When it Comes to the Dutch : Urban Campsites are Hot!

In my post of July 1st I wrote about these urban camping sites popping up in city parks. This one is cool too: "during summer 2015, the centrumeiland of ijburg in amsterdam hosts ‘urban campsite‘, a public exhibition and art-sleep experience made up out of fourteen innovative and creative habitats. a diverse group of designers, architects and artists have been invited to build mobile objects that function as bedrooms, ready for guest stay by local residents and tourists alike. bookable on airbnb, the imaginative collection of tents include a seed-shaped shelter made from recyclable materials, a flat tepee with a trampoline for a roof, and a modern white loft with spherical portholes that allow for outdoor viewing. common and recreation areas offer community interaction and cooking within the micro-society, while the industrial ‘tribal toilet tower’ by joep van proposes an alternative to regular bathrooms." Nice example of how creative ideas can be combined. More here: http://www.designboom.com/art/urban-campsite-amsterdam-art-tents-07-27-2015/

Goodmorning!

Strong visual huh? Absolutely L-O-V-E it!
Via:https://www.facebook.com/178307052232577/photos/a.665145643548713.1073741826.178307052232577/933670270029581/?type=1&theater

Koanne Ko : Illustrator of the Month

Koanne Ko

Here my favorite piece by illustrator Koanne Ko (Hong Kong based). "A professional member and executive committee of the Hong Kong Society of Illustrators. Koanne specializes in drawing portraits. With her pencil drawing series “The Animal Tamers”, she was awarded the “Award of Excellence” in the category of unpublished illustration in the 3rd Greater China illustration award.  She has recently completed her first educational children’s picture book “The Creative Nut”.Koanne’s illustrations were collected in the APPortfolio, a design book that published some excellent works by Asian designers, for two consecutive years. Besides appearance in Hong Kong, Koanne’s works have been exhibited in the United States, Canada, Japan and Taiwan. Her clients include Versace, Shu uemura, Holiday Inn, Dah Sing Life Assurance.." Website: http://www.koanneko.com

City Shaping Design - Stuttgart's Vision on Architecture

This is a beautiful example of how you can present new architecture and design. Stuttgart is very Lucky! with this design I say.  Year of completion: 2015. "The 2014-2015 version of the annual research pavilion from the Institute for Computational Design (ICD) and the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) at the University of Stuttgart, in Germany, derives its biomimetic design from the self-constructed habitat of the "diving bell" water spider. The resulting temporary structure designed by a team of ICD/ITKE faculty and students gets its shape from carbon-fiber bundles extruded by a robotic armature to support a translucent ETFE membrane." See more gorgeous pictures and graphics here: http://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/icd-itke-2014-2015-research-pavilion_o

Design Shifters: The Darkroom & Rhonda Drakeford

Woohoa! Awesome! Fell in love with the design and compositions as soon as I saw this! Published by my favorite magazine Grafik:  "London-based retail brand Darkroom has long inspired us with its punchy mix of African print, geometric shapes and Memphis-inspired playfulness. We caught up with co-founder and graphic designer Rhonda Drakeford to discover Darkroom’s next chapter. Grafik first got to know Rhonda Drakeford in the early 2000s, when she was one half of award-winning graphic design partnership Multistorey. At the time, the Central Saint Martins graduate spending was her spare time indulging her passion for interiors by developing textiles and soft furnishings. Since then, Rhonda has spread her creative wings and launched critically acclaimed concept store Darkroom with Lulu Roper-Caldbeck in London’s Lamb’s Conduit Street. The shop is admired not only for its trend-setting selection of homewares and accessories – much of which Rhonda designs – but also its striking, geometry-inspired interior. We caught up with this determined talent to discuss the path that lead her to pioneer one of the most exciting retail brands in London." More here: https://www.grafik.net/category/feature/shape-shifter

Redesigning Cities : How Detroit is Changing

I love to see how cities change, recover, reshape...here's an amazing example of how they are redesigning Detroit, in this case: a parking lot. Cities and parking, it seems to be my theme these last few days ;-)."If you ever needed evidence that the best architectural solutions for a city can be provided by local firms, you needn’t look much further than Detroit, where Neumann/Smith Architects boasts nearly half a century of experience working throughout Michigan’s Motor City. The Southfield-based firm scooped the 2015 A+Award, Popular Choice, for the Parking Structures category with the Z, a multistory garage that challenges the conventions associated with this traditionally utilitarian building typology. The parking lot was designed to accompany 33,000 square feet of new retail space aimed at revitalizing the area. The main aim for the architects was to lift the project out of the ordinary confines of its genre and produce something bolder and more dynamic than is typically expected from such a functional structure. “The client challenged us to think outside of the box. They wanted something that was unique, that was bold,” explains Neumann/Smith’s Design Director Scott Bonney. “You think about a parking garage; it’s normally a relatively mundane piece of architecture. They wanted it to be something spectacular.”  More here: http://architizer.com/blog/neumann-smith-architects-z-garage/media/1191889/

Mini-Park(ing) - Redesigning Parking Spaces in Washington DC

Gensler

Love it! "Mini parking-space sized parks—otherwise known as "parklets"—are popping up in major cities across the United States. Today, a new yellow parklet opens in Washington, D.C., and will remain in place for five months.The local office of architecture firm Gensler was approached by the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID), to create what the designers call a "seasonal parklet"—meaning it will be open to the public until October.  Gensler held a competition within the firm to decide upon a design. The winner of the competition was "parKIT,” created by technical designers Claire Kang, Assoc. AIA, and Laura Carey, Assoc. AIA. "parKIT," which officially opens today, spans two parking spaces in front of Gensler's office on 2020 K Street NW, a busy area for both traffic and pedestrians. D.C. residents have participated in the internationally recognized Park(ing) Day event, an annual event when citizens transform city parking spaces into small parks. Though it is not permanent, this parklet will not be a one-day event either." Nice right? More here: http://www.architectmagazine.com/design/gensler-designs-bright-yellow-parklet-for-dc_o

How the Dutch Deal with Polluted Shipyards : Make it Urban, Make it Hipster!

This one is nice! "Just two years ago, De Ceuvel was a polluted shipyard in North Amsterdam. Then, a group of alternative city-makers took over and turned this brownfield into a creative and sustainable working landscape. Our friends from Pop-Up City took a closer look at this urban project.

Hidden behind small car-repair shops and shifty barns in North Amsterdam, it’s not particularly easy to find this new hotspot. Not only does the journey include a ferry ride to the other side of the river IJ, but you’ll likely have some trouble finding the tiny street that gives access to De Ceuvel.

Despite being hardly visible, De Ceuvel is hot: It breathes this relaxed urban beach vibe and is a work in progress that young creative urbanites have taken a liking to. But De Ceuvel is more than campfires, craft beers, and funky tunes — it’s one of the most prominent showcases of bottom-up city-making and urban development. Shaped by a hands-on approach, the space and the projects that have been springing up there are a reflection of the creative entrepreneurs who have built this green and peaceful oasis from scratch." Looks good right? Read more here: http://smart-magazine.com/space/de-ceuvel-amsterdam-urban-project/

Cube Houses | Architecture & Rotterdam

Piet Blom

Yes, yes I know, we Dutch all know about the cube houses in Rotterdam - but I cannot but help to show this gorgeous photo and the story behind this remarkable Dutch piece of architecture. I'm a big fan/lover of this type of design. The Danes will love it too. I'll be visiting the city of Rotterdam this week. "One of the icons of Rotterdam are the cubic houses. 40 conventional houses were tilted 45 degrees to become the first cube-shaped houses in Holland. The cubes are prominently located in the center of Rotterdam. Piet Blom designed the cube houses in 1984. His design represents a tree and all houses together make up a wood. Blom’s concept was to design a kind of village within a main city, a safe haven in which anything could happen. Have you ever seen the cubic houses? " Via ArtsHolland : https://www.facebook.com/ArtsHolland/info?tab=page_info

Send Me to The Streets! ~ with City Mapper Paula Scher

Paula Scher

Oh yes!...one of my favorite Magazines (Grafik) talked about 'City Mapper' Paula Scher and when you see the visuals you will go wild - at least...I do. Very inspirational and trendy work, a pleasure to the eyes to those that are very open to vizualising, mapping and enviosing. "Pentagram designer Paula Scher draws an immersive map of Philadelphia at Temple Contemporary that invites viewers to step into the city and gives Google Maps a run for its money.The illustrious designer Paula Scher, of internationally rated design firm Pentagram, has gone back to her roots with Philadelphia Explained, a project made in collaboration with her alma mater the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. At the university’s Temple Contemporary art gallery, Scher has created a Keith Haring-esque sketch of the city’s map that trails over the entire space. Scher sketched out the skeleton of the map and had 154 Tyler students and Pentagram staffers fill in the detail by hand. The design was then applied to the gallery's walls by Tyler architecture graduate Keith Hartwig, who worked closely with Scher as part of the art school's Distinguished Alumni Mentorship program.
Fat red, blue and yellow lines are scribbled over with street names, landmarks, annotations and social commentary. In a crosshatched area labelled “That place,” a blue dot marks “My house.” The handmade map gives a sense of the city’s personal meaning that you just don’t quite get from Google Maps." More visual pleasures here: https://www.grafik.net/category/news/city-mapper

Amazing Spiral Tree Staircase Design - No Tools Needed

Aww this is super nice! I don't know about you but I am crazy about trees and this seems like a design that would not damage the trees...too much....I hope! Designed by two graduate students and designers from the Royal College of Art.
"Thor ter Kulve and Robert McIntyre's CanopyStair comprises modular wooden platforms made from curved birch plywood, typically used to build small aircraft.
When bound to a tree trunk with adjustable woven ratchet straps at staggered heights and orientations, the modules can be used as steps. "Since tree trunks are all unique we had to design a system that would adapt to their uneven surfaces, whilst not harming the tree in any way," Ter Kulve told Dezeen.
"We have worked with the arboriculturalists at Hampstead Heath to ensure we are not damaging the tree," said McIntyre.The curved shapes of the steps were designed to help the elements to appear straight even if they are slightly uneven when installed as a spiral set."
 Read more here: http://www.dezeen.com/2015/06/26/canopystair-thor-ter-kulve-robert-mcintyre-modular-steps-straps-tree-trunk-staircase-royal-college-of-art-graduate-show-2015/

Stedelijk Knows How to Photograph a Crowd for the ZERO Exhibition

Stedelijk museum (modern art) just opened a new exhibition on radical art from the 50s and 60s, seems about the right kind of time for such an exhibition. And look how they are promoting the opening on social media with these awesome pics. About the exhibition: "Zero: Let Us Explore the Stars 4 Jul - 8 Nov 2015 Fire, light, movement, space, demonstrations and performances: an historic survey of the innovative avant-garde group ZERO. With work by herman de vries, Armando, Henk Peeters, Jan Schoonhoven, Jan Henderikse, Piero Manzoni, Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein, Jean Tinguely, Yayoi Kusama, Otto Piene, Heinz Mack, Günther Uecker and others." - See more at: http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/exhibitions/zero-let-us-explore-the-stars#sthash.GfASiH0Q.dpuf And for the presentation on social media: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153405547459659.1073741888.103829284658&type=3

Sssummertime and Sitting on that Bench!

Woooo many of you will have read about the heat wave going on over here in Europe - it really took me by surprise. I'm a Nordic girl myself, the cold is what I have grown to love. Summertime means more time to sit on that bench and watch what happens around you. Summertime is also the best time to appreciate nature....trees...the creator of this wonderful tree bench in the visual left speaks of 'flora': "Pablo Reinoso recreates a basic park bench into a swirling chaotic knot of line and form, giving a new dimension to a common piece of furniture.  By sculpting organic spaghetti shaped wood branches his ultimate goal is to modify the perception we have on simple objects. Those animated random pieces of furniture are meant to create a state of visual suprise, the materials (wood, marble, steel) are becoming living beings; new species of their own.The artist extends the primal functions of a bench, a frame, a chair, a pillow and a slab of marble to a new dimension, gently associating sculpture and art with nature.The result is baffling, our notion of space is reset as there is no manual of how to consider the transformed pieces. Pablo Reinoso builds a landscape from marble, an air ventilating machine from pillows, spaghetti roots from a bench and replaces the canvas of a frame with swirled pieces of wood with no other intention than to turn our world around. By reinitializing daily objects and giving them life we encounter Pablo Reinoso’s subtle prediction: “The presence of flora is a message, mother nature is somewhere around. And she could be taking over”." Nice right? You can read more over here: http://beautifuldecay.com/2015/07/03/pablo-reinoso-evokes-return-mother-nature-creating-flora-inspired-furniture/

Only in Holland : The Neighborhood Campsite

HA, this is happening right here in my city.  We are at the beginning of a heat wave over here in this country, so I can imagine people would enjoy this. "For the third year in a row, De Buurtcamping is popping up in parks across Amsterdam and Utrecht. De Buurtcamping, which translates to The Neighborhood Campsite, invites neighbors to share a mini-holiday together in a park close to their house. This year’s edition will be taking place from 24-26 July. Since the first edition in Amsterdam’s Oosterpark in 2013, De Buurtcamping has proven to be a successful concept for creating sustainable, social connections in urban neighborhoods. What makes De Buurtcamping so special is the presence of all sorts of different people. A banker borrows toilet paper from his homeless neighbor, an old widow is invited for a BBQ by the huge family. On the campsite they’re all equal." You can read more here: http://popupcity.net/neigborhood-campsite-lets-locals-camp-in-nearby-parks/