Be Open think tank

#BeOpenARCH Invisible Studio and Pearce+ have created a hemispherical woodworking shelter at Westonbirt Arboretum using locally felled green oak and a lightweight aluminium shingle roof. Six tree-trunk supports carry a triangular timber frame, while 85 hand-hewn poles support the overlapping canopy, combining raw, site-responsive construction with digital fabrication. Designed to echo the delicacy of the surrounding…

#BeOpenDESIGN Mexico-based design consultancy NOS introduces the Paper Pulp Delivery Briefcase, a reusable and compostable alternative to single-use food delivery packaging. Made from lightweight, single-material paper pulp, its thermoformed clamshell structure accommodates different cup sizes and holds up to six drinks, with an integrated tray keeping beverages secure in transit. Stackable and easy to manufacture, …

#BeOpenART #BeOpenNEWS BE OPEN Art has announced Taiwan-born artist Lian Jhu as the first Regional Artist of the Month (September) in the East Asia stage of its 2026 global art competition celebrating outstanding emerging artists from Japan, North and South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Macau, Mongolia, and Taiwan. Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Lian Jhu is an artist whose practice explores human existence through introsp…

#BeOpenARCH Michael Jantzen’s unbuilt Staircase House turns everyday movement into the defining feature of a compact 1,000-square-foot home. Wrapping 180 wooden steps around a simple cube, the concept uses piezoelectric tread plates to convert footsteps into small amounts of stored electricity. Rooftop and ground-level decks, glass openings, a central skylight, and rooms tucked beneath the staircases complete a hous…

#BeOpenDESIGN Mokase turns the smartphone into an unlikely espresso maker, combining a slim, waterproof phone case with a disposable coffee cartridge, built-in heating system, and companion app. Designed by Luigi Carfora and Clemente Biondo of Smart K, the concept reimagines portable coffee by transforming an object already carried everywhere into a miniature brewing device. More extraordinary coffee makers on our …

#BeOpenDESIGN After the Last Sip is a material research project by Taiwanese designers Chao-Chun Kung, Ching-Yu Lin, and Chen-Yang Chang that repurposes discarded coffee grounds and tea leaves into 3D-printed furniture, lighting, and sculptural objects. Developed at Fab.Pub in East London, the material combines dried and ground coffee and tea waste with PLA, a biodegradable polymer, and is processed using robotic 3D…

#BeOpenDESIGN For blind and visually impaired users, making a simple cup of tea can involve a series of hidden risks, from handling boiling water to operating appliances without visual feedback. Ivana Nedeljkovska’s Smart Cup rethinks this routine by combining a kettle, teapot, and drinking cup into one touch-oriented vessel, eliminating the need to transfer hot liquids. Raised Braille controls, a guiding base, an e…

#BeOpenARCH Design Wood Home Studio’s The Lens is a timber viewing pavilion on Kizhi Island that offers a contemporary frame for the UNESCO-listed Kizhi Pogost. Set at the island’s northern tip, its rhythmic wooden slats reinterpret traditional Russian lemekh shingles, while a cupola-shaped opening aligns the historic churches into a single sculptural view. The bench-like micro-structure turns the landscape into a l…

#BeOpenDESIGN Studio Carraldo’s backdirwas_5 is a community oven in Boden, Austria, that translates local Alpine building traditions into a compact contemporary structure. Created for the Medienfrische festival, the oven combines a concrete base cast with timber-log formwork, a heat-retaining firebrick dome, and a sculptural stainless steel shell inspired by traditional Alpine shingles. More than a functional oven, …

#BeOpenARCH MAD has unveiled updated designs for Danshuis, a new dance centre in Rotterdam that will transform a 1923 Art Deco warehouse with a striking four-storey glass extension. Inspired by the flowing movement of a dancer’s skirt, the rippling facade will form a transparent foyer wrapped around a spiral staircase, blurring the boundary between interior and landscape. Set to open in 2030, the centre will bring t…

#BeOpenDESIGN This open-source Raspberry Pi book reader rethinks accessibility by eliminating the screen entirely. Two 16-megapixel cameras scan an open book, OCR converts the pages to text, and text-to-speech reads them aloud through tactile controls. NFC tags let users manage multiple books, while automatic summaries help readers pick up where they left off. Designed by Ludwin (lhm0), the project combines thoughtf…

#BeOpenDESIGN Scentra gives rosemary waste a surprising second life as packaging. Designed by Zhixi Dai, Zhou Yun, and Wang Zhan, the protective block uses compressed rosemary trimmings and a seaweed binder to cradle an essential oil bottle. But the cleverness does not end at unboxing: the rosemary retains its natural scent, allowing the packaging to become a passive diffuser. By turning agricultural waste into both…