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A bar that focuses on taste, not photography

Existing Conditions, Greenwich, New York City

New York – Existing Conditions is a new bar with a stripped-back aesthetic that goes against the rise of Instagrammable interiors.

By shifting focus instead to the technique and craft involved in making its drinks, the bar has created an environment that caters for taste and experience rather than visitors’ social feed.

‘From the guest’s vantage point, everything will appear simple and taste pure and delicious. We are trying to change the way drinks are made, not the way people drink,’ says Dave Arnold, co-founder and co-owner of Existing Conditions. ‘[The bar] is a platform for exploring every available technique and ingredient to create drinks that have never been made before and take flavours to new heights.’

Embracing technical production, the bar also houses a custom-made carbonation system to counteract the loss of fizz that most mixers experience when added to room-temperature alcohol. Instead, Existing Conditions will carbonate every ingredient, with ingredients frozen at minus seven degrees to retain the carbonation.

To avoid taste and ingredient bias, everything on the drinks menu is priced at £12 ($15, €13), including its non-alcoholic cocktails.

Daisie is a social community for young creative talent

Daisie app by Maisie Williams

US – Game of Thrones actor Maisie Williams has launched a new app to help young creatives connect with the media and entertainment industry.

Billed as ‘a playground for creative collaboration’, Daisie is a safe platform for young people to develop their careers by connecting them with other industry talent and established experts. By providing access and opportunities for all, Daisie offers an alternative route into the media and entertainment industry that avoids the ‘who you know’ cliché. Alongside a launch Q&A featuring Williams, the platform is also set to host industry insights from well-known singers, creatives and designers.

‘Before Daisie, success in the creative industries was wholly dependent on luck and ‘ins’ to the industry. Daisie introduces a new way into the creative world; through connections made organically and the natural development of your skills, propelling individuals to the next level,’ explains Williams.

Daisie has been launched at a time when young people are becoming tired of narcissistic platforms such as Instagram and are turning instead to apps that emphasise community and more meaningful connections.

Self-driving cars will connect citizens with public transport

Phoenix, Arizona – Autonomous vehicle (AV) specialist Waymo is exploring the possibility of using self-driving cars to carry suburban passengers to nearby public transport terminals and stops.

The company has joined forces with Phoenix’s public transport authority to better connect citizens with the city’s existing transport system. People will be able to use the Waymo app to call a ride to take them to their nearest public transport option, be it a bus stop or a railway station. In particular, the service will assist those that might need support while travelling between their home and public transport.

While AVs are pitched to increase the convenience of urban car travel, they are also expected to clog cities with traffic. The aim of this latest project from Waymo is to sustainably transport travellers into the city, encouraging people to use the existing transport infrastructure by taking them directly to it.

The Future of Moving Together by Ideo, London

This AR app hints at the future of vinyl music

Necessary Explosion iOS App by Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam

The Netherlands – Creative agency Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam has launched an augmented reality (AR) app that converts the sound of vinyl records into 3D visualisations.

The first iteration of the platform features 3D animations that correspond with Denmark musician Necessary Explosion’s 11-track album. Using their phone, listeners can hold the open app in front of the vinyl record as it plays, and a virtual representation of each song will appear in the form of a digital sculpture that evolves before their eyes.

Anita Fontaine and Geoffrey Lillemon, creative directors of Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam’s Department of New Realities, describe how the experience of listening to music is changing: ‘Necessary Explosion’s impending vinyl release was the perfect opportunity to experiment with this concept, and to pair the nostalgic pace of the 1970s with new technology and give it a retro future twist. With this experience you engage at the same passive, chill rate you would looking at [an album] sleeve or lava lamp – it’s the future digital vinyl sleeve.’

For more on how AR and virtual reality (VR) are creating new mediums for entertainment, read our interview with Fontaine and Lillemon.

Stat: Neurological disorders trigger growth in brain implants

Valued at £2.3bn ($3bn, €2.6bn) in 2016, the global brain implants market has more than doubled its value in just two years. As a new market research report by Grand View Research suggests, the rise of neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy and depression are contributing to this demand.

The technological devices, which send small electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain, can help to relieve chronic pain and improve body movement with conditions such as Parkinson’s. This growth also suggests that future patients will rely less on drug treatment and more on technological optimisation.

In a recent interview with sociologist Steve Fuller, we explored society’s aversion to taking biological risks to improve the length and quality of life, and how this could affect the equal availability of such technological enhancements in the future.

Thought-starter: Why peer-to-peer lending is the future of interiors

Harth is a platform where people can rent furniture, interior design and art direct from manufacturers, brands, dealers, galleries, but also – crucially – from each other. ‘That’s the ultimate goal – to offer consumer to consumer (C2C) lending,’ says Padmore.

At present, Harth has about 90 suppliers signed up to the service. ‘They’re the manufacturers that you would see if you went into UK department stores such as Selfridges or John Lewis. We also have close relationships with dealers and galleries that focus on collectibles – unique items, such as mid-to-late 20th-century furniture. Finally, Harth works with independent designers, so the stars of the future who are winning awards and showing at galleries all around the world.’

In terms of stock management and logistics, the company will never own anything and doesn’t intend to keep stock for most products. If anything is available on the Harth site, the owner – be it a brand or consumer – has it in their possession. ‘Amazing pieces of furniture could be used by someone, while the owner benefits from the financial aspect of renting it without having to let go of it,’ explains Padmore.

Read the full interview here.