Actually, it’s the multifunctional hall of the BMW Welt energy-efficient factory, designed as “a solar-heated, naturally ventilated sub-climatic area.” The air flow is generated by thermal currents and turbulences that start on the building’s façade and roof, which are guided by strategically placed vents across the structure.

Yes, it’s cool and and it looks awesome too. [Inhabitat]

[News.com.au; Image: Charlie Brewer]

The photos were found on a new iPhone shipped to the UK, and one of the pictures was even set as the home screen. Aaaaaaadorable! [MacRumors Forums]

Today’s list from OObject features a collection of 10 videos focusing on German car factories. Why? Because they are gadgety, first and foremost–but the architecture of the factories is significant as well. In other words, German car manufacturers are realizing a vision where both the product and the factory are an integrated work of art. Examples include the VW factory in Wolfsburg that features 200 foot tall robotic silos at the end of the production line and an eco-friendly VW assembly plant in Dresden that is transparent and sits right centre of the city. German engineering at it’s finest folks. [OObject]

Toughbooks have been pulled from car fires, blown up and stopped bullets. Their outer strength is derived from magnesium shells; Panasonic says they are 20x stronger than the typical plastic laptop case.

After the design comes the testing, where only the fittest prototypes and models survive. Fittingly, the slogan of the Kobe plant is “Productive Destruction.” Toughbooks are put through a battery of tests under MIL-STD-810F. Here are some of the highlights of the super rugged laptop testing:

Drop Test
Also known as the “Transit Drop Test,” this procedure involves dropping the powered-down machine from three feet onto each face, edge and corner a total of 26 times. The computers are dropped onto two-inch plywood placed over a steel plate on top of concrete–the triumvirate of hard everyday surfaces. Visual checks and a Windows boot-up are done after each test.

Water Resistance
The Toughbook is placed in a water spray chamber for 12 straight hours, powered on but with its ports closed tight. Afterwards comes an inspection for water “intrusion.”

Thermal Shock and Temperature
When shut down, the computer is subjected to three cycles of massive temperature swings, from a balmy 96º C to a chilly -51º C. Separately, Toughbooks are turned on, and tested actually operating at temperatures ranging from -20ºC to 60º C. For these tests, Panasonic uses special environmental chambers made by a company called Espec. (Hopefully they don’t also build saunas.)

Altitude
With the help of an outside firm, Toughbooks are tested to see if they withstand the most challenging air pressure conditions that could be encountered in military aircraft.

Humidity
This test takes 10 whole days to complete. Toughbooks are placed in a chamber with extreme jungle-like humidity at temperatures fluctuating between hot (30ºC) and impossibly hot (60ºC).

Dust Resistance
Superfine silica flour is applied to the machines in a 60º C environment at a facility in Yokohama; this punishment goes on for 8 hours while the laptops are turned on. They pass the test if moving parts don’t bind or become blocked, and relays and contacts continue to operate properly.

Vibration
Toughbooks are clamped to aluminium plates that simulate the mounting in vehicles, and then are subjected to various intensities of vibration while turned off and on. When on, the HDD also spins.

Hinge Durability
In a test you can easily envision, Toughbooks are put through 30,000 cycles of open-and-close-and-open-and-close, testing hinge sturdiness.

Keyboard
Nasty-looking typing machines pound Toughbook keyboards through their paces, testing them to withstand 25 million keystrokes. (Wonder how long they have to type before complete works of Shakespeare appear…)

Spills
Toughbooks are tested for their ability to fend off spills, one of the more common assaults to a laptop. Mil-spec requires them to withstand more than 6 ounces (200 cc) of… whatever.

Compression
At the development stage, Toughbook covers and bases are squeezed super hard, tested to withstand over 980N (100kgf) of pressure.

Electromagnetic Interference
During development, electromagnetic wave testing is performed in the plant’s 10m radio-frequency anechoic chamber, used to check conformity with CISPR and FCC electromagnetic regulations.

Although not to the level of the mil-spec lines, whose testing is detailed above, Panasonic’s business-rugged models–the kind our Benny Goldman tested in his own, uh, laboratory–are dropped from 1 metre, pelted with dust, doused with 6 ounces of liquid (half a can of Coke), squeezed, pounded on the keyboard, stretched open for hinge reliability, and shocked with an electrostatic discharge. Notebooks also go on racks at the Kobe factory, and are given massages. Using Panasonic-branded handheld massagers (what else?) testers check for vibration resistance as part of an “aging” process. The vibe simulates shaking during shipping.

The plant was established in June 1990 and began PC production in August 1991, now turning out an average of 2,500 to 3,000 Toughbooks a day. In 2007 production hit 660,000 units–Panasonic plans to ramp up output to 800,000 units this year and then 1 million units by 2010. The plant can turn out Toughbooks in up to 2,000 variations of memory, hard disk, LCD panel, software and shiny magnesium-alloy shell, in 10 different colours. Repairs are also carried out on-site 365 days a year.

A Matsushita warehouse in nearby Osaka holds US$14 million dollars worth of components, about 2.2 million pieces in 60,000 varieties. The warehouse operates under a system it calls “5S” for five words in Japanese: seiri (arrangement), seiton (tidy), seisou (cleaning), seiketsu (cleanliness), and shitsuke (discipline). Like the factory, which requires all visitors to remove their shoes and don slippers as in a Japanese home, it’s spotless.