Durfee Garden and Bartlett Court on the University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus, and the Plastic Garden
We were taken with these modern gardens by landscape architect Dean Cardasis, Associate Professor at University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the Director of the James Rose Center. The playful yet refined use of built elements of the Durfee Garden and the Plastic Garden create special outdoor spaces year-round. Bartlett Court is a contemplative garden that highlights the geology and traditions of New England with a serene style reminiscent of Japanese gravel gardens.
Link: Dean Cardasis
Visit: UMass Amherst
The design submitted by Friedrich St.Florian, an architect based in Providence, R.I., was selected from a group of six semi-finalists in an open, national competition.
A fantastic Pacific Northwest garden full of birch, locust, and fir trees, placed first in the 11th-annual Pacific Northwest Competition for Home Gardeners out of a field of 94 entrants.
We have been looking at these images for some time, but it didn't click until yesterday when we came across a photo tour of Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation. The Morphosis design seems to us to take many cues from Corbu; the plan for Algiers also came to mind. Thus we decided to 
"The fishbowl home, where it's really easy to look inside, is becoming more common as buttoned-up cottages buffered with frontyards are being replaced by glass-paneled homes that press up to the property line. Meanwhile, the people peering in have become even more curious about what goes on in these houses, say behaviorists who study those on both sides of the window."
Driving around LA, we've certainly seen our share of converted Taco Bells. 
Time Magazine's Style & Design issue asks the question, "How retro can you go?" They present several articles touching on America's current fascination with mid-century design, prefab homes, and Ingvar Kamprad.
From the Seattle Times Magazine, Pacific Northwest, comes this article about a couple remodeling their 1939 home in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood.
Stumbling about again today, this time over at Hyperkit, we found this nice little feature. Hyperkit spent 3 days in Marseille at the Unité d’Habitation designed by Le Corbusier (1947-1952). The pictures show some wonderful views of the building including the sculptural rooftop "garden." The Unité was designed to be a self contained urban village, and is but a piece of Le Corbusier's idea for modern city living, the Cité Radieuse.
Over at Designboom, we stumbled across this fantastic poster. It has been in production for quite some time, but we still think it's pretty cool. It features everything from early Egyptian and Chinese folding stools, to contemporary chairs by James Irvine, and just about everything in between. 196 chairs in total.
"Tokyo Pop is a family of seating of single-block polyethylene, made possible by a rotational plastic production technique which allows for its complex hollow form. The design, modified from its original model of paper honeycomb, maintains an organic shape consistent with an imprint of the human body. The four versions are well suited for both indoor and outdoor use and are available in an ivory similar to th ehue in rice paper, gray-green or orange. An upholstered version for indoor use is available in various shades of wool."
We like the fluid forms and tactile quality of this line of furnishings including some pieces suitable for outdoor use.
"The Waterwall modular system is a rainwater storage solution for urban households. A slim line tank design, each unit is only 330 mm deep and yet holds 1200 litres of water. The beauty of the design lies in the ability to connect any number of tanks together. Not only does this increase storage capacity dramatically, the interconnected tanks can be used as a fence, as a dividing wall in a garden, or fit neatly in a narrow sideway. This gives even a small city yard substantial water storage capabilities."
"The Labyrint screen wall series is a room divider for many different areas. Labyrint was designed by Danish Pelikan Design in 1992.
The Chelsea Flower Show is the premier garden show in the United Kingdom and features talented landscape and garden designers from around the world. Designs are showcased in a series of garden categories, and landscapers take the opportunity to show off inventive ideas and to highlight everything from sustainability to low-allergy gardening.
"In loose change, you see a couch. In pieces of show leather, a chair. In jars, a chandelier. These are all visions turned into reality by Johnny Swing. and his Obsessive Furniture line. Taking common, everyday materials and re-purposing them, Johnny Swing has created practical art that is as stunning to view as it is stimulating to use.
One of the things we've admired when grabbing lunch at Chipotle is the simple interiors they have in their restaurants. Materials such as concrete, wood, stainless steel, exposed conduit, corrugated aluminum, and old-school pull-chain porcelin light fixtures. Perhaps they've taken the typical "let's make this look like an artist's loft" approach to their design (on their behalf, what project these days doesn't use at least some of those materials?) but for a fast food restaurant, we like what they're doing. Rip out the dining tables and chairs, throw in some furniture, and hell, I'd live there. Also, we didn't know this but according to their website, each Chipotle interior and exterior is unique.
"The intrigue of this piece lies in the interplay of convex and concave forms that produce a unique undulating form. The hinges are placed at the top and bottom of the panels creating a sliver of uninterrupted space between the panels. The screen is modular. We recommend a minimum of six leaves but any number greater than two is possible. This is a great piece to section off a space or to provide a sculptural element within a room."
The Kings Road Group offers faithful reproductions of California modernist architect R.M. Schindler's revolutionary redwood designs from the 1920's. These simple pieces were originally designed for Schindler's own residence on Kings Road in Los Angeles.
"Before excavating, Barry and I decided exactly where the LV Home would be built. We chose a knoll with southern exposure. We marked the trees that needed to come down and staked out the building's rough location with rebar. Since we wanted the LV Home to 'float' on the ground per Rocio's design, we were faced with a problem. The building site is on a hill with a 7-foot slope. We wanted to keep the natural landscape of the knoll undisturbed. So we chose to level the hill where the house will sit and terrace the remainder of the hill. This was a risky decision because we didn't know if the excavator would hit rock..and there's plenty of rock!"
"Show your friends and bill collectors your devotion to design with the recently-released Isamu Noguchi stamps from the US Post Office."
Earlier this month, we featured an 
The architecture community website started in 1997 by Paul Petrunia lanched a redesigned site today.
"META means “right in the center” and META is right in the center of a metamorphosis thanks to its innovative modular system. It formulates a progressive statement in its objective formal language. A geometric order of long-lasting value."
"True Sustainability - We believe that true sustainability strikes a balance between process and materials to make a minimal impact on the environment. To achieve this, we take
painstaking care in our choice of materials, the process by which fabrics are made, and even how our interior furnishings go to market. We also use water-based inks, recycled paper stock and FSC (forestry stuardship council) approved paper products for our printed material."
We like the simple materials and delicate lines of the Deckhopper, an adjustable lounge chair for use indoors or out. Claerhout has also designed several accessory pieces which vary from the practical (Side Table) to the whimsical (Lightsprinkler).
"This innovative product cools water to twelve to fifteen degrees below room temperature, or retains the chill in previously refridgerated water, through the natural evaporative process of terra cotta. For centuries terra cotta has been used for decorative pottery as well as to create utilitarian vessels for food and water. Made of all natural materials, the terra cotta carafe leaches no harmful chemicals into your drinking water. Comes complete with a matching, non-porous plastic, drip tray and cap. 4"dx9"h,2.5 lbs. There is a plastic stopper and there is a plastic tray. Since it is Terra Cotta it will leach."
"Chef is Driade's kitchen project. Started in 1978, it has been constantly updated by Antonia Astori. The number of possible combinations and variety of fittings provide a full range of possible solutions from kitchenettes, through solutions integral with living spaces, to large professional kitchens. Although Chef divides into 2 programmes of differing aesthetic and structural characteristics, the two can be readily combined: Kucina has developed from a virtually infinite modular system. It consists of bases, wall and tall units, with matching hanging bar and other wallfittings. Fuoko is a collection of bases, wall and free standing units which, as definitive furniture can also be employed as individual pieces in their own right. These can be used freely grouped between them, individually or in blocks. They have aluminium structures, standing on levelling feet or on wheels."
We stumbled across this website tonight. There isn't much info on the site describing the products, but some of the pieces look fantastic. Among the collections are tables, seating, storage, and sofas.
"Knock, knock. The Green Matrix has you, Neo." Sorry... bad, bad, bad.
"Landscape architecture today is one of the most active and revolutionary areas of design. With environmental awareness at an all-time high, landscape designers are reshaping our surroundings, from small-scale private gardens to large-scale public squares. Drawing on a broad palette of ideas and concepts, and presenting entirely new ways of seeing, interpreting, and designing a "landscape," the book is organized into seven themes that comprise today's most important issues and techniques: light and color, movement, order and objects, interaction, new contexts, urban interventions, and narrative. Each chapter is illustrated with works by such internationally known designers and architects as Fernando Caruncho, Adriaan Geuze, Janis Hall, Reiser + Umemoto, Peter Walker, and Makoto Sei Watanabe."
Are you suffering from Frank Gehry withdrawals? Not to fear, his projects are still sprouting up everywhere these days.
"Agape was formed in 1973 with a specific mission: the design of fittings for the bathroom. The proved to be a far-sighted decision, as the bathroom was at the time relegated to minor status within the home, a space characterised by the presence of utilitarian sanitary fixtures, only occasionally lightened by decorative touches in the design of ceramic tiles.
"Gargantua is a multifunctional piece of garden furniture, made of durable materials: galvanised metal, stainless steel and teak.
Here's a little project for you to tackle this weekend: The Sunset Chair. Not too sure about the little decorative diamond shaped cutouts on the chair back... we're thinking of just skipping that step. Designed by architect Stephen Kanner for Sunset Magazine.
Los Angeles interior designer Jackie Terrell and her Park La Brea apartment featured in the Home section of the LA Times.
"The tea lantern by Todd MacAllen and Stephanie Forsythe is clearly a model of product design in the great tradition of Mies and Jacobsen. The Canadian designers have used latest glass technology to create a transparent teapot with an integral vacuum jacket, which conserves heat and allows the simple cylinder to be picked up by hand."
Lounge chair with matte chromed steel frame. Curved seat and arms in plywood, blanched oak or oak stained dark walnut.
"From 1908–1940, Sears, Roebuck and Company sold more than 100,000 homes through their mail-order Modern Homes program. Over that time Sears designed 447 different housing styles, from the elaborate multistory Ivanhoe, with its elegant French doors and art glass windows, to the simpler Goldenrod, which served as a quaint, three-room and no-bath cottage for summer vacationers. (An outhouse could be purchased separately for Goldenrod and similar cottage dwellers.) Customers could choose a house to suit their individual tastes and budgets."
"We come from two generations of kitchen manufacturing. and have designed thousands of these spaces. We can provide cabinetry to meet any material specification; woods, lacquers, and laminates- anything imaginable- as well as any countertop material available on the market."
"I really can't believe that we ever survived before this device was invented, but here it is:
"Modernist quilting," who knew there was such a thing? "Traditional craft meets minimalist design."
"The Rematerialise vision is to compile and maintain a versatile collection of 'Eco-Smart' materials, which by their very
nature provide a range of environmentally responsible alternatives to other resource hungry materials. By tapping into
both post-consumer and post-industrial waste streams, scrap and refuse otherwise destined for landfill is recycled and
reused which reduces waste and maybe more importantly saves natural resources. It is unfortunate that many of
these often-exciting new materials never make it into the wider market place and are tragically discontinued. Due to
a lack of demand they just disappear!"
"The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected 10 examples of architectural and "green" design solutions that protect and enhance the environment. The selected projects address significant environmental challenges with designs that integrate architecture, technology, and natural systems. The top ten projects make a positive contribution to their community, improve comfort for building occupants, and reduce environmental impacts through strategies such as: reuse of existing structures, connection to transit systems, low-impact site development, energy and water conservation, use of "green" construction materials, and design that improves indoor air quality."
"For the Carte Blanche collection, Venlet created a mobile desk-seat, a place of retreat where users can withdraw to with their laptop, mobile phone, etc …
Do you live in LA? Do you want to cut down on cooling costs? Did you know the the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power has a program where they will give you free shade trees?
Yeah, so it's obvious we read Dwell. Often. Both print and online. So I'm not sure how I missed this from the Dwell forum, but here ya go.
"For several years, we have been interested in modern prefab architecture. Barry gave me a copy of Arieff & Burkhart's book PREFAB for Christmas, 2002. When I saw Rocio Romero's LV Home, I knew if we ever built a prefab house, it would be the LV Home. I had also just finished documenting a 1960's house designed by Richard Neutra...I became enthralled by modernity."
Michael from FabPreFab.com has posted images of the finished Glidehouse that was on show at the Sunset Celebration this past weekend in Menlo Park.
"Packed with full-color photos, easy-to-read charts and information, this reference and how-to book is for anyone interested in dry-climate plants from California to Texas.
Plants for Dry Climates offers complete descriptions of more than 300 species, including a variety of low-maintenance and drought-resistant plants. Over 430 color photographs and useful plant charts help you choose your annuals, perennial color, ground cover and trees."
Continuing our theme of regional newspaper magazines, the Seattle Times Magazine, Pacific Northwest, has a write up on the city's stunning new library.
And on the left coast, the weekend's edition of The Los Angeles Times Magazine is dedicated to the swimming pools. (No photos in the online version... get with it, LA Times.) Among the articles are:
This weekend's edition of the The New York Times Magazine is dedicated to Landscape architecture. Among the articles are:
"The [Washington Post] magazine's Spring Home and Design issue explores the theme of less is more: An avid collector learns to let go of years of treasures, an Annapolis couple downsizes from a 6,000-square-foot house to a boat and a renovation of a school into a residence shows the success of a clear, strict vision."
One of the themes I've noticed while lurking on the forums over at 
"Charles Eames (1907-78) and Ray Eames (1912-88) gave shape to America's twentieth century. Their lives and work represented the nation's defining social movements: the West Coast's coming-of-age, the economy's shift from making goods to the producing information, and the global expansion of American culture. The Eameses embraced the era's visionary concept of modern design as an agent of social change, elevating it to a national agenda. Their evolution from furniture designers to cultural ambassadors demonstrated their boundless talents and the overlap of their interests with those of their country. In a rare era of shared objectives, the Eameses partnered with the federal government and the country's top businesses to lead the charge to modernize postwar America."
"The ReUse People of California reduces the solid waste stream and changes the way the built environment is renewed by salvaging building materials and distributing them for reuse."
As one of the last surviving architects of the Case Study House program, Killingsworth, 86, is a quiet hero in the architectural community. His whole career he has consistently been stable, modest, thorough and relatively unknown in comparison to his Southern California contemporaries. Along with well-known figures such as Richard Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, Pierre Koenig, Craig Ellwood and Raphael Soriano, he was one of a handful of optimistic, social-minded architects who tested unconventional concepts of plan, form and structure in residential architecture. Conceived by John Entenza, the editor of Arts and Architecture magazine, the Case Study Houses provided affordable yet progressive prototypes for living.
"Greenwood Gardens is a new nonprofit, public garden located in Short Hills, New Jersey, approximately twenty miles west of New York City. Since the early twentieth century, the twenty-two acre Greenwood Gardens has been a private retreat of formal Italianate gardens graced with colorful Arts and Crafts tiles, mossy pebbled walks and vistas stretching into the lush surroundings of South Mountain Reservation."
"BARNSLEY, England (Reuters) -- A British man has covered up his lewd garden gnomes with painted-on swimwear after police warned him he faced arrest for causing public offense."
"Sure, it seems crazy dropping cash to spruce up a place you rent, especially when you plan to move, well, one of these years, after you've saved enough dough for a down payment. But where is it written that just because you live lease to lease, you have to put up with peeling paint, closet doors that don't close, refrigerators that reek -- or even a dusty, desolate, debris-strewn excuse for a yard?"
The prefabricated Glidehouse by architect Michelle Kaufmann is being featured at the 
"All KEIM Liquid Mineral Coatings are harmless to the environment. They are not a health hazard and contain no organic solvents or toxic substances."
"A wriggly earth bank set around three sinuous ponds, which transformed a flat patch of scrubby grass in front of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, last night won the £100,000 Gulbenkian museums prize, the richest single prize in the arts."
A level is one of those items that's always a part of our weekend projects. I don't think I'd want to make it part of my formal evening projects, but if I did, I think these cufflinks are just the way I'd do it.
"In 1953 he began building one of his most significant designs, the Rose residence in Ridgewood, New Jersey (which is now open to the public, see link below). The design clearly expresses Rose's idea of fusion between indoor and outdoor space as well as his notion that modern environmental design must be flexible to allow for changes in the environment, as well as in the lives of its users."
"Created in the 1960s, this often overlooked urban gem is still a work of artistry and breathtaking vistas."
"Taking an outdoor shower can be so refreshing––and with this shower, it’s so easy! Just attach a garden hose to enjoy open-air bathing. Perfect for spa lovers or for cleaning up the kids after playing outdoors, the shower is made of striking yet sturdy nyatoh wood, a fine-textured Indonesian redwood. Its sleek, simple design features a large wood base, handy soap tray, easy-to-turn knob, adjustable pole and showerhead in brushed chrome finish."
"Guided by this principle, McDonough and Braungart explain how products can be designed from the outset so that, after their useful lives, they will provide nourishment for something new. They can be conceived as "biological nutrients" that will easily reenter the water or soil without depositing synthetic materials and toxins. Or they can be "technical nutrients" that will continually circulate as pure and valuable materials within closed-loop industrial cycles, rather than being "recycled" -- really, downcycled -- into low-grade materials and uses. Drawing on their experience in (re)designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, McDonough and Braungart make an exciting and viable case for putting eco-effectiveness into practice, and show how anyone involved with making anything can begin to do so as well."
"At a ceremony May 6 in Boston, Metropolis named Single Speed Design as the winner of the magazine's first Next Generation Design Prize. In front of their peers and colleagues, the members of the architecture firm—John Hong, Erik Carlson, and Jinhee Park, along with their collaborator, developer Paul Pedini—were honored for their proposal to transform remnants from the Big Dig, Boston’s $15 billion public works project, into beautiful, sustainable housing."
"Green. It conjures images of a meadow in spring for some, and the color of money for others. What does "green" have to do with our homes? In essence, green building-or sustainable building-means being smart about how we use energy, water, and building materials so that we can live well without needlessly damaging the environment. Creating a good green home isn't just about conservation, about using less or saving more-although that's certainly part of it. It's about creating better homes that are easier on the environment, less expensive over the long term, and more delightful to come home to. That's the message Jennifer Roberts wants to share in Good Green Homes, the ultimate guide for people who want to live in comfortable, healthy, environmentally conscious homes."
German based Dedon offers several collections of contemporary hand woven wickerwork furniture covered with Hularo® fiber. Hularo is a "synthetic fibre, comining the best characteristics of natural materials with the advantages of innovative technology."
"Lotusland is a unique 37-acre estate and botanic garden situated in the foothills of Montecito to the east of the city of Santa Barbara. The gardens now covering the estate were created by Madame Ganna Walska, who owned the property from 1941 until her death in 1984. Before her death, Madame Walska established the nonprofit Ganna Walska Lotusland Foundation, which now preserves this unrivaled botanical treasure."
A small design/build landscape firm in the Los Angeles area that does some interesting work. And check this out... sounds like it could have been written by Land+Living:
"Taking a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway in California presents magnificent views of the coastline as you weave back and forth amongst the hills. One can expect rolling hills, breaking waves, and steep, rocky cliffs but, perhaps less expectedly, one can also stumble upon man-made parts of the landscape that seem to harmonize naturally. One such example is the Glass Residence in Big Sur. Daniel Piechota of Sagan Piechota Architects explains that this residence which is 90 percent glass impedes as little as possible with its surroundings and is a house 'one experiences from the inside out.'"
"A product line with uncomplicated shapes and sophisticated use of materials redefines the countertop island with simple, yet innovative solutions. The traditional wall kitchen is interpreted with contemporary taste by using highly functional modular components and today's latest appearance solutions."
"Manufacturing a greenhouse / household appliance is an original, useful idea that is in no way odd. Made of steel and tempered glass, Serra Domestica by Smeg offers a new way to enjoy greenery in one’s home. In the Serra Domestica, aromatic herbs can be planted in pots, along with cactus plants and green and flowering plants that are acclimatized to an apartment. Temperature, humidity and luminosity sensors recreate environments that are suitable for the growth and upkeep of plants of all types, whether extant or seedlings. A special function allows the user to heat the earth in the pots, thus making it easier for cuttings to take root. Serra Domestica can be placed on any top or on its own pedestal."
"The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced the recipients of its 2003 Professional Awards. Of the 436 entries submitted, the nine-member jury selected 33 projects to receive awards. The awards were presented during the ASLA Annual Meeting, October 30-November 3, in New Orleans."
The rising cost and decreased quality of lumber for traditional "stick" framing is forcing the construction industry in the United States to look towards alternative materials and methods. This flexible concrete finish system has many benefits.
"Rashid was born in Cairo and raised in London and Toronto. With a career that began at age nineteen, Rashid is now forty and the author of more than five hundred product designs, ranging from coat racks to mailboxes, perfume packaging to lighting, tableware to high fashion. His Garbo trashcan has become a design icon, with more than two million units sold. His extraordinary commercial success has been mirrored by critical acclaim. His work is in the collections of museums worldwide, including The Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and The Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts." "Among the projects featured in this book are those designed for Nambe, Sony, Issey Miyake, Umbra, Tommy Hilfiger, Leonardo, Yahoo!, and many more. This, the first comprehensive book on his designs, has been written and designed in collaboration with Rashid and includes essays by a stellar list of contributors."
"The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) unveiled plans for a Frank Gehry-designed building that will expand the total space of the museum by 20 percent or 190,000 square feet over its present 486,000. Gehry's $194.8 million scheme is part of Transformation AGO, a $500 million initiative to invigorate the institution with new art, a new building, and a new push for greater public visibility. Groundbreaking is scheduled for early 2005 with completion by 2007."
Sculptor Adam Distenfeld uses reclaimed rock from construction projects in New York City for his creations; custom fountains and sculptures for indoor and outdoor spaces.
"Rift sawn white oak framed table with reversible top. Top is rift sawn white oak on one side and white high pressure laminate on the other. The table top rotates easily and it locks into place with a steel tube. It's a perfect multifunctional solution to get the most out of your space."
"A square-shaped armchair with epoxy powder coated steel frame. The seat was made by hand-plaiting 650 metres of cotton-covered acrylic cord. The deliberately irregular plaiting makes the padding even more comfortable."
"Free by Babel lends every bathtub a level of aesthetic experience never seen before. An innovation: the translucent non-reinforced acrylic, which allows the bathtub to shine with a new radiance. As a contrast, fine wood. The intelligent solution of the wall adapter means that the tub can be fitted at any time. Free by Babel: new freedom for bathroom interiors. Also available as a fitted bathtub with whirl systems."
Dan Hill reposted his sketches of Gehry's Guggenheim:
Made from Ipe (a high quality sustainable wood), stainless steel and natural composite materials, Modern Outdoor has three lines of chairs, tables, benches, carts and planters.
The Netherlands has been leading the charge in the world of architecture over the last several years, and the landscape work of this firm is right out in front as well producing some of the most interesting contemporary landscapes.
"Simplicity and rounded edges reveal the distinctive stamp of James Irvine, while the bentwood frame of this chair spells out Thonet. A660 stands on a polished aluminium base - your choice of disc or cross - on which an aluminium bracket is mounted. Polyester netting covers the continuous beech frame resting on this bracket. The chair is available with and without armrests, and the frame can be colour-stained or varnished. Seat height is 46 cm, chair width 51 cm. Irvine has clearly swept Thonet into the 21st century."
"Ecoshack (Headed by SCI-Arc faculty member Stephanie Smith) is sponsoring a competition to design an environmentally sustainable camping shelter - a 'green' tent - that explores nature, culture and experience. Open to anyone with innovative ideas inspired by Southern California's 'green' lifestyle. Winners will be prototyped on a 5-acre site in Joshua Tree, California."
"Rob slewe designed BLOOM! for the new terrace of the Parnassia beach pavillion in the Dutch seaside resort of Bloemendaal. BLOOM! is characterised by its simple but classy design and versatility: a flowerpot doubling as light! Its cleverly designed dimensions make BLOOM suitable not only for flowers and plants indoors as well as outdoors, but also for use at (garden) parties, filled with ice to chill champagne or other mixed drinks, for example.
The double-walled, waterproof flowerpot is made of high-grade plastic. Inside the pot are two 11 watt energy-saving light bulbs that can be connected to both outdoor and indoor lighting systems."
Clever designs for the home by Nicolette Brunklaus. Those Dutch know how to design, don't they?
"Nationwide our modern built landscapes are in danger. The designs of Lawrence Halprin, a leader in landscape architecture for decades, are particularly vulnerable at this time. Halprin recently received the National Endowment for the Arts gold medal from the President Bush. Despite this national recognition for design excellence, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts included demolition of Halprin's sculpture garden in its $100-million building expansion plan designed by London-based architect Rick Mather."
Hanging lamp from moooi. Made from epoxy and fiberglass.
Elaine Louie of the NY Times writes:
FlapFlap - floating lamp
The gardens and landscape of the Getty Center are easily the largest and most easily accessible example of contemporary landscape design in the Los Angeles area, if not the western United States.
"A fascinating piece in Metropolis about The Ironwork Lofts, a rather dismal collection of executive homes in Colorado masquerading as pseudo factories, canneries and warehouses. The architects responsible are Terra Verde, who are seemingly able to turn their hand to anything, from the style that should be known as Prairie Golf, through to Neo Adobe and Steroidal Ranch. The developers, Cornerstone Homes ('we build livable art'), have identified a niche - people who want the space and style of city living without the actual city."
"Although it's 'currently on home trial,' (so don't expect to purchase it anytime soon) this Dyson DC06 robotic vacuum cleaner looks to humiliate all the Roombas and Electrolux robots currently out there eating up cat hair with its 'Dual-Cyclone' action. I'm not sure how I feel about a powerful sucking robot having a 'mood indicator light,' though. Nice robot. Gentle robot. No dreamin' of the overmind for you, love."
Construction of the Dwell Home - a design contest sponsored by Dwell Magazine back in 2003 - is nearing completion. The contest winning home was designed by Resolution 4 and is expected to be completed mid-2004.
Jennifer Siegal's Office of Mobile Design (OMD) has designed two prefabricated lines of modular dwellings, and has begun production of the "Portable House."
"Since Edith Heath became the first non-architect to win the prestigious AIA Gold Medal Award for the exterior tile on Pasadena's Norton Simon museum, Heath tile has been known for its high quality and design leading aesthetics. Heath tile stands out for the handcrafted feel of its glazes that contrasts with the crisp modern lines of its shapes."
"Designed by Anders Nørgaard this wine rack can also be considered as furniture due to its beautiful, sculptural shape. The wine rack can hold up to 18 wine bottles and minimalistic in its design, the wine bottles themselves form part of the design. The wine rack is made from polished aluminium."
"DURAT is a polyester-based solid surface material that withstands wear, humidity and chemicals. It is used to create various furniture surfaces for restaurants, cafés, shops, hotels, ships, domestic and institutional kitchens, bathrooms and public sanitary facilities. DURAT contains recycled plastics and is 100% recyclable."
"One of the central figures in modern landscape architecture, Garrett Eckbo (b. 1910) has been a major influence in the field during an active career spanning five decades. While most of the early American designers concentrated on the private garden and the corporate landscape, Eckbo's work demonstrated innovative design ideas in a social setting. This engagement with social improvement has stayed with Eckbo throughout his life, distinguishing both his intentions and achievements, from his early work for the Farm Security Administration to his partnerships (including one of the most prominent landscape firms in the world, Eckbo, Dean, Austin, and WilliamsEDAW) and his years as chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. In an elegant and detailed book that includes more than 100 of Eckbo's designs, Marc Treib examines the aesthetic formation of Eckbo's manner, and by implication the broader field of landscape architecture since the 1930s. Dorothe Imbert writes about Eckbo's social vision, including his belief that ultimately, landscape design is the "arrangement of environments for people." The book also contains a biographical and professional chronology and a complete bibliography of publications by and about Garrett Eckbo."
David Trubridge is one of New Zealand's best-known designers of contemporary furniture. He has designed some very nice indoor/outdoor pieces, and we like his general philosophy.
"The big challenge facing many homeowners is how to make more out of less space, an issue that has been beautifully resolved in this house. Michael Collins and Daniel Banchik purchased what was a nondescript cottage on a small lot in West Hollywood, California, because they loved its location near art galleries. But they wanted a more functional, contemporary interior that connected easily to the outdoors, and, according to architect Patrick Tighe, the home's construction was substandard."
You can not only adjust the height of this clever little light fixture by Swiss designers Caroline Felix and Valentin Brun, but also the length as well.
"For many, the idea of prefab may bring to mind trailers and other less desirable images of housing. Instead, the new prefab is becoming the inevitable next step to 'cool' housing as home buyers look for distinctive yet reasonably priced first and second homes. One in six new houses today is a prefab and 400,000 units are now produced in the U.S. each year. More than 50% of all homes are constructed in whole or in part by using building systems -- modular, panelized components produced in quality controlled environments. This exploration of the best prefabricated houses on the market today, from all over the world, along with a resource directory on how you can purchase them, is an invaluable reference for those interested in this alternative."
"Based on original copyrighted designs, Emma Gardner's rugs are handmade using two different techniques according to their characteristics and best expression: hand-knotting and hand-tufting. Most of the designs are hand-drawn. Some are then painted in gouache, while others are enhanced or colored on the computer. Once a line of designs has been created, several color ways are developed for each rug using the harmonious color palette created for the overall line giving multiple dimensions to each of the design concepts."
"The 'Slim' is Acme Made's new bag/sleeve hybrid designed specifically for Apple PowerBooks, iBooks and other high end laptops including Sony, Dell, Toshiba, HP and Gateway. The streamlined design allows the Slim to be inserted into another bag or carried with or without its removable shoulder strap."
"Inspiring look at contemporary (1968) post war modernist residential design in Japan. Unsurpassed reference for the integration of Japanese and Western design sensibilities. Masters at indoor-outdoor architecture, these modernist Japanese architects show great attention to these relationships. The result is an invaluable reference for both architects and landscape architects. Includes the following chapters: Skylights and Inner Gardens, House and Atelier for a Painter, House Near the Fields, One Room Houses, In the Old Tradition, House on the Bluff, Town Dwelling, House for Actors, House for Actors, House with a Closed Front, House of Brick and Chestnut, Concrete Box for the City, House with Laminated Beams, Suburban House, Weekend House, House with Fir Trees, On Stilts in the Mountains, The House Called Moby Dick, Variation on the Classic Style, Split-Level Country House, Cliff House by the Sea. There are 2 books in this series. This is Volume 2."
The Farnsworth House, built by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1951 and located near Plano, Illinois, is one of the most famous examples of modernist domestic architecture and was considered unprecedented in its day.
The Groovetube is simply a translucent plastic box that suction cups to the screen of your television. It has a grid of dividers inside it that diffuse the colors from your T.V. producing an amazing colorful abstraction of anything you watch.
"New from InterfaceFLOR comes a refreshing idea for your floors. It’s called FLOR™. A modular carpet flooring system, that is uniquely versatile, practical, and beautiful. With Flor you can create your own rugs of any size, install it wall-to-wall, or mix and match FLOR for endless possibilities."