Burj Kahlifa in Dubai opened with spectacular fireworks.

Burj Khalifa is the tallest man-made structure currently on planet earth. The skyscraper is situated in Dubai, United Arab Emirates with a height of 828 m (2′717 ft). Construction began on 21st September 2004 and the building officially opened on 4th January 2010.

Formerly known as Burj Dubai, the tower had to be renamed Burj Khalifa in honour of the current President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, who saved the completion of the tower - Dubai is basically bankrupt!

At the end of the video, it eerily looks as if the tower is exploding…

However, an even taller tower is planned, the Burj Mubarak Al Kabir in Kuwait!

In a what is best described as ‘Persian Gulf building war’, Kuwait announced its plans to build the megalomaniac Burj Mubarak Al-Kabir tower in the city of Madinat al-Hareer (Arabic for ‘City of silk’).

It is supposed to attain a height of 1,001 meters (3,284 ft) in order to reflect the Arabian fairy tale ‘One Thousand and One Nights’. This thing is a total monster, it will be twice as tall as Taipai 101 which was the tallest until Burj Dubai, now look at the picture comparing the Burj Mubarak to the Burj Dubai.

According to the Book of Genesis, the Tower of Babel (the Arabic name is Burj Babil) was an enormous tower built at the city of Babylon. The people decided their city should have a tower so immense that it would have "its top in the heavens".

According to the bible, a united humanity of the generations following the great flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, participated in the building. 

Doesn’t this remind of the masses of people from Southeast Asia who, after the devastating tsunami of 2004, travelled from the east to participate in the building of the Burj Khalifa…?

These award-winning concept cars all feature a huge tire in comparison to the frame of the vehicle. The big ‘hamster wheels’ remind somewhat of old time bicycles.

Magister of arts Matus Prochaczka lives in Bratislava, Slovakia. He studied Design at the Slovak Technical University of Architecture.

His specialities are industrial design, 3D modeling and illustration. He concurrently works for Dominic Schindler Creations.

Miguel Cotto designed this ‘Tron’-like concept bike.

Designer Miguel Cotto has created the bike of the future with this sleek and robotic design, reminding the lightcycles of the movie Tron. The center chassis structure looks somewhat similar to a Harley Davidson whereas the wheel hubs are giant roller bearings.

Tron is a 1982 American science fiction film by Walt Disney Pictures, written and directed by Steven Lisberger. It stars Jeff Bridges, Cindy Morgan, Bruce Boxleitner, Dan Shor and David Warner. Tron was one of the first films from a major studio to use computer graphics extensively. Tron is famous for its distinctive visual style with stunning 3D graphics in a blazingly colorful, geometrically intense cyberspace landscape.

Tron was also one of the first harbingers of what the coming 3D Internet might look like.

Light cycles are fictional vehicles designed by Syd Mead for the simulated world of the Tron universe. (Syd Mead is the industrial designer who also created futuristic vehicle designs in science-fiction films such as Aliens and Blade Runner.)

These two-wheeled vehicles resemble motorcycles and leave walls of colored light behin them. Players are in constant motion on a battle playfield, creating a wall of colored light behind them as they ride. If players hit a wall, they are out of the game - meaning their craft explodes and they die. The last surviving player in the game wins.

Miguel Cotto’s concept via:
Yankodesign.com - tron concept bike miguel cotto

The ‘Swordfish‘ is a adventurous hubless concept motorcycle. Kotlyarevsky designed it with rebellious and even somewhat aggressive but still sleek curves. It features a lean and minimalistic yet tough metal structure.

Alexander Kotlyarevsky was born in 1978. He studied Automotive Industrial Design in England, completed his Master of Arts in Design in Milano, Italy in 2004 and then his Master of Transportation Design in 2006.

Kotlyarevsky has worked for Canon, Audi, Bonetto Design, Fiat Advanced Design, Cibic & Partners, Vannini Cesaretti Architetti and many others.

He exhibited in England at the 2003 ‘New Designers Exhibition’ in London, at the 2004 ‘International Exhibition Photoforum’ in Moscow and at the ‘International Exhibition Cersaie’ in Bologna, Italy. In 2006 he was awarded at the ‘North American International Auto Show’ in Detroit, USA with an
Outstanding Design Award from Michelin Challenge Design with the project Eclair.

Kotlyarevsky is also involved in athletics and has won competitions in sports such as a long distance running, boxing, kick-boxing and swimming.

More of Alexander Kotlyarevsky’s design concepts:
Coroflot.com - alexander kotlyarevsky

Solar powered objects don’t have to look ‘high tech’, ugly and gadgety!

This new kind of furniture is a product that can revolutionize the way we produce and store energy. The surface of the table is covered with photovoltaic cells that collect solar energy. No need for complicated installations - Krassa’s table can be fitted in any garden or outdoor space.

The overall design is inspired by classic timeless Greek architecture. The base is made out of a solid, carved, black Terrazo piece. The top is covered in elegant Polycrystaline PV cells that create a pattern that resembles a crossword puzzle.

This table is the first of its kind, but Krassa plans to create a bench, light, and flag pole as well.

In a short period of time, she has built an impressive international client list, which includes Fired Earth Interiors, The Big Issue, Pret a Manger, Topshop, John Lewis, sketch, Athenaeum Hotel and the Obsidian Group in London, E&Y and Cassina in Japan, WMF, Vapiano and Vogt + Weizenegger, Paola C. + Aldo Cibic and British American Tobacco amongst others.

Currently she is  Creative Director of Itsu Ltd, London and Associate Lecturer at Central Saint Martins College, London.

More on Krassa’s designs: Afroditi Krassa

The keypoints from Kevin Kelly’s talk at the 2007 EG conference:

"The internet is less than 5′000 days old."

"We thought the internet was going to be TV - but better. And it turns out that’s not what it was."

"Something like Wikipedia is something that was simply impossible. It’s impossible in theory, but possible in practice."

"The first lesson of the web: We have to get better in believing the impossible."

"The internet is basically a single global machine."

"The internet uses 5% of global electricity."

Explore more of his fascinating concepts on his site:
Kk.org

The stool headstand is based upon the principal of a skipjack and offers dynamic seating. Headstand turns the common ludo-pawn upside down in a surprising manner due to a unusual balance point.

Michael Neubauer mapped out the design philosophy ‘qed’ in 2006, which is the guideline for the creative process and the output. This was the basis for the foundation of the q.e.d. Design GmbH in 2008. Since then qed Design established itself in the scene with own products and projects.

The quite interesting philosophy of qed is hidden in the firm’s name which is a shortcut for:

More of their furniture can be found on:
Qed-design.de