We haven’t heard of Dutch design outfit Crealev before, but the company says it’s developed a “new levitation concept which is able to produce a very high levitation height combined with a low power dissipation and excellent stability” — and apparently the best way to show that off is this series of levitating lamps. Unveiled at last week’s Dutch Design Week event, the lamps are the product of designer Angela Jansen. We’re assuming they’re magnetic in some way, but Crealev’s website is pretty cagey with the details, only saying that it’s a “proprietary technology.” Either way, we want one.

Read — Crealev website
Read — Video of the lamps in action
from engadget

If you’re a music lover, then this life-sized piano (violin is elevator) house, located in China, is definitely a sight to see. Click here for more pictures.

(Thanks, Mandy)

  
from techeblog

Designed by Isamu Noguchi, these amazing fountains look as if they’re floating, but are actually held up by a transparent pole[s] in the middle. Click here for one more picture.

..well late japanese-american architect isamu noguchi took this family favourite one step further and created an incredible looking set of fountains for the world expo in osaka, japan

[via Deputy-dog]
from techeblog

 

Located in Chile, the “San Alfonso Del Mar Resort” boasts the world’s largest outdoor swimming pool, at 8 hectares. Click here for additional pictures.

It’s filled with about 250,000 cubic meters of salt water which, if you’re wondering, is roughly equivalent to about 6,000 standard backyard pools. It cost about $1.5 billion to build and maintenance alone is about $4 million a year

[via OhGizmo!]
from techeblog
    

Behold the Solar Trees of Vienna, set to be unveiled in front of the MAK Museum on October 8th. It’s just the latest from Ross Lovegrove who’s already graced our pages with his Muon speaker and System X lighting system. Developed in coordination with Italian lighting Co. Artemide and solar cell Co. Sharp Solar, the installation could help wash away the godless hellscape of urban decay in the sweet bouquet of luminescent Lilies. Or not, depending upon its practical application. So if anyone happens to be in the area during the unveiling at 20.30 local time, by all means, send us some pictures and your thoughts — Detroit awaits your response.

[Via Inhabitat]
more info
from engadget

For those who just like to stand out from the crowd, this “Cage-in-a-Tank” should do the trick. Watch as your guests stare in disbelief or amazement.

If we keep fish as pets, why can’t fish keep birds as pets? While you’re pondering that, try and figure out who looks more confused in the picture

[via OhGizmo]
from techeblog

Since most of us are so used to standard room layouts, we thought you’d be interested in discovering the art of hotel design. Starting with YOTEL, pictured above, which was inspired by Japanese Capsule Hotels and British Airways First Class. It’s claimed to be “one of the world’s most radical hotel concepts”. Each room in YOTEL has just about every luxury you can think of, featuring Sony Flat Screen TV’s w/Surround Sound Speaker System, Wi-Fi, On Demand Movie/Music Service, Double Rotating Beds, and an Ensuite Bathroom. Click here for more pictures.

If “try something new” is on your agenda, then this one room hotel is just for you. Designed by Sabina Lang and Daniel Baumann, the Everland Hotel in Germany is claimed to be the world’s most exclusive, boasting just one full-sized room and a bathroom. [pics 1 | 2 | 3]

The Sewer Pipe Hotel could quite possibly be the strangest yet most unique concept we’ve come across — each room was built from an actual sewer pipe. [pics 1 | 2]

     

from techeblog

Rest assured, there’s no shortage of glamorous nightclubs, but a new spot is set to excite Londoners that have a thing for exaggerated lighting and all things interactive. Dubbed the “first interactive bar in the world,” each wall will be lined in blank canvas so that projections can be beamed out and altered on a whim to really get you trippin’. Additionally, there will be “hundreds of LEDs” to treat your retinas to, and the bar itself will even be touch sensitive, allowing you to alert the bartender of your drink needs by simply laying your hand down. Sounds like a bloody good time for you blokes (and dames) in the area, but for the rest of us, we’ll have to settle with a few more stills after the jump. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via CNET]

More info (pdf)
from engadget

You know, it’d be quite nice for toaster manufacturers to actually grab hold of one of the numerous concepts floating around out there and give the tried and true machine a facelift, but until then, conceptualizers are keepin’ the ideas a-coming. On deck is the Transparent Toaster, which hopes to utilize clear panes of “heating glass” that allow you to clearly see precisely how burnt your bread is becoming. Of course, we’d certainly hope some sort of self-cleaning apparatus would be added if this thing were to go commercial, but it ain’t a half bad idea as it is.

[Via ShinyShiny]
more info
from engadget

Sega Toys looks to have dialed back the creepiness factor with its latest product: a desktop device filled with sea creatures ready to do your bidding. Dubbed the “Private Ocean,” the device packs low res representations of some 100 different critters, which can swim into formation to display the time if you tap the top of the unit or scatter if you touch the bottom. If that’s not enough entertainment for you (which seems hard to believe), you can hook the device up to any audio source and have the little critters dance along to your favorite tunes. No word on what it’ll cost, but you’ll apparently be able to get one this October (though we’re guessing not here).

More info
from engadget

Sure, you could blow a cool million on a bed you’d never sleep on, but why not grab one that actually provides some relief (and won’t run you $5k a month… forever) after a hard day in the blazing sun? Enter Kuchofuku, who certainly has the right idea with its air conditioned sleeper and clothing line. The makeshift bed, which only weighs 5.3-pounds, utilizes dual fans to pull air in and circulate it through the cushion beneath you. Of course, it’d be a modern tragedy to have to rise and leave such a pleasant scenario, but you can solve that dilemma as well care of the air conditioned shirt. The button-up garb touts an integrated fan that is purportedly powered via USB, which means that your armpits can now remain fresh regardless of how infrequent the AC kicks on at the office. A cooler night’s sleep is but $399 away, while the new threads (seen after the jump) will run you a staggering $159 apiece.

[Via CScout, thanks Mike]
from engadget
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More LED goodness for ya, this time in the form of a desk lamp, not a backlit LCD. The Z-Bar won I.D. Magazine’s “best of category” award which is pretty sweet considering the category wasn’t just lamps, it was furniture. The Z-Bar’s 66, long-livin’ LEDs pump 100 lumens in pretty much any direction you want thanks to that 47-inch, finger-thin neck loaded with hinges and rotational joints. Sure, 100 lumens doesn’t seem like much when compared to an incandescent’s 500–800 lumens. The Z-Bar’s trick is to focus the light in a 50-degree viewing angle instead of the 360-degrees of waste emitted by standard light bulbs. The lamp can stand alone on its weighted base or clamped to a table edge — your choice after forking over $130.

[Via Inhabitat]
more info
from engadget

We’ll be straight with ya, Projovian’s latest cubic device may have garnered rad points as a prop in a first wave MC Hammer video, but unfortunately, it falls squarely on the chintzy side of things today. Adding legitimacy to the 3D gimmick stereotype, this curious “digital photo frame” takes numerous pictures at different angles simultaneously, and subsequently presents a pseudo-3D image on the crystal stand. Of course, we’d recommend just hacking your webcam to accomplish the same thing on screen with even more detail, but feel free to hop past the jump to take a closer look at this rendition if you wish.

More info
from engadget

We’re not particularly sure if Lego is actually getting a cut on these newfangled USB flash drives, but an Australian firm is offering up said storage options within Lego blocks nonetheless. The Zip Zip Memory Bricks will be available in black, white, red, blue, green, and yellow here shortly, and all house 1GB of storage and sport USB 2.0 connectivity. Additionally, a nifty lanyard allows you to attach your new 31- x 15- x 10-millimeter drive to your key ring, and while the A$59 ($48) pricetag may seem a tad high for just 1,024MB.

More info
from engadget