Hasta La Ideas

Outline is a family of sofas with table. With a lightweight design, the interior is empty and colored.

Natural materials in modern forms standout at Iceland’s premier design fair

Iceland’s annual DesignMarch exhibition always impresses with its internationally renowned veterans as well as the next generation of influential designers. Now in its third year, the 2011 showcase introduced a range of furniture and product innovations. Below are a few of our favorites that stand out for their use of locally-sourced, natural materials.

Stáss Ornaments‘ colorful tables (above left) lend a cheerful ambiance to any room, and their flat-pack design allows for eco-friendly shipping.

Young product designer Ragnheiður Ösp hand embroiders wooden stools (above right) by drilling holes into the smooth surface and weaving locally-sourced wool directly through it. The beautiful patterns add texture and create an utterly unique aesthetic.

Ólöf Jakobína’s stackable Lísa candlestick holders (above left) are handmade from Icelandic porcelain. We love the flexibility of a row of candles with a single holder, or a group of candles with varying stacks for a multi-height display.

One of the best examples of form and function we saw was the Wood/Wood/Wood paper towel holder designed by Ingibjörg Hanna Bjarnad and Halla Björk Kristánsdóttir (above right). The aptly named product is made entirely of native wood and comes in multiple color combinations.

Made of 100% Icelandic wool, Kúlan (above left) is a playful solution to acoustic problems. These colorful little orbs improve issues with echos, standing waves and volume isolation by both diffusing and absorbing sound waves.

A sturdy wooden frame combined with a minimalist approach, the Fengr coat rack is a great example of functional elegance. Fanney Long Einarsd&#243ttir’s sculptural design incorporates multiple surfaces to hang your heavy coat and a dish for keys or loose change (above right).

Birgisson Design displays ingenuity with this interesting take on the traditional teacup (above left). The studio breathes new life into the once discarded by using reclaimed teacups found at local flea markets.

Longstanding admirers of his work, we were excited to see Sruli Recht‘s latest innovation—a metal record stand that puts a music collection on display rather than hidden in an unsightly stack.

Epal, Reykjavik’s most prominent design shop, is likely to carry many of these items (hopefully soon!).

I CANT WAIT!

Street artists reinterpret photographs that captured their own history

A major part of the early graffiti scene, photojournalist Martha Cooper is now on the other end of lens as the focus of a new exhibition at L.A.’s Carmichael Gallery. “Martha Cooper: Remix” sees over 50 artists recreate their favorite images by the ever-present documentarian, including works by Lady Pink, Faust, Neck Face, Fumakaka (all pictured here) and more.

Cooper has been compulsively documenting street culture since the late ’70s, when she began photographing the kids she would see on her way home from working at the New York Post. Her valuable insight on the medium is seen both in the images themselves, as well as the educational book “Subway Art” that she co-authored with fellow photographer Henry Chalfant.

“Remix” underscores MoCA‘s highly anticipated “Art In The Streets” exhibition, where Cooper’s works will also be on display. When asked to have a show coinciding with MoCA’s, Cooper says she “thought it would be fun to have a sort of retrospective including artists I had had some kind of relationship with over the years. I asked artists to pick any of my photos they liked to work from and the show ranges from a shot of a tattooed woman I took in Japan in 1970 that Aiko chose to a shot from Baltimore from 2010 that Blanco picked. That’s 40 years!”

Cooper continues, saying “I prefer to think of the show as a ‘Martha Loves Graf and Street Artists’ than the reverse. In any case I’m happy about the show. Contacting the artists and collecting the work from them in person whenever I could enabled me to reconnect with some artists that I don’t get a chance to see as much as I would like.”

“Martha Cooper: Remix” opens 9 April 2011 and runs through 7 May 2011 at Carmichael Gallery. The massive “Art In The Streets” exhibition at MoCA—which will also give a special nod to L.A. with Californian cholo writing, Dogtown skate culture and local artists like Craig R. Stecyk III, Retna, Saber and Mister Cartoon—runs from 17 April to 9 August 2011.

This house in Zellerndorf, Austria, by Vienna studio Franz Architekten comprises three separate units linked by glass passages.

Called Streckhof Reloaded, the single-storey house has a garage and storage in the volume nearest to the road, kitchen, living and dining areas in the next unit and bedrooms in the furthest, most private unit.

A terrace and pool nestle between the two furthest volumes, accessible through the kitchen, living room, hallway or parents’ room.

A kitchen garden is located at the rear and vines grow either side of the glass walkways.

See also: Sports Hall in Vienna by Franz Architekten and Atelier Mauch

More houses on Dezeen »

Photographs are by Lisa Rastl.

Here are some more details from the architects:

Streckhof Reloaded detached house (single family house)

Urban planning

The site is located in a settlement of detached single-family houses, characteristic for the 1970s. The traditional arrangement of functions for each storey: basement/garage; ground floor/living space; attic floor/ bedrooms; has been transformed into a linear order. The so called “streckhof“, the original farm model for this area has been adapted by stringing together different functions in one floor.

Function

Different functions are summarised in three structures similar to container. The main entrance from the street is marked by a canopy which leads to the fully glazed passageway and ends in an overhang at the garden side. Garages and storage space are located in the first of three containers. The connecting passage to the second container acts as porch. The living space, gets natural light from three sides and is situated in the second container. A vegetable garden is connected directly to the kitchen.

The third container implies the intimate areas, far off the street and the entrance area. Two east-orientated children’s bedrooms share one bathroom lying in between. There’s the parents bedroom orientated to the west.

The terrace with the elongated pool is framed by the last two buildings and thereby wind and privacy protected. Access is possible from the kitchen, the living room the hallway as well as the parents’ bedroom.

Construction

To make sure that the client can build as much as he is able to on his own, the outsidewalls are planned as brick construction. Even the insulation and the facade made of acryl glass has been installed by the client’s family. The roofconstruction consists of prefabricated timber elements with a foil sealing. The connecting passageway, also made of timber, acts as a bridge. Its facade consists of structural glazing without any mechanical fixing.

Facility engineering

All living rooms are equipped with underfloor heating. The water is heated throuh a geothermical heating collector and two heat pumps. The walkway consists of open and closed sequences that allow constant views into the half-open courtyards and each container. By planting both sides of the glazed passageway with vine the client, who is a hobby wine grower, gets his own piece of vineyard into his house.

The fresh air is supplied via controlled ventilation with heat recovery. The swimming pool is heated by a solar collector on the rooftop.

See also:

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Villa Geldrop by Hofman Dujardin Architects	Minamikawa House by Yoshihara McKee Architects	Mountain House by FAM Architekti