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.
Based in Signal Hill-California, Oddica is an online apparel company that has put great emphasis into promoting the artists and designers who've colalborated on a wide range of T-shirts.
The focal point of our company is our Artists. How they interpret a particular idea, and how that idea looks on a shirt, determines whether a customer is going to buy, plain and simple. Our job is to stay behind the curtain and seamlessly deliver the Artist's vision to our customers.
Apart from the mainstay line of t-shirts, regular contributors Joshua Smith (Hydro74) and Brian Jaramillo (beejay) are collaborating on the inaugural Year in T-Shirts book. Items included will be the top 10 T-shirts of the year, top 10 artists of the year and profiles on a number of designers and brands.
As well the group is working on a kids line for the immediate future simply titled, Oddica Kids.
A sketch competition for duilding designs in dramatic locations
This competition (sponsored by Building Design, SketchUp, et al.) "offers you the opportunity to stretch your creative mind to the full. The buildings, of course, are not going to be built - the aim is to see what you think is possible..." This is a sketch competition - not developed designs - and is open to architects, architectural technicians, students, designers and engineers.
The three sites are: the base of Mount Everest, the Niger desert, and the River Thames estuary. The three briefs will become available for download in different periods.
San Francisco Bay Area painter Laura Elisabeth Bauer creates abstract art works exploring nonobjective constructivism on canvas and sculptural forms. She counts modern masters Matisse, Miro, Mondrian, and Picasso among her influences as well as the period from 1920 through the 1950's, especially the abstract female artists Popova, Hepworth, and Hartigan.
There is a frenetic energy to her work which, to me, seems to speak of the modern world and urban/suburban landscapes which we inhabit. Yet there is a calm grounded quality and connection to the past residing in the layered complexity of her work.
She says:
I am learning that there are many ways of expressing creativity, and I remain open to continue in my exploration into the unknown. I not only enjoy looking to the past for inspiration but I also enjoy revisiting my old work and taking it a step further, using the old and integrating it with the new.
'Manolo is Gonna Have Fun' is a light hearted collaboration between designers Hector Serrano and Lola Llorca that brings a little 'tongue in cheek' humour to design.
This project takes fun to the extreme with everyday objects, combining function with amusement. Manolos products are inspired by toys and the action of playing games. Manolo is Gonna Have Fun introduces the idea of the enjoyable with the mundane.
I love their directions for the 'I Like Football' piece......
Directions:
Before use plug in.
Simply use like a normal lamp football.
For best results always follow Ronaldo’s corner taking skills.
Use only as directed. Intentional misuse can be excellent, even more fun.
Department of design culture edited by Adriean Koleric
We're amping it up L+L a bit here with a slight update to our look and feel, and the addition of a new Branch to expand our offerings.
Edmonton, Alberta based designer Adriean Koleric has been a contributor at Land+Living for some time now - and we are pleased today to announce that DesignBOT, Adriean's design blog, has joined the Land+Living network! DesignBOT will bring turn up the funk on L+L and expand our horizons with more design lifestyle, pop culture and fashion focused content.
The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design has announced the winners of the seventh annual National Design Awards. The finalists and winners will be honored at an event on October 18, 2006.
"Cooper-Hewitt is delighted to once again recognize, through the National Design Awards, some of the greatest contributions to the world of design made in recent years." Cooper-Hewitt director Paul Warwick Thompson said. "Each year, the Awards grow in scope, and this October we are introducing National Design Week, a new education initiative created to promote better understanding of the role that design plays in all aspects of our lives. During National Design Week, Cooper-Hewitt will host programs and panel discussions on design, and on our website, we will launch design education content for teachers nationwide."
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.
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.
This competition (sponsored by Building Design, SketchUp, et al.) "offers you the opportunity to stretch your creative mind to the full. The buildings, of course, are not going to be built - the aim is to see what you think is possible..." This is a sketch competition - not developed designs - and is open to architects, architectural technicians, students, designers and engineers.
San Francisco Bay Area painter Laura Elisabeth Bauer creates abstract art works exploring nonobjective constructivism on canvas and sculptural forms. She counts modern masters Matisse, Miro, Mondrian, and Picasso among her influences as well as the period from 1920 through the 1950's, especially the abstract female artists Popova, Hepworth, and Hartigan.
Kidrobot is slated to release the next series in the highly succesful Dunny line.
'Manolo is Gonna Have Fun' is a light hearted collaboration between designers Hector Serrano and Lola Llorca that brings a little 'tongue in cheek' humour to design.
We're amping it up L+L a bit here with a slight update to our look and feel, and the addition of a new Branch to expand our offerings.
The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design has announced the winners of the seventh annual National Design Awards. The finalists and winners will be honored at an event on October 18, 2006.