For Mustardo, these fleshy ceramics offer a chance to play with ancient forms, infusing them with the characteristics of human bodies. The sculptor’s series “Anthropophorae,” “Toroid,” “Mug,” “Pitcher,” and “Flablet” make objects traditionally seen as hard and solid appear as soft and mutable as unbaked bread dough. Flablets and “Logoliths” are both puns on the clay tablet, “referencing the form and function of those great, antiquated, and often fragmented recording devices to examine certain mechanisms of visual language.” Their forms droop and dimple, looking like you could poke them with your finger and leave a mark.

The Toroid series starts with a torus (donut) shape, bulging and distorting it in a variety of hues and textures. Mustardo first began using toroids to test glazes in his studio, but soon became enamored with the simple form itself. During a residency in Rome, he closely observed Baroque architectural ornamentation of amphorae and krater with ribbed undersides known as “gadrooning.” Applying this technique to the entire shape, he stretches them into gourd-like sculptures, referencing the early days of humanity when actual hollowed-out gourds were used in place of the pottery that would soon be invented and mastered.

The Mug and Pitcher series take shapes we’re all familiar with and make them strange, abstracted, almost like objects that have been dropped deep into the sea to be encrusted with salt and barnacles. Anthropophorae is perhaps the most striking of all, inspired by the Ancient Greek and Roman amphora jar with two handles and a narrow neck. Exaggerating their roundedness and giving them human-like poses suddenly creates a sense of sensuality that didn’t really exist in these objects before.

Much of Mustardo’s work revolves around “broad, reverential notions of the vessel, the body, and language,” as he explains, animating the inanimate and perhaps making them more appealing to self-obsessed humans in the process. The objects are pushed and pulled, concave and convex, humorous and serious. When he covers them in a shimmering PVC coating for them a stippled, warty appearance, they become even more surreal. Some are finished with a contrasting coat of glaze for an eerie glow.

“Attempts are made to continually dissect processes, revisit forms, and reframe themes to agitate evolution and antagonize static thinking,” Mustardo says. “Objects are focused upon as vital witnesses and participants, reflections and poems, animate and imagined.”

The post Maxwell Mustardo’s Whimsical Ceramics Aren’t Afraid to Get Weird first appeared on Dornob.

Smoky Swirls

Wisps of swirling smoke snaking across nude nails like these from Instagram’s @imarninails are having a moment right now. Best of all, the swirls can be any color, creating gorgeous abstract art.

Pastel Tips and Cuticles

Pastel colors are trending hardcore. People can’t get enough of those baby blues and yellows, sage greens and light lavenders. One way to enjoy the pastel palette in a fresh way is to paint just the cuticles and tips like in this photo from @moshbeautystudio on Instagram.

Velvet Nails

Nails that look like they have the texture of shimmering velvet fabric took over the 2020 holiday nail scene, and they’re still going strong. This incredible technique is all about choosing the right products. Getting the perfect velvet nails requires gels with fine metallic particles and chromo powders to blend into the perfect consistency.

Texture

Instead of just making your nails look like they have texture, give them the real thing. This orange and green set by @nailsbybleona on Instagram offer a prefect, vibrant mix of slick and ridged textures.

Abstract Geometry

All things 90s are back in (i.e. scrunchies and the proliferation of Friends merchandise). Instagram’s @charlotteemilybeauty posted these geometrically painted nails that are also on trend with that pastel scheme.

Playful Art

After a year of isolation and pandemic, 2021 is the time to have some fun, let loose, and let your nails show your sense of humor. Each nail in this set posted by @top_nails_bar on Instagram is completely unique, featuring bright colors and eye-catching designs and patterns.

Checkerboard

Perhaps thanks to the 90s comeback, checkerboard prints are very “in” right now. This cool set from @primpedandpolished on Instagram adds a twist by turning the pattern on its side for the pinky nails. You can also tone down the busy-ness of the checkerboard craze by painting just one or two nails in the classic squares while giving the rest a solid color treatment.

Cow Print

Nails decked out in cow print from are popping up all over the internet. This set by @madelineelizabethx on Instagram is flashy but classy in its pink, black, and white hues.

Turquoise

Taking inspiration from timeless turquoise jewelry, these nails posted by @chisatochee on Instagram almost look like the real thing. To avoid overkill, the two first nails are perfectly balanced by the last two, which are painted in creamy orange and lined with gold.

Fading Foil French

Putting a spin on the classic foil French manicure, this set by @nailstampingqueenuk on Instagram features a pretty pink base with organically lined gold foil tips. You could even riff on this theme by using a foil in an on-trend color like emerald green or rust.

Vertical Stripes

Up and down lines are a smart choice in 2021, and these nails posted by @xjuliatalisman on Instagram are so flawless with their summer rainbow of stripes. To glam up this look, you could add in some metallic lines and daring colors for extra weekend flair.

This summer’s nail trends represent a desire for freedom of expression after a year of lockdown. Above all else, colorful, playful, and bold are the nail trends to follow in 2021.

The post 2021’s Hottest Summer Trend? Bold, Playful Nail Art first appeared on Dornob.

“I often wonder what my soul would look like if it manifested itself as an object I could see and touch on this earth,” Woods says. “My artwork today looks to express the depth, growth, and complexity of the mind as well as its ability to encompass both light and dark spaces emotionally. I’d like to think you can ‘feel’ my artwork with your eyes.”

Woods has brought her beautiful murals across the world for street art festivals and commissions, and though you’ll occasionally spot a human figure, animal, flower, or other recognizable object in them, her most recent works have honed in on the graceful qualities of flowing fabrics. As she explained in an interview with the podcast Street Art Unearthed, she loves the way abstract art can conjure up emotions without using overt symbolism. As she honed her craft over the years, she came across a few art theorists that resonated with her.

“They were just talking about the abstract way of stretching your imagination, and also connecting with something other than what’s physically in front of you,” she said on the podcast. “There was a guy called Clive Bell that used to talk about aesthetic emotion and how you can really connect with a piece of art despite it having no narrative and just sort of exploring that emotional response you can have to an artwork. Learning about these theories did influence the direction my work then took after that. I’d say my last years of study I started to really push that. I was using realistic imagery that I’d taken, just photographs, and then blending into quite abstract patterns and painting on a really large scale.”

Some of Woods’ favorite projects include a trip to Norway to join an annual student festival wherein artists creatively repaint 1970s school buses from top to bottom, and one of her largest murals to date for the Heartwalk Festival in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The latter project saw her scale a 30-by-60-foot building to cover its pale aqua facade in gold and amber ribbons. In 2020, Woods was also recognized for a project on London’s Burdett Road to thank the NHS for their hard work during the pandemic.

If you love her style, you’ll be happy to hear you can pick up some of Woods’ artworks in non-mural forms. In 2021, she collaborated with sustainable swimwear and activewear brand Tide and Seek to create a gorgeous series of garments splashed with her signature style, and she also puts works on canvas up for sale at her website, though they tend to sell out fast. Keep up with the artist on Instagram @itsrosiewoods.

The post Iridescent Veils Cascade Down Building Facades in Murals by Rosie Woods first appeared on Dornob.

The Elite Perspective

Oddly enough, chairs are king in the world of opulent home furnishings. Famous architects and designers from every era have created individual chairs that sold for millions of dollars, and many of those have actually increased in value over time. Stories abound of inspiration, political statements, romance, and historical significance regarding chair designs. In many cases, a single chair can even be the focal point of a room.

AI Gets Involved

With both these perceptions in mind, designers Philipp Schmitt and Steffen Weiss contemplated what effect AI could have on chair design. More specifically, they wondered if robotic chair design could compete with human creations. Their experiment sought to determine if neural networks could produce a so-called “design classic:” a chair that successfully combined function, innovation, and artistry as successfully as a human-made model.

The Groundwork

Schmitt and Weiss, residents of New York and Berlin respectively, called their experiment the chAIr Project. It began with months of working side by side to produce two “neural networks” (algorithms) for the AI to run on. One was programmed to see likenesses between different chairs and create comparable ones. The second network established whether or not the image actually represented what a particular chair looked like and made adjustments as necessary to make the design comply with general standards.

The Details

The resulting algorithms pumped out hundreds of variations, many of which were mishmashes of abstract forms that had to be deconstructed and pieced back together to even resemble chairs. The basic elements were all there, including a gracefully arched wooden back reminiscent of a Hans Wegner design, bowed tubular steel evocative of Mies van der Rohe chairs, and narrowed legs that harked back to popular mid-century designs. The combination of these styles was both intriguing and bizarre. Schmitt noted: “Based on these two variables, the algorithm created hundreds of resulting forms that are more abstract, sculptural collage than functional designs: the sketches appear as purely associative objects that mash up familiar components. This creates a lot of potential for our human imaginations to fill in the details.” He ultimately transformed the results into 3D sketches, applying real-world factors to produce miniature mock-ups made from brass tubing, balsawood, and aluminum mesh.

The Results

In the end, the four miniatures proved a little overwhelming. Much like the awe-inspiring works of M.C. Escher, the properties of chairs were all there, just not in the traditional places, resulting in models with too many armrests, missing pieces, or no place for a person to actually sit.

Schmitt and Weiss plan to move forward and produce full-size models of the designs with the help of a conventional Danish woodworker, reiterating that AI is just one of many paths in the design network. Schmitt added: “Many famous designers have designed chairs, and one could argue that there have been enough chair designs in the world for quite a while. Yet, designers still design chairs. They are an expression of a person, a philosophy, or state of mind, a time and place in history — like a painting. In my opinion, chair designs will remain expressions of human ingenuity, but some of the iconic designs of our current century might very well be designed with, or even entirely by, machines.”

The post AI Adds Chair Design to Its Resume first appeared on Dornob.

One eye-catching installation not only perfectly embodied the “Autumn” theme for the event, but also brought together multiple organizations in its creation and sent out a powerful message about the environment at the same time.

The highlight at the DIFC’s “Gate Village” location is “Deciduous,” the first-ever 3D-printed art installation in the Middle East. That’s especially notable in a city that’s far from a stranger to the technology. In fact, Dubai has been recognized several times for its work towards more sustainable architecture with the use of 3D printing.

The large pavilion is meant to be a reflection of nature, with an abstract botanical form that loosely resembles tree branches rising from the earth. The goal is to encourage visitors to walk through the art and be inspired to reconnect with their natural surroundings.

The term “deciduous” refers to plants that shed their leaves annually, typically in the fall, thus lining up with the “Autumn” theme for this year’s Art Nights event as a whole. The tip of each curved “branch” is colored orange to further express the sensations of the season. In addition to emulating an abstract sense of nature, the piece also represents the conservation of nature with the use of three different materials chosen specifically with sustainability in mind.

The project came together through a collaboration of partners, starting with the design team at MEAN (Middle East Architecture Network). Lesly Lobo joined in to tackle the CNC birch plywood fabrication, and AI Build converted 30,000 upcycled water bottles into a usable polymer. Last but certaitly not least, BESIX 3D joined forces with local 3D printing service 3DVinci Creations to provide the concrete mold.

Computational modeling provided the framework for “Deciduous,” which allowed the design to marry with large-scale 3D printing processes quite smoothly. The entire installation was created off-site and moved into place in sections. No heavy equipment was required to move or put the piece together. Instead, it’s simply been fitted with joints for manageable assembly and disassembly.

Although “Deciduous” is both installation art and a statement for nature, it also represents the City of Dubai’s new goal to infuse similar additive manufacturing to 25 percent of all its new buildings by 2025. This year’s DIFC Art Nights also displayed the work of 21 other artists, as well as nine galleries. With over 7,000 visitors each year, the event continues to solidify the DIFC’s status as a reputable art center.

Peyman Al Awadhi, Senior Vice President and Official Spokesperson at DIFC Authority, says: “Art Nights is one of DIFC’s most popular and important lifestyle events of the year, representing a real celebration of the vibrant and cosmopolitan community in Dubai and the UAE. It is also a reflection of our commitment to the creative industry by delivering on Dubai’s Culture and Arts strategy to boost the Emirates’ position as a global cultural center and an incubator for talent. With so many spectacular art exhibitions, entertainment, and dining experiences for everyone, we look forward to welcoming visitors to the DIFC to experience this exciting cultural event.”

The post DIFC Art Nights’ “Deciduous” 3D-Printed Pavilion Made from Recycled Water Bottles first appeared on Dornob.

Looking almost parasitic in nature, an amorphous, ballooning silver volume stretches out to envelop a more traditional building in new renderings of Steven Holl Architects’ “Encased.” Chosen as the winner of an international competition to design a new concert hall in Ostrava, Czech Republic, the design adds to the existing House of Culture, itself an austere travertine-clad complex completed in 1961.

The new 1,300-seat concert hall is described by the architects as “a perfect acoustic instrument in its case,” hence the name. It’ll soon house the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, too — the nation’s leading orchestra for commissioning contemporary music.

The metallic, vaguely alien nature of the exterior is softened by an interior lined with warm maple wood. Built on both sides of the House of Culture’s wings, the structure features dramatic cantilevered elements with a wide base at the rear and a slender, neck-like volume in the front. If you’re prone to seeing the shapes of living creatures in architecture, you might imagine the addition as either embracing or biting down upon the existing building, depending on how you look at it.

“The smooth case of zinc holds an ‘instrument’ in an extended vineyard-type plan made of concrete and maple wood,” explain the architects. “Czech composer Leoš Janáček’s theories of time will guide and give order to the concert hall’s interior geometry. Acoustic wall panels are organized according to scasovani, or rhythm, in three variants: znici = sounding, scitaci = counting, and scelovac = summing.”

They add that the hall faces the existing park at the rear of the building in order to soften urban traffic noise, while a new entrance on the promenade “rises to glide over the top of the existing historical Cultural Center in a sky-lit lobby for the new hall… a dramatic complimentary contrast between new and old creates a cultural landmark for Ostrava.”

Of the winning design, jurist Rafi Segal says, “It’s not the size of the building, but the importance and significance of it.” Another jury member, Krzysztof Ingarden, says “it is a fantastic piece of architecture [that considers] very well the relationship between the City of Ostrava and the park behind the existing building. I believe the winning project will be an emblematic piece of architecture for Ostrava [and revitalize] the city as well.”

Steven Holl Architects is known for taking risks with unconventional architectural shapes and forms like Maggie’s Centre Barts in London, monolithic metal-clad desert homes, and the delightful organic modernist “Ex of In” House. Most of the time, those risks pay off in spectacular fashion, with finished projects feeling fresh and unexpected.

Sometimes, their radical vision for architecture unconstricted by rectilinear norms hits predictable engineering snags, however, like their so-called Copenhagen Gate: the bike lane in the sky that might have been but got canceled due to safety concerns.

Construction hasn’t yet begun on this project, but it’s unlikely the new Ostrava Concert Hall will be plagued with similar problems. It’s set to open in 2023 and will be produced in collaboration with the Czech firm Architecture Arts.

The post Encased: Amorphous Metallic Addition Hugs a Czech Concert Hall first appeared on Dornob.

The Baltimore-based duo has been working together since they met at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in 2001. Expressing emotion through a dazzling array of patterns in vivid hues, Jessie and Katey have developed a signature style that’s undeniably eye-catching, whether the work is a small screen print framed on a wall or a monumental mural stretching several city blocks in length. Their work has appeared in locations throughout their home city, all over the eastern coast of the United States, in Seattle at the Starbucks headquarters, and even as far afield as Hawaii.

One of their boldest pieces is “Summer Kaleidoscope,” a 400-foot-long floor mural and pop-up park developed in collaboration with Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program. Transforming a local park known as The Oval, the piece features 3D elements and painted mazes, encouraging visitors to interact with it at every step of the way.

The duo also designed a gorgeous staircase for the city of Knoxville, Tennessee in the summer of 2017 that produces an optical illusion when you stand at its base, with shapes seeming to protrude out from the steps. That design was based on traditional Appalachian weavings.

In Seattle, a snake-like mural winds its way along the floor at the base of the iconic Space Needle. Measuring an incredible 350 feet long, “Liquid Sunshine” was created through artSEA, a local mural program, in summer 2016.

A 2017 project called “Allumination:Boston” sees the duo not only painting all four sides of a small house, but also the floor and roof, adding details like recycled tin cans, plastic bags, and bottle caps.

“We often describe our work as being like music,” Jessie told Flood Magazine in a piece about their design for the 2018 Lollapalooza festival poster. “It’s abstract and it’s fluid. It’s sort of a collaboration of different shapes, like how different sounds collaborate in music. And the fact that we collaborate with each other is pretty cool. We’re a band, basically.”

In their bio, Jessie and Katey speak of taking inspiration from textiles and board games as well, saying their work “explores themes of movement and symmetry, inspired by bold color combinations, patterns in nature, and woven textiles.”

“Over the past two years the team has been exploring traditional batik, hand dyeing, and appliqué methods in their studio, where they have created several large-scale framed paintings. These painting have been exhibited in Brooklyn, Miami, Baltimore and Russia. They have been awarded two PNC Transformative Grants to bring their bold geometric paintings to Baltimore community. Their unique partnerships with the community earned the team residencies with the The Albright Knox Museum in Buffalo, NY, The Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, ME, and the John Micheal Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, WI.”

Want more murals? Be sure to keep up with Jessie and Katey’s projects on Instagram.

The post Playful Patterns: Neon Op Art Murals Enliven Urban Spaces first appeared on Dornob.

The Grab Watering Can — Northern

This slick watering can was designed by the Norwegian studio Northern, who enlisted the help of designer Stine Aas to reimagine this everyday object as part of their newly-launched homeware collection. “Grab” is more cylindrical in shape than a typical can, and its spout has been fashioned into a completely separate piece that attaches at the base as opposed to extending out from the lower part of the can itself. Since Grab has been designed to be so tall and slender, it can easily be picked up and used without a handle. Its coloring has been kept decidedly muted, with yellow, purple, and green options available to the general public.

Light Now, Vol. 1 — Pulpo

German lighting manufacturer Pulpo showcased a new lighting collection at this year’s IMM Cologne, including a striking feature lamp entitled “Magma.” The lamp consists of two parts: a heavy bottom block and an oval-shaped lighting fixture. The base is crafted from ceramic covered in lava, while the fixture itself is made from hand blown-glass sprayed with a metallic matte finish. The contrast between the heaviness and geometry of the base and the lightness and general abstraction of the lamp makes for a one-of-a-kind domestic light fitting.

Blush Pendant Lamp — Morten & Jonas

This hanging pendant lamp was designed by Morten Skjærpe Knarrum and Jonas Norheim from Norway’s own Morten & Jonas. It has a very autumnal feel, having been finished in a comforting terracotta brown. On top of that, its silhouette is refined, with a long thin neck leading down to a semi-circular sphere for the shade.

Souvenir Drawers — Schönbuch

Designed by Sebastian Herkner for German brand Schönbuch, these drawers are unequivocally inspired by 1950s office furniture and trolleys, as defined by their crisp, clean lines and sophisticated air. They’re made from lacquered MDF and use miter joints to achieve their razor-sharp aesthetic. The drawers are also available in a range of subtle colors, from dusty blue and emerald green to pale pink.

Nocturnal Beasts — Yohay Alush

Depending on how you interact with it, this amazing contraption can function as a fireplace or a full-blown music speaker. Made out of metal and concrete, the multipurpose “Nocturnal Beasts” unit even acts as a heated bench for users to sit on once they fill the metal “fireplace” with kindling. When its unique “Pedal” function is engaged, the unit becomes an out-of-this-world lighting fixture. Set up in the right house, it seems like it could provide a fun feature for the whole family.

The post Our Favorite Designs from This Year’s IMM Cologne first appeared on Dornob.

The wall-to-wall carpeting and mirrored gazebo dining room definitely had to go, but that was just the start of the renovation. Bandini wanted a total transformation that could practically double as a set for a sci-fi film. Finding an architect who understood that vision wasn’t easy, but when Michele Mole from Nemesi Studio presented renderings to him that looked like something out of Star Trek, he knew he had found the right person for the job. The next big challenge was actually bringing it to life, as virtually every component of the new interiors would have to be individually designed and hand-crafted.

Mole and Bandini spent the next four years overseeing the installation of custom steel surfaces on every floor, ceiling, and wall in the 3,444-square-foot apartment. All of the older elements were torn out and replaced with complex new arrangements of gleaming metal, complemented every now and then with a bit of wood or glass. The “experimental” floating staircase, which Bandini refers to as his “personal catwalk,” took six months to build by itself. Angular elements jut out of the walls and floor to offer built-in furniture and storage, including bookcases and strikingly abstract kitchen counters.

All that shiny steel could easily result in a space that feels like an industrial freezer. While the look might leave lovers of more traditional interiors feeling cold, it definitely exudes its intended effect. Natural light comes streaming in through generously sized windows, penetrating spaces like the bathroom to produce a warm glow. On the top level, the ceiling’s hand-hewn wooden beams offer an organic counterbalance to the sleek designs beneath it.

The bachelor pad’s vast open living area is minimally accented with elegant modern furniture, providing the ideal setting for parties of all sizes. These communal spaces lead out to a generously sized rooftop terrace with breathtaking views of the city. Since its completion, Bandini explains that it’s rarely had a quiet moment, acting as a social hub for his network of friends and associates. In a recent interview with Wallpaper, he explained that the minimalism of the space is what truly allowed it to shine.

“The apartment is the artwork. So what more do I need?”

Rome may still be a land of awe-inspiring ruins and classical statues, but Bandini’s apartment there is just one example of a new Renaissance: one that’s quietly ushering in surprising ultramodern additions like Zaha Hadid’s prizewinning MAXXI art museum. As the city continues to evolve in the 21st century and beyond, we can expect to see a lot more dramatic contrasts like these, with ancient and futuristic designs existing side-by-side.

All photos by Andrea Ferrari

The post 15th-Century Apartment in Rome Converted Into a Modern Bachelor Pad first appeared on Dornob.

Detached backyard home offices are an intriguing proposition for property owners, providing just enough separation from domestic life for optimal concentration while simultaneously allowing for easy access to home-cooked meals and eliminating the hassle of commutes. They also present great opportunities for architectural experimentation, whether that means creating artistic shapes in and of themselves, augmenting a historic home with a modern addition, or covering a simple structure with a lush, serene net of living ivy.

For architects Kagan Taylor and Justin Rice, designing their own detached office was a labor of love that served three purposes at once. Today, their pod sits in a paved lot adjacent to the firm’s main facilities in Highland Park.

“This is not a project that we would have been able to hand off to a contractor to execute, so we bypassed the normal methods of an architectural production and relied on the most experimental potential of our design/build model,” the architects explain. “Lighthouse is an office for our business, a showcase of our craft, and an example of the huge potential within rethinking the way we design and build.”

Taylor and Rice didn’t just aim to approach the project from a new perspective — they wanted to “wipe the slate clean” altogether, transcending the boundaries of architecture using techniques and ideas from boat building, car manufacturing, and furniture making. The result is “Lighthouse,” named so not for its resemblance to shoreline structures of the same name, but for its weight (or lack thereof).

Working with a small budget and doing all the work themselves, the architects wanted to test their own limits and perceptions of what architecture should look like, including the idea that a building should have four walls and consist of only right angles. Lightweight shop-fabricated and mitered structural insulated panels (SIP) make up the pod’s irregular geometric surfaces for a result that looks a bit like an abstracted boulder. Lighthouse’s door, windows, and skylight were custom-made to fit the openings in the frame.

It may only offer the design duo an additional 150 square feet, but it’s space well-used, and it feels a lot larger inside than it looks from the outside. High ceilings and lots of natural light help with that illusion. Since it’s so light, the pod doesn’t even need a traditional foundation. Taylor and Rice placed it on a platform equipped with casters from a rolling dumpster so they can easily slide it around — an especially handy option when they’ve got structures to build in other places.

It may be small, but experimental structures like Lighthouse can pave the way for fresh approaches to larger-scale buildings in the future, helping us literally think outside the box.

“We hope that future Lighthouses will become beacons for those searching for smaller sustainable buildings that embrace contemporary architectural design,” they say.

The post Lighthouse Office Pod Looks Like an Abstracted Backyard Boulder first appeared on Dornob.

Portrait of the Artist

The Istanbul-born Anadol has previously used Gehry’s architectural masterwork to display his own work. In June 2018, he used stunning projections to promote the philharmonic’s presentation of Das Paradies und die Peri. In 2014, he crafted a site-specific video installation and projected it onto the interior walls of the concert hall during an orchestral composition of Edgard Varese’s “Amériques.”

For this latest project, which ran nightly from September 28th to October 6th, Anadol used audio, images, and videos of the philharmonic carefully culled from over 150,000 performances. He started by creating brand new imagery and transforming it into strategically connected data points. Next, he visualized that data as gripping graphics that would immediately transform the celebrated structure into a colossal civic art exhibit.

Vision Slowly Becomes Reality

Lillian Disney, widow of Walt Disney, donated $50 million to build the concert hall in 1987. Gehry was commissioned to design the structure and completed his plans in 1991. The basic structure was completed in 1996 and cost $110 million. It took all the way up until 1999 to raise the massive funds ($164 million) needed to complete the project. Five years later, in 2003, Gehry’s highly-anticipated vision had come to life.

From the very beginning, Gehry’s imagined WDCH included a façade that could be used as a giant screen for projecting various types of media. One of his first thoughts was even to project a concert on the building’s exterior surface as it was being performed inside. Much to the dismay of Gehry, higher-ups quickly rejected his idea. He recently revealed in an interview: “It was thought [that] that was offering people who couldn’t afford it to see it secondhand, and that was a demeaning thing. That was brought up by important people in the county.”

The Show Unveiled

The new show, called WDCH Dreams, runs 12 minutes long and is repeated nightly every half hour from 7:30 to 11:30 P.M. The patterns and images all come from the Philharmonic’s archives and are being rendered by 42 dynamic high-capacity projectors.

If you miss the initial nine-day show, the city’s Ira Gershwin Gallery is also hosting a complementary indoor exhibit through the end of the season. Visitors can interactively produce a personalized data-driven tour through the LA Philharmonic archives, accessing decades’ worth of memories and highlights with the help of a touch screen interface.

The post Walt Disney Concert Hall Covered with Spectacular Projections as Part of New Retrospective first appeared on Dornob.

Society6’s new collection consists of six pieces, each of which can be bought individually to spruce up a dull kitchen or living room corner. Pick out a bench, credenza, coffee table, side table, counter stool, or bar stool for yourself, or buy the whole set if you’re trying to breathe new life into an entire room. Each piece bears a similar design, standing on slim metallic-framed legs with gently curved edges for a softened appearance. The legs are sprayed in either gold or black metallic paint, and atop each chair and stool is a padded seat that can be covered in a wide array of designs and patterns.

Pick out a set of counter stools that are small and easy to store for that Christmas dinner party or summer soirée you’re planning. That way you can bring them out when you need them but keep them stowed away the rest of the year. They slot in easily under dining tables but could almost be considered a decorative feature in themselves (as could the bar stools). A taller version of the counter stool but just as on-trend, the bar stool is perfect for any breakfast bar or window ledge, allowing you to make the most of those built-in spaces in your home.

The chairs aren’t the only stunning items in the new furniture collection. The coffee table is a sleek rectangular unit, with a Birch tabletop that comes with your choice of amazing artwork on its surface. You can choose from an abstract or geometric design, but one of our personal favorites is the “Terrazzo Treasure” design by Elisabeth Fredriksson, which is sure to fit in beautifully with any living room set. The credenza’s doors are adorned with eye-catching patterns like floral prints and colorful ethnic motifs. The side tables can be fitted with either round or square tops and are perfect for that space beside your favorite couch or chair, and the benches can be used as extra seating or to take up some blank wall space. Check out the full collection here!

The post Society6 Releases New Customizable Furniture Collection first appeared on Dornob.

“The Great Wave Off Kanagawa” is one of the most recognizable works of Japanese art in the world. Created between 1829 and 1833 by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai, the woodblock print has since been placed on everything from coffee mugs and tote bags to murals and large-scale gallery prints. But have you ever seen a piece of architecture that takes direct inspiration from such a world-renowned work of art?

California-based architect Mario Romano takes an abstracted approach to “The Great Wave” in his “Preston House” design, but the inspiration is undeniable—especially when viewing the home from a diagonal angle and taking in the way the roof seems to “crash” over the architectural volumes below. Romano’s working motto is “live in art,” and he certainly lives up to it with this 5,700-square-foot home, clad in layers of brushed aluminum.

The rippling, metallic roof reflects the sky, and in the light seems to roll like an actual wave. This facade sits one inch above the home’s waterproof skin, allowing it to breathe while protecting it from rain. Simultaneously, hot air is pushed up and out of the home instead of staying trapped beneath the roof, effectively regulating the temperature of the interiors and reducing the need for air conditioning. Even without these practical amenities, the sheer aesthetics of the house make it an instant classic. Stare at it long enough, and you’ll start to believe it has come to life.

“The architectural language of Preston resembles the movement of calligraphy or a building of brush strokes,” says Romano. “Envisioning Hokusai’s ‘The Wave,’ the initial sketches were shaped like auburn ships. A wind blowing. A sea rising. Roof eaves spiraling back into themselves. A great wave crashing, only one of Hokusai’s blues and white-silvers. The roof returns over our head like a solitude of barreled water.”

Romano considers himself an artist first and foremost. He uses digital fabrication to manifest complex geometries in the physical world. “That’s architecture,” he says, “from poetry to reality… there is something authoritarian about a box-like structure. I’m driven to create a structure that is sensitive to the neighborhood, as if it were a form you could discover in nature.”

The slatted wood cladding along the outer walls adds an extra level of depth to an already-kinetic design. Such an organic approach is especially fitting in coastal California. The only potential improvement that could be made to the home would be the carrying of its aesthetic considerations into the interiors: taking cues from the arching and flowing forms outside to engage its inhabitants in their daily lives.

It’s certainly a remarkable home. It’s always cool to see crossovers between art and architecture, which don’t happen nearly often enough. In this case, the reference is abstract enough to avoid being overly cheesy. You might not guess, by looking at it, that it’s inspired by a famous painting, but the subtle nod adds layers of meaning, and the architect’s interpretation has created a truly unique work of residential architecture. Would you live in a house like this?

The post Great Wave: This California Home Takes Inspiration from the Classic Hokusai Painting first appeared on Dornob.

Gaze down at your hotel bed from a tub perched on the pinnacle of a wooden ‘mountain’ at Amsterdam’s Volkshotel. The Edmund suite of this fun art hotel features an all-in-one, freestanding structure containing a double bed, wardrobe, mirror, shower, and toilet; climb the built-in stairs to reach the full-sized soaking tub and adjacent cactus garden.

Made of wood and rubber, the hotel pod has every function you’d expect in a standard hotel room clustered into an abstracted mountain shape. It fits within a larger room with an adjacent sitting area, and is one of nine unique suites in the hotel. Accommodating two, it rents out for about $129 per night.

It’s an unusual twist on the room-in-a-box concept, which generally packs as much function as possible into a prefab unit, eliminating the need for separate furniture and closets. While other designs are often modular and/or rectilinear, this one takes a more artistic approach.

“Edmund is one of the nine special rooms of the brand new Volkshotel in Amsterdam. The room was designed in collaboration with Jasper Eustace. Several objects of wood and rubber have been clustered into a mountain inspired shape. The mountain contains all the room’s functionality with the pinnacle bathtub being the absolute highlight.”

About the designer: “Jos Blom lives and works in Amsterdam. After he graduated at the TU Delft as an architect he founded FLATarchitects with Tim Piet. Since 2014 he works as an independent architect/designer. In his work, the emphasis is on small-scale architectural projects. In addition Jos has focused on the development of easy to assemble and reusable building systems. An example of this is the 21panels project – an easy to assemble temporary wooden house to be used at fairs and festivals. Besides architectural projects Jos also works on exhibition and furniture design.”

The post Wild Wooden Art Hotel in Amsterdam Features a Hidden Tub first appeared on Dornob.

Choosing new wallpaper is a huge decision, one that will affect your home’s appearance for years to come. If you find yourself biting your nails over finding the perfect wallpaper, All The Fruits has you – or your walls, anyway – covered. Their Cut & Paste collection is perfect for indecisive decorators.

The wallpaper line features a series of non-repeating patterns with various shapes and colors. They all go well together, but they aren’t predictable or arranged in a traditional manner. The two collections, Pink and Blue, each have their own patchwork parts that fit together into strangely pleasing strips of colors.

The diagram above shows how a roll of Cut & Paste wallpaper is put up on a wall. Because the patterns are non-repeating, there is no need to line up patterns from one strip to the next. You just hang the strips up side by side and the complementary patterns make for a crazily awesome patchwork effect on your wall.

The semi-random colorful patterns might drive some people crazy, but if you’re interested in a completely unique wall covering, the Cut & Paste collection is a cute and fun way to personalize your home’s interior.

“Cut & Paste is a 10 meter roll printed on high quality non-woven wallpaper. This wallpaper has no repeat: rather than usual wallpaper that has a repeat and has to be matched and aligned, the idea behind Cut & Paste paper is the opposite. The collection of colours and patterns has been carefully designed to compliment each other without the need for matching. Just cut the paper to the length you need and paste it to the wall, with no matching or waste.”

“We started working together back in 2013, both living in London and working in Interior Design. The city gave us opportunities to start collaborating on a few Decoration and Interior Design projects and luckily we were given blank canvases to work on. This allowed us to fully merge our experience in Interior Design with the more playful world of Illustration.  We received a very positive response from these first interior projects, and our design studio All The Fruits was born!  Within All The Fruits we combine our passion for colour and form, and apply it to the world of interior design, decoration, product and textile. “

“As a studio, we’d love our work to have a positive impact on the chosen space. We aim to push the boundaries past what is considered safe and normal, and implement a change to the surroundings through our artwork. 
Quality is of the upmost importance, both in the design process and also in manufacture, and wherever possible we promote local materials and techniques.  “

The post Random Patterns Make Fascinating, Unique Wallpaper first appeared on Dornob.

“Glamorous”, “spectacular” and “surrealism” are some descriptors offered by the Bulgarian designers of this this electrified room design.

Practicality takes a back seat to formal experimentation and cubist expressionism – shelves, cabinets and racks are fit into the carved-up walls almost as an afterthought.

As a bonus, there is almost no way for this room to look messy – it is chaotic by design, which is a good fit for at least certain cooking styles.

Gememilli Design Studio takes a similarly colorful and angular approach to other interior designs as well, including and beyond some of the examples shown above.

The post Cubism, Cubed: Green Tendrils Wrap Through White Kitchen first appeared on Dornob.