Be Open think tank

#BeOpenARCH Commissioned to make use of an overlooked site, studio Wallmakers created a snake-like house whose design and dimensions were derived entirely from the position of the three large Tamarind trees and the rock formation on the site. The subterranean home is comprised of spiraling elements that were partly constructed from 4,000 concrete-filled plastic bottles, which were collected by the studio within a two-kilometre radius of the site, placed around the trees on the site and covered with earth.

#BeOpenARCH Architecture studio Archiopteryx has built a home with a rooftop splash pool and a curved ramp, which along with balconies containing pools and planters, was developed to collect rainwater. The water is collected in a tank at an upper level, which is connected to a rainwater manhole below ground with a bright red irrigation pipe that runs through the house, at points functioning as a staircase handrail. When required, stored water is diverted to the home's upper levels, creating a cycle of collect-irrigate-store-reuse.

#BeOpenDESIGN Local architecture practice Earthscape Studio has placed The Infinite Rise holiday home on a rocky site near the village of Anaikatti in southern India. Looking to disrupt the site as little as possible, the architects dug into the land to create a partially sunken, semicircular home, wrapped by a gabion wall to help it blend in with the surrounding mountain ranges. Learn what other features were used in the project to help maintain cool temperature inside in the country's hot climate in our blog.

#BeOpenARCH Designed by Buenos Aires based Atelier Matias Mosquera, the Shire is a one-of-a-kind self-sufficient home that beautifully merges into its surrounding landscape. As its name suggests, the structure was inspired Tolkien’s iconic books. The greenery on top of the home provides insulation from the heat and cold, while wooden slats offer shade from the sun as well. Besides, the house generates its own electricity, heating, water and, above all, food, which enables the client to create a new lifestyle.

#BeOpenDESIGN As her graduate project at the London College of Fashion, designer Mijoda Dajomi has crafted a collection of hats that are designed to harvest up to 5 liters of rainwater. Named Daughters of Rain, the striking project serves as a speculative response to a future where freshwater becomes an increasingly scarce resource. The headwear gets its leather-like appearance from waxed cotton it is crafted from. The choice of materials ensures that the hat not only repels water but also effectively retains it without leaks. More bespoke headwear in our blog.

#BeOpenDESIGN Shaped like a colossal keycap, Gboard Caps is an innovative keyboard that enables the user to input characters on smartphones or computers by tilting their head in different directions. The hat houses a gyroscope that deciphers the head’s movements into characters, which are then sent to the smartphone via Bluetooth. The device's six-axis inertial sensor detects the angle at which it is positioned, so the user can cycle through characters by swaying their head left or right. The selection is confirmed with a tap on the head with a satisfying click sound.

#BeOpenDESIGN Symbiotic Objects by Shanghai-based designer and Central Saint Martins alumni Xiang Guan is a project that aims to demonstrate a potential symbiosis between objects and their users. The series features a table, chair and lamp, each requiring a human to complete them. The chair and table when isolated will fall unless a human is present to “prop them up”, while the lamp will only turn on when worn as a hat.

#BeOpenDESIGN Timber battens and foraged waste wood make up the structure a demountable forest pavilion called Field Station built in Hooke Park forest by students from London's Architectural Association as part of the school's Design + Make Programme. Located within the school's satellite campus, the structure is intended as an "open-air laboratory for long-term ecological studies" that is easy to dismantle and relocate when necessary. The roof of the pavilion is finished with corrugated metal sheets and a central corrugated plastic skylight, while an area of spruce decking was created for the floor, which stands on a foundation of steel piles.

#BeOpenDESIGN Conceived by two Danish designers Signe Fensholt and Anne Brandhøj, "Rooting for everyone" is a series of objects in porcelain and wood that includes table legs, balusters, dishes and stands. Created to hold something or typically act as load-bearing or supporting elements, these everyday things are simplified to abstract forms that refer to their function in our daily lives.

#BeOpenARCH Designed by a+r Architects and NL Architects, an interim structure for the Württembergische Staatstheater Stuttgart will accommodate the Stuttgart State Opera and the Stuttgart Ballet during the renovation of their current venue. The new complex, which includes the production areas such as rehearsal rooms, workshops for stage designs, offices, storage spaces and even a village on the rooftop, has been developed to be repurposed as a Makers City once the opera and ballet have returned to their original venue. The project has been developed with a focus on considering the future reuse of the interim opera building to avoid future demolition. The team aims tto preserve a maximum of the interim opera as a permanent structure and achieve as much re-use as possible. More examples of demountable architecture in our blog.