Hasta La Ideas

A private collection of erotic photographs from the famed designer and architect

Everything we know of Carlo Mollino hints to a man of insatiable tastes. The Italian architect and designer indulged in a life of downhill skiing, stunt flying and race-car driving, augmenting his artistic pursuits with fiction and photography. The extent of his most personal obsession was discovered after his death in the form of some 1,300 Polaroid exposures of girlfriends, prostitutes and other women seduced on the grounds of his Turin residence. Carlo Mollino: Un Messaggio dalla Camera Oscura reveals the figure through images of his erotic portraiture.

The hugely talented son of a wealthy engineer, Mollino led a prodigious career before taking a seat as professor of architecture at the University of Turin. Throughout his life, he became known for his elegantly styled furniture as well as a number of large-scale architectural endeavors. He published a book on alpine ski technique as well as a novel called “Vita di Oberon,” which revealed his preoccupation with myth, allegory and classical influences. His endeavors were universal, an array of preoccupations that collide in his secret photographs.

Staging his women in fake hair and erotic costumes, Mollino’s reveals an aesthetic of contrast. Raging against an atmosphere of gilded interiors and lush fabrics is a primitive sexuality that approaches the statuesque. The faces are often expressionless, bodies lightly decorated in lace, gold chains and other opulent materials. Best known for the modernist-styled Teatro Regio of Turin, Mollino’s work is best classified as “streamlined surrealism,” blending embellishments with stark abstraction.

The book features a series of essays on Mollino’s life and work in addition to pictures of the man, his buildings and interiors. As an architect, he often looked to the female form for inspiration, using it to inform the lines on everything from luxury automobiles to lounge chairs. His work exhibits the strangulation he felt from the rationalist strictures of modernist forms, which fueled his interest in surrealism. “Mollino did not advocate purely functionalist formalism,” writes Gerald Matt in the foreword, “but a style that approached the organic and placed the human being at it’s center.” The erotic models reflect the fantasies and subconscious exploration that informed his designs.

“Carlo Mollino: Un Messaggio dalla Camera Oscura” drops 29 February 2012 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.

Our favorite items from the flexible-use design retailer

Last month’s opening of the new Brooklyn design store Module R marked a welcome addition to the world of affordable design for small urban spaces. Every item bears some kind of modular quality, appealing to people who favor customizable furnishings with DIY personality. The following five items are our top selects from the online store.

BIRDs

This historic toy design was recently re-introduced by Danish company ArchitectMade. The simple birds are equipped with rotating heads and swappable torsos, giving them an infinite variety of moods from curious and excited to morose and tuckered-out. The family of birds spans generations from children (the small ones) to grandparents (the short, fat ones) in a mix of natural and smoked oak.

Sugarcane Wall Panels

There’s a fairy tale quality to the composition of these customizable wall panels made from sugarcane byproducts. The natural material is biodegradable and easily cut to the desired dimensions with a household blade. An economical and potentially inspiring design solution, the wall coverings can be painted or left as is.

Stix and Stones Necklace

The magnetized components of this geometric necklace give the wearer freedom to change up one’s bling on a whim. The “stix” come in the form of stainless steel rods of varying lengths with magnetic ends and are accompanied by the “stones,” or metal marbles that react to the rods. The necklace is available in sets of six or 14 pieces.

Gagnon Studio Grid Wall

We love the asymmetrical design of this divider, perfect for those living in cozy studio apartments. The grid gives your room a nice sense of separation while retaining the room’s visual space. With the option to hang from the ceiling or affix between vertical supports, this screen works in practically any space.

Table Table

A perfect and simple solution for people with spacial restraints, the polygonal pieces of this customizable table can be combined in a number of different ways. The table is made from folded aluminum, with personalized color finishes available upon request.

Yabu Pushelberg’s latest hotel project resets the notion of modern luxury

Set to open 19 January 2012, the St. Regis Bal Habour Resort brings the supremely luxurious service and accommodations the brand is known for to the worldwide destination of South Florida. Designed by Seiger Suarez Architectual Partnership with interiors by renowned studio Yabu Pushelberg, the property sets a new standard for the St. Regis brand. Previewing the property last month I found a brilliant combination of materials and patterns; the aesthetic continuity is maintained from restaurants and reception to guest rooms and spa, yet the spaces are also clearly differentiated. My test for evaluating the effectiveness of a hotel brand’s design language is to imagine waking up in any of the spaces—a guest room, a chair by the pool, the spa or even a restaurant booth or the lobby floor—if there’s no doubt where you are, the design is well executed. In this case, I’d wake up feeling right at home and never wanting to leave.

Boasting 27 stories, housing 243 guest rooms and suites and 307 residences, the resort, built from the ground up on the site of the old Sheraton Bal Harbour, features extravagant detailing throughout. Just a few steps into the main hall Yabu Pushelberg’s consuming style transports you to a world of Deco-inspired modern luxury. Highlighting the extravagance are floors of Chinese God’s Flower marble sourced from a private quarry opened exclusively for the project, mirror-laden walls and chandeliers made of hand-hung crystals.

To further set the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort apart from the other destination resorts in the Miami area, the hotel is defined by its extensive collection of contemporary art from both local and internationally known artists—including works by Japanese artists Hirotoshi Sawada, Kohel Nawa, Miami-based graffiti artist Santiago Rubino and French photographer Jean Francois Rauzier.

To pay homage to legendary architect Morris Lapidus—creator of the iconic neo-baroque modern hotel style synonymous with Miami—guestrooms echo a contemporary Art Deco aesthetic. With warm yellow and whites and mirrored surfaces, the interior design nod can be seen in the subtle details throughout the hotel.

For more information on availability head to St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort online.

The New York School of Interior Design recreates the seminal show “What Modern Was” in a new exhibit and discussion

When the traveling exhibition “Design 1935-1965: What Modern Was” opened in 1991, the accompanying 424-page catalog startled the industry with its declaration that the Modern period was over, and should, from that point, be spoken about in the past tense. Subsequently revered as the bible for mid-century decorative arts, the heavy tome’s distinct perspective came from four years of scholarly research of the thirty-year period, led by Rutgers University art history professor Martin Eidelberg and acclaimed curator David A. Hanks.

In celebration of the volume’s 20th anniversary, the New York School of Interior Design is recreating the landmark show in an exhibition dubbed “Modern in the Past Tense.” While the original selection showcased designs solely from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, the updated display will echo the time period with chronologically-arranged photographs of interiors and architectural milestones, as well as furniture from various other private collectors.

Another groundbreaking moment for the exhibition, in addition to the catalog’s bold claim, came when the team of 16 scholars separated the Modern period into five subdivisions. Designs were broken up into International Style Modernism, Biomorphic Modernism, Streamlined Modernism, Postwar Modernism, and Postmodernism. The timeline accompanying “Modern in the Past Tense” will add even more context to these categories, showing the cultural moments that helped to define each one.

The exhibition opens with a panel discussion with “What Modern Was” curators Hanks and Eidelberg, legendary collector Mark McDonald and modernist interior designer Ali Tayar. “Modern in the Past Tense” opens 26 October 2011 and runs through 12 January 2012 at NYSID.

Vancouver designers put their process on display

In conjunction with Vancouver’s Interior Design Show West last week, local design firm Burnkit launched Prototypes, showcasing the process of a group of notable Vancouver-based designers. The smartly-curated exhibit, impeccably staged within Burnkit’s hip studio, was touted as the first event of its kind in North America to explore the unique role of prototypes in designing and building products.

Bensen founder and featured designer Niels Bendtsen offered insight into prototyping as part of concept development. “Although people may be aware of prototyping as a way to try out new ideas,” he explained, “they often forget, or aren’t aware of, the industrial aspect of industrial design.”

He went on to clarify that while it’s interesting to explore how a new piece will look and function, the step “is essential to resolving the huge number of hidden details and problems in order to be ready for mass production.” He adds that these details, “are often as fascinating and beautiful as the finished product itself.”

Highlights of the show included Bendtsen’s own prototype for the evolution of a chair design, as well as
Omer Arbel‘s stunning sand-cast copper and sand-cast iron
bowls .