From Jake Shears’ (of the Scissor Sisters) upcoming solo album, “Creep City” isn’t a huge departure in sound for the artist, but that’s not a bad thing at all. Reminiscent of the cabaret-style tunes of the Scissor Sisters, the song also feels a little……
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Up several flights in an old Brooklyn warehouse building, artist Jason Woodside’s works come to life in a flurry of color. Here, he imagines and executes smaller spray-painted works. He also conceives large-scale public pieces, like his massive mural……
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In our latest Dezeen x MINI Living movie, architect Sam Jacob and Corinna Natter of MINI Living explain how micro homes, like the one they presented during London Design Festival, could one day function as shared resources.
The Urban Cabin is a 15-square-metre modular unit, created by MINI Living to explore ways that cities might be occupied in the future.
The brand presented the design for the first time during London Design Festival. Working with London-based architect Sam Jacob, it added a kitchen and a library to the tiny building.
Jacob says that the aim of the project is to explore how to create compact but comfortable shared living spaces as cities become more and more crowded and expensive.
“This project is a very close collaboration between MINI Living and me,” he says in the movie, which Dezeen filmed at London Design Festival.
“It’s about thinking through the possibilities of what it might mean to live in the near future – how we might begin to merge the public and the private, and how forms of domesticity might begin to evolve into forms that you don’t quite recognise.”
The kitchen Jacob designed features an expandable table, which can extend both within and outside the cabin.
“We have a kitchen that grows, so the more people you have around the bigger it gets,” he explains.
“It’s somewhere you can shelter inside, or on those very rare occasions where the sun does shine, you can pull it outside and begin dining al fresco.”
Jacob also attached a tiny library to one side of the cabin, as a reaction to the closure of many public libraries throughout the UK capital in recent years.
“We thought a library would be a great addition to the cabin,” he says. “It recalls the literary culture of the city.”
The structure of the library is made from a range of materials stacked on top of each other like a pile of books.
“It’s more geological and heavier at the bottom and becomes more processed, synthetic and manmade towards the top, ” Jacob says. “It’s as if you had taken a core through the archeology of the city.”
Since London Design Festival, MINI Living has created another Urban Cabin installation in New York and plans to build more structures around the world, working with a local architect in each city.
MINI Living experience designer Corinna Natter, who worked together with Jacob on the project, says the idea is to create a “global village” of spaces for the increasing numbers of people who live and work nomadically, rather than settling in one place.
“People are travelling more and more nowadays so they have kind of a home in every city,” she says.
“That is why we want to create a global village of urban cabins, where people can experience what is really specific about cities and the places they are living in.”
This movie was filmed in London by Dezeen for MINI Living as part of our Dezeen x MINI Living Initiative, a year-long project exploring how architecture and design can contribute to a brighter urban future, through a series of videos and talks.
Photography is courtesy of MINI Living.
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Swiss architect Peter Zumthor has produced an updated image set for his expansion of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which recently received a major financial donation.
Zumthor’s latest LACMA renderings include an image of the full building snaking over Wilshire Boulevard and touching down at eight points either side of the busy highway.
More interior views of gallery spaces and visitor facilities have also been released, along with a sectional perspective cutting through one of the building’s eight “anchor” galleries – showing how the different levels, and external and internal circulation relate to one another
The visuals follow the announcement that the project has received a $150 million (£113 million) pledge from American business magnate and philanthropist David Geffen, which will go towards the expected $600 million (£452 million) construction cost.
The 37,000 square metres of new exhibition spaces will be named the David Geffen Galleries in honour of the donation – the largest single gift in the museum’s history.
Geffen is a major funder of the arts, and has previously donated substantially to the New York Philharmonic. The orchestra’s home at Lincoln Center – which carries his name – was due to be overhauled by Thomas Heatherwick, but the plans were scrapped last month.
The new LACMA images are the latest batch since April 2017, when a selection revealed that the architect has opted for light tones for the building’s exterior rather than the black shown in early images – a design feature that referenced to the nearby La Brea tar pits.
The building’s plan was drastically modified in 2014 to avoid damaging the pits, resulting the in bridge over the boulevard. Access to the museum will be possible from both sides of the road, but the majority of the galleries, shops and cafes will be located on the current site to the north.
Zumthor – who received the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 2009 – revealed that he didn’t like the early renderings of the project, shortly after they were released in August 2016.
His design was first unveiled in 2013 using a series of model photos, after working on the project for five years.
Construction is due to commence in 2018, and will involve the demolition of four current LACMA buildings.
Zumthor is a cult favourite among architects, and is best known for projects like the Therme Vals spa in his native Switzerland – which he recently complained was being ruined by an “egotistical” developer – and the Steilneset Memorial in Norway.
Renderings are by Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner and The Boundary.
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Dezeen promotion: New World Development has completed a Hong Kong housing project designed to cater to a new generation of sophisticated urbanites, with interiors that celebrate art, craft, food and local heritage.
Entrepreneur Adrian Cheng of New World Development worked with Japanese interior design company Simplicity and architect Thomas Cheung Kong-Yeung to design Bohemian House, which is located at Des Voeux Road, in Hong Kong’s Western district.
Historically this district has been associated with family-run businesses selling the dried seafood and other ingredients integral to traditional local cuisine. But in recent years the area has seen an influx of western-style coffee shops, art galleries and independent boutiques.
The design team hoped to capture this legacy of culinary and cultural fusion, by creating homes that are “tailor-made for urban bohemians”.
“Hong Kong’s western district is a very tight-knit community brought together by the famous and aromatic Dried Seafood Street,” said Cheng.
“With Bohemian House we are showcasing this unique local food culture in the concept, design and facilities.”
One of the building’s key features are the Artisan Kitchen and the Alfresco Cooking spaces. These shared cooking facilities are designed to allow residents to share their cooking traditions and knowledge with their neighbours and friends.
The developer believes this will foster an informal sense of community spirit in the building.
In the artisan kitchen, the use of copper gives the space a rich tone. Copper panels accent the built-in units, while gleaming copper pans hang against the glossy black tiles, serving as decoration when not in use. There is also a trough that serves as a sink.
Meanwhile, the alfresco cooking area consists of a barbecue space, positioned alongside a swimming pool and a communal dining area.
“The key facilities of Artisan Kitchen and Alfresco Cooking are designed to allow residents to mingle and share the joy of cooking,” said Cheng.
“To create artisanal dishes with your own hands using fresh, local ingredients, is a pure bliss. And through moments like this, Bohemian House and The Artisanal Movement are playing their role in building stronger communities of like-minded people.”
The rest of the building is designed with “a Japanese sensibility”, rejecting ornamentation without function in favour of graceful and useful designs.
Like in the kitchen, a palette of copper accents and a dark grey tones features throughout, from the facade to the living spaces. But different tones and textures have been applied in different zones, to create continuity without uniformity.
Greenery features heavily, for instance, plants rise up through the black-tiled lobby behind black mesh. Plants also surround the rooftop terrace, creating a visual link to the natural landscape that surrounds the city.
Other details include a water feature – a copper basin that has been patinated through exposure to the elements.
Additional facilities for residents include a children’s playroom filled with padded seating areas. Shelves are built in around the entryway, offering toys and books for younger residents to share.
Bohemian House forms part of a series of New World Development projects in Hong Kong, all designed to follow a brand philosophy called The Artisanal Movement.
Other additions to the series include Mount Pavilia by South Korean studio Mass Studies, which features a bridge-linked gallery and club house. There is also Skypark, a project by Dutch studio Conctrete, featuring a mix of rooftop social spaces.
For more information, see the New World Development website.
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Deux cabinets d’architecture légendaires, Foster + Partners et Heatherwick Studios ont cooporé sur la pièce centrale du nouveau quartier d’affaire du Bund, à Shanghai. Le théatre, fruit de leur collaboration, est un superbe reprenant l’architecture traditionnelle des théatres chinois, avec des tubes « de bambou » en cuivre, mis sur le devant à la façon d’un voile. Ces photographies de Laurian Ghinitoiu montre le batiment fini dans toute sa splendeur. Il s’agit de la première collaboration majeure entre ces deux firmes parmi les mieux classées au monde.
Wall of Sound Editions sort un livre tout à fait exceptionnel de photographies de Bruce Springsteen par Frank Stefanko, intitulé « Bruce Springsteen. Further up the road ». L’oeuvre met en avant des clichés inédits et est introduite par le photographe et le chanteur lui-même. Une manière de célébrer quarante ans de travail en commun, pendant lesquels Stefanko a, entre autres, réalisé les pochettes de « Darkness on the Edge of Town » et de « The River » en plus du best-seller de Springsteen « Born To Run ».
Brittany Hostman, a former Ceramics major at Pratt Institute, has filed a lawsuit against the school, a power tool manufacturer and a non-Pratt shop after losing two fingers above the second knuckle in a woodworking accident in her final semester. Here are the initial factors, according to the Daily News:
– Hostman “suffers from paralyzing panic attacks and bipolar disorder”
– She relies on a service dog, a Bichon Frise, to snap her out of attacks/episodes
– Last semester, Pratt banned her service dog from campus after it reportedly bit someone
– Hostman denied the charge and protested the ban, to no avail
– Hostman was unwilling to attend class without her service dog
What happened next was unusual: Hostman and Pratt reached an arrangement whereby Hostman could Skype in to classes, then create her projects at Makeville Studio’s shop space in Brooklyn, which allowed her to bring her service dog.
Makeville Studio is a community woodshop that offers classes, open studio time and bench space to the public. They require those with no shop experience to take an Intro to Woodworking course, then get checked out on the equipment to attain a Workshop Self-Certification, which is typically an hourlong process. Those with prior experience can skip the Intro course, but must still undergo the certification process. It is not clear from the source article which of these Hostman may have undergone.
Here’s what happened next, according to the article:
[Hostman] soon learned that the facility, Makeville Studio in Gowanus, offered far less training and oversight than the studios on campus.
Hostman knew the machines at Pratt well. At the on-campus workshops, at least three monitors kept an eye on the students. At Makeville, Hostman said, there was only one.
“The environment was more like, ‘There’s the machine, go use it,'” she said.
Hostman was working on a wood-cutting machine at the studio on March 31 when the device malfunctioned and pulverized her left index and middle fingers, the suit says.
The machine in question was a Powermatic 60HH jointer, and I do wish there was more detail on the nature of the malfunction or of the accident itself, as such information might prove useful to others.
In any case Hostman, who graduated last semester, is now suing Pratt, Makeville Studio and JPW Industries, the latter being the company that manufactured the jointer.
Without more information I cannot possibly say who was at fault here, and as is usually the case in America, it will be up to the courts to decide.
Those of you who have had a close call on the jointer: What went wrong in your case? Please share the tale.
London designer Giles Miller has used hexagonal wooden tiles to cover the surface of this children’s playhouse by cabin company Koto.
Designed an alternative to the traditional playhouse, Miller’s Grace cabin is one of three structures by Koto that are aimed specifically at children.
Through his surface design, Miller wanted to reference the cabin’s geometric framework while also creating a “dramatic” pattern.
As per a request from Koto founder Johnathon Little, the cabin also needed to suit both indoor and outdoor environments, as well as rural and urban contexts.
To achieve this, he used a hexagonal-shaped walnut tile, named the Alexander. Each piece was positioned at alternating angles to give the surface a three-dimensional, textured quality.
“Our brief was to come up with a design that references the geometry of the architectural structure, but in a natural finish so that the piece could sit conformably in either a rural or an urban context,” Miller told Dezeen.
“In much the same way that a brick type, colour and composition can have a dramatic effect on a building, the surface design was prioritised by Koto and considered a key feature of the design.”
“The Alexander tile gave us a method of creating surface imagery using angled geometry, but also a system that could potentially be adapted for further cabins or ‘characters’ and also for bespoke versions for individual clients or contexts,” he continued.
Inside the cabin, walls are covered in chalk paint – allowing children to draw on its surfaces.
Simple furniture items, including seats with hidden storage and a small table, give them a space to sit down and read a book.
This is the first time Miller has partnered with Koto. Previous projects by the London-based designer include a spherical sculpture formed from hundreds of reflective “pennies” and a shingle-covered pavilion for the English countryside.
For this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week, he worked with watch brand Shinola to create a pavilion made from 8,000 lightning-bolt-shaped pieces of plywood.
Photography is by Koto.
Project credits:
Kirstie Little
Giles Miller Studio
Liam Woolley
Prototyper
Johnathon Little
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Steven Holl Architects is teaming up with Rüssli Architekten to create a new headquarters for a major humanitarian organisation in Geneva, which will feature walls of tinted photovoltaic glazing.
US firm Steven Holl Architects and Swiss studio Rüssli Architekten won a competition to design the new workspace for Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders – an organisation set up by a group of architects and journalists in 1971, to aid the victims of disaster and war.
Called Colors of Humanity, the building will feature walls of green, blue and red tinted glass that also integrate photovoltaic panels – expected to meet a large proportion of the building’s energy requirements.
This coloured glazing, coupled with the building’s stacked-block formation, will express the internal layout.
“Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is an inspiring organisation. It is an honor to realise architecture for their Geneva home,” said Steven Holl.
“Steven Holl Architects’ project is the opportunity for MSF to integrate its core values like independence, impartiality, neutrality, altruism and dynamism in a challenging new architecture and project itself in the future,” added Mathieu Soupart, the logistics director for the centre.
Photovoltaic glazing of different degrees of permeability will be deployed across the facade, offering shade to some areas and increased visibility in others. Around 40 per cent of the facade is expected to be made up of transparent solar panels, and additional cells will be set on the roof, alongside a garden.
The facility will also utilise a system called Genilac, which uses water from Lake Geneva for cooling and heating. This will allow the building to produce up to 72 per cent of its own electricity.
Walkways dotted with seating areas cut through the plan, to encourage “open dialogue and interaction” between the 250 members of staff who will work in the building.
Steven Holl Architects and Rüssli Architekten saw off competition from firms including Sauerbruch Hutton, Emilio Tuñon Arquitectos and Sou Foujimoto Architects to win the project.
Construction work is expected to begin in 2019, on a site next to the Kengo Kuma-designed Institute of Higher International Studies and Development.
Based in New York, Steven Holl’s office is also currently working on a the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and has just completed a multi-building arts complex for Princeton University.
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