Hasta La Ideas

There’s still no release date set for the new Mac Pro (it’s still “coming later this year” as of press time), but Jony Ive fans will have a chance to bid on his latest project on November 23, when Sotheby’s holds it’s second (RED) charity auction, featuring a selection of design objects selected and customized by Apple’s design lead and Marc Newson. And while their ultra-clean take on the Leica M has been making rounds for the last two days or so, the desk is the only brand-new, never-before-seen design in the auction.

When it came to designing a completely new object specifically for this auction, Jony and Marc knew they wanted to work in aluminum, a material that has long fascinated them. Their creation is a monolithic desk with an aerodynamic form machined from solid pieces of aluminum. It was produced by Neal Feay Studio in Santa Barbara, and the firm’s principal considers The (RED) Desk to be a “historic piece with no precedent.” The edge of the desk is extremely thin, almost blade-like, but perhaps the most entrancing aspect of the desk is its surface, with a unique cellular pattern that the designers liken to a jigsaw puzzle, with 185 pieces that seem to fit together. With its sublime combination of scale, detail, and refinement—and an innovative manufacturing process that made it possible—this desk is a perfect exemplar of the ideals embodied in Jony and Marc’s curation of the (RED) Auction. This unique piece is inscribed to mark the occasion: Designed by Jony Ive & Marc Newson for (RED) 2013 edition 01/01.

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Ron Paulk has already got his own following, independent of Core77; while we don’t have the demographic breakdown, we assume they’re mostly DIY’ers, builders, and fellow contractors. These video extras from our chat with Ron will be of interest to Ron’s following, as we get into some topics that Ron hasn’t covered on his own YouTube channel: The surprising story of how he decided to become a contractor in the first place, what it was that made him expand into design, and why YouTube is an invaluable learning tool.

The summer job that changed Ron’s life, and made him realize that building stuff was better than grad school:

Why (and how) Ron expanded into design and doing his own CAD work:

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When we interviewed builder/designer Ron Paulk on his Mobile Woodshop and Paulk Workbench, there were some tangential things we discussed that we couldn’t fit into the previous videos. We didn’t want the footage to go to waste, as we thought some of you might be interested in hearing these side conversations; so we’ve cut them into short, one- and two-question videos.

First up, Ron discusses how he avoids the “overdesign” problem:

Ron tells us what the hardest part is about designing a large storage system, explains his design process, and tells us where he looks when he’s seeking answers to problems:

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Basé en Australie, le collectif Sibling a imaginé cette série de rangements et d’espaces de stockage très réussis. Avec deux pods réalisés par Jonathan Brener et Qianyi Lim, ces créations originales « Wooden Sleeping Pods » proposent une optimisation de l’espace à travers différents types de rangement.

Our first Resource Furniture video, displaying some of the coolest space-saving furniture currently available, is still our highest-rated vid of all time. And it’s not surprising why: In addition to the showroom demos, we’ve got company President Ron Barth discussing the RF philosophy and why space-saving matters in people’s lives.

One of the company’s trademarks is that you can’t tell, just by looking at it, that the furniture transforms; the pieces are all brilliantly designed and engineered to hide their multifunctionality, and completely absent any clunky compromises. And under Barth’s curation they’ve become the go-to providers for folks who want good-looking, functional furniture but live in less space than they’d like to have. Most recently, in partnership with the Citizens Housing Planning Council (a nonprofit dedicated to housing and urban planning), Resource Furniture has kitted out a killer transforming micro-apartment on display at the Museum of the City of New York. The 325-square-foot space, called “Launchpad,” is part of the Museum’s “Making Room: New Models for Housing New Yorkers” exhibit.

Check it out:

The exhibit runs through September 2nd.

Need to watch the original video again? Here you go.

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