Nabcab story

Back in my hometown Oudewater (nearby Utrecht) I searched for the tomatoes at our local grocery store and I came by my aunt. She asked me how I was doing and how my study was. She told me a little odd story I couldn’t believe. She took a nap in a little ‘cab’ on the airport of Munich. ‘It was such a little space where you can get a little nap, the perfect solution because my plane was delayed for 10 hours.’ I have to admit, she is a very free spirit.

What is it?
I thought she was kidding me so I did a little research, guess what? They do exist! Also known as the Nabcab. A little cabin where you can sleep for some hours.

Napcabs – comfort and privacy for passengers inside airport terminals. Making the stay at the airport more pleasant and comfortable is the idea behind napcabs.

As you can see, it can be a possibility for those who fly a lot and want to have a proper sleep. It does cost a little, 10 euros per hour at am, pm it costs 15 euros. The fact is we are going to fly more in the future and spend more time on the airport. Perfect for your rest. On youtube I found something very simular in Dubai; the sleeping pod. A chair which also provides you of your rest in private, on an airport.

These two ideas reminded me of a hotel which also looks like a cabin, but suits perfect in a sustainable city; the capsule hotel.

The capsule hotel is a way of thinking differently, sparing some space and perfect for the sustainable city. This hotel exists already 4 years. It can get a little update and a western look and fool. Nowadays such kind of futuristic hotels are more hostels, which combine beautiful concepts.

But why is it cool? And what about future growth potential?
Growth potential? It is all about the growth potentials! These three concepts combine to one, can be the future. We think of making things more easy for ourselves, but also think about the amount of space we use. A capsule hotel in a different way can be the solution to give more people the space to live in a city. I can imagine a hotel, with a lot of different price ranger per floor. The ideal way to give tourists with all kind of budgets the space to explore the city. Or the opportunity to create new kind of student homes? I would like to live in these kind of homes.

Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/15/napcabs-airport-nap-pods_n_6456752.html

Shall we meet at the High or Low line park

Imagine, you want to go for a walk but it is raining outside. You really like to walk in the sun and don’t want to wait.. You take the bus to your park, but you can’t see it. You take the elevator to go underground, and al of a sudden; it is there.

What is it?
It is a magnificent underground park, an initiative of the architecture who also designed the High line park. There is big old pilot underneath New York that they found and want to use for the park. This is the present look of it;

It is a large space you can build, why didn’t they think of this sooner?

An interesting feature the Low Line would bring about is the use of a “remote skylight.” This is the use of fiber optic cables that supply the underground area with light that’s filtering out harmful UV and infrared rays while keeping the wavelengths necessary for plants to perform photosynthesis. Ramsey’s other idea is to have solar collectors above ground that supply power to any fixtures needed underground.

This is how the architecture had it in mind. Like they say; it will be used with a ‘remote skylight’. This will give the illusion of real sunlight or daylight, I mean pure happiness? They thought of the park to create more green in New York. The problem is the tight space they have and found the old pilot.

Why is it cool & future growth potential
I don’t even have to say how amazing and cool this is. To find such kind of pilots above ground would be amazing, but find it underground is even more special. The way it is designed, the ‘remote skylight’ made from fiber LED light, the people who can be outside even when it rains, the possibilities it gives you and the trees and animals who can live there. I think the environment isn’t perfect for green, but creating a new one underground is amazing. This is a first step in the right direction. I can imagine such kind of parks underneath Amsterdam, or like Dubai; above the city; on a rooftop. We don’t longer think horizontal, we think vertical. Urban farming, a big trend we all know. We should all think vertical. Space is limited (well in the cities) and by the fact we all want to live in the cities, wait I will make it worse; in 2050 75% of the people want to live in the city. Well that will never fit, so we have to think in a different way. This park can be the solution, or maybe is the solution.

I also saw something on Facebook, a boat which had rooms under sealevel. Another way of thinking vertical. Or the floating city in the sea? I hear so much opportunities, eclectic and exciting ideas, I can’t wait for the future.

Sources:
Architect
http://raadstudio.com/the-lowline/

Article American
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/nyc-low-line

Drone football

I was watching television and all of a sudden I saw a new commercial, a flying drone what created a new kind of world; a concrete field turned into a little arena! What a great way to create a new world for young children. But then I realized, the ad came from Pepsi.. well that is weird, is it?

Nowadays little kids play soccer in the neighborhood concrete fields, if there are any.. If there aren’t they don’t even get the opportunity to play, or have to travel a while.

What is it?
It is an amazing commercial that speaks out of your biggest fantasy, an imaginary world that became reality. A wonderful way of showing the possibilities of cities by night. There are a lot of cities in the world who do not own such kind of fields for children, or it’s a dangerous environment. To stimulate kids to play, interact with each other and build a opportunity, this could be a solution.

But the ‘strange’ side of the story, is the dishonesty: Pepsi. Pepsi says they can make it real, if you just buy the drink. But isn’t that unfair? Those children do not own a lot, especially money. How can you create a dream, a fantasy, which isn’t the reality? If Pepsi stopped with this advertisement, but made it reality..

But.. do I think it is cool or?
Well, it is a little outrageous to say it isn’t, but I think it would be outstanding if they would really made it happen. For those who have not the opportunity, money or creativity. Kids, parents, neighbors, you would bring everyone together in a fun way. We live in 2015, this kind of inventive ideas can be made. It would be a solution for kids to work out, make the city more attractive, skip the image of a dangerous place after 10 am. So Pepsi, if you read this; do not create an illusion, make it happen.

Sources:
The television, radio
http://www.dutchcowboys.nl/marketing/pepsi-max-voetbal-2-0-met-speciale-led-licht-effecten-en-een-drone

Do you want some poo my dear?

Yes, you are reading this well. Poo. I searched online for a recipe in the ‘parool’, a paper where my mother saw the recipe. When I opened the paper, there was an article about re-using poo to make a medicine. That sounds a little odd, but could be a fascinating (and a little disgusting) solution.

What is it?
Well, I thought of poo, something you do not really want to think about every hour of the day. But poo is something that we just ‘throw’ away, why not use it in a different way you first would think of? Amsterdam Medisch Centrum (AMC) thought of poo in a different way. They had an creative idea; they want to make poo the solution for overweighted man. Here is exactly what they do

Zo’n patiënt krijgt dus de darmbacteriën van iemand die gezond is en ook geen familie heeft met diabetes. Deze ‘transplantatie’ wordt drie keer in een half jaar tijd gedaan. Daarna kijken we wat er gebeurt met het immuunsysteem en of de patiënten misschien wat langer insuline blijven maken. Als dat zo blijkt te zijn, waar we dus op hopen, dan kijken we welke darmbacteriën daarvoor verantwoordelijk zijn..

Poo sounds horrifying, but if the research is finished, they will create a little capsule. Well that is a relief. The idea seems a great opportunity, but it is getting better. after a lot of other studies, it seems that diabetes 1 isn’t the only disease that can be solved. There are many people asking to get this kind of treatment, but the creators aren’t ready yet.

Why is it cool and got it future growth potential?
First of all, how amazing is this idea? Using poo in a different way? I was very curious if there were more inventive ideas like this and I was really suprised.

If you have a chronicle diarrhea disease, they give you donor poo. Yes, donor poo. This is a treatment that already has been invented a long time ago. I don’t know how they use it, but it sounds spectacular.

I also found a pill that will treat a gut infection?

Doctors crafted the capsules by running healthy stool through a sieve, and then using a centrifuge to separate out the fecal bacteria and “discard everything but the bug,” said study author Dr. Thomas Louie, a professor of medicine at the University of Calgary, in Alberta. The remaining fecal bacteria resembles off-white river clay, Louie said. It is scooped into a gelatin capsule, which is then placed inside two other layers of gelatin capsule to ensure that the bacteria will make it through the stomach to reach the lower intestine and the colon.

There are so much more opportunities, it is a new kind of recycling?

And then I had a little flashback. We had a presentation of a lovely lady which ‘created’ the social garden in Rotterdam. She also told us that fish poo in the water (duh) and if they do, they have a machine that seperates the poo with the water. The poo they collect, will be used to ‘feed’ the lettuce. Isn’t that amazing?

What is your conclusion?
I am flabbergasted by the amazing ideas we have, what we create and how inventive we think. Poo of all kind of things, is something you would not think of in first place. But we have so much of it, every single day because it is ours. We provide the world of it, so why not use it? I tried to combine all those little signals to one poo article. It is hilarious, but I’m proud to write about it. Future wise; this is an outcome for so many problems in the world. We only just began to realize all the types of recycling we have and how to use it. I can see toilets which provide landscapes to be fertile again. Keep on coming good people!

Sources:
donor poo & fat reduction
http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/265/GEZONDHEID-WETENSCHAP/article/detail/4008456/2015/05/08/AMC-heeft-grootse-plannen-met-poep-als-medicijn.dhtml

poo pill
http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/news/20131003/poo-in-a-pill-to-treat-gut-infection

Food presentation, Tropicana
http://www.uitjeeigenstad.nl/stadsboerderij

Delivery drone or driverless cars?

When I was a little child, I always looked so fascinated to those futuristic movies. Flying cars, strange clothing and weird food. Well, we live in 2015 now and some of those things really came to reality. Devices who can deliver at your home within 30 minutes after you paid for your order? Really? Flying cars are in progress, but self driving cars? That is really freaky. I know there is a little shuttle bus in Rotterdam which drives completely by computer. It is electric and only goes one way, freaky as well but can’t deviate of it’s own route.

What is it?
A driverless car, something that only was reality in your wildest dream. Nowadays there are so many prototypes and test results, I had no idea. Thinking of the sustainable city I really wanted to combine these two together, this are two examples of things I never thought would happen.

It scares me a little bit, because wouldn’t it cause a lot of accidents? The answer of that question is even more remarkable; it provides less traffic jams. The cars can read the amount of cars, the speed they are driving and the amount of cars around them. Therefore they can intervene and will stop an accident.

When I thought about the driverless cars, I came by this subject. The automated bar.

Just two robots, serving you a drink. That’s not very exciting at all. What really freaks me out is the fact you can’t socialize with the bartender anymore. It is a robot. Doesn’t that destroys the ambiance? The feeling of a real bar? The social element is gone and away. No more flirting for a little shot, no more exciting facts about your drink or a polite smile when you leave. Is this really the future?

Drones, a lot of people know it exists but that it could deliver? Isn’t that a futuristic movie invention? Amazon is going to make it reality. They are planning to make drones that can deliver a package within 30 minutes after purchasing. Extremely soon and is it even possible? I can imagine drones flying all over the city to deliver packaging. But isn’t that easy to steal the package? Can’t you shoot them out of the air? Or am I the only one who thinks it is a little outrageous? I have to admit, it scares me a little.

Why is it cool?
In the city of the future this kind of unbelievable inventions can be realizable. I don’t think it has any future growth potential, it is the growth potential. All these kinds of inventions where small ideas and are now reality. Imaginary things or fantasies aren’t unreal, everything is possible. With the future in mind, these kind of opportunites are the ones we need to have. We want to survive, but we also want to be treat well. Less accidents, more time to spend on other things and even delivery within 30 minutes. But it still scares me a lot. So many jobs are replaced by the inventions. Offcourse there will be new ones, but the world will not be the same ever again. Are we ready for this kind of discoveries? I think we need to be, because this is our reality. Every thing you ever dreamed of is becoming reality. Mark my words.

Sources:

Drone
http://www.nu.nl/tech/3642996/amazon-ontwikkelt-drones-bezorging.html

car & drone

Bezorging met drones, zelfsturende auto’s of 3D-printers: briljant of belachelijk?

bar
http://www.engadget.com/2015/05/12/bots-and-booze-the-automated-bar-of-the-future/

Microgarden

Urban gardening, micro gardening, the Albert Heijn with their little pocket gardening, we know all about it. But this kind of gardening is new; micro vegetables gardening; microgarden!

What is it?
A Micro garden is a little greenhouse especially designed to let micro vegetables grow. Their made of agar-agar, jelly and seeds. It’s a beautiful little garden, well you could say lab in your own kitchen. You can process your own micro vegetables.

The indoor farming movement has begun. No longer is the idea of growing fresh produce in your home a futuristic concept. Based in the heart of Berlin, INFARM is a farming incubator that aims to provide urban communities with the freedom to grow fresh, local, organic produce, no matter the season, right at home.

Why is it cool or has it any growth potential?
Well, I think that the gardening trend is not only a trend, it’s a way of new kind of innovating projects. This little micro garden is already available on the market. Everyone can make their own microgarden and what I think is spectacular, is the fact of micro vegetables at your own home. We all know the tomato or basil plants, but micro vegetables? It is just more than gardening, it’s bringing a little lab into your kitchen. The future will bring us more of these, but the way INFARM is presenting their own idea, is brilliant. You don’t need to get a grade or title to start your own lab, you can build your own vegetables at home and the funny thing is; it is only 2015. Where are we in about 5 years? I can’t wait.

Sources:
http://tomorrowmachine.se/
http://mocoloco.com/archives/029949.php

Groei je eigen microgroenten met de Microgarden

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/infarm-join-the-indoor-farming-r-evolution

McTRANSPARENCY

Mc Donalds, what should I say about that one. Ever since I was little, I remember the search of the ‘big yellow M’. I would, with all the courage, ask my parents if we could stop. The taste, the little sweet happy meal and the crazy screamy colors.. I just could not resist it.

Nowadays, McDonalds is changing inside and out. They were changing already, but now it is ridiculous and almost a bit outrageous. The numbers of McDonalds Holland are not so good anymore, terrible perhaps? They are bringing the green back, producing more salads and be more clear about their ingredients.. are they? Isn’t it just a show, an act to get you attracted to their restaurants?

There are so many people talking about the McDonalds, so much different meanings and stories about the cruelty. But we all eat there and will always will love it, even if we hear all the crappy shit.

What am I talking about?
Well, they did the best thing they could ever do; they put their magical bigmac sauce on the market. YES ON THE MARKET! You can buy your own bottle of sauce..well say goodbye to your pretty little dream. They only were sold in Australia in 25 different stores and only 200 bottles of 25 milliliters were produced. Not shocked? Still want one? The highest bid on e-bay is $15.000!

look at this stunner!!!!!

And why am I talking about it?
McDonalds is using the biggest trend in town; transparency. Well, at least they are trying. Because bringing only 200 on the market, transparency? Isn’t it a show to really know how curious we are? Teasing us, playing with us? Is there any difference? I doubt it. I think it is another trick to give us a wake-up-call, because McDonalds will never go bankrupt.

Sources:

Eindelijk: McDonald’s brengt Big Mac-saus op de markt

http://slimintrading.com/grote-problemen-mcdonalds/6844/

weedburger?

A little get-together was arranged by a lovely friend of mine. We would visit Zwolle, a town that we did not know a lot of. I wrote a coolhunt about Zwollywood, so I wanted to visit the hotspots I found. So we went to KOST, a lifestyle store which also has a petite restaurant. It also is famous for his weed burger.

But what is it exactly?
KOST is a lifestyle store, made with purely love. It calls his self a healthy fastfood restaurant, but it is so much more than that. It really caught my attention by the way they display themselves. It is just, great. My lovely friend Pascal took some photos and well. They speak enough.

KOST is geboren uit het besef dat steeds meer mensen graag lekker en gezond eten, maar geen tijd hebben om te koken. Daarom kookt KOST, terwijl jij aan het werkt bent, voor je kinderen zorgt of gewoon eens even wat tijd voor jezelf neemt. Laat je eten thuis bezorgen, haal het af of schuif bij ons aan tafel. Waar je je KOST ook eet: geniet ervan!

KOST gelooft dat goed eten een verschil kan maken: Op persoonlijk vlak: Van lekker eten word je blij en van gezond eten wordt je lichaam fit. En op mondiale schaal: door te kiezen voor pure eerlijke producten dragen we bij aan een beter milieu.

Everything you see in KOST, has been handmade, handcrafted or anything else by hand. They sell other handcrafted pieces, such as towels, cups, plaids or beautiful sculptures.

But why is it cool?
Well, do I need to say the three words; sharing is caring? Embrace your power? Work together? Combine your strength? I like the way they support the little companies and give them a stage to shine. Everything has been made by hand, or by nature. I love the idea of embracing each others power and create one amazing shop. We should do this more often, combine all the creative ingredients together. We should all take an example of that incredible creative idea.

Sources:
Photos by – Pascal Veenhof
http://kostfood.nl/

CARRO(t)LICIOUS

Vegetables and brands, two things that don’t fit well together. But why don’t we have a chiquita cucumber? Or a ‘Forgotten vegetable recycling program’? Our client FoodGuerilla made an event about broccoli, also known as BIG BANG BROCCOLI.

Whatsup with the veggie brands?
When I was searching for more information about their guerilla I found another initiative; power to the pieper, another eye opening campaign with his star; the potato. What they say, about our chancing eat habits, is so true.

I like the way they pronounce the ‘problem’ all over the world. You can really relay on that feeling, the vibe and offcourse; make new ideas about the potatoes.

Gelukkig zijn sommige dingen heerlijk gewoon gebleven. De aardappel is al honderden jaren super foodzaam. Daarom zet Power to the Pieper Neerlands trots, de aardappel, met een spetterende campagne in de schijnwerpers. De Power Piepers duiken op in de supermarkten, op je timeline en natuurlijk op je bord!

De pieper biedt tal van mogelijkheden om steeds weer nieuwe bijzondere gerechten voor te schotelen. Van gepofte aardappel tot stamppot en heerlijke curry. De smaken, gerechten en bereidingswijzen zijn eindeloos.

Do I sence a little ‘authenticity’ trend around the corner?

What really surprised me is the fact that the big ‘junkfood’ brands are getting more green, have more transparency and are very open to the wide world. But also the ‘healthy food’ is getting a brand, just to give them a stage as well. Don’t you think it is weird, that our vegetables don’t have any brand?

Why does they not excist?
Well, it is something I never thought of. Vegetables don’t have a brand, they are just veggies. But the way FoodGuerilla and aardappels.nl made a campaign that really opens your eyes. Veggies come from a farm/factory, not from coca cola. But how can we make them famous? Campaigns, talking about it, let it go viral. Because the veggies that we know, are amazing. So lets get crazy about our veggies, instead of McDonalds. Sounds amazing to me!

Sources:

http://powertothepieper.aardappels.nl/?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=powertothepieper&gclid=Cj0KEQiApbunBRDs0fba3dz484cBEiQAMsx-p5U0hjztcymKeZvS-ZVK2MVgvKh7gmyLuQnaUqYu-u8aAlFh8P8HAQ
http://www.foodguerrilla.nl/foodguerrilla-event-big-bang-broccoli/
http://www.bigbangbroccoli.com/

Just give them fries!

Those little children, cycling through the city, eating a healthy oat bar made by their mom. They wend near by the Mc Donalds, and the mother is telling them; ‘McDonalds, poison, never go near there’. Well, don’t we all crave a hamburger?

What? Children only eat healthy? No Fries?
It was saturday morning, I had a break from my job and I was reading the paper. I opened it up and this article really scared me. The numbers of underfed children increased a lot in 2015. Parents who are way to crazy in their eating habits. A young child, especially in their puberty, needs more food than you expect. And you don’t need to give them fries every day, that would be crazy, but a child needs some candy, or fries, or soda.. or chocolate.

I wanted to know more about this subject and suddenly it was all around me. Linda magazine made an article about dutch kids. It is crazy what parents think nowadays.

Mama, papa, quinoa, bal, auto
Quinoa is overal. Het is een plaag, net als de rest van de ‘superfoods’ die ons zogenaamd van en voor allerlei kwalen verlossen en behoeden. Zelfs kleine kinderen weten wat het is. Ze kunnen het zonder haspelen uitspreken. De volgorde in eerste woordenleer is tegenwoordig mama, papa, quinoa, bal, auto.

Why is it so terrible and NOT cool?
Healthy, what is healthy? It is a struggle for everyone, but being a parent, your child is growing so fast. Why risk their health condition? I think we need to progress the ‘healthy standards’ for the child. Because all the young children think that it’s normal, not to eat anything bad. But sugar is something we need. Offcourse, not every day but we need something.

Makkelijke slachtoffers? Kinderen
Belachelijk overdreven doen over eten: het gebeurt op elke plek in Nederland waar de inwoners genoeg geld hebben om (biologische!) superfoods te kopen en genoeg tijd hebben om hier oeverloos over te ouwehoeren, vaak nogal rechtlijnig en zonder al te veel kennis van zaken. In die zin komt superfoodisme volgens haar beangstigend dicht in de buurt van een of andere enge religie. Superfoodfanatisme en zelfspot; ik kom het zelden tegen. Zendingsdrang daarentegen des te meer. En wie zijn hiervoor een makkelijke slachtoffer? Kinderen.

Think with your own ‘boeren verstand’. Don’t get obsessed with all those health guru’s. I am getting crazy of all those quotes and what’s bad en what’s good. Parents too, but give them a slice of bread, with butter and cheese. OH and a glass of milk. They will love that.

Source:
AD saturdagy 20 februari
http://www.lindanieuws.nl/lifestyle/superfoodisme-het-lijkt-wel-een-of-andere-enge-religie/