Picnic table chic
The "I was here" collection designed by Jason Miller will take you back to that one summer at (band?) camp when you carved your name into the camp picnic tables. The collection features various tables and a bench constructed from "graffiti-proof" plastic wood with all sorts of random New York graffiti carved into the top of them. Available colors include white, black, brown, and blue.
Link: Areaware/Jason Miller
Handmade tiles from across the pond
Blink is a collaboration between Nita Rege and Bessie Turner who met while studying Ceramics at the Edinburgh College of Art. Their tiles are available in multiple themes including "wash tags", "glasses", "knife and fork", and "tap". Featured above are Martini (left) and Pint.
Link: Blink Tiles
Panel and sphere partition wall
The Troika from em is a screen / partition wall constructed from translucent resin panels and spheres along with stainless steel rods, plates, and collars. Depending on your installation, the Troika is available with or without the self-supporting frame.
Link: em collection
Via: LA Times
Related: Pivot Screen
Related: Folding Screen
Related: Helix
Related: Flipper
Related: Labyrint
Related: Double Curve
An "artistic" table
The Pegaso table from Caimi Casa features a powder-coated tubular support structure and is available with an elliptical or rectangular top in transparent or matte glass. The top is physically attached to the leg structure via four stainless steel plates.
Link: caimi casa
Comfort inspired by nature
The Leaf collection from Arper exhibits simple lines and is right at home indoors or out. Leaf is available in a painted (white, mocha, green) or chrome finish. Full-grain leather or polyurethane cushions are also available.
Link: Arper SpA
Persian/Islamic culture meets western modernità
Architect Pouya Khazaeli Parsa drew upon inspiration from Le Corbusier’s “Poem of the right angle” when designing this home which features an aerial ramp that takes you from a first-floor terrace to a roof garden with views of the beaches along the Caspian Sea.
Via: Domus Web (Reg Req'd)
Link: Pouya Khazaeli Parsa (Archnet.org)
Link: Rai Studio - Pouya Khazaeli Parsa
Link: The Poem of the Right Angle (Open Eye Gallery)
Location: L+L Maps - Darvish Residence
Relive the days of your model-building youth
I tried my hand at making more than a few models back in the day and if I remember correctly, most of them were abandoned in various stages of completion. Anyway, Jellio Design has created wall art based on the plastic piece which housed all the parts which will definitely take you back to those glory days of sniffing glue model building. Made of polyurethane resin, the piece is 44" x 44" and weighs approx 20lbs. Follow the link for pricing and availability.
Link: Jellio.com
A quick trip into the archives
CA|Boom I
Can you believe its been three years since CA|Boom burst onto the design scene? Check out our coverage from the design show's freshman year.
Teardrop Vase from Derek Chen
Veneered plywood vase shell, bent in a teardop shape. Sealed and weighted with opaque colored resin. Exposed resin bottom, fully waterproof with a satin lacquer finish.
Favela Chair
Wood scraps never looked better. Designed by Fernando and Humberto Campana.
Fix Lighting
Simple, elegant, and modern. Light fixtures designed by Wonderwall.
Porch House
"With a solid understanding of modern design and its application in residential architecture, Greg Lavardera has put together several plans that definitely take the bland and boring out of stock plans."
Ambient and spot lighting
The Spotnik XL is the second incarnation of the Spotnik lamp but in a larger scale. Inside the sphere is a dual-light source offering both spot and ambient lighting. Originally designed as a table lamp, this newer version of the Spotnik now towers above your space at over 6 feet tall.
Link: Spotnik xl
Ok, I know, this laptop stand has been out for a few years now...
Link: iLap Laptop Stand
Threadless tees and blik graphics have teamed up to produce wall graphics. blik will post 6-10 of their favorite Threadless designs and will ask the public to vote on which ones will be come the next line of blik wall graphics. I'm casting my vote for Alphabet Zoo and Sad Psycho. Check it out and be sure to vote for your favorite.
Link: Threadless @ blik [Thanks, Sonja!]
Related: L+L loves Threadless!
Cole Scego is a designer based in rural Missouri who prefers the use of materials such as aluminum and steel to construct pieces that will stand the test of time. A strict vegetarian, Cole believes that happiness and well-being are strongly associated with your
living environment.
Link: Cole Scego Design
Link: About Cole
Prefab Housing
D.C. architect Carib Daniel Martin came up with the idea of HELP (Housing Every Last Person) soon after Hurricane Katrina devasted the Gulf-Coast region. His idea was to create an emergency housing system that was easily transportable and could be quickly assembled.
With a working demo in place, he secured the means to manufacture his creation and has spent the last two years fine-tuning his work. Expanding on his original design, he has evolved the structure to also meet the needs of the commercial, non-emergency market by producing 4 models: the microCABANA, microHOME, microSTUDIO, and microSHED.
A full-service website is due to be launched this coming Labor Day weekend.
Link: m-finity.com
Link: Path to Prefab
The Italian Lighting Company SLAMP, brings a 'bright smile' to anyone's home
The company has been established in 1994 and their lamp design is a result of international designers' creativity.
I remember walking pass SLAMP shops when I was still living and studying in Rome and, as a teen, thinking that there was something cheerful and happy about SLAMP lamps.
Even SLAMP describes their products' philosophy as:
...to create lamps with irony, innovation, and decorative appeal. Slamp lamps break loose from the traditional conservative and haphazard buyers, focusing its appeal on impulse purchasing, with considerable emotional appeal...
Link: SLAMP
Anne Robert joins the L+L team
Back in "the day" L+L put more emphasis on outdoor spaces... or at least we had the intention of such things... Regardless, we are very pleased to be joined by Paris-and-London based designer Anne Robert.
Anne maintains her own blog, My Urban Garden Deco Guide and will be popping by to share her fabulous outdoor finds with you fabulous L+L readers.
Link: My Urban Garden Deco Guide
Link: Anne's L+L Bio
Clean, simple, and stackable.
I'm a fan of clean, simple design and this stackable chair from Hussi is just that. The ST10 features a thin yet flexible backrest which is available with 2 or 3 slats.
Link: Pure Austrian Design
Vandeventer + Carlander Architects announce that the C3 Cabin plans are available for purchase.
We've discussed IKEA here in the past and some our our topics have touched on the topic of altering those inexpensive pieces we purchase from our favorite blue and yellow big-box store. Little did I know that there was a blog dedicated to such exploits. Anyway, look closely at the photo on the right and you'll see an IKEA Effectiv cabinet topped by a quartz-slab countertop in this Eichler remodel. Perhaps not quite a "hack" but still I think it looks pretty slick.
As for the other "IKEA Hacks" on the site, it looks like a majority are geared more towards the dorm-crowd (not that there's anything wrong with that) but have a look around, you might just find something useful. Allen wrenches not included. :)
Read: Open to the Outdoors(Sunset.com)
Via: IKEA Hacker
This thin-striped area rug from Ruckstuhl is made from 100% pure wool and is available with black and heather or forest and persimmon stripes.
Link: Ruckstuhl
"Homes" wallpaper from Erica Wakerly is available in either black or brown on a creme background. Available in 10 meter rolls.
Link: Erica Wakerly / PrintPattern.com
Comfort and Style
Add some style to your crib/loft/home/office space with these fine chairs from Mackler Furniture. Both the Lenox Lounge Chair and the New York Arm Chair (featured at right) share subtle design cues and are available in a natural or walnut finish. Personally, I'm down with the walnut.
Link: Mackler
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Link: Link to story goes here
The American mid-century magazine lives again on the web
The archives of this iconic publication which created the Case Study House Program have been exhumed and have found new life on the web.
Pages straight from the original publication featuring the Case Study houses complete with text, images and drawings are presented in PDF format. All of the greats are there including Edward Killingsworth, Charles Eames, Eero Saarinen, Richard Neutra, Craig Ellwood, Pierre Koenig, William Wurster, etc. etc. etc.
David Travers, the second and last editor following John Entenza, is involved with the project and has written an interesting remembrance of the magazine and era. He also offers an admonishment to the contemporary architecture profession:
Architecture, which used to be serious but fun, is now serious but silly. Innovative straight line, geometrical, rational, less-is-more architecture has been replaced by novelty, by glib, zigzag, crumpled, broken, exploded and discontinuous designs, by "constructive alienation," by Bernard Tschumi. Gott in Himmelb(l)au. The avant garde in architecture has lost its way.
Yeowsa!
Link: Arts & Architecture
Related: TASCHEN Books - Case Study Houses
Modular, "low impact" temporary walls
Perfect for renters, loft-dwellers and the restless, the Nomad System (not to be confused with the Nomad Desk) is a modular system that can be assembled like a giant children's toy into free-standing sculptural screens, temporary partitions, rooms or displays without hardware, tools or alterations to existing structures. Designed by Jaime Salm & Roger Allen, the system is made from recycled, double-wall cardboard, and comes in six colors.
Nomadic lifestyles and the desire for flexible space inspired the creation of Nomad. Designed to grow and adapt to any environment and a range of applications, Nomad Architectural System translates the tools of architecture into simple modules that anyone can use.
One 24 Module Set sells for $56 and creates a 3 ft x 4.5 ft wall section.... not outrageous, but definitely an investment to create a wall of any significant size.
Link: Mio - Nomad System
Designers: Jaime Salm and Roger Allen
Via: AT
Memorial for George Yu at SCI-Arc - July 29, 2007
Link: SCI-Arc
Previously: George Yu - A letter from Thom Mayne (L+L)
Ghosts in The Communist Machine
One of my favorite movie dialogues came from 2005's Everything is Illuminated.
The story revolves around a young Jewish American (played by Elijah Wood) who ventures off to the Ukraine in search of family history. While out there he enlists the services of a tour guide (played by Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hutz). During the tour they come across an abandoned apartment complex in the middle of nowhere. Woods turns to Hutz and asks "What happened", Hutz replies after a pause "Independence". Brilliant scene.
Ironically enough a day after watching the flick for the 100th time (addicted to the soundtrack), a friend lead me to this particular site entitled Abandoned.
Compiled by a Russian photographer named Uryevich, Abandoned is an eerie collection of Russian complexes such as hospitals and apartments that had been left to rot soon after the fall of the Communist regime way back when.
Like a scene out of 28 Days, you just have to ask yourself "Where is everyone"?
Link: Abandoned
Punching the Renaissance in the Face!
Great posting over at eternallycool of current group exhibit Cracking Art that's taking place at the Cloister of Bramante in Italy until the 29th of July.
The Pink Crocs and red poodle nestled in an old world courtyard is absolute money.
Via: eternallycool
Link: Cracking Art
Inaugural launch of Orange County's Great Park
Roll on down to El Toro on Saturday, July 14, 2007, where you can get a glimpse of the future according to Ken Smith.
The City of Irvine and the Orange County Great Park Corporation are hosting the inaugural launch of the Great Park, and you are invited.
The design team for the Great Park is lead by New York City landscape architect Ken Smith. His band of merry-makers include Enrique Norten (Ten Arquitectos), Mia Lehrer, (Mia Lehrer + Associates), Buro Happold Engineers and Ecologist Stevel Handel.
Link: The Great Park Takes Flight
Link: www.greatparkballoon.org
Link: Orange County Great Park
Previously: Ken Smith in the O.C. (L+L)
Previously: Orange County Great Park (L+L)
Do it: L+L Maps - Orange County Great Park Balloon & Visitors Center
Entering the realm of the longboard culture is Canadian upstarts Boardeli Longboards.
Hailing from the most unlikeliest of longboard destinations (Edmonton, Alberta)this undettered group has compiled a roster of 15 designers worldwide to create their introductory Series 1 line. The kicker is that these will be limited run pieces at 100 along with a variant design at a low, low run of only 10!
Designers for the start-up line hail from a variety of locations such as Canada, England, Australia, U.S. and Iran. With talents like Dan May, Motomichi Nakamura, Blake Marquis and Jeff Kulak, The group should have no problem generating some decent buzz for this launch.
A small taste of Series 1 after the jump. Enjoy!
Link: Boardeli Main Site
Link: Boardeli Blog
A letter from Thom Mayne
We debated over whether we should make this letter public or not. It is an unusual letter to "print" on our site, but George Yu is an unusual person.
A few of us here at L+L had the pleasure and honor to have had George as an instructor and, briefly, as a boss. What makes George so special is that, even though he has a fantastic abundance of "starchitect" talent, he remains a super-friendly, kind, down-to-earth guy who helps out, chats over a beer, and plays roller hockey whenever he has time. This combination of talent, success, and humility is very rare in our profession, in any profession, and we would like to salute George for being an absolute class act. Thank you, Thom, for emphasizing this point.
Continue to read the letter from Thom Mayne.
Wing Lounge Chair from LYX