Hasta La Ideas

Photographer Kevin Bauman’s “100 Abandoned Houses” project showed the empty domiciles of Detroit, but French photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre have gone further: Their photo book The Ruins of Detroit is far more chilling because it displays the disintegration of livelihood at every level. It’s one thing to see empty houses, but Marchand and Meffre’s shots show abandoned banks, train stations, dentist’s offices, police stations, ballrooms, hotels, schools, churches and more.

Over the past generation Detroit has suffered economically worse than any other of the major American cities and its rampant urban decay is now glaringly apparent during this current recession. Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre documented this disintegration, showcasing structures that were formerly a source of civic pride, and which now stand as monuments to the city’s fall from grace.

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We’ve got a much more danceable track for you on Dezeen Music Project today, with this minimal but funky house track by Kobi Glas. Funky Pressure is one of a collection of tracks inspired by the city of Tel Aviv, which you can download here if you like what you hear.

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We check out the NYC of Israel with local fashion blogger and cultural maven Eyal de Leeuw

Head of External Relations at the Design Museum Holon just outside Tel Aviv, Eyal de Leeuw is not only a natural tour guide, but as co-founder of Israel’s leading men’s fashion blog Ha-Garconniere, he is clued into some of the most interesting city sights and the latest in urban night life. I met de Leeuw last month during Holon Design Week, and the former cultural attaché kindly took me around during what little down time we had. Here are his top seven must-sees for the city often dubbed the NYC of Israel.

Rothschild 12

Located on the well-known Rothschild Boulevard, the multifunctional Rothschild 12 is anything and everything you want it to be. For the morning it’s an excellent cafe to see and be seen and then later on a nice bar for an early afternoon drink. At night it’s a lounge-like music venue hosting a weekly lineup of young Tel Avivian bands and DJs. The best thing is you can always return to fight the hangover with a lovely weekend brunch.

Har Sinai

After Uri Lahav opened this nonchalant bar last year, Har Sinai became the ultimate hangout for both the hipsters and those who reject them. Before going out for a night of clubbing or at the end of a long working day, Har Sinai is a place to listen to great music and to find refuge in a small bar behind the largest Tel Aviv synagogue.

Cheesecake

Cheesecake is a party line led by talented musician (and local star) Assaf Amdursky and wiz-kid Oren Marzam, hosted every Thursday at the Breakfast Club (as well as Milk, its sister club next door). A small and intimate party line, Cheesecake throws together international DJs, amazing energies and a great photographer who captures the hippest of Tel Aviv’s gay-friendly crowd.

Joz & Loz

Laid back yet delicious, shabby-chic yet sexy, tranquil yet hectic—Joz & Loz has become one of the city’s best hangouts, attracting clients from the creative industries. The restaurant is the perfect place to enjoy a fresh and even poetic menu with secret performances by local musicians and long nights under the Mediterranean skies. Don’t forget to order a Noga, the special house drink.

Hotel Montefiore

Every city needs a boutique hotel to host elegant guests from abroad for a lovely weekend. Enjoy a fine French-Vietnamese dinner and have a drink at the bar, where they serve the finest dirty martini in town.

Sommer Gallery

With the absence of a serious center for contemporary art in Tel Aviv, many young and exciting art galleries have began opening up around town. Sommer Gallery has made an international name for itself by creating a new voice for the emerging Israeli art generation. While the main gallery shows an array of established local and international artists—such as Yael Bartana, Adi Nes, Darren Almond, Thomas Zipp and Wilhelm Sasnal—a smaller space in the gallery is dedicated for budding curators and artists.

Verner Boutique

Situated in the south of the city, Verner Boutique is a good stop on the way to the Jaffa flea market. The shop carries labels such as Maison Martin Margiela’s MM6 line, Acne and Alexander Wang, as well as Israeli jewelry designers.

Design Museum Holon

Eyal was too modest to include Design Museum Holon, but I can personally attest to the fact that it deserves an extended visit. Designed by Ron Arad, the exterior alone is worth the trip. After the “Designers Plus Ten” exhibition closes later this month, Yohji Yamomoto will take over the main gallery until 20 October 2012.

The Cooper-Hewitt announced the winners of the National Design Awards this morning. The NDA, which is in its 13th year, typically recognizes finalists in each category, but this year Cooper-Hewitt is doing away with finalists to keep the focus solely on the work of the winners.

Out of thousands of nominees the NDA has recognized some phenomenal work this year, especially in the Corporate and Institutional Achievement category, which was awarded to Design that Matters, a “nonprofit design company that partners with social entrepreneurs to design products that address basic needs in developing countries.” Some of their projects include a projector for nighttime adult literacy education in Africa, a low-cast neonatal incubator that uses spare car parts and a phototherapy device for treating newborn jaundice in Vietnam.

NeoNurture, the “Car Parts” Incubator has received a lot of attention in recent years. You might have seen it on display at Cooper-Hewitt’s “Why Design Now?” exhibition as part of the National Design Triennial. It successfully addresses several needs in developing and rural countries, namely the lack of training to properly use and care for expensive medical equipment. In their research, Design that Matters found that “up to 98% of donated medical equipment in developing countries is broken within five years.” They also found one hospital in rural Nepal that “hadn’t changed the filters in their incubators in over five years, when filters are meant to be changed every six months.”

It’s not so much that the parts are expensive to replace, but that not many people know how to repair them. However, Design that Matters found that the one thing that does tend to get fixed everywhere in the world is cars, so they designed an incubator that someone who knew how to repair a car could fix just as easily.

“NeoNurture takes advantage of an abundant local resource in developing countries: car parts and the knowledge of auto technicians. This incubator leverages the existing supply chain of the auto industry and the technical understanding of local car mechanics. Among other components, it uses sealed-beam headlights as a heating element, a dashboard fan for convective heat circulation, signal lights and a door chime serve as alarms, and a motorcycle battery and car cigarette lighter provide backup power during incubator transport and power outages.”

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Raramente mi capita di scrivere post prettamente femminili ma per lei faccio sempre un’eccezione. Questa è la nuova collezione Whatsinsideyou SS12, il soggetto è molto carino, gli abiti anche, handmade in italy. In arrivo su thisisamaze.