Buy Them, Spend Them, Bathe in Them: BitSoaps

Aren’t we all just wishing we had gotten our hands on some Bitcoins before they became really big? While that ship has sailed, there are still a lot more opportunities docked at the pier – it’s just a matter of studying them, weighing your options, and getting lucky with your next investment.

For now, wake up to a new day every day and be inspired to find the next big thing every time you take a bath with these BitSoaps.

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They’re basically Bitcoin-shaped soap that comes in hemp oil, castile, and lavender scents. If you have Bitcoins in your digital wallet, then these will remind you to spend them when the time is right. The BitSoaps are available online for $4.42(USD) each. Naturally, their maker accepts Bitcoins as payment.

[via C|NET]

Does This Geometric Church Look Like A Stegosaurus Doing Yoga?

Does This Geometric Church Look Like A Stegosaurus Doing Yoga?

The aptly-named 100 Walls Church in Cebu, Philippines, is like an architectural Rorschach test: From far away, it looks like shards of shale rock rearranged by an extreme rationalist. Up close, it’s something closer to an oversized geometric maze. CAZA Architects, who designed the building, describe it on their site as "a Stegosaurus doing yoga." Namaste.

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CruxEncore Case Turns iPad Air into a Notebook

There are bunches of cases out there for the iPad that add a physical keyboard to make it more efficient to use when typing a lot. A new case has turned up on Kickstarter that turns the iPad Air into a laptop.

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The CruxEncore case is designed to leave the camera and all controls of the tablet open and accessible. The case also leaves the speakers uncovered so the sound for videos and movies isn’t blocked. It’s got a durable hinge mechanism which allows you to adjust the iPad Air to any angle, without worrying about the display flopping over on itself.

It’s made from sturdy aircraft grade 6063 aluminum and polycarbonate. The aluminum is then anodized in multiple colors including silver, black, and white.

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Power for the Bluetooth 4.0 keyboard comes from a 360 mAh battery that is good for a month of use per charge. The keys are raised and are claimed to mimic the typing feel on a MacBook. A pledge of $89(USD) or more will get you one of the cases with shipping estimated in May 2014.

Norway's Lovely Memorial to the Worst Mass Shooting In Modern History

Norway's Lovely Memorial to the Worst Mass Shooting In Modern History

It’s been almost three years since a gunman detonated a bomb in Oslo and then stormed a small summer camp off the coast of Norway, killing 77 people and cementing a record as the worst mass shooting in modern memory. This month, the country revealed plans for a memorial to the tragedy—and it’s beautiful.

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Walking Robot Lamps are Light on Their Feet

Technology has changed not only how people do things, but how people perceive and create art as well. Take what researcher and artist Cassinelli Alvaro has done with his Toro-bots.

Walking Robotic Lantern 620x411The Toro-bots are a pair of walking robots that have Japanese lanterns for a head. They were created for beautifying gardens with minimal effort, but they certainly could be used for indoor illumination as well.

People often have to get down on all fours to move lamps and lanterns from one spot on their garden to another. The Toro-bots get rid of the dirty work because they’ll get up and walk to your desired location with a few flicks of the remote control. They’re also equipped with infrared rangefinders that allows them to detect when someone is nearby (they’ll step off to the side if they sense they’re in someone’s way.)

We propose here a garden that takes care of itself, that somehow understands and re-interprets the rules of harmony and equilibrium, and reconfigures itself depending on the season, the presence or absence of a human observers – that develops structure in a generative way, creating a dynamic conversation between the elements in the garden.

Now this is garden decor, just the way I like it. What do you think?

[via Trossen Robotics via Dvice]

38 Architectural Renderings You Won't Believe Are Fake

38 Architectural Renderings You Won't Believe Are Fake

Architecture is the art and science of designing buildings—solid, tangible structures. These images, however, depict views of spaces that have only ever existed in silico—and they’re breathtaking.

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Twitter's Not the Only Company With Indoor Cabins

Twitter's Not the Only Company With Indoor Cabins

In a few short weeks, employees at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters will be dining inside century-old log cabins shipped all the way from Montana. And Twitter isn’t alone. The struggle to make corporate office life less stupefying and more cozy seems to have reached its logical conclusion with a new trend: Buildings within buildings.

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Imagine how cool it would be if buildings weren’t actually constructed above-ground; if instead we l

Imagine how cool it would be if buildings weren’t actually constructed above-ground; if instead we lived in a large-scale garden of growing structures where architecture emerged, fully-formed, from the earth. Landed, by Ian Strange, is a somewhat disconcerting sculptural installation outside the Art Gallery of South Australia, that gives the sense we caught a home as it slowly rises up like a submarine, or perhaps sinks back down into the depths. [Lustik]

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Vote for Kick-Ass Design Projects Over at Architizer

Vote for Kick-Ass Design Projects Over at Architizer

The Architizer A+ Awards are open for public voting, and it’s well worth the time to click through and choose your favorites. There are some really great projects—and a few duds—but certainly a wide range of spaces, materials, and building types for just about anyone, from strangely gorgeous parking garages to Romantic and fantastical towers standing in the middle of lakes.

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Beautiful Wooden Workbench Hides a PC: Maker’s Desk

Swedish artist Love Hultén continues to marry classic furniture with computers. One of his latest projects is Tempel, a modern workstation inspired by 19th century writing desks. It combines a workbench, a large drawer and a computer in one elegant piece of wooden furniture.

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The workbench’s lid has an illuminated planetarium design beneath its keyhole. Below the workbench are 26 drawers.

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When opened, the lid turns into a desk and reveals Tempel’s other components. The left side houses a soldering station…

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while the right side seems to contain the controls for the computer, as well as its USB ports.

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The computer’s 24″ monitor pops out in front of the tool rack at the center.

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Now that’s an all-in-one PC. Check out Love’s website to see more of Tempel.

[via designboom via Werd]