Minimmax

Song max store by Elevation Workshop

2009-08-19T22:19:00.000-07:00

New York and Beijing designers Elevation Workshop have completed the interior of a clothing store in Beijing, China.

The interior contains raised platforms arranged in an L-shape with dark grey walkways cutting between them.

The designers wanted this division of space to simultaneously evoke a walk-in cupboard, catwalk and stage.

Two red rails span three walls of the shop.

Photographs courtesy of Elevation Workshop and JR & Others.

Here’s some more information from Elevation Workshop:

–

This project is a show room and prototype store for a new women’s clothing brand. It is located within the brand’s design studio and clothing factory, situated close to the entryway and formerly used as a fabrication studio.

The design goal was to respond to the client’s desire to serve the stylish, confident and still feminine career women.

Within the pre-existing conditions, including limited ceiling height and openings, the show room is to focus on the transformation and transition of space through subtle and responsive material changes.

The “L-Container” functions dually as a spacial volume and a separation element.

The floor inside was lifted to represent a stage. The “L-Container” introduces a contoured alleyway to recall the sensation of a private walk-in-closet at home, which is the real stage for actual people.

A convertible dressing room at the end of its turn is to place real women at the center of the deepened “display window” which projects directly towards the entryway and traverses through the whole store.

Gray tiles pave the catwalks penetrating the “L-container,” weaving between the public and private space. This composition of the store’s circulation creates the visual and physical connections between all areas essential in a retail establishment.

The two-way hanger system creates a vivid red belt, continually lacing through lighted wall niches around the room. CNC technology was used to pre-fabricate materials such as the flooring and resin panels, while thousands of beads were arrayed by hand to create a crystal curtain with the store logo patterned within.

Elevation Workshop (ELEV) is an interdisciplinary Architecture and Design Firm. Positioned at the crossroads of art and architecture, the interests range from urban/rural planning and architectural design to interior, furniture and product design. Na Wei and Christopher Mahoney, the founding partners come from different backgrounds and foundations to create an interactive environment with a broad perspective.

ELEV (Elevation Workshop) New Project:
Women’s Clothing Store Design
www.elevationworkshop.com
Location: DongFeng Art District, Beijing, China
Floor area: 78 sq meters
Chief designer: Na Wei

l House by moomoo architects

2009-07-31T08:00:00.001-07:00

Polish architecture practice moomoo architects have designed a house that will be clad entirely in a plastic insulating material normally used for roofing.

To be located in Łódź, Poland, the design is based on that of traditional Polish houses but the roof rises steeply towards one end of the building.

One wall will protrude from the residence at an angle to accommodate planning laws that mean the building’s facade should be built parallel to the boundary of the site.

Construction will be completed in 2010.

Here’s some text from the architects:

–

l_house_ text

It is the first house whose elevation has been made entirely of a plastic insulating material -Thermopian.

Usually, this material has been used only for roofing.

Thermopian has good thermal, acoustic and insulating properties and it can have any required colour.

We were intent on the house form to relate to the proportions of a Polish house but at the same time we wanted it to be simple and redefined.

One distinctive leaning wall is a result of a compromise between a simple shape and the local law, which requires building in line with plot borders.

HU by Ross Lovegrove for Issey Miyake

2009-07-29T03:09:00.000-07:00

Industrial designer Ross Lovegrove has created a watch for Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake.

Called Hu (short for ‘human’), the watch casing wraps around the wearer’s wrist and has a silicon strap in grey, white or black. Its convex watch face is angled 25 degrees to the right.

Here’s some text from Lovegrove:

–

New watch series created by the collaboration between ISSEY MIYAKE and Ross Lovegrove

The ISSEY MIYAKE WATCH Project which started in 2001 has invited a British industrial designer, Ross Lovegrove to create its new watch series. The concept of the new watch is “Human”. Made of titanium which is gentle to the skin and non-allergic, the extended case naturally wraps the wrist bone. By tilting the face 25 degrees to the right from the 12-6 direction, it is easier to read the time. In addition, the face is convex in both 12-6 and 3-9 directions, which results in the delicate effect on the dial image. Silicon is used for the band, because it is safe for the human body. With the pursuit of the concept, “human” in both the creation of the form and the use of the material, a new watch is made to fuse the form and materials.

“‘Hu’ simply means human. A clear and pure statement embodied in a timepiece for ISSEY MIYAKE. In many ways it is a fusion between the incredible works of Issey-san, his constant invention, respect for materials and almost spiritual serenity in the way his clothes relate to the human form. It truly is a creative bonding and all my life long feelings about watches as a prosthetic extension of the body, the concept of anatomical contouring and the organic sculptural possibilities of materials that integrate into one single skin.”

The design will be launched on 15 September in Japan, the USA and Europe.

At One by Charlotte Kingsnorth

2009-07-29T03:02:00.000-07:00

New designers 09: graduate designer Charlotte Kingsnorth presented a sofa inspired by obesity at New Designers in London earlier this month.

The bulging, pink velvet upholstery engulfs its timber frame and is wrapped in latex sheeting.

“At One is a sofa which has been devoured by its obese occupier,” says Kingsnorth. “It tells a story of a relationship between a person and their sofa and the evolution of their bond through time spent sitting together.”

She designed the seat while studying at Bucks New University in the UK and was awarded a yellow pencil in the D&AD Student Awards 2008 for an early model, produced in response to the brief to design a sofa for the Vitra Editions range.

Lim Code by Isolation Unit

2009-07-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

Japanese designers Isolation Unit have designed the interior of a salon in the Harajuku district of Tokyo, Japan, for hair-dressing chain LIM.

Surfaces of the interior have been left bare and unfinished, exposing the marks left on the walls and floors after stripping the space.

The reception and office has been placed inside a freight-container, which also acts as a wall to separate the entrance from the salon in the back.

Photographs are by Takumi Ota.

Here’s some text from Isolation Unit:

–

LIM CODE

LIM Hair (Less Is More) was founded 1991 and collaborates with ISOLATIONUNIT/ since 2005. The company has a very original business strategy: It is organized almost community-like: The employees don’t quit after a few years as ordinary, they enter as young apprentices, get training and then move between the different shops, where they work on their own account.

Once all workplaces are occupied, the company expands and builds another branch to let the young stylists move up. Although it is a single company with a chain of shops, every branch is unique and has its particular identity and clientele: For example LIM Hair Clinie in Tokyo Naka-Meguro, with its sober ambiance and counseling based service is visited mostly by people in their 30’s, that frequent the fine little select-shops and design cafes in the neighborhood.

APARTMENT+LIM in Osaka on the other hand has a very mixed clientele: The different senior stylists, that work in their individually designed ‘booths’, all have their own steady customers.

While the training section of the shop, where the upcoming stylist work, attracts very young people.

LIM CODE, the latest shop we designed, it opened June 12, was built precisely for these young stylists that completed their training and are moving up. Because also the targeted customers are younger, the shop is located in Tokyos bubbly Harajuku-area and prices are set lower than in the other branches.

The concept emerged from these premises and the project was consequently throughout low-cost.

This time, the rigorously minimal approach, that all LIM shops we designed have in common, not only applies to the appearance, but physically to the construction itself: Only indispensable interventions were made and the space was intentionally left ‘unfinished’: walls, floor and ceiling were left bare after dismantling and instead of separating walls, we placed a freight-container, that contains office and reception.

The rough and provisional setting reflects the situation of the fresh-baked stylists from Osaka who moved to the capital to start their career with just little means, but lots of ambitions.

Serpentine Gallery pavilion by SANAA

2009-07-09T23:58:00.000-07:00

Here are the first official photos of this year’s Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Kensington Gardens, London, designed by Japanese designers SANAA.

The surrounding park is reflected in the temporary structure’s aluminium roof, which is shaped to curve around trees on the site and varies in height.

Curved walls made of transparent acrylic surround a cafe and auditorium under this canopy. The pavilion opens to the public on Sunday and will remain in place until 18 October. Photographs are by Luke Hayes.

A program of events called Park Nights will be hosted in the auditorium including performances, talks and screenings, and culminating in the Serpentine Gallery Poetry Marathon in October.

Happily Ever by Kim HyunJoo

2009-07-08T22:29:00.001-07:00

South Korean designer Kim HyunJoo has designed a combined chair and dog kennel intended to help dog owners bond with their pets.

Called Happily Ever, the seat has a soft pad for the owner to sit on and a handle for moving it around.

The dog can sit inside or on a slightly lower platform next to its owner.

Here’s some text from Kim HyunJoo:

–

Happily Ever is a chair combined with a dog house that has been designed to promote various scenarios for friendship and bonding between dogs and owners through their sharing of an object.

Wherever you are, your dog always wants to be near you. For example, when a dog owner sits on a chair, the dog will often sit under the chair. When their pet comes near, an owner will typically pat it – a heartwarming experience for both individuals. Happily ever is based on these kinds of behaviors.

There are various ways to use Happily Ever. The owner can sit anywhere on the chair. The dog can rest inside the chair, or sit on top of it.

There are two seats – the lower one is for the dog or owner, and the upper one is just for the owner (making use of a height ranking system). There is soft cushioning on the higher seat for comfort. A hole at the back of the chair allows it to be picked up easily, and also assists with taking the seat apart for cleaning. The pet might reach through the hole with their paw to play with the owner.

Size: W800 x D470 x H500 (mm)
Material: resin, fabric.

House in Saijo by Suppose Design Office

2009-07-08T22:18:00.001-07:00

Here’s the latest project by Japanese architects Suppose Design Office: a residence in Saijo, Hiroshima, Japan, based on traditional pit-dwelling houses.

Earth excavated from the site was used to build a wall around the house, creating a room below ground level surrounded by glass but shielded from its neighbours.

The pyramid-shaped upper storey rises above the glazed level, filled with light from a skylight in the top.

The following text is from the architects:

–

Modern Pit Dwelling
House in Saijo

When I always create, I think that I want to find the charm of the that plan. A client is a couple with three children hoped there are bright openhearted space, and keeping the privacy.

This site is a field before, and bearing stratum is in the minus one meter from the ground side.

Therefore, we thought support according to the composition of not the ground improvement, but a half underground from the beginning of the plan.

The leftover soil by excavating the ground was used to make the hill, enabling the function of the garden on the exterior and guarding their privacy from the house’s neighborhood.

The upper floors than a half underground are composed by only the pyramid-shaped roof.

The lighting was taken in the skylight.

The bright, open-hearted space of a underground and first floor of feeling the calm, and the second floor with which light is filled while closing.

Each floor was connected by the hole made for the center of the floor, and they were able to materialize to become the various property.

Audi Centenary Sculpture by Gerry Judah

2009-07-08T04:59:00.001-07:00

Designer Gerry Judah created a 32 metre-high sculpture for Audi at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, England, at the weekend.

The 44 tonne sculpture, created to mark the car brand’s centenary, features a vintage Audi and a modern car racing into the sky.

Here’s a little bit of text from Judah:

–

This 44 tonne, 32 metre high innovative sculpture for the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009 was sponsored by Audi to commemorate its centenary year.

Designed by Gerry Judah it celebrates Audi’s achievements in motor sport with the legendary 1937 Auto Union Streamliner and the recently launched R8 V10 sports car at either end of a dramatic “swoosh” of tyre tracks, as if they are driving off into the sky.

Client: Audi
Concept & Design: Gerry Judah

Structural Engineering: Capita Bobrowski
Steel Fabrication and Installation: Littlehampton Welding Ltd

Photography: David Barbour

JS Bach Chamber Music Hall by Zaha Hadid Architects

2009-07-08T04:45:00.001-07:00

Zaha Hadid Architects have built an installation at Manchester Art Gallery to house performances of music by Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

A translucent, fabric membrane stretched over a steel structure suspended from the ceiling divides and encloses the space, creating a stage, enclosure for the audience and passages into and out of the auditorium.

Clear, acrylic panels suspended above the stage reflect and disperse the sound.

Created for the Manchester International Festival, the venue hosts a series of concerts which started last Friday and continue until 18 July. Concert details are on the MIF website.

Images courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects, © Luke Hayes.

The following is from Zaha Hadid Architects:

–

JS BACH / ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS CHAMBER MUSIC HALL AT MANCHESTER ART GALLERY FOR MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

Zaha Hadid Architects have created a unique chamber music hall specially designed to house solo performances of the exquisite music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

A voluminous ribbon swirls within the room, carving out a spatial and visual response to the intricate relationships of Bach’s harmonies. As the ribbon careens above the performer, cascades into the ground and wraps around the audience, the original room as a box is sculpted into fluid spaces swelling, merging, and slipping through one another.

“The design enhances the multiplicity of Bach’s work through a coherent integration of formal and structural logic. A single continuous ribbon of fabric swirls around itself, creating layered spaces to cocoon the performers and audience with in an intimate fluid space.” said Hadid.

The process of realizing the design involved architectural considerations of scale, structure and acoustics to develop a dynamic formal dialogue inseparable from its intended purpose as an intimate chamber music hall.

A layering of spaces and functions is achieved through the ribbon wrapping around itself, alternately compressing to the size of a handrail then stretching to enclose the full height of the room. Circulatory and visual connections are continually discovered as one passes through the multiple layers of space delineated by the ribbon.

The ribbon itself consists of a translucent fabric membrane articulated by an internal steel structure suspended from the ceiling. The surface of the fabric shell undulates in a constant but changing rhythm as it is stretched over the internal structure.

It varies between the highly tensioned skin on the exterior of the ribbon and the soft billowing effect of the same fabric on the interior of the ribbon. Clear acrylic acoustic panels are suspended above the stage to reflect and disperse the sound, while remaining visually imperceptible within the fabric membrane.

Programmed lighting and a series of dispersed musical recordings activate the spaces between the ribbon outside of performance times. The installation is designed to be transportable and re-installed in other similar venues.

Pivotal to its function is the performance of the ribbon. It has been designed to simultaneously enhance the acoustic experience of the concert while spatially defining a stage, an intimate enclosure, and passageways. It exists at a scale in which it is perceived as both an object floating in a room as well as a temporal architecture that invites one to enter, inhabit and explore.

CLIENT: Manchester International Festival

PROGRAMME: Chamber Music Hall

ARCHITECTS: Zaha Hadid Architects

DESIGN TEAM (Zaha Hadid Architects): Melodie Leung, Gerhild Orthacker

ACOUSTIC CONSULTANT: Sandy Brown Associates

FABRICATOR: Base Structures

TENSILE STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Tony Hogg Design Ltd

SITE: Manchester Art Gallery, T1 Gallery

SITE AREA: 17m x 25m

Camper store Paris by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

2009-07-08T04:38:00.000-07:00

Shoe brand Camper has opened a store in Paris designed by French designers Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec.

The store, next to the Centre Georges Pompidou, features furniture and textiles in different shades of red.

The project is part of the Camper Together series of stores, created in collaboration with various designers.

Here’s some info from Camper:

–

Camper Together with Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec

New Camper Store in Pompidou, Paris

This extraordinary spot for a very special store project, designed by the Bouroullec brothers, is located beside Paris’ imposing Centre Pompidou, a Mecca that everyone with an interest in design culture must visit at least once in their lifetime. Thus, Ronan and Erwan make their debut as Camper collaborators in the very city where they live and work. Their new project has, for the time being, made Paris the city with the mos
for the time being, made Paris the city with the most Camper Together stores in the world.

“For us, Camper is a very interesting brand, in the sense that it has proven to have a very open mindset. Each store has its own atmosphere. The shoes also cover a very wide range of types and styles. Consequently, our collaboration has has been a unique chance for us to try to contribute a clear-cut idea of what a store in Paris should be, welcoming and straightforward. With the use of different shades of red, textile interventions and a furniture collection designed for private home use, we tried to create a space that was both evident and surprising, a space able to produce special sensations: the red adds warmth, the cloths muffle sounds and give depth and the household furniture confers an air of simplicity.

The textile interventions consist of backstitched blankets that partially cover the walls and certain furniture and décor elements. They are irregular and their relatively bright colours contrast with the red tone that pervades the entire store.”

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have worked together since 1999. They were born in Quimper, a town in Brittany, France – Ronan in 1971 and Erwan in 1976. The former studied at the École Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs of Paris, while the latter received his education at the École Nationale d’Arts of Cergy.

They have pursued their career with unusual discretion – it almost seems that they actually wished to pass unnoticed – and yet many consider that their work has begun to define a new era. The Bouroullec brothers are – if Philippe Starck will forgive the effrontery – the most prominent and prestigious French designers in the international arena.

Their claim to fame is the ease with which they come up with innovative ideas, and their style always finds elegance in sobriety. This is reflected in their first project for Camper, where the interior design is achieved with a unique collection of shelves, tables and chairs that were originally designed for a domestic setting, which allows customers to view and try on the footwear. This comfortable store has now become the third Camper venue in Paris, joining the shop designed by Alfredo Häberli in Faubourg St-Honoré and another designed by Jaime Hayon in Cherche Midi.

Camper Together.

Throughout its history Camper’s personality and in particular, the one that is reflected in its stores, has always been enriched by the contributions of designers, architects and artists. Carlos Ronaldo, Javier Mariscal, Neville Brody, Óscar Mariné, Peret or the Memphis group, among many others, apart from figures like Fernando Amat, Oleguer Armengol, Jordi Nogués, Shiro Miura or Martí Guixé, the most prolific in the past few years, have all contributed to these spaces, always different and always special and that have become, together, an important active in the brand because they truly transmit the brand’s values and image to the client.

The Together concept had already been born in Camper but had yet to be written down. It now takes on even more strength in the new projects, like this one developed “together” with the Bouroullec brothers and that follow the projects by Jaime Hayon, Alfredo Häberli, Campana Brothers or Konstantin Grcic for Camper in different cities of the world. Adding the experience of one to the wit of another, the Majorcan firm continues in the line of diversity versus the repetition that has established itself in the world of commercial interior design. Camper continues innovating and opts for new languages that communicate the essence of a brand that is always loyal to its original spirit.

The Camper stores

In 1981 Camper opened its first store in Barcelona. After seven years of commercializing its products in conventional multi-brand stores, they had realized that their shoes needed a different atmosphere that would permit interaction with the brand and access to its real environment. With this objective Camper developed their own concept of a store: A shoe shop that exhibited all the styles and sizes. It was revolutionary. The stores became a window through which Camper could show their shoes and their philosophy to the world.

In the beginning of the 90’s Camper began their international expansion and came to the realization that all stores of all brands in all shopping centres of all the cities in the world, were alike. The character of the city, its culture, became diluted in an interior design that although carefully planned, felt aseptic. For Camper the concepts of identity and diversity always go together, for this reason they could not share in this concept of global uniformity. From this observation came the idea of making every store different, every one with its own personality.

2009-07-08T04:30:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Maestre, who should change her name to Jennifer "Maestro", has created these fantastic sculptures out of pencils.

Acccording to herself she took "hundreds of pencils, cut them into 1-inch sections, drill a hole in each section (to turn them into beads), sharpen them all and sew them together."

Either she had way too much time on her hands, or just happened to be an incredibly talented art freak. I think it was the freaky art that did it.

Camper store Tokyo by Jaime Hayón (more images)

2009-07-08T04:09:00.000-07:00

Here are more images and text about the new Camper store in the Omotesando district of Tokyo by Jaime Hayón.

The large two storey space is the latest in a series of Together stores designed by Hayón for Camper, the others being found in Milan, Berlin, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Paris and London.

Every aspect of the design is bespoke to the Tokyo store and have been inspired by elements traditionally associated with the circus.

Here’s some text from Camper:

–

Camper have chosen Tokyo to present its latest Together store, on this occasion designed by Jaime Hayon. The shop occupies a large two-storey space in the Omotesando district. This great space allowed the Madrid-born artist and designer to have free rein and allow his fantastic creative repertoire freedom. The design is both exclusive and unique as everything from the furniture and visuals to the hand-decorated ceramics has been conceived and created specifically for this store.

“This new project for Camper is inspired by classic circus elements. It has colour and fantasy. The result is a space full of life and light that invites people to dream. As soon as we step through the impressive door of organic shapes, with a handle shaped like a candy cane, we begin to discover the surprises that await us inside. For starters, there are no corners, only curved forms. There is an interesting contrast between the walls covered in Bisazza mosaic tiles, perfect and delicate, and the cement floor, basic and unfinished. The long, narrow centre table resembles a centipede. The coloured mirrors placed on the ceiling elongate perspective and give the store added warmth. These small touches of quality do not go unnoticed. The special areas are separated by bevelled glass panels reminiscent of cut gemstones. Colour filters create a magical transparency. They exude freshness.” JAIME HAYON.

Jaime Hayon (Madrid, 1974) is the youngest internationally renowned Spanish designer and artist. He studied industrial design in Madrid and Paris before arriving at Fabrica in 1997, the centre for investigation in communications belonging to the Benetton Group in Treviso (Italy). Famously directed then by Oliviero Toscani. Jamie was there until 2004 when he decided to pursue his own personal career. He moved to Barcelona and began designing everything from toys to furnishing collections for Spanish firms like ArtQuitect, Metalarte and Bd Barcelona design. In addition to other collaborations with manufacturers like Lladró, Bosa, Piper, Bisazza and Swarovski. At present, Hayon works out of London and has projects all over the world. He has just published his first monograph (Jaime Hayon Works, edited by Gestalten), continues to exhibit his most personal work in art galleries and has kept alive the relationship he initiated with Camper in 2006 when the Together concept was inaugurated in its stores. The stores in London (Foubert´s Place), in Barcelona (Paseo de Gracia), in Palma de Mallorca (San Miguel), in Paris (Cherche Midi) and in Milan (Montenapoleone) all hold his unmistakable signature.

Camper Together. Throughout its history Camper’s personality and in particular, the unique creative that is reflected in all its stores, has always been enriched by the many contributions of designers, architects and artists. Carlos Ronaldo, Javier Mariscal, Neville Brody, Óscar Mariné, Peret or the Memphis group, among many others, apart from figures like Fernando Amat, Oleguer Armengol, Jordi Nogués, Shiro Miura or Martí Guixé, the most prolific being in the last few years, They have all contributed to these spaces individually, yet always different in approach and always special. However together, this creativity is an important component in the brand because the result of these collaborations truly transmits this brand’s values and image to the world.

The Together concept had already been born in Camper but had yet to be written down. It now takes on even more strength in the new projects, like this one developed together with Michele De Lucchi and that follow the projects developed by Jaime Hayon, Alfredo Hâberli, the Campana brothers, Konstantin Grcic or the Bouroullec brothers for Camper in different cities of the world. Adding the experience of one to the wit of another, the Majorcan firm continues in the line of diversity versus the repetition that has established itself in the world of commercial interior design. Camper continues innovating and opts for new languages that communicate the essence of a brand that is always loyal to its original spirit.

The Camper stores. In 1981 Camper opened its first store in Barcelona. After seven years of commercializing its products in conventional multi-brand stores, they had realized that their shoes needed a different atmosphere that would permit interaction with the brand and access to its true environment. With this objective Camper developed their own concept of a store: A shoe shop that exhibited all the styles and sizes. It was revolutionary. The stores became a window through which Camper could show their shoes and their philosophy to the world.

In the beginning of the 90’s Camper began their international expansion and came to the realization that all stores of all brands in all shopping centres of all the cities in the world, were alike. The character of the city, its culture, became diluted in an interior design that although carefully planned, felt aseptic. For Camper the concepts of identity and diversity always go together, for this reason they could not share in this concept of global uniformity. From this observation came the idea of making every store different, every one with its own personality.

Folding Plug by Min-Kyu Choi

2009-06-28T23:01:00.000-07:00

Royal College of Art graduate Min-Kyu Choi has designed a folding version of the standard UK electrical plug.

The folded plug is more suitable for travelling than the bulky standard version.

Choi has also designed a USB charger version and Multi Flat Plug (below), which allows three devices to share power from one plug that takes up more or less the same amount of space as a standard plug.

Choi’s work is included in Royal College of Art show two, which runs until 5 July (closed 3 July).

Here’s some info from Choi about the plugs followed by full details of the RCA show:

–

‘Mac book Air,’ Apple’s latest master-piece, is the world’s thinnest laptop ever. However, here in the U.K, we still use the world’s biggest three-pin plug.

Most people carry laptops with adapters and plugs because laptop batteries have limitations on the time they can be used. When people carry laptops with U.K plugs in a bag, it always causes problems such as tearing paper, scratching laptop surfaces and, sometimes, it breaks other stuff. The main problem is the UK standard 3-pin plug is not considered in the process of designing for mobility.

My all intention of the project was directed to make the plug as slim as possible and follow the British Standard regulation at the same time.

‘Folding Plug’ changes the shape form the normal U.K plug into a 10mm thickness object, solving these damaging problems.

The ‘Folding Plug’ is also advantageous when people have to travel aboard. People normally carry up to three electronic devices for their long-term journey, such as a mobile phone, a digital camera or an iPod, However, we usually carry only one universal plug. Whilst multi-plug adapters and USB chargers allow us to use one plug socket for many devices, they are still bulky objects.

The flat properties of my folding plug have inspired the development of a multi-plug adapter that also performs in space-saving ways. By using the folding plug whilst it is folded, ‘Multi Flat Plug’ and ‘USB Charger’ allows for 3 devices to be plugged into the mains, but only inhabiting a little more space than a standard 3-pin UK plug.

SHOW RCA TWO

Open 26 June – 5 July, 11am – 8pm (closed 3 July; exhibition will close at 5pm on 30 June, 1 July and 5 July). Please note that the TEXTILES section will close for an industry reception at 5.30pm on Monday June 29. Fashion Accessories will therefore also be inaccessible to the public during this event.

The final part of the graduate shows includes work by students from the following courses: Animation, Architecture, Communication Art & Design, Conservation, Critical and Historical Studies, Design Products, Design Interactions, Fashion Footwear and Accessories, History of Design, Industrial Design Engineering, Textiles and Vehicle Design.

Some work will be for sale or commission.

Free admission

Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU

Tube: High Street Kensington/South Kensington, Buses: 9, 10, 52, 452

The Drop Series by Olivia Decaris

2009-06-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

The Drop Series by graduate designer Olivia Decaris is a range of tent-like structures that can be raised and lowered over tables, beds and desks.

Decaris presents the project at the Royal College of Art show two, which runs until 5 July (closed 3 July).

Here’s some info from Decaris:

–

the Drop series

Family of sheltering structures based on domestic activities. They aim to bring intimacy, privacy and concentration.

The dining structure gathers people around the table thanks to its concentric and rounded shape: it transforms the ritual of dining into a more intimate moment.

When night comes, the drop enlightens to create a poetic atmosphere. It adapts quite well to public places such as restaurants.

This working drop is based on ergonomics, according to the space the body needs when working: the result is an oval shape. It is particularly efficient in open spaces, to be encapsulated, cut off from the outside sounds and other disturbances.

The sleeping Drop is adopting the shape of a standard mattress: it is a cocoon, creating another layer, between the bed and the house’s walls.

Museum in a Shoebox by Aleksandr Kuznetsov

2009-06-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

The Museum in a Shoebox, designed by renowned architect Aleksandr Kuznetsov, is a new venue for contemporary architecture, art and design that opened last month in Old Town.

The building comprises a cafe (top image), large exhibition space, a small gallery, cinema, theatre, auditorium, ten seminar rooms and a library. Like all the best museums, it will feature a summer pavilion programme. Above: the 2009 summer pavilion, designed by Torbjörn Gudmundsson, situated in the Sculpture Garden.

Over five thousand guests attended the opening ceremony on 1 May this year (above). A buffet of cupcakes was served.

The ground floor café (above) offers a choice of hot and cold meals or snacks.

The museum’s first artist in residence is choreographer Björn Säfsten (above).

Guided tours by distinguished guides are available for groups in fifty three different languages (above). The museum will present a programme of exhibitions and events, including, educational workshops, film screenings and will feature a summer pavilion programme.

Above and below: Current exhibition “Polaroids from the Sky: Clouds Through the Ages”, on display until August 12.

Below: The premier of animation Cardboard Seasons, by Satoshi Nakashima, on display until August 2nd.

Location: Museum in a Shoebox, 15 Old Street, Old Town (see map below).

View all of the museum’s activities and details about them on the Museum in a Shoebox website, designed by Kristina Dalberg.

Above: the Museum in a Shoebox, designed by Aleksandr Kuznetsov.

The following text is from the museum:

–

THE MUSEUM
Museum in a Shoebox is a new center for contemporary architecture, art and design. It serves as an interdisciplinary platform of ideas. The building, designed by Aleksandr Kuznetsov, contains one large exhibition space and one small gallery for small exhibitions.

It also hosts a state of the art cinema, theater, auditorium, ten seminar rooms and a library. The Museum’s popular café and gift shop is situated on the ground floor. The entire building is accessible to people using wheelchairs.

GRAND OPENING
May 1, 2009
More than 5000 guests came to see the reclusive Museum Director cut the blue ribbon during the grand-opening ceremony of Museum in a Shoebox. Celebrities and art stars rubbed shoulders with ambassadors, rocket scientists and other creative people. Everyone admired the floor in the great exhibition hall. After cocktails and an amazing buffet of cupcakes and cakes, the Museum turned into a decadent dance party. When the DJ started to play “Cool Rider”, not even the shy Museum Director could keep herself away from the dance floor!

ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE: BJÖRN SÄFSTEN
Choreographer Björn Säfsten has been selected to be the Museum’s first Artist-in-Residence. During his residency he will be working on a new performance with a team of dancers, artists and musicians. In addition to his own work, Säfsten will be involved in the Museum’s activities such as symposiums, art talks and dance workshops for kids. We are looking forward to the months ahead!

THE SUMMER PAVILION
June 19 - September 4, 2009

Midsummer’s Eve, the longest day of the year, marked the opening of the Museum’s Summer Pavilion. It is situated in the heart of the Museum’s beloved Sculpture Garden. Apart from serving traditional afternoon tea, the Pavilion will host various public events such as art and dance workshops for kids, open air concerts, debates, art talks and social events.

For a weekly schedule: events@museuminashoebox.com

The Summer Pavilion 2009 is designed by Torbjörn Gudmundsson. It is part of the Museum’s ongoing mission to promote innovative architecture and design.

GUIDED TOURS

Group Tours
Visitors can can explore the latest exhibitions through special guided tours. These tours are led by our distinguished guides. All Museum in a Shoebox guides hold PhDs in museum education. The tours last approximately 45 minutes. All tours start in the Lobby, under the giant clock. Make sure to be on time!

Tuesday - Sunday: 2 PM, 5 PM and 7 PM.

The Museum also offers customized tours in 53 different languages to groups by appointment. Contact: info@museuminashoebox.com

Audio Tours
If you want to explore the exhibitions at your own pace, you can borrow the Museum’s state of the art Audio Guides. The Audio Guides are available in 53 languages including Esperanto.

THE WEBSITE

Museum in a Shoebox is a web-based project by Kristina Dalberg. It presents both real and imaginary works by real and imaginary artists, blurring the line between fact and fiction. It was launched May 25, 2009.

Hermitage Amsterdam interior by Merkx+Girod

2009-06-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

This is something stunning. Dutch architects Merkx+Girod have designed the interior and opening exhibition of the new Hermitage Amsterdam museum, a satellite museum of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, which opened in Amsterdam on the weekend.

Located in the Amstelhof building, a care home for the elderly for over 300 years, the building was redesigned and renovated by architect Hans van Heeswijk.

As well as the gallery spaces, the 9,925 square metre building features a cafe restaurant, outdoor terrace, a restored church hall housing concerts and lectures, a 400 seat auditorium, conference rooms, museum shops and a courtyard garden.

The adjacent Neerlandia building has also been converted by Merkx+Girod into the Hermitage for Children, hosting a programme of educational workshops and classes.

For the Hermitage Amsterdam’s inaugural exhibition, At the Russian Court, a functional vitrine display system was designed to house over 2000 objects from the Hermitage St. Petersburg collection.

The exhibition was designed and co-curated by Merkx+Girod and is on display until January 31st, 2010.

Photographs are by Roos Aldershof.

Here are further details from Merkx+Girod architects:

–

From Amstelhof to Hermitage Amsterdam

The new Hermitage Amsterdam museum just openend its doors to the public and is the first true satelite museum of the famous Hermitage in St. Petersburg. The Hermitage Amsterdam museum is located in the classically proportioned Amstelhof building, built in 1681-83 as a charitable home for the elderly.
The Amstelhof has a very characteristic classical facade that extends along the River Amstel for 102 metres. Its proportions are exquisite; its design is simple and symmetrical. For 324 years it functioned as a home for the elderly.

When at the close of the twentieth century it became apparent that Amstelhof care facility no longer met contemporary requirements it was decided to find a new use for the building.

The building has been redesigned and renovated as a series of open and light filled galleries by architect Hans van Heeswijk. The interior is designed by Merkx+Girod architects who also designed the large opening exhibition ‘At the Russian Court’, on display till January 31st 2010. Landscape design by Michael van Gessel.

More than an exhibition space, the 9,925 square metre building will be alive throughout the day and night with dining in the café restaurant Neva and on the outdoor terrace in summer; concerts and lectures in the restored Church hall; events in the 400-seat auditorium and conference rooms; shopping in two museumstores; and relaxed contemplation in the courtyard garden.

The adjacent Neerlandia building has become the Hermitage for Children, a special wing for education, with an exciting programme of classes and workshops, designed by Merkx+Girod.

Inside the Hermitage
Visitors enter the museum via Ossenpoort, the former tradesman’s entrance along the Amstel. Once inside, visitors cross the courtyard to the museum foyer on the other side. This is the central meeting point and first stop for entrance tickets, guided tours, coat-check and general information. From here the two main exhibition wings, ‘Herenvleugel’ and ‘Keizersvleugel’ can be entered,. Both are flanked by museum cabinets on two levels. Restaurant Neva and the auditorium and conference rooms are located above the main entrance area and can be visited separately.

Evelyne Merkx and her team focus on more than just the interior; they analyse the building as a whole. That forms the basis for their designs for the various spaces inside the building, based upon the following principles:

* The monumental exterior skin of the building will be preserved and left untouched, both inside and outside.
* The inside walls and floors will follow the buildings overall structure but will vary and become more individual as result of local programmatic desires and needs.
* Specials elements will be designed and placed autonomously within the building to bring local identity where required; the so called ‘golden eggs’

From these principles a series of solutions has been designed according to local needs, while at the same time remaining a coherent part of the building. Sober, clear and contemporary are qualities that characterise Hermitage Amsterdam’s interior.

‘At the Russian Court’
Merkx + Girod architects designed and co-curated the large openings exhibition ‘At the Russian Court’ for which both Main Halls and all museum cabinets are used to show the more than 2000 objects from the Hermitage St. Petersburg museum. The nature of these objects, their value and volume, the large variety in size and different media requested a smart and functional vitrine-system which was designed in such manner that it can also be used for future exhibitions.

The two main focal points of the exhibition, the Russian Emperal Protocal and the The Russian Emperal Ball, are located in the two main Halls. The formal aspects of the first and the more festive aspects of the second have been made visible in the exhibition through the use of different materials, colour and spatial organisation. A unique experience is offered to the public, a true feast for the mind and eye!

Cardboard Cloud installation by Fantastic Norway

2009-06-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

An exhibition featuring a giant pixelated cloud made of suspended cardboard boxes designed by architects Fantastic Norway has opened at the Centre for Design and Architecture (DogA) in Oslo, Norway.

The installation consists of over 3000 cardboard boxes and divides the large exhibition space into smaller areas.

Work by young Norwegian designers is exhibited both inside and outside the boxes.

The architects aimed to create an affordable and sustainable installation. The reused cardboard boxes will be recycled upon the exhibition’s completion.

The exhibition continues at DogA, Oslo until 23 August. The following text is from Fantastic Norway:

–

FANTASTIC NORWAY
“Cardboard Cloud // Description

The ”Cardboard Cloud” is an exhibition designed for the Centre for Design and Architecture (DogA) in Norway / Oslo. The exhibition aims to displays work done by Norwegian design students. Fantastic Norway Architects designed the architectural framework for the exhibition.

Being that the exhibition is set to present brand new design objects, we decided to base the architectural concept on the thrill of unpacking.

The installation consists of over 3000 hanging cardboard boxes resembling a large pixilated cloud, hovering over the exhibited material.

The construction creates a large variety of spaces, from cave like to lifted and open areas, inside the 350m2 exhibition hall.

The objects and design concepts are exhibited both inside and outside the boxes.

In an environmental perspective the ambition was to create an exhibition with focus on reuse and low material cost.

The cardboard boxes will be recycled at the end of the exhibition, which only leaves wires as leftovers.

Architectural team: Håkon Matre Aasarød, Erlend Blakstad Haffner, Andrew Jason Linn, Magnus Ohren, Tomos Osmond, Anne Busemann, Mathias Steinbru, Anette Flygansvær, Ingeborg Cappelen Lindheim, Are Fredrik Berg and Håvard Arnhoff.

Engineer: Ole Wroldsen

Curator: Benedicte Sunde, Janicke Sæther, Aslag Juell Kristensen.

Trilogy by Karen Ryan

2009-06-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

British designer Karen Ryan has created a series of plates called Trilogy by removing the surface decoration of existing chinaware to form provocative messages.

The platters, featuring the words “lies”, “beauty” and “forever beloved”, are the latest additions to her Second Hand Plate series, which appropriates found Willow Pattern chinaware.

Here’s a little bit of text from Ryan:

–

Trilogy in Willow Pattern 2009. Part of the Second Hand Plate series 2005 to 2008.

I damage secondhand old plates. I remove the decorative patterns that camouflage our everyday lies and in its place I leave words that prick our conscience and create portraits of hidden domestics left open for others to interpret.

Harry stool by Massproductions

2009-06-22T01:11:00.000-07:00

Designer Chris Martin of Swedish company Massproductions has designed a stool made of laminated beech.

Called Harry, the product comprises two curved, laminated components held together by solid, wooden wedges.

A prototype of the stool was first shown alongside the company’s debut collection (see our previous story) at the Stockholm Furniture Fair in February and the design has now been put into production.

Photographs are by Julia Hetta.

Here’s a little text from Martin:

–

MASSPRODUCTIONS PRESENTS THE “HARRY” STOOL. DESIGNED BY CHRIS MARTIN.

Two pieces of layer-glued beech held together by solid wooden wedges.

This simple concept led to a charming stool which can also function as a footrest or a side table. The Harry stool has pleasing tactile qualities and is available in two heights and three surface finishes; natural, black and white stained.

Citroen by Manuelle Gautrand

2009-06-18T22:34:00.000-07:00

In 2007, Manuelle Gautrand have completed a car showroom for Citroen at the heart of paris shopping avenue Champs Elysees.

Sandwiched in between two or more traditional stone buildings, the showroom will act as a museum that showcase the history of Citroen automobiles.

Here is more info from the Architect

-

The project adopted makes full use of the building's verticality and 25-metre high facade to present the cars. The public will see a spiral in movement, an automotive sculpture made up of seven superimposed rotating platforms. The horizontal perspective provides continuity, so that visitors see the area as a whole. The scenography put in place perfectly reflects the requirements set out in the specifications in terms of modularity and flexibility.

This forum of advanced techniques and technologies will meet a full range of visitor requirements, with current models and sales media as well as information on Citroën culture, with vintage models, audiovisual media and books on the history of the company.

This major architectural project, which turns the spotlight on both Citroën and the Champs-Elysées, is now being presented to the authorities and municipal bodies concerned. For Citroën, this period of discussion is an opportunity to engage in an open dialogue with a view to creating a dynamic consensus between all those involved in the project and - first and foremost - Paris City Hall.

Leggenada Ice Cream and Yogurt by SO Architecture

2009-06-18T22:24:00.001-07:00

Israeli architects SO have completed an ice cream and yogurt parlour in an old carpentry shop in Ramat Ishay.

The shop features two linear elements that rise and fall to form benches and tables to draw customers towards the seating area at the rear.

Graphic design is by FIRMA.

Photographs are by Asaf Oren.

–

Here’s some info from SO Architecture:

In the industrial zone of Ramat Ishay northern Israel, Inside an old abandoned carpentry shop a new branch of the Leggenda ice cream and yogurt was put up.

To design a space with an airy and calm feeling, that the customer desired, in the space we had to work with, was rather difficult.

This difficulty was caused by very low ceiling of only 2.30 m, the very long and narrow proportion of 4.50X18.50 m of the place on the fondation of the building that invaded into the inner space.

The main idea was to create two linear elements that will lead the costumer into the deepest parts of the shop where the cozy sitting places are located. By doing so the visitor passes by the ice-cream and yogurt displays.

One element constructed by Lamy pine wood serves as sitting bar and camouflage for the foundations of the building.

The other linear element, serves as the display for the ice cream and yogurt displays. We used dark colored concrete as paving in order to highlight these two elements.

The entrance steel door and welcome roof were created as a single piece. The large door and facade were slightly submerged into the inner space in order to entice the visitor into the place.

Leggenda Ice Cream and Yogurt
Team: SO Architecture - Shachar Lulav, Oded Rozenkier, Alejandro Fejnerman, Ofrit Eshel
Graphic Design: FIRMA - http://www.brandhouse.co.il/

Location: Ramat Ishay, Israel
Year: 2009
Size: 135mr

Gorge by Ramei Keum

2009-06-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

Korean product designer Ramei Keum has designed a steel table called Gorge.

The top and legs form one piece and create storage for magazines in slots running down two sides.

The metre-wide piece of furniture is made of powder-coated steel.

Here’s a bit of text from Keum:

–

Gorge / 2009

‘Gorge’ is a coffee table with a shape of a gorge.

Designing it, I strived to put it in a form so that elements composing of a table such as a top board and legs may become one element, not individual elements.

The shape of a gorge folded in a V shape itself plays a structural role of supporting the top board of the table, and plays a role of holding/keeping magazines or books as well as completing an aesthetic form of the table.

Dimension_W 1000 D 600 H 300
Material_Steel / Powder coated

Polygon Crash lamp by Flip Sellin

2009-06-18T22:11:00.001-07:00

Flip Sellin of Berlin-based design group Coordination has designed a pendant lamp called Polygon Crash.

Three shades comprising folded polygonal shapes are suspended from thin wire and each houses a “micro-tube light”.

Measuring more than a metre across, the hand-made pendant light is made of mild steel and partially-mirrored, stainless steel.

Photographs are by Yves Sucksdorff.

Here are further details from Flip Sellin:

–

Polygon Crash – Pendant Light - Flip Sellin/Coordination

Polygon Crash is a handcrafted, prototype pendant light measuring approx. 110 x 80 x 60 cm. It is made of mild and stainless steel and consists of three layered polygon shades, each holding a micro-tubelight. The partially mirrored polygons are suspended by thin steel wire.

The shade’s composition creates a central void which the tubelight pouches are orientated towards. Once lit, the Polygons appear to crash into each other, reconstructing shapes, reflecting and incorporating the surroundings as sliced images.

The object merges with the space, creating an iconic appearance and starts a dynamic dialogue between space, object and observer.

Za-Koenji Public Theatre by Toyo Ito

2009-06-18T00:36:00.000-07:00

More images from Dutch architectural photographer Iwan Baan: this time the Za Koenji Public Theatre in Tokyo, Japan, by Japanese architect Toyo Ito.

The building is a contemporary performing arts theatre that produces, presents and supports music, dance, drama and storyteling in the Suginami area of Tokyo.

These photographs will be published in the June 2009 edition of Abitare magazine.

Salt & Sill: Sweden’s First Floating Hotel

2009-06-16T22:26:00.000-07:00

Here is something cool; a floating restaurant in Sweden, owned by Susanna and Patrick Hermansson, which looks like a dream vacation of the simple Scandinavian setting.

Here's some info from the owner;

-

Susanna and Patrick Hermansson have a genuine knowledge and plenty of experience of the industry, as well as a passion for food and people. They strive to offer a complete quality experience, which includes food, surroundings and interior, as well as service, hospitality and much, much more...

Salt & Sill has always been passionate about the environment. With food, it’s about using local raw materials as far as possible. During the building of the floating hotel, protecting the environment has obviously been at the top of the agenda. The establishment should have a positive impact on outdoor pursuits and recreation, and should have little or no effect on the living environment, safety or communications on the island. Neither should it cause any significant noise pollution, nor pollution of air, land or water. The excavating rock left over from the building work will be used to build a new lobster reef outside the hotel, which will benefit both fish and shellfish. The marine life underneath the floating pontoons is expected to increase, and will include a mussel purification plant. Naturally, the hotel will be heated using the surrounding water.

Klädesholmen is an old fishing community dating back to the 15th century, where herring salting-houses and canneries were built early on. Like most of the Swedish island and coastal communities, Klädesholmen had its golden age during the Great Herring Period 1748-1808.

The harbour, which was then in the Holme Fjord, filled with boats from near and far collecting the salted herring and the train oil to transport it to different parts of Europe. The church was built during the Great Herring Period and is today Tjörn’s oldest remaining church. In 1808 the herring disappeared. The community quickly went downhill and the population reduced to just over three hundred in 1830. The recovery began in 1861, when two islanders discovered that there was fish near Storeggen (Ålesund). This caused many of the fishing boats to travel up towards Norway. When the herring returned to the coast in the latter part of the 19th century, the food manufacturing industry started to take shape.

Large warehouses were erected, in which herring was salted and fish prepared. Around the turn of the century, smaller boats were purchased and used to visit most of Sweden’s harbours to sell the locally produced delicacies, such as dried cod, salted herring etc. At around the same time, people here learnt how to make spiced herring and sprat, and started selling different varieties of pickled herring. The art of spicing and pickling was learnt from recipes bought from wholesale dealers.

Today, production is concentrated to one company, Klädesholmen Seafood AB. Some of the company owners are of the fifth generation and almost half of all Swedish pickled herring comes from Klädesholmen, much of it under other brand names.

Why not visit Klädesholmen’s museum – ‘Sillebua', a small museum where you can see how it all happened. At the food store, ICA Bojen, you can buy most of the herring varieties produced by the companies on the island.

We Have a New Logo!

2009-06-15T22:28:00.000-07:00

I've finally uploaded my final design of minimmax logo. I like the repetition of the M's, the I's, and the N's legs. They come together as one nice logo. What do you guys think?

Indra

P.S: Help us make money by clicking on the advertisement box on the right and at the bottom of the page. Thanks! :D

Z handle by Eric Parry Architects

2009-06-15T22:22:00.001-07:00

London studio Eric Parry Architects have designed a door handle for architectural hardware manufacturers Izé.

The handle appears to be two flat planes from above, with the faceted escutcheon concealed underneath.

The handle will be used for a housing project in Kuala Lumpur by the architects but has already been installed in the Sebastian + Barquet Gallery, London.

The design was launched at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition this week, which continues until 16 August.

Here’s some more information from Izé:

–

Eric Parry’s new door handle design launched at the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition

Eric Parry’s new door handles for izé have gone on show at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition this week. Coinciding with the commercial launch of the product, the range will be the first door handles ever to appear in the Summer Exhibition.

The display tracks the evolution of the Z handle, from initial concept drawings in Parry’s sketchbook right through to working models and a cast prototype. This perfectly illustrates curator Will Alsop’s approach to this exhibition – demonstrating every stage of the design process. The design by Eric Parry – recipient of this year’s much coveted architecture prize at the Summer Exhibition - creates a range of handles which grow naturally from the backplate reducing the traditional clutter of ironmongery; the necessity for a separate rose and key escutcheon.

A single, clear line is described following the thickness of the long backplate and around the top edge of the lever back through into the plate again. From above, as they inevitably appear in everyday use, the handle manifests itself as a simple flat plane and it is only on gripping it that the complexity of the folded planes beneath it are revealed. What at first is perceived as a reductivist visual element becomes a tactile surprise, the tapering form shaping itself to the grip, the neck moulding itself to the thumb.

The angled, almost crystalline form recalls the architect’s stone needle at Southwark Gateway, an urban monument which creates a gateway to the city at London Bridge station. The handle does something similar, marking the movement through a door in a series of geometric planes. It also evokes the strange, dynamic experiments of the Czech Cubist architects who attempted to apply the new way of seeing the painted plane to the three dimensional world of building. This move from two to three dimensions, from the pictorial and drawn to the modelled and made, from the flattened plane of the closed door to the sculptural and suggestive dynamism of its opened form is embodied in this deceptively simple series of levers.

The first use of the handle was at the Sebastian + Barquet Gallery in London’s Mayfair, where the hardware becomes a piece of furniture to complement the classic modernist pieces in which the gallery specialises. It is also being used on the architect’s major housing project in Kuala Lumpur, Iringan Hijau, for which the product was originally conceived and developed.

Eric Parry Architects

Eric Parry Architects is an established and award-winning practice with an extensive portfolio of notable work.

The practice has recently completed the exhibition design for the Royal Academy of Art’s Andrea Palladio exhibition, the much-acclaimed £36m restoration and renewal project for the historic St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square, as well as the commercial office building at 5 Aldermanbury Square. The practice is responsible for several prestigious commercial projects in the City and West End. 60 Threadneedle Street and 23 Savile Row are now complete while 50 New Bond Street is currently on site. The practice is also working on a number of cultural projects including a new wing for the Holburne Museum of Art in Bath, and a new recital hall and associated teaching spaces for Wells Cathedral School.

The practice has won numerous awards, most recently from the British Council for Offices for 5 Aldermanbury Square, which won the Commercial Workplace category both Regional (London) and National 2008. In 2007 the practice won an RIBA Award for the Bedford Music School, and the restoration of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields won an award in The Georgian Group Architectural Awards for restoration of a Georgian Church. Previous awards include an RIBA Award and AIA Design Excellence Award in 2003 for the design of the office building at 30 Finsbury Square, London, which was also shortlisted for the prestigious Stirling Prize in the same year and commended in the BCO Awards.

Eric Parry founded the practice in 1983. It is based in London, and employs over 50 staff. The practice also has an office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where it has designed a number of residential schemes.

The High Line by James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro

2009-06-15T20:59:00.001-07:00

Section 1 of the High Line, a 1.5 mile long park on an abandoned elevated railway, opened earlier this week in New York.

The winning proposal for a competition in 2004, the design is a redevelopment of an abandoned, elevated freight-railway that spans 22 blocks through the west side of Manhattan.

The High Line is designed by landscape designers James Corner Field Operations and architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Photographs are by Iwan Baan.

This is something similar to what I've seen in Nice, France in 2008 where the boundary of monorail tracks and pedestrian walkways are blurred with green landscapes. Although the tracks still serves working monorails. I will post photos of it if I ever find it somewhere.

Here’s text from James Corner Field Operations:

–

James Corner Field Operations led the winning design team for the 2004 international competition in collaboration with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Piet Oudolf and many other expert specialists for the High Line, an unusual 1.45 mile long, abandoned elevated railway that spans 22 city blocks in between and through buildings and along the west side of Manhattan.

As the lead designer of the High Line, James Corner Field Operations has led all aspects of the project including design (from concept through construction), project management and coordination and construction administration.

Inspired by the melancholic, found beauty of the High Line, where nature has reclaimed a once-vital piece of urban infrastructure, the design team aims to refit this industrial conveyance into a post-industrial instrument of leisure.

By changing the rules of engagement between plant life and pedestrians, our strategy of agri-tecture combines organic and building materials into a blend of changing proportions that accommodates the wild, the cultivated, the intimate, and the hyper-social.

In stark contrast to the speed of Hudson River Park, the singular linear experience of the new High Line landscape is marked by slowness, distraction and an other-worldliness that preserves the strange, wild character of the High Line, yet doesn’t underestimate its intended use and popularity as a public space.

This notion underpins the overall strategy the invention of a new paving and planting system that allows for various ratios of hard to soft surface that transition from high use areas (100% hard) to richly vegetated biotopes (100% soft), with a variety of experiential gradients in between.

Successful Living by Diesel Creative Team

2009-06-14T21:39:00.001-07:00

Milan 09: fashion brand Diesel have collaborated with lighting brand Foscarini and furniture brand Moroso to create the Diesel Home Collection of furniture and lighting but I'm just going to cover its lighting range due to my friend's request.

Inspired by Music

The language of pop is graphically represented on the lamps in the Graf collection in subjects that recall a DJ’s console - the symbol of nightlife and pop culture - and natural elements morphed into alternative prints. The fabric is an extremely opaque weave evocative of “fresh paint” and the images are produced in a contrasting interplay of black and white. The beam of light is warm, discrete and creates a suffused effect. The model is available in hanging, table or floor versions. Above and top image: Rock

Rock is the artistic interpretation of a split volcanic rock, that reveals clear, sparkling crystal inside. It is a hanging lamp with a captivating form, dark-coloured and flecked with golden speckles. There is a strong contrast between the dark, external surface that is rough to the touch and the casually sculpted and the shiny, iridescent interior with its paler tones. When illuminated, the asymmetrical interior surface creates a dramatic visual effect. Above and below: Graf

Re-illuminated Retro

Cage takes its inspiration from old lanterns. The luminous body is protected by a decorative cage. The metal grille with its irregular structure and a hand-made flavour contrasts to the brilliant diffuser within. The lamp is available in three colours: white for a gentle atmosphere, black for a more conceptual mood and light green to recreate the retro spaces of the ’60s and ’70s. This lamp has a dual soul: when switched off, the full, strong colours reflect the outlines of the cage on its shiny surface; once turned on, the body fills with light and changes the colour of the structure. Cage is available in hanging, floor and table versions. Below: Glas

The new collection was designed by the Diesel Creative Team headed by Creative Director Wilbert Das. Above and below: Cage

Force Lamp and Boy’s Lamp by Nika Zupanc

2009-06-14T21:25:00.001-07:00

Something a little futuristic, Ljubljana designer Nika Zupanc has designed two lamps for Slovenian lighting brand Vertigo Bird.

Force Lamp (above and top image) is a pendant light almost one metre in diametre, made of epoxy and steel.

Turning the protruding wing-nut on the aluminium Boy’s Lamp (above and below) adjusts the height of the shade and alters the spread of the beam.

Maybe we are entering into a design future which we can't comprehend fully its aesthetic beauty, form, function or maybe its pragmatics because these lights below looks like tampon to me.

Here’s some further information from Nika Zupanc:

–

Boy’s Lamp and Force Lamp by Nika Zupanc for Vertigo Bird

Force Lamp and Boys Lamp are two of Nika Zupanc’s designs that have been launched by Slovenian producer Vertigo Bird. After a successful presentation at Light + Building last year they are now available as final products. Both reflect Nika’s special touch of emotional extravagance, her desire to push the limits of aesthetics and speculate with new visual codes.

FORCE LAMP

No, this charismatic and almost flying lamp was not recycled from a WW2 bomber nor from a soviet nuclear submarine. Its seriousness, fatality and its “impossible to ignore” nature are all genuine. This lamp was not crafted to impress, but to conquer. It gives you a reason to stop.

It gives you an excuse to escape. It gently pushes you to surrender. Under its powerful embrace you are free to feel protected.

Due to its size the chandelier needs an open and airy space. Force lamp is a logical continuation of the development of the Boy’s lamp. With its dimension and unpredictable use of the two forms it can be used in various situations.

Baccarat by Phillipe Starck

2009-06-14T21:05:00.001-07:00

Sometime around 2006-2007, the crystal brand Baccarat has teamed up with Phillipe Starck to design a range crystal chandelier. Above interior is completed in 2009 for Baccarat in Moscow.

EastWest Studio in Hollywood, completed in 2009

The Darkside collection for Baccarat, that includes other crystal accesories such as dining ware, glasses, and lamps.

Chorong lamp by Joongho Choi

2009-06-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

The next few posts will cover lighting designs cause I have a personal request from a special someone. The first one is from a Korean designer Joongho Choi who has designed a modern reinterpretation of traditional Korean chong-sa-chorong lamps.

Called Chorong, the hanging light source can be directed by pivoting the steel pole in its glass base.

Choi has created two versions - one for traditional light bulbs and another mounted with an LED.

Here is some text from the designer.

–

CONCEPT
Reinterpreting the ‘chong-sa-chorong’, the korean illumination device, in terms of modern thoughts.

This lighting device could be hanged onto fixed metal pole, or held by hand, but most importantly when it was hanged onto a long fixed pole called ‘deung rong deh’, it would vividly show the difference between the wall and the illumination itself, building up tensions in the atmosphere.

That tension could be maximized by just hanging on to the supporting pole, and I have brought along the advantageous idea from the ‘chong-sa-chorong’ which is being able to move from place to another in various directions.

2009
Meterial/Steel Glass
Size/ H300XW1075X1860(mm)

Below: a traditional Korean ‘chong-sa-chorong’ lamp.

Oh Hey Guys!

2009-06-12T04:08:00.000-07:00

I haven't done this before but I'd like to say hi to those who reads this journal on regular basis, especially those who are registered under "Follower". Its nice to know when people appreciates my effort :D

Indra

Office in the Woods by Selgascano

2009-06-12T03:48:00.001-07:00

Spanish architects Jose Selgas and Lucia Cano of Selgascano have designed an office for their own practice, located in the woods near Madrid in Spain.

A 20mm thick, curved window made of transparent acrylic forms the north-facing wall of the tunnel-like space.

The opaque, south-facing aspect is constructed from a 110mm thick, insulated, fiber-glass and polyester sandwich, offering shade from direct sunlight.

A hinged opening attached to a weighted pulley mechanism at one end of the building allows varying degrees of natural ventilation.

Unfortunately, the explanation for this project is in goddamm Spanish so I wouldnt bother to translate it. Just enjoy the serene picture. :D

Photographs are by Iwaan Baan.

2009-06-12T03:25:00.000-07:00

Paris architects Atelier Martel have completed a house with four gabled facades in the Vosges mountains in France.

The project resulted from a study of vernacular building methods in the area and is a combination of two farm-building typologies.

The house is clad in wood and has sliding shutters at all openings, which appear randomly distributed across the building’s surface.

Photographs are by Barbara Bouyne.

The following text is from Atelier Martel:

–

atelier martel
architectes associés

This plan settles the question of a new vernacular in the architecture of mountain in France. The architecture of this home asks the question of the place, it seems familiar because it borrows the archetypes of vernacular building surroundings. This position is partly owed to the will to be confronted with the real, simplicity, poor laiss materials. The culmination of a theoretical research is observable through the reinterpretation of forms of traditional building. This home of 265 m ² is constructed within the limits of a budget very controlled considering program and of environmental step.

It has an insulation reinforced by the outside, the internal temperature is supported in 14°C thanks to a system of Canadian well. Energy to achieve a comfortable temperature is so minimized. Rainwater is recovered for sprinkling and toilet.

Architecture

The architecture of this home asks the question of the place. It sounds familiar, almost normal, but has something unexpected, intriguing and even disturbing. Familiar, because it footprint archetypes of vernacular buildings around, simple volume pierced windows, doors and wearing a “roof”. Strange also because the reading of these elements is disconcerting: the size and number of windows, the roof is four slopes and the traditional modénature (cornice, gutters, around windows, ….) Is reduced to a fold in a line of contact between two surfaces. Strangely familiar yet because its formal characteristics (volume monolithic unit forms, facade materials, sealing system, …) in fact a relative of construction near existing,”already there.” The openings of the four facades are treated as holes arranged almost randomly.

“Do not build so picturesque, the colorful leaves to the walls, mountains and sun. The person who dresses so picturesque is a buffoon. The peasant dresses do not so picturesque. But it is. ” Adolf Loos, Bauen in den Bergen, 1913

Adolf Loos, who is this reflection, attached great importance to the forms used by farmers for their buildings because they are in his part of the heritage bequeathed by our ancestors. Loos believed it important to discover the origin of these forms, but only if technological advances allow us to improve, we must take advantage of it. Changes to traditional construction methods are acceptable only if they provide an advantage. These could be a basis for the evolution of architectural production in rural environments. Far from purely regionalists, to use a set of forms or materials supposed to represent the architecture of a given region, they could allow some interpretation of the tradition and the vernacular architecture in general.

My position is due in part to the willingness to face the real me, simple volume, raw materials and poor left character”ordinary”. I conducted a thorough typological analysis of farm buildings. The outcome of this theoretical approach are evident through reminders and reinterpretations in the materialization and form of traditional buildings. The new typology is inspired by the vernacular architecture of the valley but redefines by hybridization of two archetypes farms. The original farm embedded in the slope, the ridge perpendicular to contour lines, the largest façade oriented towards the valley. Does not allow expansion, this type of construction is abandoned in favor of the new farm height is parallel to the direction of the valley offering an opportunity to spread easily on the side gables. Four gabled facades, two parallel to the natural terrain and two directed perpendicular to the valley, and a hybrid roof square spread ambiguous image of the new house in the landscape of fields, pastures and forests of the region.

The definition of a close relationship with the volume of the barn built before the house and the successive curves undulating landscape in the background is affirmed by the sharp edges and no eaves. The four facades, in which the timber provides visual unity, then respond individually to the sensibilities of each orientation.

The architecture is made with all his senses, and memories of spaces and atmospheres. The hearing, smell, touch and of course to make the images and forms signifying their relationship built up in the integrity of the project. Here, there is no space for movement, all the parts are entities and have their own character. The plan of the traditional houses seems generated by the juxtaposition, the addition or compression. This principle is set up to design this house, as if two houses were condensed to form a whole. The production of original types of plans is done by adding rows, kind of parts in a row parallel to contour lines. These”row”are the limits imposed by the structure of the frame just take ground support equipment.

Cairo Expo City by Zaha Hadid Architects

2009-06-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

Zaha Hadid Architects have won a competition to design Cairo Expo City in Cairo, Egypt.

The topography of the Nile valley is the inspiration behind the project’s fluid forms.

The project, located between the city centre and the airport, will provide a campus for exhibitions and conferences.

Here’s some info from the architects:

–

ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS WIN CAIRO EXPO CITY COMPETITION

After presenting the design to Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif, Zaha Hadid Architects was announced as architects of the new
Cairo Expo City. Zaha Hadid Architects will be designing Cairo Expo City together with global multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy Buro Happold.

The winning design for Cairo Expo City delivers a unique facility for Cairo - a 450,000 square metre, state of the art city for exhibitions and
conferences, located between the centre of Cairo and the city’s airport. The project comprises a major international exhibition and conference
centre with business hotel. A further office tower and a shopping centre are also proposed.

“This is a truly national project for Egypt.” said Sherif Salem, CEO of the GOIEF (General Organization of International Exhibitions and Fairs). “The current exhibition halls for Cairo do not meet the standards now required by the international conference and exhibition industry. With this exceptional design by Zaha Hadid Architects, Cairo will be among the world’s top cities for conferences and fairs, able to cater for the widest variety and size of events.”

The undulating fluid forms of the Cairo Expo City design were inspired by the natural topography of the Nile valley explained Zaha Hadid.

“As the exhibition spaces require the greatest degree of flexibility, we wanted to ensure that all the public spaces and formal composition of Cairo Expo City relate to the surrounding Egyptian landscape.” said Hadid. “Along the great rivers of the region, most particularly the Nile, there is a powerful dynamic - a constant flow between the water and the land - which extends to incorporate the neighboring buildings and landscapes. For the Cairo Expo City design, we worked to capture that seamlessness and fluidity in an urban architectural context.”

Carving and sculpting processes have been used to divide the very large exhibition and conference areas required for Cairo Expo City into clusters of individual buildings that have their own formal composition, yet each building relates to the overall design. A main north-south artery is carved through the design, with secondary streams converging at the centre to ease crowd traffic during event. The movement of people within these streams informs the building entrances on the site.

Zaha Hadid Architects was shortlisted with Norwegian architecture practice Snohetta for the second phase of the competition in April. Works will begin in October this year to clear the site.

Client: GOIEF (General Organization of International Exhibitions and Fairs), Cairo

Design: Zaha Hadid Architects

Engineering: Buro Happold, London

Quantity Surveyor: Gleeds, London

Traffic and Logistics: Buro Happold, London

Built Area: 450,000sqm (exhibition halls, conference centre and mixed-use areas)

Height of Towers: 33 and 31 storeys

House in Binningen by Luca Selva Architects

2009-06-09T01:22:00.000-07:00

Basel firm Luca Selva Architects have completed a house for an art collector in Binningen, Switzerland.

Large windows frame views towards nearby Basel and the surrounding trees, or direct the visitor’s gaze back into other areas of the building and the artwork displayed within.

The residence is arranged around a swimming pool and has clay floors throughout the interior.

Photographs by Ruedi Walti.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

–

A house for art

Single family home in Binningen (Switzerland) by Luca Selva Architect, Basel

There are houses that become houses devoted to art over time by the gradual addition of artwork. Others, like the house in Binningen, were built to be a house for art from the beginning.

This is reflected in the traffic pattern as well as in the sequence and size of the main rooms, the position and finish of the windows and the conservative and unitary materialization. The ground floor flooring gives the impression that it has existed since the beginning of time. It consists of a stomped clay floor, made by Martin Rauch. It is the colour of honey and it has countless crazes and a velvety touch despite its hardness. The floor leads the visitors from the entrée through the corridor to the entrance hall, which are squired by large-sized photographs by contemporary artists and include rare and aged cactuses and various delicate antique physiques.

This archaic floor contrasts strongly with the slender and precise aluminium frames of the sliding glass doors which constrict the passage from the hall to the living room, opening it up towards the garden and the covered seating area. This is where the interpenetration of indoors and outdoors is strongest.

The angular floorplan repeatedly allows simultaneous views of interior and exterior surfaces which are both kept in the same bright white to enhance the visual continuity of ceiling and walls. The groundfloor’s flowing sequence of spaces is perfectly suited for the successive viewing of the works of art.

The rooms differ in ceiling height and lighting. The windows are placed carefully, respecting quality of the daylight as well as the views they frame.

The high set window in the hall focuses on the ample treetops of the neighbouring plot, while the living room window offers a surprising view of the distant city of Basel.

Only now does the visitor notice how precisely and with how much of a drama - turgical thought the house is placed, also how skillfully its polymorphic volume uses the various qualities of the site. The back side traces the boundary while the garden side’s focal point is set on the pool.

The edges of the latter are designed as benches reinforcing its physical presence. The pool becomes an object set in the garden, surrounded by orange Tartan flooring that strongly contrasts with the garden’s vegetation.

Indoors, the flush mounted windows dialogue in a similar way with the images. Since the embrasure is nearly invisible, the environment seems to suddenly invade the room. The windows act as autonomous images rather than as a separation between indoors and outdoors. The entire house has an object-like appearance, mostly due to its colour.

In some places the facade’s white stucco lustro is smoothed, in others it is left open-pored. This creates a variety of different shades, all similar but never quite the same.

The balanced composition evokes Alvaro Siza’s work and due to its central hall it is reminiscent of Le Corbusier’s Villa La Roche. The house in Binningen does not limit itself to providing a neutral background for art. It takes an active part, including residents and guests in the conversation.

Part of the text by Christoph Wieser for the magazine werk, bauen und wohnen
Architect: Luca Selva Architect, Basel
Collaborators: Barbara Andres, Roger Braccini
Site manager: Sabin Achermann
Landscape architect: August Künzel Landschaftsarchitekten, Basel
Structural engineer: Walther Mory Maier, Basel
Photographs: Ruedi Walti, Basel

Quote of the Day

2009-06-09T01:13:00.000-07:00

“I do an awful lot of thinking and dreaming about things in the past and the future, the timelessness of the rocks and the hills, all the people who have existed there. I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure in the landscape, the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn’t show.

I think anything like that, which is contemplative, silent, shows a person alone, people always feel is sad. Is it because we’ve lost the art of being alone?”

Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009)

Furniture by Outofstock

2009-06-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

Milan 09: design collective Outofstock exhibited a collection of five furniture pieces as part of the SaloneSatellite at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan in April. The collection includes a chair, lamp, desk, side table and coat stand.The Naked Chair is made of solid beech and folded steel.

Naked Chair

A chair made of solid beech and folded sheet steel, it can be described as naked because the chair’s structural frame is revealed in the seat and backrest, flaunting its construction as its principle aesthetic. The intention was to dematerialise the chair and present it in its elemental state. The chair’s strength derives from the action-reaction forces between the folded steel sheets and beech wood frame. The Naked Chair flat packs in transportation, resulting in a low carbon foot-print.

The Coat Shed is illuminated from beneath it’s aluminium top and includes coat hooks made of Corian.

Coat Shed

Inspired by the garden shed, this coat rack is designed to welcome people into the room or space it is placed in. It’s relaxed slanted position and illumination from its roof brings a welcoming presence, telling newcomers it is ready to take their coat. The coat shed is made of solid beech, with an aluminium roof and seven sliding coat hooks (in corian).

Sherlock is an LED lamp made of powder-coated steel and beech, inspired by a magnifying glass.

Sherlock

A floor lamp inspired by the magnifying glass. The light source is a ring diffuser containing twenty seven wide-angle LEDs. An iconic, sculptural lamp at 1.9 metres tall when fully upright, it can be used as a task light when inclined or as an ambient lamp when rotated upright. The prototype is realised in powder coated steel and beech wood.

Arbor

Arbor, which stands for trees in Latin, is a compact work desk featuring five different solid woods – oak (main), sucupira, wenge, teak, and maple. Ideal for small apartments and hotel rooms, the Arbor desk is suited for laptops and light paperwork. It allows for storage through a front-opening drawer and four top-opening compartments on the table surface. The storage compartments are descending in size as one moves towards the right, allowing one to organize his/her workspace in a convenient manner. Legs of the desk can be dissembled and packed separately for convenient transportation.

Black Forest

Inspired by tree branches, this table is made up of two interlocking Y-shaped oak junctions and an asymmetric top. It can be disassembled into three separate parts for flat shipping. We tried to achieve the visual analogy of a pool of water with the table surface, such that when objects are placed on the steel mirror table top, we see its reflection beneath.

The Black Forest table has a steel top that reflects objects placed on it.

Here’s some more information from the designers:

–

Outofstock at Milan Design Week 2009

Outofstock exhibited new projects at the Salone Satellite of the Milan Furniture Fair last month. A collection of five projects – Arbor, Sherlock, Coat Shed, Black Forest and Naked Chair were shown. Outofstock also selected by Elle Decoration Spain to show at the Elle Decoration Young Talents Show located in the basement of Super Studio Piu, where Black Forest and Naked Chair were exhibited.

S - Chair Transformers by Beton

2009-06-01T19:53:00.001-07:00

Polish designers Beton have created the S - Chair Transformer, a polyethylene foam cover that transforms solid chairs into comfy armchairs.

A thin, rectangular sheet of polyethylene foam is laser cut to create the surface pattern and interlocking mechanism that holds the two ends together without any further fixings.

Here’s some words from the designers:

–

S - chair transformers

A thin rectangle of polyethylene foam is laser-cut in such a way, that you can create a tube out of it without using glue or anything like that. Inside the tube you can place any chair (the uglier, the better) and then you can sit on it. The chair is transformed into a comfortable, waterproof armchair… At ﬁrst the standing tube might be misleading, and it is the easiest way of creating something out of almost nothing.

Chiwawa lamp by Vincent Olm

2009-05-31T22:50:00.000-07:00

Belgian designer Vincent Olm has created Chiwawa, a lamp that involves adding a laser-cut metal ring to a standard bulb holder.

The ring has two legs that allow the lamp to be placed on horizontal surfaces.

Here’s some info from Olm followed by a biography:

–

Chiwawa is all about simplicity: by just adding a ring of metal between bulb and socket, you can transform a standard device into a funny companion which will give you light when needed and will follow you everywhere thanks to its lightness.

My goal with Chiwawa was to show that a single piece of laser cut metal is enough to give a strong personality to a standard lighting device. Ecologically friendly because of its material and absence of complex elements, Chiwawa works with every E27 bulbs, including energy saving ones.

Chiwawa lamp was awarded at the last Interieur International Design Competition (former “Design for Europe” competition).

Born in Belgium in 1979, Vincent Olm decided in 2008 to broaden his horizons by throwing himself into the adventure of design. He went head to head with the professionals in the field for the first time when he entered his first creation, the Chiwawa lamp, into the international competition organised by the Interieur fair. His project was a hit; he came away with a jury mention. Everything followed from that. Projects multiplied, desire grew. And this was just the beginning …

Olm’s work is characterised by the urge to combine simplicity, utility and poetry. His creations, stamped with a sometimes quirky humour, are always expressions of a simple and original idea, easy to understand and put to use. Chiwawa reflects this: this unpretentious, almost trivial lamp goes straight to the core and causes quite a stir.

www.vincent-olm.com

Trigger Point Mouldings by Touchy-Feely

2009-05-30T01:32:00.001-07:00

Architects Stephanie Davidson and Georg Rafailidis of Berlin practice Touchy-Feely have designed heated protrusions from a wall to assist in muscle-tension relief.

The rounded, plaster forms can be incorporated into a plastered wall surface at any height and are heated to body temperature from behind.

This technique is used in the treatment of ailments such as nausea, fatigue and addiction.

Developed in collaboration with massage therapists, the protrusions can be used to manipulate trigger points in parts of the the body such as shoulders, neck and knees.

“The mouldings encourage heightened, physical interactions between bodies and architectural surfaces,” say the designers.

Touchy-Feely is a branch of Davidson Rafailidis architects. Here’s some more information from them:

–

Trigger Point Mouldings, Stephanie Davidson & Georg Rafailidis / Touchy-Feely
touchy-feely.net

Trigger Point Mouldings are rounded fibrous plaster forms that can be integrated into a wall surface. As suggestive protrusions, the mouldings encourage heightened, physical interactions between bodies and architectural surfaces, and suggest that buildings can perform, or intimate towards the necessary work of massage therapists. Heating elements inserted into the backs of the plaster protrusions warm the forms to body temperature and assist in muscle tension relief. As warmed wall areas, the protrusions create a gentle threshold between body and building.

Massage therapists commonly work to access and manipulate multiple trigger points in the body found in the shoulders, neck, knees, etc as a means of aiding such diverse ailments as nausea, quitting smoking, colds, fatigue, sexual problems, etc. Touchy-Feely worked in consultation with massage therapists to develop forms of an appropriate depth and shape to facilitate self-trigger point massage. The mouldings can be installed easily into any new or existing drywall or plastered wall surface at any desired height or in any density/pattern.

Feel the Difference by NL Architects

2009-05-30T00:56:00.000-07:00

Dutch practice NL Architects have designed a conceptual advertisement on the facade of the Slovenská Národná Galéria.(Slovak National Gallery) in Bratislava, Slovakia.

NL Architects designed the Feel the Difference advertisement in response to the billboard currently attached to the gallery’s facade (above).

A exhibition of their work entitled Modernice! is currently on show in the 50 metre bridge of the museum. Above: original photo by Hertha Harnaus.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

–

Modernice! NL Architects at Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava

From may 19th until june 21st the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava has invited us for an exhibition in a spectacular over 50 meter long ‘bridge’ of the museum. Titled ‘Modernice!’ the exhibition shows ‘numerous projects in various stages of development’ of NL Architects.

As an introduction to this exhibition a short reflection on the brutal sculptural museum building by Vladimir Dedecek is attached. It’s brutal and elegant facade is currently ruined by a gigantic billboard that obscures it’s qualities. The project ‘Feel the difference’ is an attempt to invent a specific advertisement for this building.

Slussen Masterplan, Stockholm by Foster + Partners

2009-05-30T00:26:00.000-07:00

UK architects Foster + Partners have been appointed to masterplan the Slussen waterfront in central Stockholm, Sweden.

Working with Swedish architects Berg Arkitektkontor, Foster + Partners will remove many of the roads that cut through the waterfront and instead increase pedestrian links.

the project will create two pedestrian bridges between the islands of Södermalm and Gamla Stan.

Further details from Foster + Partners follows:

–

22/05/2009

Foster + Partners appointed to design Slussen masterplan in central Stockholm

Foster + Partners and Berg Arkitektkontor, part of C.F. Møller Architects, have been appointed to design a masterplan for the heart of Stockholm, transforming the waterfront area of Slussen from an urban aberration to a popular destination. The proposal will bring new life to the area, linking the islands of Södermalm and Gamla Stan and stripping away the layers of history to reclaim a valuable city quarter.

For so long separated by a maze of roads and acres of concrete, the two waterfronts will be linked by a new footbridge and the historic lock will be revealed once more to provide a symbol for the area’s regeneration. The masterplan re-establishes the waterfront to give Södermalm a new face. While contemporary in concept, the buildings that form the new city blocks continue the grain and scale of the adjacent urban quarter, retaining the long street views to the water and defining new public squares and extensive waterfront promenades. Their flexible nature allows for a rich mixture of uses, from culture and entertainment to shops and hotels, while the uninterrupted pedestrian quayside incorporates terraces, and promenades served directly by new cafés and restaurants.

At the heart of the new Slussen is an elegant footbridge, which fuses straight and S-shaped decks to complete the missing link in the north-south pedestrian route across central Stockholm. The historic Katarinahissen will also be renovated and extended to serve the quayside level, with a new observation deck built at its top to offer spectacular views over the city’s archipelago.

Reversing the dominance of the car, the scheme gives priority to pedestrians and cyclists. A new transport interchange is incorporated that allows easy pedestrian circulation between an upgraded metro station, bus station and the port quayside. A new lightweight, transparent structure with kiosks, a café and bicycle parking will also be created in front of the City Museum to provide street-level entrance to the naturally lit pedestrian mall and transport hub below.

Spencer de Grey, Head of Design at Foster + Partners, said: “I’m delighted that we have been appointed to design the masterplan for Slussen to revitalise this most important area for future generations to enjoy. This is a wonderful opportunity to reinforce the links between Stockholm’s central islands of Södermalm and Gamla Stan, to repair the fabric of the city and to create a lively new destination that can be enjoyed at all times of the day and night.”

I've been Away

2009-05-30T00:21:00.001-07:00

I've been in Jakarta for work for the last one week so that explains the missing posts. I have a few right now so I'll get on to it. Welcome back!

Indra

Step Up on Fifth by Pugh + Scarpa Architects

2009-05-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

Santa Monica practice Pugh + Scarpa Architects have completed a building to provide homes, support services and rehabilitation for homeless and mentally disabled people in Santa Monica, California.

Called Step Up on Fifth, the facade is covered with water jet-cut, anodised-aluminium panels that provide shade and privacy. The building comprises 46 studio apartments offering permanent, affordable housing plus retail space at ground level.

Community rooms on alternate floors overlook two private courtyards on the first floor.

Photographs by John Linden; drawings by Pugh + Scarpa Architects.

Here’s some more information from Pugh + Scarpa Architects:

–

Step Up on 5th is a bright new spot in downtown Santa Monica. The new building provides a home, support services and rehabilitation for the homeless and mentally disabled population. The new structure provides 46 studio apartments of permanent affordable housing. The project also includes ground level commercial/retail space and subterranean parking.

A striking yet light-hearted exterior makes the new building a welcome landmark in downtown Santa Monica. Custom water jet-anodized aluminum panels on the main façade creates a dramatic screen that sparkles in the sun and glows at night, while also acting as sun protection and privacy screens. The material reappears as a strategic arrangement of screens on east and south-facing walls, lending a subtle rhythm to the exterior circulation walkways and stairs.

South-facing walls filter direct sunlight with asymmetrical horizontal openings that lend unexpected visual depth while creating a sense of security for the emotionally sensitive occupants. Enhancing the structure’s geometric texture, the irregular array of openings variably extrudes from the building’s surface. The small-scale elements on the façade enhance the existing streetscape and promote a lively pedestrian environment. By visually breaking up the façade into smaller articulated elements, the building appears to move with the passing cars and people.

At the second level above the retail space two private courtyards provide residents with a secure and welcoming surrounding while connecting directly to 5th street and downtown Santa Monica via a secured stairway integrated into the building storefront at street level.

Community rooms are located on every other floor of the project overlooking the private courtyards protected from the street. These community rooms along with the private courtyards serve as the principal social spaces for the tenants of the building.

Step Up on 5th distinguishes itself from most conventionally developed projects in that it incorporates energy efficient measures that exceed standard practice, optimize building performance, and ensure reduced energy use during all phases of construction and occupancy. The planning and design of Step Up on 5th emerged from close consideration and employment of passive solar design strategies. These strategies include: locating and orienting the building to control solar cooling loads; shaping and orienting the building for exposure to prevailing winds; shaping the building to induce buoyancy for natural ventilation; designing windows to maximize day lighting; shading south facing windows and minimizing west-facing glazing; designing windows to maximize natural ventilation; shaping and planning the interior to enhance daylight and natural air flow distribution.

These passive strategies alone make this building 50% more efficient than a conventionally designed structure.
The building is loaded with energy-saving and environmentally benign or “sustainable” devices. Materials conservation and recycling were employed during construction by requiring all waste to be hauled to a transfer station for recycling. The overall project achieved more than a 75% recycling rate.

Specifying carpet with a high-recycled content, and all-natural linoleum flooring also emphasized resource conservation. The project also uses compact fluorescent lighting throughout the building and double-pane windows.

Each apartment will be equipped with water-saving dual flush toilets and many other energy conserving devices. While California has the most stringent energy efficient requirements in the United States, Step Up incorporates numerous sustainable features that exceed state mandated Title 24 energy measures by more than 30%

Project’s Formal Name: Step Up on Fifth
Location of Project: 1548 5th Street, Downtown Santa Monica, California
Client/Owner: Step Up
Total Square Footage: 31,600 sq. ft.
Total Cost: $10.1 million
Architects: Pugh + Scarpa
Project Team: Lawrence Scarpa, AIA – Design Architect, Angela Brooks, AIA, Principal-in-Charge, Brad Buter, Silke Clemmens, Ching Luk, Matt Maijack, Luis Gomez, Omar Barcena, Dan Safarik, Gwynne Pugh – Project Team
Engineering: John Martin Associates, Jackie Vinkler – Structural IBE, Alan Locke – Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing
Contractor: Ruiz Brothers
Photography: John Edward Linden

Works on paper by Zaha Hadid

2009-05-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Zaha Hadid is showing a new series of works on paper at Arndt & Partner gallery in Zurich, Switzerland. The works - reliefs constructed of cut and folded white paper that represent Hadid’s architectural projects - are part of the Conceptual Paper exhibition curated by Kenny Schachter.

Above: Private Residence, San Diego, California, 2002-ongoing, Card relief in plexi box, 60,5 x 120,5 x 25 cm / 23.82 x 47.44 x 9.84 inch, HADI0002.

Above: Pierres Vives, Montpellier, France, 2002-ongoing, Card relief in plexi box, 60,5 x 120,5 x 25 cm / 23.82 x 47.44 x 9.84 inch, HADI0001

Above: Garden City Resort, Guggenheim Museum Competition, Singapore, 2005, Card relief in plexi box, 60,5 x 120,5 x 25 cm / 23.82 x 47.44 x 9.84 inch, HADI0003

Above: Hungerburg Station Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahn, Innsbruck, Austria, 2004-ongoing, Card relief in plexi box, 60,5 x 120,5 x 25 cm / 23.82 x 47.44 x 9.84 inch, HADI0005

Above: Heydar Allyev Merkezi, Baku, Azerbaijan, 2006-ongoing, Card relief in plexi box, 60,5 x 120,5 x 25 cm / 23.82 x 47.44 x 9.84 inch, HADI0006

The show runs until 3 June.

Below is a short text from the gallery about the exhibition, and an introduction by curator Kenny Schachter:

–

CONCEPTUAL PAPER
Arndt & Partner Gallery, Lessingstrasse 5, CH-8002 Zurich, Switzerland
27 April - 03 June, 2007

Curated by Kenny Schachter, the show focuses on works on paper that represent poetic comments of ideal cosmologies as well as traces of immeasurable notions of what an image could be. Installative and lost works, works in progress and mental projects of artists - among whom the most talented and progressive of their generation – have found their expression in images of almost classical simplicity which at the same time challenge traditional methods of interpreting art to the fullest.

–

“Works on paper for me have always had an intimate quality, more like reading than other forms of art making. They provide a real glimpse into the mind of the artist at work. In presenting the work of 9 artists from the 1960s to the present, I take a much more expansive view of what constitutes a work on paper.

“The selection goes far beyond drawings or sketches to include photos by Vito Acconci, Dennis Oppenheim and Peter Hujar, paper constructions by the conceptual architect and artist Zaha Hadid, and encompassing landscapes by Paul Thek and Richard Artschwager, text drawings by Pope.L, abstractions by Yayoi Kusama, and instructions for sculptures by Chris Burden. All in all the works on display provide a snapshot into the means and methods of a group of the most talented artists of their respective generations.

“A pleasure to behold in and of themselves, these pieces are on a scale more human and accessible than much of today’s overblown artistic productions we are habitually bombarded with. It’s not about heroics or masterpieces, but about the pleasure to be derived from the connoisseur’s appreciation of something special.

–

“Hadid is a forerunner to the quotidian in today’s language of contemporary architecture. Before the advent of computers, her notions for building designs for today and the future began as abstractions on canvas and paper with obvious references to Russian constructivism, vorticism and futurism.

“This was no passing quote from past genres but a knowing absorption of historic art movements whose ambitions clearly pointed beyond the scope of the canvas. Hadid’s vision was so complex and light-years ahead of her time that people could not even relate or understand the levels of abstraction, which in her mind must have seemed as plain as daylight.

“Here she presents a new body of work made specifically for the show that uses paper in a relief-like fashion, resulting in a three dimensional drawing with no marks and a way of turning origami into a hyper progressive form of art and design.”

- Kenny Schachter

Light Blubs Special Editions by Pieke Bergmans

2009-05-18T22:21:00.000-07:00

This is something that caught my eye, for its malleable - shape shifting look but at the same time reminds me of how a sack of balls looks like. As I read further these lamps are last month Milan's Dutch designer Pieke Bergmans works who presented a new collection of Light Blubs as part of her ongoing Design Virus project. The lighting comprises hand-blown bulbs containing LEDs.

This year they were presented attached to pendant and desk lamps, and resting on old office furniture.

But one thing that amazes me is its concept and narrative which sounds so simple and kiddish yet emotionally sensible. Here’s some more information from Bergmans:

–

Light Blubs

‘special editions’

A unique series of Light Blubs designed by Pieke Bergmans. Bergmans ‘infected’ some light bulbs last year, which means melted bulbs came dripping down from the ceiling…

This year the infection did not cure. It’s on the rampage with no cure in sight. Even the bulbs in the safe haven of their lamps are not spared. Their DNA has mutated, more grotesque, more mutilated than ever before.

Like with an infection, the older the product the more susceptible it is: old and tired lamps surrendering their bulbs to gravity (Brilliant! in a simple and poetic way). A desk lamp giving up on life, its last gasp forming the bulb. Office cupboards, made superfluous by digital databases, prop up Light Blubs with care and love. A lamp ejects her Light Blub in desperation.

These symptoms are unique, their phenomena unpredictable. The Light Blubs accepting their fate and the pull of gravity. Series of led lamps:
Color: white
Edition: 12 unique pieces
Dimensions: 20-70 x 10-45 cm
Material: hand blown glass
Lights: 24V Osram Power Leds, 7,5 – 15W
Exhibition:
Galleria Design Virus
Via Tortona 12 / Milan / Italia

Moonbird by Yukio Hashimoto for Yamagiwa

2009-05-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

Milan 09: lighting manufacturers launched a lamp called Moonbird by Japanese designer Yamagiwa Yukio Hashimoto in Milan last month. “I designed this lamp with the image of a bird perched silently under the moonlight in mind,” says Hashimoto. The information below is from Yamagiwa:

–

Each body is individually carved in wood. State of the art light source technology is applied for the ultra-thin sleek illuminated panel. The sculptural form of this lamp is enhanced by the harmony of warm natural materials combined with advanced technology.

House HB by Bevk Perović Arhitekti

2009-05-17T23:40:00.000-07:00

Slovenian architects Bevk Perović Arhitekti built this house on a hilltop in the countryside close to Ljubljana.

Completed in 2007, the aluminium-clad House HB features an elongated house-form containing living areas, while bedrooms and bathrooms are contained in a hidden level buried underground.

Here’s some info from the architects:

–

House HB, Ljubljana Pirniče, Slovenia
bevk perović arhitekti

The architectural concept of House HB was determined by the location of the property on the prominent part of the landscape, a top of a small hill overlooking a village.

This picturesque site is a typical Slovenian suburban situation – a ‘rural suburbia’ – close to the city but rural at the same time. While most of the buildings in the neighborhood are cliché two stories high individual houses, typical of postwar central European architecture, House HB attempts to define another kind of domestic environment – it is a redefinition of a specific form of traditional houses, low and elongated rural buildings more associated with stables than habitation.

House HB, situated on top of the low hill, appears like a transparent object rising from the ground. Despite its dominant position, the house seems to merge with the landscape. At first sight it looks like a kind of prototypical house-shape, dominating the top of the hill.

The roof and side facades are clad in the same material, 6 m long aluminum plates, which merge the surfaces together into a clean, anonymous house-shape, devoid of any ornamental details. The house appears as a sign, as a model of the house.

House HB aims to keep iconographic motives of the traditional house such as pitched roof, relatively small volume and linear spatial sequences.

But it is more spacious then it appears from a distance – a whole floor of the house is ‘submerged’ into the hill underneath it. The intimate areas of the house, including bedrooms and library, are hidden in the terrain while the living areas are located in the upper part of the house.

The two elevations offer quite different living experiences. While the lower structure is built in concrete and is oriented towards the hidden patio, the upper structure is made of glass, entirely transparent along the longer edges of the building. The open interior has no partitions. Different areas like kitchen, dining and living are distinguished by the selection of furniture, groups of which form a kind of virtual rooms.

The border between inside and outside is merging, the inside of the house continuing on the grass via wooden platforms. The surrounding landscape therefore becomes an extended living environment.

basic data

building: House HB
location: Pirniče, SI-1000 Ljubljana
client: private
programme: habitation

project team: bevk perović arhitekti
Matija Bevk, Vasa J. Perović, Maja Valič
project: 2004-2005
execution: 2005/2007
photographer: Miran Kambič

Grey Goose bar by Puresang

2009-05-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

Antwerp designers Puresang have completed the interior of a bar at the headquarters of vodka brand Grey Goose in Brussels, Belgium.

The bar features a faceted wall composed of blue, triangular mirror-tiles and has a conference table at one end of the bar.

Photographs are by Frank Gielen.

The information below is from Puresang:

–

Grey Goose bar

Grey goose vodka asked Puresang to design a full operating bar in their headquarters in Brussels. The design became a very exciting play of blue mirrors, cut in triangles and mounted in 3D against the wall to create more depth and tactility in the rather small space. The client asked for a high-roller drinking environment that could also be used as a meeting room. That’s why the high gloss bar runs over in the meeting table.

The atmospheric light structure is custom made for this project and reflects the sparkles of ice. The wall at the end of the bar gives the room a dramatic feel without being too ‘product placing’. The bottles are used as a screen that feels as an ice wall.

Light and projection of light are the main features in this room, creating different perspectives by changing the way you’re located in the space.

What: bar in headquarters Brussels

Where: Brussels, Belgium

Design by: Puresang

Pictures by: Frank Gielen

Home

2009-05-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

Truth is a simple place
Here for us all to see
Reach as it comes to you
As it comes to me
As I will always need you inside my heart

Peace is a word we teach
A place for us all to reach
Sing as it sings to you
As it sings to me
As I will always need you inside my heart

Yes

Il Fiore di Novembre by Fabio Novembre

2009-05-13T21:34:00.001-07:00

Milan 09: an installation by Italian designer Fabio Novembre, containing a retrospective of his furniture designs plus two new pieces, is on show at the Triennale Design Museum in Milan.

Mosaic-covered sections representing a flower separate each of the projects, which are presented using illustrations, video and text.

The installation is open until Sunday 17 May.

Above and below: Fleur de Novembre table for Kartell.

Photos by Pasquale Formisano. Illustrations by Emiliano Ponzi.

The information below is from Fabio Novembre:

–

Triennale Design Museum presents the latest project blooming in Fabio Novembre’s garden: Il Fiore di Novembre. A spectacular installation conceived ad-hoc by Fabio Novembre allows exploring his works according to an unprecedented approach and offers a number of possible interpretations.

Above: Green Line vases for Bitossi Ceramiche.

The installation is structured according to two different stages. Upon entering the main hall, visitors play the role of viewers: a huge flower, composed of several mosaic sections repeated in space, stands before them. The effect is overtly dramatic, characterised by the contrast between the floor, resembling black asphalt, and colour saturation of the flower.

Two rows of seats are located on a small staircase and allow watching all other visitors, moving like players on a stage. By exploring the backstage, through a small corridor, visitors are plunged into the heart of Novembre’s Flower. It is not a mere presentation of Fabio Novembre’s projects: different sections lead visitors directly and comprehensively into his world, creative processes, obsessions, main project references.

Each section presents a design item, surrounded by texts and images illustrating the inception of the item and the ideas from which it has originated. The architect’s creative progress is staged originally starting from the sources of his inspiration and leading to the end product through a number of sensorial stimuli.

Biography

Since 1966, I’ve responded to those who call me Fabio Novembre. Since 1992, I’ve responded to those who also call me “architect”. I cut out spaces in the vacuum by blowing air bubbles, and I make gifts of sharpened pins so as to insure I never put on airs. My lungs are imbued with the scent of places that I’ve breathed, and when I hyperventilate it’s only so I can remain in apnea for awhile. As though I were pollen, I let myself go with the wind, convinced I’m able to seduce everything that surrounds me. I want to breathe till I choke. I want to love till I die.

Il Fiore di Novembre

Gianni Rodari: “Everything can be done starting from a flower”.

A flower is a symbolic abstraction, an ideal beauty which may be expressed through shapes and colours. A flower, the balance between the potential of a seed and the achievement of flower, is the seducing song of love calls, the moment to be seized of aesthetic perfection. Petals, like deep layers leading to precious nectar, are friendly pollen dispensers for well-known reproductive rituals. Novembre’s flower is a rhetorical figure, an ephemeral CAT to transcend the matter. Novembre’s flower is an aesthetic aspiration evoked through a dreaming approach, a space representation aimed at mixing roles: viewers of show, insect or flower?

Fabio Novembre, 2009

Il Fiore di Novembre/Novembre’s Flower
21st April- 17th May 2009
Triennale di Milano

Overall co-ordination: Silvana Annicchiarico
Concept and installation project: Fabio Novembre
Catalogue by Electa

Euro Condom by Ingo Maurer

2009-05-13T20:51:00.001-07:00

Milan 09: German lighting designer Ingo Maurer launched Euro Condom, a protest against new European guidelines banning frosted incandescent bulbs, at the Euroluce lighting fair in Milan last month.

The opaque condoms fit over clear incandescent bulbs - which are not affected by the guidelines - to give a similar effect to the banned bulbs.

Here’s some text from Maurer:

–

The Euro Condom consists of a thin, heat-resistant silicone cover that turns a clear bulb into a frosted one. Frosted bulbs will be banned by the new EU guideline on light sources beginning September 2009, because they are said give off less light than clear bulbs.

But according to the specifications of various manufacturers the difference, measured in lumens, is negligible or not existing. – Protect yourself from stupid rules, use the Euro Condom!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-13T02:06:00.001-07:00

A very belated mother's day to all mothers out there, young and old, new and experienced. Thank you mommies!

Pipe and Trattoria by Jasper Morrison for Magis

2009-05-12T22:10:00.001-07:00

Milan 09: British designer Jasper Morrison Magis showed two collections, Pipe (above) and Trattoria (below), forat the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan last month.

The new Trattoria collection (above and below) consists of a table and chair both with solid beech legs. The chair has a textured polycarbonate seats and the table has a HPL laminate top.

The Pipe collection (below), consisting of a stacking chair, a stacking stool and a table, is made from tubular aluminium frames and punched steel plates.

Pipe was launched by Magis in Milan last year.

The Pipe table (above) has a beech plywood top.

Blur by Big-game

2009-05-12T20:06:00.001-07:00

Brussels designers Big-game have created a collection of objects with graduated patterns applied to their surfaces that make them appear blurry.

Called Blur, the range includes low tables, mirrors, lamps and a vase decorated with the silkscreen-printed pattern.

“Erasing bits of reality, the series is composed of meticulously materialized objects celebrating the disappearance of materiality,” say the designers.

Captions are provided by Big-game. Above: BLUR Mirror. A mirror with a silkscreened white gradient that make one’s reflection disappear gradually.

Above and below: BLUR Vase. The flowers are shoved completely in this unusually high vase.

Only the meddling coloured shadows appear through the frosted white glass.

Above and belwo: BLUR Lamp. The glass dome is an archetype used to show, protect and sacralise a fragile or precious object.

Here, it becomes a glowing shape in frosted white glass that illuminates its surroundings rather than shows its content. As if the fetish had vanished into smoke.

Above and top image: BLUR Tables. A series of low tables in maple silkscreened with a watermarked gradient. Pedestals for missing statues. A small living-room cityscape lost in the clouds.

Martin the Mule by iBride

2009-05-12T20:01:00.001-07:00

Milan 09: French designers iBride presented a writing desk in the form of a life-sized mule at Zona Tortona in Milan last month.

The desk is made of high-pressure laminate, can accommodate a flat-screen computer, and is equipped with lighting and internet connections.

It forms part of the company’s Mobilier de Compagnie range of animal-shaped furniture.

Here’s some more information from iBride:

–

Over the collections, IBRIDE has built up a mythology, an iconography filled with images and shapes coming from visual experiences, real or fantasized, with the will to link the products to each other by an invisible thread.

Their very last creation meets up with the Mobilier de Compagnie collection: a large-scaled mule with its harness. The burden of the animal is the working place, a secretaire, and the animal’s structure can be used as an additional storage. The animal is linked by a wire to the working tools inherent to a contemporary secretaire: both lighting and internet connexions.

The design studio IBRIDE combines the competences of Carine Jannin, business manager and Rachel & Benoît Convers, graphic designer and designer. Since 1996, this homogeneous trio has seduced the interior industry with remarkable designs.

Their wish to change the usual perception of the objects they design and to bestow on them almost a human presence makes their creations unique.Their designs offer two different readings as they are both attractive and meaningful. IBRIDE reveals the hidden side of the objects, endows them with a secret life and… What is common becomes extraordinary.

The name suits the “IBRIDE” furniture and accessories, the word ‘Ibride’ itself being a play on words in French meaning “hybrid”. The relationship between the furniture and its user is beyond the loyal and devoted service and achieves the notion of feeling and tenderness.