London real estate is bananas expensive.  As a result home owners try to make the most of their space.

This stair case, as you can see, doubles as a massive book shelf.  It leads to a bedroom on a third floor, which mind you is large enough that it expanded the total square footage of the flat by one third.  However, that might not be saying much seeing as the original flat maybe just 1000 square feet.

Size concerns aside, the stair case was developed using a technique that mimics an upside down ‘sedan chair’ that carries the entire weight of both the books and the stairs back to the main structural wall of the building.  As a result Levitate Architects of London avoided any structural concerns that might have impeded on the neighboring residential floor below.

As a bonus feature, since the stairs lead to a roof based bedroom, a skylight was added that illuminates the stair case during the daytime. Toss in a secret door into the mix and you’d have the ultimate stair case.

Which one do you prefer?  This stair case, or the storage stair case we saw earlier this year?

Note: The image above is a top down view

Head off into the wilderness for a weekend retreat and you’ll probably be packing relatively light.  If your destination includes a body of water chances are there will be a canoe on the back or roof of your car.  But that’s hardly practical, especially if you can’t drive to the body of water.

Enter the Adhoc canoe.  It weighs just 4.1kg (about 9lbs) and folds up to fit inside an average sized backpack.  The frame is made from carbon fiber, which means that it is both strong and lightweight, while the skin it’s crafted from Aramid, the material used in body armor and racing sails.   According to its designer, Tsor Design’s Ori Levin, the Adhoc Canoe can be assembled in as little as 5 minutes.

No word on when it will go into production, but we can only hope it doesn’t cost much more than your average canoe.  However, since the design calls for carbon fiber and a synthetic material that probably ain’t cheap, we’re assuming it will be expensive, at least to the average consumer.

The Bookseat is quite simply a bookcase and a chair in one.  Toss in a pillow and a ottoman, and it might just serve as a comfy spot to cruise through a book or two.  From a design standpoint it’s a bit bold, but what we really like is the designers forward thinking approach to space saving and storage.

Their website doesn’t make mention of a price, but you can contact them directly if you’re interested.

Via: Theawesomer

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Coca Cola is far from a gadget, but the company’s glass bottles exude just about everything we love in design.  

Chances are, much like car companies that use shoes to influence their designs, gadget manufacturers probably look for other points of inspiration and we wouldn’t be surprised if they turned to such pop culture objects such as the coke bottle.  We’d actually like to see the first design in this pic make a comeback.

Via: Bookofjoe

Okay, so this next post isn’t exactly a gadget, but it most certainly addresses a problem that most if not all gadget lovers have.  Give up?  Where to store all their toys.

This design calls for an under-the-staircase drawer solution, which effectively turns your stairs into drawers.  Structurally this shouldn’t be too much of an issue since we’ve seen our fair share of stair cases that are just a plank of wood and don’t contain the base board portion.

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Is this not the most genius indoor bike mount you’ve ever seen?  I mean, this guy belongs in a Bud Light commercial (i.e. Real Men of Genius).  The only flaw I see is that the slot is designed for a frame of a specific size.  Perhaps its designer, Chris Brigham will see fit to create a version with an adjustable slot, when and if it goes on sale.

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Think you live in a small house?  Think again.  Nils Holger Moormann pocket sized house seats up to 4 people at its center and includes a loft bedroom complete with glass ceiling.  It’s not exactly what we’d call practical but pretty much sets the bar for the minimalist movement.  Then again, a tent, a sleeping bag and a fire pit would be far cheaper and a tad more portable.

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We’ve seen a many a design for those who are tight on indoor space, but nothing before for the outdoors.  This table and bench set can be raised or lowered into the ground using a crank which activates the hydraulic lifts, thus creating more play space for the kids or some much needed resting space for the parents.  The design is completely integrated into the ground, so it must have cost a pretty penny.

What I consider to be a totally odd product combination, the Twilight Air Purifier concept lets you stream videos and images across its OLED sheet surface.  WTF you ask?  Beyond cooling and circulating air, it is also a media viewer.  The pictures tell a story of a huge sheet hanging somewhere in a room with images draped across it.  Seems like something we would have seen in Minority Report.

Winner of Whirlpool’s Inova Award, the design is based on “future trends of architecture and behavior” and was developed by some Brazilian Industrial Design students.  Crazy!  Is this something you’d imagine yourself buying in the future?

[via Ubergizmo]

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Forget about book shelves – those are so passe.  The HÜBLER Table’s concrete legs have built-in slots for storing all sorts of slender shaped objects or books, which ever you prefer.  The glass top makes it viewable from all angles.  Too bad there is no interior lighting in between the concrete blocks.  That would make for one cool effect.

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This house looks like you every day mid-western home, right?  Wrong.  Balcony and all flips up to reveal a giant hangar bay garage.  Not quite as cool as the concealed garage that we saw last year, but it’s up there.

Being fat sucks.  Any grossly overweight person can tell you that.  Most people cite time as being the major reason while they can’t make it to the gym.  With this Top-Loading Barbell concept from Sun Ho Sin, getting in an out of the gym could be quicker than ever.  Extra seconds are easily spent racking and un-racking weights (according to proper gym etiquette) and it could be a more streamlined process at best.

Pretty self explanatory from the picture above, each weight loads from the top and then locks into place.  I would like to see a side by side video of this design in action to tell whether or not it really is faster than traditional barbells.  Either way, it’s a truly innovative design that I hope picks up some traction as well as getting some love from 24 Hour Fitness.

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Heat sensitive mugs are nothing new, but the design aesthetic on this battery cell display cup is certainly Apple worthy.  Dreamed to reality by Art Lebedev, the mug effectively shows liquid heat levels above 96.8°F.

The indicator display shows how much liquid is left by how many green bars remain and when the liquid drops below 96.8°F the bars fade to black, Metallica style.  If you like this design, you can buy one now for $28.

[via Dvice]

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For the tech-centric household comes this creepy Pyramid iPhone Table.  What masonic dreams are made of, it’s also made of ultra-high performance concrete.  Because if my concrete isn’t performing I don’t know what the fuck it’s doing.  Jeeze.

Designed by Stephane Thivend, the 132 pound table includes an iPod/iPhone dock packed with two integrated amplified speakers and LEDs to provide lighting effects.  Now let’s do some yayo or film some porn on this thing!

[via NerdApproved]

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From the Quirky Community, comes the Switch Modular Multi-Tool.  Capable of interchanging 18 different tool pieces from pliers to an LED flashlight, the modern design of Switch lends itself to the customization that Americans have grown to know and love.  You can pre-order one now for $68 nd be sure to check out the read link below for further briefing.

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Hong Kong is tight on space.  So much so that Gary Chang grew up sleeping in the hallway of his family’s apartment all the while renting out the room to a tenant in the 344 square foot apartment – I guess this is typical in HK.  Well, sleeping in the hallway all those years apparently created some undying bond with the abode, because he still lives there and has managed to convert the tiny space into an architectural wonder.

Using tracks and modular walls, Gary’s apartment has 24 different rooms.  Slide out one wall and you reveal the linen closet.  Slide that wall out and you’re now in the bathroom complete with bathtub.  But wait, drop down the mattress from the wall and the tub is converted into a guest bed.  Crazy, huh?

From the sounds of it Gary doesn’t have any plans to move any time soon and looking at his apartment I’d say he’s probably got the most pimp pad of the building’s tenants.

There’s something inherently beautiful about a clutter free desktop.  Embracing that beauty is the aTable.  Using the tables four legs to channel any and all wires, the aTable is great for those that have a ton of room to spare, but might be a little big for those cramped for space.  Either way the concept is of novel design and I’d love to have one in my apartment.

The aTable is made from a glass reinforced plastic and has a very neutral but satisfying visual approach.  As purely concept only at this moment, let’s hope that this or something like this makes itself available to the public sometime soon.

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This isn’t the only home car elevator that we’ve seen, but it’s the first to do it inside the house.  Architect Takuya Tsuchida built this elevator for a client who wanted to show off a car of his choosing from his 9 car garage.  To get the vehicle on the elevator it looks like it must be driven to a corner of the garage, where upon it is lifted in to opulence.

One more pic after the ‘leap’

[via Geekologie]

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Here’s a novel idea.  Infinite USB daisy chaining at its finest.  Color coded and brutally simple, this type of cord could be essential to your everyday computer and desktop set-up.  Just how many cords can you connect before the connection starts to waver in terms of gravity and connectivity?

Using an external AC starter plug, you’ll always have enough power to get you through your workday.  Designed by Gonglue Jiang, there’s no word of whether or not this product will actually see the light of day.  Let’s hope it does.

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