Sunday, November 30, 2008

Solid Playful Elements: Balaam House




I just adore this architecture..true it's modern..but a modern type of house that I adore! This is Balaam House designed by architects Arkhefield, located in Hamilton, Australia. The house combines elements of zinc, aluminum, concrete, rich timbers, and raw battening. A main center piece of the house is the cantilevered pool, that acts as a showpiece above the main entrance. Wow! Not just another piece of modern architecture..but one that's sustainable as well. With rain water harvesting, solar hot water, a passive cross ventilation, solar controlled glass, operable louvers, shutters and blinds on solar clocks (limiting the use of the A/C), thermal mass, and low maintenance, with recycled materials too. I just love the fact that its sustainable and beautiful modern architecture.

An open house is very important so that you don't feel crapped in a space. It is a four-bedroom resident with bathrooms, gym, an outdoor living room, indoor living room, outdoor pavilion, kitchen, dining, garage, large family room, garden with large terrace and fire pit. A beautiful house that's open, spacious, and with breath-taking views!


“Our client wanted a unique piece of architecture that could enhance family life and not be precious. Feedback from the client is that the house has achieved this aspiration while providing privacy and sanctuary from the otherwise urban and public environment.”

What drives your creativity?




Click on image for larger view

Have been quite busy these past few days, but everything's good now..This weekend I went to visit Jewelery Arabia! (one of the best exhibitions of the year in Bahrain). As I walked around the halls where the most precious jewels, watches, perfumes, etc. are displayed, I stopped in a few stalls and kept wondering where do all these jewelers get their inspirations from to create pieces that are detailed and unique. I have noticed that some had passion in their designs that their pieces stand out, but there are others who don't put much creativity in it that it doesn't stand out, as crafted from the heart. I stopped in one of the stalls where I was looking at a piece of long necklace made from small rose colored pearls, somehow I sensed that I own something similar (I forget sometimes). The seller at the stall was explaining to me how if sometimes they lose inspiration.. designers just copy from one another!! What the?! that's not creative! I know that these things exist.. she seemed so proud that some designers copy off of one another I didn't even bother carrying on my conversation with her.

So what really fuels our creativity? our imagination? how do we deal with things?
Everyone has something special and not everyone is the same. You may call it your perspective, or vision, whatever it may be..For some it is the core of who they really are as a person, a deep spiritual meaning in their way of life. The book "Vision" is a collection of what drives the most innovative artists in Portland..The Inside Light: a collaboration between Chris Hornbecker and CINCO. There is a simple word that describes your drive of creativity, here are some of the artists, their words and what inspires them to do what they do..whats your word? Haven't found mine yet..

CINCO designs

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Secret Of Meetings: Uncomfortable Chairs








I have found this humorous book worth noting about, also because it has creative simple designs. Do you get this feeling whenever you have a meeting to attend to like.. oh this is going to be a bore? or when are we going to finish? or attending as a great excuse to add more sugar cubes in your coffee in order to "pay attention"?..Sometimes we have those feelings but sometimes we don't when we're serious.
"Fleeting Seating: The Slightly Uncomfortable Chair Collection", by creative agency Sid Lee, is a 28 page book showcasing how sitting in long meetings can affect you. Thomas Pelletier, the creative director of Sid Lee's Montreal office, realized that he was spending too much time in meetings, in fact, spending a lot of time in ergonomic comfortable office chairs such as the Aeron, made him realize a simple formula:

For the maximum efficiency of time spent in a meeting, remove the element of comfort from the seating.


I have to say that I agree when it comes to the "design", because of one of the things I have learnt while I was in school was, that sometimes designers create uncomfortable seating for different settings, lets say there are bench-seating in fast-food joints so that you shouldn't spend much time there, even in cinemas, the slightly comfy seating is created so that you could sit for the time period of the movie, then get up and leave.“I remember when I was a kid,” Pelletier explains in the text within the brochure, “there was a rumour – I don’t know if it was true - that at McDonalds, the benches were made so that you wouldn’t spend too much time there.” It was from that thought the idea for the Slightly Uncomfortable Chair Collection (SUCC) came. When it comes to design, its true..for efficiency!

These chairs have serious future potential, "I can see corporations buying some for their conference rooms and boardrooms- to make a point, a reminder to their employees", says Pelletier. " A fun read, hope you enjoy it :)


Monday, November 24, 2008

crEATe: Food & Design







New coffee table book of the week: crEATe. Eating, Design and Future Food.

Food today is served with utmost creativity, uniqueness, attention to detail, etc. than ever before. With the change in the standards of presentation and perceptions of the food itself, comes the change in the standards of the environment eaten in. crEATe is based upon research by trend analysts from London firm The Future Laboratory, where they have investigated the recent trends and visual developments in and around food.

Attention to detail has now become the true standard on how we base our overall judgment on anything, in this case: food. Everything from the way we eat, how the food is presented, the interior environment, the ambiance, the new innovative restaurants and shops experimenting with "new" things, to the marketing, packaging and impact on the consumer world, this book shows it all. With stunning photography and clever profiles, this book shows how food has given to us new meanings in design, and we keep learning more and more everytime something new and sometimes "experimental" comes out.

I tend to get bored easily from routines, so this kind of environment is great not just for food, although I'm not one who follows trends.. I love being on the hunt for the unusual but beautiful ;)

Friday, November 21, 2008

Cupcake treat


Its Friday.. its the weekend..and I definitely deserve some treat after exhausting workouts during the weekdays :P..Sooo ..Have a CUPCAKE! oh and most importantly, a cup of tea after :) bon appetit!

*made by moi..

Motion Sickness...Floating Stairs














Oh My God! Ok some I might climb but others.. most probably not!

The modern use of stairs..


















































































































Via Link

















This reminds me of chiclets



If you remember Chiclets, the tiny square gum that we used to chew on as kids, this project reminds me of it..and all the colorful candies we used to munch on..but mostly the chiclets due to its square shape.
This is the Light House Cinema at Smithfield Market, on the West side of Dublin's largest public plaza in Ireland. Commissioned by DTA Architects, this cinema creates a colorful experience to movie-watchers. What they did was, combining the insertion of four art house cinema volumes into the existing basement voids (which was a challenge to them), from that they have successfully created an easygoing "route" circulation, making it an interesting experience for the public.


Link

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Fun ways to drink your cuppa


Someone once told me how there are so many fun ways of drinking your morning cuppa, one part of this experience comes from the mug or teacup that we drink from..She has shown me some interesting ways for making your coffee drinking or tea drinking more pleasurable :) Thanks t! :)

Pic 1: Kill time BANG BANG! Link
Pic 2: Heat-sensitive pigment on the mug..Pour the hot drink, it turns ON..when cold its OFF Link
Pic 3: A dunk mug..A mug with a hidden compartment to store some cookies with your hot coco Link
Pic 4: Handespresso, your portable no-electricity needed, espresso machine in your hand..no need to be a barista for this. Link
Pic 5: Attach your tea bag with this button, and there's no need for any handles because of the double-layered cup. Link