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Peace Pavilion: Atelier Zündel Cristea (AZC)

Peace Pavilion by AZC inflatable structure, bethnal green museum gardens in london, new materials, twisty shapePeace Pavilion by AZC inflatable structure, bethnal green museum gardens in london, new materials, twisty shapePeace Pavilion by AZC inflatable structure, bethnal green museum gardens in london, new materials, twisty shapeClick to enlarge

Parisian architects Irina Cristea and Grégoire Zündel of Atelier Zündel Cristea (AZC) are all about peace, love, and happiness. Last fall the architects conceived an inflatable trampoline bridge over the Seine which I loved, but unlikely to become a reality. Their latest structure the Peace Pavilion, temporarily exhibited last month in the Bethnal Green Museum Gardens, uses a similar concept and materials creating a realized sculptural work that can be entered or climbed. The beauty of the shape of this inflatable sculpture lies in its perfect symmetry and fluidity. The geometry of the pavilion blurs the notion of inside and outside. The project is a self-supporting structure with 4m in height and 20m² in area, designed entirely with lightweight materials – 77.96m² of PVC membrane and 20m3 of air.

Photos: Sergio Grazia

via designboom

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Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Pulse Index

Pulse Index, a cool interactive art installation by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, records participants’ fingerprints at the same time as it detects their heart rates.Pulse Index, a cool interactive art installation by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, records participants’ fingerprints at the same time as it detects their heart rates.Pulse Index, a cool interactive art installation by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, records participants’ fingerprints at the same time as it detects their heart rates.Click to enlarge

Mexican-born artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (previously here) is an electronic artist who develops interactive installations that are at the intersection of architecture and performance art. His main interest is in creating platforms for public participation using technologies such as robotics, computerized surveillance and telematic networks. In his installation Pulse Index Lozano-Hemmer invites participants to place their finger into a custom-made sensor equipped with a 220x digital microscope and a heart rate sensor. The piece displays data for the last 765 and over participants in a stepped display that creates a horizon line of skin. The fingerprint immediately appears on the largest cell of the display, pulsating to the person’s heart beat. As more people try the piece one’s own recording travels upwards until it disappears altogether.

Reading Lozano-Hemmer’s website I learned that he has a mysterious public art piece scheduled for NYC next month (August) so we’ll have to keep an eye out for that.

Photos: Anti-modular Research and Kate Russel
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Front 404: Happy Birthday George Orwell

Surveillance Cameras with party hats in Utrecht, Netherlands, in honor of George Orwell's Birthday, Front404, street artSurveillance Cameras with party hats in Utrecht, Netherlands, in honor of George Orwell's Birthday, Front404, street artSurveillance Cameras with party hats in Utrecht, Netherlands, in honor of George Orwell's Birthday, Front404, street artClick to enlarge

Dutch duo Front404 create interactive installations with humor that aim to surprise and offer a different perspective on the world. On June 25th, in honor of George Orwell’s 110th birthday, the two, Thomas voor ‘t Hekke and Bas van Oerle, placed party hats on surveillance cameras throughout the city of Utrecht. Not just a celebratory gesture, but a great way of drawing attention to the inconspicuous cameras that observe our every move and we so readily ignore. Every day, just that much closer to an Orwellian surveillance state.

via junkculture

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Stairway Cinema: Oh.No.Sumo

Stairway Cinema by Oh.No.Sumo Collective, Auckland, Australia, movie theater in stairwellStairway Cinema by Oh.No.Sumo Collective, Auckland, Australia, movie theater in stairwellStairway Cinema by Oh.No.Sumo Collective, Auckland, Australia, movie theater in stairwellClick to enlarge

The experimental design collective Oh.No.Sumo started as a creative outlet for four friends graduating from the architecture school at the University of Auckland and soon transformed into a design collective exploring many avenues of design, pushing the boundaries and allowing for uninhibited design freedoms through creative thinking and active participation. Their third and most recent major installation is Stairway Cinema at a corner in Auckland where there’s not much community interaction. By creating a mini movie theater in the stairway of a building, Oh.No.Sumo have in effect countered this issue, creating a communal and social environment that engages passers-by.

The structure was created with a timber truss covered in fabric with a waterproof exterior. Matching red cushions were added to the steps for softer seating while video content is projected onto the cantilevered end of the canopy. Very fun.

via designtaxi

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Chu Doma: Colorful Multilayer Sculpture

Chu Doma, Julian Pablo Manizelli, argentinean street artist, colorful, multilayer, sculpture, illustrationChu Doma, Julian Pablo Manizelli, argentinean street artist, colorful, multilayer, sculpture, illustrationChu Doma, Julian Pablo Manizelli, argentinean street artist, colorful, multilayer, sculpture, illustrationClick to enlarge

Argentinean street artist Chu Doma (previously here) — aka Julian Pablo Manizelli — has taken his very appealing 2-dimensional drawing style and transformed it into wonderful 3-D multilayer sculptures that are beautifully crafted. They almost look like puzzles (maybe they are?). I love everything about them: the playfulness, the bright-yet-muted color palettes; and even though I haven’t seen them in person, I’m pretty sure I’d enjoy their feel.

You can see much more of Chu Doma’s sculptures, toys, and, of course, street art on his flickr.

via graffitimundo

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Adam Parker Smith: Fun with Art

Adam Parker Smith, Humorous art, mixed media art, PulseNY, Scope Art Fair, No Longer EmptyAdam Parker Smith, Humorous art, mixed media art, PulseNY, Scope Art Fair, No Longer EmptyAdam Parker Smith, Humorous art, mixed media art, PulseNY, Scope Art Fair, No Longer EmptyClick to enlarge

I have run across Adam Parker Smith’s work repeatedly over the past couple of years, though due to its varied nature, it was only recently that I realized all these works were his. Whether at a No Longer Empty installation up in the Bronx, or at art fairs such as  Pulse here in Manhattan, Adam Parker Smith’s work is very much in the public eye. And it should be. It’s full of humor mixed with cultural critique, verging on the conceptual while employing techniques that include painting, sculpture, collage, video and more. Parker Smith’s work is the equivalent to that person who’s the life of the party. Fun and engaging, with sharp wit, sometimes ironic, sometimes a little crass, but always clever and surprising. Who wouldn’t want that in their show?

Photos courtesy of the artist and (top two) collabcubed.
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Phoebe Washburn: Sculpture in the Rotunda

Phoebe Washburn, National Academy, Sculpture in the Rotunda, Cool installation, Nudes Housed Within Their Own Clothes and Aware of Their Individual-Thirst Descending a StaircasePhoebe Washburn, National Academy, Sculpture in the Rotunda, Cool installation, Nudes Housed Within Their Own Clothes and Aware of Their Individual-Thirst Descending a StaircasePhoebe Washburn, National Academy, Sculpture in the Rotunda, Cool installation, Nudes Housed Within Their Own Clothes and Aware of Their Individual-Thirst Descending a StaircaseClick to enlarge

The National Academy here on NYC’s Fifth Avenue, initiated their Sculpture in the Rotunda series in 2011 in which a large-scale site-specific sculpture/installation is placed in the building’s beaux-arts Rotunda. Currently, and through September of this year, the installation Nudes, Housed Within Their Own Clothes and Aware of Their Individual Thirst, Descending a Staircase is by New York-based artist Phoebe Washburn constructed a 15ft high and 11 feet in diameter cylindrical tower perforated with colorful “wormholes” through which visitors can peer in as they walk up and down the spiral staircase. Washburn’s artwork is often made with scrap wood and repurposed materials that she finds around NYC and this installation is no exception speaking issues of recycling, environmentalism, consumable products and the waste created by the current consumer-driven society.

You can see other installations by Phoebe Washburn here, or visit Nudes, Housed Within Their Own Clothes and Aware of Their Individual Thirst, Descending a Staircase at the National Gallery through September 2013.

Photos courtesy of Zach Feuer Gallery
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Hald Strand Summerhouse: Jesper Brask

Jesper Brask, Hald Strand Summerhouse in North Zealand, DenmarkJesper Brask, Hald Strand Summerhouse in North Zealand, DenmarkJesper Brask, Hald Strand Summerhouse in North Zealand, DenmarkClick to enlarge

Danish architect Jesper Brask and his family spent three years, living on (in a trailer) and analyzing a woodsy acre of land in North Zealand, Denmark — coming to know everything about the site, from the sun’s movement over the plot in the summertime to its distance from the water — before starting on the design for his family’s summerhouse that would eventually occupy the space where a many a pine tree stood. Brask used the timber from the pines to create his summer getaway along with steel, bricks, and glass for the dramatic sloping  floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors that bring the woods inside. At the core of the open-plan home is the towering chimney which holds three fireplaces, a conventional oven, and a pizza oven. Definitely the nicest “log cabin” I’ve ever seen.

Photos courtesy of the architect and Karina Tengberg.

via dwell

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James Turrell: Aten Reign in the Guggenheim Rotunda

James Turrell Guggenheim, Aten Reign, Elliptical Skyspace, Guggenheim Rotunda, cool light installationJames Turrell Guggenheim, Aten Reign, Elliptical Skyspace, Guggenheim Rotunda, cool light installationJames Turrell Guggenheim, Aten Reign, Elliptical Skyspace, Guggenheim Rotunda, cool light installationClick to enlarge

The very much anticipated James Turrell exhibit at the Guggenheim opened this evening and we were fortunate enough to attend the exciting event. The impressive skyspace installation that occupies the seemingly reduced-in-size rotunda does not disappoint. Aten Reign, as the massive installation is titled, cycles through a spectrum of colors—with varying hues of each—in approximately an hour. From white light to deep shades of reds and purples and eventually to almost complete darkness, the central atrium of the museum glows in a mystical yet soothing array of colors, changing people’s skin tones and even playing with one’s eyes and perception of color in the exterior halls lit in their natural white light that seem to take on a pink glow when the rotunda glows green, and green when pink. The rest of the museum is virtually empty except for about 5 rooms containing older works by Turrell all in white light. The trickery in these works is amazing, causing one to doubt their depth perception on a consistent basis. That which seems flat, is actually an open space, and that which seems open is actually a flat wall with projected light. Same goes for a cube of light that is so convincingly 3-dimensional, when in fact it is completely 2-dimensional. But, back to Aten Reign the exhibit’s pièce de resistance: the multi-tiered scrim creates elliptical circle within elliptical circle, working its way up from the most intense shade to five shades lighter towards to skylight. The rest of the museum looks oddly cropped and bare sans art, but it makes you appreciate the James Turrell installation-filled rooms, all the more.

James Turrell will be on exhibit at the Guggenheim through September 25, 2013.

Photos: collabcubed
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Street Stone: Léo Caillard & Alexi Persani

classic stone statues dressed in contemporary hip clothing, leo caillard photographer, Alexis Persani retoucherclassic stone statues dressed in contemporary hip clothing, leo caillard photographer, Alexis Persani retoucherclassic stone statues dressed in contemporary hip clothing, leo caillard photographer, Alexis Persani retoucherClick to enlarge

I’ve seen modern-day people dress up as classical statues both on Las Ramblas in Barcelona and, occasionally, here in NYC, but I’ve never seen classical statues dress up as modern-day people. French photographer Léo Caillard came up with the humorous concept. He didn’t actually dress these stone sculptures but instead had retoucher Alexis Persani masterly ‘enrobe’ them using photoshop, converting them into the most unassuming hipsters…well, maybe a little stiffer. How no one has come up with this concept before (talk about perfect models!) for a clothing company catalog (I can just see Victoria’s Secret’s Fall catalog now…) is a mystery to me. Very clever, Léo.

You can see the “making of” in the video below. Those are some mad skills (cue daughters’ eyerolls and cringing here.)

via radiolab

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Richard Woods: A Maze for Yorkshire

Richard Woods, A Maze for Yorkshire, the Orangery, Wakefield, Faux cartoon stone wall mazeRichard Woods, A Maze for Yorkshire, the Orangery, Wakefield, Faux cartoon stone wall mazeRichard Woods, A Maze for Yorkshire, the Orangery, Wakefield, Faux cartoon stone wall mazeClick to enlarge

I’ve come across artist Richard Woods’ work over the years, but I don’t think I ever quite put it all together until now. The London-based Woods likes to substitute colorful faux cartoon-y textures for the real ones. Beginning about a dozen years ago replacing wooden floor slats in a house with their colorful cartoon counterparts, Woods has since made aluminum siding homes look like tudors, revamped brick homes with larger cartoon-like faux brick exteriors, and now, at the Orangery in Wakefield, Yorkshire, he’s created a maze titled A Maze for Yorkshire in shades of pinks and reds in what he describes as a ‘cartoon Yorkshire dry stone wall.’ The temporary labyrinth measures 10 meters square with an intimate performance space at its center. The maze has an accompanying soundscape as well.

A Maze for Yorkshire will be up at The Orangery through September 29, 2013.

Photos of maze by Jonty Wilde. Other photos courtesy of the artist.

via wallpaper

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Olson Office: Gensler

Cool Typographic Environmental Graphics and signage by Gensler for Olson, Minneapolis Cool Typographic Environmental Graphics and signage by Gensler for Olson, Minneapolis Cool Typographic Environmental Graphics and signage by Gensler for Olson, Minneapolis Click to enlarge

Rapidly expanding Olson, the largest advertising agency in Minneapolis, enlisted Gensler to design their 125,000 sq. ft. offices within Minneapolis’s historic Ford Center building, while maintaining the industrial character of the space. All elements were considered: from work flow to brand rooms to client-focused food and beverage service system. However, it is the treatment of the environmental graphics that I am focusing on here. They support and further the architectural concept, becoming an essential part of the design. Innovative use of super graphics enliven the building’s public spaces, yet continue to respect the building’s original character. The type treatment is bold, fun, and super creative, with giant floor numbers made out of colored string and nails, as just one example. The firm’s name is boldly and amorphously displayed on the ceiling of the top four floors creating an optical illusion, clearly read from the street looking up. The staircases and bathrooms continue with large painted signage and even the wall graphics and colorful furniture scream bold, assertive, and fun.

Photos by Pete Sieger

via segd

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One Thousand Speculations: Michel de Broin

World's Largest Disco Ball, One Thousand Speculations by Michel de Broin for Luminato Festival, TorontoWorld's Largest Disco Ball, One Thousand Speculations by Michel de Broin for Luminato Festival, TorontoWorld's Largest Disco Ball, One Thousand Speculations by Michel de Broin for Luminato Festival, TorontoClick to enlarge

Canadian artist Michel de Broin adopts a critical and playful attitude towards common objects and ideas. For the Luminato Festival, going on currently in Toronto, Broin created his installation One Thousand Speculations, a 7.9 metre in diameter ball made up of 1000 mirrors that will be lifted 80-feet above the ground of David Pecaut Square each night of the Festival. The largest disco ball in the world will spin, twinkle, and reflect against the buildings around the square for the duration of the festival. Fun!

Photos courtesy Luminato Festival and Damn Cool Pictures.
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Grimanesa Amoros: The Mirror Connection

The Mirror Connection, Light installation in Museum of China Central Academy by Grimanesa AmorosThe Mirror Connection, Light installation in Museum of China Central Academy by Grimanesa AmorosThe Mirror Connection, Light installation in Museum of China Central Academy by Grimanesa AmorosClick to enlarge

Peruvian-born, NYC-based artist Grimanesa Amoros uses sculpture, video, and light to create works that “illuminate our notions of personal identity and community.” Light is one of her primary materials because it creates “presence without physicality.” Earlier this month Amoros unveiled her latest site-specific commission at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum in Beijing. The work, titled The Mirror Connection, consists of a huge waterfall-like scribble of LEDs that pulsate in their white and yellow colors giving a sense of liquid flowing through tubes. The lights bounce off the walls and reflect off the metal domes they emanate from as well as intermittently casting shadows around the space. The sheer scale of the piece at a height of 33 feet—evident by the minute size of the people wandering the museum gallery in the photos—must be breathtaking. You can see the piece in action on the top left corner on this page.

Photos courtesy of the artist and news.cn

via global times

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UBC Buchanan Courtyard: Public Design

UBC Buchanan Courtyard Renewal by Public Design in Vancouver, British Columbia. Cool seating and plaza area, with type circles in fountain emulating logo.UBC Buchanan Courtyard Renewal by Public Design in Vancouver, British Columbia. Cool seating and plaza area, with type circles in fountain emulating logo.UBC Buchanan Courtyard Renewal by Public Design in Vancouver, British Columbia. Cool seating and plaza area, with type circles in fountain emulating logo.Click to enlarge

The University of British Columbia (UBC) invited Vancouver-based architecture and design firm Public together with landscape architects Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg to revitalize the courtyards between the existing Buchanan buildings, home to the Faculty of the Arts. Their solution: two dynamic spaces; one for contemplation and relaxation and the other for gathering and performances. At its center is a striking and twisty concrete pavilion, a sculpture in itself, which rests in a reflecting pool that contains typeset quotations in radiating rings mimicking the logo for The Arts whose identity was also designed by Public. In addition to being a visually pleasing place to spend time, by including the new reflecting pool the designers solved a chronic storm water management problem that plagued the space.

Photos courtesy of Public. Second photo by Stephan Pasche for Fast+Epp
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Fragile Invasion: Hidemi Nishida Studio

Fragile Invasion, Hidemi Nishida Studio, Norway, Cool wood structure through gallery roofFragile Invasion, Hidemi Nishida Studio, Norway, Cool wood structure through gallery roofFragile Invasion, Hidemi Nishida Studio, Norway, Cool wood structure through gallery roofClick to enlarge

This past March, during an ordinary week, a giant wooden cube seemingly crashed through the roof of Galleri Fisk in Bergen Hordaland, Norway, with the largest part of the cube occupying the building’s interior, and approximately one quarter of it sticking out from the rooftop. Then, after three days, it suddenly disappeared. There was no actual crash but, instead, environmental artist Hidemi Nishida’s installation Fragile Invasion took over the gallery. Nishida creates temporary shelters to make people aware of their surrounding environment, often organizing happenings in these shelters. In the case of Fragile Invasion, the happening seems to have been the installation itself.

via jeroenapers

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Rockaway Beach Signage: Pentagram

NYC Beaches - Signage Location: Rockaway Beach Graphics: Pentagram DesignNYC Beaches - Signage Location: Rockaway Beach Graphics: Pentagram DesignNYC Beaches - Signage Location: Rockaway Beach Graphics: Pentagram Design, Rockaway by Garrison ArchitectsClick to enlarge

A couple of weeks ago I went out to Rockaway Beach for the first time since last fall/winter when the post-Sandy ravaged beach looked like it would never quite bounce back with its boardwalk blown to bits, its playgrounds’ asphalt erupting like lava from a volcano, and the large parking lot near 105th St. practically invisible under the mounds of sand that had made its way two blocks in from the shore. But bounce back it has—though not quite 100%—clearly through an amazing amount of effort, work, and expense by countless numbers of people and organizations.

The boardwalk is still MIA but right away I noticed new, crisp signage clearly marking each beach name and street, as well as temporary concrete islands (designed by Sage and Coombe Architects) emblazoned with colorful supergraphics also displaying the corresponding beach numbers. Not surprisingly, I have since found out, perusing the Pentagram website, that the environmental graphics are the handy work of Paula Scher and her team of designers. Scher previously developed the identity and signage standards for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, which manages and maintains the city’s beaches, and the beach graphics are an extension of that program, utilizing the logo but changing the fonts and colors.

In addition, the graphics have been applied to the mod ‘pods’ designed by Garrison Architects that contain the lifeguard and comfort stations . These look a little more futuristic and slick in the renderings than in reality, but in truth, they weren’t completely finished when I was there.

Impressive work all around, from clean-up, to graphics and architecture. By July 4th weekend it should all be in full-swing again, with many concession stands opening then. New Yorkers are a pretty invincible bunch.

Photos and renderings courtesy of Pentagram & Garrison Architects.