Berlin

Curtain Wall House by Shigeru Ban

The extreme audacity of the Curtain Wall House (1995), designed by Shigeru Ban for himself, shows a surprising, simple and beautiful amalgam of old and new, combining contemporary materials with new interpretations of traditional Japanese styles.

The main body of the house sits against the inside corner of the plot and grows from the ground floor up to two upper floors. The ground floor has been left open, public space ceded to the street and serves as parking space for the house. On the first floor are the service and social areas, such as the kitchen and living room, while the upper floor is reserved for the private rooms.

That core was built so that it withdrew from the perimeter of the house, resulting in a large two0-story terrace. It is the perimeter of the terrace which guides the curtain that serves as an enclosure. The curtain covers two floors, enclosing an interior space and revealing an outdoor space.

Behind the curtain several sliding glass walls create a private and isolated domestic space, ensuring air and water tightness and providing some soundproofing.



Concept

An architectural curtain wall is an outer skin that covers the building without performing a structural function. The curtain wall effecticely hangs from the main load-bearing structure. This work has brought the concept of the curtain wall to extremes.

The curtain is an architectural element associated with traditional Japanese design elements such as shoji screens and fusuma, the doors common in traditional Japanese houses.

The utopian curtains Shigeru Ban uses are a simple solution, architectural and artistic. It operates for ventilation, is aesthetically seductive and poetically allows the natural flow of air. The interior and exterior can be merged into one comfortable space for the people, giving rise to some experiences within the habitat that are very difficult to achieve within a city - especially a city as large and populous as the Japanese capital.






en.wikiarquitectura.com

chocolate-lamp by cassina Design by Toshitaka Nakamura

cheap wall painting!

You didn’t think we were done extolling the virtues and flexibility of the medium known as “paint chip” in the DIY art sphere, did you? You must understand that we simply can’t help it. In the DIY world, there’s a sort of holy grail–a triumvirate of characteristics that take a DIY project from “oh, neat” to “ZOMG I have to do this now!” Those characteristics are: 1)almost anyone can do it, 2) costs virtually nothing 3) makes your house look and feel like the super hip person you secretly wish/hope you are.

This one’s got it all, baby! As spotted on the illustrious and never-steer-you-wrong Apartment Therapy, this might be the DIY paint chip art project to end all paint chip art projects (but no that doesn’t mean we won’t post about any more cool ones that come our way.) And, the best part is it doesn’t include cutting shapes out, glue or anything else that seems like a good idea until your living room is filled with tiny pieces of paint chips glued to your furnishings. Good going Apartment Therapy. This is actually something we could see us incorporating. And totally customizable for any surface, style or tastes!




from: http://blog.2modern.com/

Kenneth Grange

Kenneth Grange is Britain’s leading product designer, his prolific career spans over 50 years and he is responsible for designing some of the most iconic and familiar products and appliances that shape our daily lives. Kodak cameras, the silhouette for the Intercity 125 train, Kenwood food mixers, Parker pens, and the re-design of the London black cab are just some of his well-known designs.

In 1972 Grange, together with Alan Fletcher, Theo Crosby, Colin Forbes and Mervyn Kurlansky established Pentagram, a world renowned multi-disciplinary design consultancy. More recently, in the 1990s, Grange has produced distinctive designs that have become part of our landscape, from the Adshel bus shelter in 1993 to the Rural Post box for Royal Mail in 1998. Today Grange continues to work with British companies includingAnglepoise, furniture designer Hitch Mylius and fashion designer Margaret Howell.

There is an exhibition (20 July – 30 October) in Britain Design Museum of Kenneth Grange’s first UK retrospective celebrating his work, design journey and the role he has played in making Britain modern. With unique access to the Grange archive, the exhibition includes over 150 products, prototypes, sketches as well as audio, photography and film.

         

Crazy paper thing

Nike Junk Dunks by Gabriel Dishaw

Artist Gabriel Dishaw, specializing in metal work, has fabricated a pair of Nike Dunks and Terminators.  The “Junk Dunks,” weighing in at 5 pounds, are composed of random everyday parts – sheets of metal, gears, wires and circuit boards.  Taking over a month to fully manufacture, Dishaw “decided this time to do it right by making the entire package: from the shoes, to the shoe box, label, diagram and shoe tags.”  Truly a master of his craft, connoisseurs of unique work can check out Gabriel Dishaw’s work at his site.