Concept

For most of us here in Gizland, technology and gadgetry have become central to our very existence. Given the huge advances seen in recent years, where will be ten years from now? Frog Design has been doing some serious pondering on this very subject and has recently presented a vision of what our increasingly computer-centric lives might be like in the year 2020. Read More

BAE Systems has partnered with luxury transport design consultancy firm Design Q to develop an "Air Deck" viewing platform concept for BAE’s Avro Business Jet (ABJ). Aimed at jet setters that like heading off the beaten flight path, the Air Deck transforms the rear of the aircraft into an extended living space by way of an elevated outdoor viewing deck. Read More

Washing machines aren’t exactly the kind of appliances you want to put on show in your home - which is one of the reasons they’re generally located in the laundry away from discerning eyes. But with around 74 percent of the world’s population expected to live in an urban environment by 2050 according to the UN, many people will be living in dwellings without a dedicated laundry and will be forced to house their washing machines in other rooms. With that in mind Electrolux has come up with a couple of sleek washing machine designs that can be integrated into a bathroom. Read More

The era of the electric vehicle is drawing nearer (albeit excruciatingly slowly) and with Volkswagen set to get its first EV into showrooms in 2013, its latest EV concept indicates how the world's third largest auto maker is reading the market. Dubbed the Milano Taxi, the concept is a long overdue shot at getting a purpose-built electric cab into major cities. The 115 PS vehicle can reach 74 mph, travel 186 miles between charges and be recharged to 80 percent of capacity in just over an hour. Read More

Yuji Fujimura has taken the bicycle design manual and thrown it to the wind with his concept Electric Bike Version 2. Ditching the popular and familiar diamond frame design, Fujimura has opted for a flat solid box on wheels where the handlebars, seat and pedals fold away flat to help squeeze the bike into tiny parking spaces. Read More

Designer Yang Yongchang is proposing a fold-away solution to the keyboard envy sometimes exhibited by netbook users. For the iWEB design, a full-size QWERTY keyboard is jointed in two places and folded inwards so that when not in use it sits within the frame of a 6.5in display portable device. Open up the netbook, fold out the side flaps and enjoy the ease of use and comfort of those nice big keys. Read More

The idea of tailoring architecture to the requirements of a prison is by no means new - most famously the Panopticon design by English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham has been the blueprint for many prisons since the late 1800s. A new Vertical Prison concept is not as draconian in its ambitions with its aim of rehabilitating prisoners by allowing them to remain a part of society and contribute to it, while using height as a wall to keep them physically separated from it. Read More

What really annoys me about doing the laundry is having to sort through all the colors and fabrics. Especially when - despite my care - I accidentally include something red with all my whites and I’m left with oodles of pink sports socks and tees! A clever design concept from Yali Dai could solve all my laundering problems. The Individual Washer is an upright washing machine that can sort and wash all your clothes together – regardless of color, material or washing temperature requirements. Hooray, that means no more extra sorting, no more color bleeding and no excess water usage! Read More

Just unwrapped at Geneva is this extraordinary Porsche 918 Spyder concept car, a mid-engined two-seater combining supercar performance with just 70 grams CO2 per kilometre emissions and a fuel consumption of 3.0 litres/100 kilometres (94 mpg imp). Under those curvaceous lines hides a 500 bhp V8 plus three electric motors totalling 215 bhp offering a wickedly fast 0-100 km/h time of 3.2 seconds, a top speed of 320 km/h (198 mph) and it's already done a lap of the Nordschleife Nurburgring circuit under 7:30 minutes, which is faster than even the Porsche Carrera GT. Buyers will be queued up around the block if (or more likely, when) this goes into production. Read More