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Franco Marino Cagnina's STC Livebox
11/19/2008, 15:06 | MoCo Loco
Franco Marino Cagnina's Livebox router design for Saudi Telecom looks like vase and acts like a router. Says Franco, "STC was in need of a unique router design that would provoke a positive emotional response. The STC Router successfully bridges the gap between lifestyle and technology with it's flower vase functionality. Wireless internet, Voice over IP, land line telephone and wired DSL are all incorporated into this elegant device.". A quick look at Franco's portfolio revealed a few more innovative designs.
Trend: Perkier Packaging
00/00/0000, 00:00 | CScout TrendBlogConsumer packaged goods makers enhance product designs with practical twists.
Always on the lookout for new ways to interest customers, packaging designers have found ways to enhance the pack’s contents, by using it to chill or make its contents more flavorful. No longer competing on aesthetics along, the new designs give customers a practical reason to opt for the packaging.
Cases
Fruit Stickles
Trying to help customers find new ways of getting their five a day in a less monotonous way, Fruit Stickles are skewers infused with a cinnamon or tropical flavor. The company has refrained from adding sugar to its recipe to attract a health-conscious customer base.Robero Cavalli for Coca Cola Light
Enhancing its contents in a fashion sense rather than a functional one, these limited edition Roberto Cavalli designs have been commissioned by Coca Cola Light (Diet Coke). 100,000 bottles of each animal print will be released, bringing a sense of exclusivity, fashion and collectability to a readily available commodity.Burn Energy Drink
Coke’s Burn Energy Drink, currently available in Europe, offers a can with a unique re-sealable top. A plastic cover can be twisted into place, with a design that is based upon the packaging of salt and other spices. With new energy drinks being constantly introduced, Coca Cola is adding special packing features to separate themselves from competitors.Kyo No Matcha
With “fresh” and “local” being key words for food products these days, manufacturers of pre-packaged items are seeking ways to change the image of their traditionally less than healthy goods. While bottled green tea might be one of the already acceptable convenience store products, CIC Co. goes the extra mile with its Kyo no Matcha. With a twist of the air-tight cap, 1.4 grams of traditional Kyoto matcha (high-grade green tea) is released into the mineral water below, creating a serving of fresh (yet instant) tea with no added chemicals or preservatives. At ¥5,280 ($52) for a case of 24, Kyo no Matcha is nearly twice the price of regular bottled teas, but certainly within the acceptable range for products billed as healthy and natural.
Trend Impact
These products may not revolutionize the food industry, but they could inspire new approaches to packaging, putting the customer in control of the final stage of preparation before the product is consumed. It’s also possible this trend could inspire food wraps infused with certain flavors or cling film that absorbs certain unpleasant odors or bacteria.
Slussen in Stockholm by BIG and NOD
00/00/0000, 00:00 | David Report
The collaboration between BIG Architects of Copenhagen, Denmark, and NOD Landscape Architects of Stockholm, Sweden, provides not only a solution to Slussen, one of Scandinavia’s busiest intersections but most importantly privileges the pedestrian and cyclist.
When the Stockholm City Council invited BIG and NOD to act as design consultants on Slussen, the direction given was to create a proposal that reconnects the historic Gamla Stan with Södermalm. Understanding the long legacy of previous attempts to solve Slussen’s traffic chaos, the team set out to create a single form within which the different modes of traffic are layered. The proposal touches the waters surrounding Gamla Stan and slowly terrace up using ascending and descending ramps to create a new, coherent area focusing on providing an attractive and functional setting for both movement and rest.
Currently considered inaccessible to pedestrians and cyclists, Slussen is a black hole in the heart of Stockholm. It is no wonder then that Danish-Swedish collaboration has made sure to offer cyclists as well as pedestrians easy access to and through the area. The proposal turns Slussen into an urban recreational area assuring easy movement for the citizens and tourists of Stockholm. Slussen will gain a whole new kind of urban space unlike any other in the world, where artwork, a summer’s midnight stroll and outdoor theatre can cohabitate with the need to move cars, buses, trains, metro, and boats. The strength of Slussen lies in its continual and varied movement which the proposed ramped landscape only underscores. The heavy traffic of cars and buses is carefully immersed under the rising hillside. Suddenly due to the submersed traffic, large areas have been freed and are made attractive to the entire city to enjoy. As a result, new opportunities for urban life are created.
The basic traffic system has already been developed by Nyrens Arkitektkontor as part of an architectural competition, with soft traffic and a public program on the top and with heavy traffic at ground floor level, storing away boats, buses, metro, cars and trains. But instead of separating the different levels, connected only by stairs and elevators in a traditional way, we propose to integrate all public, accessible areas around Slussen by interweaving the levels using descending and ascending ramps as this will allow people to move freely between the levels.
Pedestrian zones are designed to connect the already existing promenades and road crossings, and all areas of the new Slussen are as such accessible to pedestrians. The bicycle lanes follow the road as well as the promenade along the waterfront, and are pulled away only where the curvy bays of the new Slussen are created to leave space for pedestrians to enjoy the waterfront.
Today Slussen does not take advantage of its rising topography. Seeking to utilize its unique setting the proposal uses the terraced hillside to house kiosks, shops, and tourist information stands accessible through the network of ramps. In this way, a new and active urban area is created. In addition to the landscaped contours and pathways characterising BIG and NOD’s proposal, the dispersion of light has been instrumental in developing the site and the various levels. By day, natural light will pierce through circle shaped skylights into the lower levels. By night, the skylights will be illuminated from below. The expression will thus vary from dusk till dawn, from season to season and depending on the weather. This dynamic process and the continual hum of traffic will serve as the backdrop to a new urban form and regenerate life into the surrounding neighbourhoods.
There is an animation showing the complete program as well. I will put it up in a separate post as well.
Andra bloggar om: slussen, stockholm, kultur, arkitektur landskapsarkitektur, bjarke ingels, stadsbyggnad
MODERN ARCHITECT - NIGEL PARISH
00/00/0000, 00:00 | GAILE GUEVARA
Architecture & Interiors by: SPLYCE
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Specialty: residential and commercial renovations to custom furniture and landscapes
Project Highlights: Renovations of West2nd and West 7th private residences
Interior Photography: Michael Boland Photography
The great thing about blogging is that I have gained such a great sense of community, meeting so many amazing talents from all corners of the world and also reconnecting with the local design scene. Earlier this year I was honoured to read a kind comment from one of Vancouver's most talented architects, Nigel Parish of SPLYCE. I came across his work last year while sourcing images for modern west coast architecture. Over the past months, I have been lucky enough to learn more about Nigel's work and approach to both architecture and interiors. You can see through his work the merging of the structure and interior volumes of space holds a strong relationship and is seamless. I admire his keen sense of attention to construction details in exploring natural materials in flush exterior cladding and the combining of economical yet quality materials.
Here is an example of his work shown in the West 2nd renovation project on a 1,200 sq.ft. 1950s apartment. Love the detailing of the hardware and open staircase using laminated glass treads. Another favorite of mine is the West 7th Penthouse renovation, where his attention to details is well executed through the design of a multi-functional built-in that cleverly includes a movable cantilevered worktop.
His bio reads "The fascination with craft and how things are made is reflected in all of Nigel's work by an acute attention to detail on every scale. From the broader conceptual organization of spaces to the finer detailing and selection of finishes, Nigel strives to apply meaning and purpose to all design elements. Design decisions based on the specific and unique parameters of each project, such as site conditions, budget constraints and client's wishes, always take precedent over style and popular trends. The results are objects and spaces infused with meaning and lasting beauty." - this is well represented in his work. Stay tuned for the soon to come feature magazine articles on his recently completed home renovations in West Vancouver. Excellent examples of icon additions to Vancouver's collection of modern westcoast homes.
To see more of Nigel's work, see slideshow
Drew Mandel Design - 83A Marlborough Ave
00/00/0000, 00:00 | Modern Residential Design
Infill house on a 13ft wide plot, becomes feature residence of the street - Drew Mandel has used every inch of this brownfield (ex 1 car garage & garden) site to create his ideal residence. Influences of Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolph Schindler eminent in the residence's façade lead to elegant use of wood detailing for the interior.
Overview
Drew, an up and coming Canadian architect snapped up an “interesting” plot, that his colleague at MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects, David Miller had on offer. Setting out to create his debut "big time" design, Drew won a number of awards in Toronto and Canada. The house is an impressive example of modern infill, coming in at a modest $182 per ft2.
The Lot
Miller and his architect wife, Amy Falkner, had obtained a minor variance allowing them to build to the very edges of the property line without the usual margin of grass or ground cover. (It's only because the houses on each side are set back from the lot line that there is any space at all between the Mandel-Cooper house and its neighbours.) To support development, the municipality had allowed a substantial increase in the floor space, from 908 to more than 1,280 square feet above ground.
Their relatives labelled the plot a bowling lane, Mandel and his wife like to think of it as a lane each.
Design
Focusing on commercial design at work, Drew’s evening efforts on his own house pulled from his designs of multiplexes, community centres, libraries and banks. The main Achilles heel of the plot, the extended walls down either side of the property, led Drew to (as he sometimes reflects) to overcompensate with house glass panels at either end and a large light well at the centre of the build. I disagree; the house is fantastically bright and airy.
Breaking the house away from other designs out there and I believe linking it to his favoured FLW and Rudolf, is the use of patchwork glass rather than a large expanse of industrial like uniform façade. A cute modernist take on the Juliet balcony protrudes from the master bedroom, breaking the rear wall further and allows great views down to the meticulously landscaped garden, that complements the house so well. Adding to the functionality of the glass façade, a large central panel pivots to allow bigger pieces of furniture to be hoisted in.
Bringing in that industrial design know-how resolved the issue of construction methods too. Such a narrow tall design refused traditional frame design used in residential projects, meaning an industrial to balloon framing technique was adopted. Steel supports for the entire 38-foot length of the walls were put up first, and then the floors were locked in afterwards.
Further industrial features of the house include the two ramps from the entrance of the house to the living room and from the master bedroom to the second bedroom, a comfortable alternative to stairs.
Layout
From the semi-subterranean guest room at the front of the house you head south up the ramp to the living room, then north up five stairs to the dining room-kitchen floor, then south again up the house's only full flight of stairs to the master bedroom and bathroom. Finally, completing the layout you head north, up the second ramp to the second bedroom.
The Result
Drew and Denise have blown their relatives away. Despite the restricting plot they've created a house that through it's high ceilings, skylights and maximum glazing at both ends is a bright, spacious and airy home.
Plans
Architect/Designer: Drew Mandel Design
Client: Denise Cooper & Drew Mandel
Completed: 2007
Structural: Blackwell Engineering Ltd. (David Bowick)
Builder: T. Fijalkowski & Associates
Site Plan Approval: David Miller & Amy Falkner
Lot:13' x 115' or 1560 ft2
Costs: $182 per ft2
Information courtesy of: Drew Mandel Design
Alvaro Ramírez y Clarisa Elton | House in Buchupureo
00/00/0000, 00:00 | Modern Residential DesignAlvaro Ramírez y Clarisa Elton
Cliffhanger - Alvaro Ramírez and Clarisa Elton - are the authors of their own weekend retreat on the central Chile coastline. Great residential design, propped on stilts, with minimal environmental impact.
{Reworked article from Plataforma Arqutectura Author:David Basulto [tricky]}
This great house is located on a remote coastal trail in central-south Chile, in Buchupureo, VIII región del Bío-Bío. When I lived in Concepción, the capital of the region, we'd surf here. The waves were fantastic, rolling into all the bays around this area. Getting there was difficult and the water was freezing (pushed up from the Antarctic), but the untouched waves, scenery and beaches were, and are still, amazing!
The project was developed in dialogue with its environment, both through the materials used for creating the volumes, as well as how these are implemented and placed on the site.
The house is supported on a steep slope through piles, which lessen the intervention/excavation of the plot's soil, allowing in turn, the free passage of water.
The cabin is divided into three functional spaces, relating to the three requirements of a holiday house. A bedroom with bathroom; a space for entertaining and guests - being with the kitchen; and a terrace, linking the other two spaces and providing spot for those spectacular views. All spaces seeking panoramic view towards the Pacific Ocean. The terrace serves as the lobby space, an intermediate space, as it is located between two interior spaces, providing protection against the wind and and as a place to embrace the ocean.
The structural elements of the house are left visible, giving form to the shape of the house. The structure, external and internal elements, are all created from local wood (the equivalent of Radiata pine), yet treated differently depending on their role. For the pillar structures and beams pieces of 4 "x6" 2 "x6" and 2 "x5" were used. All were treated to give them protection against moisture.
For interior cladding, ¾" x 4" pine are used,brushed, without any treatment. Finally for the external cladding 1" x 4", painted with carbolineum.
The tectonics of the project establish a close relationship with the local architecture, using wood and 'laja' stone, materials predominant in the area (most of the fences in the area are built with laja stone and mud, as well as many old house floors).
The structure of the roof is wood and in its V design, it detaches itself from the wall structures at both the front and rear of the house. This letting light into the interior,generating a feeling of spaciousness. Laja, the stone used to cover and protect the roof, was thought of as an element of both cultural adaptation (local architecture) and natural (landscape elements), blending the building into the rocky shores below. Conversely the view up from the beach sees the timber framework match the colours of the cliff face, the house's home.
Images
Plans
Google Maps Location: Buchupureo, VIII Región, Chile
Designed: September 2005
Constructed: December 2005 - February 2006
Architects: Alvaro Ramírez, Clarisa Elton
Builder: Ruperto Vera
Structural Engineer: Alvaro Ramirez
Owners: Alvaro Ramirez + Clarisa Elton
Total cost: $7.050.000 (US$15.000)
Constructed Area: 55m2
Images: Carlos Ferrer + Alvaro Ramirez + Clarisa Elton
via:Plataforma Arquitectura
& Alvaro Ramirez + Clarisa Elton
Steven Holl | Planar House
00/00/0000, 00:00 | Modern Residential Design
Desert Tilt Up Wonder - This Steven Holl designed residence in Paradise Valley, AZ, USA, uses raw Concrete and Corten Steel to create a great prefabricated home and art gallery for it's owner.
Overview
Designed to house a contemporary art collection, internally, the house sets out to be a blank canvas, not to distract from the works held within. The street façade blends into the desert greys, with the ageing steel fitting in perfectly.
Flourishes on the exterior are limited to the courtyard from where a ramp leads to a rooftop sculpture garden - a place of silence and reflection.
The rear, with overhands for shading, is the largest expanse of light giving glass. These sliding openings taking in views to the nearby Camelback Mountain.
Layout
The house is broken up into three functional areas. The garage and master bedroom, together with the library form the quiet zone at front of the house. To the rear are the dining and kitchen areas, located to soak up the views down to the mountain. A contemplative study joins these rooms at the rear, cool in summer no doubt as the doors to both the pool behind and rear yard would form a breeze-way of cooled air.
Between the two spaces lies the gallery and living area, a perfect space for the owner to enjoy the collection.
Similar natural cooling techniques are employed inside, with the overhead light shafts linking to cooling pools on the floor below, a technique which combined with minimal unshaded glass, would keep air con bills to a minimum.
Images
Plans
Google Location Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Arizona
Status completed 2005
Client Withheld
Architect: Steven Holl
Project Architect Martin Cox (Tim Bade - Schematic Design)
Floor Area 3320 sf
Project Team Robert Edmonds, Annette Goderbauer, Hideki Hirahara, Clark Manning
General Contractor(s) The Construction Zone
Structural Engineer(s) Rudow & Berry
Mechanical Engineer(s) Roy Otterbein
Civil Engineer(s) Fleet Fisher
Electrical Engineer(s) Associated Engineering
Landscape Architect(s) Steve Martino & Associates
Photos Bill Timmerman
via:Steven Holl
David Hertz - Studio EA | McKinley Residence
00/00/0000, 00:00 | Modern Residential Design
Green Alchemist's Residential Compound - The McKinley Residence is David Hertz's live in laboratory for modern - environmentally friendly - residential design. Converting common elements into green design, it's feature packed. The house is a true testament to David's commitment to the cause and to top it off forms a homely modern residence, showcasing practical design elements, fine tailored for a young family.
Aimed at "spreading the word", the Studio of Environmental Architecture is David Hertz's latest venture, leading the way in Eco friendly design and sharing what he's learnt both through his residential work and his own house. Many thanks to the team at Studio EA for the details on this house.
Overview
Designed as a new house when Venice was till a rough neighbourhood the house presents a relatively strong/protective façade at street level and uses enclosed balconies to extend the upper levels and take full advantage of sea breezes.
The house consisted of two pavilions connected by a bridge, and was already cutting edge (environmentally) through its use of Syndecrete®, which contains about 41% percent recycled content and is twice as light, with twice the compressive strength, of normal concrete. Syndecrete® is David's own development and one of many featured in the residence.
It is now a compound made up of four discrete two-story buildings linked by three enclosed bridges that all face onto the courtyard.
Style "Balinese Modern"
Working it through
There was only one snag in the whole process. David is staunchly in favour of green design, the mere fact of adding that much space nagged at him. "There's no getting around the fact," he says, "that on a purely ecological level, 4,400 square feet is a lot of house by most of the world's standards."
His solution was to make the house the greenest house of its size he'd ever seen. Hertz used this house as a case study for green building techniques. An array of 20 solar collector panels on the roof help generate about 70 percent of the home’s electricity needs, and other sections of the roof are given over to flat-plate collectors that provide hot water to the water heater, which then sends it into a radiant heating system in the concrete floors.
I've no beef with the results, David's family expanded and so has his residence, the house is all used and as much as we battle with the urges, who wouldn't want their own compound like this. David's innovative materials and willingness to push for a more environmentally sound house is exemplary.
The materials used were chosen carefully to support environmental sustainability and the design intent. Recycled and FSC certified sustainable woods such as Ipe, Mahogany, and Fir, are used throughout the house to complement the Syndecrete®.
The Syndecrete® acts inside the house as a kind of “solar sink” for passive solar energy transfer, storing up the sun’s warmth during the day, and thus keeping it from overheating the interior, and then slowly releasing that heat during the night. Syndecrete® flooring was chosen for several reasons; it eliminates mold and dust caused by carpet, requires less maintenance, and is more environmentally sensitive than carpet, wood, or other floor finishes.
In order to maintain excellent indoor air quality, David used zero VOC paint, and eliminated a forced air system and carpeted floors, and with them mould and dust.
Another bonus of these materials is the resultant durability and functionality of the house. Its for living in. Rather than begin a minimalist box (don't get me wrong they have their place) the house portrays both David's design innovations, but also the family's efforts, endeavours, favourite drawings, posters, toys, etc. And it's a tough house.
You can see here one of my favourite shots showing the utilitarian nature of the house, and how its designed for a family.
Yup, David's hosing it down, an ability that's now on the list for my house. You can also see that playful design feature to let the kids feel its their house too, a pint size door for them.
Green Credentials
Hopefully in the images, you'll spot some of these fantastic features.
- Passive Ventilation – eliminating the need for a forced air system the shaded front living area naturally ducts cool air up thought the house and stairwell, then out the temperature sensitive skylights.
- Solar Energy – an array of 20 solar panels on the roof supply around 70% of the home's energy needs
- Photovoltaic Panels and Flat Plate Collectors – providing hot water to the water heater and subsequently the radiant heating system in the concrete floors. David says to heat the place, with these panels installed takes about as much energy as a 60w light bulb, all taken from his solar array.
- Vacuum tubing on the roof, which uses a parabolic collector to focus the sun’s rays, provides additional hot water
- Recycled FSC certified sustainable woods such as Ipe, Mahogany and Fir
- That Syndecrete®, a light-weight concrete that uses 41% recycled content - it also holds various pigments and textures to form furniture throughout the house, like the kitchen bench, table and bathroom sinks.
- Zero VOC paints
- High performance heat-mirror glazing
- The pool system uses an ionization and silver filter, eliminating the need for chlorine
Layout
I've wanted to write about David's work for some time now as his preferred layout for houses draws from tropical bungalows and linked pavilions.
Phase-1
You'll note that he has separated the functional areas of the original house at the bottom, both vertically and horizontally into 4 boxes. The living and dining come entertaining areas at the front are split from the garage at the rear to form an external lounge/fire pit, one that tops my list for "ideal after work summer beer spot".
Above, the bedrooms retreats, with the master bedroom above the lounge, and the children's bedrooms, back away over the garage.
Second only to the fire pit, is the outdoor sleeping area off the master bedroom. In summer time, the enclosed balcony becomes a comfy, cool sleeping area.
Phase-2
This renders the children's original bedrooms as guest areas that convert into a large rumpus room for rainy days. To accommodate the three children as they grow older, David's given them more space (between them and their wing of the house) and space for their guests. They have a bedroom and studio area in the upstairs of the new wing, and mum and dad gain an open plan kitchen/dining area with a wall that opens up completely to the pool and inner courtyard formed between the two wings.
Results
This building is a successful study in architecture that is both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally responsible, whilst functioning as a pair of Levi 501s, hard wearing, sexy and a design classic.
Images
Slideshow
Plans
via: Many thanks to Christina at Studio EA