Hasta La Ideas

Stone colonnades frame the open-plan interiors of Town House, the mixed-use teaching building by Grafton Architects for Kingston University in London.

RIBA Gold Medal-winning studio Grafton Architects designed the six-storey Town House to act as “the university’s front door and a gateway to Kingston upon Thames” – the town in which it is located.

It takes the form of a series of interlocking, open-plan volumes enveloped by a facade of colonnades that offer passersby glimpses inside, in a bid to create a stronger connection between students and locals.

“Imagine a place where reading, dance, performance, lectures, exhibitions, research and learning, happily co-exist, under one roof, and the door is open to everyone. This is the new Town House in Kingston,” said the Dublin-based studio.

“The architecture reflects this openness,” it continued.

“Colonnades form welcoming meeting spaces at edges. Interlocking volumes move vertically connecting the building from ground to top. Activities are revealed to the passersby. There are no barriers.”

Grafton Architects was selected to design Town House in 2013, when Kingston University and the Royal Institute of British Architects held a competition to replace an existing office building on campus. It was built in collaboration with the contractor Willmott Dixon.

Now open to the public, it contains the university’s main library and archive, alongside dance studios, a theatre, adaptable learning spaces, and two cafes.

Town House’s statement colonnaded facade is built from reconstituted stone to mirror the frontage of the Surrey County Council that is located adjacent to it.

This is complemented by an inner facade set back from the columns that are lined with brick and floor-to-ceiling windows. According to Grafton Architects, their positions “relate to the spaces within”.

Inside, over half of Town House’s 9,400-square-metre footprint is open-plan. The interiors are dominated by pared-back, pre-cast concrete finishes that retain focus on a statement staircase at its centre.

The open-plan layout is designed to visually connect the different spaces, creating a “liberating and open” building that facilitates interaction.

“Occupants of Town House can always see what is happening throughout the building, encouraging collaboration and exchange and helping to facilitate learning as a social process,” explained the studio.

In a bid to draw visitors in, the ground floor contains the more public and dynamic spaces including a cafe, foyer and flexible performance and assembly spaces, alongside a triple height “covered courtyard”.

Meanwhile, the upper levels host the more private areas, including a library and work spaces suited to individual study and collaborative group working.

The building is complete with three cascading landscaped terraces on its upper levels that encourage external circulation throughout the building, while also offering views out over the town and River Thames.

These outdoor spaces incorporate brown-roof technology to help the building absorb water while also enhancing biodiversity.

“Grafton Architects’ design radically reconfigures students’ learning experience, creating spaces that are liberating and open, allowing informal learning, research and performance to take place organically under one roof,” concluded the studio.

“Town House delivers a new dynamic and much needed civic presence for the community, offering a world-class vision for the future of Britain’s university buildings.”

Grafton Architects is a Dublin architecture studio founded in 1978 by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara. Last year, they were awarded the 2020 RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture – becoming are the first all-woman pair to receive the prestigious prize in its 171-year history.

Other educational buildings designed by the studio include Universita Luigi Bocconi School of Economics, University of Limerick Medical School, and the Urban Institute of Ireland – all of which featured in Farrell and McNamara’s roundup of their most significant projects to date.

Photography is by Ed Reeve.

Project credits:

Client: Kingston University
Architect: Grafton Architects
Executive architect: Grafton Architects
Contractor: Willmott Dixon Construction (WDC)
Structural engineers: AKT II
M&E consultation: chapmanbdsp (Design Stage), DES Electrical/CMB Engineering (Construction Stage) Project management and cost management: Turner & Townsend
Quantity surveyor: Turner & Townsend
Client technical team: Architon Group Practice and MG Partnership
Clerk of works (Civils & services): Fulkers
CDM advisory: Turner & Townsend
BIM advisory: Turner & Townsend

The post Grafton Architects completes colonnaded Town House at Kingston University appeared first on Dezeen.

This hand warmer makes you feel the inner warmth even when you just look at it. That’s because its build and aesthetic were inspired by the feeling you get when you are all wrapped up in a cozy blanket on a cold winter day. The designers purposely made these hand warmers to give a physical form to that emotion. Second White created this concept as a part of its ‘Essentials Only’ project and we couldn’t agree more – once you know life in winter with a hand warmer, there is no going back!

Every curve and color of the device embodies the function of the hand warmer, especially the soft elliptical shape which fits naturally in your palms. It is perfectly sized for you to fit it in your coat pockets – a portable essential to carry during the winters especially if you have a commute! The hand warmer can be easily charged with a USB cord even with a phone. To ease your mind, it also comes with a backup battery and a handy light for those winter evenings when the sun sets early. Now we wait for this concept to come to life and be a ray of sunshine for those snowy days.

Designer: Second White

The packaging of the record – the band’s final release following their final world tour – consists of a cardboard case which comprises a black inner sleeve. This sleeve contains the HELL-P and is completely sealed. Leaving you no other option than to burn your way to the record in order to play it. The track inside is, of course, exactly 6,66″ long.

As one commenter wisely put on a YouTube film showing how it all works, “This has to be one of the most metal things I’ve ever seen”.

The HELL-P contains the title track of Slayer’s latest album, The Repentless Killogy, which was originally released last November and recorded on the band’s final world tour. The packaging and the record are both designed by Kolle Rebbe.

Six HELL-Ps will be given away to fans via Nuclear Blast, Slayer’s label. Fans can enter the giveaway until January 31 at nuclearblast.com/hellp

The post Metal band Slayer releases record that can be “played in Hell” appeared first on Creative Review.

The psychotherapist turned photographer is working on a Wellcome Collection commission exploring the link between poverty and mental health. Before the series is revealed this summer, she discusses the considerations, ethics and urgency behind this kind of work

The post Siân Davey on mental health, poverty and photography appeared first on Creative Review.

The latest collection from Chinese furniture brand Maisondada includes a seating series that references a David Bowie track and an armchair inspired by sumo wrestling.

The company founded by designer Thomas Dariel and Delphine Moreau stood out at this year’s Maison&Objet trade fair in Paris with products including the Sumo armchair and Major Tom seating collection.

Maisondada, which launched in 2016 in Shanghai and Paris, described the theme for this year’s collection as “futuristic and time-for-dreaming designs”.

The concept expands on its more general mission of “creating objects that are gently crazy, defying certainty, taste and gravity.”

Sumo – a chunky armchair with a low seat and a curved back wrapped in wrinkled fabric – epitomises the company’s playful aesthetic.

Its squat shape and oversized proportions reference Japan’s famous wrestlers, as well as typifying the “plus-size furniture” trend identified by Dezeen columnist Michelle Ogundehin as a key direction for 2020.

“With four sturdy legs and a burly figure, Sumo is firmly anchored to the ground,” said Maisondada.

“Yet while the armchair is the very image of purpose, fearlessness and unyieldingness, its rare shape, soft lines and fabric upholstery brings it elegance and stature.”

The Major Tom seating collection comprises a sofa, armchair and ottoman influenced by the futuristic clothing designed by Pierre Cardin and worn by David Bowie in the video for his song Space Oddity.

The furniture features contrasting upholstery on the inner and outer surfaces that creates the impression that it is wearing a jacket, as well as “lunar shapes and curved silhouettes” that extend the references to outer space.

The company further expanded its upholstered furniture collection with a circular ottoman called Ziggy that references the title of a David Bowie album, and introduced a desk with narrow legs supporting a slender tabletop containing a drawer.

In addition to sofas and chairs, Maisondada launched other furniture items and accessories, including a ceramic side table called Ousmane and a series of side tables with irregularly shaped tops inspired by the Spanish painter Joan Miro.

The new accessories include a range of mirrors called Morocco Pop! by French designer José Lévy, which are inspired by his memories of Morocco and its geometric architecture in the 1950s.

Several of the products released by Maisondada in the past few years were also updated for 2020 with new fabrics or colour options.

These included the curvaceous AYI armchair and the Yiban Yiban chair, which features a backrest comprising two separate elements.

Maisondada’s founder and lead designer Thomas Dariel moved to China in 2006 to launch his own interior design studio. He was joined in 2008 by Delphine Moreau, and together they built a brand that combines French design heritage with eastern cultural influences.

The brand’s name references the Dadaist art movement, whose surreal approach influences Maisondada’s poetic and playful design aesthetic.

The studio is part of a new wave of creatives who are redefining how design in China is perceived.

In 2019, the country was named as guest of honour at Design Biennale Saint-Étienne and six young Chinese designers were highlighted as rising talents at the Maison&Objet design fair.

Charlotte and Peter Fiell, authors of a recently published book called Contemporary Chinese Furniture Design, recently told Dezeen about “an extraordinary pool of design talent” that is leading a movement identified by the term “New Chinese Design”.

Architect and designer Rossana Hu has also described “a new generation of creatives who are doing amazing work exploring issues, exploring materials and working with technology”, which was highlighted by a 2019 exhibition called China Design [Working Title] that focused on work by the country’s young designers.

Images by Kevin Kang.

The post Maisondada unveils new additions to its “gently crazy” product portfolio appeared first on Dezeen.