Hasta La Ideas

Following the success of his “Significant Objects” project, the man behind Murketing and all the best, funniest lines in Objectified, Rob Walker, has kicked off something new and equally as captivating. Called the Hypothetical Development Organization, Walker and co-creators Ellen Susan and G.K. Darby, are trying to create “a new form of urban storytelling” in New Orleans by having realistic renderings made of new buildings to stick onto old, abandoned establishments that have fallen into disrepair. The great, clever thing is that none of these renderings will likely ever be built — they’ll always just be renderings of what could be. There won’t be rules for what can be conceived of, thoughts about how commercially viable a project might be in real life, or even concern for physics or where the building materials would come from. We love the idea and if you think it’s a good one too, the group has set up a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to help give the project a push toward completion.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Thanks to everyone who came along to the Design Museum last night for the first ever CR Tweetup. Free drink, a free Moleskine and LEGO® – what more could you want?

Some of CR’s 179,000 Twitter followers took over the Design Museum last night as we staged our first ever Tweetup. On arrival, everyone received a CR Moleskine notebook like this:

After a free drink (thanks to the support of istockphoto) we soon set guests to work at the ‘activity table’ on the ground floor where they were asked to respond to a frequently updated brief on an ‘endless’ roll of paper.

We asked everyone coming to bring a piece of work which would then be taped up to make and impromptu exhibition upstairs. Here’s some of the work going up

Here’s our designer Tom Gaffan witha friend.

In the exhibition space we also had screens streaming the latest Tweets about the event – thanks very much to Nice for the app. Here it is next to Neil Ayres, our Twittermeister-in-chief

While we were busy getting the work up, our guests were invited to get their creativity going in the John Pawson exhibition. Each one was given a bag of LEGO® (thanks Andrew and Camilla) and asked to build a house.

Pretty soon, the room was full of CR readers deep in concentration as they applied themselves to this challenging task

Whoever did the LEGO® CR shown top, please let us know in the comments.

Afterwards there was a prize draw for an array of fantastic LEGO® sets including this monster, a metre long model of Tower Bridge worth £200 (as modelled by CR’s Sarah Davies) which isn’t even in the shops yet.

Thanks to the Design Museum, LEGO®, Nice, istockphoto, Moleskine and everyone who came along last night. It was great fun and definitely something we want to do again – we’re already talking about doing it again, maybe taking it out of London, possibly Manchester?

You can see lots more pictures of last night on Flickr here and follow us on Twitter here

Just over a year ago, we got an exclusive sneak peak at Renzo Piano‘s much-celebrated new Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago (here’s parts two and three of our early look). At the time it opened, it was the talk of the town, helping to solidify the city’s architectural legacy. Oh but how quickly the honeymoon has come to an end. The building has now found itself at the center of a lawsuit between the museum itself and the British engineering firm that helped build it, Ove Arup & Partners. The museum alleges that the firm performed shoddy work in a number of areas, resulting in millions of dollars spent on repairs. Ove Arup has said it’s shocked by the suit, saying that it had been trying to work out any problems with the museum since apparently early 2009, before the building had even opened. According to Engineering News Record, the museum says that “the talks went nowhere” and so they had little choice but to file suit earlier this week in an effort to recoup the money spent fixing the problems. Here’s a list the issues that make up the lawsuit:

The dispute centers around alleged errors and omissions in heating and cooling systems, concrete floors, the building envelope, a portion of the roof referred to as the “flying carpet,” a pedestrian bridge, as well as “incorrect structural engineering.” It also alleges Arup provided an insufficient number of experienced engineers to handle construction administration, which contributed to “costly delays and required revisions to work already completed.” The claim says AIC spent or will have to spend some $10 million as a result of Arup’s poor performance on the project.

If there’s one person resting easy while this courtroom battle kicks off, it’s Renzo Piano, whose design for the building isn’t being held at fault by the Art Institute.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

London Design Festival 2010: Mark Holmes of Minimalux has launched a new collection of products including a stainless steel knife and spork, a silver and cork pill container (above) and an aluminium mobile.

Above: Pill Tube. Stirling Silver and Cork / Copper and Cork L100xD16xH16mm. Minimalux has reproduced the classic laboratory test tube in sterling silver through the process of electroforming. Supplemented by a cork bung it provides a portable vessel for tablets and pills. The Pill Tube is polished to a mirror finish and hallmarked. It also available in Copper.

Launched online to coincide with the London Design Festival this week, the range aims to combine glass, copper, silver and brass to create a collection of very simple objects with high-quality finishes.

Above and below: Disk Mobile. Solid Aluminium – Precision machined and mirror polished + Swiss Bearings. L150xD40xH150. A simple disc that sits on a desk, static on its side until a flick of a finger makes it effortlessly spin on a discreet hidden axis. As the disc rotates the reflective surface casts shafts of refracted, moving light around the room. Think of it as a mirror, a stress reliever, an aid for thinking or just enjoy it for its formal presence.

See the first Minimalux collection in our earlier story.

See all our stories about the London Design festival »

Above: Conical Vase. Copper, Glass and Silver Vase L85xD85xH150mm. Borosilicate glass has been metalised with layers of silver and copper then mirror polished – the silver is sandwiched between the copper and glass, creating a seductive three-way fusion of materials.

The information below and captions are from Minimalux:

MINIMALUX LAUNCH NEW COLLECTION ONLINE

Minimalux launched a new Collection of products with a world reaching online broadcast from London during the 2010 Design Festival.
On Thursday, September 23rd at 00:01 hrs, the entire 2nd Minimalux collection was shown for the very first time at www.minimalux.com and, in accordance with the brand’s mission to present a truly global launch, Minimalux has also taken the unprecedented step to make the products available for immediate purchase and delivery to any international destination.

Under the creative direction of British designer Mark Holmes, Minimalux is set to present a diverse range of objects and price points- all linked by the constant and enduring company ethos of high production values, beautiful finishing and basic, finely considered form.

Above: Knife & Spork.  18/10 Stainless Steel – Mirror Polished L150xD15xH3 mm & L150xD15xH3 mm. The Knife & Spork have been inspired by and celebrate the forms of common laboratory spoons and the fork/spoon hybrid ‘Spork’. Both utensils are completely flat and linear in profile and have an obvious harmony and formal symmetry akin to chopsticks. They are sold together as a set.

Production methods such as electroforming, casting and tube manipulation together with materials including glass, copper, solid silver and brightly coloured anodized aluminium are used to create candleholders, desk accessories, cutlery and vases – all complementary to the precision machined brass and precious metal pots & containers that are prevalent in the first Minimalux Collection.

The contrasting elements of simplicity and splendour at the heart of the company have been reinforced not only within the design and finishing of the products but also the packaging – striking, efficient and ecologically sound boxes are used to contain the finely finished, lustrous Minimalux products – effectively presenting these premium objects with luxury credentials in an appealing and non-ostentatious way.

Above: U Candleholder. Polished stainless steel or polished Brass L180xD60xH180mm (internal ∅ 25 mm)
This simple U shaped candleholder is formed from a single length of metal tubing, bent 180° and supported at its base by a turned metal disc. The candles provide a seamless continuation of the tubular form.

The new collection aims to provide products with wider appeal and accessibility; thus extending the general reach of the brand and nurturing the visibility of Minimalux products within the marketplace.

Minimalux is a British Company based in London. It has a strict manifesto to design and produce small, modern, finely crafted tableware, desk products and accessories. Founded by designer, Mark Holmes it was launched just 15 months ago during the Salone del Mobile, 2009 in Milan. Since then it has received praise not only for its design contributions but also its timely and considered business approach and operational structure.

It has an identity that is gaining a strong position within the luxury market sector and products that have been endorsed by both trade and media worldwide. In addition to its wholesale trading, Minimalux operates an online retail website. Alongside Holmes, the Minimalux team includes former Established & Sons executive, Tamara Caspersz as Co-Director in charge of Brand Development.

See also:

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Minimalux by Mark Holmes	Modern Times by Tjernberg & Malbert	All our stories from London Design Festival 2010

Dans le cadre du retour de la marque Nokia, voici la nouvelle campagne de lancement pour le téléphone Nokia N8 réalisée par l’agence Wieden + Kennedy et dirigée par Martin Krejci. Une publicité axée sur l’utilisation de la technologie dans notre quotidien. A découvrir dans la suite.

Previously on Fubiz

• Old Spice – Questions
• Nike : Write The Future
• Nike Human Chain