CA Boom has expanded from a one weekend per year design show, to offer a design and architecture tour series four Saturdays this fall in Los Angeles.
The tours will be organized in the same fashion as the tours offered during the CA Boom design exhibitions with architects and designers personally guiding attendees through the project offering insights into the design process. Confirmed architects and designers as of this posting include: Bestor Architecture, Unruh Boyer Architects + Design, Techentin Buckingham Architecture, Fing & Blatt, Space Internationall, Xten Architecture, etc. See more details after the jump.
The Works International Visual Arts Society and IDEA are bringing back the annual FROST design exhibit which is slated for early December 2006 (4th to 9th)
This time out the focus shifts from furniture design to skate and longboard design.
The objective of this year's exhibit is to focus on the skateboard/ longboard design culture. From its early history to visions of the future,*FROST will explore the many aspects of the board from graphics to accessories and its relationship with the end user.
Designers are asked to create a graphic of their choice for a blank skate deck and/or longboard deck. All submissions will be juried by IDEA and 30 skate decks and 30 longboard decks will be chosen for production.
Olive Skateboardsª will be printing the winning graphics onto their respective decks that will be displayed and sold by silent auction at *FROST2006.
Apart from the graphics component, the exhibit also has a Conceptual category where designers are asked to create outside the normal realm of skate design with items such as custom deck designs, apparel and skate environments.
Submissions are currently being accepted until September 21st with the chosen entries being named early October.
The Vine Chair by Clear, crafted from vines and resin, has a classic shape and would be at home both indoors or out. The materials in the Vine Chair also remind us a bit of the Alikudi chair by Aitali.
Chardon, Ohio based Factory 13 Experimental Skateboard Mfg. is owner Danny Creadon's vehicle to maintain a stance against corporate America.
We operate outside of corporate trends, we will never compromise style for money.
Everything from cereal bowl concaves, 8 wheelers, longboards, single kick pigs, rockers, new street shapes, custom
constructions, custom mold making, silk screening and custom artwork. Dedication to true skateboarders.
A fiercely independant entity, F13 has compiled an overwhelming portfolio of custom work both in quantity and more importantly, quality. Personally I just couldn't get over the variety of decks that Danny and his crew have created. The images we've posted for this article is nothing more than a drop in the ocean for what's come out of that shop.
Jeremy Goldkorn of Danwei provides a tour of construction in Beiging including the CCTV building by OMA, the National Theater by Paul Andreu, the National Swimming Center (Water Cube) by PTW and the Olympic Stadium by Herzog & de Meuron.
The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland has named the winners of the 2006 awards.
Awards are granted by region, including overseas, and in specific categories. 17 awards in all were granted this year, with 2 going to Kennedy Fitzgerald & Associates for their Falls Leisure Centre in Belfast. We've included a few images after the jump. Details and images for all 17 projects are provided at the RIAI website.
The OX Barstool from Canadian designer Adriean Koleric was designed with 2 objectives:
"One was to create a piece of furniture that when put in place had that feeling of a built-in / structural element within a particular environment. By placing several OX's in a row infront of a bar, one is creating an interior landscape that is simple enough not to overpower the room but rather add a clean and functional contribution.
The other and more important objective was to simply promote togetherness by providing the option of housing 2 patrons at once to either spark up a conversation about what they're sitting on or whatever else comes to mind."
The OX Barstool is constructed of 1/2" MDF and can be ordered with a custom finish.
In addition to the OX, Adriean has also instroduced the Monster Floor Lamp.
There are some kickin summer sales going on out there.
West Elm is a retailer we want to hate but can't help but love. West Elm has a rather large inventory of discounted merchandise at the moment.
Design Within Reach is currently hosting a nice summer sale. In addition to their normal selection of overstocks and discontinued items, they have a limited time page where certain merchandise is discounted.
For a limited time, of course.
There are bargains to be had at the Moma store as well. While the selection isn't quite as large, I found something I just couldn't live without. This spice grinder is coming home to live with me.
Vertical Garden Competition Winning entry by David Fletcher + Juan Azulay
The MAK Center and SCI-Arc invited thirteen emerging architecture firms and architects to design a 'vertical garden' at the Schindler House. To contend with the vertical growth of the city, a vertical garden will be designed to occupy the edges of the Schindler House property, adding a new dimension to the landscape of the low-rise Schindler House and creating a green buffer between the house and its neighbors. The Schindler House is as inseparable from its garden as it is from its condominium neighbors; the vertical garden will address this condition and posit new ideas relating to landscape, public art, urban growth, and architecture.
The proposal by David Fletcher + Juan Azulay proposes a light weight structural system enveloping the site to provide support for the growth of an organic sturctural system - strangler fig (f. petiolaris). Over time, the organic structure fuses with the non organic structure and becomes dominant.
I really wanted to like the Urban chair from IKEA, I really did. Plans were made to purchase 6 of these for our kitchen table....until I sat in one and experienced instant back pains.
It really is a good looking chair and of course at a reasonable price, but just doesn't go that extra step to be truely inviting.
The past few months in Edmonton has been filled with some serious design buzz with 4 proposals for the Alberta Gallery of Art. Submittals were from Randall Stout, Zaha Hadid, Arthur Erickson and Will Aslop with Stout coming out on top. He had a good presentation and all, but i'm still a firm believer in Alsop's. (shown here).
"Art is an image to a story. Sometimes simple, other times with purpose"
Canadian Artist Drew Sage Hunter has a solid collection of contemporary paintings. Images range from Canadiana to Star Wars to old Spaghetti westerns that all just somehow fit with one another.
I'm clearly a sucker for bright and bold colored product. But when the material is rubber as opposed to ceramic or porcelain, it's just that extra special.
Case in point is the line of rubber items from Assembly Bangkok. From a distance you think nothing of it until you get them in your hands.
Born in Canada, raised in Florida and now residing in Chicago, artist David van Alphen has a portfolio as varied as his place of origin.
Most notable for me is his Photoshift Art series that requires the simple task of cutting up photos and re-assembling them into an obscure piece of art that results in a fairly strong visual.
I also appreciate the humour added to the site with the casual bio as well as comments from his Mother and this gem from his wife......
David's creations are wonderful. If I had a reason to hire him, I would!
Be sure to also check out his Montage Art series as well. Very nice.
I just happened to stumble upon some great work by artist Deborah Grant who recently finished a solo exhibition earlier this month at Roebling Hall Art Gallery in New York.
The galleries site has a few images of Grants work which has been cleverly compared to the way a jazz musician improvises and combines irregular components into one unified composition that she describes as Random Select.
Spanish born garden designer Fernando Gonzalez is the principle and founder of Metagardens, a gardens design firm based in London. Fernando says that “the boundaries between the artificial and the organic are more blurred than ever before” and his innovative design practice seeks to address these challenges of the digital age through both built and experimental projects. Through computational techniques and an exploratory approach to design it proposes to go beyond the ordinary and conventional.
We live in a post-human environment where the relationship between the biological and the machine is more of a symbiosis than of contradiction. Our cybernetic culture sees Nature as something manufactured far away from ‘naturalistic’ theories that dream with a romantic and uncontaminated environment outside of our culture or, even worse, as a return to the past. But while the rest of the artistic disciplines are mutating to adapt to the new challenges garden design practices and theories are still based in outdated ideas incapable of dealing with the complexity of the new situation.
Call it a collaboration but just don't call it a collaboration.
Dubbed a "a 7 year experiment", SPACE 1026 is clearly turning into a succesful attempt.
Located in Philadelphia, the 2 storey building that is home to SPACE 1026 has developed into a thriving art scene that provides both studio and gallery space for the cities up and coming community of artists.
It is a network of dozens of artists who‘ve had studios at the Space, past and present. It is dozens of artists who‘ve had shows at the Space over the last 7 years. It is dozens of artists who come to our events, and participate in our community.
Space 1026 is a community - a creative community - not an institution.
The variety of work is amazing with definitely a few head turners. Especially for me is the work by Artist Rachel Vittorelli (seen above) and her series of light fixtures.
Working out of his workshop in San Francisco’s SOMA district, designer Brian Schmitt has put together a nice variety of mobiles under the appropriately titled moniker Adrift.
The mobiles come in a number of finishes including natural bamboo, amber bamboo, maple and walnut. All of which are finished with a non-toxic natural oil.
Also of note, Brian recently participated at last months HauteGREEN exhibition that showcased "the best in sustainable design".
I really like the simple and familiar forms of this outdoor furniture suite designed by Peter Brandt for Swedish furniture maker Nola. The design is basic and almost utilitarian somewhat recalling national park furniture, but with gracious proportions and details.
The line features an armchair, a round table, a rectangular table, a bench, a bench with backrest, and a bench with backrest and arms. The pieces are made of either pine finished with alkyd oil enamel or oak finished with oil.
Being a web publication, I suppose we're a bit jaded when it comes to seeing Land+Living listed on another website... like earlier this week when we were listed among A Web Design Dozen in Newsweek's design feature. Admittedly cool, but we just don't have time to jump up and down every time we see our name on the web.
But there is something about seeing your name in print... there it was today when I opened up the latest hard copy issue of Newsweek (the one with Johnny Depp right on the cover) to the Design 2006 spread.
When it comes to print, there is only so much space... so we were thrilled to be listed as one of only six websites that Newsweek chose for its print edition... right up top no less! With a screen shot! Good thing we got decked out in our new duds first... mom will be so proud.
Congrats to our compadres who were also splashed with some ink:
A social oasis in the urban environment... she's electric
Nothing to do with the UK national treasure... the London Oasis is a temporary structure on Clerkenwell Green installed as part of national Architecture Week. It is a kinetic sculpture by architect Laurie Chetwood designed to demonstrate sustainability and renewable energy while providing entertainment, a place for meeting and tranquil space for Londoners. Self-sufficiently powered by solar cells, a hydrogen fuel cell and wind, the Oasis interacts with the environment around it. Shade providing "branches" open and close in response to the weather. Enclosed pods at the base provide a place of seclusion for people to rest with "cleaner cooled air and relaxing sounds." At night the Oasis acts as a beacon in the cityscape with lights which repsond to the movements of people around it. It even uses rainwater it has collected for irrigation and cooling.
Australia’s leading exhibition for emerging designers
The free exhibition launches on 8 August at Sydney’s iconic Chifley Plaza and runs 9-19 August 2006. WORKSHOPPED differs from any other design showcase held in Australia because its main purpose is to foster promising talent and turn their ideas into a commercial reality; ready for the world stage. The exhibition will feature a range of design principles and materials including furniture, lighting, screens, installations and graphic design.
Britain's Royal Academy of Art not helping the cause.
A base consisting of a slate slab and a stick that was meant to hold up a laughing human head made by British sculptor David Hensel, was mistaken for a work of art itself.
Britain's Royal Academy of Art had recieved the base before the head and made the assumption that this was indeed worthy of displaying in their summer exhibit which was dedicated to emerging artists.
Now the real kicker to this story...the head was actually rejected while the base is actually a go! As far as we know it has yet to be accepted to exhibit along side it's prop.
With SMARTcar ROADSTER sales plummeting, Merecedes-Benz may want to take a cue from the custom jobs found over at UK based smartsRus. A site dedicated to providing sales as well as a platform for those involved in the Smart Car culture.
Established back in 2002 by Paul Holmes and Liam Wilkinson, smartsRus has quickly become a major cog in the world of SMART.
Now obviously the A-Team custom has caught my attention, but just one thing though....can I smash through a chain link fence with it ?
Here is an interesting way to look at the underlying code structure of a website. German blogger Ahref has written an app that graphically charts the hierarchy of a website's HTML tags. Shown on his site are graphs of many well known websites such as Google, CNN, Apple, etc.... pretty cool.
The Lolli Pop Chaise from Beyond Metal looks to be one of those products that has the potential to be notably cool, but might also be quickly tossed into the the clearance section at your local DWR. Based on the lack of actual product photos (their site only shows renderings), I'm guessing this has yet to see the light of day. However, just imagine if they turned this into one of those vibrating massage chairs with motors on each of those lollipops. (Hey you, get your mind out of the gutter) Depending on how the final product ends up, this could just be the perfect compliment to your Nelson Marshmallow sofa. Or not.
The Vine Chair by Clear, crafted from vines and resin, has a classic shape and would be at home both indoors or out. The materials in the Vine Chair also remind us a bit of the 
The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland has named the winners of the 2006 awards.
The OX Barstool from Canadian designer Adriean Koleric was designed with 2 objectives:
There are some kickin summer sales going on out there.
The MAK Center and SCI-Arc invited thirteen emerging architecture firms and architects to design a 'vertical garden' at the 
I'm clearly a sucker for bright and bold colored product. But when the material is rubber as opposed to ceramic or porcelain, it's just that extra special.
Spanish born garden designer Fernando Gonzalez is the principle and founder of Metagardens, a gardens design firm based in London. Fernando says that “the boundaries between the artificial and the organic are more blurred than ever before” and his innovative design practice seeks to address these challenges of the digital age through both built and experimental projects. Through computational techniques and an exploratory approach to design it proposes to go beyond the ordinary and conventional.
I really like the simple and familiar forms of this outdoor furniture suite designed by Peter Brandt for Swedish furniture maker Nola. The design is basic and almost utilitarian somewhat recalling national park furniture, but with gracious proportions and details.
Being a web publication, I suppose we're a bit jaded when it comes to seeing Land+Living listed on another website... like earlier this week when we were listed among 
Nothing to do with the UK 
The free exhibition launches on 8 August at Sydney’s iconic Chifley Plaza and runs 9-19 August 2006. WORKSHOPPED differs from any other design showcase held in Australia because its main purpose is to foster promising talent and turn their ideas into a commercial reality; ready for the world stage. The exhibition will feature a range of design principles and materials including furniture, lighting, screens, installations and graphic design.
Here is an interesting way to look at the underlying code structure of a website. German blogger Ahref has written an app that graphically charts the hierarchy of a website's HTML tags. Shown on his site are graphs of many well known websites such as Google, CNN, Apple, etc.... pretty cool.
The Lolli Pop Chaise from Beyond Metal looks to be one of those products that has the potential to be notably cool, but might also be quickly tossed into the the clearance section at your local DWR. Based on the lack of actual product photos (their site only shows renderings), I'm guessing this has yet to see the light of day. However, just imagine if they turned this into one of those vibrating massage chairs with motors on each of those lollipops. (Hey you, get your mind out of the gutter) Depending on how the final product ends up, this could just be the perfect compliment to your Nelson Marshmallow sofa. Or not.