Hasta La Ideas

British architects Carmody Groarke have completed this granite monolith outside London’s Natural History Museum to commemorate victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.

The 115-tonne stone retains the ridged marks created when it was quarried in France.

A diagonal slice undercutting one corner reveals a polished triangular face with an embossed dedication.

Carmody Groarke and project managers M3 evolved the design through dialogue with survivors and bereaved families.

Carmody Groarke also designed a memorial to victims of the 7 July London terrorist bombings, which opened in Hyde Park, London, in 2009.

More projects by Carmody Groarke on Dezeen »
More stories about memorials on Dezeen »

Photography is by Luke Hayes.

Here are some more details from the Memorial Project Board:

Memorial to victims of Indian Ocean Tsunami opens

A memorial to the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami opens today in the grounds of the Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum in London in a ceremony attended by His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales and Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cornwall.

The Memorial is the culmination of years of work by Tsunami Support UK (TSUK) and was made possible thanks to a £550,000 grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

A single granite monolith, the design reflects the views and feelings of UK survivors and bereaved families. It is the product of months of dialogue between them and the design team of Carmody Groarke and M3 Consulting.

Michael Holland, Chairman of the Memorial Project Board, said: “The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami was one of the worst natural disasters in living memory, hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives. The impact of the devastation was felt across the world. This huge, singular geographical fragment will create a powerful reminder for generations to come of this momentous event within the Earth’s natural history. Its purpose is to stop people forgetting. Within this new public space, the Memorial also offers a place for more quiet contemplation.

“We are immensely grateful to the DCMS for funding the memorial and to the Natural History Museum for making space available in its grounds – we can think of no better place to remember the lives of the UK family members and the over 225,000 others who perished in the Tsunami.”

Kevin Carmody and Andy Groarke of Carmody Groarke said: “It has been a huge privilege to work with the survivors and bereaved families to design a permanent memorial in such a significant public space. Our collective intention is to make a fitting, engaging and unique Memorial – a place for contemplation and remembering for generations to come. Our goal was also to give the Memorial stone a strong architectural relationship between the bold buildings and landscape of the Natural History Museum.”

Dr Michael Dixon, Director of the Natural History Museum, said: “It is fitting that the Natural History Museum is home to this impressive new Memorial. An important part of our mission is to make sense of the natural world and I hope this Memorial will not only bring comfort to those who lost loved ones in the Tsunami but also be a reminder to us all of the powerful and sometimes destructive force of nature.”

See also:

.

7 July Memorial by Carmody Groarke	Memorial Blocks Berlin by Daniel Clements	Island of Memory by Britton Chambers

Non-profit organisation Assemble have constructed a temporary canal-side cinema under a London motorway flyover.

Folly for a Flyover was assembled by a team of volunteers over the course of a month, using reclaimed and donated materials.

It remains in place for six weeks, staging a series of movies and performances as part of the Create festival.

Built from bricks of clay and wood and supported by scaffolding, the structure encloses a cafe, bar and cinema stalls.

Visitors can also take trips to the nearby Olympic site aboard rowing boats and canoes that depart from a wooden jetty on the canal bank.

More stories about pavilions on Dezeen »

Photography is by Assemble.

Here are some more details from Assemble:

Folly for a Flyover

On 24th June, a building will appear in the gap between the east and westbound traffic of the A12.

Transforming the cavernous undercroft where the motorway crosses the Lea Navigation Canal, Folly for a Flyover will host a six week programme of waterside cinema, performance and play.

Hand-built with local, reclaimed and donated materials, the Folly draws influence from the surrounding red-brick buildings of Hackney Wick, posing as an imaginary piece of the area’s past, a building trapped under the motorway.

By day the folly will host a café, workshops and events and boat trips exploring the surrounding waterways.

At night there will be screenings ranging from animation classics to early and experimental cinema with live scores, light shows and performances.

Like a giant construction-kit, the folly will be built over the period of a month by a team of volunteers.

Having served one purpose it will be disassembled at the end of the summer, and the compents will find new uses across the local area.

Click above for larger image

See also:

.

Mobile performance venue by Various Architects	Nomad by 1/100	Summer Theatre by Kadarik Tüür

A one-stop shop for sophisticated summer menswear opens in London

With incredible attention to details, Hentsch Man was launched four years ago when its founders Alexia and Max failed in their quest to find the perfect white shirt. Their initial line was promptly snapped up by discerning men also sharing the same desire.

Building on their immediate success, the pair developed a wider menswear collection including trousers, jackets, shorts and sweaters—built around the same attention to detail as the original shirt.

For Summer 2011, the brand has opened a popup store intended to help men build a tasteful summer wardrobe that doesn’t scream “trying too hard.” A succesful execution for the one-stop shopper, the store features easily combined colorways and even a new series of sunglasses. The Bobby, as they’re called, are hand made in Italy and available in four very attractive colors (including the distinctive Hentsch Man pink hue), each finished with a matte finish.

It’s also noteworthy that all materials and labour is undertaken in Europe. Regular trips not only to oversee production also afford the designers an opportunity to source extra items to round out the line. This summer traditional Spanish-made Espadrilles are available in a variety of great colorways.

London brand (and near-neighbours of Dezeen) House of Hackney have created a range of floral wallpapers and fabrics that turn black at the edges.

Above and top images are by David Dunan

The Dalston Rose range features English-style navy blue roses printed across a nude-coloured background that fades to black to give a room the appearance of a vintage photograph.

More stories about wallpaper on Dezeen »

Photography is by Sean Myers apart from where otherwise stated.

Here is some further explanation from House of Hackney:

House of Hackney

Launched in London in April 2011 House of Hackney is the new luxury wallpaper, bed linen and home furnishings label which reworks the concept of traditional British home wares for a new generation.

Described as a ’’Colefax and Fowler on acid’’ House of Hackney takes classic British shapes in bed linen, wallpaper, lamps, cushions, fine bone china and furniture and subverts them with beauty and humour.

House of Hackney is about creating product that will stand the test of time working with and supporting the best traditional British manufacturers in their fields.

Dalston Rose

Dalston Rose features a wedgewood style navy blue English rose against an antiqued nude background with a gradient (ombre) effect across the base of the wall. Traditionally gravure printed on FSC paper made from sustainable forests.

To achieve the same ombre effect as photography there are 2 parts to the wallpaper.

---

See also:

.

RGB by Carnovsky	Light Night 2009 by Linda Florence	Couture by Marcel Wanders for Graham & Brown

The latest completed venue for the London 2012 Olympics is the Basketball Arena, a PVC tent designed by Sinclair Knight Merz with Wilkinson Eyre and KSS.

A patterned surface is created on the exterior where the skin stretches over arched frames.

The arena will host handball and basketball during the Olympics next year, and wheelchair rugby and basketball for the Paralympics.

Two thirds of the structure will be reusable after the games are over, when the building will be completely dismantled.

More about the 2012 London Olympic Games on Dezeen »
More buildings for sport on Dezeen »

The following information is from the Olympic Delivery Authority:

Basketball Arena becomes fourth Olympic Park venue completed

The London 2012 Basketball Arena has become the fourth Olympic Park venue completed, more than a year ahead of the Games and is one of the quickest venues to finish construction, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) announced today.

The Basketball Arena is one of the largest temporary venues ever used for an Olympic and Paralympic Games and will be dismantled after the Games to be reused elsewhere. Initial works on site began in October 2009, with work to erect the 1,000-tonne steel frame starting in March 2010. The venue has now been completed on budget, making it one of the quickest Olympic Park venues to finish construction.

With the ODA’s construction works completed, the venue will now be handed over to the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) to carry out overlay works to get the venue ready for the first Olympic Park test event in August – the venue will host the London International Basketball Invitational to be held from the 16th-21st August which will see six top men’s teams from around the world come to London to compete (Great Britain, Australia, China, Croatia, France and Serbia).

During the 2012 Games, Basketball preliminary matches and Women’s quarter finals will be staged at the Arena, in addition to the Handball men’s quarter finals, all semi finals and medal matches. It will also host Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby during the Paralympic Games.

ODA Chief Executive Dennis Hone said: ‘Completing construction on the Basketball Arena delivers another striking Games-time venue for the Olympic Park and an innovative structure that can be re-used elsewhere after 2012. As the fourth Olympic Park venue completed and one of the quickest to finish construction, the Basketball Arena is another milestone for the Olympic Park ‘Big Build’ and a tribute to the companies from across the UK involved in its delivery.’

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: ‘Basketball is one of the most atmospheric competitions of the Games and this has been captured by the artistic design of the Arena. The speed with which this venue has been constructed is a tribute to the ODA and the architect whose design means this facility can be re-used after the Games.’

London 2012 Organising Committee Chair Seb Coe said: ‘Basketball is one of the most popular Olympic sports and spectators will be able to see the game played out in spectacular surroundings. It is a superb venue which will be the centre of some of the best team action during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.’

Venue factfile:

Venue design and facilities and design:

• 12,000 seats – black and orange seating designed to represent the colours of a basketball
• Venue is 35 metres high (as high as the Tate Modern) and longer than a football pitch at 115 metres long
• 1,000-tonne steel frame wrapped in 20,000sqm of recyclable white PVC membrane, stretched over three different variations of arched panels.
• During the Games the exterior will act as a canvas for an artistic and innovative lighting design.
• Venue facilities including lifts, toilet blocks, corridors and VIP access rooms installed beneath venue seating frame
• After the Games the venue will be dismantled by the contractors which built and own the temporary elements, with the option of potentially using elements of the arena at other UK and overseas events.

Construction

The Basketball Arena design team was lead by Sinclair Knight Merz together with Wilkinson Eyre and KSS

The venue was constructed by companies from across the UK, including:

• Scotland: Barr Construction in Glasgow built the structure.
• West Midlands: Slick Seating in Redditch is providing the temporary seating.
• South West: Base from Bristol provided the membrane cladding for the outside of the Arena and Mitie from Bristol carried out mechanical and electrical works.
• South East: Envirowrap from Tenterden in Kent is providing the wrapping for the seats; Sevenoaks-based Volker Fitzpatrick is erecting the steelwork, building the toilet blocks and internal fit-out, including lifts.
• Northern Ireland: McAvoy from Dungannon is building the temporary accommodation.
• Yorkshire: Fullflow Group Ltd in Sheffield is a sub-contractor to Barr Construction and will be installing the syphonic drainage.

Sports:

Sports to be staged at the Basketball Arena include:

• Basketball: The Olympic Basketball competition will have 288 athletes competing for two gold medals – 144 men and 144 women, and 12 teams of 12 players in each competition.
• Handball: Two teams of seven players pass and dribble a small synthetic or leather ball using only their hands. The aim is to score a goal by throwing the ball past the defending goalkeeper. The team with the most goals wins.
• Wheelchair Basketball: As in Basketball, played by two teams of five players on the court. It is similar to the Olympic game, with same size court, basket height and near-identical rules.
• Wheelchair Rugby: Played indoors on a regulation size basketball court using a white ball identical in size and shape to a volleyball. Teams have four players on the court and the object of the game is to carry the ball across the opposition’s goal line.

See also:

.

2012 London Olympic Stadium by Populous	ArcelorMittal Orbit by Anish Kapoor	London 2012 Velodrome by Hopkins Architects