HEAD Architecture takes a boring space and transforms it into a lively, fun place to work.
From the architects:
Topline’s existing factory and office in Dongguan – a rather drab Chinese industrial building with attached dormitory – were given an overhaul to give them a more modern branded feel. This was intended to last for the 18 month period while their new premises were under design and construction. A totally remodeled entrance and waiting area were created. Corporate colours and large promotional images were used to add colour and clarity to spaces. Departments were rationalized and a new boardroom with greatly increased seating capacity added. The refectory – the social centre for the staff – was given vivid graphics and lighting, along with the provision of table football and other games for recreational use.
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Kimber Cavendish and Vicki Faust knew that they wanted to open a modern bed and breakfast right outside of the financial district in Austin, Texas but they wanted to find just the right architect for the job. Enter Burton Baldridge Architects, who took the overgrown, slanted lot in between downtown and the suburbs and transformed it into an intimate Palm Springs-style getaway, Kimber Modern.
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Sosushi is the first sushi franchising network in Italy believe it or not. While Sosushi prides itself on their extrovert menu, they also take great pride in the design of each restaurant. This is very evident in the Turin, Italy restaurant designed by UAU Architects. Located deep in the city center of this historical urban city, UAU was challenged to create a modern and trendy space within this small old stationery store. The result is beautiful.
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Studio Aisslinger recently completed designing the Michelbergerhotel in Berlin, Germany. It’s interior is raw and edgy, with an Urban Outfitters-meets-handmade kind of vibe. There are 119 rooms oin five categories, most small for singles or couples, some large enough for four. Owner Tom Michelberger, just 31 years old, desired his hotel to have a “young at heart” feeling, and renowned Designer Werner Aisslinger stepped up to the challenge, creating this highly character-driven anti-trendy boutique hotel experience.
The cost is fairly low as well to appeal to “dreamers, movers and shakers, lovebirds, soul searchers, artists, craftspeople, globetrotters.”
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I think the idea of having an eco-friendly mattress is fantastic, and San Francisco-based Keetsa Mattress is quickly becoming one of the better known mattress providers whose focus is on sustainability, recyclability and the overall health aspect of mattresses by providing a low cost alternative. They’ve just opened a new store in Soho NYC, and I love the way that the mattresses are presented in their well-designed showroom.
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This could be one of my most favorite buildings of 2010.
The newest addition to the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany is VitraHaus. Vitra’s Home Collection was in need of its own dedicated space on the Vitra Campus, so Vitra commissioned Basel-based architects Herzog & de Meuron in 2006 to design a suitable home. Thus, VitraHaus came to be — completed and open just this month.
Located on the northern side of the campus in front of the fenced perimeter of the production premises, the VitraHaus joins two other buildings in this area, the Vitra Design Museum by Frank Gehry (1989) and the Conference Pavilion by Tadao Ando (1993).
The exterior design follows the theme of the archetypal house and the theme of stacked volumes, apparent in the work of Herzog & de Meuron. It features five stories and its sole function is to present the contemporary Vitra Home Collection. Inside, the furnishings are arranged in a variety of settings for both living and working: classics by Charles & Ray Eames, George Nelson, Isamu Noguchi, Jean Prouvé and Verner Panton are combined with contemporary designs by Maarten Van Severen, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Antonio Citterio, Hella Jongerius, Jasper Morrison and others. It’s a modernist’s dream home, full of inspiration and, for me, drooling. You can also order furnishings on-site.
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buildingstudio’s botanical gardens in New Orleans Park, Louisiana, was a project inspired by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Post-Katrina, the City of New Orleans Botanical Garden commissioned a small demonstration pavilion to show firsthand how gray water reuse, rainwater harvesting and solar power might work for the average homeowner. Inside the pavilion is more information about how residents can reduce their carbon footprint while making a more pleasant living environment.
This project is a 12-ft. cube covered in aluminum screens (high-content, post-consumer) on three sides with an interior made of reclaimed lumber from homes demolished by the storm. The structure is framed in eco-friendly-treated lumber with the west wall screen made of bamboo grown on site at the Botanical Garden.
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As you follow the fabulous smell of bubblegum lingering in the air, you begin to daze off and dream of your favorite childhood moment. You then magically arrive beneath the enchanting circus tent in the Melissa Lounge at Sao Paulo Fashion Week. The amazing design by Rosenbaum was inspired by the circus and is complete with rings, bleachers, and displays hanging from the ceiling that represents trapezes, and the Melissa Collection are the modern trapeze artists.
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One of the newest additions to the ever-changing Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice, CA, is A. Kinney Court, “a concept fashion boutique gallery” opened by Garrett Leight, a native of Venice, and the son of the Oliver Peoples eyewear founder Larry Leight. When in Venice you cannot help but be inspired by the surf, sand, and skate culture. Ilan Dei Studio, located just blocks from the shop, no doubt tapped into these sources of inspiration for this project as well as taking inspiration from the Eames bent plywood processes and skateboard construction. Ilan Dei Studio not only designed, but fabricated and constructed this energetic interior.
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CB’a Design Solutions created the design of Banca Fideuram’s Private Centers, or the spaces where the Brand and its top customers meet. The Centers are an expression of Fideuram’s successful service, which is based on relationships, personalization, and attention to detail. The Private Centers project hinges on interaction at a personal level, confidentiality and a friendly reception. The complementary use of black and white creates an elegant, pleasant environment inspired by the values of confidentiality and attention to detail.
The attentive furnishings in the private rooms for meetings with the bank’s financial consultants make for a highly personal experience: each room is fitted with a Mondrian-style wall unit of intricate panels containing an entertainment center with with iPod and an espresso coffee machine to help make the customer feel at home.
The first two centers have been opened in Turin in Palazzo La Marmora and Milan inside the head office in Corso di Porta Romana. Other centers will be opened throughout 2010.
I particularly like the moss art and the geometric glass-paneled wall.
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