'Walden', Nils Moormann

I stumbled upon this interesting alternative the other day when flicking through the Arts section of G2. Nils Moormann is a German furniture designer and is the man responsible for the concept behing this 'different style of living'.

He calls these dwellings 'Walden's, and they are somewhere between a garden shed and a mini-home, standing 6.5 metres long and about 1m wide with specified compartments for garden leisure. These include a watering can, wheelbarrow and barbecue utensils. The upper storey consists of a bed and a sitting area.

Portable architecture has really been the focus behind this design, and that isn't anything new. However, having broken free from the restraints of conventional building, i believe that this particular design suggests a shift in the relationship between nature and architecture - if you like a re-negotiation between the space we enclose for ourselves and the 'outside'.

The question which really sticks out in my mind is 'How much space do we really need?'

How Do You Tell The Time?

For the vast majority of us, telling the time requires you to quickly look at a digital watch, phone or a huge analogue clock slapped on the side of a church. All this takes place in the space of several seconds and is then forgotten and you don't really think about the concept of time and the other ways in which it can be displayed. In short you aren't engaged.

This sundial found in the centre of Cambridge is different from the other methods mentioned previously. Firstly, the unusual design of the dial is intriguing, as it forced me to stop in my tracks in order to actually figure out what the large steel arm was doing there. Secondly, it makes you appreciate the old fashioned way of the telling the time through using the sun, something you rarely see in the modern world. A clever way of making a feature of an old fashioned method and putting it into a modern context with a positive aesthetic feel and memorable impact.