Bird Song with a Found Feather is a mechanically operated sliding whistle that uses a bellow and levers to mimic birdsong.

"The noise is created by two cams rotating and pushing levers up and down," explained Smith, who is also the artistic director of Laikingland. "One lever pumps the bellows, forcing air into the whistle, and the second lever adjusts the slide in the whistle in order to change the pitch and length of the chirp."

The feather itself offers no clue to the bird imitated by the contraption. "The origins of the feather are unknown, as it was found and donated to the piece – although it is very blue," Smith told Dezeen.

A bespoke analogue timer has been built into the piece so that the chirping sound can be used as an alarm clock.

The piece was displayed at Mint in South Kensington during the London Design Festival – see all our stories from the festival here.

We've featured a few other machines by Laikingland previously, including a gong timer that's inaccurate on purpose and a cacophonous doorbell made in collaboration with Tord Boontje.

See all our stories about machines »
See all our stories about Laikingland »

Here's some more information from Laikingland:

The concept came from the notion of waking up to the wonderful sound of birdsong. Rather than a caged living bird, an elaborate mechanically operated sliding whistle has been devised that can be set and activated when required.

I wanted a piece that could be set, as with an alarm clock, and would allow you start the day gently. I am interested in producing mechanical bird sounds and seeing the cause and effect through a mechanism. For me the making is very important and I wanted to craft every part of the machine, to understand how the bellows are constructed and operate and to get the bird whistle sounding just right.

Materials: steel, brass, fabric, motor, custom electrics and a feather
Dimensions: H 1500mm (59”) W 300mm (12”) / D 300mm (12”)
Power: 12v motor
Edition: unique
Price: on request

The post Bird Song with a Found Feather
by Martin Smith/Laikingland appeared first on Dezeen.

Dutch designer Maarten Baas has created a timer in collaboration with with kinetic objects company Laikingland that's specifically designed not to be accurate.

Called Just About Now, the device is started by scooping sand from a bowl into a glass funnel.

From there the sand trickles down into a brass cup that's attached to a beater, before leaking back into the bowl and causing the beater to strike a gong when the cup is empty.

Baas intends it to be used for measuring periods of time that don't need to be precise, like taking a nap.

The piece was presented at Ventura Lambrate in Milan, alongside the Cacophany Bell by Tord Boontje that we featured in our earlier story.

The Ventura Lambrate design district took place from 17 to 22 April. See all our stories about Ventura Lambrate 2012 here.

See all or stories about Maarten Baas »
See all our stories about Laikingland »

Here are some more

Just About Now by Maarten Baas with Laikingland

Just About Now is a sand timer that indicates the passing of time with the sounding of a gong.

Developed in collaboration with Maarten Baas.

“I’ve always had an interest in ways to indicate time. In spite of the fact that time is very abstract and very relative, in the western world it’s normal to indicate time very precisely. Apart from things like train schedules or the duration of sporting games, the exact time is often irrelevant. A coffee break, a meditation, a nap, a business meeting, they could take a few minutes longer or shorter than an exact amount of time. This is why I wanted to create a timer that bangs a gong, more or less after the amount of time you indicated.

“There are several objects that illustrate time in a more poetic way, like Mieke Meijers ‘Relativity’ Time pieces or my own ‘Real Time’ series, but a timer hasn’t yet been made that is adjustable and gives a sound after a while. That’s why we developed ‘Just About Now’” - Maarten Baas

Year: 2012
Materials: Oak, glass, ceramic, sand, brass.
Dimensions: Height 320 mm Width 435 mm Depth 185mm
Power: Sand
Colour: Natural
Price: On request
Availability: September 2012

The post Just About Now by Maarten Baas
with Laikingland appeared first on Dezeen.

When visitors push the doorbell button the whole structure starts to tip first one way then the other, causing a hammer on wheels to career round the track and bash into any objects the owner chooses along the way.

The Cacophony Bell was developed with kinetic objects company Laikingland - see more of their contraptions here, including an applause machine and a mechanical hand that continuously drums its fingers.

The Ventura Lambrate design district was open from 17 to 22 April.

See all our stories about Ventura Lambrate 2012 here.

Back in London, Boontje is currently professor and head of design products at the Royal College of Art in London, and recently opened his new shop and studio on Charlotte Road in Shoreditch.

Here's some more information from Laikingland:

Laikingland presents “With Movement” at Ventura Lambrate 2012

Laikingland is a creative label whose fundamental theme is movement. Each year, kinetic objects are developed collaboratively with invited artists and designers. The exhibition “With Movement” acknowledges both the objects and the collaborative process developed with each artist and designer.

Cacophony Bell by Tord Boontje with Laikingland

“Through the gap in the shutters, I can see him coming up the path, he is past the gate already. Quick, can I hide? Why, would I? Should I not be glad that he is coming? What if…

Too late, I can see his hand reaching out for the buzzer, I know I have only a few seconds left. The finger presses the button, the wireless connection is made, I look up at the ceiling.

The hammer on wheels is released, with hesitation it starts to move along the fine metal wire track. It picks up speed and rushes down the first steep slope of the track, it crashes into a steel watering can, BANG. Without slowing down the hammer keeps moving towards a glass bottle, the sound of impact is a glassy PING. Onwards through the steep corners towards the dried leaves, the doll, the tin can, CRUSH THUMP TING and finally heading towards the bell, where it ends with a loud CLANG.

Although, it does not quite end there The weight of the hammer now tips the balance of the precariously hung track and the whole thing starts to tilt over. Slowly the hammer on wheels starts to move again, exploring new forces of gravity. Giving in to a new sliding motion as the track changes shape again and the hammer reaches it’s starting point again where it comes to rest.

The noise, the cacophony, is still echoing through the house, while I wait for him to press the buzzer again.” - Tord Boontje,

Laikingland is a creative label, based in both the UK and The Netherlands, who design and manufacture beautifully crafted kinetic objects that engage, and evoke a sense of play and nostalgia.

The company was founded in 2008 and is built upon a life long friendship between artist, Martin Smith and engineer, Nick Regan. Since it’s inception Laikingland has specialised in producing highly crafted limited editions, working closely with invited artists and designers to realise their kinetic ideas.

Alongside the products developed and manufactured by Laikingland, projects to create one-off, special edition and exclusive kinetic objects, spaces and commissions are also undertaken.

All our work is produced in small batches or limited editions and is hand assembled in the North of England by our team of highly skilled craftsmen, artisans and jewellers.

Martin Smith is the Art Director of Laikingland. He lives and works in West Yorkshire, UK. He has 17 years experience as a practicing Artist, with work ranging from small kinetic devices to large-scale gallery commissions and architectural interventions.

In his role as Art Director, Martin has overall responsibility for the design selection process, he curates the product range and collaborates at the concept stage with each artist and designer. Through his vast experience of surprising yet elegant mechanisms, he influences both the movement of the kinetic objects and the direction of the Laikingland brand.

Nick Regan is the Engineering Director of Laikingland. He was born and raised in West Yorkshire, UK, but now lives and works in Utrecht, the Netherlands. He has 16 years product development and engineering management experience in the global automotive industry. He has worked with many of the world’s leading automotive companies in the UK, Europe, USA and Asia.

Key:

Blue = designers
Red = architects
Yellow = brands

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Designed in Hackney is a Dezeen initiative to showcase world-class architecture and design created in the borough, which is one of the five host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as being home to Dezeen’s offices. We’ll publish buildings, interiors and objects that have been designed in Hackney each day until the games this summer.

More information and details of how to get involved can be found at www.designedinhackney.com.

The post Cacophony Bell by Tord Boontje
with Laikingland appeared first on Dezeen.

The audio track to this movie, Francesco Tristano - Knee for Thought by Antonie Manolova, was sourced as part of Dezeen’s collaboration with JamScape in Milan.

The post Interview with Nick Regan
of Laikingland appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen reader Michael Wigle won the competition with his nomination for Marc Koska. All three will receive an Applause Machine worth £225. See the competition and all the votes here.

The post Applause competition
winners announced appeared first on Dezeen.