It’s immediately clear why such pieces would be displayed in a gallery: they are indisputable works of art. The sculptural “Khanda” table is a standout, consisting of three separate black wood pieces that can either be pushed together or separated for flexible usage. “Khanda is a playful yet grounded piece with a certain sense of timelessness in its solid mass,” explain the designers. “Its function varies from a low table, a pair of stools, a bench… it is a dynamic piece of furniture which evolves in a room by changing its function over time.”

A pair of stools called “Cuddle” function much the same way as the Khanda table, coming together like living creatures seeking comfort. The makers explain that the design was born “as a story between two beings,” bringing two seated users together in close proximity or separating them as more autonomous beings.

Likewise, the alluring “La Nuit Étoilée” armchair embraces the user with a mysterious shape and a color palette inspired by the midnight sky. “As we approach it from the back, it appears like a piece of the moon, levitating in space,” says Atelier Pendhapa. “ [The inside] reveals a radically contrasting interior in soft night blue. A swivel mechanism is concealed within its solid dark wooden structure.”

The “Mast” chair aims to bring balance to the body with its solidity, which “anchors the object in space.” Its curved design consists of just two elements, a base, and a circular back that folds around the body to provide a sense of intimacy. The “Anchor” chair achieves a similar effect in a slightly different shape, with a lower center of gravity and a soft blue velvet seat.

The “Sarani” trio of objects takes its name from the Sanskrit word for “an endless spiritual path,” and includes three pieces designed with this notion of infinity embodied in their curving shapes. Atelier Pendhapa collaborated with a local fine metal craftsman to bring the objects to life, pairing their signature black teak with Kuningan metal. The objects include a striking coffee table, a vase, and a bowl.

Other pieces by Atelier Pendhapa are just as captivating, like the “Naksathra” sofa with its skeletal black frame and structured white cushions, the graphic black and white “L’Écorce” bench with its built-in side table, and the invigorating “Admani” bench, a collaboration with artist Helena Bajaj Larsen.

Founded in 2019, Atelier Pendhapa consists of designer/architect duo Antonin Hautefort of France and Ignatio Tenggara of Indonesia. Hautefort and Tenggara bring together their diverse cultural backgrounds and a shared passion for local craftsmanship to design spaces and objects that evolve over time, yet feel timeless and always in dialogue with their context.

The post Atelier Pendhapa’s Dramatic Black Teak Furniture Collection Debuts at Paris Gallery first appeared on Dornob.

It took 18 months just to install the robotically manufactured exterior panels on the 322,000-square-foot museum, which is spread out over seven column-free floors. The unusual structure is a torus shape with an ovoid cutout in the middle, described by some observers as a massive eye. Its structural design relies on a network of 2,400 steel tubes intersecting diagonally in the outer frame, which supports slabs of concrete flooring and 183,000 square feet of cladding.

Designed by Emirati artist Mattar bin Lahej, the three-foot-tall text on the outside is a message of hope for the future from Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. It’s incised into the panels, allowing sunlight and LED lighting to outline the shapes by day and night.

“Standing 77 meters tall, the avant garde facade is made of stainless steel and glass, consisting of 1,024 separate panels, each one specially created by robots and algorithms,” explains a press release by the Museum of the Future. “The number of panels has its own significance. It represents a basic unit of the digital information storage system of computers, which is a kilobyte, and each kilobyte is equal to 1,024 bytes. The Arabic script windows cast light into the interior by day and at night illuminate the city’s iconic skyline with 14 kilometers [8.7 miles] of energy-saving, resource-efficient LED lights.”

“Due to the building’s complex geometry and flowing calligraphy, each separate panel is unique. No two are alike. Each piece had to be individually precast and produced, with numerous prototypes designed and manufactured before a winning formula could be achieved. Every single panel was produced using automated robotic arms. Each panel is made up of four layers and was created following a complex 16-step process. The precision and focus required to create each panel meant that only several could be produced per day.”

Inside, visitors will find a mix of traditional exhibitions, immersive theater, and themed attractions. It’s also home to Dubai’s “Great Arab Minds” initiative, which aims to identify 1,000 exceptional Arab talents across key fields. The museum is envisioned as “a gateway to the world 50 years from now,” demonstrating how next-generation solutions like artificial intelligence and augmented reality can enhance our lives. Each floor is designed like a movie set brought to life by storytellers, technologists, and artists, focusing on topics like space travel, climate change, ecology, health, wellness, and spirituality.

Tickets for adults are 145 AED (about $39 USD) and free for kids under three years old.

The post Dubai’s Museum of the Future Offers a Message of Hope first appeared on Dornob.

Instead, it’s a new furniture collection imagined by famed artist Miguel Chevalier and the designers of A+A Cooren Studio: a daring, bold amalgamation of art and design. Recently shown at Paris Design Week, the collection, which is managed by Mobilier National, pushes the envelope with its trippy, imaginative patterns and cutting-edge design concepts, which ask users to (you guessed it) “sit down in a cloud of pixels.”

To achieve this, the creators blended highly pixelated patterns with the pieces’ stylish, detailed lines that for a beautiful contrast that’s somehow both spartan and highly immersive. Miguel Chevalier, himself known as a forward-thinking virtual/digital artist always on the cutting edge of creative design, is the driving force behind the pixellated picture painted by the collection’s bold patterns. Pixels, to him, are the “equivalent of the pictorial touch, the metaphorical image of the quantitative explosion of digital data which compels [us] to find new ways to store the data, to see and analyze the world.”

That the French artist would want to push the boundaries of furniture design to futuristic levels of data interpretation is no surprise. Part social commentary, part work of art, the furniture is meant to be immersive, challenging the users’ perceptions while simultaneously altering them. What’s more, A+A Cooren Studio’s detailed design work and clean, aesthetic lines complement the patterns perfectly, creating a masterpiece of visual trickery that’s meant to be “as elementary as a pixel for it to disappear in favor of the pattern.” In other words, the illusion of being suspended.

The manufacturer of the collection, Mobilier National, is an agency run under the supervision of the French Ministry of Culture. With a storied history all its own, the institution was once responsible for the curation of furniture in the French royal residences. However, though it still administers furniture for the state, it also strives to curate and develop modern furniture collections to adorn official buildings with an eye toward avant garde design and contemporary pieces bearing a unique and distinctive look, such as “dans un nuage de pixels,” i.e. “in a cloud of pixels.”

The collection was originally conceived in 2016 but only recently reached completion. Consisting of armchairs, a sofa, and a savonnerie rug, it has proved to be well worth the wait. Dramatically presented in the Gobelins Chapel at Paris Design Week in a psychedelic setting accentuated by a Chevalier virtual reality projection on the ceiling, the collection’s bold patterns and pixelated mien both draw and challenge the eye. Still, the collection is every bit as functional as it is fabulous, as the rounded shapes of the chairs and sofa were designed with comfort in mind, like a cloud of pixels where the user can get lost, creating a “new way to see and analyze the world” where one can almost hear Pink Floyd playing in the background.

The post Miguel Chevalier and A+A Cooren Studio’s Mind-Bending “Pixelated” Furniture Collection is Bold and Beautiful first appeared on Dornob.

As the founder of his eponymous firm James Law Cybertecture, the architect, technologist, and entrepreneur wanted to focus on ways innovative design could improve our quality of life. He shifted the focus of his firm to his new concept, expanding beyond buildings into artistic sculptures, interior design, technology, and master planning, making use of technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D printing, and an intelligent 3D modeling process called Building Information Modeling.

Since then, Law and his firm have created prefab pod housing, futuristic large-scale developments, the world-renowned OPod Tube House affordable housing concept in Hong Kong, the “Cybertecture Mirror” with a digital display, the design and development of the “Hyperloop” electromagnetically propelled transportation system, and much, much more. And if you think his work looks like something out of a sci-fi movie, you’re 100 percent right. He also collaborated with director Wong Kar Wai on the design of the 2005 film 2046.

Each project in the James Law Cybertecture portfolio is clearly ahead of its time. Law might just help usher in a new era of extremely technology-connected architecture that we’ve only begun to imagine as a tangible possibility. Take, for instance, his “Technosphere,” a 10 million-square-foot mini city project for Dubai designed as a micro-planet comprising residential, retail, commercial, entertainment, and hotel complexes complete with its own system of roads, solar power, water and waste recycling, and compact agriculture. It looks a bit like the Death Star.

Law is careful to note that he’s not interested in gimmicks that grab attention on the internet but never go anywhere. As he explained in a 2019 interview with StirWorld, bringing change to the industry will be a slow process requiring a lot of dedication.

“Whenever you are doing something new, the society/client/users do not know how to accept or understand it; the actual execution is also challenging the construction industry, which is experienced with building the conventional way [and is suddenly] asked to do something totally different,” he says. “In both cases, there is a lot of friction and inertia to accept this newness. One must put in effort and time to educate and explain from their point of view and take them carefully and patiently through the rationale and benefits of doing any innovation; highlighting that ultimately doing this has immediate and long-term benefits as compared to the conventional way.”

Fantastical as they may seem, the firm’s projects aren’t just concepts. Many have actually been built, including The Capital in Mumbai, a commercial building with 1.5 million square feet of multi-use space, a sculptural curtain wall, a sky lobby, automated robotic car parking, and a LEED Gold rating for sustainable design.

“Cybertecture is the design of all things for a more intelligent world through new pieces of architecture, interior space, artwork, technology, and strategy,” says the firm. “We see humanity undergoing a new renaissance of rapid change on this planet, so we believe that every product we design and build should contribute to a sustainable and better world for all people. We believe our work can alleviate suffering for all segments of society. We work only on projects we feel we can add value to, and will have a positive impact for the world through designing into them an X-Factor of creativity, original thinking, and technology.”

The post James Law Cybertecture Blends Technology with Futuristic Design first appeared on Dornob.

Danish architecture firm Waterstudio.NL made this dream a reality with “Arkup,” a new avant-garde floating home. Designed to combine the best qualities of yachts, houseboats, and modern residences, this double-decker creation stands on retractible hydraulic pilings that can raise it 20 feet into the air when needed, making it as stable as any conventional house. It’s also rated to withstand Category 4 hurricane winds of up to 155 miles per hour.

It doesn’t spare any details when it comes to feeling like a real home, either. There’s nothing cramped about it. Measuring an impressive 4,350 square feet, the Arkup is even more spacious than a lot of urban residences, and it has all the bells and whistles you’d expect to find in a high-end townhouse. In fact, everything about it looks more like a house than a boat.

When you’re ready to move, all you have to do is pull up anchor and start the engines: a pair of 100 kW (134 hp) electric azimuth thrusters, to be precise, which allow the 75-foot-long houseboat to reach speeds of 7 knots. Dock at a metropolitan marina for access to city amenities, or take a cruise down to a quieter and more scenic setting. The prototype is currently docked at Vice City Marina in Miami, Florida.

The Arkup is self-sufficient, producing its own power via a 36 kW solar panel array and a 1,000 kWh battery bank. Rainwater is collected from the roof and purified to make it safe for drinking, though it’s unclear how waste is dealt with. A smart communications system includes satellite TV and Wi-Fi antennas to keep it connected at all times, and all technical elements are stored within its modular hull. All the houseboat’s glazing ensures spectacular views of the water wherever you’re docked. A boat lift at the stern makes it easy to dock a jet ski, and the sun deck can be immersed and turned into a sea pool.

The Waterstudio team explains that “you can lie at anchor in a marina or a bay. You can cruise silently in waterways, bays, or open sea. You are free to move your home as you want. Enjoy the freedom and the variety of scenery. Live in comfort and luxury in total independence and make your life between the sea, the sky, and the city. No matter the weather conditions and high winds, surge and floods are no longer an issue thanks to this self-lifting system, making you feel 100-percent safe and protected. The four spuds allow your livable yacht to be completely stabilized and even lifted out of the water, avoiding any sea-sickness.”

“There’s just something about living on the water and coming home to the light shimmering on the surface after a long day in the city. It’s an experience you’ll never forget. Live ecologically while being self-sufficient with water and electricity. Enjoy living off-the-grid and feel the satisfaction of minimizing your carbon footprint.”

The firm adds that it plans to produce more Arkups for sale to private owners, 1/4-shared “fractional” ownership similar to a time share, and as hotels. If you go the fractional ownership route, Arkup maintains management services, taking care of details like insurance, dockage, maintenance, and even concierge services. They suggest generating revenue by chartering the vessel when you’re not using it, renting it out for four days per quarter at $2,500 per day to offset the expense of recurring operating costs.

As you might suspect, all of this still comes at a significant cost. The total cost to own an Arkup is $5.5 million USD, and fractional ownership sells for $1,375,000. But the company intends to make an “affordable version” too, whatever that means.

The post Solar-Powered Yacht Villa Can Rise Above High Water on Demand first appeared on Dornob.

Henk Verhoeff has taken the idea of furniture in motion a lot further with his line of dressers and cabinets that appear to have been broken by animation, pieces that make you think you’re seeing things that couldn’t possibly be real. The icing on this crazy collection is all the pieces are fully functional.

Standard Beginnings

Verhoeff spent 53 years as a joiner/cabinet maker in Auckland, New Zealand. He started crafting what he proudly calls “weird furniture” after he retired. But it isn’t animated movies that spur his creations. When asked about his style, Henk said in an interview with Bored Panda that he “[describes his] style of furniture as broken and weird,” adding: “I like making weird furniture, something that you don’t see in a shop.”

The Creative Process

The woodworker’s unique style is considered avant-garde by some, leaving many others to speculate just where his inspiration comes from. Verhoeff insists that fairy tales had nothing to do with sparking his unique line, instead maintaining that all of his designs are exclusively inspired by his “twisted brain.”

It all starts with the choice of wood. Verhoeff uses “recycled New Zealand pine, mostly, but if [he] can get my hands on some Rimu, [he] will also use that.” Of course, this apparently twisted and damaged furniture is much more difficult to build than standard fare. Verhoeff admits that “sometimes details or angles don’t work and I have to start again.” He adds that he creates the furniture at his own pace, a fascinating pastime he cherishes very dearly. “It’s hard to say how long each piece takes me. It’s unset times during the week and it could easily be 80 to 100 hours,” he claims.

How His Work was “Discovered”

Verhoeff’s daughter Linda was understandably amazed and proud of her father’s remarkable woodworking. On a lark, she posted photos of his unique work on Facebook. Fellow woodworkers went crazy, and the photo collection quickly went viral. “I was absolutely blown away at how this has gone viral, just a post my daughter put up on a page to share. I never expected ANYTHING like this,” Verhoeff admits.

Not for Sale – Yet

It’s not surprising that many people aren’t satisfied with merely seeing pictures of Verhoeff’s inimitable furniture — lots wanted to immediately order the pieces to be delivered to their homes. After all, any of his pieces would add a touch of whimsy to any room or decor scheme.

Although his fan base is teeming with potential customers, Verhoeff said none of it is for sale. “I started creating them for the pure love of it without the intention of selling them. But when I run out of space, there will be an eBay auction or two. Everything is for sale… except for my wife,” he says teasingly.

The post Henk Verhoeff Makes Wonderfully Weird Broken Furniture first appeared on Dornob.

Banana Slip

Want to slip into something fun and comfy? These playful slippers are great for lounging around home or completing a casual outfit centered on your favorite fruits. With a little imagination, you could even turn yourself into a dessert with some chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a cherry on top.

Toe Jam

If you hate your toes — except for the big one — then these shoes are for you. Just jam your four other toes into a leather pouch, perfectly paint the nail on the king toe, and rock on.

For Nerds Only

This line of sneakers by Gabriel Dishaw incorporates actual computer components in their construction. These “Circuit Board Sneakers” are upcycled Nikes, and they make the perfect gift for the geek in your life who’s usually so hard to buy for.

Hoofing It

No need to share your farm fantasies: just put on a pair of these Tabi boots by Maison Margiela to make your feet look like cloven hooves. Just be prepared for a lot of “hoofing it” jokes if you dare to dance in them.

Sticky Feet

Nothing could make a host or club owner more squeamish than someone tracking gooey chewing gum all over the place, especially on rugs and carpeting. Not as uncomfortable as they look, these shoes might just be the best light-hearted investment you’ll ever make.

Licking It Up

A la the iconic Rolling Stones band logo, these erotic shoes just might turn you on as you slip them on your feet.

Ugging It Out

For an unattractive boot that oozes comfort, UGG has come a long way, with the company now manufacturing pillows and throws that embrace your body with soothing warmth and silkiness. Why not take that feeling all the way up your thighs and UGG it out all over town?

Deli Delight

People may know you’re a big sandwich fan, but nothing shows devotion to that satisfying cuisine like a pair of Sandwich Thongs/Flip Flops. Just don’t let any real food drop on your feet while you’re in them, or hungry dogs could ruin your picnic.

Better Than Barefoot

Driving people crazy is fun and these shoes, by graphic artist Jyo John Mulloor will make people do double and triple takes of your feet wherever you go. Just be sure to get a good pedicure before you wear this barefoot style, because they leave nothing to the imagination.

Toeing the Line

Tired of endless foot grooming? You can put those worries to bed with these shoes that have toes painted on the outside, complete with polish and jewelry. Just be forewarned that foot fetishists might follow you around wherever you go.

The post Sole Mates: Weird Shoes You Have to See to Believe first appeared on Dornob.

The results of each project made with the firm’s “Plugin House” parts are refreshingly creative, adapted for the individual needs and requirements of each particular occupant. The layout, shape, size, and color vary by project, with elements inspired by avant-garde European architects of the 1960s and 80s and the Japanese Metabolism architecture movement.

Introduced a few years ago, the Plugin concept is often used to revitalize dilapidated buildings, with the elements “plugging in” to the existing structures to provide living spaces with all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a modern home without requiring the demolition of the historic structures beside them. They’ve already been used to augment several of Beijing’s historic Hutong houses, making them habitable again.

In 2018, PAO collaborated with the Shenzhen Institute of Building Research to create “Lakeside Plugin Tower,” a particularly visually pleasing structure offering two spacious levels of living areas while barely touching the land upon which it sits. That makes it an environmentally sensitive option for the landscape, allowing it to leave behind very few signs of its presence when it’s ultimately dismantled and moved.

The research facility wanted to experiment with modern sustainable architecture that could occupy unused spaces around the country without necessarily developing them, leaving their usage flexible for future recreation, agriculture, wildlife habitats, and more. That way, more housing can be created to accommodate burgeoning populations and decrease some of the congestion in cities.

As you can see, the results are pretty impressive — and not boring in the least. The diagonal supports that lift the buildings up off the ground give them an open, dynamic feeling, and make it possible to stack the volumes offset from each other for interesting configurations. On top of that, the individual crate-like boxes that make up rooms within each home can be angled to take advantage of prime views, and their roofs can even be used as terraces.

The architects add: “The Plugin House demonstrates the possibilities of smaller, more sustainable living for contemporary urban landscapes. Cities across the US and Canada are adopting new policies that encourage homeowners to build small houses in their backyards as a way of providing much needed low-cost housing. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) can generate supplemental rental income for homeowners, helping to counter NIMBYism and resistance to the densification of neighborhoods.”

“ADUs provide an alternative to the suburban expansion of cities. Through infill, new residents take advantage of existing infrastructure, public services, and community networks. While these policies are gaining momentum, the cost of building ADUs remains beyond the reach of most people. The Plugin House can potentially cut costs in half, making ADUs an affordable housing option.”

The post Lakeside Plugin Tower: An Expandable Modular Prototype by PAO first appeared on Dornob.

Kiev, Ukraine-based designer Konstantin Kofta of Kofta Studio makes some of the wildest and most attention-getting bags you’ll ever see, but they don’t sacrifice any function for their interesting looks. Made primarily of leather or rubber, Kofta’s creations take on unexpected shapes, sometimes looking like bizarre extensions of their wearers’ bodies. To wear them, you probably have to be okay with a certain amount of gawking from strangers.

The studio’s most recent offering is its fall/winter collection, “ABC,” which consists of nine sculptural geometric bags that are simple in shape but never boring.

“[The] relationship of man and space, the synthesis of technical and creative, making the form is absolute by bringing [it] to geometrical perfection. Forms cleared from any symbolism and metaphoricity or repeatability, monochrome, neutral surfaces, industrial materials, and methods of manufacture. ABC seeks to convey the simplified essence and form of objects, cutting off secondary images and shells. The symbolism prevails based on three main figures, [as well as] colors, dots, and lines.”

Some of Kofta’s designs may seem dark and strange, almost gothic — like the ones resembling anatomical human backs, matte black gas masks, and screaming faces. Others are industrial and architectural, like the barrel, canister, brick walls, and tires.

2017’s “Fear” collection includes some of these darker pieces. Kofta adds that: “fear has its own beauty, elegance, and sensuality. It is one intricate phenomenon. Only living beings may experience fear. The dead [are] nonchalant. It becomes the absolute silence, immortal and eternal, clear from the doom of an imminent ‘I.’ It is important to stop grasping things by their names. Contemplate the feeling and let it reveal itself.”

But Kofta doesn’t only work in stark black. Some of his collections are downright bright and playful, like a series shaped like fruits and vegetables, or the beautiful jewel tones of bags resembling beetles and other natural specimens.

Of the fruit-shaped “Mellow” collection, released for spring/summer 2019, Kofta writes “A fruit to be considered as a product, a final point, destination, and result of any long-term process, effort, contact; the path from birth through blossom towards art.”

Founded in 2010, Kofta Studio is the recipient of numerous art and fashion awards, including the Red Dot 2018 Award and an A’Design Award in 2016. You can see their entire archive at KoftaStudio.com.

“We want to allow the viewer to gain [a] different perspective on familiar things through synergizing our artwork. Our bags serve as a canvas for expressing our creative intentions through properties that they did not initially possess, endowing them with ability to bring aesthetic pleasure while maintaining functionality.”

The post Fashion Meets Sculpture in Avant Garde Backpacks by Kofta Studio first appeared on Dornob.

1960s designers like André Courrèges, Pierre Cardin, Emilio Pucci, and Paco Rabanne took inspiration straight from NASA, transforming the clean lines and bright white practical surfaces of spaceships and astronaut gear into avant-garde geometric silhouettes made from cutting-edge plastics. From the chain mail warrior dresses of the 1968 Roger Vadim film Barbarella to Giancarlo Zanatta’s 1978 “moon boots,” futuristic fashion imagined that high-profile space missions would guide the looks of the decades to come.

But by the time the year 1999 rolled around, space exploration became slightly less intriguing (or perhaps less relevant) to pop culture, eclipsed by fascination with computers, robots, and fictional dystopias. Now, the futuristic collections we see from major contemporary designers and design houses like Alexander McQueen, Rick Owens, Gareth Pugh, and Iris Van Herpen tend to reflect both the optimism of the space age and a certain pessimism influenced by the looming climate crisis and concerns about artificial intelligence. Here are a few examples of what that can look like.

Minimalism with an Edge

A bit more of a restrained minimalism pops up on Fall/Winter 2019 runways from The Row, Lacoste, and Tod’s, while houses like Balmain take a bit more of a dramatic approach, accenting monochromatic palettes with theatrical silhouettes and oversized accessories.

Avant-Garde Materials

Designer Iris Van Herpen leads a new generation of fashion designers utilizing state-of-the-art technology and materials to craft garments unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Using 3D-printing techniques, thermoplastics, LED lights, and materials more often seen in biotech than fashion, Van Herpen creates complex layered garments and experimental accessories. She’s also known for her collaborations with singer Bjork.

Post-Apocalyptic Style

Fashion fit for the end of the world certainly existed before the debut of the movie Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015, but interest in post-apocalyptic fashion has only intensified since then. Masks, goggles, upcycled materials, hazmat suits, military-inspired gear, and shredded textiles make references to the potential of a dusty, lawless, and resource-scarce future, as seen here from Boris Bidjan Saberi, Gareth Pugh, and Haider Ackerman.

NASA Collaborations Continue

None of this is to say that brands and fashion designers aren’t still finding a muse in NASA, albeit in a way that might feel a little retro. 2019 marks 50 years since the moon landing, after all. Mercer Amsterdam commemorated the Apollo 11 mission with a classic white leather low top sneaker featuring red laces, the NASA logo, and the coordinates of the Kennedy Space Center.

Other Space Age-tinged offerings include Balmain’s holographic silvers, fashions that look like they came straight from another planet in Rick Owens’ Spring 2019 ready-to-wear collection, and Chanel’s interstellar autumn/winter 2017 show, which featured a finale with a pyrotechnic display accompanied by Elton John’s “Rocket Man.”

The post Fashion’s Futuristic Bend Evolves for 2019 and Beyond first appeared on Dornob.

A new piece of furniture by designer and architect Volodymyr Dereznichenko does just that, taking the concept of a window seat and pairing it with the compact size and rounded shape of the tiny apartments in Tokyo’s beloved Nakagin Capsule Tower (built in 1972). The most iconic example of the Japanese avant-garde movement called Metabolism, this capsule building has gone on to inspire countless hotel designs around the world.

The creator of the building, Kisho Kurokawa, always stressed that the biggest benefit of the Nakagin Capsule Tower was its adaptability. More specifically, he explained that individual capsules could be added, removed, and updated as necessary to keep up with the times, with each one boasting a 25-year lifespan. Unfortunately, Kurokawa didn’t anticipate the fact that the capsules would prove too costly to replace. Today, many of the building’s 140 individually owned units have fallen into disrepair, while others have been abandoned altogether.

When a crowdfunding project called for ideas to renovate one of the units, Dereznichenko responded with this concept. It “leans into” the most recognizable aspect of the building, he explains, which is its rounded windows looking out onto the city and the Tokyo Bay beyond. Each one is perfectly sized to accommodate a lounging resident.

The “Capsule” design is a piece of furniture custom-shaped to fit into the walls of these apartments. Dereznichenko explains that back in the 1970s, technology took up a lot of precious space inside the 107-square-foot living cubes. But thanks to the wonders of modern tech, we can now fit all sorts of functions into incredibly compact packages, allowing the window unit to incorporate speakers, chargers, and more. Its light, sound, and air conditioning features are all controlled by an accompanying smartphone app.

“The resident is able to adjust (metabolize) the space depending on one’s preferences,” says Dereznichenko. “The resident, when moved in, receives instruction on how to set up space, making it, in a sense, the electronic device itself because the truly futuristic concept of a capsule home should not be omitted.”

The designer calls “Capsule” an “allegorical spaceship,” helping to make dilapidated yet unique and promising apartment units feel livable again. In the custom-built apartment version, the piece includes built-in storage space, while smaller standalone units demonstrate how they could be used even without a window, just to get a bit of personal space. Each one features a circular privacy shade that can be opened or closed as little or as much as the occupant desires.

While rounded window seats are often built right into the walls, “Capsule” proves that a bit of imagination and some carpentry skills could net you a custom circular window nook for just about any space. And who says your window even has to be round? Place it up against a spacious square window, and you’d never know the difference when looking at it from inside.

Nakagin Capsule Tower image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The post Capsule: The Custom Window Seat Inspired by Tokyo’s Iconic Tiny Apartments first appeared on Dornob.

Born in Oita, Japan in 1931, Isozaki was a teenager when the United States decimated Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic bombs, killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens. These events had a profound effect upon Isozaki’s view of built environments and his interest in building new cities from the ground up.

“When I was old enough to begin an understanding of the world, my hometown was burned down,” Isozaki notes in his Pritzker Prize biography. “Across the shore, the Atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, so I grew up near ground zero. It was in complete ruins, and there was no architecture, no buildings, and not even a city. Only barracks and shelters surrounded me. So, my first experience of architecture was the void of architecture, and I began to consider how people might rebuild their homes and cities.”

After graduating from the University of Tokyo, Isozaki worked for the 1987 Pritzer Prize laureate Kenzo Tange, eventually opening his own practice in 1963. As Japan entered a new era of rapid reinvention, he experimented with different styles and approaches, developing the extreme flexibility that would come to define his career. His early work, including civic buildings in his hometown like the Oita Medical Hall and Oita Prefectural Library, is decidedly futuristic and avant garde. Isozaki soon became one of the first Japanese architects to work outside of Japan during a time when Western culture began heavily influencing the East.

His first overseas commission was the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, California, completed in 1986. From there, he would go on to helm more than one hundred total built projects around the world, including the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, the Shenzhen Cultural Center in China, the Central Academy of Fine Arts Art Museum in Beijing, and the Qatar National Convention Center. Despite the fluidity of his style, there are a few connecting threads between all of his projects, including a sense of solidity and the use of simple geometric forms.

“What is patently clear is that he has not been following trends but forging his own path,” write the Pritzker Prize jurors of Isozaki’s repertoire.

“Clearly, he is one of the most influential figures in contemporary world architecture on a constant search, not afraid to change and try new ideas. His architecture rests on profound understanding, not only of architecture but also of philosophy, history, theory and culture. He has brought together East and West, not through mimicry or as a collage, but through the forging of new paths. He has set an example of generosity as he supports other architects and encourages them in competitions or through collaborative works. For all these reasons, the Pritzker Architecture Prize Jury has selected Arata Isozaki the 2019 Laureate.”

The post Pritzker Prize 2019 Goes to Japanese Architect Arata Isozaki first appeared on Dornob.

The project, entitled “LWZ 38,” sees Morphtopia taking a typical five-story building that exemplifies the Viennese model of “Jugendstilarchitektur,” a particular type of art nouveau architecture associated with the city, and transforming it into a disjointed and fragmented fluid form that deconstructs the traditional conception of a facade.

The studio has taken its cues for the overhaul of the front of the building from its internal ornamentation, something characteristic of the architecture from the this period and of Otto Wagner in particular. The use of gold, mirrors, and glass marks a departure for the Morphtopia team, who has extrapolated these elements to create a “tattoo” in 2D over the front of the building, which in turn has been extruded to produce 3D elements that deform the classical facade and wrap over the top of the structure to create a canopy for its rooftop terrace.

As we mentioned earlier, the 3D skin that envelops the building is a reinterpretation of its interior — one that provides a new way of perceiving the relationship between inside and out. Morphtopia says, “The new addition grows this way from the original decoration, becoming a spatial configuration itself. Endless golden lines run along distorted warped surfaces.

Grey-black metal panels separate high relief masses. The ornament is the generator of the new architecture.” The overall effect is somewhat chaotic but echoes the glamor and gilt of a golden era of architecture in a new and unique way. Although it may seem a little uncomfortable, there is an undeniable relationship between old and new in Morphtopia’s reinterpretation of this facade, which is empowered by the use of familiar materials to give it new meaning and life.

In terms of more practical concerns, Morphtopia has allowed for an entrance through a one-story extension of the original staircase. Three pillars allocate the private services areas of the building and connect the offset undulations of the roof with the floor.

“A lightweight glass construction separates the interior space from the pool, roof garden and terraces. On the south facade a series of balconies and cantilevered boxes expand the spaces of the old house,” the designers explain. While this project is only theoretical in nature, it allows us to better visualize the innovative ways in which contemporary architecture can engage with historic buildings.

The post Morphtopia Reinvents Facade in Vienna first appeared on Dornob.