Contemporist

Cabinet Stair by Build LLC

Seattle-based Build LLC have sent us images of an integrated staircase and cabinet they have designed as part of a new home they’ve completed in Seattle.

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Description from the designers:

Attenuated steel and solid maple treads are used to create a focal point within the home. A walnut cabinet base integrates with the stair and becomes the guardrail for the downstairs run. Slender steel verticals above provide a harmonious backdrop to the living room.

Visit the Build LLC website – here.

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TIDVIS Clocks by Kvarnen Studio and Forsberg Form

Gothenburg, Sweden-based Kvarnen Studio and Forsberg Form have collaborated on the TIDVIS collection of concrete grandfather clocks.

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Tidvis is a floor standing all concrete version
Tidvis Vägg is a wall mounted version in ash and concrete.

Visit the Kvarnen Studio website – here.

Visit the Forsberg Form website – here.

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Pinch by Matthias Pliessnig

Matthias Pliessnig has sent us images of Pinch, his latest bent-wood seating piece.

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Visit Matthias Pliessnig’s website – here.

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ICT Experience Center De Verdieping by Studio 1:1

Studio 1:1 designed the ICT Experience Center De Verdieping in The Netherlands.

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An area where teachers, rectors and managers from the educational sector can get inspired by the latest developmenst in the ICT sector.

STICHTING KENNISNET
Stichting Kennisnet is an expertise centre in the field of ICT in The Netherlands.
Kennisnet offers, as public ict-support organization, every educational institution in the primary- secondary- and vocational education, independent expertise and free services with efficient use of ICT.

STARTING POINT AND DESIGN QUESTION:
Kennisnet rents a number of floors in an office building at the Paletsingel in Zoetermeer. The question was a to present a design proposal for an ICT ‘experience center’ for the third floor, that came to stand empty.
Up to now, it was Kennisnet who always went throughout the country to the educational institutions. But with this ‘ICT experience center’ their aim was to create one location, in their head office, where the ‘ambassadors ‘ from different educational levels could come. In this experience center, teachers, rectors and managers can experience the latest innovations in de field of ICT themselves, and talk about the possible uses in the educational sector.
An important element in the design question was that the groups, besides the exiting ICT experience, also would get inspired with the layout of the area and the use of (applicable in education) materials.

PROGRAME REQUIREMENTS
An area where a group of max. 30 people can simulate a class setting. At least 5 workplaces for smaller groups of max. 6 people. There must be electricity and Internet available and flexible at all the workplaces. A space for storage for chairs etc.

INNOVATIVE MATERIALS
Where there are new developments, other ones are already old, but they will always be a memory.  We gave these ICT-icons a place between the latest ICT-developments that are going to be used there.
From the idea how schools en teachers can use rooms better with easy and inventive materials, we created 3 designs for the coverings of walls.
These can serve as inspiration or motivation to, possibly with a group, give classrooms more identity and (educational) content.
All the different materials and techniques, which are applicable in de education, are there to be seen and felt.
Acoustic solutions are for example incorporated in a panel of second-hand keyboard keys, and fluorescent LED lighting are placed parallel to the print-lines on the floor as walking routes throughout the level.
Straight couches from soft foam and a enlarged blue internet-plug out of Styrofoam invite You to get started!

Visit the Studio 1:1 website – here.

Photography by Sanne Donders

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XMS Media Gallery by Moxie Design

Moxie Design designed the XMS Media Gallery in Taipei, Taiwan.

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Space
This is a special work mode of a design team. Every day, the team constructs dialogues, communicates, interacts, and compromises with one another. Such a work mode has become a starting point of a challenge to design an innovative living space using mixed media.

The base is an old four-story apartment in the city center (next to the Huashan 1914 Creative Park), which is facing the fate of being torn down and rebuilt. Amidst the anticipation of city renewal, the façade of a series of adjoining “shop houses” conveys the desolation of fading glory. A group of designers pursuing innovation, created a fantastic view, filled with a sharp contrast. To a façade expecting a facelift, the image of an ugly duckling inevitably comes into mind. Thus, the designers of Moxie as a parody use fence nets of a kind seen in construction projects or greenhouses.   However these soft and permeable nets bend and flex along the currents of wind and impacts of rain and with versatility actually present varied “postures” in a humble fashion. The irregular arrangement of the fence nets partition the monotone windows that mark the horizontal dimension, and the flickering lights of our hard-working partners twinkle in the night, echoing the challenges of metropolitan life. Our design team works like dedicated farmers in the greenhouse nurturing the organic forces of life.

Dialogues / Conference Room
The recycled cypress log used to make the conference table was originally the beam of a dismantled structure; with notches of the traditional tenon joints still preserved on the table top. The designer presents the wisdom of traditional architecture and the virtue of thankfulness directly on the table top, which humorously integrates a versatile user interface with a multi-point touch screen. This hi-tech looking gadget symbolizes a dialogue box for free expression.

Communication / The Work Area
Cross-field or cross-specialization is a subject matter in fashion, but what most people do not understand is how designers from different professional backgrounds and different specializations in different media conceive and creative ideas with the same goal. This takes “communication” beyond verbal description into a world of liberated expression. The concept of “T-shaped” talent points out that quality human resources may become the driving force in the process of innovative development. Moreover, a versatile support environment for the design process may represent an interface for interlaying participation and cooperative design works in a “T-shaped” structure; which may create more opportunities for in-depth observation and concept emergence.

Interactivity / The Research Lab
“A lab in the woods” is an idea that pops into this space. It would be difficult for a group of information technology specialists originally working in a science park to imagine what it’s like to do their research in such a space. Similarly, the ambiguous partitions of the spaces in this area come from the wooden pillars of the old structure. The boundaries’ ambiguity implies unrestrained interactivity since their existence, as perceived by the users, has been constructed under a framework free from restriction and suppression. In this space, the designers are liberated to explore the many possibilities in the different containers of diversified cultures. And the devices installed on the irregular beams create organic interactivities in the “woods”, making the sun-drenched terrace inside of the work area not just a rest space but a unique space for unrestrained breathing.

Fusion and Presentation / The Coffee Corner
The “non-working” space is very important to creative workers; this space means the rest area. If a rest space is arranged to give the workers a moment of solitude, this space would be constructed for different forms of dialogues and fusion both internally and externally. Such fusion also presents the achievements of a team’s work both internally and externally. There is a media gallery located on the ground floor of the office, confronting the curious eyes passing through the building. Layered, recycled wood blocks are piled steadfastly in an upward motion, which attempt to interact with one another by posing in different flairs. It is a space that presents to the workers different meanings of “rest” and inspires ingenious ideas.

Visit the Moxie Design website – here.

Photography by Marc Gerritsen

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Oturakast by Rianne Koens

Dutch designer Rianne Koens created the Oturakast cabinet.

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Description from Rianne Koens:

Inspired by the hospitality of my Turkish in-laws, I came up with this cabinet, which is an elegant replacement for the stackable stools in western households.

Oturakast consist of separate drawers. Each drawer has its own foldable legs. Therefore they are easily transformed into lovely stools for the guest.

Visit Rianne Koens’ website – here.

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Vista House by APOLLO Architects & Associates

APOLLO Architects & Associates have completed the Vista house in Tokyo, Japan.

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The clients were a husband-and-wife couple. He works as the director of an advertising agency, while she works in the food business. The couple purchased a plot of land that faces the cliff of a plateau and commissioned us to build a wooden three-storey residence for themselves and their child.

In order to make the most of the magnificent view overlooking the north side of the plot, we decided to activate the latent potential of the location by installing panoramic windows inside the house that would give the residents an unobstructed view of the scenic surroundings.

The first floor was compactly outfitted with a small, Japanese style straw-matted bedroom, as well as a bathroom and dressing area with an attached terrace. Each of these spaces commanded a handsome view of the landscape outside.

The second storey was configured as a single, open room with an attached roof balcony. Bookshelves were also installed on the structural walls, while a table at the edge of the dining area provides a comfortable space for reading, creating a library-like atmosphere. In addition, we made an effort to emphasize the impression of diving downwards that results from the height difference between the dining room and the living area.

The child’s room and a large outdoor living space are located on the third floor, which also offers the residents a full, untrammeled view of the beautiful landscape surrounding the house.

Although the scenery visible from the terraces located on each floor is identical, the varied character of each space ensures that a different impression of this single landscape is created each time.

In addition to a car-sized parking space, the entrance to the house also includes a built-in bike garage for the owner’s beloved Ducati motorbike that offers ample room for maintenance and cleaning work to be carried out.

Standing at the foot of the slope and looking up at this sleek, white mass that seems to float on top of the hill, the viewer is struck by this symbolic, monumental presence – an impression that contrasts sharply with the closed appearance presented by the front entrance.

The spatial character of this house, which embodies elements that are both mundane and extraordinary, demonstrates the wealth of possibilities that can be realized in urban residential architecture.

Visit the APOLLO Architects & Associates website – here.

Photography by Masao Nishikawa

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Umicore Office Building by Conix Architects

Conix Architects designed a new office building for Umicore, a materials technology company, located in Hoboken, Belgium.

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Description from the architects:

The company plant of Umicore, south of the Antwerp agglomerate, is part of a larger industrial park. The site is a city in itself but lacks structural cohesion and coherence. Conix Architects had to structure this complex site to promote a new corporate identity. In order to intergrate the plant better into its surroundings and generate an improved feeling on the whole, reconversion was considered.

Conix Architects developed a strategy which creates a new and more accessible identity for the company. The strengths and weaknesses of the terrain were determined. Based on this, Conix Architects drew up a master plan, including the problem areas and particular issues. The master plan points out the complexity and diversity of the necessary actions. Consequently, the perception and emothions of future visitors and employees are also considered. The functionality and flow of logistical activities are revised and modified, where needed.

Multiple spatial changes are made: adding a compact tower building with offices, screens, green areas, billboards, signage and route descriptions and the renovation of a number of important industrial buildings.

The new office building is the eye-catcher, encapsulating and generating the company’s new corporate identity. It offers a place to stop on the main axis which runs through the entire site. By narrowing and shaping the street profile, the idea of an entry area is created, an element that was lacking. The office building is unrestrained in design in contrast to the monotonous and randomly selected surroundings. The design draws one’s attention, in an emotional response, counter to the existing rational background. By positioning the building at a slight angle, the axis of the central entry road is broken.

The powerful look and feel creates an innovative image, thus modernizing the company. Umicore is ready to face the 21st century as a dynamic and innovating company.

Visit the Conix Architects website – here.

Photography by Serge Brison

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Graticule House by David Jameson Architect

Architect David Jameson designed the Graticule House in Great Falls, Virginia.

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Description from the architect:

Situated on a hillside site, the Graticule House is conceived to be a trace, or reference datum, allowing a reading of the relationship between the building and nature. Fundamental to the conception of the house is the notion of cadence, where repetitious vertical and horizontal markers of the building’s tectonics are juxtaposed with the particularity of the forest and ground plane. Light and space are modulated by meshing ribbons of glass and wall planes that form a tessellation of solid and void.

Visit the David Jameson Architect website – here.

Photography by Nic Lehoux

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1001 Nights House by A-cero, Joaquin Torres Architects

A-cero, Joaquin Torres Architects have sent us their latest work, the 1001 Nights House located in the suburbs of Madrid, Spain.

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Description from the architects:

A-cero presents one of its more recent projects in single family properties.

It is a single family house located in a development in the outskirts of Madrid. Over a plot of 7000 m2 the building, with 2100 m2, rises with a high standard design answering the owners’ requirements.

The access, through the development walkway, is placed on a higher level. Here is the property, partially hidden by many curved walls that seem to elevate from some water sheets over a stone covering in white, grey and black shades, placed on purpose as a part of the landscape in this area of the plot. Besides its sculptural features, typical of the A-cero style, this side of the facade expects the integration of the building in the surrounding environment. A wide stone path, with water sheets on both sides, lead us to a huge black glass door that gives us access inside the property. In the garden, following the wishes of the owners, there are palms, pome granate trees and Middle East vegetation.

The rear facade of the house, the most visible, makes the most of the slight slope of the plot, where there is the porch, a pool and the garden. Almost all the views from the different rooms of the property are focused here, as the views of the lakes in the common areas of the development.

All the building is dressed in “black villar granite stone”. In this part of the property big windows, with hidden woodwork, are opened, achieving a lot of light for the inside space. In the porch, the window in the main living room, of 10 meters, is automatically hidden, connecting indoors and outdoors.

The passable area is made of white marble, the vase in the pool of blue gressite. The outside furniture is from the Rest collection by A-cero In.

Visit the A-cero website – here.

Photography by Luis H. Segovia

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Textile Field Installation by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec in collaboration with the textile company Kvadrat, have created the Textile Field installation at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

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Description from the designers:

During the London Design Festival, The Victoria & Albert Museum invited us to intervene in any space we wanted within the Museum: the result is Textile Field an installation 30 meters long and 8 meters wide which takes over 240m sq of the floor of the famous Raphael Cartoons Gallery.

An invitation to lascivious reverie. Our intention is to propose a different, casual approach to freely experience what can be a quite intimidating environment, such as a museum. We conceived an expansive, coloured foam and textile piece with gentle inclinations to produce a sensual field on which to comfortably lounge while meditating on the surrounding Raphael Cartoons. Everyone can immerse into this temporary installation, for a minute, an hour or more, that is the idea. No efforts, no apprehension just contemplation.

Visit the Bouroullec website – here.

Photos: © Studio Bouroullec & V&A Images, Victoria and Albert Museum.

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Parallel Park for VIVA Vancouver

As an experiment in urban placemaking, the city of Vancouver, Canada have been transforming street spaces into people places in various areas around the city. The VIVA Vancouver program seeks to demonstrate new, interesting and fun uses for public space. This week, Parallel Park, a deck-like seating structure that extends the use of the sidewalk and takes up two parking spots, was completed on a street in east Vancouver next to a JJBean coffee shop.

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Images by BRITEWEB and VIVA Vancouver

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Trapeze LED Table Lamp by Peter Stathis for JOBY

American designer Peter Stathis has created the Trapeze LED table lamp for JOBY.

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Description from JOBY:

The Trapeze LED Table Light presents a revolution in lighting.  Ignited by LED technology and patent-pending 360º pivot movement, it is available in two sizes: small and large. With sweeping, fluid motion that works across 3-axes, the counterweighted design allows for precise positioning. The cutting-edge flat-panel LED technology, pioneered and developed by Stathis and his group for the last several years, is the thinnest and most efficient flat-panel LED light engine currently on the market – allowing for the illumination of  large areas with brilliant, perfectly even, warm light.

Visit the JOBY website – here.

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The 19 Series by Omer Arbel for Bocci

Canadian designer Omer Arbel has created the 19 series of copper bowls for BOCCI.

Watch a short video about the 19 series – here.

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Series 19’s are made of 100% recycled copper at the oldest foundry on the West Coast of Canada, located in East Vancouver. In addition to being numbered and dated, subsequent pieces bear a mark indicating the weight of copper used to make the piece. Pricing is based on a combination of a conventional retail cost plus the calculated market value of copper on the day of the sale.

Omer Arbel says “This piece is a step forward for our practice because it marks, perhaps, the maturity of a concept we’ve been struggling with for many years. We have always taken an interest in formal motivation, and have wondered about the conceptual rigor of justifying formal decisions in different ways. It has been a long process, but the practice has evolved to its current position, which is that our role is simply to design conceptually motivated fabrication processes”.

Watch a short video about the 19 series – here.

Visit the Bocci website – here.

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The Urban Zen Collection by Donna Karan

Fashion designer Donna Karan has introduced the Urban Zen collection of furniture.

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Modern simplicity with an Indonesian soul. Entirely handmade in Bali, each piece is the essence of comfort, the contrast of strong lines and soft pillows. Generously scaled with an open structure, each piece invites you to curl up in alone or with the whole family. This is furniture designed to make itself
sensually at home in your world.

Visit the Urban Zen website – here.

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