Hasta La Ideas

This social housing block in Slovakia by Bratislava studio Nice Architects features a series of protruding balconies that angle towards sunlight whilst blocking out the noise of car traffic below (+ slideshow).

Nice Architects shaped the balconies in accordance with the sun’s trajectory across the facade of the four-storey North Star Apartments building, which is located in Senec, a small town outside of Bratislava.

The architects were tasked with creating social housing situated on a busy street that would be visually appealing but came at a low cost – €500 Euros per square metre.

“The goal was to enrich this locality and create an iconic, easy to remember and original building, as an opposite to the patchy and chaotic surrounding development,” said architect Tomas Zacek.

The building’s location, opposite the town’s observatory and perfect north-south orientation inspired the architects to name the building after the famous star.

“North Star is not only the brightest star on the northern hemisphere, it was traditionally used for high seas navigation,” explaned Zacek.

The building contains nine one-bedroom apartments across its three upper storeys, while five small shops occupy the ground floor.

Each apartment features one of the angular balconies, which protrude from the all-white facade at different lengths.

The top corner of every balcony is exposed to the south, reflecting the sun’s rays into the apartments. As the sun traverses the front, the shadows alter the appearance of the building depending on what time it is. They also offer seclusion from neighbours.

The lower sections of each balcony are deliberately enlarged on one side to shelter the space from oncoming traffic.

The windows that do not feature the enclosures are fitted with Juliette balconies and a small outer area covered in gravel.

All of the windows in the development face directly west, giving residents the opportunity to enjoy sunsets over the local school garden across the street.

On the ground floor, the facade is made up of monochrome stripes graduating from black to white to deter graffiti artists.

The post Angular balconies stretch towards sunlight
at North Star Apartments by Nice Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Slovakian designers simply making all that they like

by Adam Štěch

Based in the Slovak capital of Bratislava, the young designers behind the Allt studio produce simple-yet-poetic conceptual furniture and lighting, aiming to create a personal world of friendly products with strong backstories.

The Allt studio—whose name offers a simple abbreviation of their tagline, “all that we like to do”—was established in 2011 by Peter Simonik and Elena Bolceková. Simonik received his degree from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, while Bolceková finished her studies at the Institute of Industrial Design at the Faculty of Architecture in 2011. Both of these creative individuals personify different approaches to art and design, and together they make a strong team that produces beautiful objects augmented by original presentation.

This year, the studio exhibited work in prestigious galleries around Slovakia and the Czech Republic, as well as the GASK museum in Kutná Hora. The pair garnered attention with Allter Space, a solo show at the Art Design Project gallery in Bratislava. Inspired by hidden craft, nature, technology and everyday urban life, design objects on display included the Highstack and Lowstack benches constructed out of stacked planks of wood, reminiscent of the unfinished storage vessels found in industrial sawmills and carpentry plants. The result exuded a fresh take on form that meets functionality and exhibited strong local ties to the wood production industry in Slovakia.

Other pieces included a modular carpet system called Cityscape, inspired by the surface of street pavements, as well as the “Who is Watching You” lamp, designed after the simplification of the CCTV camera.

Simoník and Bolcekov&#225’s artistic versatility expands to include not only graphic design but also photography, which they used to highlight the presentation of their furniture in Allter Space. Their inclusion of these purely decorative designs dovetailed nicely with the essence of their products and created an environment that entirely surrounded the viewer. For more information about the studio or to contact the artists for special commissions, visit their website. Select items are also available for purchase through their online shop.

Installée à Bratislava en Slovaquie, voici cette construction imaginée par Plural et TotalStudio pour un établissement doté à la fois d’un café et d’une librairie. Une structure en escalier et une large bibliothèque occupant l’ensemble de espace. Plus d’image dans la suite de l’article.

Previously on Fubiz

• Numa Bookface
• Carved Book
• Paper Elegies

Copyright Fubiz™ – Suivez nous sur Twitter et Facebook