One of the things we’ve always loved about Story—Rachel Shechtman’s ever-changing store in NYC’s Chelsea neighborhood—is that every iteration is a story in and of itself. Her latest venture is Art Story, a concept shop created with the help of Art.com and a group of eight masters students of…
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“Design is always a collaborative process,” says Lauren Rottet, the founder of Rottet Studio and head designer of the freshly minted The James Royal Palm Hotel. The subject of a recent $42 million renovation, The James’ latest property has tapped into Miami’s local and extended community of hospitality, design,…
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Continuing their commitment to conservation and sustainability, the KEEN Garage in downtown Portland, Oregon reopened after a 10-month renovation of a 105-year-old building that generated less than one dumpster of waste. Incorporating many salvaged elements from the former space opened in 2010, the new Garage presents a playful and…
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Coinciding with the official release of “Roman and Williams Buildings and Interiors: Things We Made,” we are now able to publish previously unseen photos of new additions to the Facebook main office. The center, designed by the interior design duo, acts as a 24-hour cafeteria and social space for…
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Drawing designers and creatives alike, a new intimate bar illuminates Mexico City
by Carissa Wodehouse Though Mexico City is known for its size, a growing local creative class and influx of world travelers are carving out first-rate gathering spots in its nooks and crannies. Jules Basement, a speakeasy tucked under an unassuming taco restaurant in the high-end Polanco neighborhood, feels like an…
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The fashion vet makes his interior design debut for backstage VIPs at the Emmys
by Naheed Simjee There has been no shortage of excitement from recent collaborations between artists, designers and some of the world’s most recognized luxury brands from Gucci and Fiat to Yayoi Kusama and Louis Vuitton. Most recently, Audi tapped New York-based fashion designer Derek Lam to work together on the…
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First look at the new book by Roman and Williams, showcasing a decade of interior design
Even if you’re unfamiliar with interior design powerhouse Roman and Williams, there’s a good chance you know their work. The Standard Hotel, The Breslin, The Ace Hotel, The Standard Grill, Stumptown Coffee, The Dutch, The Boom Boom Room—countless iconic NYC locales bear the mark of Roman and Williams’ protean…
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Our interview with the honorary designer and co-curator of the NYC-based art and design showcase
by Matt Domino
BOFFO was founded in 2008 as a means of fostering artist collaboration and inspiration in the design world during a time of financial and, for many young architects and designers, spiritual crisis. Nearly four years later, Faris Al-Shathir and Gregory Sparks, BOFFO ‘s founders, asked designer Andrew YES to be the honorary designer and co-curator of the first BOFFO Show House, running from 15 May through 4 June at NYC’s Madison Jackson building.
To create custom designs specifically tailored for the space YES has been working closely with various designers and architects. The show itself will sprawl across four duplex condominium units with each separate unit expressing a theme—Work, Nature, Future, and Play. YES will also present some of his own designs and work at the BOFFO Show House. Some of which will include Persian Helmet Lights, which are draped with chain mail and would seem to fit at home in a medieval gathering hall; a Van Eyck Mirror that alludes to the legendary Arnolfini Portrait and is framed with recycled wood and hand-made Flemish suede; a 62″ Fossil Meeting Table inspired by the equality implied in King Arthur’s round table and made of grey marble with real mollusk fossils embedded in its matrix; and Surreal Pillow Balls, which are Andrew YES latest creation.
We recently talked with YES about the BOFFO Show House, his ongoing work with Mr. Al-Shathir and Mr. Sparks as well as his aspirations as a rising designer in New York.
I see functionality in every piece I create. Some things that we think are not functional actually have a deeper function in our psyche. Materials and art inspire me. I think about who will enjoy the design, and how it will improve the lives of people experiencing it.
I’d say my “Pillow Ball” collections, which are spherical, down-filled pillows made in sets of three. The set comes with pillows in diameters of 9″, 12″, 15″ and clients can personalize larger sizes if they want. Collection themes include: Batiks, Cosmic, Tapestry, and Surreal. I feel that each different theme has a color or texture that will find a match for each different person.
Colors are determined by the pieces of art and design that I find in my clients spaces, as well as the energy of a space and the light. Yellow and happy colors have always been big colors for me.
My work caught the attention of Greg [Sparks] and Faris [Al-Shathir] during the 2009 BOFFO artists residency in an old Bible factory in Brooklyn Heights. This year they invited me to develop the first BOFFO Show House for which I am also curator.
BOFFO’s modern, multifaceted, and young spirit resonates with my work.
I thought that the common denominator for every New Yorker’s apartment was embodied in those four themes. “Work” is designed with creative and physical work in mind. “Nature” is meant to be psychedelic and vibrant and full of surprises. “Future” features sacred geometries and “alien” light. “Play” is designed as a super cool space that is still in progress and features a bedroom for someone with a sense of fun, of daring.
Prove one more time that BOFFO is a germinator of great talent. I want to see everybody to succeed.
The future of nightlife as conceived by a cross-disciplinary team of club-going creatives
“We wanted to show design in action, not on a pedestal,” said Heineken’s Global Head of Design Mark van Iterson as he walked us through “The Club”, the first project of their Open Design Explorations, a pop up nightclub in the Tortona district during Milan’s Design Week. He wasn’t kidding around. The culmination of a year’s work, it represents an ambitious collaborative research and design project that he led with a hand-picked team of 19 club-going young designers from São Paolo, Tokyo, New York and Milan.
The cross-discipline team, mostly students and young professionals, includes interior, product and fashion designers, architects and graphic designers. The crowd-sourced finalists were invited to present their ideas at Pecha Kucha events, at the end of which the team was selected. The team visited clubs in all four of those cities (we participated in the Tokyo tour), and shared and collaborated on ideas, leading to the design elements brought to life in the pop up club. Van Iterson coached the group along with Professor Buijs and six industry experts.
“It was new for everybody to co-create cross-disciplines, cross-cultures, cross-time-zones,” says van Iterson. “We collaborated in an online hub, a kind of virtual creative lab. Some were more comfortable in the open ideas phase, others more in the detailing phase, some fueled the overall concept, others stayed within their discipline. But that’s the beauty of diversity.”
The hub served to mediate ideas while the designers worked remotely. “The portal was the open lab where we all came together,” says van Iterson. “It was bridging all continents and timezones, stimulating cross fertilization and kept the creative juices flowing through new progress, new insights, new briefs.” Heineken sought to create the perfect club—the rare combination of place, space and crowd that makes for a good time. “If you get the energy, the interaction and the vibe right, the club is a great club,” relates van Iterson. “And design can play a crucial role in facilitating that.”
Similar to how car companies use concept cars to have a dialog with their fans and customers, Heineken sought to create a physical place to express new ideas, and to present them to the world’s largest gathering of design professionals during Milan’s Design Week, with the goal of having a conversation around innovation in the club space. Van Iterson’s expectations are realistic: “For sure, certain elements will never make it to ‘real clubs’, but other elements might impact on club design or Heineken design worldwide for future years.”
Uniting The Club’s three spaces—which include a lounge, bar and dance area—is an origami theme that is applied to every element, reflecting the “changing perspectives” concept that fueled the project. The layout takes a cue from the team’s logical sequence of a typical night out: Connecting, getting a drink, discovering, dancing, cooling down and ending the night.
Walking through the completed concept, we found innovative details throughout. A video-mapped DJ booth pumps out killer beats as waitresses in extravagant origami uniforms and custom-designed shoes serve Heinekens from an origami-shaped tray that rests comfortably on the arm and holds up to eight bottles securely so that servers can use their free hand to open the bottles with a matching opener. An interactive bar features video display counters that lets you order another round with the tap of a finger, and a massive display made from more than 2,500 Heineken bottles features programmed images interspersed with live feeds from the dance floor. A wall on the dance floor has numbered shelves to place your drink while you dance, and a black origami wall glows with graffiti from the attached chalk pens, allowing club goers to get graphic in a harmless way.
Open Design Explorations is one of several crowd sourced design initiatives Heineken is leading, which live at Heineken’s Ideas Brewery.
The Club will be exhibited until 20 April 2012 from 13:00 – 23:00 daily at Via Privata Gaspare Bugatti 3, Zona Tortona, Milan. Even the club’s construction was important. Because the club was designed to be easily transportable, assembled and broken down in a cost-effective and sustainable manner, it’s likely that you’ll see it an event near you soon. See more images of the concept club in our gallery.
An “elastic collective” steals the show at Salone Satellite 2012
Showing some of the most interesting work on view at Salone Satellite 2012, Fresh from the Mint is a self-described “elastic collective” from Germany. The group, whose members hail from the University of Art and Design in Offenbach, presents a united body of work with the common spirit of simplicity and innovative functionality, while at the same time retaining the distinct identity of its designers.
Sarah Böttger is happily obsessed with details. Her project, “Boxes”, embodies this passion for meticulous organization with a set of practical and easy-to-stack wooden vessels that can be combined as bricks or filled with a variety of objects. “H2” is a series of plastic modular clothes racks that allows you to hang, hook or clamp your clothes. Böttger’s crusade against clutter is rounded off with “Skale”, an object that is part wardrobe, part side table, shoe shelf or simply an instrument to display our favorite outfits.
“Stool” is another clever object by Kathrin Schumacher. The modular cushion can be used to cover the seat or store items, saving space by fitting under its own legs. Schumacher also presents “Jätte”, a series of pillows that can be hung from the wall in several ways with fabric loops.
“The Royal Family” consists of three modular stools concived by Ellen Heilmann, stylistically uniform but with a clear separate identity. Each part of every stool can be used as a seat or as a table.
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.
