Thu, 03/31/2011 | Co.Design: business + innovation + design

March 31 2011

Rethinking the U.S./Mexico Border Fence, With Bike Paths and Burrito Stands

Rethinking the U.S./Mexico Border Fence, With Bike Paths and Burrito Stands

If you can't beat it, redesign it. An assistant professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, Ron Rael, is not exactly a fan of the 700-mile series of separation barriers that have been erected between the United States and Mexico. He says the wall is expensive, detrimental to the environment, ineffective, and even deadly, since hundreds die of dehydration each year as they try to cross the culture.

Wanted: A Chair That Converts Into a Work Surface, With a Flip

Matali Crasset, one of our favorite Frenchies here at Co., is set to unveil a clever little chair at Milan Design Week next month. Designed for the Italian label Danese, Double Side transforms from a chair into a desk (complete with a bench) in a snap; all you've got to do is flip the seatback. Have a look-see:

[Before]

Gorgeous 3-D Paintings Evoke a Nuked-Out Urban Wasteland [Slideshow]

Gorgeous 3-D Paintings Evoke a Nuked-Out Urban Wasteland [Slideshow]

Bldgblog's Geoff Manaugh is up with a neat post on Indian-born British artist Gerry Judah, who throws building models onto canvas, then smashes them to smithereens, creating stark little cityscapes that look like a preview of the apocalypse.

Green Goose Tracks Whether Your Kids Are Doing Their Chores

"Gamification" -- the idea that digitally attaching points, levels, and instant feedback to un-fun activities will magically make them more engaging -- may have already jumped the shark, but that hasn't stopped the trend from growing. One new player on the scene, Green Goose, at least tries to zig where others have zagged by focusing on physical product design rather than badge-addled vaporware.

Amanda Levete to Build Extension for World’s Biggest Design Museum

The young British firm Amanda Levete Architects won a design competition recently to add onto London's historic V&A, the largest and most famous decorative arts and design museum in the world.

The 35-million-pound proposal, unveiled this week, would squeeze a vast underground gallery for temporary exhibitions beneath a zig-zagging public courtyard set within existing museum facades.

Method Cofounder Eric Ryan, on Building a Business With a Social Mission

[This is a guest post by Eric Ryan, co-founder of Method, the sustainable cleaning products company which isn't to be confused with Method, the branding agency and frequent Co.Design contributor. ? Ed.]

Infographic of the Day

Infographic of the Day: Infographic: Compare Today With Every Day That Came Before

Innovation by Design

The Amazing Judges For Our 2013 Innovation By Design Awards

From the Editor

Thanks for stopping by Fast Company’s Co.Design. If you’ve been a reader for some time, you’ll notice that we’ve just unveiled a brand-new redesign. You can read about the thought process behind it here. Our content, of course, will be the same: Our focus is on highlighting the world’s best examples of design and innovation, working in concert.

We started this site with a few simple premises in mind. First, design is a window onto the world at large, and the culture we live in.

Continued