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Laszlo Rozsnoki: Rope Shelf

furniture design, industrial design, rope bookshelffurniture design, industrial design, cool bookshelfLaszlo Rozsnoki is a product designer, originally from Budapest, who studied design in the Netherlands. He has designed a series of furniture pieces under the title Questioning the Established, of which this Rope Shelf is a part of. As with the other pieces in the series, the Rope Shelf has a certain twist. Where there are usually solid, horizontal shelves, Rozsnoki has replaced them with diagonal ones made of rope attached to a frame. From certain angles the stretched rope, overlapping another layer, creates a moiré pattern.

I’d love to see what the bookcase looks like with books in it.

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James Turrell: Within Without

Skyspace, National Gallery Australia, Art Installation, LightTurrell Skyspace, Light Installation, Art, National Gallery AustraliaClick to enlarge

James Turrell’s latest Skyspace, Within Without at the National Gallery of Australia, is one of his largest and most elaborate so far. The Skyspace is entered via a long walkway towards a grass-covered pyramid surrounded by water. Inside, at the center of the pyramid is a domed structure open to the sky, which in turn is surrounded and highlighted by shimmering turquoise water. As in other of Turrell’s Skyspaces, Within Without is most dramatic at dawn and dusk, when there are more changes in light and movement in the sky which are then intensified within the domed space.

You can read more about the exhibit here and see more photos at screenstreet’s and chaoite’s photostreams.

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Jacinto Moros: Balletic Sculpture

Art, Sculpture, Spanish Sculptorart, sculpture, wood curves, spanish sculptorart, sculpture, museums, metal scultpureLamp design, curved wood, sculpture lampsClick to enlarge.

The Spanish artist Jacinto Moros, who we had the good fortune of befriending during his years in NYC, takes wood and makes it dance. His ability to bend and curl the material into beautiful sculptures that, while static, are full of movement, is really amazing.

Though a fan of all of his work, I especially like how his Movimientos Liquidos (Liquid Movements) piece worked in its space, this being the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. As if abstract flowers or trees fitting in perfectly, yet uniquely, into the park landscape. (Top three images.)

His Architecture Series, designed in wood and cast in stainless steel, is inspired by well-known structures, captured using a continuous line to render the buildings as sculpture. (See stainless steel sculptures in photos, clockwise from top left image are: Guggenheim, Bilbao; Guggenheim, NYC; Reina Sofia, Madrid; Pompidou Centre, Paris.) The series is open-ended with more buildings to follow.

Moros has also designed some products in his curved wood method, including lamps and jewelry.

You can see more of Jacinto Moros’s work on his website, as well as at the Victor Lope Gallery, and OA Madrid online shop.

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Typographic Wine Labels (Mostly)

Graphic Design, Package Design, TypographyTypography, Packaging, Graphic DesignClick images to enlarge

I know it’s not wise, but I am definitely prone to choosing a wine based on its label rather than its vintage, mostly due to ignorance on the subject of fine wine, but also because as a graphic designer I am apt to go for the nicely designed label. And within the nicely designed label category, I am most likely to be lured by a nicely designed, typography-driven label.

Here is a small selection of mostly typographic wine labels that caught my eye on Lovely Package, Graphic Exchange, and, of course, FreshDirect.

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Knog: Bicycle Locks

Bicycle Locks, Silicone, Industrial DesignBicycle Locks and accessories, Product designOn a walk through Tribeca yesterday afternoon, here in NYC, the three of us wandered over to Adeline Adeline – as their tag line states: “a very nice bicycle shop” – in search of this bicycle helmet. Though we left empty-handed, we fell in love with these Knog bicycle locks. It may be hard to appreciate how nice these colorful silicone locks are from the photos but, trust us, in person, they’re beautiful design objects. There are different thicknesses and prices, but they’re all really nice. The U-lock on the bottom right is due out in November and we did not actually see that one, but I’m liking the look of it on their site.

Knog is an Australian company that sells all kinds of bike accessories. The lights seem to be very popular, based on my google search of Knog. You can check it all out here.

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LAVA

Cool Architecture Installations, Chris BosseCool Architecture Installations, Chris BosseCool Architecture Installations, Chris BosseClick to enlarge

With its two main offices in Sydney and Stuttgart, LAVA – Laboratory for Visionary Architecture – functions as a think tank generating inventive architecture that “bridges the gap between the dream and the real world.” Founded as recently as 2007 by Chris Bosse and Tobias Wallisser, LAVA has already produced an impressive body of work. Using nontraditional methodologies and advanced technology, LAVA’s structures and city planning are part of a new and cutting edge, as well as sustainable, generation of architecture. Here are just three of their projects:

Top to bottom – The Green Void, a tensile fabric installation in the central atrium of the Sydney Customs House.
The Water Cube or National Aquatics Center in Beijing, originally designed for the 2008 Olympics has since been converted into a water park.
Digital Origami, an installation created in a masterclass taught by Chris Bosse at the University of Technology Sydney. Made from 3500 recycled cardboard molecules of only two different shpaes.

You can see more of LAVA’s amazing work at their website as well as on Chris Bosse’s flickr.

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Con la Tipo en la Cabeza:Type on the Brain

Typography, Type, Fonts, Shaved HeadTypography, Type, Shaved Head process, Alphabet, FontsCon la Tipo en la Cabeza is an ongoing project by Jesus A. Nieto (aka Cucho) a Spanish graphic designer currently based in Leeds, England. Literally, Con la Tipo en la Cabeza means With Type in the Head, but the expression probably translates more accurately (if not a perfect fit with the project) as With Type on the Brain.

Cucho inititated the project in July of 2009 as a typographic experiment to pay homage to different typefaces by initial as he discovered them entering the world of design. The only letters left to go? Y, Z and the trickier Ñ.

The typefaces:  A | Akzidenz Grotesk – B | Bauer Bodoni – C | Cooper Black – D | Din 1451 – E | Engravers – F | Futura – G | Gaseosa – H | Helvetica – I | Italian old style – J | Johnston underground – K | Kandal – L | Lucida Sans – M | Mistral – N | Neutraface – O | OCR-A – P | Palatino – Q | QuaySans – R | Rockwell – S | Stencil – T | Times New Roman – U | Univers – V | Verdana – W | Weidemann – X | Xylo

You can see the Univers ‘U’ in progress in the video below. All the letters are impressively well-rendered, considering the medium, even Mistral!

via Tago

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Moderna Museet in Malmö

Stockholm art museum, modern architectureStockholm art museum, modern architectureModernaMuseet Malmo, stockholm art museum, architectureOne of the things that I truly enjoy, and gives me a little silly thrill, is seeing new architecture incorporated successfully with old. Coming across photos of the relatively new building for the art museum in Malmö, Sweden, Moderna Museet gave me said thrill.

Designed by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter in collaboration with Henirk Nygren Design and Stockholm Design Lab, the two latter involved in the interior design as well as branding and signage, the bright orange-y red box looks fabulous next to the older, classic brick buildings that seem to be part of the museum as well.

The handwritten logo which works beautifully large across the windows at the base of the box in the same color, is adapted from Robert Rauschenberg’s handwriting and famous signature.

via Stockholm Design Lab

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Nuria Mora: Street Art from Spain

Street Art Spain Graffiti Wall muralsStreet Art, Graffiti, Spain, Female Street ArtistClick images to enlarge

Nuria Mora is a street artist based in Madrid. Not that it should matter, but she is a woman and, as far as I’m concerned, it’s certainly refreshing to come across a female street artist—definitely in the minority.

Colorful and geometric, I imagine coming across any one of her wall murals would brighten one’s day. What I enjoy most about all of these is the contrast of the clean lines on the mostly old or run-down walls they appear on. It’s almost the opposite effect of graffiti way back when the tagging or murals would, many times, deface a newer wall or subway car.

There is plenty more to see on her site.

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Typographied Objects II

TypographyType, Letters on objects, TypographyClick to enlarge.

After the first roundup of objects that utilize typography, I’ve come across several more items, so here is a second roundup of typographied objects:

Clockwise from top image:
Jaume Plensa sculpture; Kern ring set; Architecture/Art Tie; Typography Soap; Type Sneakers; Saporiti Alphabet Bookcase; Hello Skateboard; Akzidenz Printed Fabric; WD Collections (wallpaper in 3 bottom pics); Ampersand Tee; Typography Tableware; Diego Grandi Lullaby Plate; Type Clock; Scrabble Type Pillows; Keenan Keeley Alphabet Lamp
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Rose Nolan: Typographic Art

Rose Nolan collabcubed Typography Art InstallationsTypographic Art InstallationsTypographic Art InstallationsClick to enlarge

Australian artist Rose Nolan has been painting words onto walls, pennants, banners, and cardboard for 20 years. Her work is playful and oscillates between confident and self-deprecating, as well as bold and humble. Some seem to refer to herself and her reflections on what is art and what it is to be an artist.

Being a fan of type and especially large, bold type on a wall, this work is right up my alley. The red, Constructivist style only adds to its appeal, though I have to admit that the pennants and their humorous statements are also pretty great.

All photos courtesy the Anna Schwartz Gallery.
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Ponte City: Subotzky & Waterhouse

Mikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse photo light panelsMikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse photo light panelsClick images to enlarge

As Wikipedia will tell you, Ponte City is a 54-story cylindrical building, the tallest residential skyscraper in Africa, set in the Hillbrow neighborhood of Johannesburg, South Africa and built in 1975. At the time it was an extremely desirable address due to its views. Starting in the late 80s and into the 90s gang activity in and around the building caused the crime rate to soar in the tower as well as the rest of the neighborhood. Ponte City became symbolic of the crime and urban decay taking over the area.

Enter Mikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse (finally). Together they collaborated (from 2008-2010) on a series of photographic tableaux in the form of contact sheets on lightboxes, depicting the life at Ponte City titled: Ponte City. The three panels are broken down by theme: doors, windows and TVs. Though I like all three, and the individual photos are all very striking, I find the Windows series particularly interesting and beautiful. Maybe in part because it looks most like a traditional building façade in its light box—which isn’t necessarily important, since the abstraction is interesting—or maybe it’s the openness and the light that I’m drawn to, but also, individually the photos are “windows” into the tenants’ lives, where we can see a bit of the apartment along with personal decor and artifacts.

From Mikhael Subotky’s website:
Ponte has always been a place of myth, illusion and aspiration. This is what we seek to evoke in these preparatory pages. Perhaps this task is best left to the images that we have found there – both in the abandoned flats, and in the marketing material and advertising that we have collected from 1976 and 2008. When these documents are seen next to the dystopian appearance of the building and its surroundings, one begins to project an image of this city during this time. It is a place of dust and dreams, befitting the land on which it sits, which has attracted millions of migrants since gold was discovered in the 1880s.

via Goodman Gallery

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Carlo Bernardini: Spatial Drawings

art light sculpture cool installationslight sculpture and installationsItalian artist Carlo Bernardini has been working with optic fiber since 1996. He creates light sculptures or, more precisely, spatial drawings using optical fibers and in a sense sculpts the darkness, reconfiguring the space with his light architecture.

He currently has an exhibit at MACRO in Rome called The Corner’s Revenge appearing in the elevator shafts of the building, on different floors, in his trademark style of spatial light drawing.

Bernardini’s work has also appeared at the Milan Trienniale, the Naples Quadriennale, as well as at the Palazzo Bertalazone in Torino, and Domaquarèe, Berlin, just to name a few in the past couple of years.

You can see more of Carlo Bernardini’s work at his site, as well as here, and in these two flickr photostreams: here and here.

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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.