Posts filed under 'Design & Decor'
A celebration of the act of human communication and linguistic and cultural diversity, Voices was one of the main features of an international exposition. The exhibit aimed to draw attention to the conditions of liberty that are a foundation for the necessary dialogue among cultures. The exhibition needed to present two contradictory views: cultural diversity as a heritage we must preserve and communication as essential in an increasingly interdependent world.
RAA made exhibition images exist by themselves, causing structure to disappear and create a dramatic environment. An introductory video explored dialogue. A surround wall explored language. Interactive tables explored communication and a central iconic sphere explored diversity. The sphere was created though apparently floating tectonic plates that continue a hemispheric stage. The plates served as projection surfaces that enveloped the spectator in a visceral kaleidoscope of images in movement. Images of spectacular dimensions revealed through gestures, expressions, sounds, and words the richness of human communication and the linguistic traditions of the world.
Jury Comment
“Communications and graphics - what a marriage! Language as a temporary exhibit in a global world is a challenge. The use of multimedia was so well integrated into this design; the different components made display, voice, sound, light and the surround wall into a people place and a language lab, an environment filled with movement. The dynamics of the imagery and space leave users with something to talk about.”
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February 23rd, 2006
The challenge with the Nest Chandelier was to make the craft of crystal relevant, modern and innovative thanks to recent lighting technology. (Today, crystal chandeliers are often considered old fashioned.)The chandelier’s name comes from the illuminated nest-like shape at the center.
It is covered with an electroluminescent film, which projects light evenly onto the surrounding crystal to produce an intense reflective effect. The result is a new direction for the Swarovski brand. The company has decided to develop the Nest concept into a full fledged product offering, a first (to this date Swarovski has only produced crystals for other chandelier manufacturers).
Stretching 3.7 metres high, B�har combines organic shapes and crystal with the cutting-edge lighting technology of electro-luminescent film. A suspended glowing cocoon surrounded by a skin of crystal; the effect: magical.
www.swarovski.com
February 23rd, 2006
Since beginning his architectural practice in 1977, Richard Gluckman’s work has been closely aligned with the art world. Based in New York, Gluckman has created distinctive spaces for numerous galleries and museums and developed installations with such notable contemporary artists as Dan Flavin, Richard Serra, Jenny Holzer, and Walter De Maria. Gluckman emphasizes basic architectural components of structure, scale, proportion, material, and light in his interior designs, resulting in a powerful simplicity of space.
Roppongi Hills’ nerve center is Mori Tower, a 54-story office building by Kohn Pedersen Fox that houses the Mori Arts Center, made up of the Mori Art Museum, a social club, a multi-purpose academic facility, and observation decks. Atypically large floor plates - approximately 120,000 s.f. each - enable the insertion of alternative uses beyond the typical office environments; the Center itself within the top four floors of the tower below the sky deck. To give the Center a presence it is divided into two components: the interior spaces within the tower and an entry structure at ground level that is the project’s sole exterior expression. The conical entry pavilion, designed by New York’s Gluckman Mayner Architects is a glass-clad, freestanding element with overlapping glass panes, much like the scales of a fish.
The visitor ascends the entry cone, then taking an elevator to the upper floors of the Center. Gluckman Mayner were responsible for the design of these public spaces the visitor traverses, as well as the Mori Art Museum, an observation deck, retail and cafes. The top two floors of the Center contains the museum, which contains naturally-lit galleries totaling 32,000 s.f. Focusing on contemporary art, both local and international, the museum is planned as a place to disseminate art between Japan and the rest of the world, and vice-versa. Its position atop the Mori Tower attempts to express this desire through its height and the developer’s prominence, instead of an eye-catching building a la Frank Gehry. If this goal comes true remains to be seen.
The inclusion of the Arts Center and Museum in the Roppongi Hills development testifies to art’s newfound viability as an economic amenity - albeit not as surefire as typical retail - and its increased popularity for tourists and residents alike. Also, with contemporary sculpture sited in the development the evident devotion to art is refreshing, regardless of any of the development’s shortcomings, including its overly capitalistic emphasis and “anywhere” design - traits that are the unfortunate norm around the world in developer-driven projects featuring international architects. Gluckman Mayner’s intervention provides a simple, yet elegant setting for the art, much like most of the firm’s body of work and its focus on spaces for art. In their entry pavilion, though, they created a unique structure that both signals the Art Center’s presence and its contrast to the rest of the Roppongi Hills development.
February 23rd, 2006
The Shop at Cooper-Hewitt is pleased to offer two limited-edition prints by celebrated design legend Eva Zeisel, the recipient of the 2005 National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement, given in recognition of an individual who has made a profound, long-term contribution to contemporary design practice.
In 2005, for the first time in her career, Zeisel added printmaking to her design repertoire by collaborating with KleinReid to create a pair of limited-edition silkscreen prints.
Eva Zeisel, Magic Language #1 and #2, 2005, silkscreen print, edition of 300. Shadowbox, archival frame, 32×24” each frame. Purchased as a pair with same editioned number. $1,100. Currently on view at the Shop at Cooper-Hewitt.
Born in Budapest, Hungary, Zeisel’s career is international in scope, spanning more than 75 years and 100,000 realized designs. Known for lyrical and shapely ceramics, she describes her approach to design as “the playful search for beauty.” In 1946, she was the first designer in America to create an all-white Modern dinner service, which was honored with a special exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She was also first to teach ceramics as industrial design, rather than handicraft, at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. At the age of 99, Zeisel is still designing for manufacturers such as Acme, Crate & Barrel, KleinReid, and Namb.
February 23rd, 2006
At the Mondial Automobile 2004 in Paris, Mercedes-Benz unveiled four new vehicles to experts, the press and the general public. The presentation aimed to highlight the vision cars, without upstaging the production launches. Film, lighting and audio interacted to create a succession of new moods that underscored the personalities of the individual products, ensuring that the real stars were the new cars. Inside the booth, media feeds to three towers created large-scale projection areas, and projecting the themes outwards in the form of images and text. Cutouts in the crystalline metal ’skin’ of the towers revealed glimpses of the LED panels beneath, creating a fascinating blend of sharp and soft focus. The exhibits, screens and graphics used to communicate in-depth information on premiere themes were integrated into the towers to become part of the architecture. The innovation, passion and quality inherent in the product personalities united to create a self-assured overall brand appearance.
February 23rd, 2006
Head First! is a dynamic three-story fabric model of a human head that serves the dual role of visual icon and AV theater in the HealthSpace Cleveland health museum. Families and school groups start their visits to HealthSpace with a visit to Head First! to view a short AV multimedia presentation about making healthy choices on issues such as food and smoking.
Theatre awarded a bronze at the 2005 Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA05) July 8, 2005 (Cleveland, OH) – Ever get the feeling that you’re being watched as you drive down Euclid Avenue between 89th street and 90th street? Odds are that HealthSpace Cleveland’s “giant head” is surveying the scene.
As you motor down Euclid you may have noticed a large white head stylishly gazing down upon the ever-constant flow of traffic. That stylish stare is coming from HealthSpace Cleveland’s Head First! Theatre, a three-story interactive theatre that was recently awarded a bronze at the 2005 Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) competition. IDEA05 is a national celebration of the best and hottest designs of the year. A focus on beauty, sustainability and craft combine to restore the human touch. These were the dominant trends when BusinessWeek magazine announced the winners on June 24th. “Never before has good design been acknowledged as being so essential to good business…winning designers created outstanding products that people both desire and need,” said Jury Chair Tucker Viemeister, IDSA, President of Springtime-USA, a design firm located in New York City. “This year’s extraordinary IDEA jury selected a slew of winners that are beautiful, valuable and ecologically responsible, demonstrating that good design is more than the sum of form and function. Industrial design makes our dreams come true!” HealthSpace Cleveland’s Director of Visitor Experience, Holly Hornstra conceived and developed Head First! Theatre by combining innovative industrial design techniques, state-of-the-art material and emerging audio/visual technologies. The conceptual development of Head First! Theatre required a rigorous design process, intense research and creative environmental and interior design techniques.
February 23rd, 2006
ImageNet’s new facility is a high impact, visually exciting space for selling, servicing and warehousing copy machines that also strives to change customer perceptions about copy machines. The design solution has also changed people’s preconceptions about warehouse space and remote office locations and transforms the limitations into assets. The customer is brought into an environment where the focus is on education and new uses of technology. The signature paper wall greets guests and communicates an immediate connection with the end product.
The status quo and advantage exhibits compare old technology and state-of-the-art advances. Information that once required five pieces of equipment to organize and transmit now is accomplished with only one. The warehousing and servicing functions are visible to the customer, allowing all aspects of the company to be understood and openly presented. The space’s many fun, cutting edge, educational and dramatic elements help the customers remember the product and the people. ImageNet has realized immediate benefits from the new space, including a 50 percent increase in sales in the first 60 days alone.
February 22nd, 2006
This design recalls the bed seen in Madame Recamier, the famed work by Jacques-Louis David, the French Neoclassical artist appointed as Napoleon’s official painter. Its sleigh-shaped headboard, upholstered in coal-black leather, is outlined in nail trim.
The dramatic frame–complete with concave side rails, low spool footposts and carved rosettes–gleams with a textured and burnished gold leaf finish that has a gracefully aged patina. This bed is the glory of art and passion combined.
February 22nd, 2006
This self-watering flowerpot assures plant lovers that their plants won’t die when they are on vacation or busy with their hectic lives. The design is aesthetic as well as functional. A wick is placed in the holes of a ceramic flowerpot. The plant is placed in the pot, which is then placed on top of a glass container filled with water. The wick dangles into the container and the plant can then take up the necessary amount of water through the wick. The glass container holds enough water for a week, on average. The design gives the user simple, straightforward feedback. One glance at the water lever will tell you if more water is needed.
Silver 2005 Consumer Products
February 20th, 2006
The ultimate expression of “Viva las Vegas”, this striking natural sycamore wood humidor is a sure bet for the spectator, the high stakes hero or those who are preternaturally lucky. To create the authentic appearance of a large single die, the natural beige sycamore is inlaid with Tahitian black mother-of-pearl circles on each face. The humidor can accommodate up to 100 cigars, and features a deep bottom compartment and two interior cedar trays with open-slat bottoms which can be removed as needed. Polished gold-tone hardware, with a key inlaid in a miniature coordinating die pattern. Made in France.
Price: $3,760.00
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February 19th, 2006
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