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Mehdi Ghadyanloo Wall Paintings

Mehdi Ghadyanloo est un peintre iranien basé à Téhéran. Les murs et la rue sont les principaux espaces d’expression sur lesquels il s’amuse à peindre des personnages au milieu de perspectives et formes géométriques qui apportent une dimension surréaliste à ses oeuvres. Une sélection de son travail est à découvrir.

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Large Areas of The Coasts Photography

Luca Lupi est un photographe italien qui vit et travaille actuellement à Fucecchio dans la province de Florence. Dans sa série baptisée « Landscapes », l’artiste s’est amusé à photographier de grandes étendues de lieux en bords de mer. Entre plages idylliques et zones industrielles surplombées par le ciel, découvrez son travail dans la suite.

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Norwegian Presence exhibition showcases products at Milan design week

Milan 2015: furniture, ceramics and glassware by Norwegian designers have been collected together for an exhibition intended to show the country’s contribution to Scandinavian design (+ slideshow).

Krobo by Torbjørn Afdal for Fjordfiesta.  Photograph by Kaja Buskeland
Krobo by Torbjørn Afdal. Photograph by Kaja Bruskeland

The exhibition called Norwegian Presence was hosted by Klubben, Norwegian Crafts and Norwegian Icons – a trio of independent and government-funded groups set up to nurture the reputation of the Nordic nation’s design.

The Faset Vase by Kari Mølstad for Norwegian Crafts. Photograph by Kaja Bruskeland.jpg
The Faset Vase by Kari Mølstad. Photograph by Kaja Bruskeland

Over 50 products from 46 Norwegian designers and artisans – ranging from contemporary prototypes to 1940s furniture – were included in the exhibition that ran from 15 to 19 April in the Ventura Lambrate district during Milan design week.

Saddle by Angell Wyller & Aarseth (AWAA) for Slåke. Photograph by Kaja Bruskeland
Saddle by Angell Wyller & Aarseth (AWAA). Photograph by Kaja Bruskeland

Exhibition organiser Norwegian Crafts is a body funded by the nation’s Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The group presented a range of products and installations by nine Norwegian craftspeople, including a line of ceramic tableware called Tuthanka by Norwegian potter Margit Seland. The spouted vessels feature sanded matt exteriors and brightly coloured lids.

Tuthanka by Margit Seland for Norwegian Crafts. Photograph by Kaja Bruskeland
Tuthanka by Margit Seland. Photograph by Kaja Bruskeland

Norwegian Icons represents the region’s design output between 1940 to 1975 to raise awareness of the country’s contribution to Scandinavian design, while also promoting new designers.



A multi-coloured modular furniture piece called Krobo was one of the historic pieces on show. Produced in 1960 by post-war furniture designer Torbjørn Afdal, it features an upholstered bench, with a pale wooden frame and brightly coloured metal trays.

Flaske by Andreas Engesvik for Norwegian Crafts. Photograph by Kaja Bruskeland
Flaske by Andreas Engesvik. Photograph by Kaja Bruskeland

Among contemporary designers represented by the group is Kristine Bjaadal, who created a series of coloured glass vessels with bulbous shapes and wooden lids called Hold, which first launched at the beginning of 2015.

Hold by Kristine Bjaadal for Magnor. Photograph by Kaja Buskeland
Hold by Kristine Bjaadal. Photograph by Kaja Bruskeland

Norwegian design collective Klubben unveiled new prototypes and projects from 18 of its 31 members at the show, including a set of linoleum-topped tables named Flip it! by product and spatial designer Marte Frøystad. The metal-framed tables and pedestals have tops based on variations of the circle, featuring segmented and stretched semi-circular tops in speckled yellow, peach or black.

Flip it by Marte Frøystad for Klubben. Photograph by Kaja Buskeland
Flip it by Marte Frøystad. Photograph by Kaja Bruskeland

Graphic and product designer Kristine Five Melvær also created a series of brightly coloured and patterned blankets called Mikkel, which were shown for the first time at the exhibition. The colour block patterns, woven in Norwegian wool were inspired by the Bauhaus movement.

Mikkel blanket by Kristine Five Melvær
Mikkel blanket by Kristine Five Melvær. Photograph by Erik Five Gunnerud

“The Mikkel blankets combine inspiration from the Bauhaus movement and Norwegian traditional weaving on one side,” said the designer, “with a contemporary and exploratory use of colour on the other.”

Mikkel blanket by Kristine Five Melvær
Mikkel blanket by Kristine Five Melvær. Photograph by Erik Five Gunnerud

Unit was another product debut – a bench with a cork seat and feet by furniture and textile designer Silje Nesdal, who grew up in a Norwegian fjord but is now based in Oslo.

Unit by Silje Nesdal for Klubben. Photograph by Kaja Buskeland
Unit by Silje Nesdal. Photograph by Kaja Bruskeland

A range of wooden trays were designed by Siv Lier, with shiny brass disks that project from the base. The fins of the Spring trays can be used as dividers for loose change, accessories or as a letter rack.

Norwegian Presence exhibition at Milan 2015
Spring by Siv Lier. Photograph by Kaja Bruskeland

Other Scandinavian design on show in Milan last week included a collection of new products by Danish designers and ceramicists, shown at the Mindcraft exhibition curated by GamFratesi.

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products at Milan design week
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Paris library by Agence Pascale Guédot angles around an old walnut tree

The chunky quartzite walls of this library on the outskirts of Paris are faceted to accommodate the span of a century-old walnut tree at the centre of the site (+ slideshow).

Media library in Bourg-la-Reine by Agence Pascale Guédot

Paris studio Agence Pascale Guédot designed the media library for a plot amidst the city hall, church and music conservatory in the heart of Bourg-la-Reine, a suburb of the French capital.

Media library in Bourg-la-Reine by Agence Pascale Guédot

The faceted U-shaped form, designed to curve around the trunk of a the tree, is covered in slim sections of pale grey quartzite – a type of heat and pressure-treated sandstone.



The dimensions of the stonework vary across each facade, while thinner blocks were used to cover the roof’s metal substructure.

Media library in Bourg-la-Reine by Agence Pascale Guédot

“A landmark building, the new media library is deliberately visible and identifiable, yet it blends politely with the existing urban fabric,” said architect Pascale Guédot.

“The layout and form of this media library evolved naturally from the will to preserve a 100-year-old walnut tree.”

Media library in Bourg-la-Reine by Agence Pascale Guédot

“Respectful of the setbacks, it refrains from overshadowing the neighbourhood,” she added.

“Shy of signalling its existence, it calls for a discreet discovery as one comes nearby. Only then is one struck with the force of the volumes and the architectural identity.”

Media library in Bourg-la-Reine by Agence Pascale Guédot

The building presents large glazed openings on the street-facing aspect, but solid stonework folds away from the road at either side to encircle a garden to its rear.

The roof too is also faceted, with an asymmetric pitch that is steeper on the garden side to leave sprouting room for the tree’s branches. Wooden decking surrounds the base of the tree to provide a sheltered outdoor reading area.

Media library in Bourg-la-Reine by Agence Pascale Guédot

“This is a building, which is not afraid of stating its bulk,” said the architect. “The facade of the media library presents several folds, each facet responding to a specific context and a particular constraint.”

“The monolithic character of the construction is reinforced by the use of a grey quartzite stone,” she added.

Media library in Bourg-la-Reine by Agence Pascale Guédot

The goalposts shifted between the design and construction phase, with the library downsizing its collection by 40 per cent, said Guédot. This led to the inclusion of more public meeting areas and seating.

Media library in Bourg-la-Reine by Agence Pascale Guédot

Bright green cushions are arranged on the terraced floor at ground level, providing an impromptu reading spot adjacent to the decking, while loose furniture can be arranged to adapt the building’s primarily open spaces for a changing programme.

Media library in Bourg-la-Reine by Agence Pascale Guédot

A children’s reading room occupies one corner of the ground floor, while smaller reading rooms are tucked away against the exterior walls.

The main reading room sits at the top of a wide staircase on the upper floor. This level is almost entirely open-plan, with a handful of private meeting rooms positioned at the ends of the space.

Media library in Bourg-la-Reine by Agence Pascale Guédot
Site plan – click for larger image
Media library in Bourg-la-Reine by Agence Pascale Guédot
Ground floor plan – click for larger image
Media library in Bourg-la-Reine by Agence Pascale Guédot
First floor plan – click for larger image
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Section one – click for larger image
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Section two – click for larger image

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angles around an old walnut tree
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New Pinterest board: tea houses

new-tea-houses-pinterest-board-architecture-dezeen

Our latest Pinterest board is filled with tea houses by architects and designers including Shigeru BanSou Fujimoto and Tokujin Yoshioka.

Follow Dezeen on Pinterest | See more tea houses on Dezeen

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