London's Next-Gen
Black Cab
Chinese-owned auto manufacturer The London Taxi Company has unveiled the glass-roofed hybrid TX5 prototype that is set to be used as the UK capital's latest black cab. The hybrid TX5 replaces the black cab's usual diesel engine, instead running on a batter-powered electric system with a four-cylinder petrol engine that kicks in once this has been drained. The creation of the TX5 was overseen by British designers Pete Horbury – former chief designer at Volvo and head of design at Ford in Detroit – and David Ancona, another former Volvo chief designer.
DesignBytes
Airstream Developing Trailer Designed
by CCAD Students
This is the latest step in what has been a fun ride for students and faculty members. “It’s been shown all over the U.S., which is extremely cool,” said Russell Kittel, 23, a CCAD senior majoring in industrial design. “I can’t recall that happening with another student project." The prototype, which students named the Pursuit, is housed at the college after making several appearances around the country.
DesignBytes
Taking 3D Printing "To a Higher Level"
The world's first 3D-printed bridge in Amsterdam uses a technique that designer Joris Laarman says could soon be used to build "infinitely large structures". The pedestrian bridge is being printed in steel by six-axis robots, which will "draw" the structure in the air. The bridge, which will be eight metres long and four metres wide, will be printed in one piece in a former shipbuilding hangar in the Amsterdam's NDSM shipyard and then transported to the city centre. Work will start next summer. Earlier plans to print the bridge in situ had to be abandoned as it was "just too dangerous".
DesignBytes
The Future of the Auto Industry
The research investigated several forces affecting the wider automotive ecosystem, including increasingly connected vehicles and the entry of tech giants like Google and Apple, autonomous cars, the rise of the sharing economy and a greater interest in sustainability.
DesignBytes
Marc Newson on Modernizing
the Fountain Pen
Last June, Montblanc announced the M, the product of a new partnership with Marc Newson, arguably one of the most influential designers alive today. With this partnership, the first of its kind for the luxury brand, fountain pens take a long-awaited step into the future.