Chris Hytha est un artiste âgé de 22 ans qui vient de Phoenixville et réside actuellement à Philadelphie aux Etats-Unis.
C’est en commençant ses études au lycée que Chris a débuté le dessin. Il passait toutes ses journées à dessiner des architectures. C’est tout naturellement qu’il a donc décidé de devenir architecte.
Chris a ensuite commencé à pratiquer la photographie et l’édition photo sur Photoshop et Lightroom. « Quand j’ai déménagé à Philadelphie, j’ai eu un énorme sentiment de liberté et de curiosité qui m’a poussé à la photographie. Je photographiais des scènes d’exploration urbaine en me promenant sur les toits de la ville. Ça a largement influencé mon travail actuel sur Photoshop et ma manière de représenter la ville de façon fantastique avec son lot de mystère et de solitude. » dit-il.
A présent, Chris vient juste de rentrer dans sa cinquième année d’études à l’université Drexel à Philadelphie. Pour son cursus, il est employé à EwingCole, une agence d’architectes basée dans la ville. « Même si j’habite depuis 4 ans à Philadephie, je ressens toujours cette énergie et cette excitation quand je regarde l’horizon de la ville. J’adore cette sensation d’être à mille lieues du chaos et du bruit. Je pense que l’environnement urbain ainsi que les buildings sont impressionnants ; j’essaie de capturer leur grandeur. » nous raconte-t-il.
Selon lui, le dessin et l’architecture lui permettent de se démarquer des autres jeunes photographes sur Instagram. « J’ai appris à voir le monde d’une autre manière. Mon école d’architecture m’a appris beaucoup sur les notions de concept et de représentation. Le plus souvent, j’ai déjà l’image finale dans ma tête avant de la retravailler sur Photoshop. » dit-il.
Vous pouvez découvrir toutes les photographies de Chris sur son compte Instagram intitulé « hytha.cg ». « Philadelphie a la mauvaise réputation d’être une ville sale de classe ouvrière… J’aime me mettre au challenge de la sublimer et aider les gens à voir tous les jours la beauté qui les entoure. »
Los Angeles’ Studio Sucio used a “mish-mash” of styles for the apartments it has created inside a 1960s Holiday Inn in Downtown Los Angeles.
The team remodelled the modernist building in Downtown LA’s west end, including interiors, exteriors, furnishings and branding, to create The Flat.
The project marks Studio Sucio’s first. It was led by Leslie Barrett and Fernando Bracer – both alumni of Kelly Wearstler’s design studio – and designer Melissa Lippman.
The design brief for the interior was based on the concept of “flatness”. Combinations of simple materials were used to reflect a vibrant colour palette, such as laminated plywood and plastic, cork and engineered wood veneers, perforated metal and back painted glass.
Barrett describes the bold elements as providing a “Kubrick-like aura” – a reference to the cinematic style of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick.
“It’s that anachronistic mish-mash, like historical pieces misremembered and recreated, conjoined with an assertive colour palette and a dose of luminosity,” Barrett told Dezeen.
Large windows bring in ample natural light and afford sweeping city views from the 400 units in The Flat, which are relatively compact in size.
Due to the limited space, the firm designed custom furniture to be multi-functional. Most notable are the queen bed “boxes” made of plywood that incorporate shelving, drawers, and a desk as a single piece.
“As a local project we had the opportunity to make almost everything in LA with our favourite vendors, which suited the tight budget and fast time frame,” Barrett added.
“My husband is a cabinet maker, so we thought through the design of the custom pieces from the perspective of how he could build them,” she continued.
The apartments are complemented by a range of communal spaces for residents “wanting to mingle, throw a party, or even find some quiet to get some work done.”
A shared lounge boasts a swimming pool, ping-pong tables, large flatscreen televisions, communal tables, sofa and banquette seating, as well as co-working stations for remote workers.
The only new flooring material added to the space was wild marbled cork; otherwise, they are exposed concrete or negro marquina tile inherited from a previous remodel.
Vintage pieces such as Dakota Jackson dining chairs, a metal Koch & Lowy coffee table and a genuine Malevich print offer further dimension to the residence’s sense of place.
“We also custom designed a light fixture series that has a ‘cartoonishness’ coming from our intention of making things appear flat,” Barrett describes. “The way they reflect in the back-painted glass table tops enhances that drama.”
The Empire House project sees the Melbourne-based firm renovate and extend a post-war bungalow on one of Canberra’s historic ring roads.
Although the easier option would have been to demolish the building and design something larger, neither the architects nor the clients – a family of three – wanted to do that.
Instead they came up with a design that respects the heritage of the building, but also adds new character.
Two pavilion-sized buildings were added on the south and east sides of the house, connected by see-through glass corridors. One contains a family kitchen and dining room, while the other adds a master bedroom and en-suite bathroom.
The interior layout of the main house has been reorganised too, so that these new rooms naturally connect up with existing spaces.
“Empire House is an exercise in considered intervention and restraint,” explained Austin Maynard Architects, which is led by founding director Andrew Maynard and co-director Mark Austin.
“The two biggest issues were: how do we have a conversation with the original building without attacking it or infecting it? And how do we create sunny spaces when the sloping site levels and orientation of the house overshadows much of the garden?” said the studio.
“The answer was to go in with a scalpel, making some big moves, without damaging too much.”
The two gable-fronted extensions are both designed to match the materiality of the existing bungalow, which had been kept in good condition.
Both old and new sit on a base of red brick. But while the upper walls of the house are white-painted brickwork, the extensions are clad in colour-matched steel shingles. Made by Colorbond, these shingles are delicately arranged in a scale-like pattern.
“They form a snakeskin-like covering that merges roof and wall in one surface,” said the architects.
“The craftsmanship involved in the measuring, cutting and linking of each shingle is evident in the clean geometry of the arrangement,” they added. “Each shingle is set out with mathematical precision.”
The kitchen is housed in the larger of the two additions, close to the living spaces in the main house. This block has an asymmetric roof profile that accommodates a row of north-facing skylights, ensuring the space benefits from maximum daylight.
Glass doors on both sides of the room allow the family to enjoy the breeze while cooking or dining. Other thoughtful details include a kitchen island with a cantilevered counter and a window seat built into the end of the kitchen worktop.
The new master bedroom is a smaller and more simple block, located alongside the three existing bedrooms. The glass corridor that links takes the form of a bridge, with the garden growing underneath it.
“The linking corridors are highly detailed to appear as transparent as possible,” said the architects. “The glazing frames, cut into the brick of the old part of the house, seem to disappear.”
The project also involved adding a car port on the side of the house, which is designed to easily double up as a shelter for outdoor seating.
Architect: Austin Maynard Architects Project team: Andrew Maynard, Mark Austin, Ray Dinh Builder: Preferred Builders Engineer: Ken Murtagh Landscape architects: Bush Projects
As the warm weather fades away and winter approaches, Dezeen has scooped up seven design-focused ice cream shops to satisfy your sweet tooth all year round.
Cut-out clouds and pastel-blue walls form a whimsical backdrop to the London store of Milk Train, a brand that has become increasingly popular on Instagram for its wacky ice cream offerings.
FormRoom interpreted the brand’s name into train-like seating booths, departure board-style menus and overhead shelves that display prop suitcases.
Travel-related puns dotted about the interior in neon signage also encourage visitors to snap images and share on the photo-sharing app.
Described by Asthetique as a “mental holiday”, the interiors of Ice Scream feature neon geometric shapes, palm trees and rounded furniture inspired by Memphis design and the kitsch style of the 1950s.
Employees make the store’s nitrogen-based desserts behind a hand-painted counter at the rear of the store. The machine is backed by a striking mint-green arch fitted with colour changing rainbow-LED strips, encouraging visitors to photograph and film the manufacturing process.
Japanese studio Torafu Architects used three flooring finishes – patterned tiling, blue-grey linoleum and timber parquet – to delineate different zones inside Tokyo’s experimental ice cream parlour, Snow Picnic.
Anatomical drawings of animals have been mounted on the walls in a nod to the scientific processes store employees use to make liquid-nitrogen ice cream.
One Design Office employed Studio Twocan’s special concrete layering technique to create the technicolour service bar of Scroll Ice Cream, which sits inside a Melbourne shopping centre.
Vibrant teal-blue and off-white concrete mixtures were poured on top of yellow and pink in the formwork mould, reminiscent of “icy layers of flavours and fruits”.
Shiny convex mirrors decorate the millennial-pink and baby-blue interior of Dyce, an ice cream parlour in London’s Marylebone neighbourhood.
Designed to be both “unexpected and immersive”, the space features a mix of Instagrammable and surrealist features – its curved floor and two-tiered seating are meant to resemble melting ice cream, while subtly nodding to the work of artist Salvador Dali.
Visitors can experience the feeling of stepping inside a multilayered ice-cream cake when entering Tokyo’s Glace et Chocolat, designed by Nendo.
The store’s gently curving walls are composed of layers of soil in varying brown tones, each mixed with fine aggregate to create a smooth, ice cream-like texture.
Canadian studio Scott & Scott breathed new life into an old warehouse in Vancouver by transforming the industrial space into a liquid-nitrogen ice cream shop.
Durable steel sheets have been used to clad several of the store’s fixtures, resulting in an overall pared-back aesthetic.
The studio was also hoping that the galvanised surfaces would also act as a comic reference to “sticking your tongue to the steel guard on a ski lift”.
MIT researchers have accidentally engineered the blackest black material while experimenting with ways to grow carbon nanotubes (CNT) on aluminium.
The material can absorb 99.995 percent of visible light, and is said to be “10 times blacker than anything that’s ever been reported” including Vantablack for which Anish Kapoor has exclusive rights.
Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, the supertall glass-steel skyscraper has stolen the title from Rafael Viñoly’s 432 Park Avenue that rises 426 metres.
Elsewhere in New York, Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto revealed visuals of a 10-storey co-living complex for an historic Brooklyn site, which will be his first project in the city.
BIG also announced plans to build the Wildflower Film Studio – an angular building in Queens dubbed as a hub for film and television that is being developed with a team including actor and producer Robert De Niro.
Sustainable design remained in the spotlight as Dezeen reported on the UK government’s call for experts to help it develop standards for bioplastics and biodegradable plastics, in a bid to end its use of “vague and misleading” terminology.
Activist and educator Neil Pinder, who was named Teacher of the Year for his work at a south London secondary school, will speak about design education at Dezeen Day.
Pinder will be part of a discussion exploring how to make architecture and design education more relevant and inclusive.
Taking place in London on 30 October, Dezeen Day is an international conference that aims to set the agenda for architecture and design.
Pinder has worked at inner-city schools for over 25 years, and is currently head of product design at Graveney School in South London.
Neil Pinder will speak on the education panel at Dezeen Day
Here he successfully introduced architecture to the curriculum, inspiring many pupils to take an interest in design subjects. He is credited with inspiring a new generation of designers from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) families and working-class backgrounds.
He has received national recognition for his work, including the prestigious Teacher of the Year award.
Pinder is the subject of Architecture for All, a film produced by The Architecture Foundation that explores issues of access to the creative industries.
Joining Pinder in the discussion at Dezeen Day are Patrik Schumacher, principal at Zaha Hadid Architects; Harriet Harriss, dean of the Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture; and Stacie Wolsie, a design graduate who set up her own masters course after being shocked at the cost of established courses.
Dezeen Day takes place at BFI Southbank, on the bank of the Thames in central London, on Wednesday 30 October.
The conference will address key topics including future cities, the circular economy and running a successful design business.
Buy reduced early-bird tickets now using the form below or through the Eventbrite page and sign up to receive email updates.
Worried about Brexit?
The UK is currently set to leave the European Union at 11pm GMT on 31 October 2019. If you travel to Dezeen Day from abroad and return home before then, you should not face any disruption.
Brazilian brand Noori aims to transport users to a time when “cooking with fire was at the core of our rituals” with its multipurpose stove, which can be used as a barbecue, a pizza oven or a fire pit.
The Noori stove comprises a curved body made from heat-resistant refractory concrete that is split into two sections. Within the stove an L-shaped enamelled pipe contains the fuel and directs heat up through the centre of the stove towards a grill surface.
The stove’s configuration ensures almost complete combustion before the flames reach the cooking surface, resulting in intense heat without the smoke of a conventional fire.
The creators of Noori based the product on the traditional rocket stove design, which burns small-diameter wood fuel in a combustion chamber linked to an insulated vertical chimney.
It was developed by three friends who studied together on the Permaculture Design Course at the IPEMA university in Ubatuba, Brazil. Permaculture focuses on working with, rather than against nature, with the goal of integrating design and ecology.
“The idea was to design a product that could transport us from our day-to-day routine and excessive information flow, to a time when fire and cooking with fire was at the core of our rituals,” explained the team.
During their studies, designer Eduardo Gayotto, environmental engineer Plinio Ruschi and architect Pedro Heldt learned about the highly efficient rocket stove, which they adapted to create a versatile product with multiple functions.
“The goal was to design a product where a ragu, a feijoada, a pasta, a pizza, grilled vegetables and meat could be prepared,” Gayotto added. “We wanted to break with the limitations of a standard barbecue.”
The stove’s modular design was developed to avoid the need for an oversized fixed form. Instead, the product can be easily moved, stored and arranged depending on the requirement of a specific scenario.
A tripod with wheels provides the base for the stove, which can be moved and reconfigured using reclaimed-wood handles on either side of the main cylinder.
The burner is placed on the base and the L-shaped tube fitted inside with its opening aligned with a hole in the concrete shell. The cylinder sits on the burner module and half-moon grills rest on the opening at the top.
The stove can be used by placing pans or casseroles on the surface above the heat source. Alternatively, adding charcoal to the fire allows Noori to function as a barbecue grill.
An enamelled lid with a built-in temperature gauge can be placed over the grill and used to prepare smoked food. The addition of the lid along with a pizza stone transforms the rocket stove into a pizza oven, while the base unit can also be used as a fire pit for grilling.
The designers suggested that the product’s simple appearance and ease of use is the result of a function-led approach, which prioritised durability, user health, experience, ergonomics and aesthetics.
Hunters Point Library is a six-storey building by local firm Steven Holl Architects in Hunter’s Point, Queens. It is on a waterfront site along the East River, with expansive views of Midtown Manhattan.
The library comprises a simple rectangular form built from a cast-in concrete that is painted with aluminium for a silvery finish.
A curved terrace is carved into the top of the building, while a variety of large windows puncture the simple rectangular on its four sides.
These glazed openings include a geometric, slanted window with rounded edges on the exterior that faces Manhattan, and the three others with similarly curved corners on the rear side.
Photograph courtesy of Steven Holl Architects
“Sculpted cuts are carved out of the facade, showing the movement of people within and framing expansive views of the Manhattan skyline,” the firm said.
Hunters Point Library spans 22,000 square feet (2,044 square metres) and is complete with a rooftop patio and a public park. Inside, floors contain a series of different reading rooms and spaces tailored to adults, children and teenagers.
Photograph courtesy of Steven Holl Architects
“The vertical structure reimagines the traditional library model, providing diversity of spaces from intimate reading areas to active gathering spaces,” said Steven Holl Architects.
Upon entering is a lobby with an information desk that also works for book returns. A small sitting area, restrooms and an auditorium with a stage are also located on the main level. A linear staircase scales the project, and is positioned next to the window that frames Manhattan.
The stairwell is designed as open and draws the eye upwards, past thousands of colourful books that are visible across several floors. The stairs switch back from one mezzanine to the other, across the different levels and connect all of the spaces.
“While the plan is compact, the building section of the new library is open and flowing to allow for the most energy-efficient design and the greatest amount of public green space on the site,” the firm said.
A mezzanine above the ground floor contains an adult reading section and a children’s area, and the level above it contains reading collections that are divided in half across the floor, for adults and children as well.
A quiet room and more reading areas are located on the first floor. Staff offices, a lounge and a technology centre are placed above. On the fourth level are a cafe and a reading area for teens. A terrace accessed from the eatery has steps to a rooftop patio, located above the fifth floor.
Photograph courtesy of Steven Holl Architects
Much of the reading rooms and areas of Hunter’s Point Library are designed as open spaces with ample natural light. Bamboo clad walls, ceilings and shelves offer a warm, natural touch that contrasts with the silvery exterior.
Rounding out the library are back-off-house areas, mechanical rooms, and several restrooms across the floors. The library is complete with a plaza and a garden with ginkgo trees planted next to a detached volume, which accommodates a park station.
Photograph courtesy of Steven Holl Architects
This library, like all public libraries in Queens, has a separate operating system from the New York Public Library (NYPL), which functions in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Brooklyn’s libraries function independently as well.
Hunter’s Point Library forms part of a major redevelopment of the waterfront in Queens, following the completion of Hunter’s Point Park by firms SWA/Balsley and Weiss/Manfredi last year.
Photography is by Paul Warchol unless stated otherwise.
Project credits:
Client: Queens Public Library, New York City Department of Design and Construction Lead architects: Steven Holl (design architect, principal), Chris McVoy (senior partner in charge), Olaf Schmidt (senior associate in charge), Filipe Taboada (project architect, associate), Suk Lee (project architect CA) Project team: Bell Ying Yi Cai, Rychiee Espinosa, JongSeo Lee, Maki Matsubayashi, Michael Rusch, Dominik Sigg, Yasmin Vobis, Jeanne Wellinger Landscape architect: Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates Structural engineer: Silman Mechanical, electrical engineer: ICOR Associates Lighting design: L’Observatoire International LEED consultant: ADS Engineers Civil engineer: Langan Engineering & Environmental Services Fire technician consultant: Rolf Jensen & Assoc Cost estimator: Davis Langdon Specifications: Construction Specifications Inc Climate engineer: Transsolar
The 130 trees covered in pink, yellow and blue nylon webbing that form this installation in Columbus by US architecture firm SO-IL will be replanted at a nearby house designed by Eero Saarinen.
SO-IL planted 130 trees to make the Into the Hedge installation in the gardens of the historic Bartholomew Court House for Exhibit Columbus, an annual event showcasing art, architecture and design.
The architecture firm developed the project with the preservation team at the Miller House and Garden, a mid-century home that celebrated Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen designed in the Indiana city. The team came up with the scheme in response to a need to replant a hedgerow of 70-year-old arbor vitae trees that wrap Saarinen‘s property.
When Into the Hedge is disassembled, the trees will be planted in the Miller House garden.
“After the exhibition the trees can be permanently planted in the garden, making a direct link between the installation’s original architectural inspiration and a contribution to the stewardship of one of Columbus, Indiana’s seven National Historic Landmarks,” SO-IL said.
“Committed to taking a critical approach to preservation and material use, Into the Hedge, temporarily re-organises the elements of local construction and landscape as well as recognisable modern architecture into a memorable experience and a new landmark,” the studio added.
For the installation, the planted trees are arranged among a large colourful web made with nylon. The stretchy material’s vibrant colours were influenced by the colour palette that designer Alexander Girand used in Miller House.
The installation also uses limestone and stakes to form walls that give the work its curving shape.
Visitors are encouraged to walk, sit and play on the netting. Several trees arranged on the lawn are connected to one another by hammocks made from the nylon.
Through a partnership with People for Urban Progress the woven material will be used to make tote bags. Other parts that comprise the piece, including the gabions, mulch, limestone and stakes, will be used in local infrastructure projects.
“Simple off-the-shelf agricultural and construction materials were used to ensure that everything could have a life afterward,” the studio added.
The project by SO-IL and Miller House and Garden was created for Exhibit Columbus’ J Irwin and Xenia S Miller Prize, which pairs studios to build a community focused project on a downtown Columbus site, and forms the centrepiece of the event.
Swedish designer Love Hultén is back with another retro-modern take, this time paying tribute to none other than design pioneer Dieter Rams and his “Less-is-more” approach.
Rams joined Braun in 1955 and served as chief design officer from 1961 to 1995. In addition to developing many memorable consumer products, he also wrote his “Ten principles for good design” during that time. “Good design is as little as possible,” he wrote. “Less, but better, because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.”
Hultén’s revisited his own R-Kaid-R gaming console, paring back the design based on Rams’ principles and adding little touches of Rams’ SK-4 record player and T3 pocket radio. The result is a perfectly retro gaming console that nods to the past but is modern in its capabilities. Users can store over 10,000 emulated games and the portable unit provides over 10 hours of gaming per charge.
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Above: SK-4 Record player, Dieter Rams, Braun, 1956. Below: ?T3 Pocket radio, Dieter Rams, Braun, 1958 
