Friday, April 30, 2010

Designer Kitchen by Graft



Loft Hamburg, located in a restored building in Winterhude district of Hamburg, is a private 118 square-meter residence designed by Graft. The focal point of the high-ceilinged and otherwise white space is a large pod paneled with walnut. The pod contains the residence’s kitchen and bathroom, hides its central heating, cooling and plumbing, and even provides some cupboards and bookshelves. The owner was looking to use a wide variety of materials, and the walnut pod contrasts beautifully with the soft fabrics, leather and natural stone used elsewhere in the loft.


Graft is an architecture, urban planning and design company established in 1998 in Los Angeles by German architects (,) Lars Krückeberg, Wolfram Putz, Thomas Willemeit and Gregor Hoheisel, all now in their early forties.


Their Berlin office opened in 2001, and Beijing office in 2004. Alejandra Lillo joined Graft as the fifth partner in Los Angeles in 2007. - Tuija Seipell.

www.thecoolhunter.net

Restello by Piercy Conner Architects


A residential block clad in perforated steel shutters by UK architects Piercy Conner Architects is about to begin construction in Kolkata, India.
The shutters will fold back to reveal double-height terraces between the facade and a second glazed skin.
Called Restello, the project will provide twelve apartments.

French Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010 by Jacques Ferrier Architectures


Shanghai Expo 2010: photographer Montse Zamorano has sent us some photographs of the completed French Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010, designed by Jacques Ferrier Architectures.
Called The Sensual City, the pavilion is clad in a trellis-like structure and features a garden inside with plants growing on the walls, a roof garden and pools of water.
The pavilion is designed to showcase the sights, smells, tastes, sounds and feel of France, and visitors will be able to sample French food and watch classic french films.
All photographs are by Montse Zamorano and are used with permission.
Here’s some more information from the Expo organisers:
Pavilion Features
The “Sensual City” itself is impressive with a large, classical roof garden and a pond.
The walls of the square-shaped structure, which is made from a special concrete, are covered in plants and it looks like a white floating palace. Gardens are the centerpiece of the pavilion.
Pavilion Display
The “Sensual City” showcases the sights, smells, tastes, sounds and feel of France – visitors will be able to admire French gardens and paintings, smell French perfume, taste French cuisine, touch the cool water of pools and fountains, and watch clips from classic French films to soak up the glamor of France.
Highlight 1: Floating Palace
The France Pavilion appears to be floating in the beauty rhyme with water.
The structure as a whole is “wrapped into” a huge wire mesh that is made of a new type concrete material, while featuring the plant walls, and water pools internal and external.
Highlight 2: French-style Garden
In the center of the structure stands a French-style garden, with streams flowing alongside.
Small fountains and water gardens will help cool the space, where visitors may enjoy the singing of birds, fragrance of flowers, and delicious food under the sunshine and amid the aquatic environment.
Surrounded by the space that is permeated with French city ambient sound effects, visitors may think they were in France.
Highlight 3: Sights, Smells, Tastes, Sounds and Feel of France
In “the Sensual City,” visitors will see, smell, taste, hear, and touch the glamour of France.
Design of the pavilion embodies the kinetic effect and the concept of balance, with which a large amount of video projections, moving images, irregular outline borders, and reflected jumping waves are provided as background to make a living structure.
Highlight 4: Alain Delon
As the spokesman of France Pavilion, Alain Delon will tell you his close ties with China at the “France Pavilion Channel” specifically set up for the pavilion exhibition.
Highlight 5: Cat Léon
The Cat Léon, mascot of France Pavilion, will interact with every visitor. Here, you can not only taste the champagne from a specially made bottle marked with “France Pavilion at Expo 2010,” but also await a big surprise… What is it? Solve the mystery by yourself.
Highlight 6: Romantic French Wedding
Visitors may also have the chance to witness a romantic French wedding, which has been held in the city of Tours for several consecutive years.
It is expected to be relocated to the France Pavilion at Expo 2010. New couples will tie the knot in the beautiful French-style garden within the pavilion.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Austrian pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010 by SPAN and Zeytinoglu


Here are some photos of the completed Austrian pavilion by Viennese architects SPAN and Zeytinoglu, which opens atShanghai Expo 2010 this weekend.
The pavilion is covered in more than ten million hexagonal ceramic tiles, merging from white to red over its surface.
More information about the design in our earlier story.
See all our stories about Shanghai Expo 2010 in our special category.
Photographs are by Maria Ziegelböck.
The information below is from the architects:

Futuristic Elegance: Austrian Pavilion at Expo 2010 Shanghai Architecture and Design by SPAN & Zeytinoglu
On May 1, the Expo 2010 will open in Shanghai, China. The Austrian pavilion by Viennese architects SPAN & Zeytinoglu provides visitors with a manifold and complex spatial experience.
The concept also comprises the entire interior design and essential parts of the interior fittings. Both the building and the design objects are based on sophisticated digital models. Thanks to comprehensive logistics, the construction on site ran smoothly and within budget.
The Austrian pavilion by Vienna-based architects SPAN & Zeytinoglu causes quite a sensation in Shanghai. “We are glad that is was erected precisely according to our plans”, says architect Arkan Zeytinoglu. Enrobed in ten million porcelain tiles, the pavilion takes the form of a seamlessly shimmering building, spectacularly reconciling elegant with futuristic elements.
In the designing and planning phases, SPAN & Zeytinoglu predominantly work with digital models, a method allowing them to integrate e.g. achievements of topology, the exploration of complex curved geometries.
“The Austrian pavilion directly reflects this practice”, explains Sandra Manninger of SPAN: “Its organic, curvilinear forms and the continuous flow between spaces base on natural geometric systems.”
Symbiosis of Architecture and Design
Based on the design methodology for the Pavillion, SPAN & Zeytinoglu also developed the entire interior design including the restaurant, the shop and the VIP area in addition to the exhibition space and the office area. As part of the interior fittings, the team designed the restaurant and the VIP bar, the shop desk, the info desk, the modular lounge in the VIP area and the reception desk in the VIP lobby. “Although the objects have a value of their own, their integration into the architecture is essential: Spaces and objects form a symbiosis and enhance each other”, explains Matias del Campo from SPAN. The design objects are made from CNC-milled polyurethane and coated with synthetic resin. CNC (Computer Numerical Control) is a technology originally developed for the aviation industry, enabling the precise construction of digitally generated, complex curved objects.
Click for larger image
Ten Million Porcelain Tiles
More than ten million tiles cover the pavilion’s facade, a porcelain skin gradually changing from red to white. The cladding of the complex curved surface wrapping the entire building and the roof was made possible by the selection of very small hexagonal modules. The result is what appears to be a smooth, seamless surface, regardless of its opposite nature: 60 million joints result in a regular distribution of the building hull’s tension forces. The design also alludes to the tradition of Chinese porcelain exports to Europe.
Click for larger image
Largest Expo of all Times
The design by SPAN and Zeytinoglu was the unanimous choice of the jury in a pan- European competition held in 2008. This gave the architects an opportunity to render the cultural identity of Austria tangible in a global context. It is the first expo operated by China. With more than 240 participating countries, a budget of three billion Euros and no less than 70 million visitors it is the largest World Exposition ever.

House 6 Sao Paulo by Marcio Kogan


TheCoolist loves Brazilian Architecture, and it is tough to find a better Brazilian architect at the moment than the brilliant Marcio Kogan.  We’ve featured Kogan here before, as well as including his work in our feature ongreen roof design, and his latest work carries his signature to another generation of home architecture and design.  The House 6 Sao Paulo by Marcio Kogan is the latest to hit the web, a gorgeous stone and wood monument to tropical South American living.
Kogan’s rectangular, open air philosophy is very well alive in this design, featuring living spaces that are nearly indiscernible from the home’s environment, where the lush tropical plot extends right into the home itself.  His furnishings are early modern, natural and perfectly matched with the style of this home.  Atop the house is a wood screened section that is private within but provides a lovely view of the home’s surroundings.  While the home’s upper sections are all about the privacy of the home’s inhabitants, it’s lower sections are designed for entertainment.  A house party at a home like this would be legendary every time, the type where natural relaxation is nearly palpable thanks to the breezy Sau Paolo air.  [marciokogan via contemporist]
House 6 Gallery

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Shanghai 2010: The Pavilions


Taiwan
Back on March we featured a fantastic set of photos of the pavilions for Shanghai World Expo 2010 almost finished. Now, with only three days left for the grand opening to the public, the pavilions seem to be ready for the more than 70 million people expected to visit the Expo between April 30 and October 31.
Chaz Hutton shared with us through Flickr his amazing photos of the pavilions. You can check them all after the break. And remember you can see every pavilion we’ve featured right here.
¿Which one’s your favorite?

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