Hasta La Ideas

Street artist Banksy has created two new works to mark the London 2012 Olympics.

The first depicts a javelin thrower who’s exchanged his javelin for a missile, while the second shows a sportsman pole-vaulting over a barbed-wire fence to land on a dumped mattress. The artist announced the new work via his website but left everyone guessing as to its location.

Banksy became famous for his work in the east London borough of Hackney and we compiled a map of his stencil work in the area for our Designed in Hackney showcase.

See all our stories about Banksy »
See all our stories about the London 2012 Olympics »

The post London 2012 Olympic street art
by Banksy appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen Wire: architect Zaha Hadid has denied her design for the London 2012 Aquatics Centre is to blame for the 600 tickets sold to Olympic spectators unaware they’ll have a restricted view of the top diving events.

“The brief for the building from LOCOG was to provide 5000 spectator seats with uninterrupted views of the 10m diving platform events,” says a statement from Zaha Hadid Architects. “The centre actually provides over 8000 seats with uninterrupted views of the 10m platform events. This is more than 3000 additional seats than the brief required. LOCOG approved the sightline studies and seating layouts over two years ago.”

Those seated at the top of the temporary seating wings will have to watch dives from the ten-metre platform on large screens and about 2400 seats were not put on sale at all because of restricted views.

Hadid herself wasn’t invited to attend any of the events at the venue.

More information and images of the London 2012 Aquatics Centre »
More about the London 2012 Olympics »
More about Zaha Hadid »

The post Zaha Hadid denies blame for restricted
views at London 2012 Aquatics Centre appeared first on Dezeen.

Sarcastic Olympic souvenirs for those who are cynical about the games are now available at Dezeen Super Store, 38 Monmouth Street, London WC2.

Priced at £15 each, the bags and t-shirts sport artwork in a style similar to the much-ridiculed London 2012 graphics, with mocking phrases printed on brightly coloured angular shapes.

Dezeen readers can get 10% off any Dezeen Super Store purchase (excluding sale stock and Jambox) and enter our competition to win a designer watch worth £150 by downloading this flyer and presenting it at the shop.

See more products currently for sale at the store here.

Dezeen Super Store
38 Monmouth Street, London WC2
1 July – 30 September 2012

The products were created by Hackney-based designer Tobatron. Scroll down to see a map of all the Hackney creatives we’ve featured as part of Designed in Hackney and click here for more details about Designed in Hackney Day on 1 August.

Here is some more information from Tobatron:

While “that big event in London” is taking place, inject some reality into the proceedings with these limited edition souvenirs.

They are designed by Tobatron in Hackney- a mere javelin’s throw away from the “big event” itself.

All ranges are ethically produced and are made in conjunction with accessories designer Elaine Burke and www.khama.co.uk – a network of women’s community groups in Malawi.

By purchasing these products you are helping to offer support and sustainable employment for women in one of Africa’s poorest regions.

Tobatron is the alter- ego of artist and designer Toby Leigh, his clients include The Guardian, FHM, Sony, Playstation and Channel Four.

His work can be viewed at www.tobatron.com and other products designed by Tobatron can be viewed and purchased here.

Elaine Burke is a London based accessories designer specializing in ethical fashion production in Africa. She has worked as a design consultant for ethical brands and developed ranges for ASOS, House of Fraser and Whistles.

Her company Khama is a network of womens community groups in Malawi making accessories and collaborating with micro-finance charities to help women in one of Africa’s poorest regions.

Designed in Hackney map:

.

Key:

Blue = designers
Red = architects
Yellow = brands
Green = street art

See a larger version of this map

Designed in Hackney is a Dezeen initiative to showcase world-class architecture and design created in the borough, which is one of the five host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as being home to Dezeen’s offices. We’ll publish buildings, interiors and objects that have been designed in Hackney until the games this summer.

More information and details of how to get involved can be found at www.designedinhackney.com.

The post Reality Check souvenirs by Tobatron
at Dezeen Super Store appeared first on Dezeen.

Hackney designer Lee Broom has filled a room in a London mansion with studded furniture to host visting business leaders during the Olympic games.

The Gold Room is one of a series of newly furnished rooms at the nineteenth century Lancaster House, completed by a host of British designers that includes BarberOsgerby, Jasper Morrison and Sir Terrance Conran.

Broom’s room contains fourteen upholstered pieces from his 1930′s-inspired Salon collection, as well as oak and walnut tables featuring veneers and coloured stripes.

The rooms will remain in this guise throughout the Olympic and Paralympic games and will be used for a series of summits by government organisation the British Business Embassy.

See more projects by Lee Broom »

Here’s some information from Broom:

Lee Broom Takes Centre Stage at British Business Embassy During Olympic Games

This summer, acclaimed product and interior designer, Lee Broom curates a central room in the Lancaster House where the British Business Embassy will host global influential business leaders during the Olympic and Paralympic games.

Broom is one of an exclusive number of respected British designers, including Terrance Conran and Ross Lovegrove, invited to atmospherically enhance the British Business Embassy, which will take place at London’s historic Lancaster House. The magnificent 19th century house will be transformed to showcase modern art and design highlighting the talent of British or British-trained designers, photographers, furniture makers and sculptors.

The Gold Room by Lee Broom is the only room dedicated solely to one designer at Lancaster House. The historic room juxtaposed against Broom’s modern, contemporary pieces exemplifies the designer’s ethos of connecting the past and the future, the traditional and contemporary.

Included in the room are 14 pieces from Salon, an upholstered furniture collection in soft hues contrasted and accentuated with modern stud detailing. The room will feature several products from the range including armchairs, two-seater sofas, drum-seats, dining chairs and footstools. Further pieces included are: Parqlife, a side table and table in walnut veneer with complementing brass accents. Parquetry coffee table and lamp crafted from wenge, oak and walnut wood with blue accent stripe and panels. Carpetry console and pendant, which are from Broom’s first collection and feature pieces in satin lacquered blue with blue and beige carpet.

Demonstrating the designer’s commitment to his country’s heritage, all the pieces have been designed in Broom’s east-end studio and manufactured in the UK.

Broom says, “it is an honour to be invited to participate in this unique event, especially when the spotlight is on London during the Olympic and Paralympic games. Championing British design and manufacturing is something I feel passionate about and this centrepiece backs the best of UK creativity – it’s a hugely valuable opportunity.”

The British Business Embassy, developed by the UK trade & investment (UKTI) is the centrepiece of the government’s international business legacy programme. It will see over 3,000 UK and international business leaders come together for an ambitious series of global, sector and country summits. The embassy will stage a host of world-class speakers including Eric Schmidt, Sir Jonathan Ive and Howard Stringer.

Design leader and UKTI business ambassador, Sir John Sorrell, alongside Diana Yakeley, president of the British Institute of Interior Design have overseen the selection and creation of a total of 18 rooms at the British Business Embassy which will highlight British design talent. Other designers and contributors include Paul Smith for Conran and The Rug Company, BarberOsgerby, Jasper Morrison for Vitra, Sir Terrance Conran and Foster & Partners for Lumina.

The post The Gold Room
by Lee Broom appeared first on Dezeen.

London studio David Kohn Architects has created an arts venue in a former sweet factory on the edge of the Olympic park.

The White Building is situated amongst a community of artists on Fish Island in Hackney Wick and accommodates a gallery, an events space, a cafe and a series of artists’ studios.

Lambswool hangs in nets to cover the underside of an existing asbestos roof that is supported by red steel trusses.

Five new entrances lead into the building, allowing the different rooms to be used in flexible configurations.

The project is one of a number of “Olympic Fringe” projects instigated by Design for London for sites bordering the Olympic park. Others include public realm improvements by architects Muf and the London Pleasure Gardens.

See more stories about London 2012 »

Photography is by Will Pryce.

Here’s some more information from David Kohn Architects:

‘The White Building’ is a new cultural venue in Hackney Wick commissioned by the London Legacy Development Corporation.

Situated across the Lea Navigation Channel from the Olympic site, the project overlooks the Olympic stadium. The refurbished building, a former print works and previously a sweet factory, will house artists’ studios, a gallery, hire space, café and micro-brewery.

The project was won through invited competition by David Kohn Architects in collaboration with Michael Pawlyn of Exploration Architecture, specialists in environmentally sustainable design.

The competition was organised by Design for London, part of the Greater London Authority, as part of the ‘Olympic Fringe’ a string of small-scale projects aimed at stitching the Olympic Park into the surrounding city fabric.

Hackney Wick Fish Island, a former industrial area, is currently celebrated for being home to the highest concentration of artists studios in Europe.

The end user is Space Studios who contributed to the project brief to create a cultural venue in Hackney Wick that would serve the existing community as well as provide a public face to visitors. Space Studios is a charity that has been providing platforms for artists since 1968.

In response to the competition brief, David Kohn Architects proposed that the White Building would:

» be built by local people for local people;
» foreground the pleasures of making;
» resonate with the history of the area;
» work with the existing building fabric;
» demonstrate innovative sustainable design;
» be realised affordably and quickly;
» show a past and future London at the Olympics.

The eventual built project used local businesses extensively for supplying materials and skills from glazing to sign-painting, steelwork to joinery. The project was delivered on time and budget.

New interventions complimented the existing building fabric, such as blockwork walls on the ground floor that incorporated steel-framed windows. The ground floor was opened up to the canalside and Queen’s Yard to create a light-filled interior with the feel of an urban courtyard.

On the first floor, existing red-painted steel trusses supported an asbestos sheet roof with no insulation. In order to improve the environmental performance of the building and the appearance of the interiors without interfering with the asbestos, lambswool was suspended in red string nets to create soft vaults between the trusses.

Throughout, there was a design approach that sought to use conventional construction materials, but in a playful way. Material junctions were detailed in such a way as to give even the most industrial construction a lightness of touch.

Five new entrances were created that allow the building to be used in a variety of different configurations. The ground floor houses a café, pizzeria, microbrewery and group studio space. The first floor offers four artists’ studios, a gallery and hire space overlooking the Olympic stadium. External works included wide steps from street level down to the canalside.

Space Studios currently have a ten year lease on the property. The hope is that during that time, The White Building can become a significant local asset, well-used by the creative community and public alike. If it proves to be successful, then the project could become key to the retention of cultural activities in the area during future urban change and development.

Address: Unit 7 Queens Yard, White Post Lane London E9 5EN
Client: London Legacy Development Company
Tenant: Space Studios & Crate Café
Planning Department: LB Tower Hamlets
Project Period: December 2010 – July 2012
Construction Period: 12 weeks
Gross External Floor Area: 760m2
Gross Internal Floor Area: 695m2
Construction Value: £550k

Design Team
Architects: David Kohn Architects, Liz Betterton, Saya Hakamata, David Kohn, Tom McGlynn (Project Architect), Ulla Tervo
in collaboration with Michael Pawlyn, Exploration Architecture
Landscape: Muf architecture/ art
Structural Engineer: Alan Baxter Associates
Civils Engineer: Stockley
Services Engineer: Capita Symonds
Project Manager: Capita Symonds
CDM Co-ordinator: Capita Symonds
Cost Consultant: Sweett Group
Graphic Designer: Modern Activity

Contractors
Main Contractor: BRAC Contracts
Blockwork: Plasmor
Glazing: Caplin Glass
Sheep’s Wool: Black Mountain Insulation Ltd
Metal Windows: Monk Metal Windows
Steel Doors: Dove Steel Doors
Steel Sign: PJ Signs
Outdoor steps steelwork: Lemon Steel
Hand-Painted Signage: Ornamental Conifer and Mark Bayley

The post The White Building by
David Kohn Architects appeared first on Dezeen.