Buildings to bangles: Will.i.am teams with architect Zaha Hadid to design funky Puls ‘cuffs’

Will.i.am is at Wired’s annual conference in London today, where he was on hand to talk about all-things tech and, in particular, his newly launched ‘smart cuffs’ (or smartwatch to you and me).

However, a surprise guest made an appearance on stage with the American musician and entrepreneur – award-winning architect Zaha Hadid. Why? Well, it seems that Will.i.am has brought Hadid on board to design some of the new Puls cuffs, and she revealed some of the designs on stage, which you can see in the gallery here.

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Will.i.am first revealed his smartwatch plans back in April, plans that finally came to fruition earlier this week when he formally launched the funky timepiece to the public.

Unlike many other smartwatches on the market, the Puls is a voice-controlled contraption that also lets you call and text – it sports GSM 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, a pedometer and accelerometer. Built by a team of 35 engineers, the Puls will be released under the i.am+ brand, though no dates or prices have been confirmed yet. That said, Will.i.am did strongly hint that it would be sometime in November.

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Will.i.am explained his vision for the Puls – he says it’s not a smartwatch. He’s looking to mesh the worlds of fashion and technology to create something that people actually want to wear – something that Gucci himself might be proud of.

With Hadid, Will.i.am has a major design name on board, though granted it’s someone more renowned for designing buildings. It will be interesting to see how her creations are received when they come to market and, judging by the photos, the devices won’t look too out of place in a jewelry box full of bangles.