When architect Kazuyasu Kochi got ahold of this structure, it was slated for demolition. It had fallen into disrepair, losing any sense of visual charm along with it. Kochi saw an opportunity to maintain the original structure, to keep its unassuming presence in its neighborhood and to instead build something special inside. So a series of rooms were designed to suit its eventual inhabitants, then the rooms were sliced apart to create an open connection between the spaces....

Jawbone has released a new wireless speaker for mobile devices called the JamBox with a fresh design from Fuse Project. The JamBox is a wireless speaker and speakerphone that adds much needed volume to mobile devices like your iPad, Nintendo DS or your mobile phone. For a small speaker, it kicks out 85 dB of clear audio, placing it between the audible volume of a motorcycle and a rock concert....

If you don’t yet have a surface on which to proudly parade your fine taste in cheap paperbacks, or your collectible leather bound beauties, read on. These shelves are beautiful and artistic statement pieces and sturdy places to store your abundance of books. Umbra Conceal Floating Shelves An innovative design, the Umbra Floating Bookshelves make it appear as if your books are levitating unsupported against the wall. Constructed of powder coated steel, the award winning rack is shaped like an L, with the lower lip sitting inside the cover of the bottom book on your stack, invisible to the casual observer....

The Great Trident has officially revealed its new roadster ahead of the Paris Motor Show next month. The Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale gives the famed GT a refreshed appearance and a heartier heartbeat, claiming its place at the peak of the GranTurismo pyramid. The MC Stradale version of the GranTurismo receives a power boost to 450 hp, a slight upgrade over the S model but enough for some added kick on the concrete....

Monster Cable Products – an organization known for the manufacture of top-grade audio hardware – just recently unveiled the Monster Go DJ Portable Mixer. Basically, they took an entire DJ studio and packed it into a controller no larger than most smartphones. This will, the company claims, allow DJs to both “produce (and record) broadcast quality audio and DJ sets” no matter where they are. Awesome, right? Monster Go DJ features a set of analog knobs – eight in total – which allow near total control of every facet of your sound....

Starbucks Concept Store Gallery View in galleryView in galleryView in galleryView in galleryView in galleryView in gallery

Brazilian artist Harding Meyer creates captivating large-scale facial portraits. Vibrant colors and geometric brush stroke techniques brings life to each massive canvas. The portraits’ subject maintains a direct stare giving each piece an almost eerie and mysterious ambiance. Meyer’s mastery of distortion in his life-like painting creates the effect of blurred vision and double sight. Character and personality are given to each unique portrait as Meyer captures the essence of each dark shadow and bright light....

The Pacemaker interface, though simple, includes pretty much everything you’d get with a professional mixing table. With a few swipes or taps, you can control reverb, loop a particular segment of the song, skip beats, add a ‘roll’ effect to your audio, or even ‘scratch’. It’s also equipped with two separate ‘decks,’ color-coded blue and red for your convenience. These decks can be mixed simultaneously, and you can even view the waveform of each song to help you best determine where to add special effects....

A good light can make a room, and a great light can make a home. The Sander Mulder Clear Acrylic Lamps are clearly the latter, no pun intended. These clear acrylic lamps channel and shape light across the many fine details of their own symmetric contours. Sander Mulder has created three different styles of their clear acrylic lamps, including the Marie-Louise table top lamp, the Josephine floor lamp and the Therese chandelier....

When you tire of the frenzy and are ready to consume like a real buyer, you’re ready to avail yourself of these 15 shopping tips, tricks, tactics, and find the traps to avoid. Comparison Shop This is a fairly simple concept, yet many people still believe a store when it says it has the lowest price on an item. The advantage to being a consumer in the digital age is retailers have to compete with every store online....

Leave the laptop, ditch the Blackberry and prepare for a truly rustic retreat– the Stone Creek Camp by Andersson Wise Architects is a great American escape in the great state of Montana. While sustainable and contemporary in design, Stone Creek Camp is classical in spirit. Its owners spent years protecting the natural environment here in Big Fork, and the home they’ve built has a focus on the old life, a throwback to times where entertainment didn’t involve a web connection or satellite TV....

View in gallery View in gallery View in gallery The Technology School of Guelmim In Morocco Gallery

Looking to make a crispy, sumptuous pizza at home that can compete with your favorite pizzeria? Grill-friendly pizza stones can make all the difference. While you can bake an okay pie in your outdoor pizza oven, using a conventional baking sheet typically results in burned crusts, a soggy bottom, or unevenly baked pizza. This is why pizza stones are so important. However, all pizza stones are not built equal. Some cook more evenly, clean easier, and feature more ergonomic designs, while others fall flat....

Building from the ground up isn’t always the most cost-effective manner of home construction. Knowing this, StudioJunction Architects relied on Infill Housing to develop this marvelous modern home, the Courtyard House in Toronto, Ontario. The lot on which the Courtyard House stands was previously occupied by a contractor warehouse. Instead of demolishing the warehouse, StudioJunction built this home directly into it’s gutted frame. The updated interior of this home is fresh, modern and filled with natural wood trim and a large, open courtyard which is it’s namesake....

Drone technology has come a long way since it became available to consumers, to the point where drones are both affordable and highly functional. Why not net yourself one of your own? These awesome bots are basically a tech lover’s dream; the natural evolution of the remote-controlled airplane. If you’ve got the money, why not take to the sky in one of them? Here’s a little list to get you started – five of the best aerial drones for sale this summer....

Pod bedrooms at The POD in Singapore start at around $53, and rates increase based on date ranges and the size of the pod you book. We’re excited that the pod hotel trend continues to catch on, as the costs of travel can be too high a burden even for the middle class traveler. Kudos to The POD and Formwerkz Architects, we hope to see more like this in the future....

A group of architecture students at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture have designed a contemporary prefab home dubbed the Taliesin Mod.Fab Prefab. The Mod.Fab home is a one-bedroom, 600 foot prefab developed using panelized construction techniques that keep costs low and quality high. Like many other recent modern prefabs, Mod.Fab uses renewable systems to harvest energy from the sun as well as greywater/rainwater recycling. While Mod.Fab is still only a prototype, we hope to see this one join the ranks of the other modern prefabs currently on the market....

As a glimpse into this subaquatic life, we sought out the 17 most awesome undersea animals from the place where there truly be dragons. Bioluminescent Octopus Lit up like a carousel on the 4th of July, the Stauroteuthis syrtensis octopus directs prey into its beaked maw with the efficiency of landing lights on a runway. Generally seen in the frosty waters off the eastern seaboard, these can be found as near as a half mile down, but often lurk further away from the sunlight for easier hunting....

A piece like this really revs the engines of modern day treasure hunters. This 1950 Ferrari 166MM Barchetta was resting quietly in a barn in Italy before its exciting discovery, where it was purchased for the trivial sum of $8,000. Its discovery made waves in Ferrari collectors circles, as this was the vehicle that made Ferrari an iconic brand. After being shipped and managed by a group of resellers, the car finally sold for over $1,000,000 to collector Manny Del Arroz....

The things that make up a good gravel bike are pretty simple. Nice drop bars that offer control during skids and slides, but provide you enough position to read the terrain are a must. Burly tires that beg to be beaten to a pulp are also sitting at the top of the checklist, since a flat or ripped up rims will quickly ruin your drifting fun; and finally, a chunky frame – we prefer steel for its mix of softness and strength, but often steel forks will suffice – able to keep you comfortable whether commuting or going for broke beyond the pavement....