Through the Lens of Photographer Lara Zankoul

La photographe libanaise Lara Zankoul nous amène aux confins de mondes subtilement surréalistes où elle dissèque visuellement les ressentis humains et notre rapport à l’espace. Toutefois, c’est aux spectateurs de son travail de se forger leur propre interprétation de ce qu’ils croient observer. L’esthétique léchée de ses oeuvres ainsi que leur aspect énigmatique confèrent à son univers photographique une attraction propice à l’imagination et à la rêverie. Rencontre.

Bonjour Lara! Quel chemin vous a amené à devenir photographe?

Ma passion pour la photo, voire même mon obsession pour cette discipline. Je me souviens que lorsque j’étais enfant, je regardais des magazines de photographie de mode et je rêvais de devenir moi aussi une photographe. J’ai toujours eu une grande attirance pour le monde de la photo, mais j’ai longtemps cru que je n’y appartenais pas. Ce n’est qu’à l’âge de 21 ans, lorsque j’ai commencé mon premier emploi, que j’ai décidé de m’acheter un appareil photo et que les choses ont évolué à partir de là. J’ai appris la photographie en autodidacte, et après huit ans, je suis maintenant photographe à temps plein. Je possède un studio à Beyrouth et je ne pourrais être plus heureuse.

Souvent mystérieux, étrange, mais toujours en contact avec les émotions humaines… Comment décririez-vous votre art?

Les émotions humaines, et plus précisément la psychologie humaine, peuvent toujours sembler à première vue surréalistes. Mais si nous creusons plus profondément, nous commençons à déchiffrer les significations et les codes. C’est ce que je recherche à travers mon art; déclencher des pensées, analyser la surface. C’est très personnel. C’est mon moyen d’expression. Chaque série représente un peu de mon développement personnel et mes recherches sur les sujets qui m’intéressent le plus : philosophie, psychologie, émotions, etc.

Vous capturez divers personnages au sein d’ambiances éclectiques, mais vos images comportent souvent quelques architectures géométriques. Pourquoi?

Jusqu’à présent, j’ai créé deux séries mêlant la photographie d’architecture et le portrait (« Strangers » et « The Maze »). Dans ces deux séries, j’étudie la relation entre les personnages représentés et l’espace. La géométrie mélangée à ces environnements très colorés reflétait une sensation d’agression très passive. Les lignes, en opposition à des formes plus organiques, symbolisent le monde matériel qui, à mon humble avis, est très rude.

Les lignes me permettent en fait de créer des obstacles et d’éloigner les personnages les uns des autres. En général, dans mon travail, les lignes représentent tout ce qui est matériel, elles créent un confinement et des limites.

Qu’est-ce qui vous inspire à créer?

Tout. Mon inspiration peut provenir d’un lieu, d’une lumière, d’une expérience personnelle. Comme mentionné précédemment, je suis très inspirée par la psychologie humaine, les pensées philosophiques et mes propres expériences avec la vie – généralement de mauvaises expériences me poussent à créer! Mais j’ai entraîné mon esprit à trouver l’inspiration partout autour de moi.

Quels sont vos projets à venir?

Comme chaque année, je prépare une nouvelle série. J’ai également lancé la vente de mes tirages et je vais bientôt commencer un incroyable atelier en ligne que j’ai filmé ce mois-ci. Il sortira en mars 2019 et je suis vraiment impatiente!

Suivez ses projets sur Instagram.



















Archways appear throughout a Barcelona penthouse by PMAA

Interiors of penthouse apartment designed by PMAA

Partitions punctuated with arched openings divide the living spaces inside this Barcelona apartment, which has been overhauled by architecture studio PMAA.

Situated on the top floor of a residential building in Barcelona’s Raval neighbourhood, the penthouse apartment has been updated by locally-based PMAA to feature fresh white surfaces and a sequence of vaulted partitions.

Interiors of penthouse apartment designed by PMAA

They help loosely arrange the 99-square-metre home into two zones – a living area, which sits towards the front of the floor plan, and a “wet” area that lies at the rear, accommodating the bathroom and kitchen.

The living area is dominated by a huge sectional sofa that fits around the columns of the partition walls. Sea green carpet has also been applied to the floor, complementing planters that are stuffed with tropical foliage.

Interiors of penthouse apartment designed by PMAA

This room overlooks the street through arched windows in the building’s original facade, which, along with the apartment’s Catalan ceiling vaults, inspired the design of the new partition walls.

“The geometrical repetition of the consecutive load-bearing walls results in a unique space that preserves its originality,” explained the studio.

Interiors of penthouse apartment designed by PMAA

Stepped flooring leads up to the bathroom, which has a silver metal sink basin and a boxy mirrored volume that contains the toilet. A tall pane of glass that doubles as a splashback for the shower separates this space from the bedroom – a white curtain can be drawn across to provide privacy when required.

Although decor has largely been kept to a minimum, the studio decided to preserve existing patterned tiles in the kitchen, which is finished with steel storage elements and dining table.

Interiors of penthouse apartment designed by PMAA

A porthole has also been punctuated in one of the apartment’s peripheral walls and covered with coloured acrylic to emit a faint orange glow.

“It creates a distorted version of external reality, and an unreal light inside that’s reminiscent of an autumn afternoon,” the studio explained to Dezeen.

Interiors of penthouse apartment designed by PMAA

PMAA is one of several studios to implement arches into its projects –New York-based Raad Studio used an arched wall to unite two formerly separate properties in Lower Manhattan, forming one huge apartment.

Israeli practice Pitsou Kedem also added vaulted doorways to a Jaffa apartment, mimicking its domed ceiling.

Photography is by José Hevia.


Project credits:

Architecture office: PMAA
Architects in charge: Adrián Jurado, Jaime Fernández, Magda Barceló and Albert Guerra

The post Archways appear throughout a Barcelona penthouse by PMAA appeared first on Dezeen.

Nomoco’s Gentle Illustrations

Originaire de Fukuoka au Japon, l’artiste visuelle Nomoco façonne des images sensibles et naïves à l’encre. Ses oeuvres inspirent au spectateur un calme inattendu et une fois le regard posé sur celles-ci, ce sont les nuances des teintes qui happent. L’encre sur le papier nous offre des variations et une sensation de mouvement subtiles. Nous pourrions presque en ressentir les textures. «J’aime contrôler le mouvement de l’encre et être contrôlée par celui-ci, confie-t-elle. Ces dernières années, j’ai beaucoup exploré la sérigraphie et la lithographie mélangées à des dessins à l’encre dans mes travaux personnels.»

La signature graphique de l’illustratrice, à la fois minimaliste et sensuelle, a d’ailleurs séduit plusieurs compagnies internationales telles que Nike, Moschino, Marc Jacobs ou encore Apple.















The Superglue chair revisits how chairs should be perceived

superglue_chair_1

One seat, two armrests, one backrest, four legs. These elements come together to make a chair, and whether you perceive them together or individually, there’s a fairly large chance you’ll know you’re looking at a chair/seating-device.

That isn’t quite the case with the Superglue chair by Dmitry Kozinenko. Comprised of 3 sheet metal parts joined together by flat rivets, you’d never guess that they would come together to form a chair. Even when they do come together, it’s difficult to isolate which part plays what role, only because the chair’s unique design allows it to function as a chair without visually conforming to the standards of chair-design. The Superglue chair does have a seat and backrest, which are quite suitably comfortable, thanks to their concave design. In fact, you’ve even got two armrests on either side of the seating area. The chair’s backrest is fortified by the two steel sheets riveted together, and the chair stays extremely stable, thanks to the third sheet steel member that doesn’t come shaped in the form of 4 legs, but rather provides, in its own unique way, a total of six contact points (three edges) between the chair and the floor.

Designer: Dmitry Kozinenko

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Charged Voids builds stone-clad Chandigarh home around courtyard void

Residence 145 by Charged Voids in India

Living spaces at this house in the Indian city of Chandigarh are distributed around a full-height courtyard that allows natural light and breezes to reach rooms arranged around its perimeter.

Locally based architecture studio Charged Voids designed Residence 145 project for a family comprising three generations, who wanted a home that provides a balance of communal and private spaces.

Residence 145 by Charged Voids in India

The property is located in the city’s southern sector and occupies a site that was subject to prohibitive zoning and height restrictions.

From the street, the building appears as a composition of monolithic interlocking volumes finished in white render or clad in a locally available stone with an earthy hue.

Residence 145 by Charged Voids in India

Internally, the three-storey house comprises a range of spaces that progress from the completely open communal areas on the ground floor to more private rooms for members of the family and staff on the upper levels.

“The central idea was to create a sequential progression from the public to private zones by using the courtyard and vertical circulation as the divider between the two,” said Charged Voids.

“Also, the varied volumetric scales of the public and private zones and their different interactions with the exterior was an essential part of the idea.”

Residence 145 by Charged Voids in India

An entrance sheltered beneath a slatted canopy leads into an open shared space that wraps around a courtyard containing a tree and water feature.

Sliding glass doors can be retracted to incorporate this open-air void into the room, providing an enhanced connection to the sound of water and scent of the planting.

Residence 145 by Charged Voids in India

As well as helping to separate the public and private zones, the full-height void serves to funnel natural light and breezes down into the centre of the building.

The sitting room and double-height dining area are joined on the ground floor by two bedrooms for the older generations of the family.

Residence 145 by Charged Voids in India

A lowered section of the wall enclosing the courtyard emphasises the separation of these private spaces from the main communal areas on the opposite side.

A staircase with open treads towards the rear of the building ascends to a first floor containing two further bedrooms, along with a kitchen that overlooks the courtyard.

Residence 145 by Charged Voids in India

The open kitchen features a curved wall which is punctured by a large opening. This hole frames a view of the adjacent stone surface and allows additional daylight to filter down from roof lights.

The stairs continue up to a third storey that provides access to a large roof terrace containing a bar and other amenities for hosting gatherings, which was an important aspect of the brief.

Residence 145 by Charged Voids in India

This level also provides accommodation for the domestic help, which can be accessed independently using a dedicated staircase at the front of the property.

The same stone used for the external walls is applied throughout the interior for walls and flooring. The material was chosen for its warm and natural appearance, which is complemented by leather furniture and richly coloured timber joinery.

In addition to its regular residential work, Charged Voids’ previous projects include an award-winning bridal store in Chandigarh that focuses on traditional craftsmanship and materials.

Photography is by Javier Callejas.


Project credits:

Lead architect: Aman Aggarwal
Design team: Swati Agarwal, Dushyant Singh
3D visualizer: Haneet Khanna
Builder: Khullar Builders
Structure consultant: Pankaj Chopra

The post Charged Voids builds stone-clad Chandigarh home around courtyard void appeared first on Dezeen.

Nomoco’s Gentle Illustrations

Originaire de Fukuoka au Japon, l’artiste visuelle Nomoco façonne des images sensibles et naïves à l’encre. Ses oeuvres inspirent au spectateur un calme inattendu et une fois le regard posé sur celles-ci, ce sont les nuances des teintes qui happent. L’encre sur le papier nous offre des variations et une sensation de mouvement subtiles. Nous pourrions presque en ressentir les textures. «J’aime contrôler le mouvement de l’encre et être contrôlée par celui-ci, confie-t-elle. Ces dernières années, j’ai beaucoup exploré la sérigraphie et la lithographie mélangées à des dessins à l’encre dans mes travaux personnels.»

La signature graphique de l’illustratrice, à la fois minimaliste et sensuelle, a d’ailleurs séduit plusieurs compagnies internationales telles que Nike, Moschino, Marc Jacobs ou encore Apple.















The Superglue chair revisits how chairs should be perceived

superglue_chair_1

One seat, two armrests, one backrest, four legs. These elements come together to make a chair, and whether you perceive them together or individually, there’s a fairly large chance you’ll know you’re looking at a chair/seating-device.

That isn’t quite the case with the Superglue chair by Dmitry Kozinenko. Comprised of 3 sheet metal parts joined together by flat rivets, you’d never guess that they would come together to form a chair. Even when they do come together, it’s difficult to isolate which part plays what role, only because the chair’s unique design allows it to function as a chair without visually conforming to the standards of chair-design. The Superglue chair does have a seat and backrest, which are quite suitably comfortable, thanks to their concave design. In fact, you’ve even got two armrests on either side of the seating area. The chair’s backrest is fortified by the two steel sheets riveted together, and the chair stays extremely stable, thanks to the third sheet steel member that doesn’t come shaped in the form of 4 legs, but rather provides, in its own unique way, a total of six contact points (three edges) between the chair and the floor.

Designer: Dmitry Kozinenko

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ISA's Tiny Tower residence fills leftover plot in Philadelphia

Tiny Tower by ISA

Pennsylvania architecture studio ISA has designed a slender five-storey house in a developing Philadelphia neighbourhood, as a housing prototype for tiny vacant lots.

ISA‘s narrow Tiny Tower is built like a mini-skyscraper, using a steel-reinforced wood frame that is clad in painted metal across its exterior. Windows take up large portions of the street facade.

Tiny Tower by ISA

Each of the levels is designed to suit different functions, with the floor space totalling 1,250 square feet (116 square metres).

Utilising compact vertical circulation, Tiny Tower maximises the entire property’s footprint in both length and height. The house is 12 feet (3.6 metres) wide, 29 feet (8.8 metres) deep, and 38 feet (11.5 metres) tall.

Tiny Tower by ISA

The project is located in Philadelphia’s Brewerytown, which is currently undergoing revitalisation as new buildings infill vacant lots.

“Tiny Tower serves as a prototype for flexible-use buildings on small urban plots,” said ISA. “Early waves of redevelopment tend to take advantage of sites with standard dimensions, but the area’s urban grid includes many under-utilised extra small parcels facing alley streets.”

Tiny Tower by ISA

The tiered structured stands out from its neighbours, which include parking lots and the gardens of adjacent houses. Rather than a yard, Tiny Tower features a lower level window garden, a second level walk out terrace and a roof deck.

“The design promotes vertical living for both indoor and outdoor space,” the studio said.

Tiny Tower by ISA

The ground floor sits slightly below grade, so the building’s height is not too obtrusive on the surroundings. A further basement level allows for enough living space within the volume squeezed onto the tight plot.

Tiny Tower by ISA

“Unlocking the development potential of these tiny sites is critical as the city looks to increase its supply of low-cost housing for a diverse range of lifestyles,” ISA said.

A folded-plate steel staircase at the front of the house connects all five levels, while a separate exterior stair provides access to the roof.

Tiny Tower by ISA

“The biggest challenge in a vertical house with a tiny footprint is stair configuration,” said the studio. “The experience of going up and down the stair is integral to the daily life of the building.”

The lowest level accommodates a kitchen and bathroom. Above, the main entrance opens to the living room a few steps down. The third floor is used as an office, with two desks across from one another and a small balcony.

Tiny Tower by ISA

The top two storeys each house a bedroom and bathroom, and the roof terrace provides extra living space when the weather is nice.

White walls, light wood floors and ample natural light create an airy backdrop inside. All-white furnishings are used sparingly, for a spacious rather than cramped feel.

Tiny Tower by ISA

ISA has also created two other residential projects in Philadelphia: a white townhouse with a plywood core and a housing complex clad in brick, wood and metal.

As land in cities becomes increasingly scarce, architects are coming up with clever solutions to fill in any urban gaps. Other houses that make the most of their tiny plots include a “starter” home with a jagged roofline in New Orleans by OJT, a white house in Brasília by Bloco Arquitetos, and a gabled black residence in Vancouver by D’Arcy Jones Architecture.

Photography is by Sam Oberter.

The post ISA’s Tiny Tower residence fills leftover plot in Philadelphia appeared first on Dezeen.

Nomoco’s Gentle Illustrations

Originaire de Fukuoka au Japon, l’artiste visuelle Nomoco façonne des images sensibles et naïves à l’encre. Ses oeuvres inspirent au spectateur un calme inattendu et une fois le regard posé sur celles-ci, ce sont les nuances des teintes qui happent. L’encre sur le papier nous offre des variations et une sensation de mouvement subtiles. Nous pourrions presque en ressentir les textures. «J’aime contrôler le mouvement de l’encre et être contrôlée par celui-ci, confie-t-elle. Ces dernières années, j’ai beaucoup exploré la sérigraphie et la lithographie mélangées à des dessins à l’encre dans mes travaux personnels.»

La signature graphique de l’illustratrice, à la fois minimaliste et sensuelle, a d’ailleurs séduit plusieurs compagnies internationales telles que Nike, Moschino, Marc Jacobs ou encore Apple.















The Superglue chair revisits how chairs should be perceived

superglue_chair_1

One seat, two armrests, one backrest, four legs. These elements come together to make a chair, and whether you perceive them together or individually, there’s a fairly large chance you’ll know you’re looking at a chair/seating-device.

That isn’t quite the case with the Superglue chair by Dmitry Kozinenko. Comprised of 3 sheet metal parts joined together by flat rivets, you’d never guess that they would come together to form a chair. Even when they do come together, it’s difficult to isolate which part plays what role, only because the chair’s unique design allows it to function as a chair without visually conforming to the standards of chair-design. The Superglue chair does have a seat and backrest, which are quite suitably comfortable, thanks to their concave design. In fact, you’ve even got two armrests on either side of the seating area. The chair’s backrest is fortified by the two steel sheets riveted together, and the chair stays extremely stable, thanks to the third sheet steel member that doesn’t come shaped in the form of 4 legs, but rather provides, in its own unique way, a total of six contact points (three edges) between the chair and the floor.

Designer: Dmitry Kozinenko

superglue_chair_2

superglue_chair_3

superglue_chair_4

superglue_chair_5

superglue_chair_6