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This Week At Art MoCo

11/21/2008, 07:40 | MoCo Loco

week_koleric.jpg
Adriean Koleric's Herd of AT-ATs is a salute to the designers of a toy that was truly a piece of art.

week_atlantis.jpg
The lost city of Atlantis could well be at the bottom of any body of water, if it is really made out of plastic containers, the way Gayle Chong Kwan sees it.

week_spy.jpg
Madrid's Spy lightens the urban panorama with his signature interventions.

week_exposito.jpg
Antlers are certainly not over. Not when they are on Alessandra Exposito's horses, at any rate.

week_scott.jpg
Si Scott's intricate pen and pencil drawings cover a wide range of themes. Shown above is part of a piece called Babel, in answer to a project on God.

More at Art MoCo.

the onion takes on youtube

11/12/2008, 09:44 | Influxinsights

YouTube Contest Challenges Users To Make A 'Good' Video

Posted by Ed Cotton

new work by martin creed

00/00/0000, 00:00 | designboom weblog, design related news, reviews and previews

‘work no 878’, 2008 & ‘work no. 876’, 2008

artist martin creed may be well known for his neon light text installation, but in 2008 he has been working a lot
with stacking. creed has been exploring the concept through both sculpture and painting. in his paintings,
creed applies broad brush strokes accros the canvas in a single colour, each one grower smaller or large
than the previous. he applies this same principle to his sculptures. instead of bruish strokes he uses boxes
and furniture. in one such piece, he stacks a dinging chair on a plastic folding chair, on top of a wooden chair,
that sits on a white leather arm chair.

http://www.martincreed.com

more

martin creed - I like things



‘work no. 903’, 2008 & ‘work no. 958’, 2008


‘work no. 928’, 2008


‘work no. 925’, 2008


‘work no. 916’, 2008

A Good Design Makes your Mind BLINK!

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Design Sojourn
(This post was updated and edited. The original was published on the 19 Dec, 2005!) John Maeda, formerly from MIT Media Labs, and now RISD President, spoke about how “good art makes our mind blink”. This is so true, and if we further extrapolate this, I would say “good design makes our mind blink”. [...]

A Brilliant and Wonderful Story on the rolu Blog - CITYDESKSTUDIO Turns Minneapolis Skyways Into Modern Homes

00/00/0000, 00:00 | FUTURE HOUSE NOW
I was really delighted this afternoon to find a new rolu post waiting for me in my feed reader. I clicked on over (because rolu posts are best enjoyed on their own page) and was absolutely blown away. With all due respect to the many other fine blogs I enjoy reading, to me rolu|dsgn has the most original, interesting, and brilliantly told architecture and design related posts on the web. This latest piece is something special, and I cannot recommend strongly enough that you give it a look.

The post describes an almost daydream of a vision, one of Minneapolis skyways converted to chic modern cabins, that was actually turned into reality by the firm CITYDESKSTUDIO. It's a great story of people connecting through common love of design, of seeing interesting things in unusual objects, and turning inspiration into reality.

Here's a quick look at the project. Read the rolu post for the details.





First sea container homes, now this. Wonderful!

I enjoyed browsing CITYDESKSTUDIO's work on their site. They've done a lot of nice projects. For some reason their kitchens really appeal to me. They're bright and cheerful and clean. I'm a morning person, and kitchens are morning person places. I can easily see myself in any one of them, having banana pancakes and hot tea, and reading rolu posts on my laptop (though I very seriously caution you against mixing maple syrup with keyboards). Take a look at a couple of examples:






Did you see the blue Eames chair? It's like they're reading my mind.

By the way, Matt was incredibly kind to mention Future House Now in his post. I'm not writing this gushing praise as a reciprocal gesture, but I must admit it pleases me endlessly to be included in such a good story in any way.

The rolu blog is my favorite site on the web. I say that in all honesty. If you haven't given it a look yet click on over and say hi. You will not be disappointed.

Image credits - CITYDESKSTUDIO site

the university of exeter forum project by wilkinson eyre architects

00/00/0000, 00:00 | designboom weblog, design related news, reviews and previews


the university of exeter has selected wilkinson eyre architects to build their forum project. the new building
will be the centrepiece of the school’s streatham campus. the studio’s proposal works with the site’s
natural features of their hilly campus by creating a green corridor connecting the interior to the exterior.
the structure’s main feature is an undulating gridshell roof, which covers the new students spaces and
orthogonal buildings. wilkinson eyre architects’ director, stafford critchlow said, ‘our proposals seek to
create a new arrival point for the university. the sequence of spaces relate closely to the campus
landscape, establishing a new architectural language which is less about placing objects within this
landscape and more about an organic response to it.’ design work will begin immediately, with completion
anticipated by 2012.

http://www.wilkinsoneyre.com




B_E_E | New Zealand | Branding Cleaning Products [del.icio.us]

00/00/0000, 00:00 | :: Vol. 2: the design management weblog | by ralf beuker :
More and more I find that simple, clear & intenlligently designed concepts are the most convincing ones in our world of increasingly plurivalent and confusing messages: I'll make it all white!

MODERN INSPIRATION

00/00/0000, 00:00 | GAILE GUEVARA

To see complete inspiration library for MODERN WHITE view slide show
Today is a special October 12 - I share with you a MODERN INSPIRATION DEDICATION in honor of today's birthday. The birthday of a talented designer, artist, visonary, spirit and loving friend DONNA TOPPINGS.
Looking back ... I attribute my learned love for modern minimal interiors and architecture to our days of working together and brainstorming for projects ... that excitement of opening the pages of beautiful books or magazines, and like twins at birth, the synchronized - oohs and aahs would follow. If we didn't say the exact same comment of excitement at the same time, there was always at least one of us thinking as the other is saying "look at the detail - LOVE IT". For those who aren't design junkies and cannot relate ... basically a PASSION for MODERN DESIGN is as addicting as that glass of wine you may be drinking as you read this or for others as you inhale that smoke or wolf down that block of cheese - that immediate sigh of bliss. It is that synergy or excitement and energy that inspires designers like me to be grateful for moments like those. Pure LOVE of appreciating all that is beautiful and visually articulate in its execution. I attribute my love and detailed eye to years of appreciating the laughs, cries, excitement, pop corn evenings, power walks, sushi dinners over lengthly design chats and talks. The experience of learning through eyes of someone you admire and respect helps motivate one to learn and crave more. Thank you DONNA for reminding me on your special day the moments in life that take your breath away, make you smile, make you cry and make you love - the beauty of seeing from within. MODERN DESIGN and INTERIORS isn't just about the aesthetics, is is a lifestyle, a process of embrassing and appreciating the experience of that moment.

Earthbag Building in Haiti

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Green Home Building and Sustainable Architecture
I spent several hours working on this project page: http://earthbagbuilding.com/projects/haiti.htm

I think it really is one of the best yet, because it shows the entire project from foundation to finish work on a simple home that would appeal to most people around the world; it was created by poor Haitians who had no prior experience; and it was done in a manner that I could easily recommend for others to follow. I think this really shows how earthbag building can really work for people throughout the world.

The house itself is a simple design (with some interest because it is an L shape) and was accomplished without any buttresses. Once finished it is nearly indistinguishable from their customary cement block homes, except that the walls are thicker...and it will be more comfortable to live in I am sure.

This home was built at Pwoje Espwa in Southern Haiti, where Father Marc has dedicated his life to serving and helping suffering children. This project not only houses over 700 children, but has an agricultural project, three schools, carpentry and masonry facilities, and an arts and crafts program. They have many ideas to help the Haitian economy and people living there. Because they are a non-profit, and are continuously struggling with funding, I encourage you to visit their website (www.freethekids.org) and consider making a donation to their cause.

F3 Arquitectos | House in Rupanco

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Modern Residential Design

F3 Arquitectos

House in Rupanco

Wooden Wonder - F3 Arquitectos - renowned for their timber architecture in Chile, have created this wonderful prefab retreat in 75 days! I question what more could be required of a modernistic cabin?


Many thanks to Plataforma Arquitectura for bringing us this fantastic residence in Southern Chile.

Translation / reword of original article by Carlos J Vial

Located in a remote area of Lake Rupanco, the commission responds to the request of a "summer house" or retreat, of sporadic use. Due to its complex, ever changing climate and geographical location, the plot made on site slow construction impossible.

The project consists of a single volume, with the layout distributed linearly, parallel to the lake views and shore. The site drops down a field to the shore below and northern sun.

A solid timber rear façade with a singular overlapped entrance, to the house, provides the necessary private secure barrier to the public road, becoming the main structural axis of the project. This wall in turn partially meets the requirements of security due to the prolonged periods when the house is uninhabited.

In contrast, once inside the interior, each room has a glazed wall facing the lake, creating a porous, and therefore vulnerable, façade. F3's solution being sliding wooden panels, clad in the same treated wood of the rear façade, that allow the owner to create a singular, completely airtight volume when leaving for the city.

As for the remote location and inclement weather that would hinder an on-site build - this was resolved by prefabricating many of the wall, floor and roof panels.

The Result
A beautiful, simple, elegant lakeside retreat. And to top it off, construction was completed in 75 days!!





Plans



Location: Lago Rupanco, X Region, Chile.
Arquitectos: F3 Arquitectos - Alejandro Dumay, Nicolás Fones, Francisco Vergara.
Size: 127 m2.
Materials: Treated wood, in prefab panels.
Completed: 2005.
via: Plataforma Arquitectura
& F3 Arquitectos


Tobias Wong's Ballistic Rose at MoMA

11/19/2008, 06:33 | MoCo Loco

tobias_wong_ballistic_rose.jpg
CITIZEN:Citizen has added another object from their growing design-art collection to the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York. The Ballistic Rose, created and designed by Tobias Wong, is a bullet proof corsage, "a handmade ribbon rose constructed from a single strip of ballistic nylon. This floral hybrid protects your heart in an uncertain world. Wong's bloom is both a high-tech talisman for the tender-hearted and wry fashion statement.". Good timing, we could all use a little protection right now.

In fact Philip Wood, the owner of CITIZEN:Citizen, would like to add the Ballistic Rose to your permanent collection. CITIZEN:Citizen's website just underwent a major overhaul, and to mark the event one creative MoCo Loco reader will add a Ballistic Rose to his or her collection by writing a clever, uncertain-times appropriate "quote" for the Rose's CITIZEN:Citizen page. Leave your quote in the comments section here and next Wednesday Philip Wood will choose the winning quote. Enter as often as you want.

The winner will get the now classic Ballistic Rose with certificate of provenance and archival collectors box shipped to their door and their winning quote up on the CITIZEN:Citizen website.

Top 10 ish - Modern Residential Design - 1 year old

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Modern Residential Design

As Modern residential Design celebrates its belated birthday, I thought I bring you couple of Top 5s whilst preparing for the arrival of my second son.

Top 5 Posts on Modern Residential Design

And here's the traffic / commented / linked list of what you guys thought was coolist!

Arthur Casas - House in Iporanga

A true Tropical Jungle residential retreat. Minimalist, contrasting, yet befitting it's location.







Marcio Kogan - Laranjeiras House

My ideal beachside mansion, open plan, indoors and outdoors blurred, simple palette and spashes of colour.







Marcio Kogan - Mirindiba House

Amazing spans that defy gravity, cavity hidden doors, texture, colour and ahhh.







Melling:Morse Architects Ltd - Split Box

Hometown favourites from my university days, Melling:Morse are the masters of timber in New Zealand.









Arkhefield - Balaam House

Flow, privacy, segmentation of rest and action areas, scaled to fit with its neighbours and what links to exterior spaces.







Jonathan Segal - The Prospect

From the Paladin of affordable Modern Residential Design, I love seeing Jonathan mentoring others to create stylish buildings you can actually live in.





Top 5 Online Architecture Compatriots


Some of the guys that give me drive & motivation to keep hunting out cool modern design.
Many thanks for the links / diggs / stumbles / emails and support guys!!

Materialicio.us

www.materialicio.us





Contemporist

www.contemporist.com





Plataforma Arquitectura

www.plataformaarquitectura.cl





Arch Daily

www.archdaily.com





Arkinetia

www.arkinetia.com





Noticias Arquitectura

www.noticiasarquitectura.info





OK, 6, it was hard to make it so short.

Hope you enjoy - new residences coming soon!

Thanks to all my loyal followers too! New content coming soon I promise!

-THANK YOU -

00/00/0000, 00:00 | GAILE GUEVARA
taxi rides in New York
Photography - excited to learn new means of observation


DEAR READERS - thank you for your patience and support over the past few months. I am honored to have you come back even with my absence (I've been away from the blog scene to attend to a long overdue personal retreat) - I'm glad to say I am back. Blogging almost became an addiction. I missed it dearly and am now back to writing again because sharing with those of you who appreciate modern design is a rewarding experience. I find balance in making blogging part of my day, just like eating breakfast.

So, straight to the point: I would like to share with you a few projects. I will soon publish various articles linked to my involvement with other great networks and causes ... as well personal projects like MODERN CAUSE.

Since I love modern art, architecture, design, fashion, interiors, photography and my yorkie Tyson - I am collaborating with those who inspire me in the design world and will share with you other sources outside of design that inspire me every day.


MODERN CAUSE is a blog focused on causes or moments that have touched my heart
MODERNDESIGNSOURCE is blog focused on sources for the modern design enthusiasts of Vancouver, BC

I will be a guest blogger for blog friends Jeans.com and 2Modern to share with readers 2 of my favorite topics of interest: MODERN FASHION and MODERN FURNITURE.
JEANS.COM is a blog focused on my sources for the jean savvy, inspired enthusiast through a designer eye- here I will share with you the style statements of amazing talents
2MODERN is a blog that focuses on my sources for the modern furniture enthusiast, gained through my work with various clients and showrooms.

SEE YOU SOON - looking forward to hearing your comments & design questions!

sneak peek: dolan geiman

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Design*Sponge


it won’t take you long to figure out that dolan geiman’s chicago place isn’t what we typically feature in our sneak peeks. but looking through his images and reading through his descriptions felt like i was unlocking a treasure chest full of great stories and memories into the world of dolan geiman. it’s funny to think about where everything we own comes from and the stories behind it. and it’s very clear from dolan’s work how his surroundings inspire him. be sure to click here for more full-sized images, with complete descriptions, and you can find more of his work here (psst…there’s a sale!) and his blog here with all sorts of fun stuff he has in the works. [thanks dolan and ali!] -anne

[Above: This is the area I refer to as “the waiting room”.  This is where my pal Chris Nightengale, fashion photographer extraordinaire, does some of his shoots. The mint colored chest of drawers is entirely metal and was a gift from my friend Denny, who always has been a wonderful inspiration in my life. He lugged this heavy thing to me when I was down on my luck and living in an unheated rat-hole apartment in Virginia. Now it looks a little better, as does my luck.  I found the globe in a dumpster in Charleston, South Caroline, and the artwork, Jazz Atlas (2008), is one of my collage constructions made from magazines I found in old farm houses. [Photo credit: David Schalliol]



Yours truly at work. . . This is the Art Machine. There is a long story behind the Art Machine, but essentially I made this out of old doors and found objects from a soon-to-be-demolished house I was living in when I first moved to Chicago.  Hockshop refers to the name of my previous studio and gallery in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. Under the moniker Hockshop, the Art Machine debuted in Chicago during a yacht-based art show organized by Bridge Magazine (now called Bridge Art Fair, they produce expositions in London, Miami, New York, and elsewhere). The top of the Art Machine is an old canvas tent that my granddad used when hunting in Canada and which I screenprinted with various images. The little squares of metal on the front are hand-cut signs I grabbed in a scrap yard in Stuarts Draft, Virginia. The little Panel Paintings, on the wall behind the Art Machine, are the staple of my art business. I make about 1000 of these things a year, out of recycled wood, recycled paint, and water-based silkscreen ink.  This is my carnival area, I like to say, because the combination of the Art Machine and the Panel Paintings presents a nice sideshow feel. [Photo credit: David Schalliol]



This is a cabin-like installation just inside the front entrance of my studio.  I created this out of salvaged wood, found billboards, and old signs I’ve found along the road driving to and from art fairs. The raw wood slats were given to me by my pals over at Circa Ceramics who were using them as shelving. I found the deer head while exploring an abandoned barn in Ohio. I saw one of the antlers sticking out of the floorboards. The rusted milk can was used by my dad when he milked cows as a kid. The old glass bottles adorning my bottle tree surfaced outside my warehouse building when the City dug up the cobblestone street in preparation for resurfacing the road. The green bucket is full of shotgun shells I gathered from a shooting range in southern Illinois. The buoys have been collected from various coastal towns including Key West, Cape Cod, and New Orleans. I grabbed the screen door from an abandoned general store in Virginia, and I bought the lentil above the door at a yard sale here in Chicago for only five dollars. I’ve started collecting green and greenish-blue boxes from abandoned warehouses here in Chicago. [Photo credit: David Schalliol]



This is the back side of the entryway installation.  This is where I feel most like a mad scientist. And yes, in case you’re wondering, there is a whiskey flask in the bottom drawer. I found the chair in an old farm house in North Carolina and screenprinted the back and seat myself. The desk was left in the basement of my last apartment and could kill an elephant if it fell on it. I had to use a truck jack and three retired football players to transport the desk when we moved into this space. The framed oil painting on the floor was hanging in my grandma’s den when I was a kid. She was trying to throw it out when I intercepted it.  The red dolly in the corner I bartered from an old (semi) drunk barber for two six-packs of Old Style beer. I think he got the better deal, but at least it looks cool. I snagged the green metal hanging light from a warehouse here in Chicago. Above my desk is one of my inspiration clotheslines. I’ve found this is the best way for me to display various ideas and my notes to myself. The little white paintbrush holder sitting on my desk with the face on it is a ceramic mug made by my pal Ed Brownlee. Ed is about two pints away from being mistaken for a criminal, but he’s a damn good artist and has an enormous heart. [Photo credit: David Schalliol]



Our building has a green roof, which Ali helped plant, and this is where the plants were stored before they were given the outdoor penthouse suite. The equipment featured in the photo is one of our landlord’s lathes; he collects old, industrial machinery amongst other things.



This is my little shrine to Johnny Cash. On the day Johnny Cash passed away, I was getting ready for an opening at Unit B Gallery, formerly in Chicago and now in Austin. The work I was showing was loaded with connotations of death and resurrection and was called the Tombsigns of St Emmeline. The synchronicity of the event was really overwhelming and would have seemed spooky, except that I seem to attract energy like that and I am open to it. The week before I was eating pizza in St Louis and some kid was skateboarding nearby with a boom box and he was playing Johnny Cash’s last recording. When I asked him about it, he said he didn’t know it was Johnny Cash, and that he had just found the tape under a tree and liked the sound. I found the whiskey jug on the bottle tree in the dirt behind the warehouse. The butterflies are screenprinted on wood and were part of a spring window display for a local shoe store . . . I use one corner of the studio for staging photos, both for Etsy and for print brochures. The mantel was a gift from a T-shirt printer (48 Industries) in the building, a fellow scavenger. [Photo credit: David Schalliol]


Stuff I love: plastic dice, old painted nail, orange train ticket to California (1898), list of numbers in Spanish, green feed tag, hand-drawn family album for collage, Virginia text from a high school Math book cover. [Photo credit: David Schalliol]



In this entryway installation close-up, the fresh eggs (fresh eyes) sign was a studio warming gift passed on to me from my buddy, artist Michael Merck, who grabbed it from a little Mexican street cart.  I found the paintbrush hanging on a hook in a bathroom of a warehouse I was occupying while living in Virginia. It’s the only paintbrush I own that’s never been used for painting.  Below the brush is a catfish sinker I bought when I went fishing in Kentucky last year.  The rooster painting, Dirt Road Series IX, is one of my own, silkscreen and acrylic on recycled wood available here. He’s a good pet and doesn’t eat food or make any noise.  He just sits there lookin’ pretty. The books to the left of the rooster are my sketchbooks.  I use old books for my sketchbooks, pasting ideas and collage materials into the existing pages, instead of buying new white-paged, sterile sketchbooks. I think it’s important to be surrounded by many different textures, so I started collecting the softballs over the past four or five years. Almost every time I make a trip down to a river, I find softballs stuck in leftover flood debris and so I started saving them in this locker room bin. If you like metal baskets like this one, you can find some here. The blue oar is a mystery. I found it one night in the middle of the road while I was driving through West Virginia. The strange part was that one end of the oar was tied to a tennis shoe.  I kept the oar; the shoe didn’t fit, so I left it. Above the fresh eggs (fresh eyes) sign is a wooden gun I made from a piece of billboard I found in Indiana and then adorned with little metal objects from an old trade school parking lot. Finally, the rooster painting is sitting on an old hen crate, used by my granddad to take chickens to market. Ali won’t let me get chickens yet, but I’m working on it. [Photo credit: Kara Elliott-Ortega]



Included in this shot are an Ed Brownlee mug (paintbrush holder), comic book collage materials, old picture frames found in a barn in Kentucky, a bluebird collage in progress, and a couple print proofs. Used paint cans, thrift store mugs, and Quaker Oats bins are used to hold brushes, pens, and markers.[Photo credit: Kara Elliott-Ortega]

links for 2008-08-12 [delicious.com]

00/00/0000, 00:00 | :: Vol. 2: the design management weblog | by ralf beuker :
  • Well, in contrast to the usual news that happiness is THE key to a better living I found that this article share some interesting sources on quite the contrary. Similarly have you ever thought about how our world would look/feel like if everything is 'designed' well? For me this triggers quite a few follow up questions like: How about Design's role as 'styling' then in contrast to 'Design' as a source for innovation? And re-phrasing Naish's words: 'Bad Design is the driver of human endeavour'! What do you think?

Totally Awesome 'Penguin House'

00/00/0000, 00:00 | FUTURE HOUSE NOW


You know I'm a huge fan of Japanese modernist houses. This one is genius.

'Penguin House' (aka Skin House Project #2) by Yasuhiro Yamashita of Atelier Tekuto.

Via the girl in the green dress

Hookaboo Wall Hanger by Matt Carr

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Freshome

Hookaboo is a discreet wall hanger that you can have in the hallway, bathroom, bedroom or anywhere you wish. This wall hanger has 4 pieces of metal hanger that fold up when are not used. Designed by Matt Carr, this wall hook is made from bamboo and is 34 cm wide, 8,5 cm hight and about 2 cm deep. For those of you interested in this product, you can purchase it from Bluebox ( Sweedish shop ).

a

Hookaboo Wall Hanger by Matt Carr

Egonomics and the 'Recognition Economy' | Conference Documentation [del.icio.us]

00/00/0000, 00:00 | :: Vol. 2: the design management weblog | by ralf beuker :
In general I find the conferences organized by Trendbüro Hambug quite corporate and too often the same players (aka speakers) show off. However Tim Leberecht from frog design pointed me to a slideshare summary on the key findings of the German Trend Day 2008 conference. Have a mind on your own and browse the slides: "In May this year, frog design founder Hartmut Esslinger spoke at the German Trend Day in Hamburg. The Trend Day is an influential annual forum that gathers thought leaders from business, media, and academia to discuss emerging social and cultural trends. This year's theme was "Identity Management," and other speakers besides Hartmut included Richard Florida, Danny Choo, and David Bosshart."

Freewheelin way to go

00/00/0000, 00:00 | David Report

The Freewheelin story.

Bike sharing was a hit when launched in Paris in 2007. It was cheap, convenient and eco-friendly. End of story? Not so fast. A U.S. health insurer changed the game and wrote a new story. Humana promotes its business agenda - lower health care costs - through a state-of-the-art bike sharing program tested during the 2008 U.S. political party conventions in Denver and St. Paul.

Freewheelin promotes its social and business agenda through communication - made possible by wireless/mobile and social networking technology. When you ride a Feewheelin bike, wireless networks track your mileage and calories burned. Social networking tools help individuals track their personal successes and, by calculating reduced carbon emmisions, their contributions to the shared health and wellness of their community and the planet.

Andra bloggar om: , , , ,

Rammed Earth is for Everyone!

00/00/0000, 00:00 | FUTURE HOUSE NOW
If you're into rammed earth building, don't miss this blog: Rammed Earth is for Everyone. You can't beat the enthusiasm of that name! The site highlights rammed earth projects all around the world, offers nice Youtube and Flickr finds, and has a great selection of links in its sidebar. It's proprietor is a rammed earth consultant who shares both interesting technical information as well as an intriguing and thought provoking world view. Definitely worth a look if you're an earth building enthusiast and/or you find yourself pondering the nature of man's impact on the Earth on a regular basis.

Via Earth Architecture (of course!).

“Flatshare” wins Electrolux Design Lab 2008

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Design Sojourn
I don’t really do this sort of thing often, but check out this worthy forehead slapping idea that really makes one say “why did I not think of that”? Stefan Buchberger, from the University of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria, has been chosen winner of the Electrolux Design Lab 2008 competition for inventing Flatshare. Flatshare is a [...]

MINI PREFAB: Modern Architecture for Tots

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Inhabitat

ryan grey smith, modern playshed, modern prefab, prefab for kids, prefab playhouse, green house for kids, kids playhouse

If you’re a fan of modern prefab architecture and you’re raising rugrats, now you can get your little ones on the prefab mod action with the Mini Modern Prefab Playshed. Part Case-Study home, part play-house, the Mini Modern Prefab proves that kid’s design can be fun and sophisticated at the same time. Architect Ryan Grey Smith, known for his adult-sized Modern-Shed is bringing prefab to preschoolers with his Modern Play Shed, a smaller but no-less awesome version of his original design. Better than any treehouse or playhouse we’ve ever seen, it comes fully loaded with a sloped shed roof, dutch doors, 12 windows, and more.

READ MORE AT INHABITOTS >

New Mexico EcoSteel House - railings installed

00/00/0000, 00:00 | LamiDesign Modern House Plan Blog
The handrails on the stair and all around the second floor of the New Mexico EcoSteel House are installed and they look great.



I had gotten very used to lookng at the stair without a rail, and I was afraid that the rail would somehow complicate or spoil the spare look of the stair. Well it did not turn out that way and I think this is why. The rail that was picked is a stainless tube rail with cables so its very light and transparent. Also the brightness of the stainless really separates it from the grey vertebrae and ribs appearance of the stair. If the rail had been painted steel work that matched the stair I believe it would have compromised the lines of the stair.

More photos below the fold.



Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

100 Push ups : Week 3, 4 and 5!

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Design Sojourn
Wow! That was quick, according to the program, I should be now into my 6th and final week. The last week before the big 100 push-ups attempt! The reps in week 3 and 4 were getting really tough. I was having a lot of trouble getting through all the sets. [...]

2 (or 3) Questions for Charlie Lazor

11/20/2008, 08:45 | MoCo Loco

charlie_lazor_flatpak.jpgCharlie Lazor is the founder of FlatPak, the system of prefab building components that are configured to meet the client's needs. The client works with the design team to create the best house for the site and can have as much creative input as he or she wishes. Or simply leave it up to the design team. (The excellent FlatPak website features a revealing case study about this process.) The system is based on one component: an 8' wall that is one storey high. The design comes into being eight feet at a time, so the possibilities are almost endless. Or are they, now that the housing market is a mess?


flatpak_catskills1.jpg
FlatPak House in the Catskills

How are things going now that the real estate business is suffering? Is this a golden opportunity or the beginning of the end?
We sell a product that is a good value. We don't sell silver bullets. So like all good values, your market might shift in a severe downturn and you would expect to do less, but frankly, it's too early to tell. I can say we have clients looking to capitalize on hungry builders; savvy homeowners, university and resort property people. Worst case scenario, we can ride this out because we have low capital inputs and overhead and we'll be ready to rock when things getting moving again.

analia segal at the dpm gallery, ecuador

00/00/0000, 00:00 | designboom weblog, design related news, reviews and previews

'blinds'

analia segal
at: dpm gallery, ecuador
from: november 19 to december 19, 2008

argentinean artist analia segal winner of designboom's 100% tiles competition in 2004,
is currently holding her first solo exhibition at the dpm gallery, ecuador. with all her work
segal creates objects and interiors that are often taken for granted and transforms
them into art. featured in the exhibition are blinds, wallpaper, tiles and doormats that
blur the line between architecture and art.


'w.c. tile project'

more:
http://www.analiasegal.com
http://www.dpmgallery.com

PREFAB FRIDAY: The Spoorhouse

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Inhabitat

Spoorhouse, benno van noort, van noort designs, Winner of Lifecycle Building Challenge, lifecycle building competition, sustainable building, prefab homes, prefab house

We often see new home designs at Inhabitat that incorporate advanced technologies, reduce energy use and provide a healthy and safe living environment, but we really enjoy seeing home designs that have been vetted in competitions such as the Lifecycle Building Challenge. This annual competition, in its 2nd year and sponsored by well-known organizations such as the EPA, AIA, Building Reuse Association, Southface, and West Coast Green, is a challenge to design buildings with several points in mind: incorporate local building materials, consider the whole lifecycle of building materials, reduce the overall embodied energy and greenhouse gas emissions from materials, use innovative and creative strategies, and reduce environmental and economic costs. The 2008 winner of this contest for Best Residential Design was the Spoorhouse, by Benno van Noort of Van Noort Designs, LLC.

(more…)

Plasma Plants Will Vaporize Trash While Generating Energy

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Inhabitat

plasma plant, florida plasma plant, waste reduction, vaporize waste, geoplasma, plasma gasification, united states plasma plant, energy generation, alternative energy

Recently St. Lucie County in Florida announced that it has teamed up with Geoplasma to develop the United States’ first plasma gasification plant. The plant will use super-hot 10,000 degree fahrenheit plasma to effectively vaporize 1,500 tons of trash each day, which in turn spins turbines to generate 60MW of electricity - enough to power 50,000 homes! Cutting down on landfill waste while generating energy is a pretty win-win proposition, and the plant will also be able to melt down inorganic materials to be reused for other applications, such as in roadbed and heavy construction.

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Natural Building Colloquium, 2008

00/00/0000, 00:00 | Green Home Building and Sustainable Architecture
I attended the Natural Building Colloquium held this year at the Orella Ranch overlooking the Pacific Ocean near Santa Barbara, California, at the end of October. What a magnificent setting this was to spend a fine week of connecting with fellow enthusiasts of the natural building movement. About 70 attendees shared our insights, stories, passions, songs, poetry, cooking, concerns, and labor. I came away with gratitude for the opportunity to interact with such caring people, and with a renewed sense of confidence that we will manage to help forge a sustainable future.

This year’s Colloquium was organized by the Natural Building Network (www.naturalbuildingnetwork.org) and was hosted by Gunner Tautrim, who represents the sixth generation of this family living on this land since 1866. The accommodations were primitive, with only a small kitchen as enclosed space; the rest of the facilities were rustic pit privies, temporary solar shower stalls, temporary bamboo and tarp meeting spaces, and a nice lawn area. We brought tents for sleeping. All of this was happening with the grandeur of the Pacific coast as a backdrop, and the elemental simplicity and beauty combined to create an appropriate mood for contemplating the benefits of building naturally. After breakfast each morning we would gather in a big circle on the lawn to review the various options for the rest of the day and share other thoughts. Typically the mornings were devoted to work on a sturdy, permanent, multi-stalled toilet facility that was already framed with wood. Gunner wanted the walls and a surrounding fence to be finished with natural materials, and there were many volunteers who formed teams to accomplish this. Mostly, split bamboo or recycled fencing was used for a framework, over which cob and clay finishes were applied.

Lunchtime often featured tables where specific discussions would occur, having spontaneously been announced at the morning circle. The afternoons were reserved for many concurrent presentations or discussions, so there were always hard choices to make about what to attend. During the course of the week, over forty different topics were explored, in a variety of meeting places. These ranged from the use of materials (such as bamboo, cob, adobe, and lime) to more theoretical discussions about engineering, thermal properties, efficiency, and design. One of the most popular forums was about codes and ways of improving the acceptance of natural building techniques by building officials. I will be writing about this topic in more detail in a future blog post.

I shared one two-hour presentation about earthbag building around the world with a woman architect from Israel, who had brought plans for an earthbag residence that she was designing for a client there. First I talked about the history and development of this technique, and then profiled a number of projects that have been completed (see www.earthbagbuilding.com). After this introduction, the architect laid her plans on a table and we all discussed specific questions that she had about them. This was a great way to learn some of the basics of earthbag building, and then apply these concepts to a specific situation.
I was very pleased that a discussion was convened to explore the role that natural building can play in what was described as the “long emergency,” or the compounded effects of climate change, peak oil and other resource depletion, population pressures, and financial crises. Without this discussion I would have felt that we were negligent in addressing these most pressing issues. I plan to write another entire blog post about this.

After dinner (which was always delicious and usually vegetarian), we were treated to a variety of programs or entertainment that emanated from our group. Mostly these were slide or Power Point presentations, but one night was devoted to a talent show with lots of music and some stand-up comedy…great fun. I showed lots of pictures I took when in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia a couple of years ago where I had been invited to discuss sustainable architecture with the faculty and students at the King’s University (see www.greenhomebuilding.com/weblog for my essay about the situation there) .

One morning, about half of us opted to attend a tour of historic adobe buildings in the heart of Santa Barbara. The earliest remnants date to the 1780’s when Spain authorized the construction of a presidio and the Santa Barbara Mission. Much of this early adobe construction was toppled during subsequent earthquakes, but recent reconstruction, using stabilized adobes, has returned the area to its original presence. I chatted (in Spanish) with the Guatemalan and Mexican crew who were making new adobe blocks for further repair work. On the return trip to the Orella Ranch, several of us made a detour to the nearby beach to dip our feet in the ocean.

One of the delights of this event was the participation of James from Zimbabwe, Africa. This very engaging fellow brought with him pictures of a lovely little thatched cob circular building that he and some friends had made. He also brought his large thumb piano to serenade us with African ballads. This was a reminder of the deep roots that natural building has from all corners of the world.

All together this week of camping out in this spectacular place and connecting with these dedicated and compassionate souls has left me feeling heartened that we will find ways to overcome the enormous obstacles that lay ahead.

On a very foggy night before we were to disperse the next morning, during our closing ceremony, we arranged ourselves in two large circles that faced each other. We (on the outer circle) were asked to assume the role of addressing our ancestors (on the inner circle) from some indefinite time in the future. When I did this I felt strangely like I was really speaking from the future. I told the young woman who was sitting across from me that I did not blame her for the difficulties that she and subsequent generations had endured. I said that the pattern was innocently established well before she was born. Industrialization was fashioned to improve life, not deteriorate it, and the consequences were not foreseen. And then I told her how much I appreciated the hard work she was doing to address and correct the mistakes of our ancestors. I said that because of the actions of her generation, we in the future were enjoying a simple and healthy life based on ecological balance, and that we owe her and many of her generation our gratitude for all that they did to make this possible. We then stood and embraced, the Future and the Present, for a moment of true compassion.

To see more of my pictures taken at this event go to flickr.com/photos/kellyhart.

Since we are at death... [Clipping]

10/31/2008, 17:30 | Land+Living: Modern Lifestyle + Design
What the heck. It's Halloween, and we might as well cover a few more architects in the fatality department. Enjoy! (via land+living)