Hasta La Ideas

The Brazil headquarters for retail conglomerate Walmart’s online division by Estudio Guto Requena has colour-coded levels and a terrace with a miniature golf course (+ slideshow).

Brazil firm Estudio Guto Requena aimed to create informal meeting spaces similar to those found in workplaces of technology companies on each of the floors at the Walmart.com headquarters, which occupies the sixth to tenth levels of a tower in São Paulo.

Communal areas are treated like balconies or patios, with outdoor furniture such as deck chairs, hammock-like seats and wicker swings set up for employees to socialise like neighbours.

“This is a very special project for us,” studio founder Guto Requena told Dezeen. “The very first time in Walmart history that they invested so much attention in design for their space. Pushing their newest office to have a strong identity and a cosy interior… an interesting overlap between Walmart DNA and strong Brazilian culture.”

Meeting rooms are grouped into volumes at the centre of the open-plan office space on each level, surrounded by curved walls clad with timber strips on the outside.

Surfaces, furniture and window frames in these spaces are treated in a different wood and a colour from Walmart’s branding on each floor.

The yellow floor includes the employees’ cafe, while a pool table is situated in the green zone, and a lounge with sofas and guitars is set up in one of the orange rooms.

The informal meeting spaces are located in pockets formed by the odd shape of these blocks, with carpet and furniture matching those in the adjacent rooms.

A minigolf course was designed especially for the terrace on the sixth level, where there’s also a space for yoga and a seating area in front of a stage for hosting small events, concerts and film screenings.

Photography is by Fran Parente.

Here’s some more information from Estudio Guto Requena:

Walmart.com Office

Pre-design Research Methodology

The design for the Walmart.com Offices was derived from a research methodology developed by Estudio Guto Requena. Interviews and dynamic online exchanges with company employees were conducted to assess values, needs and expectations.

Three principal focal points emerged from this process: digital culture, the Walmart.com brand and brasilidade (Brazilian identity). This research also informed the choice of colours, materials, forms, programming and design concepts.

Conceptual Framework

We applied these three focal points and their commonalities to an exploration of the building’s prominent terrace and developed from this a guiding concept for the company’s headquarters: the Urban Veranda. Design choices reference the Brazilian habit of engaging outdoor areas for social interaction and relaxation.

Elements include beach chairs, the many large buildings with terraced facades, picnics (visible in the carpet patterning), the patios and balconies of Brazilian homes, and the rural habit of placing a chair in the street to enjoy the evening and chat with neighbours.

Program and Identity

The headquarters occupy five floors with over a thousand square meters each. One of the challenges of this project was to bring a more human dimension to the work environment with spaces that are welcoming and comfortable, even pleasant and informal, while maintaining professionalism and practicality. Other challenges included a lean budget and a tight deadline.

To help locate and guide visitors and employees in this large area, we created a unique visual identity for each floor through centralised cocoons that develop organically between the pillars and break the rigidity of the orthogonal space. Each floor was designed with a predominant wood type.

Pine, OSB, Eucalyptus and Masisa Zurich combine with a single colour in various shades, all chosen from the official Walmart colour palate of yellow, orange, blue and green. Different floors house individual departments, such as Business, Sales, Human Resources or Finance, and also contain lounges and decompression environments, including games rooms, film screening areas, video games and a library. These areas are to encourage the exchange of ideas and interaction between employees from different departments.

Lighting

Workstations are located near windows to take advantage of daylight, and the lighting design prioritises economy. In lounges and decompression areas indirect light is used in amber hues with decorative fixtures. Specifically created for this project is the hanging Gourd Lamp made from the fruit itself.

Traditionally, these have been used in Brazil as containers, and also as resonators in musical instruments such as the chocalho, the berimbau and the maracá. Dried gourds were painted gray inside and arrayed on a wooden support, with colorful wiring left exposed.

Furniture and Decoration

We prioritised the use of domestic furniture in both the offices and lounges, with signed pieces by the established Brazilians designers Maurício Arruda, Jader Almeida, Lina Bo Bardi, and Paulo Alves and Fernando Jaeger. We also included pieces that are part of the popular Brazilian imagination, such as rocking chairs, beach chairs, porch chairs and picnic tables.

For the production of objects and decorative elements we used images of contemporary Brazilian photographers, as well as maps, illustrations and Brazilian folk art. Skateboards and bikes reference the lifestyles of younger employees.

Greenery

Throughout the office we emphasised the use of plants, and created a green belt that runs through the peripheral spaces and contributes to the identity and warmth of the work environment.

Terrace

The outdoor area was designed for both work and relaxation. Wood decking orders the environment, together with porch furniture, shaded areas, a space for yoga and a grandstand facing the facade that can host small events, concerts and film screenings. A mini-golf course was also specially designed for the terrace.

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crazy golf course on the roof appeared first on Dezeen.

Guild, a design + build collective that specializes in face melting experiential design, brand environments, packaging, art, objects and more, is searching for a Junior Designer to join their Los Angeles office.

That’s right. “Face Melting” experiential design.

The best Junior Designer for this role will be ready to work hard, and work late as needed, applying their SketchUp and/or Rhino skills towards helping design and visualize new projects for clients, create shop drawings for production, strategize with the Creative Director, and collaborate with carpenters, project managers, installers, clients, sculptors, printers, painters and more on kick ass projects. This is a fun gig for a cool company – Apply Now.

(more…)

TBWA a organisé une installation sur le quai du métro de la station Odéon à Paris racontant une histoire tragique, celle d’un humanitaire d’Action Contre la Faim, abattu d’une balle en pleine tête. La balle traverse le quai sur plusieurs affiches, explosant tour à tour des symboles de l’aide apportée aux plus démunis.

The Cyclone Cooking System is quite a contemporary take on existing burners and cook-tops. Integrating high-tech features, you can expect the high-efficiency direct flame burners to make cooking a pleasurable and relatively a faster process. The LED indicator system is especially cool!

• Turning the knob activates the system, and an indicator light (coming from bottom surface of the knob) illuminates the control areas.
• Translucent silicon stoppers are highlighted by LEDs that are hidden below the burner plate.
• The amount of illumination is calibrated to the power being consumed by the burner.
• If the user supplies full power to the burner, intense light will be seen beneath the knob and on the stoppers.
• At low power, a less intense light will be seen.
• The burner in use can be easily detected, even in dark conditions.
• If any liquid spills from a cooking pot and douses the burner flame, the lighting system will blink continuously. A beeping sound will also alert the user to the situation. All the warning signals stop when the related knob is turned off.
• A concave base plate collects any spilled liquid at the centre for easy cleaning.
• The burner plates can be made with stainless steel or cast iron, and shaped as thin sheets or metal blocks. Other parts of the system can be finished with different colours and materials.
• The high-efficiency direct flame burners can be finished with two kinds of burner capping designs.
• One has slanted grooves that generate a flame with a rotating movement effect. The other is perforated and produces a smooth flame effect that rises directly from the holes.

Cyclone Cooking System is a 2013 red dot award: design concept winner!

Designers: Serdal Korkut Avci & Ali Ihsan Incukur for Arçelik A.Ş. Industrial Design Department

–
Yanko Design
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(New Age In Cooking was originally posted on Yanko Design)

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News: architects Rem Koolhaas and Foster + Partners will work alongside Hollywood power-couple Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin to create a new ocean-side cultural quarter at Miami Beach in Florida (+ slideshow).

Faena Miami Beach will include an arts centre by Rem Koolhaas/OMA, a beachside condominium tower by Foster + Partners, and a restoration of the landmark Saxony Hotel by husband-and-wife team Luhrmann and Martin.

The all-star cast has been assembled by Argentinian hotelier and property developer Alan Faena, who presented the plans during the Art Basel and Design Miami fairs in the city earlier this month.

“In Miami Beach we are creating a new epicenter for the city,” Faena said. “Acting as curators, we are commissioning a group of standout talents to create an urban installation without equal.”

Faena Miami Beach will stretch six blocks along Collins Avenue, between 32 Street and 37 Street, and extend from the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Creek waterway.

Koolhaas’ Faena Arts Center, due to open next year, consists of a cubic volume and a cylindrical volume, both featuring diagonally banded facades.

The development will also include two further projects by Koolhaas: the Faena Bazaar retail building and Artists-in-Residence Center and Faena Park, an automated car parking garage.

“We were invited to design three buildings – an arts center, retail bazaar and car park,” said Koolhaas. “These distinct functions are linked by a sequence of public domains including a plaza, courtyard and marina dock.”

“Culture is at the core of Faena’s vision, and has been the driving force for our collaboration in Miami Beach,” Koolhaas added. “By curating their neighborhood with programmatic diversity, Alan’s sphere of influence will likely extend beyond this development to the rest of Miami Beach.”

Foster + Partners’ 18-storey residential tower, Faena House, will feature distinctive wraparound, Argentinian-style “alero” covered terraces on each floor (“alero” is the Spanish term for a projecting eave).

“We were talking about the nature of indoor and outdoor living, remarking on how much one used the alero, the outdoor terrace,” said Brandon Haw, senior partner at Foster + Partners. “This really became very much the leitmotif of the project.”

The aleros will be up to 37 feet (3.3 metres) deep and the glazed walls of the apartments will feature sliding glass doors up to 12 feet 6 inches (3.8 metres) wide, allowing the terraces and interior spaces to be used seamlessly.

The building will also feature a lobby with water pools to help cool the ground floor.

Film director Luhrmann and production designer Martin, whose credits include The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge, will oversee the renovation of the Saxony Hotel. Built in 1947, this was once one of the most glamorous luxury hotels at Miami Beach. Luhrmann and Martin will oversee the design of the 168-suite hotel – including the interiors and the staff uniforms – as well as curating entertainment in the theatre, cinema and public spaces. The hotel is due to reopen in December 2014.

The project is the latest in a string of new developments by high-profile European architects in Miami, which is rapidly establishing itself as the most architecturally progressive city in the USA. New apartment towers by Zaha Hadid, Herzog & de Meuron and Bjarke Ingels Group have been announced this year, while OMA recently won a competition to rebuild the Miami Beach convention centre.

Faena Miami Beach is the first project outside Argentina by Faena, who previously turned a stretch of abandoned docklands at Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires into a thriving arts-led urban quarter, featuring the Faena Hotel designed by Philippe Starck and the Faena Aleph residential buildings by Foster + Partners.

Visualisations are by Hayes Davidson.

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Hollywood duo on Miami Beach appeared first on Dezeen.