Quote of Note | Paul Kasmin


Chilean artist Iván Navarro’s “The Armory Fence,” a large-scale, site-specific neon installation exhibited by Paul Kasmin Gallery last month at the Armory Show.

“I’ve always liked a mix of things, and I don’t mind if it’s new or old. Iván [Navarro] told me: ‘I’ve got an idea, but you’re not going to like it.’ The Armory Fence took me a while to digest, but it does make sense: he grew up under a dictatorship, so there’s always a political current in his work. It’s an unbelievably strong statement: and although I’m delighted, it did take a while…I mean, if the production hadn’t been up to scratch it would have been a pretty big failure.” —Gallerist Paul Kasmin in the April issue of The Art Newspaper

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Inspire Japan on Global PechaKucha Day, April 16

PechaKucha.jpg

This weekend, PechaKucha is back in a town near you: Saturday, April 16, is Global PechaKucha Day. The theme, this time around, is to “Inspire Japan” in the wake of one of the worst natural disasters in recent history.

Japan has inspired designers for many generations, it is the reason we travelled to this country 20 years ago, and have since made it our home. Japan is where the “PechaKucha 20 images x 20 seconds” show-and-tell event format was born, and it has gone on to inspire designers to get together in 400 cities around the world, to share their creativity at more than 1000 events each year.

Japan has inspired us all, now is it our turn to “Inspire Japan.”

Please join us on April 16 and be a part of Global PechaKucha Day – Inspire Japan. Let’s all come together and show Japan that the creative world is thinking of them, that all is not lost, and that it is possible to stand up and rebuild, even in villages and towns which have been completely destroyed. With creativity and passion, anything is possible.

The popular event series for young designers is happening in nearly 100 cities worldwide this Saturday; head over to a location near you and show your support!

For those of you in New York, see you on Saturday (click through for details…):

(more…)


Beyond Coal

Sport Pact’s new undies to help the Sierra Club fight one of the world’s biggest pollutants
sierrapact1.jpg

The comfy underwear brand with a mission, Pact recently teamed up with like-minded environmentalists the Sierra Club to do something about one of the leading causes of smog, acid rain, global warming and air toxins. Tapping college universities as a way of galvanizing cities to reduce their carbon footprint, Pact and Sierra Club have led a series of protests and petitions encouraging the schools to abandon using coal power. Sierra Club’s Mary Anne Hitt expains, “These college campuses are burning coal in spite of the fact that they are building tomorrow’s leaders, who overwhelmingly look to cleaner technologies to power their future.”

With underwear as the tangible representation of their message and 10% of the proceeds supporting the Club, together they’re promoting clean air and responsible action. The “Beyond Coal” collection is just one reminder of the environmental impact this antiquated energy method has on the earth.

sierrapact2.jpg sierrapact3.jpg

Like their Festive Holiday Lights collection, this edition promises all the ergonomic design of their skivvies (the cut provides maximum comfort without the look of granny panties), keeping you looking good in seminude while also feeling good about where you’ve turned over your cash.

The Beyond Coal collection sells online for men and women starting at $20.


Truth in Advert-fries-ing

A simple, clever and amusing ad touting McDonalds’ free wi-fi:

0mcdwifi.jpg

It’s not clear if this is an actual ad or some designer’s concept. It’s taken from the French blog Publiz’s Roundup of 100 Minimalist Ads, and having just dug through them all, I think this one is the best of the bunch.

(more…)


Induction Charger Misses the Mark

0mobeemch01.jpg

Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t see the point of Mobee’s new Magic Bar inductive charger for Apple’s Wireless Keyboard.

The whole point of Apple’s keyboard is that it’s minimal and wireless. That was the design feat it managed to pull off, it’s raison d’etre. You slip two AA’s in there and you’ve got juice.

0mobeemch02.jpg

(more…)


Cut & Paste Global Championship 2011

The world’s most talented graphic designers battle it out live to win epic prizes
CandP-100.jpg

The annual Cut & Paste digital design tournament, back for its sixth year, is bigger than ever with 30 reigning champs from ten cities around the world converging on NYC to face-off head-to-head.

Under the judge’s watchful eyes (culled from the design community, members include influential figures including graphic artist Jon Burgerman and Dave Chau of Big Spaceship), each competitor will showcase their design prowess in this final test on stage under unnerving conditions. Every click and tap from the designer’s workstations will be projected in real-time on large-scale displays for the audience to view during the live performance, taking place this Saturday, 16 April 2011.

CandP-200.jpg

On top of bragging rights, this year three amazing prizes are on the line. Nooka will develop a new watch produced in limited quantity in collaboration with the champion of the 2D Design competition. The grand prize in 3D will earn a “designer in residence” at leading 3D printer Shapeways, where they will be mentored on design and prototyping as they prepare their new creation for market. For the crowned champion of Motion Design, Converse will award the winner the opportunity to collaborate on a special motion design project.

candp-300.jpg

Doors open at 7pm at Webster Hall in NYC. Tickets for the Cut & Paste Global Championship sell online now for $15.


Suck my finger

Nike Sportswear Hachi

Questa è la Nike Haci. La troverete in vendita nella collezione Sportswear.
{Via}

HTML 11

Immaginando le tag del futuro…HTML 11.

Wear House by AUAU

Wear House by AUAU

This house in Seto, Japan, by architects AUAU is wrapped in a faceted shell.

Wear House by AUAU

Called Wear House, the project has bedrooms and bathrooms on the ground floor with a living room upstairs that opens onto a terrace.

Wear House by AUAU

The outer shell is made of fibre-reinforced plastic.

Wear House by AUAU

More Japanese houses on Dezeen »

Wear House by AUAU

Photographs are by: Yoshimura Masaya

Wear House by AUAU

The information below is from the architects:


Location :Seto, Japan
Function :Personal residence
Site area :   182.63áu
Building area : 67.34áu
Total Floor Area :91.51áu
Stories : 2FL
Structure (materials) : Wood
Finish :(exterior =fiber reinforced plastics, interior =plaster)
Wear House by AUAU
Completed date : 2010.03
Client :personal
Interior Design :Akitoshi Ukai/AUAU
Landscape Design :Akitoshi Ukai/AUAU
Structural engineer :Kenji NAWA/NAWAKENJI-M
Constructional engineer :Mizuno construction company
Supervision :Akitoshi Ukai/AUAU
Wear House by AUAU

WEAR HOUSE]:YSY HAUS

Outline of design
It is a small house for two small children and young couple. The blank and coming in succession were invented by making the best use of the vertical interval in the small hill, making “Enclosure” as the life scene place in the average of a dynamic flow that connected the earth to the sky, and dressing “Wear” the outside. This creates an inside, outside new relation and sense of distance, reinforces the subject soft “Enclosure” structurally by “Wear”, assumes the strengthened plan, and has both the role to ease the thermal environment in the environment.

1,Landscape
The row of houses that queues up on the opposite side of the earthenware mortar geographical features where Seto river was placed it is possible to command the town in the strait from the site where commanding to which it goes up on a steep slope in Seto city is good to the south and it can command a view of mountains in the interior in addition, and the main three axis lines of direction of the direction of Nagoya, the direction of the strait, and Nagakute can be recognized. A dynamic landscape that became like a huge gingival trough and the prefecture having woods where it is edging removed have a peculiar ecosystem for the potter’s clay mining for pottery that is called behind Grand Canyon in the strait. The road from the closest station is winding, geographical features where ups and downs are intense is characterized, and the retaining wall of a big weight type to adjust it with the vertical interval characterizes the landscape of this ground. It was thought that it wanted to make a plane a plan so that the element of these landscapes memorized in the body was reflected in the space of construction, and it tied them more directly.

2,Individuality that makes the best use of piece
I walked with client and town, searched for land, surrounding town was collected, the planning was decided by the process of thinking about the family’s life together, and the cooperation of labor work with the client was proceeded. It thought about the cooperation arranging the private room on the first floor, and the living space that held the view concurrently was distributed to the second floor. It composed piling up the box of each life, and considering each glance while thinking about the opening. And, the design was advanced in the process of wrapping it in the person summary with “Wore”. The ideal way to which the piece or more helped by esteeming the individuality of each life, and bringing it together by another individuality was requested. The second floor becomes openhearted at a dash, and actually feels the existence of “Wear” while the first floor is a set of the box when entering an internal space. The scenery seen from the window can be intentionally experienced as turned over.
3,Pile it up.
The box of life fused and the fundamental form of living “Enclosure” composed by the wall, the window, the floor, and the roof was passed, and the part and the blank where the film came in succession by wrapping “Wear” from the outside were able to be done, and a little middle area was caused. This is thought to be separate the film that applies the agreement with town as the container of life. It compared it by the material feeling by using general painting in “Enclosure” and using elasticity FRP for “Wore” though it was a similar color as for two films.

4,Structure
This buildings are two wooden stories. It aimed at individuality as the whole and the acquisition of strength by treating wooden by bundling, that is, “Enclosure” and “Wear” two this time, and treating the relation between them. The spreading wooden frame that consists of basic vertical and the horizontal brace is adopted, and “Enclosure” part has been passed by a minimum structure. On the other hand, “Wear” part becomes because it composes of the diagonal material the streak or exist, and strengthens “Enclosure” that becomes a life scene. It did not govern in the same respect to dare to clarify that each part joint part was different, and it was assumed the held settlement from the outside partially.

5,Effect of environment, ventilation path, and heavily clothed
“Wear” prevents the wind that blows from the west, and overdoes the wind that blows down from the north. In addition, the vent window of the second floor is covered like eaves like interrupting shooting on the day of the setting sun at the midsummer.
There is an effect has heavily clothed outside of the outside wall in “Wear”. In summer, the air that entered in the wall cools the building by the internal cave’s that “Wear it” and “Enclosure” make playing the role like the chimney, rising, and getting out from the slit opened under the eaves in the south.
In addition, the thermal conductivity of “Wear” is low because it is finished up by elasticity FRP and the topcoat after the ventilation trunk edge and plywood are put on the usual roof groundwork. It can be said the heat distance is reduced by reducing the input heat, and piling up some layer-one material, and it is more effective than the heat environment design that relies on only the heat insulator.
Moreover, the shape of this building indoors takes while receiving the wind from the south in the courtyard, and makes the vertical updraft while turning in the stairs and the open ceiling at the center. The wind can cool the room by coming off to the south and the east side of the second floor.

6,Lighting program
“Wear” is caught as a reflector of the illuminator, and it is assumed the general lighting. Six sources of light with the directivity were trained to the top part of the wall. The light reflects to the ceiling and shines on the floor face and the top of kitchen. There is no window in “Wear”, and is no hole for the lighting. Moreover, the spotlight is irradiated on the back side of “Wear” on the west side, and it is returned softly indoors, that the light that reflects to “Wear” at the same time as dropping light in front of the door is the second floor. The space is richly produced with such a lighting program at nighttime though it is “Wear” in daytime to invent the effect of various light by time and the weather.


See also:

.

House with Gardens
by Tetsuo Kondo
Himeji Observatory House by KINO architectsMizoe House by Takashi Seisho & Akinari Tanaka