Archive for August, 2011
Linda Farrow
Linda Farrow established her own label in 1970 and was one of the first of the industry to look at eye wear as fashion. As she began to make the two worlds collide, she brought on the help of famed fashion designers world wide to collaborate with. Farrow and her collaborators stamped many of the shapes and styles of frames which we have seen through the 70′s, 80′s, 90′s, and now into the new millennium! Including the avant-garde wraparounds that were Yoko Ono’s signature 70′s look. This sort of fashion forward approach to eye wear is what has kept Linda Farrow on top for over 40 years!
Farrow’s most recent collaboration with Agent Provocateur gave birth to these 14 C1 Ride Me Black aviator style sunglasses, with studded leather side pieces, and flash mirror lens. $ 500.00
Another collaboration, this time between Linda Farrow and Jeremy Scott who together produced these Metallic Gold Hand Glasses. The Hand Glasses are considered more of an abstract form of eye wear, as they challenge the need for lenses! $300.00
Farrow and House of Holland created these unforgettable purple translucent frames. The entire piece is constructed out of the same material. These frames come in black, orange, green, and red, and will run you about $300.00.
Do these look familiar? Lady Gaga wore these Linda Farrow & Jeremy Scott Mickey’s in her Paparazzi music video, then worn again by Beyonce in the Telephone music video. The circular foldable frames are Black teamed with dark grey CR39 lenses, and retail at about $600 big ones!
Charles Anastase and Farrow brought these clear translucent octagonal frames to their collection, made with nylon lenses! $400.00
Farrow and Mathew Williamson came together for these Milky jade oversize rounded frame optical glasses with gold studs and clear lens. $480.00
The Jaffa Apartment
In the old city of Jaffa, Pitsou Kedem Architects built a beautiful luxury apartment on top of a hillside overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The minimalist apartment pays tribute to it’s historical architecture by maintaining a subtle look and allowing the historic stonework to take a dominant role in the design.
The design team explained that “The central idea was to combine the old and the new while maintaining the qualities of each and to create new spaces that blend the styles together even intensify them because of the contrast and tension between the different periods.” The first step to executing this concept was to restore the original stone walls, because of damage over time. Once the stone was restored the team brought in modern furniture pieces, each pieces being white or beige. light color furniture was chosen in order not to disrupt the historic architecture, but to complement it.
(Photography Credit: Pitsou Kedem)
Sweden’s Big Yellow Bunny
Sweden’s OpenArt Biennale recently kicked off in the town of Orebro. The organization brought in Florentijn Hofman, a design firm best known for their larger than life sculptures and clever statues, to create an enormous yellow bunny in the middle of the town square. The bunny provides a new focal point to the public space, which once was the Statue of Engelbrekt (currently standing behind the rabbit). The sculpture provides a new experience to people who regularly use this space for shopping, restaurants, and church; Florentijn Hofman is encouraging Orebro visitors to examine the space both with the bunny, and then again after its removal.
The 43 foot high rabbit is hand constructed with Florentijn Hofman’s team and 20 volunteers. The sculpture is made on site, of all local materials, wood, some metal, wood shingles, and paint. Each wood shingle was screwed on, one by one! It’s only when you are up close that you can understand the detail and precision that went into its making.
Florentijn Hofman is also the team responsible for these other amazing larger than life sculptures that have been seen in different places around the world!
(Image Credits: Florentijn Hofman)
Weekly Roundup: Parking Garages
It’s a sigh of relief when someone comes a long and takes a place that is socially acceptable to be…drab, and turns it into something beautiful! And lets face it, parking structures are most often just plain ol’ slabs of concrete that smell like exhaust! We all have to use them, so lets make them great! Right? Our Weekly Roundup is here to celebrate those who want to show the world a different perspective on parking garages.
Peter Kunz Architects built this stellar parking structure where each spot is like a private cubby with a large glass panel, so you can park and enjoy the hillside view at the same time!
Teresa Sapey Estudio de Arquitectura built this concrete parking structure in Madrid. The team used fresh color gradients and graphics to direct drivers and help them remember where they parked.
Teresa Sapey Estudio de Arquitectura took a bright approach to this garage as they use bold colors a way to find your car! No more getting lost, if you can’t remember you parked in the green zone, there is something majorly wrong!!
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) Architects built this colorful open parking space called The Mountain, in Copenhagen. The shining garage sits about a residential apartment complex, and offers parking to 419 residents.
Herzog De Meuron recently built this parking structure in Miami over a newly developed retail space. The structure is monolithic, modern, and angular in its beauty.
The interior of The Mountain parking garage in Copenhagen, finely constructed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) Architects. The architectural team used color changing methods to add interest to the space.
Emmanuel Combarel Dominique Marrec designated the ground floor of an historic Parisian building to a small parking garage and added a contemporary vibe to it during the redesign of the unit. The team incorporated grass and bushes along with decorative lighting into this parking garage!
The top level of Herzog De Meuron’s Miami parking structure which gets drivers out of a smoggy closed structure and onto a breezy rooftop.
In this garage, built by Teresa Sapey Estudio de Arquitectura, pictograms, various color, and numbers are used in an aesthetically pleasing way to let drivers know they can charge their electric car here.
HHF Architects created this underground parking structure in Switzerland. The angular columns and beams along with the high ceilings are just a few architectural elements that make this garage beautiful.
Nicola Formichetti Pop Up Store
September will bring New York City a pop-up store like its never seen! Gage / Clemenceau Architects is collaborating on the design and production of the pop-up with Nicola Formichetti, Fashion Director for Lady Gaga, Creative Director for Mugler as well as fashion stylist to Uniqlo, MAC and V Magazine (talk about a resume!). The concept of the store is the fusion between architecture and fashion manifested into a physical environment.
The pop up will be housing the latest of Formichetti’s work but will also include several original ensambles he has designed for Lady Gaga who has worn them in her performances and various red-carpet events. The team at Gage says they are “attempting to produce a new genre of experimental space that not only showcases, but magnifies the impact of his fashion designs into a new form of immersive environment that fuses the very genetics of architecture and fashion.” The space will take on a sculptural and artistic approach just like the garments.
The team explained that “the installation is comprised of hundreds of robotically cut, mirrored facets, mounted to lightweight composite structural backing. These individual reflective facets are hung from the ceilings and walls, and attached to the flooring. Each facet is attached to its neighbors using a system of precisely bent aluminum clips. Large sheets of mirrored, abrasion-resistant, plastic sheets cover the floor and help to produce an endlessly reflective environment that refracts the clothing so that it can be viewed from a variety of unexpected perspectives. In this installation fashion is no longer an object that sits within a minimal architectural box. Instead, clothing becomes an active participant in a new type of environment that combines the spatial and optical aspects of architectural design with the temporary, ephemeral and fluidly beautiful forms found only in the worlds of high fashion.”
This installation project is being organized through a non-profit organization, Boffo, that has a mission to inform the public about design and architecture through innovative exhibitions, installations and events. The store will open to the public September 8th, but only for a short time, so don’t put it off New Yorkers!
(Photo Credits: Gage / Clemenceau Architects)
The Home Of A Designer: Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz
Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz , the man responsible for the Mondrian Soho and Los Angeles, took some time out from his A-list clients to design his new beach house in the Rockaways. The waterfront property was inspired by a photograph of Marie Antoinette at age 12. Once Benjamin examined the photograph sparks started to fly. If the young Antoinette was to find an apartment in Rockaway Park in 2011, how would she have designed it?
Pieces started to come together! Noriega-Ortiz has collected various pieces of furniture and decor from clients throughout the years. The living room sofa, for example, was intended for Lenny Kravits before he decided it was too small. Tiffany’s signature blue saturates the walls and acts as the backdrop for art, taxidermy, feathered light fixtures, and sheer curtains. While the pieces may not have originally been intended for the same space, Noriega makes it work! The house is fascinating and eclectic, teasing you to peek ‘round every corner to see what’s next!
(Photographs Provided By BNO Design)
Frii Recycled Plastic Bike
Made from recycled plastic, the Frii Bicycle is a solution to urban transportation, and using more of that plastic waste floating around the world. Israeli industrial designer Dror Peleg, explains that “components would be injection molded into modular shapes that snap together to form a strong, lightweight and very colorful single-speed bike for quick trips through the city streets.”
Peleg is encouraging the Frii Bicycle system to be implemented into cities where local government can manufacture and produce the bikes from local waste, as opposed to being imported from elsewhere.
The body of the bike is the largest component, all other elements snap into the body. At the bottom of the split frame sits the pedal crank, which would have bearings inserted into the mold before the injection process begins. A belt runs from this to the rear wheel hub.
There are no external brakes as such on Frii, Peleg says that he sees such matters being handled in a similar way to the way BMX hub braking operates – when a rider pedals backwards, the bike comes to a halt.
The forks to the 20-inch plastic wheels are kept short for added strength and the solid tires are injected over the rims during manufacture. The saddle looks slightly uncomfortable, but the intention of the Frii is not to have a lengthy smooth ride, it’s to get from place to place quickly.
Abiko House
Fuse Atelier recently completed a very cool concrete home for a husband and wife duo. Both being furniture designers they wanted to create a gallery-like home to showcase their minimalistic furniture. Fuse’s solution was a 900 square foot concrete structure with inclined walls, angular surfaces, and stairs protruding from the walls with no railings. The home is situated in the town of Abiko, Japan, a town that is in the midst of embracing a new wave of modern architecture.
Fuse explained the concept of the Abiko house, “This house is in pursuit of the rational form of spatial relationships and structure, which creates a sense of various distances. And with multi-angle configuration, the space is articulated with a continuous sequence that I create a variety of reflection and refraction of light accompanied by a delicate nature.”
To spotlight the architectural geometry, Fuse introduced concealed LED strip lighting to areas of interest. For the interiors, shades of gray were implemented on the concrete in effort to maintain a neutral background for the custom furniture pieces that will add authenticity to the home.
(photo: Hiroshi Ueda)
GEEK WEEKLY: THE KLINGGON
No longer is a ‘Klingon’ simply a snaggle-toothed villain from Star Trek. Nope, there’s a new definition and it’s far less threatening. The newKlinggon is the brainchild of Gustavo Leon and Francisco Garcia , who became increasingly frustrated with their headphone cords getting tangled into a hot mess while they were exercising. Without speaking for everyone, I think we can sympathize with their frustration. We’ll we’re happy to tell you that listening to your sweet tunes while running, cycling, skateboarding, or using your Shake Weight (Hey, we’re not here to judge) is all about to change. The dynamic duo explains, “The concept is to fasten the cable close to your body thus allowing us to fully enjoy your activities without constantly maneuvering around the earphone cable.” Knstrct touched base with Gustavo and Francisco to gather additional insight on this new solution to the pesky headphone cables. 3D Printing was used to create the soft silicon and rubber device that is infused with neodymium magnets. “The magnets are commonly used in computer hard drives and have tremendous pull force,” Leon explained. The duo has been researching prototypes and materials since November of 2010 and is now heading into production to get these bad boys off the drawing board and into your hands. Head over to Kickstarter to view out their video and check out our interview with Gustavo and Francisco below!
1. How did you and Francisco partner up for this project?
We both share a background of graphic design, marketing and advertising combined with an avid and constant desire to solve problems beyond the digital and print world. Despite we have known each other for years we had never worked together in the past and I guess the gravitating factor was a mindset of constantly looking to improve and invent upon and around existing gadgets We embarked in this project with a clear and simple vision, lets work towards delivering an unprecedented exquisite and refined device to solve a simple problem, and in this way the klinggon was born.
2. How did you come up with the idea for the Klinggon?
After being tired of fighting around the earphone cables at the gym, running and biking we kind of had an epiphany and after a few casuals chats on product development and design, boom all of a sudden we both coincidentally stumbled upon the same idea and almost instinctively we knew this was the right idea to fully invest ourselves into the project.
3. Out of all the prototypes you created, what was it about the final one that made it the final one?
Ooooooh that’s a tough one to answer, ok we go back to a few abstract concepts in design we had been trying to understand and it goes like when you see a product instantly the perception is one based on form and function, the surface and how it feels but not the thought process leading to the end result itself. After many prototypes we were simply not satisfied, in retrospect yes the form and function was ok but something was missing and we were running low in creativity so we kept on going back to the basic elements of the idea, I guess here is where trying to think out of the box helps so we said lets take a break and evaluate it with a fresh set of eyes. As a matter of fact we said lets switch tasks and evaluate each others contribution with a critical eye and yes you can guess what happened next, all of a sudden you take a pencil draw and there it is that “Ahha moment” when all of it falls into place and kind of gives you that “love at first sight” feeling. In hindsight it has been to an extent an exhausting intellectual exercise but also very rewarding from a learning standpoint.
The Laranjeiras House
Just when you think it’s impossible for Rio to get any hotter, the impossible happens! Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados has completed the Laranjeiras Residence on the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro. This private home is used by it’s owners as a seasonal vacation house (wonder what their permanent residence looks like?!?!) The concept of the Laranjeiras House was for it to be built with the idea of design freedom, large windows, wide architectural openings, high ceilings, with large rooms all give the feeling of freedom within the space.
The gorgeous home was built around the natural surroundings; allowing the landscape to dictate its layout. Steel beams covered in wood reach across the estate connecting areas of the home to one another. ”To counterbalance the use of timber, the essential element in the project’s aesthetic arrangement, interior areas were conceived with strong emphasis on the dialogue among materials, either finished or unfinished – oscillating between rustic and high-tech. To that end, one of the main challenges faced by the architect was selecting furniture and decorative pieces that were contemporary in their look yet were in keeping with the seaside mood,” the architect explained.
The Laranjeiras House is intended to be a place of relaxation, seclusion, and the occasional beach side party! Fernanda Marques made sure that she and her team provided their clients with a home of true versatility for many occasions.
Mutewatch
Mutewatch is a highly sophisticated timepiece that will keep you on point with your day-to-day tasks. The innovative watch has some impressive features imbedded into the design. Just give the watch a light tap on its surface and the band will light up with the time. If you swipe your finger across the face of the band, you can adjust your alarm time. When your alarm goes off, the Mutewatch will vibrate to let you know to move on to your next task. And we’re not talking about just any old vibration, but a built-in motion sensor that will register your movement and automatically adjusts the strength of the vibrations!!! This groundbreaking watch is offered in red, white, and grey, with an LED screen that adjusts light levels based on its surroundings. Mutewatch is a Swedish based company operating out of Stockholm, that is currently selling their watch in local stores. If you’d rather not jet set to Scandinavia to scoop one up, save your frequent flier miles and try online.
(Imagery Provided by Mutewatch)
The House Hotel
Istanbul’s new House Hotel provides historical glamour with contemporary design! One of our design favorites, Autoban, was brought on to redesign the historical building that overlooks the Bosphorus River, into a 23 room luxury boutique hotel. Autoban provided some insight explaining that the ”concept was to create a comfortable, modern luxurious world reflecting classic traces of it’s era.” To establish this concept, Autoban decided to create this space using it’s signature material pallet, marble, brass, oak, and walnut. The team integrated these materials into the hotel, without “over designing” the space, and keeping the integrity of the past. Original wall panels and ceiling moldings remained intact while Autoban added interesting features to the historical elements such as contemporary lighting fixtures, mirrors, and unexpectedly scattered decorative trinkets.
(Photography Credits: Ali Bekman)
Weekly Roundup: Sneakers
As virtually impossible as it may seem, we’ve chosen the top ten most sought-after sneakers of the season. Go ahead, breathe in the sumptuous scent of new sneakers and behold this week’s roundup of fall’s must-have kicks.
The Raf Simons Rivet Sneakers are constructed of premium, white leather with rivets scattered around the shoe. The industrial styled shoe is futuristic looking, with a clean contemporary edge. ($900.00)
Twins For Peace Classic Blue sneakers are made in Portugal with fine Italian fabrics, turning up the volume on classic kicks! ($90.00)
The team at Volta is bringing a comfortable series of sneaker this fall with a woodsy, outdoor aesthetic ($TBA)
StampD’ LA dropped their Number Sneakers which come in numbers 1-9. What’s your lucky number? ($168.00)
Feit’s Pntha High Carmel’s are handcrafted with KUDU and outfitted with matching leather shoelaces! These babies look buttery soft! ($365.00)
Gourmet’s limited Uno L edition of their classic high top offers a clever cut out that makes pulling them on a cinch! ($120.00)
This Dior Homme Tailleur Sneaker melds a luxe combination of beige linen, horsehair toile and brilliant white leather. The high cut design is well balanced with these fabrics creating a captivating pair of trainers.($TBA)
Another pair of lust-worthy kicks from Dior Homme Tailleur Sneaker. The high top lace sneakers feature laces that encircle the ankle the shoe and a covert zipper in the back that putts the ‘sneak’ back in ‘sneakers.’ ($TBA)
Marc Jacobs mixes up suede and leather for a high-quality version of the classic high top sneaker ($365.00)
StampD’ LA Striped Low Tops are simple and authentic yet offer the flair of black and white stripes that would make Beetlejuice proud. Pair them up with a classic slim fit jean! ($85.00)
Kii Arens Pop Pillows
Famed Pop-Art Designer, Kii Arens, who has always had a proclivity for Rock-N-Roll aesthetics has now released limited edition pop-styled silk pillows! If you think you’re unfamiliar with the works of Arens we assure you, you’re not! He has been heading up pop art in the music scene since the 70?s, designing album covers, t-shirts, posters, and artwork for music greats like Cheap Trick, Sheryl Crow, R.E.M., Helmet, Liz Phair, Soundgarden, Seal, Van Halen (with Sammy… boo-hoo), Marilyn Manson, Everclear, and more. Arens’ artwork is featured in museums around the globe and is now coming to a living room near you! You can snag these limited edition Pop Pillows here, but they’re only on sale for three more days!
(Images Provided By: FAB)
The Cube Travels Through Europe
Like the ever-morphing Rubik’s cube, The Cube Pavilion is constantly in motion. Falling into the category of experimental architecture, it serves as a traveling restaurant, popping up in unexpected and exotic locations throughout Europe. Electrolux teamed up with Park Associati to create the traveling installment that kicked of its little road trip in Brussels, perched atop the Parc du Cinquantenaire, near the headquarters’ of the European Community.
The Cube will roam freely from sandy beaches to rocky mountaintops dishing up lunch and dinner in an intimate setting, while extending it’s stay in place no longer than twelve weeks. Lightweight materials and a ‘pop-up’ fabrication allows The Cube to be seamlessly transferred from one locale to another. Park chose to implement white and silver aluminum accents to allow the stricture to pop amidst rustic European settings.
To align with the brand and identity of Electrolux The Cube uses technologically innovative materials, eco-sustainability and energy saving as well as enabling constant re-use. Even the interiors can morph from a restaurant to a full-service lounge. The large dining table retracts into the ceiling, allowing for modular lounge furniture to take its place, giving a nod to its Rubik’s cube-like nature. So we have to ask, where would you love to see The Cube pop up next?
[Photograph Credits: Carol Kohen + Andrea Martiradonna]
Wonderwall’s New Ozone Nightclub
New to the top floor of the new Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, which will be the world’s tallest hotel, is OZONE, a spectacular nightclub designed by Japanese based firm Wonderwall! OZONE Encompassing the majority of the 118th floor and terrace, Principal of Wonderwall Studio is Masamachi Katayama, his intention was to “create a place that is full of surprises and excitement at every turn, whether one enters from the bar, the bar lounge, the lobby lounge, dinning room or the Tapas bar.” Designed around the theme of an “Edenic Experiment” – a man-made environment of nature in an imaginary world, spacial composition, the line of motion.
OZONE’s foyer walls are lines with floor to ceiling curtains juxtaposed with a loud geometric floor pattern, the floor pattern continues throughout the club and at times replicates itself into the ceiling and walls. Columns are hidden by wavy three dimensional sculptures which throw the imagination into overdrive. Angles continue in the furniture with the self standing bar, bar stools, and bathroom sinks. The ceiling of one room is filled with a plethora of globe lights that hang at various lengths over plush VIP banquette seating!
Wonderwall Designs Space For I.T.
Japanese based design and architecture firm Wonderwall recently completed a retail space for a department store in Hong Kong. Masamichi Katayama, founder and lead designer of Wonderwall designed four floors for leading fashion retailer I.T., who represent multiple fashion houses in their stores.
“The basement level which houses the menswear department has an industrial-like ‘warehouse/factory’ theme,” Katayama explained. The ceilings are low, with wood beams crossing into a grid, and an epoxied stone floor which adds to the factory feel. On the ground floor, Katayama created a military theme with the use of harder materials such as metals, black fencing, and hard wood floors.
The second floor provides a quick change of pace. This floor houses younger and more casual brands, because of this, Wonderwall designed the space to be a “feeling of a street in a residential neighborhood.” The gallery-like third floor houses the more elegant luxury designer brands has curved walls that may give one a sense of distorted balance. On the ground floor there is a BAPE STORE®, with it’s own private entrance.
The BAPE store’s clean design is constructed out of metal, stone, and glass. Glowing shelves peek through the walls which display BABE clothing and shoes. The initial concept of the design was to give shoppers the opportunity to have multiple shopping experiences within the same space, which was achieved by Katayama when he designed each floor to be unique in it’s atmosphere.
(Photos Credited To Wonderwall)
Charlotte Olympia Fall 2011 Collection
Charlotte Olympia graduated from London’s Cordwainers in 2004, after her education she spent time at Ungaro and Giambattista Valli before launching her eponymous London-based shoe brand Charlotte Olympia in 2007. Now in 2011, we are seeing the fruits of her experience with her latest Fall 2011 Collection of woman’s shoes.
The collection is playful and experimental yet still wearable. Each shoe is handcrafted in Italy using only the finest materials and is finished with the brand’s signature gold spider web on the sole. The 5.5″, head turning, Cindy Piano heels, are imaginative and soulful! The shoe is finished with black suede and white patent calfskin, this striking combination of suede and patent makes this piano inspired design truly harmonious.
Olympia’s collections are constantly evolving and remaining at the forefront of fashion, without compromising their identity. The signature toe lift and the gold spider web are two details which have stayed consistent throughout Olympia’s evolution. The designer plays with colors, patterns, and textures, which keep her true fans…on their toes!
A-Cero’s Concrete House II
No need for a 25′ ladder when you can walk onto your rooftop! A-cero, is a Spanish based architecture firm who is widely known for turning sculptural concepts into architecture. A beautiful representation of their reputation is seen in a recently complete project called the Concrete House II.
The house is located directly outside Madrid on a large plot of lush land. A-Cero did a beautiful job of incorporating nature into the concrete home by allowing the grass to climb up the ramps of the house and onto the rooftop. The exterior angles of the home appear as though they are escaping from the ground and reaching up towards the sky!! The home is a stunning sight in the evening, where it is well lit…like a proper sculpture would be.
A-Cero chose warm greys, wood, stone, and creamy textures to gussy up the interiors. In areas meant for preparation and cleanliness, such as the kitchen and restrooms, the design is streamlined, modern, stark; using materials like Corian, Laminate, and glossed floors. On the contrary, areas meant for lounging and relaxing are quite warm and comfortable with plush textures and dark art work.
Large artwork graces the walls with internally lit console tables to add unobtrusive accent lighting. The rear of the house is mostly all glass windows, in this case, the repeating exterior walls come in handy as they provide privacy and keep the home cooled down.
Underneath the house is a stealth looking black parking garage with recessed blue lighting which dictates parking spaces!!
(Photo Credits: A-Cero)
JohhnyLove’s Fall 2011 Collection
Ughhhhhh! We hate to admit it but Fall is approaching! Although we are still holding on to each last day of the Summer, Fall is just around the corner and we are loving the new collection by JohnnyLove!! The collection of jackets, sweaters, pants, and long sleeve knits are warm, comfortable, and sophisticated. JohnnyLove is known for their combination of classic fashion with the convenience and attitude of classic streetwear, which is obvious of this collection. In addition to their well tailored jackets and sweaters, they incorporated a series of pants which are loose fit at the waistline and tighter towards the bottom of the leg, fitting lovely with their high top boots.
Australia’s Cedar Wrapped Home
Barwon Heads is a sweet little coastal town near Victoria in Australia. The town is going through a period of significant change as the increasing population is progressively being redeveloped from dated seaside buildings into modern architecture. Jackson Clements Burrows Architects experienced this changing town first hand when a young family contacted them to tear down an old 1950′s home which they recently purchased and build a new sculptural residence which would act as their permanent home.
Tim Jackson, Jon Clements and Graham Burrows established JCB in 1998, with a shared commitment to the exploration of innovative architecture driven by environmentally sustainable design principles. Their team is local to Australia and has built award winning commercial and residential projects for the past 15 years. The team explained that in early design concept phases a “sculptural building form emerged from the clients brief which jokingly requested the inclusion of a planetarium.” This joke led to the exploration of circular forms and then finally manifested into the sculptural wood slat residence it was built to be. “The house was, however, primarily conceived to immerse itself over time as a natural extension of the Ti-tree dominated landscape.” In effort to achieve this extension, JCB wrapped the house in a skin of vertical cedar battens, which provides privacy and solar protection.
(Photography Credit: Jackson Clements Burrows)
Concept Super Yacht To Be Built
Last year we reported on the Strand Craft 122 – a concept super yacht design by Eduard Gray. Today, we have received word that the beautiful yacht is going to be brought to life!! Gray selected Ned Ship Group, who will build the design to the highest possible standards! This news puts a big smile on our faces! Why? because in the world of transportation design it is rare to see a luxurious concept yacht, such as the Strand Craft 122, come to life because of the excessive amount of time and capital needed for testing and building.
The Strand Craft will be build in light weight composite materials such as Epoxy and Carbon, which Ned Ship Group specializes in. The shipyard where the yacht will be built is in Antalya, Turkey; all work will be completed on site. The yacht will come fully equipped with it’s own custom super sports car which will be able to drive from the dock, directly onto the boat through an electronically operated portal which opens and closes.
This is a high performance, streamlined, 38 meter, open, super yacht has a total of over 14,000 horsepower and can break speeds over 50 knots. It consists of four spacious bedrooms, a grand stateroom, heads, reception, salon, and generous crew cabins. The chocolate colored interior is plush, detailed, and tailored to perfection! It might be hard to get ‘lost at sea’ when there are 52? LED TV’s and a Bang Olufson sound system in all rooms!
Deus Ex Machina’s Surf Motorcycle
The gents behind Deus Ex Machina are beyond inspirational! The team of motorcycle enthusiasts who are “united in their belief that modern motorcycling has been hijacked by marketing forces and their desire to introduce a new generation of rider to that same pure enthusiasm that kick-started their own love of motorcycling,” joined forces to create custom motorcycles. Deus is traveling the world and setting up shop in beautiful destinations all over, most recently Bali, to build motorcycles. It seems that Bali may have inspired their recent addition, the Surf Bike! The motorcycle is based on a Yamaha Scorpio and features a Japanese aluminum tank, handmade exhaust, and a removable surf rack for your board of choice!
Deus has extended their good taste for motorcycles into the fashion industry, dabbling with T shirts, collared shirts, accessories, and hats; all reflecting the active & surf culture.
(Images Provided By Deus)
The Solo House
Chilean Architectural firm, Pezo Von Ellrichshausen, have completed the beautiful Solo House in the middle of a native forest outside of Barcelona. The massive monolithic and sculptural piece of standing architecture acts as a private home which is supported by a blind podium, hidden below in the trees. The team experimented with different types of rooms throughout the unique home, explaining that “transparent and symmetrical rooms are articulated by open corners. A portico too narrow as to hold a static room and too deep as to hold a vigilance balcony. On the platform’s aerial world there is a single interior room. This room has no roof.”
Mauricio Pezo and Sofia Von Ellrichshausen, the duo that spearheaded the project lifted the house parallel to the trees, up towards the skies, to give it’s owners optimal vistas and views, providing a magical feeling of being up in an open tree house. The Solo House is finished in warm tones of concrete which complement the natural surroundings. Glass windows and doors are used to take advantage of all views, the idea of this gives priority to the surroundings over personal privacy; and makes nearly every outside room double as a porch or patio. Throughout the home, unique pieces of contemporary furniture are scattered, adding small pops of color to the monochromatic architecture. A great feature to the Solo House is it’s modern square pool where the water reaches all the way to the top, and the views extend for miles!
(Images By Pezo Von Ellrichshausen)
