January 2014 – Kristen Baumlier

Month: January 2014

Farmer’s Fridge – A Salad Vending Machine

Posted on January 30, 2014February 8, 2014 by Kbaumlier

Vending machines are usually stocked with chips, candy bars, and other packaged foods In Illinois, Farmer’s Fridge is creating a new type of vending machines, that are filled with salads. The company makes the salad fresh every day, and daily deliver them to a vending machine. The idea behind the company is that healthy and tasty food can be easy to get.

The team behind the project write on their site about the project:

“Don’t think of the Farmer’s Fridge kiosk as a vending machine. It’s a veggie machine. And just as each salad is a culinary thing of beauty, the kiosk is a work of art in its own right. Made from reclaimed wood (provided by Modern Urban Woods of West Chicago) and even some recycled materials, each one is unique and user-friendly.”

Here is the daily schedule of how the kiosk project works:
1. Fresh produce arrives every morning to where the salads are made.
2. The team behind the project arrive at 5 a.m. and make everything from scratch.
3. The salads are delivered to the machine at 10 a.m. and remove the unsold salads (which are donated to a local food pantry.)
4. Any unsold salads are discounted by $1 at 6 p.m each night

The packaging, kiosk materials, napkins, and utensils are all recyclable or biodegradable

Sound good? Currently there currently two Farmer’s Fridge locations, one at the Garvey Food Court and one at the Lake Forest Tollway Oasis. Next time I drive to Wisconsin, and stop at the Lake Forest Tollway Oasis – I am going to plan on looking for the Farmer’s Fridge.

Image Sources and Links:

http://www.farmersfridge.com/

3D Print – A Pizza?

Posted on January 27, 2014February 8, 2014 by Kbaumlier

3D printers have been in the news lately with stories of people who are printing in sugar. But what about printing in pizza? I wanted to post this, since I thought this was a notable way to make food, here as well as in outer space.

A 3D printer machine designed by engineer Anjan Contractor recently printed a pizza as a test. This printer could be used as a new way to make food for astronauts who are on long missions in the future. Usually astronauts eat food from tubes and in tightly sealed packages, but with a 3D printer they could print out and cook meals.

In order to print the pizza, the machine prints the pizza in “blocks.” A block of dough is printed before a block of sauce and then cheese. The result is a square personal pizza. The food cartridges for the system are intended to last thirty years. There is a video online where you can watch the pizza printer in action. I wonder what else the printer can print?

Image Source and Links:

3d Printed Pizza – Video

Cocoon – A Tiny Home Made of Fabric

Posted on January 23, 2014January 20, 2014 by Kbaumlier

Tanya Shukstelinsky, who did a final project from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design created tiny shelter space that has gotten a lot of attention lately. Her piece called “Cocoon” is made out of fabric, and has a sleeping space, steps, a table, and a fillable bathtub within it. In order to move around in the space, an inhabitants would have to grab onto the stitches inside.

The project was made to investigate creating a private space in a public area. Shukstelinsky intended the space to be used in spaces in between other buildings, creating a solution for urban nomads and those needing temporary living space.

The space looks pretty cozy, and though it looks like just enough for one person, maybe a visitor could fit in the kitchen area. Need a space to live?

References and Images:
dezeen

Links:

Tanya Chukstelinsky

Bespoken – a Music Track created With Sounds from Bicycles

Posted on January 19, 2014January 20, 2014 by Kbaumlier

Noise art and sampled music have been around for a while, but composer Johnnyrandom has done something interesting in regards to making musical compositions made only from everyday objects. He has a music track called “Bespoken” which is created from the full potential of sounds that can be created generated from bicycles and their components. In the online video, you see him hit the spokes with a mallet, put a guitar pick on the wheel as it spins, and watch as the sounds are being made.

The piece was made without synthesizers or samplers and the full work is available on Itunes. If you like ambient music or bikes, this is worth a listen.

Links and Images:

Bespoken on vimeo

johnnyrandom_ – Twitter

The Green Wall – The Largest Leafy Wall in North America

Posted on January 15, 2014January 20, 2014 by Kbaumlier

A new sustainable interior wall at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania has plants growing from floor to ceiling. Called The Green Wall, the walls were designed to resemble a lush, green jungle and are 14 feet high and 300 feet long making it the largest green wall in North America.

The walls were developed by GSky and are comprised of 47,000 plants. The space has a greenhouse roof, and the walls are able to eliminate about 15,500 pounds of toxins and dust from the air within its location of the East Conservatory Plaza. The walls are self-irrigated, and are a example of a sustainable interior.

If you want to check the walls out for yourself, head to the Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
Images and Links:

The Green Wall – longwoodgardens.org

longwoodgardens.org