order to provide practical benefits to the wearer.

Nike has announced their HyperAdapt 1.0 kicks, which they're calling "the first step into the future of adaptive performance." The sneaker self-laces—well, tightens itself, really—once the user steps into it, as their heel triggers a sensor that drives some type of onboard motor. While tech details are scant, they have revealed that the shoe uses an "underfoot lacing mechanism," meaning the appearance of the laces up top will not change, as they did in Back to the Future II. The user can also quickly microadjust the fit via two buttons on the side that trigger tightening and loosening functions.

The idea behind the technology is that it confers an actual performance advantage:

The innovation solves another enduring athlete-equipment quandary: the ability to make swift micro-adjustments. Undue pressure caused by tight tying and slippage resulting from loose laces are now relics of the past. Precise, consistent, personalized lockdown can now be manually adjusted on the fly. "That's an important step, because feet undergo an incredible amount of stress during competition," says [Nike designer Tinker Hatfield].

The person tasked with making these shoes a reality is engineer Tiffany Beers, a Senior Innovator at Nike. As project lead, Beers coordinated a team of engineers through the required steps to arrive at the shoe, starting big: Their first effort was a snowboard boot with an external motor. While that might sound unpromising, in terms of scale, Beers and her team got the technology sneaker-sized for the famous October 21st target date for Fox, and the HyperAdapt is the next step.

As the "1.0" in the name indicates, it may take a few iterations before Nike hits the home run they're seeking, but we're more impressed that they're going down this path in the first place. The company's end goal goes beyond mere gimmickry, as revealed by Hatfield:

"Wouldn't it be great if a shoe, in the future, could sense when you needed to have it tighter or looser? Could it take you even tighter than you'd normally go if it senses you really need extra snugness in a quick maneuver? That's where we're headed. In the future, product will come alive."

The shoe will be released later this year for the holiday season, in three different colors. As you'll see in the video below, in order to buy a pair you'll need to have downloaded the company's Nike+ app.

Susanne Bartsch is the fairy godmother of the weird and beautiful party scene you've seen in movies and always kind of hoped was real. Even if you have no interest in parties, fashion, or history, the trailer for @Bartschland is a fun 3 minutes.

At the nexus of style and art and pop culture and subculture and design, there are parties. And if you are very creative, very lucky, and very tapped into the wildest parts of your city, the parties you attend might be changing society. Most of us wouldn't make that claim, but with help we might be able live vicariously through those who can.

Susanne Bartsch has thrown some of the world's most stunning events for nearly three decades. The Swiss-born style icon struck out on her own at 17, into the high holy era of early punk London. After falling in with scene noteworthies like Malcom McLaren she moved on to the brighter lights (and trashier trash) of New York City. There she swiftly made a name for herself as both a design curator and a nightlife ambassador. She ran a boutique (eventually two), highlighting then unknown names like John Galiano and Vivienne Westwood. After lamenting the lack of fun in a post-Warhol NYC, she started hosting the parties she wanted to attend, and where few rules applied. 

Her weekly events at Savage, the Copacabana and others are now legendary as the jumping off point for innovative designers and performers, attended by characters as flashy and world-changing as Leigh Bowery, RuPaul, Amanda Lepore, and Madonna.

Though most famous for her lavish bashes and her wild personal looks, Bartsch is also rightfully known for bringing disparate worlds together. Under her direction aesthetic schools have mingled and social worlds tangled, and she has used that melting pot for good. By the late '80s the swinging style of her parties had exploded in notoriety, and so had the desperate nature of the AIDS epidemic. Her 1990 Love Ball raised an estimated $2.5 million towards combatting the disease, and highlighted the style and talents of Harlem's Ball scene performers in the process.

She spent the latter half of the '90s out of the limelight, raising her son and while gourmet brands' kink and drag themed styles of the era ran their course. In the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, she felt the city needed its spirit back, and stepped out to become queen of nightlife again, in NYC and around the globe. Since then she's continued to host, promote, design, and collaborate, as the party scene has changed over and over.

Bartsch was a pioneer in bringing sculptural fashion, BDSM design, and the performative art of drag performers to wider audiences, and she hasn't stopped stunning now that drag is on TV. A recent retrospective at FIT showcased the still-outlandish outfits she's worked on and worn over the years and prompted the effort to document her ongoing work and legacy. The @Bartschland project already has hundreds of hours of archival and verite footage shot by Anthony&Alex, who are no strangers to colorful scenes themselves. If successful, the Kickstarter campaign will allow them to shoot and edit towards a feature length documentary in time for a festival-season release. 

The @Bartschland Kickstarter campaign runs through April 8, 2016. Though she shows no signs of stopping, a dedicated documentary would be a worthy way to honor the work of a true grand dame in fashion.

Right now it seems as if robots are being taught to basically accomplish any task a human could: some execute these tasks exceptionally while others are a serious work in progress. In any case, it seems like robots are here to stay, so that's something we all should probably get more comfortable with—including the world's future generations.

Several students at the University of Design Schwaebisch Gmünd in Germany are trying to start a clear conversation about this hypothetical future through the lens of design. Their recent design project entitled Raising Robotic Narrativesis a four part visual conceptualization of ideas surrounding the possibility of robots in the home. The collection of products is meant to be used by children and it speaks to our coinciding optimism and fears about our imminent robot friends.

Some components of this collection exist to address our growing concerns around the role of robots in our lives. One product called the "Living Room Kill Switch" is a proposed solution and visualization of these technological anxieties. Meant to plug into any regular socket, the button automatically cuts power in case of any robot-related mishap. 

Another product helps parents save time by automatically bottle feeding their baby. The product raises an interesting question: "should we let robots replace humans in those activities we considered most intimate?"

Other parts of Raising Robotic Narratives touch on the unique outlook of future generations who will be born into a world where robots are integrated into our daily lives. A dragon costume for your robot speaks to the importance of companionship and role play in the early stages of life—a space where a robot could come in handy. "[Roleplay] helps the child process experiences, acquire skills and explore its personality," says designer Jonas Voight, and "by personifying the robot to become a cute dragon, we want to explore its social status in society. Could robots exceed their role as tools if they are made more approachable?"

Finally, "My First Robot" is a friendly children's book in this collection meant to teach kids about the history of robots as well as our potential future alongside them.

The premise behind the overall collection is highly satirical, but that's precisely the point: in the future, we may not have a robotic arm feeding our children, but it is safe to say there will be many subtle alternatives to such an idea. 

All serious speculations aside, one last fun thing about Robotic Narratives is that if you have the bandwidth, they've actually designed the collection to be totally open source. So if you're on the market for a baby feeder toolhead, don't fret—you can just go ahead and make one yourself. 

Spotted at Holz-Handwerk: Here's a great example of chasing down every single design option within an object that is the very symbol of limitation. Bavaria-based Sortimo's signature product is, in essence, a box for carrying things. How many different ways can one modify a box, in order to meet the highly specific needs of the most possible people?

Tons of ways, as it turns out. Take a look.

Tough and Heavy

Sortimo started out in 1973, producing cases in the material of the day: Metal. Today they still feature a Metal Suitcase for the safe transport of heavy-duty goods:

It consists of high-strength steel and a durable powder coating. The metal case can be fitted in four different heights and with inset boxes, nozzle inserts and dividers. The one-handed operation as well as the 120 degree angle stop of the lid is a great relief in [the user's] daily work. Locking is automatic [with the] dropping of the lid.

Tough and Lightweight

Metal isn't for everyone, of course, and the trend these days is towards plastic for lightweighting purposes. (Think about your fuel costs if you've got a van loaded up with these things.) For those in this camp that still want something rugged, they produce this beefy plastic HD Suitcase:

The HD case is made of sturdy plastic, which is designed with reinforcements, protectors and a highly stable grip for tough working conditions. The shoulder strap not only allows a joint-gentle transport, but also keeps your hands free.

"Order and Findability"

Both of the above cases are opaque, but there are plenty of times when you want to quickly locate and access a small part. For this there's the transparent T-Boxx:

The T-BOXX guarantees order and findability firstly through the transparent cover on the other by the inset boxes that are securely locked in any size and position at the bottom and lid. Thanks to the base body made of polypropylene, the T-BOXX can be [laid atop] sensitive surfaces such as parquet or marble without hesitation. In addition, it is extremely robust and resilient - it maintains the rigors of a construction site without any problems.

Bringing Parts Over to the Work in a Messy Environment

For those times when you want to bring your storage bin over to the work--imagine it being filled with fasteners when you've got a lot of pre-drilled holes waiting for you, for instance--there's the S-Boxx, which is meant to slide into one of the company's storage. And the S-Boxx, despite its clean appearance, is designed for messy situations.

The S-BOXX works as a small drawer, but can of course also be removed if necessary. The contents of the drawer boxes can be further divided by partitions. A viewing window on the front allows sighting of the contents. The S-BOXX is resistant to oil, petrol and many chemicals.

Flexible Storage

The M-Boxx is a bit more multifunctional. It can also be slid into a storage unit to be used as a removable drawer, but has a center-mounted handle for toting heavier wares. The lid can also be removed for easier access.

The M-BOXX is easy to carry thanks to the generous handle and can be retrofitted on any shelf in Sortimo in-vehicle equipment. By inserting of dividers [contents can be] divided separately. For sensitive cargoes, foam inserts or inserts for bottles and cans are available. The M-BOXX is resistant to oil, petrol and many chemicals.

Stackable and Modular

The L-Boxx and L-Boxx Mini most closely compete with Tanos' Systainers. The sizing options and stackability are similar, as is the ease of which they boxes are connected and separated, though Sortimo's design offers two handles for flexibility in carrying.

The quality and lightweight transport box offers enough space and security for various tools, supplies or customer samples. Through various ways of dividing the L-BOXX [provides] order. Also beneficial: the quick click system, by which the boxes effortlessly connect and can be separated again with a single [manipulation]. The L-BOXX has two carrying handles: a built-in lid handle and a front handle. It is available in four heights.

Stackable and Modular with Removable Components

The LS-Boxx goes a bit further than the L-Boxx, adding bays in which the end user can slide smaller, transparent-lidded I-Boxxes (see below) for small parts storage.

The LS-BOXX consists of a base container and three different slots for i-BOXX or drawers. Thus, both large equipment and small parts can be neatly stored and transported safely. Like all Sortimo developments is the LS-BOXX aimed at facilitating the processes in the mobile working day of craft and service and to optimize in terms of security, safety and economy. It is clickable with all boxes from the L-BOXX family.

Small Parts Storage

The i-Boxx is the way to go when you need to store a bunch of small parts that you don't want getting jostled around and intermingled in transit.

The i-BOXX is the small, cheap and smart way for the sort and the safe transport of small parts such as fasteners. Screws, dowels, etc. can be ordered in small quantities in the ideal inset boxes. The i-BOXX has a transparent cover, so that their content is always visible. It can be integrated in the LS-BOXX or the i-BOXX Rack.

Stowing Lots and Lots of Small Parts

The I-Boxx also has an alternate home option: They can be dropped into these sliding rack drawers when you need to travel with a bunch of them.

The i-BOXX Rack can be used as a shelf in the workshop as well as a mobile storage system. The rack is an element that can be integrated into the i-BOXX and LS-drawers and kept stacked and transported. Tools and materials can be quickly exchanged, whereby the craftsmen saves a lot of time. Several i-BOXX racks, one above the other, can be connected to a mobile vault. The racks can be clicked together with classic L-BOXX and LS-BOXXes.

Messy and Heavy

Of course, not every tool fits neatly in a case. And I suspect a lot of people would prefer a more open-ended storage system that allows one to quickly dump large, heavy tools into it without precise placement. For that there's the LT-Boxx, which offers maximum access and again offers the center-mounted handle for heavy loads:

The LT-BOXX is a compact universal tool case with very fast access. It facilitates transport of bulky tools from the vessel to the end use [and the open design provides] easy loading and unloading. The toolbox is upward and downward fully compatible with other boxes in the system - whether L-BOXX, the LS-BOXX or the i-BOXX Rack. The LT-BOXX is available in four different sizes that vary in height. In addition, a model with drawers is available. As with the LS-BOXX they are optionally equipped with i-BOXX or drawers.

(By the bye, in all of Sortimo's press materials they never mention the material by name, instead saying only "sturdy plastic." I inspected the boxes up close and they appear to be ABS, while the transparent components appear to be polycarbonate.)

In addition to the diversity of designs, Sortimo has paid a lot of attention to where all of these boxes go. Specifically, they reckon they're the experts in mobile tool transportation, and have thus devised a comprehensive system for storing all of their wares inside of a kitted-out vehicle. We'll take a look at that system in an upcoming entry.

More from Core77's coverage of this year's Holz-Handwerk Show!

This is the latest installment of our Designing Women series. Previously, we celebrated Cini Boeri's joyful Italian design.

Spend any time researching pioneering female designers and you'll likely run across General Motors' so-called Damsels of Design, a group of ten women brought on board by the automaker in the mid-1950s, and the first prominent all-female design team in American history. But not a lot of people know the full story of the Damsels, which is not quite the tale of female empowerment you would hope for.

Six of GM's "Damsels of Design" who worked on automotive interiors, photographed circa 1955. From left: Suzanne Vanderbilt, Ruth Glennie, Marjorie Ford Pohlman, Harley Earl, Jeanette Linder, Sandra Longyear and Peggy Sauer. All images courtesy General Motors

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Damsels' history begins with a man. Harley J. Earl was the vice president of GM's Styling Section (now known as GM Design), where he ushered in a number of new design strategies for the automaker, including concept cars, planned obsolescence and the notion of stoking consumer demand with annual model updates. He also introduced female designers to his department in the '40s and '50s, believing they could help make automobiles that appealed to female consumers. As he put it in a 1958 press release, "The skilled feminine hands helping to shape our cars of tomorrow are worthy representatives of American women, who today cast the final vote in the purchase of three out of four automobiles."

Glennie's Fancy Free Corvette for the 1958 Feminine Auto Show—an exhibition staged to promote the female designers' work

Glennie's Corvette came with a set of four interchangeable seat covers (one for each season), as well as GM's first ever retractable seat belt. 

Glennie with the Fancy Free Corvette, 1958

Early hires in the Styling department included Helene Rother, who joined GM in 1943 (staying for four years before setting out to establish her own design firm that specialized in automotive interiors for Nash Motors) and Amy Stanley in 1945 (of whom very little is known). But, according to GM archivist Natalie Morath, the automaker kept news of its first female designers under wraps. Then, in the mid-1950s, Earl set out to enlist more women and recruited heavily from Pratt Institute's industrial design program—and this time, the new hires were widely publicized and used as a marketing tool. The ten who joined GM were quickly dubbed the "Damsels of Design" by the automaker's PR team.

Sauer redesigned an Oldsmobile Fiesta Carousel station wagon for the 1958 exhibition.

The Carousel's child-friendly backseat included storage for toys, a magnetic game board and child-proof latches that could be controlled from the dashboard.

Their ranks included Suzanne Vanderbilt, Ruth Glennie, Marjorie Ford Pohlman, Jeanette Linder, Sandra Longyear and Peggy Sauer—whom were placed in GM's automotive interior-design departments for brands like Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, Oldsmobile and Pontiac. There they worked on every interior element (seats, doors, trim, detailing, color and fabrics) except the instrument panel, which was deemed off limits to women. The other four Damsels—Jan Krebs, Dagmar Arnold, Gere Kavanaugh and Jayne Van Alstyne—worked as industrial designers for GM-owned Frigidaire, where they helped create the Kitchen of Tomorrow, and also designed displays and exhibits for the Styling department.

Gere Kavanaugh transformed GM's Styling Dome for the 1958 exhibition, which included ninety rented canaries housed in floor-to-ceiling net columns. (When the lights were switched on, the birds would start singing.)

In 1958, to promote the Damsels' work, Earl organized what was called the Feminine Auto Show in GM's Styling Dome. The women embraced the design challenge, and as designer Suzanne Vanderbilt put it, "particularly enjoyed proving to our male counterparts that we are not in the business to add lace doilies to seat backs or rhinestones to the carpets, but to make the automobile just as usable and attractive to both men and women as we possibly can." As Jeff Stork pointed out last year in Automobile magazine, this included adding features that we now take for granted like child-proof doors, lighted makeup mirrors, retractable seat belts and storage consoles.

Of course, it's easy now to roll your eyes at the promotional video for the exhibition and dismiss it as a throwback to a time when inequality reigned and women were supposedly only concerned with snagging their nylons on the seat upholstery. But as Vanderbilt relates, the ingrained sexism directed at the designers was a real impediment to their careers, and a constant thorn in their sides: "What distressed most of us was that we could never be identified as just designers. We were always 'la femmes', or 'the female designers', … but as designer[s], we designed the same as the men did."

Vanderbilt demonstrating an early car phone and built-in memo pad—custom features for her 1958 exhibition-model Cadillac Eldorado Seville

Unfortunately, the Damsels' tenure at GM only lasted a few years, coming to an abrupt end when Earl retired after the 1958 exhibition. His successor, Bill Mitchell, was less than enthusiastic about working with female designers, and most of the women scattered to other jobs in design. Most notably, Dagmar Arnold went to IBM, where she was the first woman at the company to receive a patent, for her external design of the 1301 Disk Storage Unit. Suzanne Vanderbilt and Jayne Van Alstyne both stayed on at GM—for 23 and 14 years, respectively—and continued to challenge the male-dominated field. In our next Designing Women column, on April 5, we'll take an in-depth look at Suzanne Vanderbilt's career in car design.

Linder loading a matching set of luggage into the trunk of her exhibition-model Impala Martinique

Longyear's exhibition-model Bonneville Polaris convertible for Pontiac featured a storage compartment for a picnic.

Pohlman demonstrates the glove box dictaphone included in the exhibition-model of her Buick Shalimar.  

The purple interior included a hidden umbrella compartment and a somewhat absurd overhead light fixture.

Pohlman with her exhibition-model Tampico Buick Special convertible 

This week we bring you our pressing topic of the moment straight from our reader-controlled discussion boards! This is technical conundrum asked of the Core77 discussion board audience last year and is still in need of some confirmation. Core77-er Mitso asks:

"Hi guys. Was looking through Lapka's website after reading about the the Air bnb buyout. I really like this 'splatter' look of this product which reminds me of the finishes found on enamel camping mugs. Does anyone know what process is being used here? Thanks in advance!"

The Lapka Breathalyzer listed above is purportedly made from ceramic, so the answers thus far as to how the splatter effect was created have been inconclusive—can't be injection molding. Is it splatter painting? Userralphzoontjens puts up a pretty solid theory, although this applies to creating a similar product from plastic: 

"It looks like flakes of a material with higher melting point and cohesion value than the base plastic would be injected together. Alternatively small beads could be splattered onto the mold surface, or it could be In-Mold-Labeling but those methods would be more labor-intensive. Also looking at different Bose Freestyle earbuds which have the same effect applied to them, they appear to all be different so I think it's a simple mixing of different plastic flakes into the IM machine. It's a cool effect so if anyone knows a manufacturer that does this, that would be great!"

Does anyone have firsthand experience finishing a surface like this? How does achieving this visual effect differ across different materials? Also, have you found any manufacturers that specialize in finishing processes like this? Contribute in the comment feed below and help get the conversation going.

(Also feel free to check out the original post and contribute on our discussion board!)

Meadow Anderson has worked on sustainable product policy in D.C., holds a Ph.D. in chemistry, and she finds her way to us tonight to talk ceramics. 

Her life has been made up of a lot of different shapes, and she'll go into those details and the specifics of her craft tonight at 6 PM (PST).

If you can't make it, head to the Curiosity Club homepage for a live stream.

Let's throw some clay. 

The current water crisis in certain parts of the world isn't news but the facts and figures bear repeating. In Ethiopia, for example, women and children often have to walk up to six hours to collect the water they need and even then, the water they find, sourced from shallow wells or ponds that are shared with animals, is contaminated by waste and parasites. While a lot of resources from philanthropists like Bill Gates have been funneled into research and developing new methods for dealing with this widespread issue, there hasn't yet been an appropriate and comprehensive proposal for the situation at hand—the fact of the matter is, incorporating technology-based systems into remote rural villages is not a practical solution.

This stark reality moved Italian designer Arturo Vittori to pursue a different approach, a low-tech system grounded in the reality of Ethiopia's geographical and cultural context. Over the past several years, he has been prototyping and testing a unique vertical structure designed to collect and harvest potable water from atmospheric water vapors and rainfall. Warka Water is designed to rely solely on natural phenomena such as gravity, condensation and evaporation. Each tower (about 33 ft high) is composed of two layers: an exoskeleton built out of bamboo tied together with hemp ropes and an internal plastic mesh made of nylon and polypropylene fibers. Dew adheres to this scaffold and is then channeled down into a basin at the base of the structure from which the water can be harvested. 

The goal is to collect an annual average of 50 to 100 liters of potable water a day, which can be used as drinking water or stored for other purposes, like irrigation. Though the project is still in an early, experimental phase—only a handful of pilot tests have been built—it could end up being an alternative water infrastructure for the area. (It doesn't hurt that the towers look like beautiful totemic sculptures punctuating the landscape.) 

Formally, the structure combines biomimicry with the aesthetics of traditional Ethiopian basket-weaving techniques and local vernacular architecture. "Many plants and animals have developed unique micro- and nano-scale structural features on their surfaces that enable them to collect water from the air and survive in hostile environments," explains Vittori. "By studying the Namib beetle's shell, lotus flower leaves, spider web threads and the integrated fog collection system in cactus, we are identifying specific materials and coatings that can enhance dew condensation and water flow and storage capabilities of the mesh. The termite hives have influenced the design of Warka's outer shell, its airflow, shape and geometry." 

Though the complex geometry of the structure required some high-tech parametric design software, the final product is designed to be easily constructed by locals with readily available tools such as bamboo splitters, hammers, drills and saws. All of the elements required to build a Warka tower come in a kit and take a small team roughly one hour to assemble. The tower can be maintained without using any special tools or heavy machinery. "With training and guidance, the locals can easily build and maintain the Warka tower," says Vittori. "This local know-how can then be transferred to surrounding communities, with villagers helping install other towers in the area and creating an economy based on the assembly and maintenance of the towers."

Culturally, the project draws on the significance of the Warka tree, a local species with abundant foliage that draws people under its shade to meet, socialize, even conduct school lessons. The latest versions of the design include a similar canopy at the tower's base, gathering the community around a common goal and serving as a symbol of the project's larger educational and social aspirations. To use Warka as a catalyst for growth and development, the team is working on a water management training system, workshops that teach the principles of permaculture and also hopes to equip each canopy with internet connection in the future. 

I bet you didn't know this: The biscuit joiner was invented under the influence of drugs! In the 1950s, Swiss cabinetmaker Hermann Steiner had started working with particle board, which was back then a newfangled material, and he was having problems joining it. During the busy Christmas season he caught a bad fever and his wife gave him some painkillers. While he was in bed with the sweats, he had a vision for perfectly opposing slots cut into two edges of particle board, joined by an oval-shaped piece of wood. "My wife thought I had visions due to the fever," Steiner wrote, "but I myself was entirely convinced of my idea."

Steiner developed the concept into a workable machine, and his cabinetmaking shop was transformed into the producer of world-class wood-joining technologies today known as Lamello AG. At the Lamello booth at Holz-Handwerk, the machine on central display, the Zeta P2, still resembles a biscuit joiner…

…but it does something Steiner likely couldn't have imagined, high-powered meds or no. Take a look at the funky cut this thing makes—watch what it does at the end:

That sudden up-down oscillation of the bit at the end produces an undercut, which then means that specially designed, flanged, injection-molded biscuits can be inserted like this:

During glue-ups this joinery method, which Lamello calls the P-System, eliminates the one thing furniture makers are always running out of: Clamps. The time, money and space saved by eliminating the clamping step is of incalculable value for the busy shop. Not to mention the P-System is ideal for on-site work, where pieces may need to be cut to fit the precise environment—yet the fabricator does not need to arrive with a truck full of clamping gear.

The P-System offers a variety of connectors:

The one of most interest to me, particularly since my first ID job was in exhibition design, is the Clamex P-14 that you saw in the video above. These biscuits are detachable; used without glue, this would be the perfect (and nearly idiot-proof) connector to use for exhibition designs as they can easily be assembled and knocked down.

Another variety is the Tenso P-14, which doesn't require the pocket hole step as the connection is meant to be permanent. Instead, a male connector snap-fits into a female connector:

Then there's the Divario P-18, which has been designed for applications where, say, a shelf element needs to be slid into an existing structure between two fixed points. Imagine, for example, that you have an already-assembled carcass and are retroactively fitting in shelves, where your only option is to slide them in from the front:

While Lamello doesn't have strong brand recognition in America, in Europe they're as well-known as Milwaukee or Porter-Cable is over here. They had one of the larger booths on the trade show floor.

You can learn more about the P-System here.

P.S. What drew me to the Lamello both was this: As noisy as the Holz-Handwerk floor was, I could still hear a distinctive clattering coming from the Lamello booth and went over to investigate. A guy was demoing that contactless Invis joinery system based on magnets, and it seems just as crazy in person as it did in the video.

More from Core77's coverage of this year's Holz-Handwerk Show!

Smart Design celebrates a rich heritage in designing experiences in the kitchen. Whether we're rethinking the tools people are using to prepare meals or the food that they're serving, we approach this space to answer this question: "How can design make experiences more meaningful?" Alongside our legacy client OXO "we study people—lefties and righties, male and female, young and old—interacting with products and we identify opportunities for meaningful improvement."

In my work with Smart's Food Lab, I've considered how design empowers and educates people on what they're eating and preparing in the kitchen. We recently launched an Instagram series on our 5 Palatable Principles, which unpack how design should inform our approach to food rituals, packaging and prep. These principles were originally informed by this thought piece that I wrote last year.

Here are 5 palatable principles from Smart Design's Food Lab, which touch on these themes:

1. Make the experience of eating meaningful

All photos by Mason Umholtz

To foster better eating habits, design the experience around the food to be delicious and meaningful, just like meals themselves.

2. Pay attention to food processes from purchase to consumption

From purchase, to prepping, to cooking and ultimately consuming, it's the collection of these signature moments that have the potential to create experiential sustenance.

3. Make it clear to the consumer what they're eating through visual cues

Show, don't tell. Food can take on many forms in preparation, but visualizing taste and nutrition matters the most.

4. In order to encourage healthy eating, create a clear design narrative

Understanding the intersection of public health and food starts with collaboration between nutritionists and designers to initiate a meaningful dialogue with consumers.

5. Use the power of design to put food portions and health in perspective

Designed visual cues raise awareness of portion sizing and encourages a better understanding around healthy eating patterns.

This is an editorial piece written by designer Joey Zeledon of Smart Design, one of our judges for the latest 1-Hour Design Challenge.

Design a kitchen tool that truly streamlines your life— learn more about our newest 1-Hour Kitchen Tool Design Challenge and send us your sketches!

It's not complicated: less shopping time means more shop time.

We've taken two workshop essentials, paired them together, and cut the price. Now through the end of March, choose either our original Herringbone Work or Waist Apron and get our most popular safety specs to match for $42.00. 

Both the Work and Waist Apron feature big pockets, tough stitching, and thicker than normal fabric. And the safety specs boast a strong, comfortable frame, a just-in-case wire cage, and sleek, effortless style.

Tie up, frame up, and get back to work for only $42.00.

The Holz-Handwerk show demonstrates that there really are designers around the world working on every problem you can think of, both big and small. For instance, a Swiss company called Peka has been "developing and producing waste bin and sorting systems for over 30 years." None of us think of the kitchen garbage can as a design object, but as they point out,

The waste bin is the most frequently-used piece of kitchen equipment. A well-designed bin that is tailored to your needs makes it much easier to work and clean in the kitchen.

To be sure, the central display in their booth was unpromising: Just a bare countertop and cabinets.

But that's kind of the point. Peka has designed everything to be hidden away, organized and unobtrusive, behind closed doors.

So what're we looking at here? Peka's system is meant to utilize the under-sink space, which is often tricky to utilize efficiently given the modern trend of buying ever-deeper sinks. At the risk of fetishizing Swiss precision, I found the demo video highly entertaining, perhaps for the wrong reasons:

Details that might not be obvious from the video: The height of the rig that holds the garbage can and compost bin in place are height-adjustable (during installation) in order to clear the sink basin; unseen dividers prevent the bins from sliding around; the plastic clamping mechanism can hold plastic bags of different sizes, allowing you to use whatever you've got on hand to use as a garbage bag; the inside of the compost bin has radiused edges to ensure no food gets stuck in the corners; and just above the top of the bins is a metal tray that can hold a dustpan and broom.

Here is the Peka take on what to do with cabinet and closet space:

After getting over the shocking fact that the Swiss can transmit speech without moving their mouths, I found myself admiring the attention to detail of the products. I know you weren't at the show, but I touched the stuff in person and unsurprisingly, the mechanisms all worked flawlessly and the fit and finish were unparalleled. Leave it to the Swiss to make the act of stowing garbage, sexy.

More from Core77's coverage of this year's Holz-Handwerk Show!