natural beauty : design : sofa xxxx by Yuya Ushida

sofa xxxx by yuya ushida via the method case

A chair becomes a sofa, and a sofa becomes a chair. Whenever I see it the beauty of the simple geometrical structure and its repetition always fascinates me. SOFA_XXXX is made of just 4 different lengths of sticks, rings and joints. The parts on their own don’t seem to be special, but when put together in a regular pattern their beauty appears. It can be contracted, which makes it easier for transportation. While contracted it can be even used as a chair.  When you saw SOFA_XXXX, you might have thought it is an art piece. However he prefers to focus on our daily life rather than making an art. They chose to use plastic injection molding. And you can click in to build it up. It consists of only 8 elements, you can make many shapes. Examples; Sofa, Stool, Table and Bench etc.

private bunker : photography : carsten güth

private bunker by carsten güth via offmag

Private Bunker Series, the collection of photographs show a variety of residential houses shut-off from the outside world; their windows and doors nowhere to be seen. There’s a surrealism and a beauty to these images. In many ways they feel claustrophobic – even horrific – but there’s also an elegance to be found in their minimalist forms and their obscure abstractions. Carsten Güth studied architecture but now lives and works in Stuttgart as a designer. Recently he released this series as a zine and you can check out photographs of it on his blog.                                                              .

barn conversion : architecture : ábaton : extremadura

barn conversion by ábaton architects in extremadura : via dezeen                                                           .

ideological dreams : architecture : buzludzha : shipka bulgaria

photos : Chris Kuklok, Buzludja, Evgeni Dinev, Xiao Yang and Nicola  text : Guéorguy Stoilov

via : architectuul

This monument located on Mount Buzludzha is the biggest ideological building in Bulgaria. It was built as a tribute to the creation of the Bulgarian socialist movement in 1891. Several access roads were built (today in a really bad condition) from Shipka and from the main road Stara Zagora – Roussée. The road exit for Buzludzha is a gigantic statue of Dimitar Blagoev. The construction of Buzludzha was made possible thanks to government funds and supporters’ donations for an amount of around 14 186 000 leva (around 7 000 000 €). The site was built by civil engineering troops from the Bulgarian army and volunteers. The master builder was General Delcho Delchev who was in charge of the Stara Zagora civil engineering section. The author of this project was the architect Guéorguy Stoilov. Several famous painters and sculptors have participated to the decoration. Ever since the superseding of Bulgarian president Todor Givkovand and the political changes that occurred in Bulgaria from 1989, the state of the monument has been worsening. portraits of Ludmila and Todor Givkov have been voluntarily destroyed. The copper adornments have been stolen. The building is slowly disintegrating; marauders are consistently breaking windows and stealing mosaics and ornaments. Nowadays, the monument is abandoned and no public institution seems to be concerned by the conservation of renovation of the building. The Bulgarian socialist party itself is not taking any action towards the maintenance of its most important symbol.                                                              .

a town resurfaced : epecuen argentina : photography : natacha pisarenko : the associated press

photos by natacha pisarenko via gawker

Epecuen, Argentina was once a popular lakeside resort town, known for its saltwater baths and spas. It was especially popular among Argentine Jews from nearby Buenos Aires, who found the lake, which had 10 times more salt than the ocean, and was buoyant, similar to the Middle East’s Dead Sea. But then in November 1985, after a series of wet winters, the lake flooded the town. A retaining wall failed and the salty water submerged the streets. Now the waters have receded, exposing what remains of the former resort. The Associated Press’s Natacha Pisarenko took these photos as she followed a tour guide through the ruins.                                                                                                                                   .

art box : artist studio by A31 architects : boetiya : greece

art studio by A31 architects : via somewhere i would like to live  

Between olive trees, oleander and cypress trees lying on 4000m2 area just a few meters from this beautiful garden your artists in his workshop – a painter and sculptor. The landscape is not spoiled because the building is open space (read: no interior walls), making it ideal for such purposes. Assignment was to construct a studio effectively, cleanly and with discipline, to merge with the spirit of the Greek landscape. The structure is a reinforced concrete shell built by numerous wooden panels. The shape is timeless, built as a dome, which is bordered by ancient modernism and interact with wonderful intimate place for artists.                                                                                                           .

beauty in brutalism : architecture & photography : louis kahn visual archive by naquib hossain

louis kahn by naquib hossain via oen

here are some incredible images of buildings designed by the great architect Louis Kahn, photographed by Naquib Hossain.

Interestingly enough the pictures on the website were shot using an old Minolta SLR and colour slide film, most of the black and white photographs were taken with Agfa Scala film. Obviously, I couldn’t present these exact photographs as they’re a lot smaller in size, but Naquib also has a nice selection on his Flickr page for us to peruse and I’m really chuffed to present them here on the site! The buildings are monumental to the least, the shapes and textures are just mind blowing. A true genius at work. In terms of photography I’m undecided which collection I like best, I think the film camera brings an interesting element to the whole Louis Kahn experience. It’s almost as if it adds an extra dimension and unveils new details and textures that you wouldn’t see otherwise. I guess it also takes you back to the original drawings and how it would of been imagined in his brain as a designer.

Although his works are big in stature and can often be brutalist on the eyes, Louis had a way of using abstract shapes that gave buildings depth and detail. An interesting concept that I’ve been drawn to lately is the idea of “bearing all the scars”, I saw this first through ceramic/pottery work and it made a good link through to architecture as well. Lo and behold, whilst watching a Louis Kahn documentary they talked about this exact same idea and how Louis used it in his own works. In my eyes this links back to various other concepts that I’ve personally surrounded myself with, embracing time and progression, celebrating cracks and natural marks, also the weathered look that appears due to time and use. Maybe this is a way of thinking rather than a design principle, but I think it affects the final piece in some way or another and you can see it throughout the builds here. It’s not often that I have my breathe taken away, but these builds are sure to do that, so why not have a look around on the Louis Kahn Visual Archive to see if anything takes your fancy in terms of inspiration. Enjoy!

blending in : desert house : dust architects : sonoran desert arizona USA

tucson mountain retreat by dust architects : photos by jeff goldberg/esto : via dezeen

This holiday house with rammed earth walls by US architects DUST is nestled amongst the rocky outcrops and sprouting cacti of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. ”Great effort was invested to minimise the physical impact of the home in such a fragile environment, while at the same time attempting to create a place that would serve as a backdrop to life and strengthen the sacred connections to the awe-inspiring mystical landscape,” explains Hayes. The rooms of the house are separated into three zones, comprising a sleeping and bathing area, a central living room and a music studio. Residents have to leave the building to move between zones, intended to provide acoustic separation.

a match made in france : architecture & furniture design : Le Corbusier & Charlotte Perriand

When 24-year-old Charlotte Perriand walked into the studio of Le Corbusier looking for a job, he turned her away. “We don’t embroider cushions here,” the master said. His mind quickly changed when he saw the Bar Sous le Toît rooftop space she created in aluminum, nickel-plated copper, and glass for the Salon D’Automne in Paris. The two embarked on a ten-year collaboration—along with Corbusier’s partner and cousin Pierre Jeanneret—that produced such pieces as the iconic Grand Comfort, a leather and metal chair that debuted at the 1929 Salon d’Automne. “The smallest pencil stroke had to have a point,” Perriand recalled of her time in Corbusier’s studio, “to fulfill a need, or respond to a gesture or posture, and to be achieved at mass-production prices.”  via somewhere i would like to live                                                                                                                                        .

swim inside : architecture : Raymond Loewy House by albert frey : palm springs

Designed by Palm Springs architect Albert Frey, built in 1946-47 as a bachelor retreat, and expanded later when Loewy got married… the house has been restored by metalware manufacturer Jim Gaudineer who said of the design, “When you slide open the glass walls, it’s almost like living outdoors.” With the lights off and the pool, alone, illuminated by a powerful submerged lamp, “the scene resembles a blue lagoon in a desert oasis, ” Loewy once wrote. Loewy’s home is a typical Palm Springs modernist villa with a low-slung pavilion and plenty of glass providing striking views of desert, mountains, and the pool and garden… making the private oasis complete. Loewy despised “bad modern” design, especially furniture, so the size, shape, and rooms of the home and furnishings were kept simple and spare. It is a demure house of small size but generous impact. The “Philippe Starck” of his day, Raymound Loewy — a frenchman turned American — was the go-to man for designing everything from the famous Coca-Cola Bottle, Air Force One’s paint scheme, Shell Oil’s logo and gas stations to locomotives and pencil sharpeners, as well as great automobile bodies such as the Studebaker Avanti.  text and photos via faustian urge