Lofted Forest Home: Organic Curves & Natural Materials Good things come to those who wait – particularly in a work of uniquely detailed and highly curved architecture. Nearly a decade in the making, this structure by Robert Harvey Oshatz is much like a tree house – lofted toward the top of the canopy around it – only bigger, grander, more complex and curved than most any tree house in the world. The perimeter of the structure is pushed out into the forest around it, curving in and out to create views as well as a sense of intimacy with the coniferous and deciduous tree cover. The wood and metal detailing is incredible in its variety and customization – each piece designed to fit a particular form and function. Wood and stone carry naturalistic themes from the outside in and even the metal looks naturally rusted. The curved, organic mix of materials continues to the interior of this elevated forest home – a conceptual play on the fluidity and complexity of music (the source of inspiration for the architect and client in the design).
Shokki by Laurent Corio More design for the kitchen: these cooking vessels by Paris designer Laurent Corio are made of white clay with coloured enamelled interiors. Called Shokki, the collection features handles made from looped strips of clay, shaped for easy use with a microwave oven. The pots are made of clay extracted from Burgundy, France. More about cooking in our Food and Design report for Scholtès. Here are some more details from the designer: Shokki - between the origin and the urban Combining hedonist and convivial uses, the Shokki collection is the result of a culinary sandstone tradition and a cosmopolitan lifestyle which desires speed and pleasure. Those recipients reveal a bare and pure clay while privileging the surprise of an enamelling coloured for the food zones. Resistant, dense and waterproof, this clay is extracted from the quarry of the Guimards located in the traditional Burgundy region of France. See also:
Floating Bedroom + Clever Home Studio Design Posted by rd on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 · Floating bedroom, what a neat idea! This former artist’s studio, has been transformed to a clever home design. With an area of 50 squares meters, every space has been used up effectively. The boxed bedroom is raised by half a meter from the second level, gently detaching it from the dining area in front. [via flodeau.com, ECDM] Custom Tree House Plans, DIY Ideas & Building Designs No, really: would you want to design, build and live in an real fantasy tree house all year round? More and more people have decided to do just that and where treehouses were once novelty architecture for kids they are now (almost) mainstream structures, as attested to by the pictures above via Bella Seven. Many modern tree house designs and home designers and custom builders take a site-specific approach and construct their tree buildings around not only views and rooms but also have to account for access and structural support in unique and novel ways. Some of the results are little auxiliary spaces intended for guests or vacations while others are fully developed tree homes with everything need for daily living. While a lot of attention is paid to lofty plans by fashionable designers, there are many people who continue to use quite conventional home-building plans, techniques and materials to construct tree homes and cabins that look much like ordinary residences on the ground below.
Outdoor Kitchen by Studiomama London Design Festival 2010: London designer Nina Tolstrup of Studiomama will present this mobile kitchen at 100% Design this week, alongside instructions for visitors to make their own. The project comprises a cart made of objects and materials that can be sourced at a hardware store. A bucket forms a sink connected to the garden hose, while waste water is collected in a watering can below. A chopping board fits over the trolley's handles to form an extra surface and small items can be stored on two shelves under the hob. The kitchen and instructions will be on show as part of Ten Plan at 100% Design 23-26 September. See also: Mr. See all our stories about the London Design Festival » outdoor kitchen by Nina Tolstrup - Studiomama When the weather is up for it, I love to cook outside. The outdoor kitchen comprises of gas cooking hob, a bucket sink, a chopping board and storage for crockery, utensils and a few food ingredients. See also:
Space Saving Tiny Apartment, New York This tiny but highly sophisticated studio apartment in the East Village of NYC has made us very proud, thanks to JPDA. Not only was it built as a super efficient multi-functional unit but with the use of detailed mill work, the storage capacity was very cleverly executed and resulted in a super stylish studio with a decent amount of floor space. Shouldn’t all NYC dwellers aim to live like this? You decide… A schematic rendering demonstrates a realistic plan for this tiny apartment. Although we’re not too sure how realistic that cubbyhole at the crown of the loft is in a NYC apartment building, the rest of the space makes perfect sense. This tiny living/work space is beautifully masked with natural light and looks so inviting! This mezzanine bedroom is constructed with beautiful teak wood that houses hidden storage compartments… What great use of typically neglected storage space…. Well lit and highly efficient modern kitchen has beautiful appliances and plenty of counter space.
Portable Whangapoua Beach Hut Imaginez, une plage de sable blanc en Nouvelle-Zélande et un petit nid douillé mobile. Cette petite habitation écologique est une réalisation de l’agence d’architecture Néo-Zélandaise Crosson Clarke Carnachan. REK coffee table by Reinier de Jong This coffee table by Rotterdam designer Reinier de Jong can be expanded by sliding the middle sections outwards in either direction. The top and two sides are finished in white while the edges are veneered in oak, birch or beech. Stoppers prevent you pulling the inserts too far. The REK coffee table is a continuation of his slide-out bookcase from 2008, which was one of our most popular stories that year. See more work by Reinier de Jong here. Here are some more details from de Jong: REK is a coffee table that grows with your coffee needs. You can extend REK in various ways. The top and two sides of REK are white HPL and the edges are finished with your choice of parquet wood: oak, birch or beech. The dimensions of REK table obviously vary with its configuration. REK coffee table is related to another REK by Reinier de Jong Design: the bookcase that grows with your book collection. Reinier de Jong is designer and architect.
Earthbag Construction EarthBag Homes - you're standing on the building materials... earthbag home Long sandbags are filled on-site and arranged in layers or as compressed coils. Stabilizers such as cement, lime, or sodium carbonate may be added to an ideal mix of 70% sand, 30% clay. Straw may also be added. The earthbags are then plastered over with adobe. Arquitectura en Equilibrio (Architecture in Balance) flickr.com earthbag home Plastic bags recycled into plastic bags -- if plastic does not break down for a thousand years, this building is sure to last several lifetimes. earthbag construction Foundations differ as per site. earthbag construction The time consuming part, filling the bags. earthbag construction Testing the strength of an arch. earthbag home Project Seres, Guatemala. projectseres.org, flickr.com earthbag home CalEarth -- Emergency Shelter Village, Hesperia, California. earthbag home Cal Earth -- Emergency Shelters. earthbag home CalEarth let the layers show. Resources: Lessons: More Pictures:
Future in Ruins: Small Open-Plan, Concrete & Wood Cabin Death, decay, destruction? Wait, what? No, there are no plans to demolish this place now or in the near future – but years, decades or centuries from now if the retreat becomes abandoned it will decay in a visually-dynamic way, wood pealing away from a poured-concrete platform and central cast-in-place chimney. While it is not the first worry of any architect (let alone a client), considering the way a building will weather and age both while it is used and if (when) it is eventually deserted shows forethought and imagination above and beyond the basic call of designer duty. First, the footing and certain core structural walls – most notably those wrapping the hearth in the middle – were poured on site and show the steel rebar holes that mark the means of their construction. As interesting as it is to see how this little forest home came together, it is equally interesting to imagine how it would also all come apart some day.
CT09 Enoki side tables by Philipp Mainzer for e15 Cologne 2012: German brand e15 presented these side tables that combine marble tops with coloured steel bases at trade fair imm cologne last week. Designed by architect and e15 founder Philipp Mainzer, the tables come in two different diametres and heights with white, brown or black marble. Watch an interview with Mainzer on Dezeen Screen and see all our stories about Cologne 2012 here. Here's some more information from e15: Evolving the main collection of premium furniture, e15 introduces a range of elegant and playful products designed by architect Philipp Mainzer. With the smart and playful side tables CT09 ENOKI, e15 introduces marble for the collection, applying it to novel form for the ubiquitous side table.
Bekenntnisse eines Morgenmuffels: Langschläfer aller Länder, erhebt euch! - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - KarriereSPIEGEL Sie gelten als träge Taugenichtse - Langschläfer haben einen denkbar schlechten Ruf. Zu Unrecht, findet die Journalistin und Buchautorin Bettina Hennig. Sie hat die Diktatur der Frühaufsteher satt und fordert Arbeitszeiten, die auch Morgenmuffel zur Hochform auflaufen lassen. Ich weiß, was der Postbote von mir denkt, wenn er samstags um 11 Uhr sieht, dass ich verdunkelt habe wie meine Großmutter anno 1943. Und wissen Sie was? Ich bin ein netter Mensch. Zwang zum ungesunden Rhythmus Ich gelte als charakterschwach und undiszipliniert. Nun könnte man sagen: Typisch - schließt von sich auf andere! Aber so einfach ist es ja nun doch nicht: Denn der chronobiologische Typus ist angeboren. Mehr als 65 Prozent der deutschen Bevölkerung tendieren zum Eulentum. Es ist kein individuelles, sondern ein gesellschaftliches Problem. Guten Morgen, Sachsen-Anhalt: "Wir stehen früher auf" Flexible Arbeitszeiten könnten diesem Trend entgegenwirken. Dennoch ist das Klima für solche Reformen bisher nicht da.
Tree House / Robert Potokar and Janez Brežnik The Tree House, designed by Robert Potokar of Robert Potokar Architecture Office and co-designer Janez Brežnik, is a wooden play structure that is elevated without requiring nearby trees to support its weight. The concept, originally designed in February 2008 as since been realized three times. More on this project after the break. The freestanding, self-supporting house-by-a-tree is a playhouse designed with contemporary design principles, deviating from precedents that model real houses or garden sheds. The house is made of spruce spruce plywood, protected on the exterior by a colourless nano-varnish. The furnishings are minimal and simply constructed from dowel pins that allowed children to participate in the making of their playhouse. © Andraž Kavčič, Robert Potokar, Robert Marčun plan and sections