Hasta La Ideas

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pA solar tube, also called a sun tunnel, is a great way to get daylight into a dark space. They’re also easier to install than full-blown skylights and easier to leak-proof; the light-gathering dome up at the top has a pretty tidy footprint. But until recently, not much thought has gone into the bottom end, which is typically rendered into a mere porthole./p

pRoss Lovegrove’s new A HREF=”http://www.velux-italia.com/tunnelsolare/” sun tunnel design/A for Italian manufacturere Velux adds some much-needed design, incorporating a hanging, blob-like reflector that bounces the light back against the ceiling, multiplying the sunshine effect. /p

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pSure it kinda looks like an old iMac hanging from the ceiling, you can’t beat the utility cost!/p

pvia A HREF=”http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/9837/a-new-vision-of-daylight-velux-sun-tunnel-by-lovegrove.html” design boom/A/pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/ross_lovegroves_sun_tunnel_for_velux_16469.asp”(more…)/a
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Chalk it up to the Germans’ noted reputation for being efficient. The fourth annual Gallery Weekend is Berlin’s version of a power punch for denizens of the art world: 40 galleries and 40 openings over the course of three days. But beyond the obvious marquee names such as Damien Hirst at Haunch of Venison and Olafur Eliasson at Martin Gropius Bau, knowing where to go can be the paradox of choice. Here’s a shortlist of artists that stand out from the bunch.

Andreas Gursky is a visual artist of Goliath proportions. Taking Google Earth-esque images and rendering them into huge, powerful photographs, his new series “Ocean I-VI” is a jaw-dropping panoramic interpretation of water, land and the mysterious subaquatic depths that ripple in between. “Ocean I-IV,” Sprüth Magers Gallery, Oranienburgerstr. 18, Berlin. Opening: 30 April 2010, 4-9 pm; exhibition until 9 June 2010.

New work from the Jerusalem-born artist Ariel Schlesinger—a talented arsonist whose sly tricks with fire spit up in the least likely of places—promises to make you look twice. “Reverse Engineering,” Galerija Gregor Podnar, Lindenstr. 35, Berlin. Opening: 30 April 2010, 10 am-3 pm; exhibition until 5 June 2010.

American painter Elizabeth Peyton‘s bold, highly stylized portraits of cultural icons such as Kurt Cobain, Jarvis Cocker and Matthew Barney have always commanded a loyal following and demonstrated her relevance, beginning with her first solo exhibition at New York’s hip Chelsea Hotel. “New Paintings and Drawings,” Neugerriemschneider, Wallstr. 85, Berlin. Opening: 30 April 2010, 10 am-3 pm; exhibition until 2 July 2010.

“The Eskimos have two hundred ways to say snow. I have three million ways to say no,” Norwegian artist and writer Matias Faldbakken has publicly opined, and this stubborn streak surges through his work of prints, installations and moving images that crackle with political overtones. “Matias Faldbakken,” Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Kurfürstenstr. 12, Berlin. Opening: 30 April 2010, 10 am-3 pm; exhibition until 4 June 2010.

Who better than German photographer Tobias Zielony—known for his stark, stripped-down photographs of teenage delinquents—to tackle the story of “Le Vele di Scampia,” a ’70s urban housing project in Naples that proved to be one of the biggest failures in recent history? His 2009 film splices together over 2,000 photographs shot at dark at the complex, producing a nine-minute animation that starts, stutters and suspends erratically through time to jarring effect. “Film and Photographic Series,” Koch Oberhuber Wolff, Brunnenstr. 9, Berlin. Opening: 30 April 2010, 10 am-3 pm; exhibition until 3 June 2010.

Picking the brains of Gestalten‘s book editors and designers, Youyoung Lee reports to Cool Hunting on what inspires them.

Meet Mildred, the amazing surfing sheep, spokesbeast for Cornish surfwear brand Finisterre (motto ‘Doing clever things with wool’)

Mildred is a Bowmont –- a rare breed of British sheep that Finisterre has been attempting to revive in order to reduce its reliance on imported Merino wool for its clothing. Ernest Capbert, who is in charge of marketing for the company says “We’re all surfers, we’ve got sheep and so we’ve taught one of our Bowmonts to glide”…

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More info about Finisterre and the Bowmont here. The ad was produced with DLKW.

The London Festival of Architecture, arguably the biggest annual celebration of architecture in the world and who we were just talking about the other day, following the kick off of their hunt for a new skyline, have just released their first batch of info about the fest. Although it still seems like a work in progress as events and volunteers are still coming in, and what’s listed now are highlights, it’s already looking like it’s going to be a particularly good year, given all the new Olympic buildings (or at least the construction or plans) and it being the 10th anniversary of the Eye ferris wheel, the Millennium Bridge and even the much-maligned Millennium Dome. Here’s a grab of the nifty little, back-of-the-kids-menu-esque illustration they’ve put together showing off what’s where (click to be magically transported to the clickable version on their site):

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Shanghai Expo 2010: Dezeen reader Chaz Hutton snuck into the Shanghai Expo 2010, due to open this weekend. Here are his photographs of a selection of the pavilions. (more…)