Latest news with #designstudio
Auto Blog
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
The $45,000 EV That Could Change Everything: Latest Rivian R2 Details Unveiled
Learn more about how Rivian is innovating its R2 mid-size SUV scheduled for release during the first half of 2026. Curious to hear the latest on Rivian's R2? Rivian announced its new R2 midsize SUV in March 2024, and now, the electric automaker has updated an eager public on the model's progress leading up to its planned launch during the first half of 2026. The car manufacturer's newest information on the R2 includes insider looks at the SUV's design studio, powertrain test lab, and electrical lab. Previous Pause Next Unmute 0:00 / 0:09 Audi A5 replaces A4: So, what's changed? Watch More Inside Rivian's design studio According to Rivian, its in-house design studio spent hundreds of hours creating sketches to form the R2. Rivian described the design studio as a space where creativity meets feasibility, and one of its primary challenges with the R2 was acknowledging and working with its cost constraints without compromising appeal. The automaker's design studio works on and approves solitary segments ahead of time so that there are 'no surprises at the end,' with smaller elements like a glovebox receiving high amounts of individual attention. All about the R2's drive unit, Maximus The powertrain test lab's highlights featured a closer look at Maximus, Rivian's in-house next-generation drive unit primarily serving in its upcoming R2 and R3. Improvements from the last drive unit, Enduro, include Maximus' smaller size, lighter weight, lower cost, and simpler manufacturing from reducing its fasteners by 30%. Maximus' inverter converting direct current (DC) energy to alternating current (AC) energy is now side-mounted, providing additional clearance for the lower R2. Rivian noted that the R2's drive unit uses a continuous winding e-machine, generating higher performance and further simplifying manufacturing by reducing the number of welds. According to its manufacturer, Enduro is 40% more power-dense than its predecessor, much cheaper, and easier to build—all of which facilitate scaling, something Rivian struggled with while producing its R1T and R1S models. Rivian said Enduro was its first drive unit to go immediately to hard tooling, meaning it went straight from digital designs and engineering to building production-ready manufacturing tools used for high-volume creation. Maximus is undergoing month-long testing in extreme high and low temperatures along with simulated rainfall conditions. Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. How Rivian's electrical lab helps form an R2 Rivian's electrical lab works on the R2's stack, or integrated hardware and software acting as the vehicle's brain. The automaker has spent the last few years vertically integrating its tech, and zonal architecture organizing electronics by location helps it design a stack entirely in-house. Rivian uses a midsize platform lab car for active R2 development and testing, where it can evaluate harnessing, endpoint devices, and everything on the low-voltage side that code from the SUV's brain touches. A Rivian mule bridges the midsize platform lab car stage and design validation builds just before mass production. One of Rivian's mules, 3.2, shows seats, screens, motors, and more that will be represented on the design validation build while still allowing design accessibility. Source: Rivian Final thoughts Last month, reports emerged that Rivian remains on track to sell the R2 for $45,000. A newly completed extension will house R2 production at the automaker's Normal, Illinois plant. LG Energy Solution's batteries for the R2 will initially come from South Korea before being sourced from LG Energy Solution's new Arizona factory. About the Author Cody Carlson View Profile
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Telegraph
Seven clever shoe storage solutions
'They're a literal trip hazard. You open the door, walk in, and the first thing you see as you come home after a busy day is a pile – or worse, a scattering – of shoes littering the hallway. Not only do they get in the way, but they manage to totally overshadow any sense of order or decorative decency you might have been trying to instil.' So says interior designer Irene Gunter, the founder of the London-based studio Gunter & Co and a big believer that shoe storage is one of the most important things you can build into a home. 'Clients rarely get excited about where they're going to put their shoes, and tend to be far more interested in paint colours, furniture and lighting choices,' she adds, 'but we factor shoe storage into any project as soon as we're starting on floor plans, because we know that without it a house will feel like a cluttered-up failure.' Yes, built-in shoe storage is the designer's favourite trick. The small touch that makes a big difference, alleviating the entryway shoe mountain and ensuring that there is a place for everything and that everything has its place. The good news is that shoe storage doesn't always have to be part of the fabric of a home. 'Sometimes we design or find a bench with a single-layer shelf for you to tuck your shoes on that you've worn that day, so they're at least out of view and not a stumbling block,' says Gunter. Read on for the six ways designers have factored shoe storage into their projects, and some well-heeled buys you can make that will have an equally transforming effect. The right angle 'We have so many shoes between us, and couldn't think of anywhere to put them,' says Margot Tsim, an interior designer, who requisitioned the under-stairs area in her home. 'I came up with pull-out drawers with angled shelving underneath the staircase so that they can be accessed easily, and we tried to maximise all the space available, even if it meant some of the shelf heights were slightly poky,' she says. 'The children's shoes can fit in the shallower shelves and the adult shoes can go in the taller ones.' Tsim's shelving was made from hand-painted MDF boards, as she 'didn't have a big budget to play with', 'but it has meant I can hide between 40 and 45 pairs of shoes, depending on their sizes,' she says. A joiner would be able to create something similar bespoke, or try a company such as Clever Closet, where under-stairs drawers start from around £1,200. Hide and sleek Designer Lindsay Bosonotto was working on a project where the entrance to the flat was in the basement – a dark room that was also a laundry zone, a walkway and, inevitably, a place to kick off shoes. 'It needed calm, order and a more thoughtful welcome,' she says. 'As it is a basement and ground-floor flat in a period property, there was no loft or existing built-in storage, so every square inch had to earn its keep.' With a background in aviation design, Bosonotto knew the value in hidden storage compartments utilising any bit of space she could find, so she turned each stair riser into a pull-out drawer, tucking a discreet seating nook by the front door so that the homeowners could take their shoes off in comfort. 'We used hard-wearing birch plywood to form the core of each drawer, and added hand-painted timber fronts that match the existing hallway flooring, for a seamless, built-in look,' she says. 'Soft-close runners ensure each drawer glides effortlessly, even when loaded. Discreet brass pulls, chosen to echo the hallway's other door furniture, sit neatly beneath each tread for a refined, unobtrusive finish.' Niche interest Initially, the above hallway, belonging to a client of interior designer Leoma Harper (@styletheclutter and @interiorsbyleomaharper), 'struggled with a lack of identity and function,' she says. 'It felt disjointed and dark, with awkward corners, bulky furnishing and a dated finish. Except for a couple of hooks, there was no storage, resulting in clutter gathering around the doorway. Shoes lined the floor, with nowhere purposeful to go.' Harper's redesign was all about creating storage while giving the space cohesion and a visual flow. 'Creating a little boot-room-style nook in the unused space to the side of the stairs, with a built-in bench for shoe storage and a practical spot to sit, was a perfect solution,' she says. 'Painting it all in the same tone as the bannister and walls (Slaked Lime Mid by Little Greene) helped it blend seamlessly with the rest of the new decor. The hallway feels a lot more spacious and welcoming as a result.' Space invader Irene Gunter made the surprising choice of eating into her living room's floorplan to create better shoe storage in her home. 'It was a very small front room, so we took some of it as hallway cupboards and the rest for the kitchen,' she says of how she reconfigured the layout to find space in her classic London Victorian house. Fabric-encased cupboards now flank the hallway, where there once was just a wall (and a pile of shoes), with shelves for shoes and hangers for coats. 'Shoe storage doesn't need to be as deep as normal cupboards – only 43cm [17in] instead of 65cm [25½in] – and you can get still get size 12 shoes into it,' she points out. She lined each shelf with Xylocleaf, a melamine with the texture of linen, that looks smart but is wipe-clean and waterproof – perfect for muddy boots. Gunter adds that good storage may not totally change your life, but it gives you a fighting chance to achieve order. 'I still have to encourage the kids to use it, and sometimes I don't have it in me,' she says, 'but it gives me a space to put shoes in before I go to bed each night so I come down to a tidy hallway every morning. It makes a big difference to my mood.' In the pink 'People ask me what my favourite room in my house is, and I always say the hallway,' says Emily Murray, an interiors writer who shares her home projects on the Instagram account @pinkhouseliving. Murray reconfigured the entire space to make multi-purpose shoe storage the star of her home. 'You used to open the front door and be met by a wall into a horrible bathroom and an old kitchen, which you could only get to by turning left and going through the living room,' she says. Knocking down the walls, making the hallway seem less congested, and building a bespoke storage bench front and centre, has been life-enhancing. 'It's comfortable to sit on, and it makes me smile to see it,' she says of the seat, which is covered in a bouclé fabric by Romo, under which are two deep drawers with brass trim handles, one for her sons and one for her, painted in Pink House by Mylands. 'I'll admit, the shoes often get thrown in rather than placed, but at least they're out of the way,' she says, adding that every so often it needs a declutter. 'The cleverest part is that the underfloor heating continues beneath the drawers, so it dries damp footwear in no time.' To the point The hallway isn't the only problem area for shoes, and interior designer Clare Gaskin likes to include space for them in her bedroom designs, to alleviate the messy lower levels of wardrobes. For one project in Kingston, south-west London, she was trying to make sense of a bedroom on a mezzanine level with a full-height apex ceiling that vaulted into the roof. 'While the room was full of natural light, it felt dated and lacked impact, and offered no opportunity to showcase the clients' extensive shoe collection,' she says. 'Most shoes ended up scattered on the floor due to the lack of dedicated storage.' A new layout included full-height, back-to-back wardrobes for his-and-hers storage, with a striking display wall of shoes at the end of a run of wardrobes. The effect, as she puts it, is 'turning functional storage into a design feature', so that the shoes – a passion of the owner – are displayed almost as works of art. Each shoe cubby has a mirrored back and has integrated lighting to increase attention. Hole in the wall For a project in Putney, south London, Gaskin found herself with another bedroom littered with shoes. 'An unused fireplace had become a dumping ground for anything without a home,' she says. 'With limited wardrobe capacity and a lot of clothes to house, there simply wasn't enough space for proper shoe storage, leading to overflow and clutter. The solution here needed to be quick, effective and budget sensitive. We sourced simple chrome shoe racks from John Lewis (that both extend and are stackable) that fitted neatly into the fireplace void, making use of wasted space in an unobtrusive yet practical way. It's a fun moment in the room, and proof good design doesn't always require a big spend.'
Travel Daily News
10-06-2025
- Business
- Travel Daily News
NewTerritory to lead brand experience transformation for LATAM
NewTerritory appointed by LATAM Airlines as brand experience and design partner following a global tender, marking their first collaboration. Project spans redefining LATAM's product design guideline and design philosophy to enable a number of future design programme launches. Aviation brand experience and design studio, NewTerritory, has been appointed as LATAM Airlines' strategic partner to deliver a wide-ranging and comprehensive transformation of its product design experience, following a competitive multi-agency tender process. Marking the first collaboration between the London-based studio and the largest airline in the Southern Hemisphere, NewTerritory will lead the delivery of LATAM's new product design identity and design philosophy, along with the supporting documentation that will shape all future design programme launches. As the sole partner for this strategic element, NewTerritory will define the creative direction and ensure it ties seamlessly across the entire passenger and employee experience, feeding directly into future developments and launches. The all-encompassing project begins with the creation of a comprehensive Product Design Bible – a foundational document that will define what it means to step into a LATAM space. From the check-in counter and airport lounge to the aircraft seat, this work will establish the core principles that guide every touchpoint in the passenger journey. This new design experience will then cascade into the development of a number of future design programme launches later into the year, including hard and soft products. Speaking on the announcement, Nadja Orwell, Director of Client Partnerships at NewTerritory, said: 'Flying may be more familiar than ever, and because of that, customer expectations continue to evolve with growing demand for personalisation, comfort and considered moments throughout the journey. 'For airlines, this means working harder than ever to deliver experiences that feel intentional, elevated and memorable to create moments that speak to passengers' emotional needs. 'That's what makes this partnership with LATAM so exciting. Starting with the Product Design Bible gives us a clear foundation to define what LATAM stands for as a brand – and to express that design DNA across future programmes, shaping the onboard journey for both passengers and crew. It's an approach that brings consistency, coherence and, most importantly, experiences that truly resonate.' Dominic Purvis, SVP of Product and Customer Experience at LATAM Airlines, added: 'NewTerritory demonstrated a unique ability to connect brand, design and customer experience in a way that felt both strategic and emotionally intelligent. Their creative approach and cross-sector insight made them the standout choice in a highly competitive process. 'This partnership marks a major step in our journey to deliver an elevated, distinctive and cohesive LATAM experience – one that reflects the warmth, diversity and vibrancy of Latin America while embracing innovation and human-centered design. We're not just enhancing the travel journey, we're crafting an experience that is emotionally resonant, culturally authentic and truly unlike any other, making it unmistakably LATAM.' Further details on the project will be shared later this year, with phased rollouts expected to align with LATAM's broader innovation and customer strategy.
