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1211 East Eleventh Studio / Furman + Keil Architects
- architects: Furman + Keil Architects
- Location: Austin, Texas, United States
- Project Year: 2019
- Photographs: Casey Dunn
- Area: 9000.0 ft2
A Nagoya Apartment That Adapts as the Child Grows
Architect Taka Shinomoto, of rhymedesign, completed an apartment renovation in Nagoya, Japan, dubbed ‘The Room for Small Gulliver’, that’s designed to adapt as the couple’s child grows up. Looking to the fantasy worlds of Gulliver’s Travels and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the interior plays with scale hoping to inspire the child’s imagination while allowing the parents to live normally. The adults will see chairs to sit on, but the child could see those same chairs as a table, desk, or counter, based on their smaller size. As the child grows up, their perspective and relationship to the surrounding environment will morph as needed.
Part of that idea is shown through three grey frames rhymedesign created, the smallest incorporated into the built-in bookshelf, another that can be moved around as needed, and the largest frames a bay window in the kitchen/dining room area. Each nook is made to let the child use them in different ways as they grow in size, whether it’s for play, to lounge inside and read, or to use as a desk.
The parents’ bedroom is an all-green retreat they can escape to with a large sliding panel clad in a deer print that moves to the side to reveal the closet.
Photos by Shinya Watanabe.
Benedito Apartment / Meireles Pavan Arquitetura
- architects: Meireles Pavan Arquitetura
- Location: Bairro Itaim Bibi, São Paulo - Estado de São Paulo, Brazil
- Project Year: 2020
- Photographs: Fran Parente
- Photographs:
- Area: 165.0 m2
Chapel Glass + Hard Angles Combine in the aspa Table Series
The aspa table series, by Spanish studio MUT Design for German design brand pulpo, expresses their love of glass and mastery of the use of simple geometric angles. In Spanish, the word aspa translates to “the intersection of straight planes,” with each of the three table sizes using five panels of glass that merge together in the center. Textured chapel glass is affixed to smooth toughened glass panels, embracing the quirky individual bubbles, streaks, and variations that occur during production. The closer each glass panel gets to the center of its respective table, the darker the transparency becomes to create the illusion of layers. The aspa series consists of three coffee and side tables, and is available in a beautiful range of colors.
For more information on the aspa table series, visit pulpo here.
The Rugosa Collection Embraces Sustainability From Material to Manufacturing
Los Angeles-based design studio Kalon has unveiled its first furniture collection in two years as part of Sight Unseen Offsite Online. The new collection, titled Rugosa, reaffirms Kalon’s commitment to sustainability through the use of an environmentally safe production process – from material selection to the speed at which items are shipped.
The collection takes its name directly from a home in Rhode Island that served as a creative retreat for decades. True to its namesake, the collection is meant to inspire creative reflection and conversation through its airy forms and plush upholstery.
To minimize the collection’s carbon footprint, Kalon selected materials local to its factory (with the exception of the Belgian linen). The western sugar pine was harvested from a local sustainably-managed forest. Each piece ships upon completion to minimize fuel usage and is hand-rubbed with Bare Finish, a plant-based oil-wax finish, developed exclusively by Kalon.
Rugosa consists of a sofa, daybed, chair, bookshelf, side table, and coffee table. Planks of western sugar pine, Belgian linen upholstery, and machined-polished bronzed glass are the three main materials used to realize the pieces.
The sofa and chair can be outfitted with the Rugosa Glass Wing, which can easily be placed over any desired arm.
The Rugosa Side Table comes in three forms: the X, H, and Delta. Each features a slightly different base that allows for mixing and matching.
For more information on the Rugosa collection, visit kalonstudios.com.
CAB House / Estudio MMX
- architects: Estudio MMX
- Location: Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
- Project Year: 2017
- Photographs: Rafael Gamo
- Area: 466.0 m2
Modular Cabinet System by Reform
The Modular Cabinet System is a minimal kitchen system created by Copenhagen-based Reform. The Danish kitchen brand is introducing a patented, modular internal cabinet system to match the design-driven exteriors designed by some of Denmark’s top designers.
The cabinets utilize a patented system that allows components to be assembled through the simple act of clicking them together. As a result, the cabinets can be assembled without the use of tools, screws, or adhesives. The modularity of the cabinets allows for flexible configurations and accommodation to unique and specific requirements within a space.
In keeping with Reform’s commitment to sustainability, the cabinets are MFC and TSCA/CARB-certified, with the added benefit of being flat-packed for sustainable shipping. The cabinets are available in black, white, and oak laminate.
Wooden Cave / Tenon Architecture
- architects: Tenon Architecture
- Location: Trikala Korinthias, Kato Trikala Korinthias 204 00, Greece
- Project Year: 2020
- Photographs: Spyros Hound Photography
- Area: 55.0 m2
“In The 1990s, We All Became Free”: In Conversation with Jiakun Liu of Jiakun Architects
Jiakun Liu was born in 1956 in Chengdu, China. Architecture was not his first choice to pursue at school, as he originally wanted to be an artist. He heard that architecture had something to do with drawing, so he applied to Chongqing Institute of Architecture and Engineering, not fully understanding what his role as an architect would be. After his graduation in 1982, Liu worked at the Chengdu Architectural Design Academy for two years, the experience he did not enjoy. So, he set out on a self-searching journey that lasted for over a decade, spending time in Tibet and Xinjiang in West China where he practiced meditation, painting, and writing, producing several works of fiction, while officially working at the Literature Academy as a writer.
2en1 Students Halls / BFV Architectes
- architects: BFV Architectes
- Location: 93300 Aubervilliers, France
- Project Year: 2018
- Photographs: Fréderic Delangle
- Photographs: Côme Bocabeille
- Photographs:
Social Impact: Architecture Building Space for Empathy
Architecture shapes how we live and come together. Amidst a pandemic and protests around the world, architects and designers are speaking out to condemn injustice and build space for empathy and understanding. In listening, they are looking to how we live together, and in turn, how we can create a more equitable and just world.
Wellesley College Global Flora / Kennedy & Violich Architecture
- architects: Kennedy & Violich Architecture
- Location: Wellesley, MA, United States
- Project Year: 2019
- Photographs: Courtesy of KVA
Rockwell Group Releases Design Strategies for Outside Dining post COVID-19
David Rockwell and his team at Rockwell Group proposed an open streets initiative, a template for outdoor dining, in order to help bars and restaurants reopen post-pandemic. The design strategies illustrate practical solutions to make everyone feel safe.
Ginkgo Tea House / MADAM + Hexia
Aedas Creates a new Benchmark for Urban Renewal in Shenzhen, China
Aedas is planning a regeneration project for Luohu, Shenzhen’s oldest urban district. A future model for high-quality economic development, the regeneration of the city of Luohu will be a gateway to economic growth. Designed in collaboration with Shenzhen Hehua International Engineering and Design Co., Ltd., the Shenzhen Luohu Chauanbu Street Shanty Town Redevelopment Project is a winning competition entry.
London Design Biennale and Chatham House Announce Initiative to Design for Crisis
The London Design Biennale and Chatham House announced a new call for designers to address issues of crisis around the world. Called Design Resonance in an Age of Crisis, the initiative aims for radical design solutions to critical problems across four key areas: Health, Environment, Society and Work. The announcement follows the news that the Biennale has been postponed until 2021.
Solar Lighting for An Affordable, Sustainable Future
While first developed as a practical power source during the 1950s, solar systems were too expensive for mainstream use until the 1970s. Starting from their early use to power Cold War era military satellites, silicon photovoltaic solar cells achieved their first commercial success in places where electricity was not available, such as lighthouses and off-shore oil rigs.
Tips for Using Rainwater in Architectural Projects
The total amount of water on our planet has, theoretically, stayed the same since earth's formation. It's possible that the glass of water you drank earlier contains particles that once ran down the Ganges River, passed through the digestive system of a dinosaur, or even cooled a nuclear reactor. Of course, before it quenched your thirst, this water evaporated and fell as rain millions of times. Water can be polluted or misused, but never created or destroyed. According to a UNESCO study, it is estimated that the Earth contains about 1386 million cubic kilometers of water. However, 97.5% of this amount is saline water and only 2.5% is fresh water. Of this fresh water, most (68.7%) takes the form of permanent ice and snow in Antarctica, the Arctic, and in mountainous regions. Another 29.9% exists as groundwater. Ultimately, only 0.26% of the total amount of fresh water on Earth is available in lakes, reservoirs, and watersheds, where it is easily accessible for the world's economic and vital needs. With the population steadily increasing, especially in urban areas, several countries have already had severe problems with providing the necessary amount of drinking water to their populations.
Tactical Urbanism: Reimagining Our Cities post-Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the way we live our lives. Significant and long-lasting repercussions will be felt across society and industry, many of which are sure to influence the way we approach the design of our buildings and cities. Over the past few weeks, the Urban Design team at Foster + Partners has been exploring how recent and fast moving developments in urban planning – instigated and encouraged by the current crisis – will affect and shape the future of our home city and others worldwide.
Hotel Bauhofstrasse / VON M
- architects: VON M
- Location: Ludwigsburg, Germany
- Project Year: 2019
- Photographs: Brigida González
- Photographs:
- Photographs: Courtesy of VON M
- Area: 2058.0 m2