Category Archives: Just Plain Cool

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Mimolimit: Czech Architects

Architecture, Office Design, Interior Design PragueRestaurant Design, Architecture, PraguePrague Architects, Restaurant and Cafe designClick to enlarge

Led by architect-designer Barbora Skorpilova since 2001, Mimolimit is an architecture and interior design firm based in Prague. I really enjoyed viewing all the projects on their site. From cafés and restaurants to residential and office buildings, all their projects have a funky quality to them, combining different materials to create interesting textures and contrasts. Many of the projects have a mod look to them, but the color palettes range from bright colors to muted ones and all equally successfully. Above are but a few of Mimolimit’s cafés and commercial spaces. If you like what you see, be sure to check out their site for more.

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eCLOUD

art installation, interactive artart installation, interactive artart installation, interactive artClick to enlarge

The eCloud is a digital sculpture designed by UeBersee as a permanent installation for the Norman Y. Mineta International Airport in San José, California. The thousands of small square panels of electrically switchable laminated plexiglass act as pixels which imitate the behavior, as well as the volume, of an idealized cloud. The plexiglass (or Smart Glass) has the ability to graduate opacity with the transmission of an electrical charge. The panels are opaque in their neutral state and can become transparent with the charge.

108ft long and 16ft wide, the panels are arranged to simulate a cloud suspended from the ceiling from a tensile structure. The animations that move through the eCloud are based on actual weather data via a live feed of conditions for all airports in the U.S. (see bottom photo.) You can see a video of the eCloud in action below.


(indirectly) via LovelyPackage
Photos: Spencer Lowell

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Kader Attia: Ghost

installation art, contemporary artGhost, a large installation by the French artist, of Algerian descent, Kader Attia, displays a roomful of Muslim women in prayer. The bodies are rendered as empty shells and hoods made of tin foil, not coincidentally a standard disposable domestic material. These figures become at once alien and futuristic. Bowing in shimmering meditation, their ritual is equally seductive and hollow, questioning modern ideologies – from religion to nationalism and consumerism – in relation to individual identity, social perception, devotion and exclusion. Attia’s Ghost evokes contemplation of the human condition as vulnerable and mortal.

Attia’s work explores questions of community, diversity, belonging and exile. There is an emotional, as well as sympathetic, impact in all of his work.

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Ineke Hans: CITO Tree

Ineke Hans, a designer and artist in the Netherlands, recently designed a tree light sculpture for the entrance of CITO’s building, a leading testing and assessment company.

The tree stands 12 meters tall and acts as a symbol for growth and the acquisition of knowledge. It changes colors throughout the day, and night, and acts as the “heart” in the center of the building. I especially like how it works in perfectly with the reflection of the trees in the glass from across the street.

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Have a Nice Day: Jennis Li Cheng Tien

Digital Art WatercolorArt Digital Art WatercolorClick to enlarge

Berlin-based, Taiwanese artist Jennis Li Cheng Tien’s online personal project Have a Nice Day is a work in progress where she takes lost images from the internet and reprocesses them with digital filters distorting them to create somewhat eerie and ethereal images. A very interesting effect, I think.

You can see more of the Have a Nice Day series here, and more of Li Cheng Tien’s other artwork here.

via LanciaTrendVisions

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Bernard Khoury

Cool residential architecture in Lebanon Bernard KhouryCool Residential Architecture LebanonBernard Khoury Plot 4328 ResidenceClick to enlarge

Built into a steep slope in Kfederbian, Lebanon, is a steep sloped double residence home designed by Bernard Khoury, a Beirut-based architect with many dynamic projects to his name. This residence, entitled Plot 4328, works very nicely with the topography that surrounds it. The central staircase on the southern façade (which also acts as the house’s roof) leads up to the pool which is surrounded by glass permitting a spectacular view. The two residences below are symmetrical and I like the way the skylights work into the staircased façade, creating texture to the surface and allowing light in to the individual apartments.

Pretty fabulous all the way around.

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Ayse Erkmen

Ayse Erkmen Art InstallationArt Installations Turkey GermanyAyse Erkmen Bluish Art InstallationGermany-based Turkish artist Ayse Erkmen has been creating interesting installations for years. She is currently exhibiting a piece called Plan B in the Turkish Pavillion at the Venice Biennale. Earlier this year she had a show, On Its Own, at Rampa in Istanbul that at its center featured the above, quite dramatic, orange seat belt installation, Easy Jet.

Erkmen is impressively prolific and all her work is worth a look, but above is a sampling.

From top to bottom:
Easy Jet – Rampa, Istanbul, 2011
Gezeiten – Weggefaehrten, Berlin, 2008
Tidvatten – Konsthall Magasin, Stockholm, 2004
The Gap – Kontracom06, Salzburg, 2006 (love this!)
9’45”- Kunsthalle Museum, Kassel, Germany, 1999 (a long corridor whose rear wall moves slowly towards the viewer, electronically, and the procedure lasts nine minutes and forty-five seconds, hence the name.)
Bluish – Kunstuerien Freiburg, Freiburg, 2009

You can see more of Ayse Erkmen’s work on her site as well as additional work at Rampa’s site.

via ArtAsiaPacific

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Carlotta de Bevilacqua: Truly Illuminated

LED Lamps Rothko Artemide collabcubedCarlotta de Bevilacqua Lighting Design Rothko LED LampsClick to enlarge

When it comes to design, Carlotta de Bevilacqua, along with the rest of her studio, apparently does it all: architecture; industrial; graphic; and lighting. Granted, it all stems back to the lighting, which, I might add, is quite spectacular: from the lamps and the illumination of interiors, to shops, exhibitions and beyond.

In an earlier post I had mentioned that some of Leo Villareal’s works had a Rothkoesque quality to them. Coming across Bevilacqua’s site, I discovered that she has designed a series of lamps for Artemide with a similar LED effect that are, in fact, titled Rothko and Rothko Terra! How amazing would it be to have one of these in your home?

But truly, everything on Milan-based Studio Carlotta de Bevilacqua’s site is quite beautiful. She has collaborated with Zaha Hadid on her installation Twirl for the Interni Mutant Architecture & Design exhibit (the three photos in the center) this past winter, as well as with architect Jean Nouvel on his proposed design for the New Qatar National Museum.

Bevilacqua has designed a bunch of Artemide and Euroluce showrooms, which are lovely, and several of which include the tracking of light embedded in the floor, walls and ceiling: a wonderful effect (see photos at the bottom).

Visit her site to see more lamps and projects.

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Ralf Kempken: Stencils to Screens

Art Stencils and Screens Ralf KempkenAustralian artist Ralf Kempken StencilsClick to enlarge

Australian artist Ralf Kempken hand cuts stencils and screens from paper, acetate, canvas, timber, and sometimes even steel. In some cases he layers multiple stencils and in others he spray paints as well.

From his artist statement:
…the stencil is used to spray images in countless variations. The underlying concept has always been that we filter all we see through past experiences and memories. Thus followed the evolution of the stencil, which up until now has been used as the tool to produce the painting, into the artwork itself. We all screen and frame our personal view of the world and with this in mind the stencils have turned into screens. Artwork that can be seen through and create optical illusions.The screens are intended as daily reminders that we have a conscious choice in how to look at the world around us.

You can see more of Ralf Kempken’s incredible X-actoing skills and other work on his site as well as here.

via Abbotsford Convent

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Tomas Saraceno

Cool Art InstallationsTomas Saraceno, an Argentinean-born artist living and working in Frankfurt, combines sculpture, science, and installation-based art to create unique spaces. Much of his work is experimenting with solutions for airborne habitation and ecological sustainability, as well as other alternatives for living.

From Andersens Contemporary Gallery website:
…For many years the natural was seen as the antithesis of the constructed, but according to Saraceno we may have to alter this view and understand that whatever is handmade is also a part of nature because we are a part of nature….Saraceno is conceiving objects, images, and installation, in order to communicate and anticipate this possibility. Imagine, living in the sky in a bubble shaped city that floats around. There are no boundaries of place nor nationality…He creates grand scale airborne balloons sometimes with their own eco-system.

Installations from top to bottom and left to right:

14 Billions (Working Title), Elastic black rope and hooks. Photo: Bonniers Konsthall.
(2nd – 4th rows): Galaxies Forming along Filaments, Like Droplets along the Strands of a Spider Web. Photos©Tanya Bonakdar
Installation View, Walker Art Center.
Installation View Statens Museum Kunst, Copenhagen.
Transparent Soil and the Gardens of Tomorrow
Airborne photo: don’t know source.
How to Live Together, Sao Paolo Biennale
Installation View, Pinksummer Gallery, Genoa.

Saraceno just showed at the arteBA 2011 fair in Buenos Aires last month, and has several upcoming solo exhibitions, including one at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in St. Louis this year and another one in Tokyo in 2012.

More of Tomas Saraceno’s work can be seen here, here, and here.

via arteBA 2011

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cartónLAB

cardboard exhibit design and industrial designcardboard exhibit design furniture designClick to enlarge

We have secretly been following (and admiring) the work of cartonLAB for a while now. This ongoing workshop, run by the team at Moho Architects in collaboration with Ability Graphic Design, (both in Spain) has apparently grown into a permanent subdivision of Moho’s studio. Creating everything from exhibit displays for trade shows and stores, to furniture, kids’ play objects, club dj stands, lamps and more, all out of cardboard; these guys impress. Each design somehow seems to top the last, both in beauty and complexity. In addition, many of their displays and stands are designed with multiple configuration options.

From the Moho website:
Cardboard is a material that has always been linked to artistic creativity and craftsmanship. The new design possibilities (digital cut, large print, cad, 3d modeling, etc) along with the latest patents in the production of cardboard (reboard, cardboard reinforced, flame retardant coatings, water repellent, etc) makes this material in a fantastic alternative at the time of generating new exhibition spaces, media and all types of custom cheap, lightweight and recyclable furniture. Working with contemporaneously cardboard creation process allows almost no intermediaries between the designer and the final piece through traditional interfaces (previous models) or digital.

cartonLAB’s constructions typically pack flat for easy transport, are relatively simple to assemble and, as we know, cardboard is not only economical but recyclable. The result: great, green design that won’t break the bank.

You can see more of cartonLAB’s work here, and more of Moho’s architecture work (including their beautiful entry for a dormitory building) here.

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Come a Little Bit Closer: Droog Bench

Droog Come a Little Bit Closer Bench FurnitureDroog Come a Little Bit Closer Bench DIYClick to enlarge

The three of us, over the past 6 years, have individually come across (and loved) the Come a Little Bit Closer bench by Droog. Little did we know that eventually we would have one of our very own! Well, actually it’s Em’s, but being that it will be placed in our living room, it feels very all-in-the-family. And we have the wonderful Rence (aka Richard) to thank for this: future architect; expert craftsman; and amazing friend.

Rence made the bench (top photo) based on Droog’s design (second photo) using leftover steel from his architecture classes. Hard to tell them apart, no? Are you as impressed as we are? This heavy and long (8ft!) finished bench was transported down from Ithaca, then carried across town a few days later (with a quick refueling stop midway), where the 60lbs of marbles were finally added and the gliding began. If you’re not familiar with the original design, the three discs act as seats that roll smoothly over the marbles. It’s surprisingly comfortable and definitely lots of fun! Thanks again, Rence, for the generous and beautiful gift. I mean for Em, of course…

Now, if we could only find someone to take the piano off our hands to make room for the bench.

Here’s a quick video of the bench in action.

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The Portrait Building

Cool Architecture Portrait Facade AustraliaCool Architecture Melbourne AustraliaClick images to enlarge

Nope, it’s not the latest Chuck Close painting. Instead, it’s the very cool Portrait Building designed by ARM architects in Melbourne, Australia and scheduled to be completed by 2014.

Part of construction group Grocon’s plan to transform the former Carlton Brewery site at the top end of Swanston Street into Melbourne’s newest urban living precinct, Portrait is a 32-story residential tower paying homage to Victoria’s indigenous heritage and first Australians. The façade features a portrait of indigenous leader, William Barak. The artwork for the Barak image was done by sculptor Peter Schipperheyn. The idea behind this, apart from the general coolness? To unite the city’s modern heritage with its ancient history.

It should be noted that Grocon completed construction on, and has since moved its offices to, yet another unique looking building, the Pixel Building (designed by Melbourne firm Studio 505), part of the same former Carlton Brewery site, and the country’s first carbon neutral office building. (See bottom right photo.) Impressively forward-thinking!

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The Cube by Electrolux

Cool Restaurant Pop-Up_Architecture_EuropeCool Restaurant Pop-Up_Architecture_DesignClick to enlarge

I’ve always enjoyed the combination and contrast of contemporary architecture with older, more classic structures, so coming across this pop-up restaurant — sponsored by Electrolux and designed by the Italian design firm Park Associati — was pretty exciting for me. The Cube by Electrolux will be popping up at some of Europe’s most famous landmarks from Belgium to Sweden, to Russia, Italy and Switzerland as well.

Presently, The Cube is in Brussels atop the grand Arc de Triomphe overlooking the Parc du Cinquantenaire. It will stay there through July 3, 2011 (though all reservations are sold out at this point) and then move on to Stockholm, followed by Moscow. The Cube will rest at each location for three months, making the complete tour in one year.

From the Electrolux website:
The aim is to create an experience that surprises and inspires with fantastic tastes, gastronomic hints and tips from some of the world’s greatest chefs and never-before-seen views, ultimately stimulating guests to explore their own creative boundaries next time they entertain friends or family at home.

Certainly takes Pop-ups to a whole new level!

You can book reservations here, and see more photos here and here.

Table and food photos by Photo&Coffee. All other photos from Electrolux.
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Iguazu Neon System

Iguazu Neon Cool Lamp DesignNeon Hanging Lamp Cool Design IguazuThe other night I walked into my friends’ new apartment and hanging over the dining room table was this very unique and striking lamp which I had never seen before. I have to say that these product photos don’t really do it justice. Granted, it may not be for everyone, and it’s a little bright to look at straight on, but there’s something very simple and yet almost sculptural about it. The Iguazu Neon System is designed by the Iris Design Studio. The lamp incorporates an energy-saving fluorescent circline bulb which, being cold neon light, makes it easy to touch and reposition as necessary.

Available here.

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Architypeture: Part II

Typography in Architecture Lowther Children's CentreTypography in Architecture Multiple ExamplesClick to enlarge
Row by row; left to right: Lowther Children’s Centre, London, Patel Taylor Architects. 7 World Trade Center, NYC, Michael Gericke, Pentagram. The Marion Cultural Centre by ARM + Phillips/Pilkington. Artwork for the Indianapolis Airport, Indiana, Joe C. Nicholson. Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel, Vancouver, Canada, Liam Gillick; words say “Lying on top of a building, the clouds looked no nearer than when I was lying in the street.” British Library main gates, Cambridge, UK, Cardozo Kindersley Workshop. Grey Group, NYC, Paula Scher, Pentagram. Lincoln Center steps, “Welcome” in multiple languages, Diller Scofidio + Renfro. U.S.-Canada border crossing station at Massena, NY, Michael Bierut, Pentagram (has since been taken down.)

Typography in Architecture Pentagram Design

Click to enlarge
Row by row; left to right: New York Times Building Signage, NYC, Michael Bierut, Pentagram. Symphony Space, NYC, Paula Scher, Pentagram. 770 Broadway awning, Paula Scher, Pentagram. Harley Davidson Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Michael Bierut, Pentagram. Bloomberg Building, NYC, Paula Scher, Pentagram. Container Mall (proposed design) NYC, LOT-EK. APAP Open School, Korea, LOT-EK. Bohen Foundation, NYC, LOT-EK. Lignan Studio renovation, LOT-EK. PS1 Museum of Art, Queens, NY (not sure of designer.) Museum Tower, Dallas, Texas, Scott Johnson, Johnson Fain Architects, photo from williamedia’s photostream. Wales Millenium Centre, Cardiff, South Wales, Jonathan Adams, Capita Architecture, photo from iwouldstay’s photostream.

As promised, here is a second roundup of architecture and typography merged into one (see Part I). Pentagram has a large representation here, as does Lot-ek, possibly because many of their projects are in NYC and I am personally familiar with them, but it’s more likely because their websites happen to be chock-full of these beautiful projects. Lot-ek’s use of type and color on their projects feel a little like Freitag bags on steroids. I love it.