Designer Emily Pilloton’s nonprofit Studio H took up residence in Bertie County North Carolina to take a chance on improving the lives of school children through design.
We first learned about Emily Pilloton back in 2006 when we came across her Human Nest chair at the HAUTE Green exhibit in Brooklyn during New York’s design week. Pilloton’s take on the nesting instinct was a bamboo frame embelished with layers of scrap fabric. We loved her thought process and creativity then and are inspired by her design-in-action via H-Studio now.
The 2010 Austin Modern Home Tour features 16 modern homes in the Ausitn, Texas area. Even if you can’t go, check out the website to view the homes, like the home pictured above. Designed by Jay Hargrave, the 1700 square foot residence and photographer’s studio designed to respond to its environmental context and endure the test of time with minmal maintenance.
Andre Balazs’ The Standard in New York’s meatpacking district straddles the city’s celebrated High Line Park. Balazs’ forte has been in renovating existing buildings into magnets for hip travelers. The Standard New York, however, is something different. This was the first ground up construction for the hotelier. Working with Polshek Parntership, Balazs has created a true gem. Celebrating a context that wasn’t really even there when the property was purchased – this is a guy with some vision. Both the hotel and the High Line were recently completed and the dialogue between them is loud and clear. The hotels floor to ceiling windows (in every room) create stunning views of major NYC landmarks but have also provided a stage for those seeking attention, but that’s a whole other story, it is, after all, New York.
This remodel to a South Bay beach residence that faces a “walk street” – these are pedestrian only streets that lead directly to the beach. These lots are very narrow on the walk street and deep on the side parallel with the ocean. Lean Arch worked to open up the existing space and provide a natural feel with the finishes. The new plan takes advantage of ocean views by extending an exterior balcony the entire length of the dining room. The natural wood finishes provide a warm backdrop for the modern furnishings. The dining table was custom designed for the space. Pieces were chosen for their soft edges and curves in contrast to the rectilinear space. The Saarinen Executive Chair was used in the dining room and Ligne Roset’s Togo Lounge.
This TriBeCa apartment building was designed by Mexican architect Enrique Norten, principal of Ten Arquitectos. This interior, by Chris Kraig offers a clean, fresh aesthetic. The white base is grounded by dark brown leather chairs and accent pillows and punctuated by green-blue glass table, jars and pillows – all in support of the focal point artwork.
Brightbuilt Barn is a collaboration between Kaplan Thompson Architects, Bensonwood Woodworking Company and others to create a prefab net-zero (carbon neutral) building with adaptable interiors. The project goals were to acheive livability, sustainability, replicability, affordability, disentanglement (making mechanical systems easily accessible) and education.
BrightBuilt Barn is built with no mechanical heating system. Instead, it is super-insulated with high efficiency windows, creating a super tight structure. It is outfitted with Photovoltaic Solar panels that are intended to contribute to the power grid. Brightbuilt Barn is an thoughtful project that explores some good basic green design principles. I would like to know how these principles translate in a dense, urban environment.
We have shown you the earth friendly designs from Brazilian designer Domingos Totora before. But I just kept thinking about the “showroom” on site in his hometown of Maria a Fe Brazil. It is so simple in its design and use of materials. The building gracefully acknowledges its beautiful surroundings, which is what the studio is all about. Seeing where an object comes from and why it is produced makes it so much richer.
Brazilian designer Domingos Totora created the Gente de Fibra, a cooperative of local artisans, with the aim of providing artistic and economic opportunity for his community in Maria a Fe Brazil. Using a mixture of banana tree fibers and recycled kraft paper, the Gente de Fibra creates a number of decorative objects and furniture pieces. The studio is committed to sustainable practices. The pieces are available through TOUCH.
There is a great article in the Wall Street Journal today by Witold Rybczynski entitled When Buildings Try Too Hard which explores the phenomenon in which architecture is purposefully conceived as an icon as oppossed to earning the status when it becomes “…a popularly recognized symbol of something larger than itself…”. Rybczynski cites examples of buildings that have earned their status: Frank Gehry’s Bilbao Guggenheim and those that have failed: Frank Gehry’s Experience Music Project in Seattle. So maybe nobody has a lock on iconic architecture (or design of any kind for that matter). If the goal was revised to accomplish good design, in the natural course of things, we might end up with more successful built environment overall.
Witold Rybczynski is an interesting guy, to say the least. Educated as an architect in Canada (although I can’t determine the extent of his time in practice), award-winning architectural critic and author, he is currently a Professor of Urbanism at the prestigious Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. His writings are particularly interesting because they speak in very clear terms to a broad audience – no architect-speak.
This little beach cottage in seaside town of Whitstable in the UK is 388 square feet of pared down bliss. Designed and owned by Danish designer Nina Tolstrup of Studiomania – I have to say, we need a lot more of a little something like this. Pared down to its essentials, the house provides a shelter which is cognizant of the real star here, the sea. Accepting the sea as the focal point, the rest of the house sits in support of that. I love beautiful stuff, but there is real grace in minimalism and restraint that is hard to beat. Thanks to Jennifer Chait at Offbeat Homes for the heads up. Jennifer also blogs about green lifestyle.
