Josephine Baker school group - Domenique Coulon & associates

Strasbourg based-practice dominique coulon & associés has created 'josephine baker' a group of schools in la courneuve, france. occupying a trapezoid-shaped plot of land, the scheme looks to reorganize the site while referencing and corresponding to a pair of housing blocks that once stood in its place. 


http://www.coulon-architecte.fr/

National museum of China - GMP architekten

German studio, gmp architekten, has completed 'national museum of china', a design that won them first place in an international competition. located in beijing, china, the structure aims to integrate elements of the existing museum into the new building without abolishing the immediately obvious distinction between new and old, contemporary and traditional. 


http://www.gmp-architekten.de/en/

filippa K - Women's Summer Collection

Filippa k - " The key to summer dressing is a wardrobe filled with pieces that are equally relaxed, well dressed and fashionable. Capture the minimal yet sporty vibe of the season with high necklines, sleeveless dresses and tanks and short hemlines. Soft neutral colours and a feminine print keeps the look sophisticated."


Filippa K - Women's Summer Collection

The Brockholes Nature Reserve - Adam Khan Architects

The Brockholes Nature Reserve having only opened to visitors on Easter Sunday, the floating visitor centre has already earned a BREAAM 'Outstanding' certification.The gorgeous high roofed buildings form a little village out on the pontoon allowing visitors to feel part of the wetlands area. The whole reserve was master planned by Adam Khan Architects and features a gift shop, local food store, a restaurant, and kilometers of hiking trails for visitors to explore.

The brand new nature reserve was created from the abandoned remains of a quarry near Preston, England. Owned by Lancashire Wildlife Trust, the 67-acre reserve and visitor centre was made possible with a sizable grant of £8 million from the North West Regional Development Agency. Landscapes and new habitats, like the wetlands, a hay meadow, and woods were created to showcase wildlife and visitors are encouraged to explore the trails for bird watching, recreation and more.


The highlight of the new reserve though, is the beautiful floating eco-village with decks for visitors to enjoy the peaceful surroundings. The tall roofed buildings feature oak shingles, newspaper insulation and other reclaimed materials in their construction. Floating on a large pontoon made from hollow concrete, the village need not worry about seasonal fluctuations in the wetlands water level. In this way, the village minimizes its impact on the environment and reduces the risk of damage from flooding.

http://www.adamkhan.co.uk/

Hal for Vitra - Jasper Morrison

UK designer Jasper Morrison's 'hal' chair for Swiss furniture manufacturer vitra has been conceived as a program chair for use in a multitude of situations from the office, domestic space to public areas.

The chair's main shell is made from an ergonomically molded plastic which ensures a high degree of comfort  and encourages dynamic sitting - flexible according to what positions you wish to sit. Depending on one's intended use and preferences, a wide choice of bases with varying colors and finishes can be combined with the plastic shell allowing for many configurations of functionality and aesthetics including: two stacking variants with a tubular steel base, a version with wooden legs, and there is also a base bending, with our without arms, and two bar stool versions.  

Comfort and color can be changed simply through a fabric that is very simply set back and to the body by means of two cloth strips. My personal favorite the wood leg version!


http://www.jaspermorrison.com/html/index.html

Bridge House - Sweetapple Architects

Description from the architects:

The house is for a former student of Brian MacKay-Lyons. The house is situated between two gigantic boulders and a ravine. The composition of the house, boulders and ravine sit amidst a heavily wooded area in Nova Scotia. The Bridge House connects the two boulders. A granny suite exists on the underside of the bridge. The house is heavily inspired by earlier works of the firm, including House # 22 and experiments at the Ghost Lab. The light rustic boxes which become evening lanterns are a MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects trademark. Two porches form the entry spaces on the two ends of the house adding a very generous portion of outdoor space. The grand double storey outdoor space acts as the social hub of the house. The primary elements of the house are view, permanence and materiality.

http://www.mlsarchitects.ca/

Scottish Ruins Transformed Into Modern Low-Impact Home

This mid-1700s house on the wind-whipped Scottish Isle of Coll has been revitalized by a contemporary renovation after being abandoned for 150 years. WT Architecture was tasked with the unusual challenge of integrating a crumbling ruin with a modern, environmentally sensitive home. The White House's fractured façade forms the perfect bookend for the new building, contributing great character and history while protecting the new home from the brutal Atlantic winds. Step inside and you'll find yourself firmly in the 21st century - the home features sweeping banks of glass that face the breaking ocean, open living spaces, and locally sourced low-impact materials.
http://www.wtarchitecture.com/

steven holl architects + solange fabião - cité de l’océan et du surf

'cité de l'océan et du surf' a project by steven holl architects and brazilian born artist and architect, solange fabião is now complete. Set to open in june 2011, the museum intends to raise awareness of oceanic issues and scientific aspects of the surf and sea. The facility, located in biarritz, france,  is the product of a 2005 international competition for which the collaborative project won first place. 


http://solangefabiao.com/

Korora House - Daniel Marshall Architects

Description from the architects:

A ridge stretching between the Hauraki Gulf and the pastoral landscape of Waiheke Island provided a stunning, and challenging, context in which to design a home.  Our approach was to work within the contour of the ridge, as an attempt to minimise the impact on the landscape.  The plan form of the house is spaced between two courtyards, which are bridged by a gabled roof stretched across the long axis. The courtyards provide the opportunity to shelter from either of the two dominant winds.The materiality of the house draws on two architectural conditions of Waiheke, the masonry forms were inspired by the gun emplacements of Stoney Batter. The use of cedar and plywood reflect precarious weekenders of the island’s past.

http://marshall-architect.co.nz/ 

Modern Japanese Residence - Matsunami Mitsutomo Architect & Associates

The Residence in Nabari City, Japan was designed by Matsunami Mitsutomo Architect & Associates. Spreading over almost 100 square meters, the house meets the inhabitant’s requirements: a modern Japanese-inspired residence that creates a comfortable feeling of connection to nature. A moderate distance between the client’s house and their parents creates a strong family bond through a semi-outside space. By considering the traditional village landscape surrounding this site, the architects used 50 years maintenance-free Titanium Alloyed Zinc sheets to cover the facade, creating a distinctive architecture for the Nabari Residence. The lower floor features the bedrooms, while the second floor shelters the entertaining areas like the living room, dining room and kitchen. Glazed wooden sliding doors that open completely to the backyard offer an alternative to modern architectural entrances. An Engawa was formed – a Japanese traditional house veranda – to remind the clients of their Japanese inheritance. Other features of the house include natural ventilation formed by the architecture, skylights and windows that ensure the perfect amount of natural light and insulated spaces. 


http://www.mma-design.com/portforio/portfolio.htm

Weltevree - DUTCH TUB 4P

Weltevree is a real Dutch product label. Weltevree develops and produces authentic products for the living environment, where you can find influences of the practical and no-nonse dutch agriculture life in The Netherlands. The appliances satisfy primary desires: distinctive, original and of excellent quality. 


Above you will find my personal favorite the ' DUTCHTUB 4P' designed by Floris Schoonderbeek, who simply integrated 2 outdoor pleasures: Making a fire and taking a bath. 

Dutchtub 4P

OutdoorOven

StoneStove

WheelBench

Colour photography - Russia early 1900s

There isn’t much to be said about these photos, they speak for themselves. I find myself revisiting them every other week or so just to be reminded of their brilliance. The photographer, Prokudin-Gorskii, developed an insanely ingenious technique that was worlds ahead of its time.

Clover House - Katsuhiro Miyamoto

The highly original Clover House was designed by Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates and is located in Nishinomiya-City. According to the architects’ description, “a cloverleaf hall with 4.6 meters ceiling height is a common space for the family, and following this space, there are some laterally excavated spaces that looks like a “Modong”, meaning a Chinese traditional underground house. Three loft alcoves on the ground level are private bedrooms.  Moreover, each bedroom relates to the exterior space. One can approach directly to their own bedrooms through the outside stairs. In structure, a matter of great interest is how to resist sliding caused by earth pressure of adjacent lots on the north and east side. 9 mm thickness steel plate is used as both a mold and finishing material. The mold is filled with concrete so that resistance to the pressure is gravitationally solved. The steel plate used for the finishing side was prefabricated dividing it into 16 blocks, and all of the joints were merged for extra resistance”. Enjoy the creativity of this “lucky” home design as well as its clean lines and minimalist, Japan-worthy interiors.


Freshome


Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates