This beautiful Iota door handle is by the prolific British Industrial designer Sebastian Bergne."Iota is based on an extremely simple notion of subtraction from a supersized bar. If the bent tube handle has become a ubiquitous symbol of modernity, this design subverts, distorts and rethinks it so that the everyday becomes the special. Unusually, the neck becomes the rose and the junction between handle and door becomes a single seamless, fluid sweep."It was originally designed in 2010 and is in production by door hardware manufacturer iz. Bergne has teased that "work on an expanded family is now well underway," and says we'll be able to see it "soon."

I don't know much about surfing, but saw one of those Olympic surfing clips making the rounds, and was surprised to see some of the surfers wearing helmets. It makes sense, given the massive force of nature surfers are up against, and we now have a better understanding of concussions than when surfing was invented. That said, I've learned not all surfers wear them. "Even top pro surfers can have a wipeout that changes their life forever. But when it comes to wearing a helmet, surfers are still torn," says pro surfer Griffin Colapinto.Colapinto is sponsored by Oakley, who has been working on a helmet that they reckon surfers will want to wear. Their description of the design illuminates the user resistance points they're trying to overcome:"The best-in-class helmet is made from strong ABS and is designed to absorb impact, disperse energy, and reduce blunt force trauma. Its unique shell design prevents disorientation and drag in the water and with open ventilation, surfers can easily maneuver through and under water even while duck diving, allowing for immediate drainage upon reaching the surface." "Complete with adjustable and removable ear protection, engineered to maintain hearing, prevent cuts and protect against eardrum blowouts, the helmet allows surfers to stay aware of their surroundings, make split-second decisions, and always be in control." The helmet is called the WTR Icon, and you won't see it at this year's Olympics; it won't be ready for production until November of this year.

Librarians at the Fairfield Area Library in Virginia spotted a problem. "The staff noticed that parents with toddlers or infants in strollers had no easy way to use the library's adult reading room computer workstations. Further, their young children might disrupt the work of others using the library workstations."The library reached out to architecture firm Quinn Evans to develop a solution. Quinn Evans then worked with Michigan-based TMC Furniture, the largest contract children's furniture manufacturer in America. They jointly created this Fairfield Parent + Child Carrel:"The Carrel's workstation side has a tall panel offering privacy for the seated parent, while the mid-panel is low, providing sight lines into the child's play area. The worksurface includes a grommet and wire management features." "The Fairfield Carrel enables parents and caregivers to use the workstation while older children are reading or playing nearby. The inside play space, designed for infants and toddlers up to two years of age, features a mirror at the lowest level and a series of interactive panels above. Library staff can switch these panels out to provide a variety of content which might change for the season, curriculum or other community needs. The exterior panels can feature a variety of TMC-standard ImPrinted designs or a custom creation." "Maintaining sanitary surfaces was a prime concern. TMC's two decades of work in major healthcare systems around the world gives us leading expertise in sanitary system and material specifications for children's furniture. The vinyl mat is made of healthcare-grade material which can be easily wiped down multiple times a day as needed. Both the mat and the maple finish on the workstation are non-toxic and durable for frequent cleanings. A gate on the play area also simplifies access for cleaning." The library reports that the carrels have been a hit with parents.

When structures are destroyed by war or natural disasters, there is an urgent need to rehouse displaced residents. Most disaster relief housing initiatives focus on deploying tent-like structures. But an Australian charity called Mobile Crisis Construction has figured out a way to quickly produce more durable structures, using a raw material that is readily available: Rubble.MCC has developed a mobile block-making factory that fits into a 20-foot shipping container. Rubble is loaded into it, mixed with water and concrete, and the factory compresses it and spits out Lego-like blocks that interlock. The blocks must sit for one week to cure, and then they can be used in construction. Because the blocks are designed to interlock, no mortar is required, and unskilled labor can be used to erect walls. (Skilled labor is required for everything else, of course: Roofing, plumbing, flooring, electrical, etc.) The holes you see in the blocks are for inserting rebar. MCC says that once reinforced, their structures are earthquake-, fire- and cyclone-resistant."Our mobile block factories use the rubble and waste materials from the disaster to make blocks for construction of sturdy, long-term structures in a very short time, with each mobile block factory producing up to 40 tonnes blocks per shift. [That's] enough blocks to build one school, three large houses or 10 small houses per week."MCC held a successful crowdfunding campaign to send one of their factories to Ukraine. "MCC will establish the initial rebuilding efforts in a relatively safe area near Kiev, and expand operations into other areas as needed, dependent on funding." Here's how MCC's system works:

Chinese robotics company Unitree is the firm that dresses their humanoid robots in clothes. Their dog-shaped robots, on the other hand, let it all hang out. They recently upgraded their Go2 model with wheels:Perhaps the most dog-like thing it can do:There are more impressive tricks in the full video below.There's no word on what this Go2-W model costs, but its unwheeled Go2 sibling starts at $1,600.

Oscillating tools are my least favorite power tool, but they're indispensable for certain tasks, like rehabbing windows and sills. I dislike how quickly the blades wear out, and how expensive those blades are."Everyone in the construction trades seems to know that if you want high quality blades, then the big tool companies pretty much have you locked into their high price saw blades," writes Michigan-based inventor Jim Dimond. "Everyone also knows that those same saw blades often have more material left to use if they could only be sharpened."For that reason, Dimond invented, patented and sells this Oscillating Tool Blade Sharpener. You can order it with a diamond grinder if you're using carbide blades, or a CBN grinder for steel or bi-metal blades."It's super fast and easily makes entire rows of properly shaped new teeth on your oscillating saw blades, but it does it in a unique way. This unique patent pending design shapes and sharpens blade teeth in a criss-cross way." "It's much like how you would sharpen a knife using a stone. You sharpen one edge of your knife, then flip the knife over to sharpen the other edge. By sharpening one edge at a time, it forms razor sharp V shape that is the sharp cutting edge of your knife. Our grinder froms one edge of a row of teeth first, then it forms the opposite edge of that row of teeth. This forms an incredibly sharp edge and points on the teeth...just like sharpening your knife one edge at a time. It's a criss-cross way of creating blade teeth."Here's a demo of the machine, and it does indeed look effective:Dimond hand-builds each machine along with two employees. He sells them for $200 through his company, Tigers Teeth.

You'd think you'd seen it all, when it came to the design of water bottles. But this futuristic-looking Modular Bottle actually has some new, perhaps useful tricks:The borosilicate glass insert is the red flag for me; while I understand the appeal of not drinking out of plastic, borosilicate's pretty delicate stuffwill this thing survive a drop? It's not like there's shock absorption on the inside. That said, the ease of cleaning, the ability to increase the bottle's volume, the removable bottom compartment, the reusable straw, and even the different caps all appear useful. I'd use the Flat Cap for driving or other shouldn't-spill situations, and the "Industrial" cap when working outside with gloves on.This was Kickstarted last year, to the tune of $1.8 million. They now retail for $80 to $115, depending on options.

If you happened across the Olympic Air Pistol event for the first time, you might've been puzzled by the competitors' eyewear: So those are mechanical irises. Shooting competitors fine-tune them to bring their gunsights into sharp focus. Here's an example of one by manufacturer Gehmann: And the competition frames they sell, for those who don't wear eyeglasses: If you're wondering why competitors don't just rely on prescription glasses, it's because your eyesight can actually change over the course of the day. You're dealing with both fatigue and changing light conditions. The adjustability of the mechanical iris allows you to compensate for that. Lastly, it's worth noting that Oh Ye-jin, the South Korean competitor who took Gold in the 10 Meter Air Pistol event this year, eschews the irises.

"When one thinks about high-end desktop PCs, what comes to mind are glass panels, right-angle aluminium frame cases and tons of RGBs," writes PC accessory manufacturer Cooler Master. To break that mold, they worked with a case modder called JMDF to create this Sneaker X gaming PC:"Sneaker X, blending the vibrant essence of sneaker culture with high-tech performance. JMDF and Cooler Master are on a mission to redefine the very essence of PC technology, proving that it's not just about function - it's about the thrill, the flair, and the fun."The Sneaker X was originally designed in 2020, but this year they've refreshed the line with new colors:The water-cooled PCs run $3,500 for the "mainstream gaming" version, and $3,800 for a "hardcore gaming" version.

Paul Cohen is a veteran industrial designer who hails from Australia. He's been an iF Design Award jury member for the past decade, and runs his own design studio in Hong Kong. He's reached that point in his career where he can design and fabricate things for himself, like these eyeglasses that have no hinge: The magnets are nifty. That said, it would drive me nuts if I had to assemble and disassemble my eyeglasses every time they went in or out of the case. But these aren't meant for the mass market: As Cohen writes, the glasses are "Designed by me for me."