Dans son livre de photos Illustrated People, l’artiste français Thomas Mailaender montre son travail de corps tatoués de vieilles photographies à l’aide de rayons UV. Pour cela, il place une lumière forte devant le négatif et attend que le modèle attrape un coup de soleil pour que la photo s’imprime sur sa peau.
British architect David Adjaye has revealed plans for a 100-bed paediatric cancer centre in Rwanda, East Africa.
The architect, who was born in Tanzania, is designing the Gahanga International Children’s Cancer Hospital for a four-hectare site in Gahanga, a region to the south of Rwandan capital Kigali.
In an interview with Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs last month, Adjaye said the hospital would be the first of its kind anywhere in Africa.
“It’s really important that techniques that are very commonplace in the West are also transferrable to Africa, and that lessons learned on the ground in Africa inform the practice,” he explained.
The project was commissioned by the Eugene Gasana Jr Foundation – a charity set up to improve access to cancer treatment for children in the country. It was co-founded by Rwandan ambassador Eugène-Richard Gasana and named after his son, who received cancer treatment in America.
The hospital will provide residential accommodation for patients and staff. “The building aims to promote healing and recovery for the children and their families,” said a statement from Adjaye Associates.
“Most importantly, the brief called for a space that adds dignity and hope to the lives of the children, hence elements like the views, lush planting and access to natural light have been key.”
Rectangular in plan, the three-storey building will feature a geometric facade that draws on the region’s traditional Imigongo art form, which involves applying a surface of cow dung to walls before adding graphic patterns in black, white and red.
Some sections of the facade will be covered by a sun screen with triangular perforations, which increase or decrease in density depending on the orientation.
“The metallic screens sparkle in the sunlight and in time will weather and blend with the planting – so that the vegetation grows in and around them, giving the sense of a living, organic building,” said the studio.
Wards will be situated around the edge of the three garden courtyards that will provide outdoor access for patients and staff, as well as bringing natural light into the centre of the building.
Adjaye now has an office in Ghana, as well as his studios in London and New York. Other projects he is working on in Africa include a hotel and apartment block in Johannesburg and an office campus in Uganda.
“There’s this dialogue flowing, and that’s very important in terms of being able to elevate another generation of architects coming up that can be trained in Africa to be able to have access to material and to be able to express their creativity,” said the architect.
Construction on the hospital is set to begin later this year and complete in 2017.
The post David Adjaye unveils designs for children’s cancer treatment centre in Rwanda appeared first on Dezeen.
Pomo summer: this summer, we celebrate the revival of the architecture and design movement everybody loves to hate. To kick off the series, Dezeen editor Anna Winston explains why Postmodernism is back.
Love it or hate it, Postmodernism is back in vogue. Welcome to the first in a summer-long series in which Dezeen explores the movement, its legacy and its return.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be interviewing some of Postmodernism’s leading architects and designers, profiling key buildings and products, as well as highlighting a new wave of Postmodern design.
This week, we’ll publish the Dezeen guide to Postmodernism, written by Glenn Adamson, director of New York’s Museum of Arts and Design (MAD).
Later in the season, we’ll round up some of the best examples of work from the Postmodern revival, while regular Dezeen columnist Sam Jacob – a co-founder of the now defunct Radical Postmodernist architecture studio FAT – to examine the movement’s ongoing relevance.
In his debut column for Dezeen, US critic and educator Aaron Betsky will examine how the experimental approach of the Postmodernists has shaped architectural education, influencing new generations of students.
And Charles Holland – a co-founder of FAT and now director of London studio Ordinary Architecture – will also share his top 10 lost Postmodern classics.
Postmodernism began in the late 1970s as an ideological reaction against the utopian ideals of Modernism. While the latter was concerned with purity of design, less being more and proscriptive ideas about taste and order, Postmodernism was about ornamentation, contradiction and experimentation.
Aesthetically this manifested itself in bright colours, bold forms constructed from simplistic shapes like a child’s building set, and decorative flourishes that had nothing to do with function.
It reached fever pitch in design in the 1980s, and continued in architecture right through to the late 1990s.
Despite its pervasive reach, Postmodernism was the design movement hardly anyone wanted to be part of. Glenn Adamson, one of the co-curators of the V&A’s major Postmodernism exhibition in London in 2011, found it almost impossible to track down architects who would admit to being Postmodernist.
“It got to the point that we would tease them: ‘are you now or have you ever been a Postmodernist?'” he says.
Critic Stephen Bayley described the V&A’s Postmodernism exhibition as “a chamber of horrors”, but it proved a remarkably prescient retrospective. Since the exhibition finished, young designers from Milan to New York have been slowly but surely reviving the Postmodern aesthetic.
It started with a wave of renewed interest in the work of the Memphis Group – a hugely influential cadre of designers led by Ettore Sottsass that began as a marketing exercise and went on to help define the style of an entire decade in the 1980s.
Dezeen wrote about the revival last year, after Milan design week was flooded with Memphis-inspired pieces.
Small firms like Eindhoven studio OS & OOS have been among the aesthetic torch-bearers for the Postmodern revival, although bigger brands like Hay have also climbed on board.
In London, design store Darkroom has featured increasingly Postmodern-influenced collections by a range of small studios. And in Milan this year, furniture brand Kartell released a collection of nine original pieces by Ettore Sottsass, which it has put into production for the first time, while Konstantin Grcic debuted his cartoonish Sam Son chair, which has a back support shaped like a pool noodle.
Architecture, as always, is a bit slower on the uptake – it takes five years to complete a building and five months (if that) to realise a furniture concept. But MVRDV’s headline-making Markthal in Rotterdam – with its chunky tunnel-like arch and oversized bright fruit murals, could easily be viewed through a Postmodernist lens.
The latest version of Postmodernism is a bit more toned down than the original – softer around the edges, less obviously like children’s building blocks, but perhaps more infantile in its superficiality and brazen commercialism.
Earlier this year, one of the Postmodernism’s early champions, Alessandro Mendini, told Dezeen that there is no more ideology in design. Certainly, the Postmodern revival is more interested in looks than in grand ideas. But whether he was right or wrong, the echoes of Postmodernism are clearly visible.
It helped break down the boundaries between styles and disciplines, encouraging and allowing designers to be experimental in making new shapes and bringing in references from the past as well as exploring the possibilities of technology.
In architecture, designers like Robert AM Stern and Michael Graves looked to the past, championing a return to decoration and incorporating columns and pediments into their facades. In furniture and product design, the focus was often on developing new shapes and challenging ideas about how everyday objects should look and function.
While the furniture is starting to attract high prices at auction, many of the best historic examples of Postmodern architecture are now under threat. Graves’ Portland Building was saved from demolition last year, following one of the first preservation campaigns for a Postmodern building. Dezeen columnist Alexandra Lange, although not among the fans of the building, was among those convinced it was worth saving.
But if Postmodernism was ultimately about freedom to experiment, about humour and levity after years of serious-minded Modernism, you could argue that it never really went away. It’s just been lingering in the background, waiting until we became so utterly bored of tastefulness that it could find a way to elbow itself back into our collective consciousness, in a more image-led and superficial way than its originators could ever have dreamt up.
After years of tasteful Modernist revivals, of mid-century everything, of blonde-wood furniture and muted upholstery palettes, of po-faced brickwork used to disguise developer-friendly housing, of artfully styled succulents against a backdrop of Scandinavian repro-classics, it’s time for something a bit more fun.
Illustration is by Daniel Frost.
The post Postmodernism is back: introducing Dezeen’s Pomo summer appeared first on Dezeen.
Dezeen promotion: Bodin Hon, a student at the IED – Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan, has designed a lightweight portable cooker that powers itself with solar energy (+ slideshow).
Driven by his interest in sustainable energy, the American designer developed Solari during his time on the design masters course at the IED.
“The project was part of a brief from the IED Design Master Course in 2013, where students partner with real clients in need of innovation to solve problems,” Hon explained.
“In this case, an Italian manufacturer looking for a new product that would allow users to cook without using fuel or electricity.”
The cauldron-like cooker features a carrying handle that folds out into a stand.
It contains a heat-absorbing cast aluminium cooking pot, which warms up when exposed to concentrated sunlight.
The light that passes through the product’s transparent lid and a lens beneath is focused onto a reflective spun-aluminium shell that lines the container.
The light bounces off the aluminium onto the pot to heat it enough for cooking in.
A paper-thin heating element beneath the cooking pot can also be employed when plugged into an electricity source, allowing Solari to be used indoors or on a cloudy day.
“Designing Solari was a fantastic eye-opening experience, as I did not imagine that I could still be developing a concept that started from a short six-week project,” said Hon. “Through each prototype and testing and feedback loop, I discovered something unexpected and learned something new.”
The design was awarded both the James Dyson Award and IF Student Design Award in 2014, but Hon is still looking for ways to improve his product.
“I have been in contact with many field users, cookware and solar cooker manufacturers to learn what is important in a new solar cooker design and insights into how people would use them,” he explained.
“Some of these conversations have inspired improvements such as adding an insulating jacket to keep the food warm for later consumption and an application that shares recipes among users.”
The IED offers 29 courses in several languages, with schools in Brazil, Italy and Spain.
“Istituto Europeo di Design is more than a school, is a place where it is possible to combine the theoretical approach to study with creative thinking and concrete problem solving methods,” said the institution.
“Our faculty is composed with professionals, with strong experience in industries, companies and agencies in the field, who can convey to the students their knowledge, acquired studying and above all working.”
Read on for more information from the IED:
Solari is a portable solar cooker, designed, developed and built by Bodin Hon during his experience as a student of Design at IED – Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan. Bodin is a young designer, moved by environmental problems and interested in sustainable energy.
Solari is an innovative project that feeds itself with solar energy or, if necessary, can be plugged-in to the wall and use electricity. It is easy to use: no worries about burning food, Solari just needs to be pointed towards the sun and cooks by itself. It’s lightweight and portable with carrying handle that folds out into a stand in seconds.
“The client and IED’s faculty supported the project by creating a brief that challenged us into creating something that was not in the market,” said Bodin Hon. I had the opportunity to put into practice the skills and design process that was taught in the course.”
“Throughout the course, the faculties, who themselves actively work in a wide range of industries in Italy, brought in valuable experiences and insights, which guided the project from many perspectives such as technology feasibility, personas understanding, market research and communications.”
“I mostly enjoyed working with real-world clients on inspiring yet challenging briefs which allowed the creativity of free thinking to flourish while, at the same time, keeping the concepts grounded to reality from a manufacturing and feasibility perspective – which resulted in projects that are appealing, forward-thinking and innovative.”
“Using the strategic design approach, it was satisfying to see how design can act as innovation strategies for our client companies. The interactions with clients was also a big component as we were presenting to management level representatives, who were in positions to make industry changing decisions, for us it meant that each one in the class had a personal stake in the success of their projects, which fostered collaboration and pushed our personal boundaries to do the best.”
As Bodin experienced, IED – Istituto Europeo di Design is more than a school, is a place where it is possible to combine the theoretical approach to study with creative thinking and concrete problem solving methods.
IED’s faculty is composed by professionals, with strong experience in industries, companies and agencies in the field, who can convey to the students their knowledge, acquired studying and above all working. Istituto Europeo di Design has a wide offer of Undergraduate Courses, Masters and Continuing Studying Programs in the areas of Design, Fashion, Visual Communication and Management.
“The awards – Solari won the Dyson 2014 and IF Student Design Award and received a lot of other nominations – and reception the project received from the public were fantastic and helped in the funding of more prototypes,” explained Bodin.
“I consider even more important, that the project was able to contribute to the global conversation on sustainable solutions through design. Designers can actively contribute in ideating new solutions for the future,” said Bodin.
“The enthusiastic response from everyone added motivation for me to continue on developing the project further and even look wider into other problems and designing solutions for them.”
Bodin is still improving Solari, thinking about new features.
“Taking a user-centred approach, I have been in contact with many field users, cookware and solar cooker manufacturers and even organisations such as ‘Global Alliance for Clean Cookstove’, which provides cookware to combat the pollution and health risk from open-fire cooking around the world – to learn what is important in a new solar cooker design and insights into how people would use them. Some of these conversations have inspired improvements such as adding an insulating jacket to keep the food warm for later consumption and an application that shares recipes among users.”
The faculty and the staff of IED – Istituto Europeo di Design works hard every day to offer each student instruments and possibilities to live happy and important experiences similar to the one lived by Bodin. Every year IED sees many students’ histories of success, born during studying experience in its schools in Italy, Spain and Brazil.
To follow the evolution of Solari, visit the dedicated website.
The post Bodin Hon develops Solari portable solar-powered cooker at IED – Istituto Europeo di Design appeared first on Dezeen.
Gensler has designed a terminal for animals that will contain a “pet resort” offering lodging and spa services at New York’s JFK airport (+ slideshow).
Named The ARK at JFK, the building designed by international architecture firm Gensler will be constructed on a 14-acre (5.6 hectare) site at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.
The 178,000-square-foot (16,500-square-metre) terminal will contain quarantine facilities, a veterinary hospital, a diagnostic library, and a care centre offering training, spa and grooming services for cats and dogs.
The model is “anticipated to effectively transform the air transport of animals worldwide,” said Ark Development, a subsidiary of the American real-estate company Racebrook Capital.
Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine is consulting on the project, and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering guidance and cooperation.
“The Ark will be the first ever USDA-approved, full-service, 24-hour airport quarantine facility for the import and export of horses, pets, birds, and livestock,” said John J Cuticelli Jr, chairman of Racebrook Capital.
Related story: Special feature: ten amazing airport designs
Paradise 4 Paws, an Illinois-based company, has signed on to be a tenant. The company will manage the facility’s 20,000-square-foot (1,860 square metre) “pet resort” for dogs and cats.
The facility will also offer large animal-handling systems and “departure lounges”, where horses and livestock will be able to rest and receive appropriate care while waiting for their travel documents to be processed. The animals will be housed in climate-controlled stalls with bedding and natural light.
Aircraft will be able to park at the terminal’s loading docks, enabling an efficient and safe travel experience that “significantly reduces stress on animals,” according to the developer.
A vacant cargo facility is being demolished to make way for the new animal terminal.
The developer aims to have most of the $48 million (£30 million) project complete within the first quarter of 2016.
Gensler is working with Lachlan Oldaker Equine Design and Temple Grandin Livestock Handling Systems on the design of the building.
Other facilities designed for animals include a dog-grooming salon in Japan by Horibe Architects and an elephant house at a Zurich zoo designed by Markus Schietsch Architekten.
Images courtesy of ARK Development.
The post Pets to receive spa treatments at Gensler-designed JFK animal airport terminal appeared first on Dezeen.
I live above a plumbing supply store, so I know what plumbers drive: Trucks and vans. But the other day I ran into a plumber (a fiftyish Master Plumber who owns his own business) whom I hired for a job a few years ago, and he was driving his personal car—a spanking white BMW 850i. Not too shabby.
That tradesmen who earn a good living buy luxury sedans doesn’t surprise me; if you spent most of your youth driving a pickup, it makes sense to want to get yourself into a sled with some bling. What does surprise me is the rise of luxury pickup trucks. Because pickup trucks used to be for, well, picking stuff up, like sofas and boilers and the crew of guys that was going to help you build a client’s deck.
But in recent years manufacturers have been steadily making trucks more deluxe, adding fittings that run counter to their original utilitarian purposes. Since gas prices have been relatively low in recent years, consumers have been snapping them up. And now Ford is upping the ante with their venerable F-150.
In a press release from this morning, Ford announced that their “New Top-of-the-Line Ford F-150 Limited Is Most Advanced, Luxurious F-150 Ever.”
The seats are covered in Mojave leather, the VIN number is laser-etched onto a plaque embedded in the center armrest/console lid, the power front seats have built-in massage units. There are moonroofs for both the front and rear-seat passengers. The interior trim features “fiddleback eucalyptus wood,” i.e. eucalyptus with the curly-figured appearance you’d see on the back of a violin.
Prices haven’t been released, but the Detroit Free Press estimates the Limited will “easily top $60,000.” Autoblog points out that the truck features “the luxury modifiers we expect from Europeans.” Reuters spells out the logic in producing such a truck, pointing out that last month “half of the new F-150 pickup trucks sold by Ford were of its three existing premium models.”
So yeah, it looks like this unexpected direction for pickup trucks is turning out to be a lucrative one for the manufacturers. “The new F-150 Limited,” writes Ford, “meets the growing, untapped needs of luxury customers looking for exclusivity, convenience and fine craftsmanship that’s differentiated from other high-series trucks.”
Let’s cut through the marketing-speak: Do you guys think these trucks are aimed at tradesmen that have done well and can’t kick the truck habit, or white-collar folk who want the blue-collar image?
Earlier I bitched about self-entitled folks taking photographs to the potential detriment of others. But this is way, way worse.
On Friday a wildfire broke out in California. Unfortunately for a group of motorists stuck in traffic, the fire happened to intersect with the 15 freeway:
<div id="d846c7_4511" class="embed_wrapper clear_both" data-twitter-embed="
UPDATE: I-15 Fwy shut down in both directions in Cajon Pass; #NorthFire up to 500 acres http://t.co/x286Jcx5rj pic.twitter.com/H3ej1wapGU
— FOX 11 Los Angeles (@myfoxla) July 17, 2015
” contenteditable=”false”>
Once it hit the freeway, the blaze actually set an estimated 20-30 cars aflame:
<div id="cac5f5_2786" class="embed_wrapper clear_both" data-twitter-embed="
#NORTHFIRE: Watch here for live updates on the #wildfire in San Bernardino County: http://t.co/qAwpNrjyhs #CajonPass pic.twitter.com/BQJd8ZHhds
— The Sun (@sbsun) July 17, 2015
” contenteditable=”false”>
When traffic is jammed bumper-to-bumper and the fire trucks have a hard time reaching the site, there’s a firefighting protocol: You send helicopters and airplanes to dump water onto the conflagration. However, in this case no less than five a**holes decided to deploy their camera-equipped drones over the scene to record it, presumably in the hopes of posting a viral YouTube video. There’s another protocol, this one aviation-based, dictating that when drones are in the area, you cannot deploy aircraft, for safety’s sake. NBC quoted the U.S. Forest Service’s John Miller to explain why:
It can kill our firefighters in the air … They can strike one of these things and one of our aircraft could go down, killing the firefighters in the air. This is serious to us. It is a serious, not only life threat, not only to our firefighters in the air, but when we look at the vehicles that were overrun by fire, it was definitely a life-safety threat to the motorists on Interstate 15.
Luckily no one died—people wisely got out of their cars and fled as they spotted the wildfire approaching—but CNN puts a finer point on the hazard the drones posed:
The 15 to 20 minutes that those helicopters were grounded meant that 15 to 20 minutes were lost that could have led to another water drop cycle, and that would have created a much safer environment and we would not have seen as many citizens running for their lives.
This sounds like a job for Johnny Dronehunter.
Via Gizmodo
All Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness. Enjoy!
This is one of those unitaskers that is either the best or the worst idea ever. Since it’s super early in the morning and I’ve just consumed a large cup of coffee, I’m voting for the worst idea ever. Looking at the picture of the finished product kind of made me gag a little. But, if it were after midnight on a night where I’d had a couple beers with my friends, I can see how I would think it was the best thing invented in the history of invented things. What do you think about the Pizza Cone Maker Set:
There have to be a minimum of five thousand calories in one of those things, right? Can a single person even consume a whole pizza cone without their stomach exploding? Wow.
Thanks to reader Niagra for finding this set for us. It’s something.
Post written by Erin Doland
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