Sports complex by Tecnova Architecture and Archi5 features a dark stone facade

A faceted roof garden sits atop the stone-clad box that comprises this sports centre in France by Archi5 and Tecnova Architecture (+ slideshow).

Antony Multisports Complex by Archi5 and Technova Architecture

French studios Archi5 and Tecnova Architecture designed the Multisports Complex for the residents of Antony – a community in the southern suburbs of Paris.

Antony Multisports Complex by Archi5 and Technova Architecture

The newly created public sports space offers a variety of facilities, including a dance hall and martial arts dojo, and has been designed to stand out from the surrounding urban landscape.

“What we sought to spark off was people’s curiosity and a thirst for mystery; a child’s fascination to know what’s inside the big box,” Archi5 said. “This led us to design this huge, dark monolith, which is a break from local architecture.”

Antony Multisports Complex by Archi5 and Technova Architecture

Locally sourced basalt stone clads the exterior of the complex and features a variety of different hues.

Antony Multisports Complex by Archi5 and Technova Architecture

“The monolith is deconstructed by the variety of stones used to clad the facade and the way these are pieced together, like a construction set,” the architects said.

“The building changes depending on the angle from which you look at it, the time of day, the light or the season,” they explained.

Antony Multisports Complex by Archi5 and Technova Architecture

A faceted roof garden supported by a steel structure sits atop the building, punctured by skylights that allow natural light to flood the complex. Vertical window panels can also be manually operated to control the amount of light into space.

Antony Multisports Complex by Archi5 and Technova Architecture

One corner of the building has been raised, sheltering a glazed entrance into the complex.

On the ground floor, a multi-purpose sports hall offers space for fencing, table tennis and other sports programs, while changing rooms next to the main hall connect to a second side entrance.

Antony Multisports Complex by Archi5 and Technova Architecture

A martial arts dojo and dance hall sit across the first floor, with a tiled matte surface to ensure people don’t slip whilst exercising.

An underground parking area can be accessed through the building’s lobby and an astroturfed outdoor football field attached to the back of the complex allows residents to play in any season.

Antony Multisports Complex by Archi5 and Technova Architecture

Photography is by Thomas Jorion.

Here’s some more text from the architects:


Multisports Complex Antony, France

The project’s design and planning focus on a thorough understanding of the local context. The building responds to existing scales. Its location and architecture denote the space’s public nature and inject new life into the site. By taking surrounding public spaces into consideration when designing the project, we reinforced the notion that this building is a public facility, a landmark within the surrounding disorder.

Antony Multisports Complex by Archi5 and Technova Architecture
Exploded axonometric diagram – click for larger image

So as to allude to a mind’s eye view we asked ourselves how we could draw attention to the building without stirring up too much controversy. What we sought to spark off was people’s curiosity and a thirst for mystery: a child’s fascination to know what is in-side a big box. This is what led us to design this huge, dark monolith, which is a break from local architecture, with rows of pink houses or over complex public buildings. A mysterious big black box planted in an urban landscape. Curiosity is satisfied once the way to go in is found, on a raised corner where the entrance is located.

Antony Multisports Complex by Archi5 and Technova Architecture
Ground floor plan – click for larger image

We wanted the passer-by to see something different to what the residents see. We achieved this by an interplay between different elements, the roof garden offering an alternative landscape – a hanging square. On the inside, the surfaces adapt and follow the height of the different sports areas. This creates a dynamic between the different components of the project. The monolith is deconstructed by the variety of stones used to clad the facade and the way these are pieced together, like a construction set. The building changes depending on the angle from which you look at it, the time of day, the light or the season.

Antony Multisports Complex by Archi5 and Technova Architecture
First floor plan – click for larger image

This single structure houses the main functions of the program: fencing/table tennis hall, dance hall, combat areas and other activities. The building’s compact nature is its greatest environmental asset. Natural light floods in, in spite of the solid facades. Vertical window panels allow light to be controlled and adapted to the needs of the sport being practiced. We designed this facility to be simple, powerful and almost timeless.

Architects: Archi5
Associated architects: Tecnova Architecture
Surface: 3,989 sqm
Main contractor: Bateg
Engineer: EPDC
Landscape designer: HYL

The post Sports complex by Tecnova Architecture
and Archi5 features a dark stone facade
appeared first on Dezeen.

Residence NGuyen by Atelier Moderno

L’agence d’architecture Atelier Moderno a construit cette maison minimaliste appelée la « Résidence NGuyen », à Montréal. Le projet était de faire une maison familiale qui joue avec différentes matières comme l’acier et le béton. Cette jolie maison est à découvrir à travers les photos de Stéphane Groleau.

residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_161
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_151
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_141
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_131
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_121
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_111
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_101
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_091
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_081
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_071
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_061
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_051
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_041
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_031
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_021
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_011
residence_nguyen_atelier_moderno_0

Maurizio Di Iorio Photography

Maurizio Di Iorio est un photographe italien qui fait des photos très originales de nourriture, femmes, produits et fleurs. Avec des set design très colorés, il prend en photos des sortes de natures mortes ultra-modernes dans un style pop. Un large échantillon de son travail est à découvrir en images.

Maurizio-Di-Iorio-56
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-57
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-1bis
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-20bis
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-22bis
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-21bis
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-55
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-54
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-53
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-52
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-51
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-50
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-49
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-47
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-46
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-45
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-44
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-43
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-42
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-41
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-40
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-39
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-38
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-37
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-36
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-35
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-34
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-33
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-32
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-31
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-30
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-29
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-28
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-27
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-26
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-25
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-24
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-22
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-21
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-20
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-19
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-18
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-17
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-16
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-15
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-14
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-13
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-12
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-11
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-10
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-9
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-7
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-5
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-4
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-3
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-2
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-1
Maurizio-Di-Iorio-0

Croatian designer creates giant light show by illuminating shipyard cranes

Dean Skira has turned eight cranes at one of the world’s oldest working shipyards into a giant light show, creating a new tourist attraction in Pula (+ slideshow).

Architectural lighting designer Dean Skira lit up the cranes at Uljanik Shipyard with 73 RGB LED spotlights weighing 40kg each, as part of a project called Lighting Giants.

Skira Cranes

“The idea is partly related to the time in my youth spent practicing rowing at a club opposite Uljanik,” Skira explained. “Every day I looked at the cranes that dominate the skyline of Pula bay.”

Green and yellow lights represent Pula's official colours
Green and yellow lights represent Pula’s official colours

First conceived in 2000, the light show made its debut in May 2014 after receiving some private funding and a £32,174 (300,000 HRK) grant from the Croatian Ministry of Tourism.

“When the town authorities started considering relocating the shipyard, I came up with the idea of highlighting them instead,” Skira said.

Skira cranes orange and blue

A wi-fi based remote control system allows up to 16,000 different colours to shine on the cranes, while a series of blinds are used to prevent light pollution.

Pula’s Lighting Giants display happens every night from 9pm-12am, starting on the hour every hour and lasting for 15 minutes each time.

Skira cranes

“The industrial revolution in the early nineteenth-century has brought us some new monuments, which still stand and move every day in the gentle dance of steel,” Skira said.

“This dance has gone on for almost 200 years and I wanted to create a colourful stage in which they perform.”

Lighting Giants Blue 2

The cranes are still in everyday use, which meant that Skira had to work with the shipyard’s engineers to ensure lighting did not interfere with their regular working activities.

“The challenges were mostly connected to the positioning and focusing of lights, finding the right spot for the lighting fixtures in order to get the desired effect with minimum glare,” he told Dezeen.

“Hard work, lots of fine tuning and an excellent collaboration with all the parties involved made this project possible.”

Lighting Giants Blue 2

Built in 1856, Uljanik  is one of the oldest shipyards in the world and has since become a focal point of Pula, on the tip of the Istrian peninsula.

“I think the [Lighting Giants] project managed to emphasise this distinctive symbol of the city and celebrate its industrial heritage,” Skira noted.

“I hope this project will be interesting for visitors and will help Pula to be more recognisable on the world map.”

The post Croatian designer creates giant light show
by illuminating shipyard cranes
appeared first on Dezeen.

Chimenti Table

Chimenti table is made of three oak planks obtained by a Venetian bricola plainsawn, undergo accurate and painstaking washing, cleaning, drying and di..

Fiona O'Neill hand-paints dresses for Central Saint Martins fashion show

Fiona O'Neill graduate fashion collection

Black outlines framed the distorted silhouettes of painted dresses in Central Saint Martins fashion graduate Fiona O’Neill’s collection, presented at the institution’s catwalk show earlier this week.

Fiona O'Neill graduate fashion collection

Fiona O’Neill hand-painted the garments in her BA Fashion collection with blended pastel colours, influenced by art depicting Japanese women in traditional dress.

Fiona O'Neill graduate fashion collection

“My inspiration for this collection was women painting women, mainly derived from the artist Kate Blacker and her geisha series of painted women,” O’Neill told Dezeen.

Fiona O'Neill graduate fashion collection

“A lot of the patterns for this collection are large free-hand drawings that I materialised and manipulated,” she added.

Fiona O'Neill graduate fashion collection

The silhouettes were warped to distort the body shape at the shoulders and hips, further emphasised by the black lines that edged the garments when seen from the front.

Fiona O'Neill graduate fashion collection

Asymmetric sleeves, sometimes integrated into the torso to restrict arm movement, also contributed to the altered proportions.

One and two-piece outfits reached up to the chin or sat below the shoulders, with all but one dress extending down to the ankles.

Fiona O'Neill graduate fashion collection

O’Neill teamed technical and elasticated fabrics with canvas-like materials that absorbed the paint but still allowed for movement.

“I wanted to create the idea of a stiff cut out but obviously the girls needed to be able to walk comfortably,” said O’Neill.

Fiona O'Neill graduate fashion collection

Also at Wednesday’s Central Saint Martins show, Sang Yoon presented garments with chunky sleeves made from injection-moulded plastic cylinders.

Photographs are courtesy of Catwalking.com.

The post Fiona O’Neill hand-paints dresses for
Central Saint Martins fashion show
appeared first on Dezeen.

Wet Dogs Funny Series

La photographe Sophie Gamand a passé les 4 dernières années à réaliser des portraits très drôles de chiens mouillés au beau milieu de leurs toilettes. Sa série « Wet Dogs » a gagné le 1er Prix de la catégorie Portraits au Sony World Photography Awards 2014 et un livre édité par Le Livre de Poche est prévu pour 2015.

SophieGamand13
SophieGamand11
SophieGamand10
SophieGamand08
SophieGamand05
SophieGamand04
SophieGamand03
SophieGamand02
SophieGamand01
SophieGamand000

Glass Labyrinth Installation in Kansas City

Au musée d’Art Nelson-Atkins dans le parc de Kansas City, l’artiste Robert Morris a mis en place le Glass Labyrinth : une énorme installation d’un labyrinthe triangulaire en vitres transparentes qui tient son originalité dans le fait qu’il n’y a qu’une entrée et qu’elle fait aussi office de sortie.


Photo by Nelson-Atkins Museum.

Photo by Nelson-Atkins Museum.

Photo by Nelson-Atkins Museum.

Photo by Brad Mennemeyer.

Photo by Turki Binturki.

5-Turki Binturki
4-Brad Mennemeyer
3-Nelson-Atkins Museum3
2-Nelson-Atkins Museum2
1-Nelson-Atkins Museum

Unicorn chases its horn in Tomek Ducki's animation for Basement Jaxx

Dezeen Music Project: an animated unicorn and various other characters shimmy and shake along to Basement Jaxx’s latest track in this music video by director Tomek Ducki.

Basement Jaxx Unicorn music video Tomek Ducki

The video for Basement Jaxx is the fourth collaboration between the British dance duo and Tomek Ducki, who created the animated sequence for the Unicorn track taken from the upcoming Junto LP.

Basement Jaxx Unicorn music video Tomek Ducki

“I have a special hot line in my house in case they need the help of my super animation power,” Ducki told Dezeen.

“They asked me to do a visual for the whole 4 minutes based on the logo of their new album, plus of course to feature a unicorn,” he continued. “I told them that I don’t animate unicorns anymore but I finally made an exception.”

Basement Jaxx Unicorn music video Tomek Ducki

Rainbow-coloured graphics accompany the beat, as the cartoon unicorn’s horn runs away and its body splits into three forms to chase after it. “Sometimes unicorns must chase their own horns to find a good party,” Ducki said.

Basement Jaxx Unicorn music video Tomek Ducki

Along the journey, colourful fingers point the way and dancing figures perform different moves to the electronic music. Once reassembled, the unicorn hops, slides, moonwalks and even twerks in celebration.

“Besides my desire to have a lot of dancing characters, I made up a little narrative to stick the scenes to each other and to support the message of the music,” said Ducki.

Basement Jaxx Unicorn music video Tomek Ducki

Time constraints meant that he kept the sequence simple, limiting the shapes and colour palette while keeping the animation flat.

Basement Jaxx Unicorn music video Tomek Ducki

“I had an extremely little amount of time comparing to the length of the animation so I eliminated everything which might be time consuming process: no textures, no render, no fancy storytelling,” Ducki explained. “I rather pushed it to create as many joyful tiny figures and movements as possible.”

Basement Jaxx Unicorn music video Tomek Ducki

“By now I can dance all the choreography of the unicorn by heart,” he added. Basement Jaxx’s Junto LP is due for release on 25 August.

The post Unicorn chases its horn in Tomek Ducki’s
animation for Basement Jaxx
appeared first on Dezeen.

Link About It: This Week's Picks : Saying goodbye to legendary figures, Google's self-driving car, the scientific lure of bacon and more in our weekly look at the web

Link About It: This Week's Picks


1. Massimo Vignelli Remembered The world lost a true visionary this week in Italian designer Massimo Vignelli. Working with his wife Lella, the Modernist creator’s formative works will have a lasting legacy across a wide range of design fields, from homewares to logos….

Continue Reading…