bBUILD rounded up a (mostly) admirable collection of Couch Cushion Architecture projects, taken from a randomly conducted search on the internet. Join them as they take a critical analysis of the architecture, methods and design philosophies of living room furniture re-appropriation.
Last summer, visiting Art Basel, I had the chance to get a tour of the Vitra museum and the various buildings surrounding the factory. And while there, I got to see the VitraHaus by Herzog & de Meuron in construction. Thrilled to see it finished in all its glory now. I can not wait to go and see it in person. Stunning.
I would have no problem moving into Jon Pawson’s house immediately. I love his minimalist approach to decorating and interiors. And I share his love for white. In fact he says: “There are 50 different color shades of white, And you could probably only see them in an empty room.” For John Pawson, architecture is all about reduction. I agree.
(via minimalissimo)
I’ve always wondered what our kitchen would look like if I’d turn it upside down. Given G is a kitchen designer, I am sure this will make him chuckle.
rotating kitchen from Zeger Reyers on Vimeo.
(thank you jon)
This is officially the fireplace (and room around it) of my dreams. It’s part of ‘Raumstation Irnharting’ in Gunskirchen / Austria by x architekten (AT).
Dear readers, I am looking to find architecture firms (or design firms in general) that managed to successfully incorporate a blog into their site. Do any come to mind? Would you mind to leave urls in a comment below? Thanks so much!
This Underground Home in the swiss village of Vals has me wide-eyed. What a stunning piece of architecture. And did you see that long dining table? That’s.what.I.want.one.day!
The house is a collaboration between the Netherlands architects at SeARCH and Christian Muller Architects.
(thank you marcel)
My friend Jen had the opportunity to discover and play on the grounds of Isamu Noguchi’s Playscapes over the weekend. Here are some pictures she took. Beautiful, no?
What was Manhattan like 400 years ago, before the first settlers arrived? Designed by Abbott Miller, the new exhibition Mannahatta/Manhattan: A Natural History of New York City at the Museum of the City of New York reconstructs the ecology of the small wooded island originally known as Mannahatta (“island of many hills” as the Lenape Indians called it) before it became one of the most densely built places on earth.
I can *not* wait to see this exhibit, designed by Pentagram.
Be A Malevich is a construction game inspired by the Architectons of Kazimir Malevich (1878-1935). By the way, they are looking for distributors in the US!
(thank you xavier)
New York artist Ross Racine creates aerial views of fictional suburbs, examining the relation between design and actual lived experience. No photographs or scanned images are used in the pieces above. Each was drawn freehand directly on the computer and then printed on an inkjet printer. Impressive.
(via badbanana/via the new shelton wet/dry)
How incredibly surprising is this stairs/kitchen surface integration?
Seen over at Subtraction:
“The recent news that the developer Forest City Ratner had scrapped Frank Gehry’s design for a Nets [basketball] arena in central Brooklyn is not just a blow to the art of architecture. It is a shameful betrayal of the public trust, one that should enrage all those who care about this city… A new design by the firm Ellerbe Becket [is a] colossal, spiritless box, it would fit more comfortably in a cornfield than at one of the busiest intersections of a vibrant metropolis. Its low-budget, no-frills design embodies the crass, bottom-line mentality that puts personal profit above the public good. If it is ever built, it will create a black hole in the heart of a vital neighborhood.”
NYT: Nicolai Ouroussoff on Frank Gehry Being Fired from Atlantic Yards Project
lights on is an audio visual performance created for the Ars Electronica museum in Linz, Austria, which has a facade that contains 1085 LED controllable windows. The windows’ colors are changed in realtime with music that’s broadcasted on speakers surrounding the building.
visuals coded in openframeworks by zachary lieberman, joel gethin lewis and damian stewart (yesyesno).
(image by wolfram janzer)
He is not a celebrity architect, not one of the names that show up on shortlists for museums and concert hall projects or known beyond architecture circles. He hasn’t designed many buildings; the one he is best known for is a thermal spa in an Alpine commune. And he has toiled in relative obscurity for the last 30 years in a remote village in the Swiss mountains.
But on Monday the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor is to be named the winner of the 2009 Pritzker Prize, the highest recognition for architects.
Pritzker Prize Goes to Peter Zumthor, by Robin Pogrebin.
Check out the slide show.
Copenhagen’s harbour is in the midst of a transformation from an industrial port and traffic junction to being the cultural and social centre of the city. The superdesigny Harbour Bath has been instrumental in this evolution. The Harbour Bath offers an urban harbour landscape with dry-docks, piers, boat ramps, cliffs, playgrounds and pontoons. As a terraced landscape, the Harbour Bath completes the transition from land to water, making it possible for the citizens of Copenhagen to go for a swim in the middle of the city. Go Denmark!
Opening this weekend in Milwaukee: Harley-Davidson Museum, designed by Abbott Miller and his team over at Pentragram. Can’t wait to go tour it next time we come visit, BB! While I am not really a Harley lover, I admit I do love motorcycles. I used to own a big one back in Europe…
Contemporary architecture by country TASCHEN’s new architecture series brings a unique perspective to world architecture, highlighting architectural trends by country. Each book features 15 to 20 architects from the firmly established to the up-and-coming with the focus on how they have contributed to very recent architecture in the chosen nation. Architecture in Switzerland
(thank you Peter)
I am sitting in the PRESS office of the ICFF and am having my first ‘elevated heartbeat’ moment because of LINK a new product designed by PearsonLloyd. Link is a completely modular room divider system. As versatile as it gets! Fabulous!
Off I go to see what this years International Contemporary Furniture Fair has to offer. So excited. I shall be posting throughout the day. Hoooray! Happy monday everyone!
An article about Annabelle Selldorf, a german architect in NYC, who’s newest structural novelty is currently shaking up the New York architecture world. She is building an elevator alongside a 19-story apartment building that allows residents to park their cars at a lofty height right next to their apartment.
En Suite Parking Included, by Peter Hossli
The Didden Village, Rotterdam by MVRDV, architects. Image by Rotterdam based Photographer Rob’t Hart.
(via enlarge your pen)
Archisuit consists of an edition of four leisure jogging suits made for specific architectural structures in Los Angeles. The suits include the negative space of the structures and allow a wearer to fit into, or onto, structures designed to deny them.
(thank you julia!)
