Cirkel by Daphna Laurens at Galerie Gosserez

Il tecnigrafo di Steve Jobs

English translation below by Gianluca Gimini.
Scommetto che pochi sanno che la primissima creazione di Steve Jobs era un solido e tradizionale tecnigrafo in legno, di quelli che una volta affollavano gli studi di architettura e ingegneria…
Scherzo ovviamente : ) le immagini che vedi in questo articolo non appartengono ad un prodotto Apple ma sono un’opera dell’artista Paolo Troilo che ha voluto rendere uno speciale omaggio al geniale Steve Jobs.

Vedere il simbolo della mela stampato sopra un’usurata superficie in legno è straniante, ma ci fa rendere conto quanto sia radicato nell’immaginario collettivo il brand Apple. Un piccolo logo su fondo bianco, e una cornice nera, sono sufficienti a stravolgere l’aspetto di uno oggetto ormai obsoleto e a farci, almeno per un istante, esitare dinnanzi ad esso.

Il titolo dell’opera di Paolo Troilo è “Thanx Steve”, e suppongo che l’intenzione del suo autore sia ricordarci a che punto eravamo prima delle rivoluzioni che Steve Jobs ha apportato ai personal computer, e di conseguenza al nostro modo di vivere e lavorare.

I miei primi esami all’università li ho preparati disegnando a mano su un tecnigrafo, mentre ora quando si pronuncia parola desktop penso immediatamente alla scrivania virtuale del computer.
Jobs merita davvero di essere ringraziato per tutto questo progresso tecnologico? Dato il lavoro che faccio dovrei dire di sì, ma non posso negare che ogni tanto qualche dubbio mi assalga.

(Via: First Floor Under)

I bet none of you know that Steve Jobs’ very first creation was a solid and trustworthy drafting table. One of those devices that up until a decade ago could easily be seen in architectural or engineering firms… Just kidding obviously : ) The images below don’t portray an Apple product but one of artist Paolo Troilo‘s latest works: his very special homage to Steve Jobs.

Seeing the Apple logo applied to a worn out wooden surface is odd to say the least and makes us realize how deeply this brand’s identity has been able to entrench our society. A small logo on a white background and a thin black frame are sufficient to make over this obsolete tool and catch our perplexed looks.
The title of this piece is “Thanx Steve” and I’m assuming its intent is to make us all stop and think where we were at  before the revolution that Steve Jobs brought to personal computing and consequently to our working methods.

The projects I used to hand in for my finals during my first years of Architecture school were hand  drawn on a drafting machine like this one. At that time the word desktop didn’t evoke anything virtual. But should Steve Jobs really be thanked for all this technological progress? Considering how much I use Apple products in my work and during my leisure time I shouldn’t be much in doubt, however at times I get the feeling that Jobs’ great entrepreneurial abilities and the amazing brand awareness that his companies achieved (symbolized by Paolo Troilo’s artwork) are being mixed up and mistaken with his merits as a technological innovator. Merits that he does have, but that not everyone considers  he shares with other less famous programming experts.

(Via: First Floor Under)

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Circular mirrors, glowing acrylic rods and large yellows discs adorn the ceiling of this canteen for German magazine Der Spiegel (photos by Zooey Braun).

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Designed by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects, the dining room is located on the ground floor of the company’s headquarters in the Hafencity development of southern Hamburg.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Over 4000 of the satin-polished aluminium panels cover the ceiling, concealing electrical wiring and fittings behind.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Round lamps hang like upside-down mushrooms above each table and can be individually brightened or dimmed by diners.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

The suspended acrylic rods are arranged into curved rows to separate clusters of tables and are illuminated from above.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Painted blacks lines indent the white terrazzo floor to define walkways and discourage encroaching chairs.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Hafencity is a large development beside Hamburg’s Elbe River – other recent projects in the area include a concert hall by Herzog & de Meuron and a curvy apartment block.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Here’s some more information from the architects:


In October 2011 the SPIEGEL Group, whose stable includes Germany’s most important news magazine Der SPIEGEL, moved into its new publishing house in Hamburg’s HafenCity development. This impressive structure on the Eriscusspitze, lapped by the waters of the River Elbe, was designed by Danish architect Henning Larsen.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Ippolito Fleitz Group was commissioned to create a new employees’ canteen for the building. The legacy building’s famous canteen was designed in 1969 by Verner Panton and has since been placed under heritage protection. This inheritance represented a particular challenge.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Verner Panton’s canteen

Our deliberations began with a question: could we integrate Verner Panton’s iconic facility into a new concept? After careful consideration we decided against adopting the facility. One factor which spoke against redeployment was the polygonal format of the new building, where Panton’s square-based modular concept would inevitably lead to virtually uncontrollable spatial remnants.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Furthermore, the new building offers little in the way of large, continuous walls which are crucial to the Panton concept. The old building had three separate, compact spaces which Panton enlivened with the dynamic forms and colours of his ceiling topography. The new space, however, covers a large area and gives a strong horizontal impression. But above all it seemed logical to us to complement the new architecture of the building with contemporary, future-oriented interior design – exactly what Panton’s facility once was for the previous building.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Starting point

The employees’ canteen was and is a calling card of the SPIEGEL Group, reflecting its journalistic philosophy as much as its culture of dialogue – not least because of its prominent position in the building and its high visibility from the exterior. Nonetheless it is a space which looks inward, only accessible to SPIEGEL employees and their guests.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

That means it isn’t a “brand space” as such. The starting point for our deliberations was the characteristics of the space and of the building. The building distinguishes itself through its exposed position on the water and its modern architecture, expressed in the vertical interior space of the 14-storey atrium. The floor plan of the canteen defines a large, polygonal space whose strong horizontal emphasis is further highlighted by the uninterrupted row of windows on two sides.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Ceiling and light

Because the space had to be flexible, it was soon clear that the ceiling design would be the distinguishing moment of the canteen. Reflecting both this fact and the harbour location, we developed a matt shimmering ceiling which reflects light in much the same manner as water. It is formed of 4,230 circles made of micro-perforated satin-polished aluminium, laminated onto noise-absorbing supporting material and set at slight angles to each other. This means that the canteen’s natural light ambience reacts to its surroundings.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

During the day the ceiling is enlivened by water and light effects from the surrounding area. The matt shimmering “plates” absorb daylight and turn the roof into a lively, gently reflective complement to the water surface of the Ericusgraben canal. Large-scale light dishes use intense colour to divide the space into zones. This colour generates a positive atmosphere in the space, even on grey days. Dimmable lamps suspended directly above tables ensure that light levels are infinitely variable.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

In the evening the dishes are transformed into indirectly-lit light objects. The overall mood in the canteen is determined by the warm, white “ambient light” shed by the suspended lamps. Indirect light in selected suspended lamps discreetly illuminates the ceiling discs.Focussed downlights, hidden in the ceiling, complement the nuanced sophistication of the overall mood with light accents.Wallwashers integrated into the ceiling cast an even light on wall surfaces. They create a balance between horizontal and vertical illumination and optimise the sense of space by night, partly through reflections in glass surfaces.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

The ceiling also has functional advantages: the area above the ceiling plates is painted black, along with the mandatory technical fittings, rendering them invisible. Ceiling diffusers and sprinklers effectively disappear. In addition, the upper ceiling was configured to be noise-absorbent, complementing the acoustic properties of the micro-perforated plates.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

The space and its divisions

Despite the size of the space the visitor should never have an impression of monotonous, interchangeable, production-line construction. Rather the goal is to illustrate, in a dining context, the culture of dialogue which has flourished over the decades at SPIEGEL.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

The employees’ canteen is a meeting place, a place of culture and informal exchange of opinions. At the same time it should fulfil functional obligations such as accessibility and spatial clarity.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

The round, communicative tables are made from black coated steel frames which seem to grow from the floor in a graceful motion. Granite plates serve as table tops, their lasered surfaces working with the ceiling lights to create glare-free, brilliant light. The tables are placed within the space in three large groups in loose arrangements and so provide an organic counterpoint to the polygonal floor plan. Movement zones are thus clearly delineated.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Three lines are set into the smooth, white terrazzo floor: they ensure tables don’t encroach on walkways. Along these lines four areas are arranged with removable, lightweight spatial filters composed of white, hanging rods. Large yellow light dishes support the zoning of the space just as the hanging lamps locate tables within the space.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Wood panelling lends a sense of depth to structural hubs. The whitewashed, varnished surfaces appear even deeper thanks to a vertical, wavy relief which gives a textile-like effect.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

Through a zigzagging glass façade a separate area can be formed at one end for discrete events or for use of the canteen late at night. A shoal of bright, hanging Plexiglas rods creates glare-free illumination and an intimate setting. The glass façade between this area and the canteen is formed of doubly reflective glass. So at times when both areas are in use, the separation is almost immaterial. However when the canteen is closed and thus darker, the façade appears half-mirrored, half-transparent.

Spiegel Kantine by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects

The employees’ canteen in the SPIEGEL Group’s new headquarters is a space that meets all functional demands while creating a strong visual impact to form a truly distinguishing space. In so doing it supports the mature culture of communication within the company and in a grand gesture transmits these values to the outside world.

Drowning in Photography: Privilege or Horror?

0erikkessels.jpg

The most heartbreaking moment of my first backpacking trip across Europe occurred around day 25 of a 30-day trip. I was on a train and went to retrieve something from my bag. As I unzipped it, a bunch of film rolls fell out. (My trip predated digital photography and I had been shooting like crazy.) When I investigated why they fell out, I realized that gravity, the design of the bag’s interior pockets and the position I commonly laid my bag down in had all contributed to releasing the film rolls. I wondered if that had happened before, and after counting them up I was horrified to find more than half were missing. I’d lost priceless images of places and moments I’d never again get to experience.

One thing I envy of the younger generation is how much enduring documentation of their lives they have access to. Digital snaps are uploaded to Facebook and Flickr with an almost thoughtless ease, and today’s average teenager probably has more photo documentation of their high school years than I have of my entire life.

Is that a good thing? Erik Kessels, the Creative Director and co-founder of Amsterdam ad agency KesselsKramer, makes an interesting point with his contribution to a currently running group show at The Future of the Photography Museum:

Photography in abundance
Through the digitalisation of photography and the rise of sites such as Flickr and Facebook, everyone now takes photos, and distributes and shares them with the world – the result is countless photos at our disposal. Kessels visualises ‘drowning in pictures of the experiences of others’, by printing all the images that were posted on Flickr during a 24-hour period and dumping them in the exhibition space. The end result is an overwhelming presentation of a million prints.

While I certainly don’t want to drown in photos of even my own experiences, I’d at least be happy to choke and cough up a little if I could get those lost images back.

What’s Next? The Future of the Photography Museum
foam
Keizersgracht 609
1017 DS Amsterdam
Through December 7th, 2011

(more…)


Crackdown on Ai Weiwei Continues with Arrest and Interrogation of His Wife

With the temporary detainment last week of his assistant on distribution of pornography charges, it appeared that the Chinese government’s latest crackdown on Ai Weiwei for a full summer of the artist violating the media ban they’d placed on him in his numerous appearances where he seemed more than happy to speak ill of his native country. Now it appears the authorities have hit closer to home, with the arrest of his wife and business partner, Lu Qing. Reuters reports that she was detained for three hours and was treated as a “criminal suspect.” The crime in question appears to be related to the tax evasion charges placed upon Weiwei and his company, Beijing Fake Cultural Development. However, the authorities, who apparently burst into her home unannounced yesterday, weren’t so forthright about what exactly was being investigated. Here’s a bit:

The police told Lu that she could not leave Beijing “in the near term” but refused to tell her for how long. Lu said they also told her that they could take her back anytime for questioning.

Lu said the police asked her about the programs run by Fake and personal information such as her money transactions and bank accounts such as one in New York. But they did not mention the tax evasion case, she added.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Live! Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club: Nicholas Everett of Vanport Outfitters

Check out the Vanport site here.

Visit Core77’s Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club here.

(more…)


Christmas mood

Phantom Cocktails

The kingdom

Prince and princess’ castle is a must have scene in fairytales, which is an icon of a kingdom and a royal story. Does the lighting in the tower belong..

Stumptown’s Colombia Source Trip

A short film takes an inside look at vertical integration
Stumptown1.jpg

As fair trade business practices and sustainability issues become increasingly important in the food industry, it’s still easy to forget that there are actual values behind the buzzwords. A new short film from Stumptown coffee roasters gives a face to vertical integration as it explores the growing communities that make its brews possible. The Portland-based company traveled to Colombia with filmmaker Trevor Fife to create a gorgeous and informative record of their people and process.

Stumptown3.jpg

While the company sources coffee from all over the world, the video focuses on their Colombian growers at Finca Augas Blanca, Finca Los Cauchos and Finca La Esperanza. When building a relationship with a new grower, Stumptown frequently takes this type of trip to ensure that the systems of production meet their high standards. Eventually, all growers incorporated into the Stumptown family are treated as in-house units of the company’s global process. The growers in the video repeatedly mention the importance of family in the culture of coffee growing, offering an element of poignancy to Stumptown’s unique vision.

Aside from the gorgeous mountain vistas and sumptuous details of the harvest, drying and roasting processes, the short film focuses on the individuals involved in the early stages of production and their commitment to the final product. “It’s not so much about the job itself, but the passion you put into it,” explains Walter Peña of Finca Aguas Blancas. “And the… feeling of belonging. It’s the most important part of being a coffee farmer.”

Check out more videos about the Stumptown process as well as their surprisingly useful brewing guide for use when preparing your next cup.