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A Massive Faux Staircase Punctuates A Glass-Sided Home Before Flowing into an Outdoor Garden

The design team at Nendo knew they'd need a way to connect the three generations—and eight cats—living inside a newly constructed home in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo, so they created an enormous staircase. Spanning from the outdoor garden to the third floor, the steel-and-concrete structure isn't designed for climbing between floors but does serve as a multi-level garden area and space for the cats to lounge. It also conceals bathrooms and the staircase residents actually will use, while the white-paneled walls hold additional storage. Aptly named Stairway House, the interruptive project juxtaposes connection and separation within one home, the design…

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Design

Japanese Design Studio Turns Traditional Cuckoo Clocks on Their Head With Three Minimal Designs

Japanese design studio Nendo has turned the cuckoo clock on its head with three modern versions of the traditionally German-crafted object designed for clock company Lemnos. The minimal designs combine naturally finished wood with white painted faces, and each include a motorized bird that pops from the bottom, top, or side of the straight-edged works. Nendo's bookend design splits the clock's face so the two parts of the piece can nestle around one or several books. The tilted version is shifted to rest on its roof rather than base, and the dented clock is carved from a single block with its…

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Design

New Sunset Candles Burn to Reveal a Hidden Rainbow of Color

Japanese design studio Nendo (previously) just announced their first product designs for 2016 including the Sunset Candle. On the outside the candle appears completely white, but the inside contains a hidden core of colored wax evoking the hues of a sunset that gradually appears as it burns. Not only does the candle change color, but each stage is scented differently, emitting fragrances of bergamot, lemongrass, sweet marjoram, lavender, and geranium. As most of their products are designed in collaboration with clients, with retailers in Japan, or as concepts, these might not…

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Design

Cubic Rubber Bands by Nendo

Earlier this year Tokyo and Milan-based design firm Nendo (previously) accepted the challenge of redesigning the rubber band, one of the most common desktop items that seems so ubiquitous that it's disposable. After all, the cost of a few hundred more is just a few bucks. But what if a rubber band was interesting, functional, and you didn't want to throw it away. This was the idea behind Nendo's cubic rubber band, a completely different form factor resulting in a desktop object that isn't meant to be stashed away in a drawer or tossed in the trash. A set of…

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Design Food

Chocolatexture: A Series of Chocolates to Represent Japanese Words For Texture Created by Nendo

Japanese design office Nendo has created 9 different types of chocolate. While each are the same size, not a single piece from the Chocolatexture collection look alike. That’s because Oki Sato, who leads the Tokyo and Milan-based firm, rethought the concept of chocolate by focusing on texture. “There are many factors that determine a chocolate’s taste,” says Sato, referring to factors like the origin of cocoa, the percentage used, and the various different flavors. But by instead turning his attention to attributes like pointy, smooth and rough, the designer has created distinctive chocolates that all use identical ingredients but taste…

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Art Design Food

Edible Chocolate Art Supplies by Nendo

If you ever had an overwhelming desire to eat paste or paint chips as a child, this might be for you. Created by design firm Nendo (previously) for the Seibu Department Store in Japan these 12-piece paint sets are completely edible, paint tubes and all. Instead of paint, each tube contains a different flavored caramel or syrup matching the color of its label from green tea to strawberry to honey. Nendo previously designed a set of…

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