Hasta La Ideas

Canadian studio Kl.tz Design has included a staircase with suspended timber steps and a thin metal balustrade in the bright interiors of this renovated home.

The Lazard house is located in Montreal‘s Plateau Mont-Royal, a tree-lined neighbourhood with narrow streets, plenty of cafes, and apartment buildings dating from the early 1900s.

The project entailed the overhaul of a three-storey residence, totalling 3,000 square feet (279 square metres) and containing four bedrooms and four baths.

Connecting the levels is a focal staircase, with floating timber steps and thin metal slats. The airy structure helps to create a sense of lightness and openness on two of the floors.

Upon entering the home through a glazed front door, a black accent wall is fronted by a freestanding coat closet made from pale wood. The foyer is designed as a mudroom with black tile floors, and opens onto the staircase and the main living area.

Spaces for sitting and cooking are located on this level, with a renovated basement below providing more lounging space.

Windows are placed above a kitchen counter and sink, and across the sitting and dining area on the other wall, allowing natural light to reflect off the white walls and pale wood floors. Sheer white fabric is used to soften the sun’s brightness, while adding privacy.

The kitchen has minimalist white cabinet drawers and marble countertops. A large island with a second sink demarkates the area, along with a timber-clad accent wall with a built-in fireplace.

Completing the main floor is a six-person round dining table and a small sitting area furnished with a love seat, a coffee table, and another chair.

Upstairs, a grey padded bed and an oversized mirror are found in the master bedroom, which opens to a private bathroom. Double sinks overlook a long window, with a freestanding tub and a large white wardrobe positioned next to the other walls.

“An eclectic mix of midcentury, classic, recycled and modern pieces were used to create a comfortable, light and neutral concept,” said Kl.tz Design founder Caroline Klotz.

Accents of gold, dusty purple, and black breakup the otherwise white palette. The interiors also feature a variety of fixtures and accessories from Canadian brands.

Light maple from Quebec company Unik Parket is used for the floors and staircase. Hanging over the kitchen island is a collection of black pendants by Luminaire Authentik, which also provided the sconces on either side of the the master bed. Geometric tiles in the entryway and across bathroom floors are by Ciot.

Kl.tz Design was also responsible for the interiors of a ski house in Quebec, which has similar white surfaces, and a large black concrete fireplace and lumber nook.

Other home renovation projects in Montreal include a black geometric extension on a brick townhouse by Natalie Dionne, a gold-coloured interior designed for a musician by architect Jean Verville, and a refurbished apartment in Moshe Safdie’s Habitat 67 with a large wrap-around staircase by EMarchitecture.

Photography is by Josée Marino.

The post Kl.tz Design renovates light-filled family residence with floating staircase in Montreal appeared first on Dezeen.

“Not sure if the owl was super hungry and aggressive, or just curious.”..(Read…)

So Mercedes-Benz brings their Smart Vision EQ Concept to CES, and they shut down part of the Las Vegas Strip for it…if you haven’t seen it already, then you’ll understand why this was completely acceptable. An all-electric, completely autonomous car, built for personalization without actual ownership – the Smart Vision EQ Concept lacks both a steering wheel and pedals.

Albeit this little guy is aimed at the year 2030 when ride-sharing is expected to be the main form of transport, when it’s not being used to shuttle around those of you lucky enough, the Smart Vision EQ can be used as a rolling informational display.

The entire dashboard is an attention-stealing screen that relays information regarding social media goings on, news updates, sports scores and whatever you wish considering it’s hooked up to the rider’s smartphone. However, if you can look away from this for one minute, you’ll find yourself staring out the windscreen which stretches all the way from front to back above the riders’ heads. Filled with small details that can be seen upon closer inspection, the Smart Vision EQ may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it, without doubt, can create excitement around the future of autonomous transport.

Designer: Mercedes-Benz

In conjunction with our 2018 Core77 Design Awards, we’ve decided to explain a few of the categories in detail that may be difficult to grasp at first glance so you can decide whether or not the project you want to submit fits the mold! In our first article of the series, we dive into the area of Design Education Initiative—not only what it is, but how it’s evolved and the word of education and design is rapidly expanding.

When it comes to education, many institutions are beginning to realize if they want their students or employees to survive in the modern age, they must shift their previous perceptions of learning by helping those they teach to gain timely new skills. Today, many kids are actively involved in learning coding and other real-world skills in order to become the inventors of tomorrow. Corporations more than ever are encouraging creative, critical thinking through exercises and experiments to receive the most overall value from their employees.

This ever-morphing zone is precisely what is explored within the Core77 Design Awards’ Design Education Initiative category. Whether it’s academic, corporate, or experimental, one of the principles that guide every project within the Design Education Initiative space is the term “design thinking”. And for this year’s 2018 Core77 Design Awards, it’s important to us to distinguish the Design Education Initiative category as not only encompassing degree-granting design programs but also programs meant to educate with strong roots in the principles of design thinking.

 Susie Wise, 2018 Core77 Design Awards Design Education Initiative Jury Captain

2018 Design Education Initiative Jury Captain Dr. Susie Wise is involved in program precisely placed between the design and education space as Coach, Designer and Strategic Advisor for School Retool. School Retool is a fellowship for teachers guided by design principles. “What is very design-centric about how we work in School Retool,” says Wise,” is we really work on introducing school leaders to what we think of as some of the levers of design that are actually theirs to use. Often times you find leaders who think that the way to influence change is to send emails about a new plan; it’s a planning centric approach. The more design-centric approach says ‘gosh, you have all these levers that can help you build school culture. You could design space. You can design roles. You can design rituals. You can design incentives. You can design communications and process and time.'”

School Retool cue cards

In other words, the principles of design thinking don’t need to be explicitly explained in order for those using it to reap the benefits. It’s a method for enacting change within the education space, inserting empathy within academic experiences, and supplying students with tools for success.

Last year’s winner of the Design Education Initiative award, Montana State’s “Farm to Market” class had design and business students team up with local farmers to tackle problems surrounding food waste using design thinking.

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So what programs fit into the Design Education Initiative space?

The types of projects eligible for Design Education Initiative include but are not limited to:

– Innovative K12 educational programs

– Online or in-person learning programs run by design firms and design-driven corporations

– Museum exhibitions engineered as learning experiences

– Online learning spaces

– Organized “hack-a-thon” type events

– Business/start-up education programs

Think one of your projects from 2017 is a perfect fit for Design Education Initiative?*** Then we’d love to see it. Send in your 2018 Core77 Design Awards entry now!

***This is a Professionals-only category

During the 1980s, the only places one could legally gamble in the USA were Atlantic City, Las Vegas and Reno. Photographer Jay Wolke was “fascinated by the intersections of people, artifice, architecture and landscape” and photographed the rapidly……

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