Penda creates snowdrift-inspired interiors for a Chinese ski retreat

A warren of interconnecting spaces moulded to resemble melting snow form an après-ski apartment in China’s Hebei province by Vienna and Beijing-based studio Penda (+ slideshow).

Snow Apartment by Penda

Located 160 kilometres north of Beijing in the ski resort Zhangjiakou, Snow Apartment was designed by Penda as a weekend retreat for the client and his friends.



Set over two floors, the first level of the apartment accommodates seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, a cloakroom and a central living room.

Snow Apartment by Penda

Thickly plastered contoured walls, intended to resemble partially melted snow, line the hallway that sweeps around a central circulation well connecting the upper and lower floor.

Snow Apartment by Penda

“The design of the apartment is inspired by a melting snowfield in spring, when nature slowly revives from winter,” said a statement from the designers.

Snow Apartment by Penda

The undulating plasterwork floats five centimetres above the fir floorboards, disconnecting the walls and ceiling from the floor of the property.

Snow Apartment by Penda

To produce the curved shape of the walls, plaster was applied over a series of hand-constructed arches formed from individual wooden slats. To maximise space, bathrooms, storage areas and stairwells are exempt from the plastering technique.

Snow Apartment by Penda

The walls are plumbed with a network of heating pipes that, according to the architects, emit a gentle warmth to give the sensation that the walls are slowly thawing around their edges.

Snow Apartment by Penda

LED lighting positioned in the gap between floor and wall, and along the top of each alcove, gives a peripheral glow to the walls.

Snow Apartment by Penda

The whitewashed walls are also inset with a series of fir-lined alcoves providing storage space, ski racks, seating areas and nooks for flat-screen televisions.

Snow Apartment by Penda

Textiles in a palette of oranges, purples and warm greys soften the wooden seating areas and drape around the windows to offer “a contrast of cold and warm, white and coloured.” Glass shelves and plinths displaying artworks dot the corridors.

Snow Apartment by Penda

The client has hung paintings on the walls of the stairwell, taking advantage of its flat surfaces. Sculptural works sit directly on the floor and a cluster of unshaded lightbulbs are suspended from the centre of the staircase.

Snow Apartment by Penda

A centrally located lift and spiral staircase at the rear of the property provide access to the upper floor, named the Ice Apartment.

This space offers an angular and cool-toned contrast to the curves of the ground floor of the Snow Apartment.

Snow Apartment by Penda

Downstairs, formal bar and dining areas cater to guests and provide access to a roof terrace that overlooks the surrounding mountainous terrain.

Snow Apartment by Penda
Floor plan and wall details – click for larger image

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for a Chinese ski retreat
appeared first on Dezeen.

Class Recap: Be Insta Good!

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2 weeks ago we took our addiction to Instagram to the next level by inviting Insta-celeb, Jelito de Leon, to teach a Bloesem Class and show us the ropes of how he has garnered so many followers on Instagram and how he manages to hit it out of the park, instagram shot after instagram shot.  

Here are some shots of how the class went. We set up props throughout the class room to make it as inspiring and as “instagrammable” as possible for students to test out their newly-learnt skills. And of course we had to had some yummy desserts and bites to stay fueled.

If you like what you see and want to get in on the Bloesem Class action, we’ve got a few classes lined up for you.

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Good bags all ready and waiting for the arrival of the instagrammers.

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Greens around the class room waiting to be photographed.

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Students taking photography to the next level. Do what you have to to get the shot! You regret 100% of the shots you don’t take. I think that quote was made for instagram, no?

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Jelito arrived with this dream catcher as a gift from the Craftsmith Team. What a beauty.

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Not photographed was our tours around the picturesque Tiong Bahru neighbourhood, but we’ll leave that to our students. You can find many images taken by them of the neighbourhood if you search #bloesemclass on instagram.

We hope to see you at our next class! We always have different classes so if you find something you like make sure you grab a spot before it’s too late. Some classes you might want to join:

Tapestry Weaving by Natalie Miller
Macrame by Natalie Miller
The Art of Visual Storytelling by Irene Hoofs
Candle Making by Anne & Luke Suthern of Deckle and Hide

.. For more information about Bloesem class

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Samuelsohn Performance Weatherproof Suits: Rain-repellent fabrics get a classic cut in the brand's new line

Samuelsohn Performance Weatherproof Suits


Any suit-wearing individual caught in an unexpected storm or using a not-so-effective umbrella understands the discomfort of wet dress attire. Wool absorbs moisture and makes it more manageable, but wet wool also certainly carries a scent when saturated—in addition to a textural change….

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Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcellos has bright blue blocky facades

Architect Jô Vasconcellos has connected blue boxes of different dimensions in a long line to form this museum dedicated to Brazil’s most popular alcoholic spirit, cachaça, in the city of Salinas (+ slideshow).

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

Jô Vasconcellos created the Museu da Cachaça de Salinas for the city in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil, which is one of the leading producers of cachaça – a type of rum.

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

The museum’s elongated layout responds to the shape of the site, which is located on a strip of land between two roads. Long facades on either side present largely closed surfaces to the surrounding neighbourhood.



Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

Sections of the east facade incorporate a lattice of concrete blockwork that disrupts the homogenous blue-painted masonry, allowing natural light and breezes to permeate the circulation areas inside.

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

Thick walls constructed in the style of traditional local buildings incorporate an insulating air gap, which prevents overheating and provides space for electrical wiring and other services.

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

The arrangement of volumes results in a linear route through the museum, with the different heights and widths of the interconnected rooms responding to their individual contents.

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

“Straight lines, flat surfaces and solid blocks have been used as significant and defining elements of the new landscape,” said Vasconcellos. “The space is recreated and the perception is changed by the search for transitional spaces, different scales, open areas, gaps and volumes.”

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

The main entrance is situated at one end of the building, sheltered beneath a pergola made from steel I-beams and round wooden poles.

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

Inside, a reception area with walls covered in images of the sugarcane from which cachaça is made marks the beginning of the route through rooms dedicated to the history of the spirit and its production, distribution and consumption.

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

One of the rooms displays a variety of cachaça bottles arranged on glass shelves against mirrored walls, with a mirrored ceiling giving the impression that the space carries on beyond its actual height.

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

Another entrance is marked by a courtyard set into one of the long facades. It provides direct access to a restaurant and to a corridor flanked by the curving wall of latticed blocks that leads towards the shop and administration areas.

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

This corridor culminates in a wide glazed opening that connects a library space with bookshelves and long concrete tables to a public square outside.

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

The square was integrated into the scheme as part of the museum’s commitment to supporting the local community, and contains benches, tables, stone ovens, small gardens and an amphitheatre.

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

“The intention is to make the area an oasis of light, shadow, comfort and a meeting point for knowledge and enjoyment,” explained the architect.

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos

Photography is by Junia Mortimer.

Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos
Floor plan – click for larger image
Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos
Section – click for larger image
Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos
Long section one – click for larger image
Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcelos
Long section two – click for larger image

The post Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcellos
has bright blue blocky facades
appeared first on Dezeen.

A Creative Dad's Tale of Artistic and Mathematical Experimentation, Failure, Triumph and Pancakes

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What’s more fascinating than watching the progression of a talented artist or designer’s work? Also, Creative Dads is becoming a thing. First we saw Michael Chou devising a better way to serve up ice cream to his kids. Now we see Nathan Shields, father of toddlers Gryphon and Alice, devising increasingly sophisticated methods of creating pancakes with aesthetic and representational value.

Using a plastic squirt bottle filled with pancake batter, in early 2012 Shields was drawing primitive forms to amuse his kids, with a hot non-stick pan as his canvas:

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However, at some point he discovered that whatever streams of batter were “drawn” first would of course cook for longer, meaning they’d be darker brown upon flipping.

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With this understanding of how to create tonality, Shields’ drawings swiftly grew more sophisticated and defined:

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This technique led to his popular Beatles Pancakes YouTube video:

(more…)

Contemporary Art at Le Méridien Chambers : Even the public bathrooms host video artwork in this highly cultural, downtown Minneapolis hotel

Contemporary Art at Le Méridien Chambers


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City Guides Books Illustration’s Covers

La maison d’édition Viction:ary, basée à Hong Kong, a collaboré avec des designers et illustrateurs du monde entier pour concevoir les couvertures de leurs « City Guides ». Les jaquettes représentent un plan de la ville, dessiné selon le style de l’artiste et en suivant un code-couleurs différent pour chaque livre. Des couvertures très graphiques à découvrir.

Barcelona City Guide by Forma & Co.

Tokyo City Guide by Masako Kubo.

Berlin City Guide by Vesa Sammalisto.

London City Guide by David Ryan Robinson.

Paris City Guide by Allan Deas.

New York City Guide by Mike Perry.

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