Hasta La Ideas

Le photographe Portugais André Terras Alexandre s’est rendu dans les îles Féroé, situées entre l’Islande et l’Écosse, pour y shooter une superbe série à la froideur nordique et au beau grain vintage. Un très beau travail, aussi calme de réconfortant. Suivez le reste de son travail sur Instagram

Foster + Partners is transforming a former government headquarters tower in Hong Kong into a luxury hotel, retaining the building’s original modernist facade and providing panoramic views of the surrounding skyline.

The hotel is due to open early next year inside The Murray Building – a 27-storey tower on Hong Kong’s Cotton Tree Drive that was designed by architect Ron Phillips almost 50 years ago to house offices for several governmental departments.

The building is part of Hong Kong’s Conserving Central Initiative, and is a recognised historic landmark. The conversion by global architecture firm Foster + Partners retains much of its original modernist character, while upgrading the interior to suit its new use.

The design by Phillips focused on achieving a pleasant environment for the office workers, with skewed, recessed windows ensuring that direct sunlight does not penetrate the building.

Foster + Partners was impressed with the original building’s pioneering sustainable features, and therefore left the facade largely unaltered when converting it into the hotel.

“The architecture of the building is in direct response to the climate of Hong Kong, with recessed windows, carefully orientated to avoid the harsh tropical sunlight,” said the architects in a project statement.

“The new design retains the facade while upgrading other aspects of the building and extending its life by introducing new functions appropriate for the changing demands of the city – giving it a sustainable legacy for years to come.”

In addition to remodelling the former office floors to accommodate 336 guest rooms and suites, the architects are focusing on improving the relationship between the building and its surrounding urban context.

A new street frontage will incorporate a transparent and welcoming entrance, while the landscaped grounds will be extended to accommodate a public tai chi area.

A large tree that has existed on the site for many years will also be preserved and rise up through a podium that extends from the building’s base towards the adjacent highway.

Below the grid of concrete blade walls, the tower’s base features a series of arched openings that introduce a classical aesthetic to the pure-white tower.

The hotel’s rooftop bar will provide views of Hong Kong’s central business district and a nearby park, while a range of restaurants and bars will also be accommodated, along with meeting and events spaces.

The Murray is the flagship property of luxury hotel group Niccolo Hotels and will open fully for guests in early 2018.

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Architect Pascal Madoc Jones has added a new house to a Victorian terrace in north London, featuring a curved recess intended to give the street a more distinctive end.

Madoc Architecture designed the King’s Crescent property for a speculative developer, on a site on  Stoke Newington that was previously occupied by a pair of disused garages.

Several previous planning applications for the site had failed due to various restrictions, resulting from the dense residential setting.

Any new building on the site was required to occupy the same footprint as the garages. In addition, because the existing terrace terminated in a blank gable wall, planning conditions specified that the new gable could not contain any windows above ground floor.

To add some interest to the elevation and to formally complete the terrace, Madoc’s studio introduced a curved wall that leads the eye round from the street towards the garden.

The aperture extends up to a soffit aligned with the extended eaves of the existing terrace, to ensure a sense of continuation from the old buildings to the new.

“Conceptually the front elevation stretches the existing street elevation round the curve of the terrace to the recessed front door,” the architect suggested.

“The indentation this creates separates the orthogonal volume and marks it out as the new bookend to the street.”

A single-storey volume extending from the gable end matches the heights of lean-tos at the rear of the perpendicular terrace, as well as aligning with the bay windows of its neighbours.

The structure’s lower height creates a stepped transition between the terrace and the garden, and its position on the end of the block further enhances the sense of the terrace terminating.

Every surface of the house is clad in a brick chosen to tie in with the traditional stock brick found on the surrounding buildings, without matching them exactly.

“The brick is the only facing material,” Madoc added, “so the three forms of the house – one curved, and two square – are conceived as being carved from a single piece.”

The masonry extends across the curved wall and the soffit above the main entrance, creating a sense of consistency that focuses attention on the surprising shapes.

Behind the rounded wall is a staircase connecting the building’s three storeys. The ground floor contains an open-plan living space, bedroom and toilet, with two further bedrooms and bathrooms accommodated on the levels above.

The living area features a high ceiling and openings on three sides that look out towards the surrounding gardens.

Photography is by Alan Williams.

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Guinness World Records put together this inspiring end of the year roundup of the many amazing and bizarre world records that were set or broken in each month of 2017…(Read…)

Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Mirjam de Bruijn has designed a series of decorative objects that can all be used to improve posture while working.

Called Asana, the collection is made up of five different designs, each intended to stimulate the body in different ways.

De Bruijn developed the products after discovering that, despite the growing popularity of flexible offices and co-working spaces, nothing was being done to address the health issues brought on by working in these environments.

“The furniture is often not made for the office and cannot be adjusted to one’s measurements,” explained the designer.

“More and more people end up at the physiotherapist with complaints such as poor blood circulation, back problems and repetitive strain injury.”

The objects include a rounded stick that can be rolled under the wrist while typing, a set of twin weights for stretching wrist muscles, and rubber cushion that is placed on top of a standard stool.

There is also a wooden foot rest that moves from side to side, and a large rubber band that can be used to stretch out arm muscles.

“The series of tools improves posture, strengthens muscles and stimulates blood flow,” the designer explained.

All five objects adhere to a gold and blue colour scheme – the designer was keen for them to look more like minimalist ornaments than medical equipment.

“The tools are designed to look inviting and in tune with a modern aesthetic, as opposed to current offerings, which are more like medical aids than something you want to be seen using,” added De Bruijn.

The designer showcased her designs at the Design Academy Eindhoven graduate show, held as part of Dutch Design Week 2017.

As well as Asana, she also presented a project called Twenty, where she condensed detergent, dish soap and shampoo into solid capsules that are activated by water.

Also at Dutch Design Week, Dezeen hosted a talk series called Good Design for a Bad World, which looked at whether designers can make a difference on global issues such as climate change and pollution.

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