50 Inspired Design Ideas We've Been Obsessed with in 2016
Apartment buildings that change with the weather, Back to the Future-inspired, solar-powered clothing and an alarm clock that wakes you up by brewing you a fresh cup of coffee.
Apartment buildings that change with the weather. An alarm clock that wakes you up by brewing you a fresh cup of coffee. Back to the Future-inspired, solar-powered clothing. Wearable subwoofers. Chainless bikes. Flat-pack tiny homes. Biodegradable six-pack rings. A Melbourne bicycle highway in the sky. This year's been a humdinger for design, with the world's most innovative, forward-thinking designers, architects and engineers trying to make our lives a little easier. And we haven't yet said the words "self-driving cars" or "Elon Musk". We will. Here are 50 ideas we couldn't stop talking about in the Concrete Playground office — including some we wish would hurry up and become a reality.
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NewsThis Alarm Clock Wakes You Up by Brewing a Cup of Coffee
You won't want to hit snooze on this one.
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NewsThis New Melbourne Apartment Building Changes Colour with the Weather
Each night the Docklands high-rise will perform a light show depicting "how the weather feels".
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NewsThis Florida Brewery Has Created Biodegradable Edible Six-Pack Rings
This is great news for sea turtles.
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NewsAustralia's Getting Its First Flat-Packed, Off-Grid, Tiny Homes
"A transitional housing product that offers a solution to people currently unable to get into home ownership."
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NewsFive Pieces of Wearable Tech from the Rio Olympics We Need in Our Lives
From infrared pain relief to headphones that can actually make you stronger.
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NewsCould Melbourne Be Getting a Bicycle Highway in the Sky?
Plans for an 'elevated veloway' would have you pedalling above the traffic.
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NewsSomeone Has Invented 'Back to the Future'-Inspired Solar-Powered Clothing
Imagine charging your phone just by slipping it in your pocket.
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NewsThese Floating Planters Help Trap and Remove Rubbish from Melbourne's Yarra River
Helping remedy a (literally) rubbish situation.
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NewsSomeone Has Invented Customisable, LED-Equipped E-Sneakers
They'll also vibrate to give you directions and let you know when you're getting a call.
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NewsThis New Wearable Device Tracks Your Emotional Wellbeing
Zenta can see what makes you happy, what makes you sad, and what's stressing you out.
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NewsThis Sleek 3D-Printed Bike Can be Printed Specifically to Fit Your Body
The ultimate custom fixie.
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NewsSomeone Has Invented Ice Cream That Improves Your Sporting Ability
If this isn't the best excuse to eat dessert you've ever heard, we don't know what is.
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NewsA Vodka Company Is Turning Yesterday's Cocktails Into Today's Hand Soap
Drinking fruity, boozy beverages just became much more sustainable.
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NewsYou'll Soon Be Able To Make Virtual Reality Video Calls On Facebook
It was only a matter of time.
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NewsSnapchat Has Released Their Own Snap-Capturing Spectacles
And they're selling them through yellow vending machines.
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NewsAirbnb Launches Design Firm Samara to Open Hotel-Like Dwellings
Giving new meaning to their tagline "don't go there live there".
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NewsThis Wireless Charger Will Magically Make Your Phone Levitate While It Charges It
Because basic charging is so boring.
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NewsJapan Is Getting an On-Demand Driverless Delivery Service
Just like Uber, but to deliver your stuff and without driver.
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NewsFour Pairs of Smart Headphones That Will Change How You Listen to Music
A Melbourne startup has crowdfunded over a million bucks. But they're not the only ones changing the listening game.
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NewsThe World's First Wearable Subwoofer Lets You Feel That Bass
And it's silent to the outside world.
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NewsThe World's First Freeform 3D Printed House Is Here
And it looks like something out of a well-funded sci-fi film.
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NewsYou Can Now Recharge Your Phone Using These NYC Park Benches
One step closer to the city of tomorrow.
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NewsMelbourne's Yarra River Could Be Getting a Swimming Pool
This proposal could be the best use of the Yarra yet.
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NewsGoogle Has Unveiled Its New Voice-Controlled Life-Enhancing Speaker, Google Home
The future is telling a salt shaker what to do.
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NewsThe World's First Virtual Reality Department Store Is Here
Myer and eBay will let you have their new 'shopticals' for free.
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NewsLondon's Red Telephone Booths Are Being Turned into Tiny On-the-Go Offices
Complete with internet, power points and a coffee machine.
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NewsNike's Chicken and Waffle-Inspired Sneaker Is a Shoe We'd Legitimately Eat
Put these shoes in our mouth.
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NewsIKEA Is Launching a Chainless, Low Maintenance Bike for Urban Cyclists
Your lack of bike knowledge shall hinder you no more.
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NewsIKEA Is Now Selling Hydroponics to Let You Grow an Indoor Garden
Grow some basil and butter lettuce on your kitchen bench.
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NewsThis Supersonic Jet Could Fly from London to NYC in Three and a Half Hours
This will not make you feel good about your daily commute.
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NewsThis Portable Shower Can Reuse the Same Water to Keep You Clean for Two Weeks
This could change camping (and maybe even the world).
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NewsThese Recyclable Cardboard Tents Could Change Camping at Festivals
And yes, they can withstand a downpour.
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NewsThis 3D-Printed Portable Pod Lets You Live Off the Grid Anywhere in the World
The most dream-worthy 3D printed possibility yet.
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NewsThese Vibrating Leggings Will Help You Tighten Up Your Yoga Game
Who needs a yoga instructor when you've got vibrating pants?
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NewsThis Company Specialises in Portable Shipping Container Farms
Take your vertical garden to the next level.
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NewsL'Oreal Have Developed a Temporary Tattoo That Measures Your UV Exposure
Slip, slop, slap, tatt?
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NewsDominos Heralds Robot Apocalypse With Autonomous Pizza Delivery Unit
All hail our new pizza delivering overlords.
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NewsThese Partially Underwater Dubai Villas Let You Literally Sleep with the Fishes
You can live under the sea (if you've got a cool $2.7 million clams).
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NewsElon Musk's High-Speed Tube Transport System Could Be Coming to Australia's East Coast
Sydney to Melbourne in as little as 55 minutes? Yes please.
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NewsA British Company Is Turning Phone Booths Into Smartphone Repair Shops
Very handy after you've drunk a pint too many and dropped your electronic goods into the loo.
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Japan Is Getting an On-Demand Driverless Delivery Service
Just like Uber, but to deliver your stuff and without driver.
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News7-Eleven Just Delivered Their First Slurpee by Drone
It's the first drone delivery to a customer in the US.
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NewsThis New Sustainable Melbourne Suburb Could be the World's First 'Tesla Town'
Each home will have Tesla Powerwalls, solar panels and electric car recharging points.
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NewsMelbourne's Getting a New Skyscraper That Looks Suspiciously Like a Giant Pair of Pants
Welcome your new 41-storey CBD pant overlord.
