L’artiste canadienne Marie-Claude Marquis donne une seconde vie aux traditionnelles assiettes émaillées de “grands-mères”. Le kitsch de ces vaisselles blanches aux motifs de chatons ou de fleurs, se transforment sous l’intervention typographique de l’artiste en références pop culture.
Depuis 2014 et une commande pour une installation artistique, sexualité, religion, santé mentale, consumérisme, tout y passe. Depuis, sa propre collection ne fait que grandir, des plats aux carafes. Collectionner chacun de ces objets d’époque est une excuse pour créer des objets de design profondément contemporains. Inspirée par ses propres souvenirs, ses réflexions et émotions, Marie-Claude Marquis rejoue le kitsch dans son ultime rêve vintage.
Just to be fully prepared for all possibilities 2020 can bring, Zeltini has designed Z-Triton – an electric houseboat that does it all! The concept of having a vehicle that is a house, boat, and trike combined that travels over land and water is something straight out of a Spy Kids movie but Zeltini really came through with a real one!
The Z-Triton Electric Houseboat was created as a vehicle that could serve as an alternative to the traditional camper. It is comfortable enough to house two adults for a weekend getaway and the choice of land or water is up to the travelers. The amphibious nature of the modern camper fits into the flexible lifestyle we lead today, especially since air travel is not on the cards anytime soon it is opening up a lot of avenues for local trips in less popular/offbeat locations. The durable houseboat measures 3.6 meters in length, 1.2 meters in width, and 1.55 meters in height.
The team is testing the prototype by driving it around in different weather conditions to see if this tiny electric camper can be an all-terrain travel vehicle. It uses electric assistance that lets the users control power, lighting, temperature, and more. Simply fold up the seat and it unveils the floor space for two people to lay down. This quirky blue and orange vehicle has a tricycle mounted on one side that conveniently folds up or down to transition from land to water. Z-Triton will encourage more sustainable tourism and will allow people to travel spontaneously. It is scheduled to hit the market in 2021 and I am already making a list of places I want to take it to!
“A small but significant number have been asked to continue working whilst furloughed,” a UVW-SAW representative told Dezeen.
“The pandemic is being used as a pretence for ignoring disciplinary procedures, forcing through contractual changes to notice periods and salaries, and ignoring existing human resources issues,” they said.
Workers “bearing the brunt of this crisis”
The union told Dezeen that employees of architecture studios had reported being forced to take pay cuts, work while on furlough and visit unsafe offices. It was also dealing with several alleged cases of unfair dismissal.
“It is workers who are bearing the brunt of this crisis, be that by having to work in an unsafe office, having to pick up work from furloughed colleagues, or by being expected to take pay cuts that disproportionately impact junior staff,” said UVW-SAW
Union members have reported exploitation during the pandemic
“Most egregious are dismissal of members for trade union activities, a clear-cut case of illegality,” they added.
“In all of these examples, we have been working collectively to fight for justice for the workers involved. In several cases, we have had success such as negotiated salary changes and reversing redundancies.”
Studios exploited government scheme
UVW-SAW reported that one union member was put on furlough but still given rolling 24-hour work deadlines to meet by their employer.
This employee was made redundant soon after raising the issue with colleagues, with no explanation.
In the UK, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme lets employers put staff on paid temporary leave, called furlough. The business can claim back a percentage of the wage costs from the government, but furloughed staff are not allowed to work.
Pregnant worker dismissed while isolating
According to the union, several practices have chosen to keep staff but bring in mandatory pay cuts to save money. Others chose to make redundancies.
“Many employers decided to make workers redundant rather than receive an income from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme,” said UVW-SAW.
Pay cuts can “disproportionately impact junior staff”
In another case, a pregnant architecture worker came down with symptoms of coronavirus and followed government advice to self-isolate. On the fourth day of quarantining, her employer called and terminated her contract, citing a previously resolved issue around childcare responsibilities and timekeeping, reported the union.
The practice tried to avoid paying her three months contractual notice period by pushing her onto unpaid leave, then statutory sick pay.
Employees “expected to have webcams on at all times”
One union member reported their bosses were rushing to get employees in shared houses back in the office because they feared working at home would lead to flatmates distracting employees and impacting their business.
Employees working from home have to keep webcams on for monitoring
Those allowed to keep working from home have reported managers tracking their every move remotely.
“The surveillance requests have been extraordinary, with workers expected to have webcams on at all times and check-in for a roll-call meeting twice daily,” said UVW-SAW.
Pandemic has highlighted “existing issues”
Many of these problems were already apparent in the architecture workplace, said the union, but the pandemic has made it worse.
“The crisis surrounding Covid-19 has exacerbated existing issues within the sector, be they low pay, overwork, precarious employment or systemic barriers for Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and working-class architectural workers,” said UVW-SAW
Hong Kong studio Rocco Design Architects has created the folded facades of the iADC Design Museum in Shapu to be a visual representation of Shenzhen‘s “design spirit”.
Rocco Design Architects designed the International Art Design Center (iADC) to anchor the Shapu Art Town, which has been built in Shenzhen’s Bao’an district.
“The Museum is intended to be a visual icon of Shenzhen’s design spirit: innovative, non-conformative, literally breaking out of the box,” explained Rocco Design Architects principal Rocco Yim.
“It will be a symbol for a district mainly dedicated to activities related to the design industry,” he told Dezeen.
The museum, which is raised from the ground on concrete columns to allow pedestrians to pass under it, is clad with a series of folded white panels that project out over the building’s entrance.
“On a metaphorical level, the folds are a visual feature to signify the bursting of energy,” said Yim
“Urbanistically, by folding out above the streets, they are a gesture of welcome and create semi-open covered spaces at ground level that are useful for spontaneous activities.”
The museum’s four floors of galleries are reached by a wide outdoor stair or by footbridges on the first-floor that connect to the adjacent shopping blocks.
Exhibitions space are divided into two wings – one dedicated to Chinese art and the other contemporary design exhibitions.
A monumental stairway connects all the floors creating a spiralling route up through the building. Gaps between the folded facades are designed to let light into the museum and give views out to the surrounding development.
The basement of the building contains a large auditorium and open exhibition space, along with toilets and other back-of-house facilities.
The design museum was built alongside the 12-story iADC Mall furniture exhibition centre, which was also designed by Rocco Design Architects, as part of a development that also includes a hotel, office buildings, art shops and residential towers.
Although it is one of the smaller building in the development, Rocco Design Architects believe that the iADC Design Museum will become a landmark for the local area.
“The building will become a landmark due to three things,” said Lim. “Firstly, the location is strategically positioned facing the iADC Mall, the largest building in the district, across the central square.”
“Secondly, its form and visual imagery,” he continued. “And, thirdly, its size is ironically the smallest building in the district, but its freestanding stance makes it a visual ‘marker’ from various street axes.”
Rocco Design Architects was established by Yim in 1979 and has offices in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The studio previously designed a skyscraper church in Hong Kong.
Photography courtesy of Rocco Design Architects.
Project credits:
Design team: Rocco Yim, Derrick Tsang, William Tam, Alex Tang, William Lee, Yang Shi Pei, Thomas Cheng, Hoey Yip, Caitlin Xie, Cai Jing Hua, Huang Zhan Ling, Leo Zhou, Xian Huansheng, Karen Lam Client: Shenzhen Manjinghua Investment Group M&E consultant: Hua Yi Design Consultants Structural engineer: Hua Yi Design Consultants Main contractor: China Construction Second Engineering Bureau
À l’heure où les mouvements Black Lives Matter montrent l’urgence de faire valoir les droits de tous les noirs à travers le monde, une collection privée unique a été découverte et dévoilée. Composée d’un portfolio de carte-de-visites du XIXe siècle, elle rassemble les portraits rarement présentés dans l’histoire de l’art des victoriens et victoriennes noirs de l’époque. À la tête de cette collection d’images uniques, l’historienne, écrivaine et photographe Valerie Wilmer qui souhaitait construire une anthologie de la Grande Bretagne noire du XIXe siècle.
Santiago Rodriguez Tarditi’s High on Design: The New Cannabis Culture begins with a cannabis history lesson from Broccoli Magazine’s Editor in Chief Anja Charbonneau, a fitting and helpful introduction. Tarditi’s survey of the stunning accessories overwhelming the industry (and the brands making them) proves fascinating for design and cannabis enthusiasts alike. Between notes on the battle for legalization and justice for convicted cannabis consumers, dealers and healers, the book spotlights makers new and old, minimal and eclectic. It’s a comprehensive catalog of products, people and places setting a new standard for “high design.”
Netherlands’ largest bicycle parking garage has been built in the Hague right in front of the Central Station. This facility is constructed beneath the Koningin Julianaplein and turns the mundane task of parking your bike into a short, memorable experience. Studio Marsman and Silo came together to design a spatial concept that gives you a museum-like experience within a bicycle parking garage. This unconventional creative idea has not only enhanced the comfort and safety of the thousands of daily users, but it has also turned into an attraction in Hague!
With white ceilings, smart directional markings, spacious aisles, and back-lit glass walls, the design for this garage radiates modern aesthetics and a ‘clean’ feeling that is not usually associated with something underground (think New York subway stations!). The garage is large enough to provide a safe space for about 8,000 bicycles and rental bikes within a secure environment. Silo is a creative studio that is known for its out-of-the-box branding, digital, and spatial design, and that combined with Studio Marsman’s strengths makes this project an iconic symbol in Hague’s urban mobility network. “The integrated application of light and spatial identity makes the facility appear more spacious,” explains Rene Stoneman, Creative Director at Silo. “Moreover, the visual interventions support the intuitive orientation, making it easier to find back your bike at the end of the day.”
The most gaze-worthy interior design feature in this garage is the Escher-inspired light wall that encloses the parking facility. The past, present, and future architecture of the Hague forms the basis for one continuous image that comprises façade elements of the city’s buildings. Cyclists experience the city’s skyline in one smooth movement as they move across the space. The exits of the parking garage will be integrated with the above-ground development, which includes residential towers, commercial spaces, and a public square to ensure efficient movement from the first step to the last. The project aims to create a service-oriented facility with a future-proof design that not only makes it easier for the commuter to find his bike but also turns it into a pleasant experience. Did you ever think your public parking garage could basically be an art museum? 2020 continues to surprise us all!
Married architects Luke and Joanne McClelland have overhauled their own apartment in Edinburgh, Scotland, to feature a sequence of contemporary light-filled living spaces.
The lateral apartment spreads across the drawing-room levels of two adjoining Georgian townhouses in Edinburgh’s Comely Bank neighbourhood.
Joanne and Luke McClelland – who runs his own architecture studio called Mclnd – purchased it back in 2018, having spent the past eight years living in a cramped flat in London.
Despite the grander scale of the Edinburgh apartment, it still had some significant problem areas.
The north-facing living area had hardly any access to natural light, the bathroom had a dated, 70s-style turquoise interior and the kitchen was small and felt isolated from the other rooms.
To create a bright and modern home, the McClelland’s decided they had to completely reconfigure the floor plan.
The former kitchen has been opened up and now includes a dining area, complete with white-painted walls and oak herringbone floors.
Along the rear wall runs a series of matt-black and wooden cabinets which were all sourced from IKEA – although the architects both have previously designed homes for wealthy clients, they didn’t feel the need to use expensive brands to achieve a high standard of design.
“Having specified kitchens at over 10 times our available budget, we tried to use affordable products to recreate the specific qualities that previous clients associated with luxury, simplicity, symmetry and integration,” said the pair.
To complement the cabinetry, black taps, pendant lamps and door handles have also been incorporated in the space. Black-frame chairs with woven seats have also been placed around the dining table.
Doorways have been widened to let sunlight from the south side of the apartment penetrate the new living area, which has been created in a former bedroom.
It’s dressed with a slate-grey sectional sofa, a couple of armchairs upholstered in forest-green velvet armchairs and a graphic monochrome rug.
Jet-black paint has also been applied to the surround of the room’s fireplace, which used to be bright orange.
“Whilst it didn’t fit with the Georgian property, there was a charm in the curved bricks and sheer brutality of the design,” the architects explained.
The architects split the old living area to form two separate bedrooms, both of which feature original pine flooring and ornate cornices.
A cupboard in the apartment and the disused pantry have together been transformed into a shower room. Stark white tiles have been applied in a grid-like fashion across its walls, while the floor has a striking triangle print.
In the main bathroom, surfaces have been updated with glazed green tiles which clad the lower half of the walls and the front of the tub.
The sink basin perches on top of a restored 1960s wooden sideboard by Danish designer Ib Kofod Larsen.
Luke McClelland launched his own studio this year after leaving his position at Studio 304. He and his wife, Joanne McClelland, met whilst both studying architecture at the Edinburgh College of Art.
Their apartment joins a number of design-focused properties in the Scottish capital.
Most famous architects have been here (sooner or later) – notes a blue plaque created to hang outside the Architectural Association‘s home at 36 Bedford Square in central London. It’s no exaggeration. The roster of stars who have passed through the school’s ranks as students – with many also teaching there – is extraordinary. For over 150 years, the AA has been at the forefront of architectural education and culture with an influence that far exceeds its historically diminutive size.
Now all of that is in question with the firing last week of director Eva Franch i Gilabert, after she lost a vote of no confidence following the school’s overwhelming rejection of her strategic plan. Franch got the job less than two years ago, elected by the school’s students and staff – in a process either refreshingly democratic or naively unprofessional, depending on your perspective – with the somewhat hyperbolic mandate to make the school “better at explaining the power of architecture in addressing, unveiling, and sometimes even resolving some of the most pressing issues that society faces”.
Things had recently been looking up for the school. Its well-publicised financial troubles appeared to be a thing of the past, while in the autumn it gained the power to award its own degrees for the first time in its history. For outsiders, the furore that’s gripped the AA has come out of the blue, and despite little being known about precisely what went on, a back and forth of claim and counter-claim has played out online and in the media. Yet the gossipy focus on Franch herself, not least by the high profile supporters who rushed to her defence, obscures the broader, deeper-rooted, arguably existential crisis the AA is now facing.
The AA’s independence is today far from an advantage and is in many ways now a handicap
The AA’s history goes back to 1847, when it was established as the first independent architecture school – a status that has always stood it apart. At various moments in its history, the school has been at the vanguard of architectural culture in Britain and globally.
In the 1930s, it became the first overtly modernist architecture school in Britain and established the unit system. During the 1950s, it became associated with the pop movement which fed into the hugely influential work of Archigram the following decade.
But it was the tenure of Alvin Boyarsky as director from 1971 until 1990 when the AA’s reach went truly global. Teachers at the school during this time included such luminaries as Bernard Tschumi, Peter Cook, Daniel Libeskind, Elia Zhenghelis, Charles Jencks and Joseph Rykwert, with outstanding students frequently co-oped as teachers including Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid.
In her manifesto, Franch consciously evoked these glory days, and the singular pre-eminence they have accorded the school, in her attempts at articulating a way forward. The problem is things have changed fundamentally since those days. The AA’s independence, on which it has always prided and often defined itself, is today far from an advantage and is in many ways now a handicap. Architecture – and higher education – now operate in very different worlds.
In its current form AA embodies the idea of architecture’s exceptionalism
University teaching and research no longer exist in disciplinary silos but take place within the context of an ever more interdisciplinary framework. This is not simply a case of projects bringing together researchers from different fields, although this is important. But the broader perspective that an interdisciplinary outlook offers even to teaching and research that take place within traditional disciplinary bounds.
In other words, architecture should be engaging in everything from planning, engineering, sociology, economics and environmental studies, to materials science, psychology, neuroscience, data science and much else besides. Only a few months ago no-one imagined that architects should be talking to epidemiologists, but now those conversations are vital as we look to design a post-Covid world.
Architecture schools that are part of larger universities are ideally placed to do this in a way that the AA, situated in its Bedford Square terrace, is patently not. Bringing someone in from another discipline to give a lecture or even to collaborate on a longer-term project is not enough; its’s the continual engagement and perspective that one gets as part of a broader academic and intellectual community which is so important to be able to see architecture in the round.
In its current form, AA embodies the idea of architecture’s exceptionalism – that it exists on a higher plane to other disciplines thanks to its public mission, transformative potential and the agency that architects possess. As Franch herself put it, “architecture is one of the only disciplines that has the privilege and responsibility to bring all the spheres of society together”. Yet while seductive – and Franch does have a talent for the alluring soundbite – this position is very hard to justify in the world in which architects work today, where they operate not from a position of autonomy but of instrumentalisation to the needs of real estate and capital.
Architecture has no public mission if it’s only the rich who get to study at one of its most prestigious schools
It is still possible to make the case for architecture’s exceptional status – or argue that we must work to recapture – but for this argument to be coming from a school that charges tuition fees of £22,000 per year for undergraduates and up to just shy of £45,000 for postgraduates stretches credulity. Architecture has no public mission if it’s only the rich who get to study at one of its most prestigious schools. There will still be outstanding students, but also a contingent for whom it is little more than an architectural finishing school.
For all of the AA’s radical posturing, that mantel has long since been picked up by others: from the London School of Architecture, the model of which was conceived in part to reduce the financial burden that students face; the Global Free Unit, led by Robert Mull (who ironically Franch beat to the AA directorship), which empowers students to conceive projects according to their own sensibilities and ethical positions; to the transformative work being undertaken by Harriet Harriss at the Pratt Institute to “de-partition” the school from the communities it serves; and many others besides, though none are without their own problems and challenges.
All of which brings us back to that blue plaque. While conceived as a celebration of the AA’s illustrious past (albeit a somewhat smug one), the plaque stands instead as the symbol of an institution that has been resting on its laurels and its glorious history far too long, and in the process clinging to an outmoded idea of what architecture is and what it is for.
Quite where the school should now turn is anyone’s guess. The AA has reinvented itself before and is capable of doing so again. But it is abundantly clear that the notion of architecture somehow standing alone, which the AA in its current form perpetuates, is woefully unsuited to the world in which architecture now operates.
Born into poverty and segregation in Fort Scott, Kansas, Gordon Parks took photographs that focused on race relations, poverty, civil rights and urban life. He was the first African American staff photographer and writer for photography magazine, Life, and through this position, Parks documented American culture and early life from the 1940s to the 2000s.
Some of this legacy is on show now at the Alison Jacques Gallery in London, in the first of a two-part exhibition of his work. The exhibition was originally scheduled to run in March, but due to Covid-19 it wasn’t only delayed, but split into two parts, with Gordon Parks: Part One on now until August 1, and Part Two opening September 1. The exhibition is the first solo show of his work in Europe for 25 years.
“Until recently, Gordon Parks was seen solely as a photojournalist, and people didn’t fully understand everything about him as an artist,” explains Alison Jacques, founder of the gallery. “The Gordon Parks Foundation has been actively revisiting his work and looking to put Parks out there in the right way, which is that he is one of the most important artists, rather than simply a photojournalist.”
His newly-shaped reputation as an artist is solidified by his other creative achievements including writing – both fiction and non-fiction – composing and filmmaking, having directed several feature films including Shaft in 1971. But if you’re looking for an introduction to Parks, his photography is the perfect place to start. Part One offers a chance to see two defining series, Segregation in the South (1956) and Black Muslims (1963), while Part Two will see his thought-provoking portraits of boxer and activist Muhammad Ali from 1966-1971 go on display.
The words ‘groundbreaking’ and ‘radical’ are often touted when talking about Parks’ images, and what Jacques sees as unique about his work was his creative process. “In the case of the series Segregation in the South, when he went to Alabama, Parks didn’t just go and photograph people, he got to know them, he lived with the families,” explains Jacques. “That’s something he did throughout his life and [was] how he made his work. He got to know the people, as opposed to just photographing them objectively, so it became subjective.”
Segregation in the South is one of Parks’ seminal series and it saw him return to a community where segregation was the norm. The particular beauty of this series lies in the non-confrontational way the photographer captured this reality. “You have these beautifully composed, breathtakingly colourful images such as the one of a family queuing up to buy ice cream,” says Jacques. “But slowly, you realise what actually is going on. At the main entrance to the ice-cream kiosk hangs a sign saying ‘White’, and then there’s a sign at the side, saying ‘Colored’, where the family stands.”
The personal, more humanised way he captured discrimination was of course intentional. But the work feels even more moving when you understand the background to those images. “If you read Gordon Parks’ diaries, there’s a section in there from 1956, which talks about what he encountered when he was in Alabama. When he got there, the person who was assigned to him to show him around the different areas of the town, was actually informing a group of right wing white men who were looking to pursue and potentially lynch him,” explains Jacques.
“So while he was taking these beautiful photographs, there were nearby Klu Klux Klan members burning people for their colour. That was the brutal reality, but in the photographs he’s not confronting it head on, which I think makes it all the more powerful.”
Parks’ series Black Muslims provides insight into the Black Muslim movement that had started to gather momentum in the US at the beginning of the 1960s. Parks gained unparalleled access and captured scenes of peaceful protests and families at prayer, as well as powerful portraits of Malcolm X and Ethel Sharrieff.
Again, through his personal style, Parks was able to question preconceived and prejudiced attitudes towards the Black Power movement. Together, these bodies of work highlight his determination in illuminating the inner lives of his subjects and, in some cases, completely changing the nation’s opinion.
This year has been one of incredible change and upheaval, and with the Black Lives Matter movement gaining more momentum in the last few months, Parks’ images – though they’re over 60 years old – somehow carry even more weight now. It’s uncomfortable to admit, but Parks’ images are both a reflection of the past, and hold a mirror up to our present.
“The timing of this [show] is very poignant, although it is absolutely not intended and is in no way opportunist,” clarifies Jacques. “The most important thing, when you look back at the date of these photographs in the current show, is that whatever it is you’re seeing and understanding from that time, the message and voice of Parks is as relevant today in 2020 as it was in 1956. What I hope is that it will be listened to, perhaps louder than it was then.”
For Jacques, the enduring power of Parks’ photography is that you learn something through each series and each story he told – whether it’s about a period of history, a movement or an individual person.
“It’s interesting that it’s taken 25 years for a gallery in Europe to hold a Gordon Parks show,” she says. “There’s a lot of change in the air right now, and a lot of change for the better, and hopefully this is a small contribution.”
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
