Havana Club: Inspired Ingenuity project

Rum brand Havana Club is challenging people to take everyday objects and turn them into something new, such as a pair of speakers made from Nike trainers, tin can headphones and an ad hoc picnic table

Taking the theme Inspired Ingenuity, the project is supposedly inspired by the people of Cuba who, in the face of the US-imposed blockade on their country have to make a virtue of repurposing and recycling, creating what they need from the scarce resources available. The competition is taking place over the first six months of 2011, challenging artists, musicians and ‘other creative talents’ to ‘take the everyday and turn it into something special’. A winner will be picked each month, and the final winner will win a trip to Cuba.

To support it, design studio Intercity commissioned three artists to create a piece of work that echoes this theme.

Sneaker customiser Nash responsed to the brief by transforming a pair of
all-white Nike Air Force 1’s into a fully functional set of ‘Sneaker Speakers’.

Product designer Cemal Okten created a pair of fully functional headphones from a tin can, a coat hanger, a piece of rope and two corks

and Amsterdam-based I Have Pop appropriated the fences from a local roadworks site and constructed a picnic table in the park.

If you fancy having a go, The project is being run through the Havana Club Facebook page.

 

 

CR in print

Thanks for reading the CR Blog, but if you’re not reading us in print too, you’re missing out on a richer, deeper view of your world. Our March issue features a great piece on pictogram maestro Gerd Arntz by design historian David Crowley plus articles on the latest Honda ad, film posters, Crass, Dutch photography books, The Daily, advertising as diplomacy, Lady Gaga as a creative director and more. You can buy it today by calling +44(0)207 292 3703 or go here to buy online. Better yet, subscribe to CR, save yourself almost a third and get Monograph for free plus a host of special deals from the CR Shop. Go on, treat yourself.

 

Retro TV Lighting

According to digital time’s advent, analog things are being protruded to the back seat. Retro TV lighting intends to deliver warmness in memorie..

Quote of Note | Bill Moggridge

“When you go to designers’ houses, you see a lot of kitsch. Instead of living the work they do, they like to see the exaggerated edges of how things can go. And kitsch has a kind of shameless enthusiasm that allows you to revel in these values, like excessive decoration or the overly bold use of color, that are not quite respectable. It’s the same sort of appeal as postmodernism, except kitsch is done with such self-consciousness. It’s fun for its own sake. You can’t say it’s elegant or beautiful, but you can say it’s a lot of fun.”

-Industrial designer, IDEO co-founder, and Cooper-Hewitt president Bill Moggridge in Sunday’s The New York Times, with regard to his love of vintage trailers

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Let’s Get Personal in France with Delphine from L’atelier de madame M….

Kitchen1

Kitchen5 Kitchen4 Kitchen7 Mywork2 Our_room3 Livingroom2

 The home of Delphine from L'atelier de madame M.

F:: French is…being part of the most grouchy nation ! I'm joking !French is… being part of a rich culture and history full of castles, kings, traditions and good gastronomy !

R:: room, my favorite room in our home is…the living room with the slate grey wall and the stove. I love it because it's a spacious and bright room where all the family can read, listen to music, surf Internet, etc.

Hall

E:: entrance, when entering my home you will notice …that we moved in just few months ago ! We still need to paint, buy furniture, install lights…

N:: new in my home is…the “docksta” table from Ikea (inspired by the Saarinen' “Tulip table”). But only few things are really new because we love second hand & “vintage” furniture and home stuff. 

Living

 

C:: create, I start creating when…I open my eyes in the morning. Everything can be a good inspiration for me (famous ceramists, Nature, foods, my owns desires…).

H:: home means to me…a nice and bright place to relax, be myself, spend time with my family and my friends.

Kitchen5

H:: hobby, I always make time for…cooking, surfing Internet and reading magazines or detective stories.

O:: outfit, my favourite thing to wear is…even if it's not very original, a pair of Levi's jeans.

Kitchen4

M:: magazines I love to read are…“Marie Claire maison” (my favourite ), “Living etc.” and a lovely new french magazine “Toc toc toc”.

E:: enjoy, I can't live without…my husband and my two daughters, friends and good tea !

Kitchen7

I'm super happy to see a bit more of how Delphine lives in France. I have been really liking her beautiful ceramic peices for a very long time and her homes breathes exactly the atomsphere I was hoping for, warm, clean with fragile and characterful touches. 

You can call her "Delphine M." or "Madame M." or find her at "la Rimule" . And you can click here to see some examples of her super cute 'petites pieces' or her 'bijoux'.

ps. dont't you just love the vintage-looking red tiles in the kitchen!!! 

Mywork2

Our_room3

Livingroom2

Hall3

Mywork1

All images by Delphine from L'atelier de madame M.

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto Architect & Associates

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

Japanese studio Kazunori Fujimoto Architect & Associates have completed a weekend house in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, where two gabled structures are separated by a walled courtyard.

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

The house is divided into two parts with a double-height open-plan room on one side of the courtyard, and the bathroom and storage space on the other.

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

The bedroom, kitchen and dining room are all in one room, with a free-standing wall creating a partition.

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

Photographs are by Kazunori Fujimoto.

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

More Japanese houses on Dezeen »
More residential architecture on Dezeen »

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

Here’s some more information from the architect:


House in Nasu

This is a weekend house built in the area height of above sea level 550m, in Nasu-town, Tochigi Prefecture.

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

Though in the resort town, the road and the neighbor houses are near by the site, and it seems difficult to keep a privacy.

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

So we aimed to make an indoor space like a Scandinavian soft interiors instead of the room open directly to the outside .

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

The surrounding’s tall trees blur the outline of the house, and the interior, they give the abstract light, shade, and many of colors.

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

It is one-room space that has two big windows and a concrete wall.

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

By the two windows the room connected to the outside environment.

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

Closing the white curtains, all symbols as “house” are hidden, and the color and materials that can be seen are limited, still more, the abstract space is filled calm atmosphere.

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

The inside concrete wall like “monolith” divide the space generously, and put the life in order.

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

Location: Nasu, Tochigi, Japan
Main use: weekend house

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

Site area: 504m2
House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

Building area: 85.44m2

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

Total floor area: 85.44m2

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

Click for larger image

Design term: 2009

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto

Construction term: 2010

House in Nasu by Kazunori Fujimoto


See also:

.

House in Sunami by
Kazunori Fujimoto
House in Koamicho by
Suppose Design Office
House in Ise by Takashi Yamaguchi & Associates

The roadmap to happiness

Kross faucet

The large side profile of the Kross makes it a particularly hard design to miss; yet from the front this faucet is one of the thinnest on the market t..

Los Angeles Zoo

Une très belle campagne pour le zoo de Los Angeles déclinée sur trois thèmes “Colorful, Memory, Wisdom”. Des visuels prints conçus par l’agence RLR Advertising en Californie, sur des illlustrations de Salamagica. Plus de visuels dans la suite de l’article.



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Previously on Fubiz

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Dezeen archive: plants

Dezeen archive: plants

Dezeen archive: following our story on Offecct’s collection for incorporating plants in design this week here’s a selection of stories from the Dezeen archives featuring plants, flowers and seeds. See all the stories »

See all our archive stories »

Crown by Chris Martin for Massproductions

Crown by Chris Martin for Massproductions

Stockholm 2011: here’s an upholstered chair launched by designer Chris Martin of Swedish company Massproductions at Stockholm Furniture Fair this month.

Crown by Chris Martin for Massproductions

Called Crown, the armchair has a backrest that appears to perch on its slender arms.

Crown by Chris Martin for Massproductions

An easy chair is also available, upholstered in the same stretchy woollen fabric to minimise seams.

Crown by Chris Martin for Massproductions

See our popular story on Massproductions’ Jig chair, also launched in Stockholm this month, in our earlier story.

Stockholm Furniture Fair took place 8-12 February 2011. See all our coverage of the event »

See all our stories about Massproductions »

Here are some more details from Massproductions:


New upholstery collection by Chris Martin for Massproductions

The Crown armchair and easy chair create a dignified and elegant sitting experience, regardless of the location in which they are placed. They have a light, open back design with fully upholstered side panels which give a sense of volume despite the chair’s low weight. The chairs are made from relatively flat parts, which when joined together give a strong form which is greater than their sum parts. The backrest is perched on top of the armrests and seems to be unsupported. The connection is in fact very strong and this innovation adds to the visual playfulness of the chairs. The Crown armchair and easy chair are upholstered in a heavy duty woollen stretch textile, which allows us to keep seems to a minimum, further enhancing their beautiful forms.

In just two years Massproductions has established itself as one of the most exciting furniture companies in Europe. Their first collection included the “Tio” chair, which is generally considered to be a new modern classic. This is their 3rd presentation at the Stockholm Furniture Fair and sees the collection expanding into upholstered products, under the creative direction of designer Chris Martin – an Englishman who has made his home in Stockholm. Together with fellow designer and co-owner Magnus Elebäck, Massproductions continues to deliver elegant, rational and functional furniture pieces to grace our built environments.


See also:

.

Jig by
Massproductions
Harry stool by
Massproductions
Tio by
Massproductions