Eco?

This one is quite close to my heart as i spent a fair amount of time in the area as a child. Edward Iliffe has been granted permission to build on Green Island. Nothing against the decision, or the building particularly, just the fact is being pre-fabed in Canada. What? No chance of using one of the hundreds of brilliant Green builders in the West Country? Using local materials? Totally in tune with the immediate environment? Very stupid indeed.

Last Minute

Meant to do this ages ago but it slipped my mind. Rob Vialle, whom i shared a workshop with for years started making a Bass Marimba for a friend of his, Max, some 18 months ago (if not more). Rob is an amazing cabinet maker, but the Marimba took him well out of his comfort zone. For one, they are huge, and secondly, they are very complicated and finely balanced machines. Anyway, after months of tinkering, tuning, retuning, construction, head straching.....and more head stratching, its done! And Max is playing it TONIGHT. Not sure if there are any tickets left, but try, its sounds brilliant.
(Hope it all goes super, good and well)

Yinka Shonibare

I am going to jump the gun on this one and get it in early as i feel this is going to get a whole lot of interest when it appears, on the 24th May. I was fortunate enough to design and make the furniture for Yinka Shonibare's new studio last year, working with (the brilliant) Ann-Marie Pena. All the work is  finely considered and meticulously constructed, and the i can't wait to see the new Fourth Plinth sculpture in the flesh. Its a very large object, but obviously most of it is transparent, so the impact it has will be interesting to see. I am guessing it will be big.

Michael Johansson

Free standing furniture commissions are unfortunately less frequent than fitted projects, probably due to the fact that these days we have some much stuff and very little space to put it all. Michael Johansson explores the nature of our ever increasing objects and the fitted/freestanding dilemma in the most interesting way. In trying to make sense of what it is, and why we possess it, Johansson creates arrangements of things that are far, far greater than the sum of their parts. Check out the site fully if you have time. This is serious work, totally real but highly imaginative, executed immaculately. I am all over it.

Dionisio Gonzalez

Super interesting, and intelligent, imagined architecture from Dionisio Gonzalez. Gonzalez's work....."is not just artistic or theoretical commentary – it is a semi-concrete vision for the possible restructuring of shanty towns. He has imagined and proposed a reuse of the spontaneous constructive elements of the existing structures in mass settlements to create controlled hybrid-but-functional communities of the future."
"The artist’s critique and proposal are based on his observation of the slash-and-burn tactics of the Brazilian government which, when it intervenes, simply swoops in and sweeps areas before rebuilding utterly – at the expense of the shared structural history of an area that might not be ideal but is what many people call home."

Bram Boo

I am sure i had mentioned Bram Boo before, but had a quick look through and i can't seem to find the post so i will try again. He is very interested in emotion and personality in furniture, although function is of huge importance as well. I really like the concept of these dog like benches, barking at passers by, from the inside of the Brussels Parliament.

Opening Closing

When i was living in Peckham, (admittedly some time ago),  the creative population was huge, but so underground, it was literally living in the sewers. Of course there was, (and still is, Camberwell College), but there were so few places for Graduates to show their wares. In the nineties, the Peckham Palais, beautifully situated at the top of the Rye Lane, was a building i liked, but certainly not somewhere i ever dreamt of going, but now i think very differently. It about to open its door as arts biased music and performance venue, and i very much hope it takes off - big time. Its a brilliant area, and the latest incarnation of the Palais can only be a good, good thing.
Going in the other direction, and soon to close is Trio, at the Rocket Gallery, before a new, pure painting show, opens at the start of May. Go see, its (always) worth it.
(Also liking the blue sky/yellow colour combination)

Jubilee Wharf

Its strange when things are on your doorstep, sometimes you don't pay them the attention they deserve. When working in Cornwall i pass Jubilee Wharf everyday on the way to workshop, but it was only when a (eco architecture obsessed) friend visited this weekend that it registered fully. In my mind its not the most amazing looking building but as a working, dynamic machine its at the forefront of sustainable design. A few years ago, when it was completed,  Jonathan Glancey questioned whether it was the greenest place to live in the UK. Designed by Bill Dunster, its a super insulated, self powered complex, housing a wide range of shops, workshops and housing. I know people with studios there who have never turned the underfloor heating on - and trust me, that's quite something on a damp Cornish winters day with a strong easterly wind funneling up the estuary.

Paul Stankey

Hoping for some more interior shots of this very cool little project by Paul Stankey very soon.

(Sorry just been looking back to check up on this and saw that its dated 2007, so probably not going to see any more photos soon, (or ever). Still like it though) 23.04.10

More Herzog & de Meuron

A car park that is beautiful, even sexy!! Not a statement i thought i would be writing any time soon but Herzog & de Meuron have done it. They just refuse to be constrained by a 'house style',  unlike some contemporary architects who creations are instantly recognisable, (in keeping with the Brand identity).

Wendy Plomp

A snapshot review of a recent Wendy Plomp piece via Frame magazine.

Tam Tam

Konstantin Grcic's Tam Tam table has now been reissued by SCP some twenty years after its conception. Grcic is famous for, (amongst other things), his 'Chair One', which for me has always felt a little cold and technical. I like the DIY, low techness of these though, exposed Wing Nut included. Simple can be good.

RIBA

The Riba Bookshop, on Portland Place, is Very Good indeed.

Around the World by Zeppelin

A visually sumptuous film about the Zeppelin round the world journey. I think there is inspiration here for everyone; designers can admire the sheer size and bravado of the creations, makers get that "how the hell did they bulid that?" feeling, graphic heads get the briliant GRAF ZEPPILIN font to drool over and visual artists can just see every frame as a picture. Needless to say, i thought it rather good. However, there is a slight caveat; it is essentially a love story, but just turn the sound off if you need to, it looks stunning anyway.

PIURRA

I am on the verge of being blown away by Piurra, the way Rui Viana talks about the work is sublime.."The creation of furniture departs from the development of concepts based upon the personal experiences of demanding, innovating, recalcitrant people." Recalcitrant? The definition being: difficult to manage or operate b : not responsive to treatment c : resistant < this subject is recalcitrant both to observation and to experiment. 
I am very interested in personality within form, and so into the way '7 skirts shelf' explores this, with its Folies Bergere exuberance versus french country kitchen aesthetic, giving such open results. 
But some of Piurra's other work is a bit too surface obsessed for me, which is a shame. I know we all have to sell things, make money, but when you think clever, like Piurra do, its good to run with it and go mental sometimes. I can't help but wonder what sort of brilliant and interesting objects could be realised if they did.

Happy Stuff

Some primitive childlike fun, in keeping with the good Spring Vibe. Herzog and de Meuron design VitraHaus, which is home to Vitra's collection. Extruded simplified 'house' shapes, seemingly dropped on top of one another from a great height. The oversized windows providing huge amounts of light into the internal sections at all times of the day.
And with the Happy stool, A2designers get the colour (just) on the right side of retinal overload with their Aalto inspired stacker.

Carsten Nicolai

There is no way that Carsten Nicolai can be pigeonholed, style wise. From re-imaginging the Guggenheim to a simple demonstration of a Sonic Boom, via the making an interactive locked groove installation. There is an awful lot of stuff on the site but this demonstrates how free thinking Nicolai is, dealing with big themes of dynamics, process and perception. His latest work is ongoing -"autoR (2010) by Carsten Nicolai is the third project realized by the Temporäre Kunsthalle on its facade. autoR is conceived as a self-organizing process for which visitors are invited to apply a total of around 100,000 stickers to a white background. The abstract form of the stickers play with the idea of a logo and refers to the structure of viruses and antibodies." (read more about this piece here).

Will Criuckshank

I haven't seen Will for ages, so took a nose at his site to see whats new, and (as always) got sucked in.
Low tech inventions, constructions and machines, as art. All the pieces are site sensitive, subtle and clever - i just find them very engaging. Last year, Will made a temporary pavilion for the Havelock Walk open studios, and i guessing he may well figure again in the upcoming show. (If you read this Will, hope you and the family are all well and good).

Jean Nouvel

The Serpentine Gallery invites Jean Nouvel to design this years, the 10th, Summer Pavilion. Its hard to get a feel for it from the renderings but i definitely like the consistent red colour throughout the differing materials. The triumphant skewed wall presumably acts a beacon for those approaching from way across the park. It also looks very open, (dare i say it.... French), which i think is also a good thing. You can check it out from July - October.

Jorge Pardo

The new (May) World of Interiors just landed on my doorstep, and its a good one. Nestled amongst other gems is a piece on Jorge Pardo's Merida house, commissioned by Haunch of Venison Gallery. Rich printed and painted wooden doors set to a minimal composition, to wonky doors and hand painted walls, all wrapped up in a bar code like exterior."Essentially i am operating as an artist, but as an artist who motivates the language of architecture and design towards the ends of art".
(Sorry for the rubbish pic), i would just go and get yourself a copy.

Dice Prints

Another one of my obsessions is Dice, i have a half decent collection myself, so these letterpress dice prints really appealed to me. Stukenborg uses an amazingly simple process, which produces beautiful results, with infinite possibilities.

Detail

I really like this image, an little update on a new table, which should be finished very soon.

Garden Office

First thoughts on a proposed upcoming commission, a London garden office. It will be used all year round so the greenhouse section (to the left) is vital in providing heat to the studio, although under floor heating will also be used. The bi-fold windows allow for the space to be as open as possible. The desk will sit directly under the window to maximise that 'inside-outside' feeling. Western Red Cedar cladding would complete the exterior.