Design Bureau Issue 10

Informer

EXCLUSIVE!

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DESIGN BUREAU

JULIUS SHULMAN’S LAST PHOTOS: a look at the legend’s final architecture images

TM

KITCHENS & BATHS MANLY, SEXY, AND MORE

15 awesome DESIGNS & STYLES

Special INTERIORS issue!

MICHAEL GRAVES UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH AN AMERICAN DESIGN ICON

URBANIZED

A CONVERSATION WITH GARY HUSTWIT

BY STEVEN HELLER

PLUS PUT SOME PANTS ON! THE BEST USA-MADE DENIM landscape design coast-to-coast PLEASURE CENTER: HIGH DESIGN ADULT TOYS

MAR/APR 2012 $8 USA/CAN

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DESIGN BUREAU

Contents

Contents

DESIGN BUREAU

Getting Intimate with Frederique

CONTENTS ISSUE 10 FEATURES

66 Cuba in Living Color J. Michael Welton discovers a world of architectural wonders in the island nation

99 Making Urbanized Steven Heller talks to design-documentary director Gary Hustwit about his latest film

67 Now Boarding: Luxury Travel The stylish travel experience died with Pan Am, right? Think again.

102 Planted & Enchanted Landscape pros offer tips to start, improve, or revitalize gardens of all shapes and sizes

74 Designing the Block Architect Scott Ballard designed and built his own home—plus six others on his street

122 Manly, Sexy, and More: Kitchens & Baths Page after page of stunning interiors with tips on how to achieve similar style

80 Keep Ideas Weird British design-thinking firm Idea is “quite happy to be sitting slightly on the edge of the mainstream”

166 Animal Logic A photo series by Richard Barnes that documents the strange things happening behind the scenes at museums

PAGE 148

DIALOGUE & THINKING

94 An Afternoon with Julius Shulman A look at what just might be the legend's last architectural images

154 Michael Graves An intimate interview with the world-renowned architect and product designer

See photos from our steamy visit to Frederique van der Wal’s chic NoHo loft

82 Paying it Forward See how generosity drives Chicago-based interior-design firm Project 90 In the Details: Incognito Style A duplex in Harlem with a downtown-loft feel

INFORMER 12 Pixels & Print 22 Objects & Gear 32 Fashion & Beauty 38 Travel & Culture 48 Structures & Spaces

PLUS 06 08 10 176 177

Letter from the Editor Contributors Letters Comic Strip This Issue’s Best Albums 178 For Hire

Photo of Frederique van der Wal by Noah Kalina; top by Zero + Maria Cornejo; additional credits on page 148

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Contents

INSIDE ISSUE 10 INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE

Manly, Sexy, and more: Kitchens & Baths We talked to the architects and designers behind some of the world’s most stylish rooms so you can achieve similar results in your own home Page 122

LANDSCAPE DESIGN

Planted & Enchanted Learn how to put your green thumb to work, no matter the terrain or climate Page 102

Top: Photo: Elizabeth Weinberg, Model: Mikaela with Q Management, Stylist: Caitlin M. Ryan, Hair and makeup: Annamarie Tendler Bottom: Chris Dattola, model and owner of Dattola Designs, a landscape architecture firm, Photo by JUCO

Contents

DESIGN BUREAU

GRAPHIC DESIGN / INTERIORS

Feeling Up the Walls Try on a different look for your walls with Tracy Kendall’s graphic and texturized wallpaper Page 48

DESIGN ICONS

Michael Graves Though now confined to a wheelchair, the legendary designer/architect hasn’t slowed down a bit Page 154

FASHION

Fever Dream Get lost in Damien “Elroy” Vignaux’s mesmerizing photos Page 160

Clockwise from top: Tracy Kendall’s Another Room stitched wallpaper; Inside Michael Graves’ home, photo by Matthew Williams; ZouZou photo by Damien “Elroy” Vignaux, Styling: Anja at ZouZouVintage, Makeup: Anna Czilinsky, Model: Caroline Bruchmann, Assistant: Christina Michelitsch

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Letters & Contributors

Publisher & editor-in-chief Chris Force chris@alarmpress.com

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

-----

Senior Account Manager

Ellie Fehd ellie@alarmpress.com

Tarra Kieckhaefer tarra@alarmpress.com

MANAGING EDITOR

Kristin Lamprecht kristin@alarmpress.com

account managers

Amy Clark amy@alarmpress.com

Associate editors

Kyle Gilkeson kyle@alarmpress.com

Arghavan Hakimian arghavan@alarmpress.com

Kathryn Freeman Rathbone katie@alarmpress.com

Ricardo Loaiza ricardo@alarmpress.com

-----

Nicole Mazade nicole@alarmpress.com

DESIGN DIRECTOR

Lindsey Eden Turner lindsey@alarmpress.com

Rebecca Munoz rebecca@alarmpress.com

DESIGNER

Garrett Karol garrett@alarmpress.com

Reina Patel reina@alarmpress.com

DESIGN INTERN

Morgan Pulcipher morgan@alarmpress.com

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Jessica Rimpel jessica@alarmpress.com

Alyssa Jongsma

contributors

Jason Abbruzzese, Scott Allard, Josh Andersson, Alex Anton, Francis Augustine, Paul Bardagjy, Amy Barkow, Kristin Barlowe, Richard Barnes, Aryn Beitz, Murrye Bernard, Hallie Borden, Jeremy Brautman, Jacquelin Carnegie, Sarah Cason, Jack Coyier, Todd Crawford, Jody D’Arcy, Pedro David, Ryan Delia, Sean Dorgan, Brent Dundore, Kristen Eichenmuller, Rick Elezi, Kendra Enriquez, James Ewing, Robin Finlay, Steven Fischer, Caitlin Fitzgibbons, Floto + Warner, Roger Foley, Asa Gilmore, Elizabeth Gilmore, Peter Gray, Katarzyna Gruda, Fernando Guerra, Martin Gustavsson, Katie Haegele, Cody Haltom, Sarah Handelman, Adam Hanson, Steven Heller, Masa Honda, Doug Human, Remco Jansen, Mark Jirik, Alyssa Jongsma, JUCO, Noah Kalina, Jason Kernevich, Stephen Killion, Ellen Knuti, Jeri Koegel, Chun Lai, Dan Lecca, Matt Lee, Jillian Leiboff, Chris Leschinsky, Brian Libby, Molly Maeda, Kallan MacLeod, Patrick Macomber, Daniel Mansur, Saundra Marcel, Roser Martinez, Bob Matheson, Matt McCourtney, Kaitlyn McQuaid, Katie Mendelson, Alyssa Meza, Scott Morris, Scott Morrow, Nalina Moses, Sam Oberter, Stephanie Orma, Frank Oudeman, Patricia Parinejad, Nick Pironio, Lisa Predko, Mig Reyes, Drew Reynolds, Greg Richardson, Ian Ritter, Farhad Samari, Andrew Schroedter, Jenny Seyfried, Craig Shimala, Julius Shulman, Kee Sites, Stephanie Sian Smith, Rogerio Sol, Tony Soluri, Sonnenzimmer, James Ray Spahn, Mike Spears, Lesley Stanley, Ronald Stoops, Dustin Summers, Chuck Swartz, Heather Talbert, Ondřej Telecký, Barnabas Toth, Joe Valerio, Damien “Elroy” Vignaux, Adam Voorhes, Elizabeth Weinberg, J. Michael Welton, Matthew Williams, Adrian Wilson, Tim Winstanley cover image

Mikaela with Q Management photographed by Elizabeth Weinberg at Light Loft (designed by Fabrica 718) in New York City. Styling by Caitlin M. Ryan. Hair/makeup by Annamarie Tendler.

Neal Van Winkle neal@alarmpress.com Ashley Zorrilla ashley@alarmpress.com Account EXECUTIVEs

Laura Amundson laura@alarmpress.com Liisa Jordan liisa@alarmpress.com

Ainsleigh Monaghan ainsleigh@alarmpress.com

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“I can’t wait to get into the office each morning. I just love what I do so much.”

Miranda Myers miranda@alarmpress.com

-----

Allison Weaver allison@alarmpress.com

This from a paralyzed 78-year-old.

----controller

Andrea DeMarte Assistant to Controller

Mokena Trigueros -----

Human resources

Greg Waechter greg@alarmpress.com

P 312.386.7932 F 312.276.8085 info@wearedesignbureau.com

Design Bureau (ISSN 2154-4441) is published bi-monthly by ALARM Press at 205 N Michigan Avenue, Suite 3200, Chicago, IL, 60601. Periodicals postage is PENDING at Chicago, IL and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to Design Bureau at 205 N Michigan Avenue, Suite 3200, Chicago, IL, 60601 © 2011 Design Bureau. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited. DESIGN BUREAU is a trademark of Design Bureau.

Chris Force photo by Noah Kalina

One of my favorites quotes from this issue of Design Bureau is from Michael Graves (on page 154). When asked if he still has fun, he replies,

Emily Schleier emily@alarmpress.com

A one-year subscription to Design Bureau is US $48. Visit our website at www.wearedesignbureau.com or send a check or money order to: Design Bureau 205 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 3200 Chicago, IL 60601

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

It’s amazing to be so consistently surrounded by professionals with this type of outlook on life, a wonderful mix of wide-eyed idealism and willful disrespect. It is a mix that Graves appears to cherish and has perhaps fueled much of his recent work. It’s the kind of attitude that makes a designer choose high-end kitchen appliances to sit in front of bright red subway tile, on top of polished cement floors, and next to 23 classic cars. Yes, that’s a Sting Ray in the kitchen (page 124). Why can’t your kitchen double as a garage? Why must ADA wheelchair ramps look like shit?

We’re also honored to feature some of the last photographs taken by Julius Shulman. The clarity of his architectural photography helped define mid-century modern design around the world. His photographs elevated the international discussion of design, and its documentation, to new levels.

His work somehow captured not only the beauty of the design but also the designer’s hopes and aspirations. It’s hard to imagine any designer who doesn’t aspire to the same.

-----

Chris Force Publisher & Editor-in-Chief chris@alarmpress.com

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Letters & Contributors

DESIGN BUREAU CONTRIBUTORS

Brian Libby is a Portlandbased writer whose work has been published in The New York Times, Dwell, Architecture, and The Oregonian. He is also the author of Tales From the Oregon Ducks Sideline, a history of his beloved college football team, as well as an awardwinning photographer and filmmaker. www.brianlibby.com

Nalina Moses is an architect and writer who lives and works in New York City. She is a former spelling-bee champion. www.nmoses.com

Design Bureau: The Intelligencer Adam Hanson is a designer and illustrator currently based out of Chicago, IL. An avid music lover, he has worked with a number of bands, including The Hold Steady, Yeasayer, and The Get Up Kids. Clients also include schools like Oklahoma State and Columbia College.

When he’s not working, he’s probably watching campy horror movies or The Simpsons. www.adamhansonart.com

Lisa Predko is a Chicagobased photographer who grew up with a fondness for purple shag, muscle cars, and all things vintage. She loves seeing good light, riding in airplanes, baking chocolate chip cookies, and most of all taking pictures. www.lisapredko.com

Design Bureau goes beyond print by engaging readers with The Intelligencer, a free bi-weekly e-newsletter.

BeyonD print. BeyonD Design.

For your daily dose of everything design, subscribe at www.wearedesignbureau.com twitter.com/designbureaumag facebook.com/designbureaumagazine

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ConneCtions is LE BOOK live.

The place to find talent for all your campaigns, editorials and other visual productions by invitation only | rsvp

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DESIGN BUREAU

Letters & Contributors

LETTERS TO DESIGN BUREAU March/April 2012 TWITTER FEED

INSIDE:

“As much as I like the magazine’s design, it’s a bit too heavy on architecture for my taste.

Is it possible to cancel my subscription and receive a partial refund?” (k.b., via email)

PAPER EYELASHES, PUNCHY SCARVES, AND PRETTY AWESOME MOTORCYCLES

TM

Inspiring Dialogue on Design

KARIM kariM RASHID rashid The designer we know and love, or love to hate?

PAGE 192

10 TIPS FROM A PRO

HOW TO MAKE IT AS AN ARCHITECT

SURVIVORMAN

swiss graphic designers go stateside: detektiv bureau

LES STROUD IS KICKING NATURE’S ASS, DIY STYLE

THE MODERN FARMHOUSE 0 2

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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012 $8 USA/CAN

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AT-HOME STYLE THAT’S BEEN STEPPED UP

9/19/11 6:19 PM

Too much architecture!

We’re always trying to find ways to make Design Bureau better, and your comments are vital to our improvement. Each issue, we do our best to strike a balance between the many disciplines of design, but sometimes, one—in this case, architecture—will predominate over the others. Here’s what some of you had to say about our recent coverage:

“It looks like 90 percent of the last two issues has been architecture and interiors, with a splash of fashion and product/industrial design. Where is the 2-D? Interaction?

Your September/October issue reported that the #1 thing readers want to see more of is graphic design.

November/December had literally just one spread of graphic design out of 162 pages.” (c.s., via email) We’d love to be able to please everyone, but unfortunately, we cannot. That’s what Rolling Stone is for. However, we have taken these comments and concerns into consideration, and that’s why we’ll be rolling out a special architecture-only edition of DB later this year. By doing so, we’ll be able to bring even more of the diverse content that you love into our regular bimonthly issues, and really blow it out of the water for you architecture buffs.

As for a refund, no can do, compadre. But trust us; we’re just getting started.

“If someone asked me, ‘Michael, why did you design this soap dish?’ I would answer that I designed it because I needed one. I designed it for exactly how it would be used, how I would use it, how you would use it, how anybody would use it.” Michael Graves PAGE 154

DB shout-outs from the Twitterverse Join the conversation at twitter.com/DesignBureauMag

SOUND BITES Congrats 2 @DesignBureauMag on a 1st anniversary & last nite’s gr8 party. Gr8 passionate peeps—glad ur part of the Chicago design scene. @Hexanine We tip our hats to the men and women of @DesignBureauMag; we’re jealous we didn’t think of this first! @CAmagazine @designbureaumag is among coolest and most well-conceived design magazine that I’ve seen in a long time! Bravo for breaking boring patterns! @LifestylingNYC It’s been a long time since I’ve read a magazine cover to cover, but @DesignBureauMag is seriously perfect. @MarthaCarl Thumbing through the latest issue of @DesignBureauMag—love the article on the East London haircut subculture. @FollowKing

CORRECTIONS (Nov/Dec) The house featured in our story on Andersson Wise (p. 107) was actually the Tower House, with photography by Art Gray. (Jan/Feb 2012): In our story on Sow Design (p. 66), we mistakenly reported that Igor Reyes was currently a partner in the firm. Sow is now run by José Lobo and Mauricio Villa-Vasquez. In our story on Atlas Architects (p. 74) we mistakenly referred to Peter Beeton as a landscape architect. His official title is site designer. We regret the errors.

For the record: Rants, ramblings, and random facts from behind the scenes of this issue

ArQtekT

1999

10 lbs 3 oz

Bathroom Couture

Enough with the ridiculously stylized company names.

Not only is it impossible to read, it smacks of Myspace circa 2003.

The year supermodel Frederique van der Wal (p. 148) appeared in the Will Smith classic, Wild Wild West. Just before the Willennium.

The total weight of the sex toys that piled up on our associate editor’s desk during the making of this issue. See our Buyer’s Guide on p. 26.

A phrase used by Jemal Wright to describe his Swarovski crystal-covered toilet on p. 150.

This must be the throne that Jay-Z and Kanye West were talking about.

Have a question or comment? We want to hear from you. Give us a shout at letters@wearedesignbureau.com.

Custom Decorative Lighting Manufacturer

Please see this issue’s article featuring the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa by Avenue Design.

www.sapphirechandelier.com info@sapphirechandelier.com 2810 E. Coronado St. Anaheim, CA 92806 Ph: 714.630.3660 Fax: 714.630.3666

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DESIGN BUREAU

The best of the best in graphics and photos

Pixels & Print

PIXELS & PRINT

Pixels & Print

Magic Eye Tokyo-based art collective Nam throws gravity and realism out the window with its mesmerizing photos

There are photographers who capture life as it happens, and then there are those who create their own bizarre simulacrum. Led by graphic designer Takayuki Nakazawa and photographer Hiroshi Manaka, Tokyo-based photo collective Nam falls fully into the latter category. Nam numbers ten members in total, working together to create surreal moments of sheer tension. We’re not talking about your run-of-the-mill staged photo shoot, though; no, these are full-blown cinematic sets constructed from a befuddling mix of analog and digital ingenuity. a

DESIGN BUREAU

Facing page: Nam Top to bottom: Fall Room; A Fantasy in Life; Blanc

Visuals by Nam; www.n-a-m.org

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Pixels & Print

By Stephanie Orma

5 DESIGNERS / 5 QUESTIONS The stars of Young Guns 9!

John Passafiume Designer & Illustrator johnpassafiume.com

1

Illustrator seejbdraw.com

Sara Cwynar

Brent Couchman

Artist & Graphic Designer saracwynar.com

Designer & Illustrator brentcouchman.com

I’m not sticking around to find out. I've seen The Matrix.

You chose...wisely.

Why do you abuse me by using me for 12 hours at a time and scanning so many things at one million dpi and never doing the updates and downloading so much stuff from the Internet and never shutting me off?

Enough with Pet Sounds already...

Ugh...do I have to?

Truthfully, mine. Any freelance Web programmers out there?

I would redesign the Google homepage. I think they have such a platform to show the whole world something visually interesting every day.

I’d love to redesign mine, but I’m definitely my worst client.

Don’t pay very well, tons of revisions, etc.

“Heavy Metal”—it’s vanilla ice cream colored silver with shards of glass and cookie dough.

Why is this the toughest question I’ve ever had to answer? I don’t know, “Bartlett Pear Gut Punch Chunk”

I wonder what potato-chip ice cream would taste like. Or steak. Something really weird and salty.

Mexican Coke, of course.

Although peanut butter and raisin sounds pretty legit too.

Poof—you’re now a pencil. What artist/designer would you most want to be in the hands of?

1. Albrecht Dürer 2. William Morris 3. Doyald Young

5

Jonathan Bartlett

You’re making a new Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor—what is it?

No comment. Having worked at Louise Fili Ltd., I’m forever wedded to New York City's L'arte del Gelato.

4

Hand Letter & Illustrator joncontino.com

Whose website would you most like to redesign? www.johnpassafiume.com

3

Jon Contino

Your computer can suddenly speak. What’s the very first thing it will say to you?

Papa!?

2

Each spring, the ADC (Art Directors Club) accepts entries for its Young Guns competition, which honors up-and-coming visual-communication talent. The only requirements are that entrants must be under 30 and have two years of working experience. With the application period for Young Guns 10 upon us, we visited with a few of last year’s winners.

This sounds remarkably uncomfortable for all parties involved.

It would be very interesting to act as Gary Panter's pencil for a day, or maybe R. Crumb—that would be a trip.

Karel Martens. I saw him give a talk recently and his enthusiasm and curiosity were vey inspirational for a man of his age.

Probably my buddy Erik Marinovich. Dude has crazy hand-drawn type skills.

Some sort of gun-slinging/ damsel situation. I picture this movie being a western.

I’d probably be in something like The Goonies as Mikey, or maybe Data, because he got the jewels in the end.

Coming soon: Young Guns, the movie. What role do you play?

Jean-Luc Godard's Paul in Masculin, Féminin

Joe Pesci

Clearly, this is a coming-ofage story, so think Gordie Lachance from Stand By Me. If it’s a little lighter note, think Scotty Smalls from The Sandlot.

From left: Hand-lettered wedding invitation by John Passafiume; Contribution to The Fox is Black’s Desktop Wallpaper Project by Jon Contino; Duke’s Dilemma by Jonathan Bartlett; Collage by Sara Cwynar; Watch tin packaging for Fossil by Brent Couchman

Pixels & Print

DESIGN BUREAU

1

2

4

3

fill-in-the-blank

Ed Nacional You’ve seen his slick illustrations in The New York Times and Time, now he reveals a few of his secrets 1.

Illustration for the “Week In Review” section of The New York Times. May 15, 2011

2.

Illustration for GreenSource magazine

3. Illustration for the

Live Now book

4. Illustration for The

Psychopath Test book review in The New York Times

When I’m not on the computer, I’m...walking around exploring New York. I have been here about five years, and the city is still able to surprise me.

So many new things to see, people to meet, and restaurants to try.

I’m terrible at...math.

I wish I could...travel more.

My mom would say I need to...eat vegetables. In some weird moments, my mom still sees me as the nineyear-old kid I used to be. I think that is probably true with all moms, and especially so when it’s the youngest of the children.

My last major purchase was…an engagement ring. She said yes!

I can’t get enough of…New York

City Donut Plant, St. Viateur Bagels (Montréal), DiFara Pizza, and Blue Marble Ice Cream. I swear, Mom, I eat vegetables.

I knew I wanted to be a designer when…I was voted most creative in our high school graduation poll. I still have yet to outdo that extremely high achievement.

My daily routine is…make coffee, make bed, make illustrations, make lunch, make graphic design. Hopefully sneak in some time to see the light of day somewhere in there.

One of these days, I’m gonna…open a brick-and-mortar store with my fiancée. www.theterryshop.com When in doubt, use…geometric shapes. a Portrait by Katarzyna Gruda

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Pixels & Print

nostalgia: indian Iconography Matt Lee’s massive collection of vintage matchboxes is filled with the visual milestones of a long, complex journey

The modern garage sale

A website called Surplus is beating thrift stores at their own game. The key? Each item is given its own pristine space to shine. It takes the fun out of treasure hunting, but then again, junk’s never looked this good.

Matchbox photos by Matt Lee, www.matt-lee.com

Most collections start innocently enough.

Artist and teacher Matt Lee can attest to that. During his travels around India, where he now lives, Lee discovered a strangely charming matchbox with an image of a killer whale and text that read “Dolphin.” The

www.surplussurplussurplus.com

kitschy collectible turned out to be the seed which spawned a full-fledged hobby. Lee now owns more than 450 matchboxes, each one a reminder of where he’s been—and what a tiny, disposable artifact can tell us about the history of a nation. a

296ml Quenchi® Bottle, $8

One Hundred Numbered Pushpins, $18

J. Crew Flannel Shirt, $15

Pixels & Print

DESIGN BUREAU

Words with trends Jenny Beorkrem’s “Ork” typographic city posters are putting the “art” in cartography

Do you consider yourself to be a cartographer?

No, I don’t. I have no formal training in it. The maps might be used for reference, but their primary function is aesthetic. I take artistic license; every last nook and cranny may not be drawn out exactly.

Why do you think others like your maps? Any specific feedback from customers?

People like to have items and artwork in their homes that tell a little bit of their story. The posters do that. As for the crazy love Ork has gotten, one man in NYC has the five boroughs design tattooed on his shoulder.

How long does it take to make a new map?

It varies greatly depending on the number of neighborhoods. [Other than] when I came up with the original design (Chicago), London was the most time-consuming map to date. This was the first map that basically had to be drawn from scratch. I’ve been working on it off and on for over two years.

We’ve seen more and more typography maps from other sources. How do you feel about the proliferation of these maps?

It’s pretty unbelievable. Sometimes I get these emails, which I read as, “Do I have your blessing to rip you off ?” Really?! The first few times, it made me red in the face, but now I just take satisfaction in the fact that those people that are making copycats will never get to experience the fuzzy feeling inside of creating something original and sharing it with people. a—Sara Jacobson Images © Ork Inc. www.orkposters.com

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Pixels & Print

design jobs around the world

Global Census DESIGN CAN BE A LONELY TRADE. GET TO KNOW YOUR GLOBAL COMMUNITY—AND FIND OUT IF YOUR PAYCHECK MEASURES UP. This issue, it’s packaging designers.—Sarah Cason

James Brown

Sunil Sarwal

Ivan Bel

Natalie Wedeking

locatioN: Adelaide, Australia

locatioN: Montréal, Canada

locatioN: Stockholm, Sweden

locatioN: New York City, USA

WEBSITE: mashdesign.com.au

WEBSITE: thesmallmonsters.com

WEBSITE: ivanbel.com

WEBSITE: wedekinglaun.com

EDUCATION: Didn't quite finish school or university

EDUCATION: BA Philosophy,

EDUCATION: Degree in industrial

EDUCATION: BFA package design,

Diploma (Engineering), BComm (Design)

design

BA art history

INCOME per project: €600/day

INCOME per project: $2,000–12,000

NOTABLE PROJECTS: Oriflame,

NOTABLE PROJECTS: Javabica coffee,

Green Tea Goods, Heisman Trophy Trust

INCOME per project: Pro

bono–$100,000

INCOME per project: $1,000-10,000

NOTABLE PROJECTS: Currently

NOTABLE PROJECTS: Halo Wars,

completing a project to raise money for grassroots NGOs

Mega Brands, Plasticase

Lanjarón Mineral Water, Watchcelona

Quote: “Packaging is...one of

Quote: “Create a fluid dialogue

Quote: “Design is like driving a

the few places left where small, independent design companies can still make an honest living.”

between the customer and the manufacturer in order to obtain consistent results between the final design and the produced piece.”

bus. It's not always genius work; it's a skill that can be learned.

I'm a terrible driver, but I'm a good designer.”

Quote: “It's just a job!”

YEAR IN DESIGN

1989 Salvador Dalí dies on January 23 at age 84

Motorola introduces the MicroTAC cell phone, the world’s first flip phone

FOLLOW US ON A JOURNEY OF HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS IN THE DESIGN WORLD

Nintendo unveils the Game Boy

Fox debuts America’s favorite yellow family from Springfield, The Simpsons

The Mirage, designed by prolific Las Vegas architect Joel Bergman, opens on the Strip, changing the look and size of Sin City resorts forever

The Louvre opens its iconic pyramidal entrance designed

by I.M. Pei

The Berlin Wall falls on November 9 and Berliners begin demolishing its 96 miles of reinforced, graffitied concrete

Pixels & Print

DESIGN BUREAU

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Pixels & Print

By KATIE HAEGELE

READING LIST

Read These Zines YOU’VE GOT THE CHUNKY COFFEE-TABLE ORNAMENTS, NOW GET THEIR POCKET-SIZED DIY COUNTERPARTS

EDITOR'S PICK: Parfait #4

Rum Lad #5

I am a Camera #16

Shotgun Seamstress #6

UK young’un Steve Larder showcases his impressive illustration skills in this black-and-white, photocopied production. Fullpage, ultra-detailed line drawings—not comics—tell stories of travel, music, and home. www.stevelarder.co.uk

Australian zinester Vanessa Berry has published her lovely personal essays under this title since 1999. Its lo-fi aesthetic is flawless; each uncluttered issue looks different from the last. www.etsy.com/shop/ vanessaberry

New Orleans-based DIYer Osa Atoe focuses on people of color in punk and other mostly white subcultures in her zine, Shotgun Seamstress. It’s refreshing in so many ways—including its striking, witty design. www.etsy.com/shop/ msvalerieparkdistro

TOP FIVE

DIY PRINT CULTURE

Mike perry

Alisa Golden

Pulled: A Catalog of Screen Printing More of a compendium of the best contemporary screen printers than a howto (though, it has that too), this 256-page book is pure eye candy.

Making Handmade Books A book about making books?

And you don’t have to assemble it yourself?

Awesome. Even better?

It contains instructions for more than 100 bindings, structures, and forms.

R. Klanten, A. Mollard, M. Huebner

Behind the Zines: SelfPublishing Culture By talking to the makers of some of the world’s finest zines, Klanten and company trace the impact and importance of the medium.

With details like letterpress printing and hand-sewn binding, Parfait treads on artist-book territory, but Emily Larned writes about everything, from fashion to library-catalog search results, with humor and warmth. www.redcharming.com

The smell of sweat, glue, and photocopiers has got us all hot, bothered, and in the mood to make. If you’re feeling the same way, check out these recently released DIY-related books. Because nothing kindles the creative fire like good, old-fashioned paper.

Bill Brent, Joe Biel

Chen Design Associates

Make a Zine! When Words and Graphics Collide So you’re thinking about starting your own zine?

Grab this comprehensive guide and you’ll be on the road to fame and riches in no time.

Fingerprint No. 2 A follow-up to the popular first volume, this thickly bound book shines a spotlight on handmade work and explores how designers are mixing analog and digital techniques.

Pixels & Print

DESIGN BUREAU

By Sarah Cason

BOOK TALK: Body Heat Architect Gregory Henriquez’s book, Body Heat, tells the tale of a downtrodden neighborhood saved by architecture. Woodward’s, a Canadian department store located in a rough section of East Vancouver, was a driving force in the local economy. But rough times in the early ’90s forced the store to close, and with it, the neighborhood took a turn for the worse: poverty, homelessness, and drug addiction riddled the area.

But Henriquez and his firm set out to restore the Canadian store to its original glory. He and his colleagues transformed the city-block-sized former shopping center into its own community, with the intent to encourage people from all walks of life to dwell in close quarters. The new mixed-use

building houses everything from a clean-injection clinic, an art school, and even high-end condos.

As Henriquez was overseeing the project’s growth into a thriving neighborhood hot spot, he decided to publish a book about the rebirth of the building and its community. The end result: a photo-laden tome packed with thoughts and memories of the people who contributed their blood, sweat, and tears to revitalizing the Eastside Woodward’s project. Architects, historians, and residents contributed essays of what it was like to work on the redevelopment. “The perfect storm occurred where everyone got along and behaved,” Henriquez says. “It’s the honesty of those stories that makes it a rare book.” a

Formerly, Woodward’s department store featured a neon “W” sign, which grew to be an iconic symbol of the Canadian chain

Above: The renovated atrium inside the new Woodward’s shopping center, Photo by Bob Matheson

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DESIGN BUREAU

Objects that make us drool, covet, and go broke

Objects & Gear

objects & gear

Objects & Gear

DESIGN BUREAU

From Serbia, With Love

Designer and photographer Ana Kraš has us gaga over her straightforward furnishings and vintage styling The photos are grainy and washed out; the walls stark white, the floors dated, and the light crude. Apparently 27-yearold Ana Kraš doesn’t subscribe to the standard rules of clean-lined presentation. Thank goodness.

Her beguilingly simple house-

wares—lamps, clothing racks, chairs—are Old World-inspired classics infused with lighthearted accents like knit lampshades.

Kraš makes pieces on an individual basis, but you can find her elegant Hug chair through furniture label Foundry. a

Facing page: Ksilofon clothing rack; This page (clockwise, from top): Self-portrait; Noodle side table; Hive Lamp with Bonbon Lampshade; Photos by Ana Kraš and Vladimir Miladinović, www.anakras.com; Foundry, www.foundrycollection.com

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DESIGN BUREAU

Objects & Gear

TOYS BY DESIGN

By jeremy brautman

Hybrid Design

Choose the Medium, Tell the Story, Solve the Problem

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Dora and Brian at home in San Francisco

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Hybrid-Home: Hybrid-Home is an outlet for Drimalas to design and distribute housewares that she wants to see out in the world.

It represents a friendly approach to modernist interiors.

2. Super 7: Initially begun as a

magazine for toy collectors, retail location Super7 will celebrate its 9th anniversary in 2012. It specializes in Japanese toys and pop culture.

3. Dora Drimalas’ bird design 4. A few of Brian Flynn’s sculptures 5. Hybrid Design: A full-service

design firm that handles everything from advertising and branding to interactive and retail. Clients include Apple, Nike, Lucasfilm, and TED conferences.

Brian Flynn and Dora Drimalas have achieved that seemingly mythical goal to which all passionate hobbyists aspire: turning pleasurable pastimes into viable careers.

everything of all decoration,” Flynn says. “If you focus on meaning only, it will drive you to the correct design solution, no matter the subject matter.”

In 2000, after five years of designing at Nike, the duo moved to San Francisco to try freelancing.

It didn’t take long for them to realize that independence was not without its limitations. “The level of design, input, and scale that we wanted to be working on was simply not possible,” Flynn says. “We made the specific decision to turn into a graphic design studio and started presenting ourselves as such.”

This approach carries over into the couple’s midcentury-modern home, but for these rabid collectors, minimalism is a team effort. “Brian collects everything, and my job is to make sure he doesn’t come home with it,” Drimalas says. Charley Harper screenprints mingle with Maywa Denki’s Knockman. White Russell Wright Iroquois dishes share space with kaleidoscopic Japanese monsters. “I call our style ‘cluttered modern,’” Flynn says. “It’s a mix of simple, clean furniture coupled with an insane assemblage of stuff we love arranged on top.” The couple is proud of their accomplishments, but Flynn isn’t ready to release their greatest hits just yet. “I come to work every day excited about what we’re doing,” he says. a

This decision led directly to Hybrid Design, Hybrid-Home, and Super7. Although the three companies have different specialties, they’re guided by the same design doctrine: find the story, solve the problem, and be true to the medium. “Strip

Jeremy Brautman is a Bay Area writer who chronicles the intersection of pop culture and design.

Portrait by Jeremy Brautman, all others courtesy Hybrid; www.hybrid-design.com; www.hybrid-home.com; www.super7store.com

Objects & Gear

DESIGN BUREAU

photo by heather talbert

Rope remixed Jaclyn Mayer’s jewelry line, Orly Genger, takes rope to new heights with enamel paint, imprinted metal, and a healthy dose of color. Go ahead, get knotty.

Brookside Necklace $245

Tara Cuff $370

Harlequin Earrings $220

Concord Necklace $345

Helio Ring $120

Concord Necklace $345

Harlequin Earrings $220

www.jaclynmayer.com

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Objects & Gear

Buyer’s guide

Pleasure Craft WHEN IT COMES TO CHOOSING A MATE, YOU HAVE HIGH STANDARDS. TIME TO APPLY THE SAME RIGOR TO YOUR TRUSTY SIDEKICK.

Yva by Lelo Give yourself the Midas touch with this 18k-gold clitoral massager. It’s ultra discreet, so don’t be surprised if you find someone trying to use it as a wireless mouse. $2,180

We’ve been trained to think that sex toys are meant for hiding.

Whether it’s a vibrator shaped like a tiny animal or a monstrous bludgeon, there’s seldom a pleasure device chic enough to show off.

So who knew that a toy could turn you on before you turn it on? Sex toys by Lelo and Jimmyjane engage you in the visual, not just physical, element of sex. Who knows, they may even encourage you to upgrade your little friend’s home from the sock drawer to the mantel. a —hallie borden

Isla by Lelo Just like a sports car, the Isla comes with six different speeds. Its fluted, metallic sides exude pure sophistication; of course it comes with its own satin purse. $159

Iris by Lelo Replace your digits with these flower-like ridges.

The gently ribbed outer is complemented by five different stimulation modes and an ever-so-slight curve. $134

DOODAD OF THE ISSUE: LOOFTLIGHTER

Men! Feeling left out?

Get your hands on this bad-ass toy and start your own fire.

Lelo, www.lelo.com; Jimmyjane, www.jimmyjane.com

Bonus: Doubles as a bottle opener!

Objects & Gear

DESIGN BUREAU

ON THE RISE

Form 2 and Form 3 by Jimmyjane Award-winning. Waterproof.

Cute as a button. One has ears for on-the-spot pleasure, while the other has a thin silicone touchpad for a gentler experience. $248 for the pair

THE NEW SCHOOL Joe Doucet’s monochrome designs For his new Whyte Label collection, Joe Doucet wanted to put his own spin on traditionally disparaged designs.

Think fluorescent tube lights, flat-pack furniture, and wood veneer. Comprising seven items in total, the collection effectively turns things we take for granted into high-end conversation pieces. With the Memoir mirror, for example, Doucet turned the standard silver mirror gold (who even knew that was possible?) and fanned it out so your reflection becomes a gilded, chopped-up funhouse likeness. a

Mia by Lelo Looks like lipstick, charges via USB. The official vibrator of international spies. $64

Swedish company Looft Industries cut lighter fluid out of the equation and made a turbo-charged hot-air blower. In just 60 seconds, you’ll have a blazing fire in your fireplace or a toasty bed of coals in your grill. $80, www.looftlighter.com

Joe Doucet photos by Mike Spears; www.joedoucet.com

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DESIGN BUREAU

Objects & Gear

The Subtle Statement Piece Our favorite eye-catching accessories available this spring

Grim reality, fun watches

The Last Laugh Tattoo Edition, £160

The Average Day, £125

Just because the Grim Reaper dresses in all black, it doesn’t mean you should too With everyone now turning to their cell phone for the time, British designer Crispin Porter decided he needed to refocus the purpose of the wristwatch. Our days are not measured by seconds and minutes, after all; they’re defined by routines and moments. When asked why many of his watches deal with the macabre, Porter cites a long tradition of art using clocks as symbols of death.

“Time is inherently linked to death,” he says. “We will all eventually die, and each hour that passes is one less in our life.” So wear a fun watch while you can, folks. That boring old Rolex is just an expensive death clock. a DESIGN DICTION

Use it

Academentia

n.: a disease suffered by many out-of-touch professors—and designers who wish they were professors.

Used to describe the mental condition of a professor who offers ridiculous critiques and unsolicited insights: “After telling us to closely reinterpret his own drawing, our studio professor tore down all of our work because it was ‘too referential.’ He suffers from serious academentia.”

Lose it

Intentionality n.: a synonym for “purposefulness”

Ripped from philosophy, designers often wrongly use “intentionality” when “intention” would do just fine. Drop the jargon so you don’t sound like a pompous idiot.

Objects & Gear

DESIGN BUREAU

HEROIN CHIC Designer Mimi Jung wearing the Single Roped Duo Necklace with Brazilian agate, $253

Deflected is crafted with handmade patina-glass mirrors set in custom-cut saddle leather and draped on strands of hand-dyed cotton

Cast of Vices’ risqué jewelry won’t become a family heirloom, but that’s pretty much the point. Grandma, avert your eyes.

Delicate armor Mimi Jung’s Brook&Lyn jewelry line took off in 2008 after she posted images on her personal fashion blog. Her debut collection, Surrounded, which was an homage to her painstaking process of hand-crafting, is now followed by the equally ornate Deflected.

Jung on Deflected: “This collection was inspired by a story my friend told me about her great grandmother who used to keep a mirror under her shirt to deflect evil spirits. My friend carried on her great grandma’s tradition by wearing a tiny mirror under her shirt on days she expected to be met with negativity. The story could have been turned into a film, a website, or even a painting, but I thought it would be best honored by bringing it to life through jewelry.” a

For the melancholy humorist in your life, Cast of Vices’ jewelry hits that sweet spot of grit and glam. In addition to silver cigarettebutt necklaces, the latest collection includes prescription-drug pendants and rings, bent beer-bottle caps, and ambiguous, unlabeled vials. Found throughout the collection, both as individual pins and companion add-ons, are bejeweled flies. The bugs are meant to remind the wearer of the “stench of our addictions.” And what would a collection of substance-themed adornments be without some flashy leather medical bracelets?

They’re the Livestrong bracelet for the ironic generation. a Available at A+R, www.aplusrstore.com

Brook&Lyn photo courtesy of Mimi Jung

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Objects & Gear

Reality Rocks Let’s be real. There are four seats in this itty bitty auto, but packing in four adult passengers is just an uncomfortable dream. That’s why the iQ realistically touts a “threeplus-one” seating chart: room for three, plus maybe one, depending. The left rear spot (behind the driver) is only good for cargo, impossibly small friends, or frenemies.

The Scoop

No Spare Space

A nifty “scoop out” innovation makes the interior feel shockingly roomy. Up front, there’s no bulky engine, wheel wells, or glove compartments to contend with. All of those things are pushed forward, outwards, and under.

Scion has decreed that its car buyers need trunk space more than a spare tire. So stow some Fix-A-Flat, stick to the beaten path, and cross a few fingers that a real blowout never leaves you stranded. Also, the seats are thin. No need for La-Z-Boy levels of padding; this isn’t a luxury experience.

It’s an efficient driving one.

Test Drive The new Scion iQ is a smart little city car Scion has never been interested in the consumers who buy Toyotas, the cars of its parent brand.

What it really wants are those Gen X- and Y-ers.

So while lots of other car manufacturers are still clinging to mom-mobiles and SUVs, Scion is driving the other way. The iQ, Scion’s first new

Scion iQ, MSRP $15,265, www.scion.com/iq

model in eight years is a micro-subcompact city car. It’s a teensy-weensy 10-foot-long car with a 13-foot turning radius, allowing drivers to shimmy into unthinkable parking spots and pivot around the tightest of corners. Take that, minivans. a —Saundra Marcel

Emission Control The fuel-efficient iQ averages 37 miles per gallon, an impressive number that beats out any other four-seater and rivals other nonelectric two-seaters.

It’s not great for going fast or far but will excel in your usual city driving and short commutes.

My View

One City One photographer THREE photos

BARNIE Budapest, Hungary Barnabas Toth, a.k.a. Barnie, is all about creating fast-moving, impulsive art through digital techniques. His street style looks improvised, but there’s a great deal of preparation that goes into the making of each image. Direct light, abstract, sometimes surreal sets, and exaggerations are characteristic of his hypersaturated style. We love the way he exposes the whacked-out, seedy underbelly of Budapest—a place far removed from the city we experienced while studying abroad. a

Proud decorating partner to Threadless.

800-689-6461 • www.targetda.com

www.iambarnie.com; Photo series “Budapest Nightlife” and “Faces of Koppanyvolgye” were originally published in Lack magazine

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DESIGN BUREAU

Fashion & Beauty

Fashion & beauty

Because style never goes out of...style

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Jackie Js Lee, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London; Model: Ari, Eva Management

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L.E. Manuel, Parsons The New School for Design in New York; Model: Aya, Eva Management 5

Joanna Green, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London; Model: Maquiha, Bellona

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Paula Cheng, Parsons The New School for Design in New York; Model: Misato, Satoru Japan

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Yeochung Lydia Kim, Parsons The New School for Design in New York; Model: Tomoyou, Bellona 6

Tamara Chung, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London; Model: Satoko, Sublime

Fashion & Beauty

DESIGN BUREAU

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HairRaising Fashion

Feast your eyes on Peter Gray’s outlandish hairstyles created for the Asia Beauty Expo

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Hair: Peter Gray and Masa Honda Photography: Takahiro Ogawa Styling: Yasuhiro Takehisa Art direction: Kazuya Goan Makeup: Chiho Omae Manicure: Kotoe Mask: Hirotake Sakai and Chiho Omae

Let’s imagine for a moment that Karl Lagerfeld saw Pan’s Labyrinth and now has a recurring nightmare. What kind of freaky-stylish vision might he be seeing? These monochromatic photographs of masked models with sculptural hairstyles are probably a fairly accurate depiction. a 5

Peter Gray, www.thecollectiveshift.com

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Fashion & Beauty

design icon

Wellington Boots rubber boots, wellies, gumboots, shitkickers—call them what you will, wellington boots will be around as long as the clouds keep raining See by Chloe Rain Boot: Set yourself apart from the rubberfooted masses with luxurious detailing and a sophisticated color combination. $215, www.otteny.com

Although Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, led the British army in defeating Napoleon at Waterloo, that isn’t his legacy. It’s his shoes. The Duke, known for his fashion sense (nicknamed “The Beau” by his officers), mixed utility with style by designing a military boot that could transition into evening wear. From its original leather construction, the Wellington boot has undergone several makeovers in its 200-year lifespan to become the world’s staple rain boot. Though the Wellington boot is no longer battle-proof, they have stood the test of time. a —Sarah Cason Tretorn Sofiero Rain Boot: The cheapest of the bunch, but no less functional. Made in Sweden, which knows a thing or two about rain. $80, www.tretorn.com

Ilse Jacobsen Mid Lace-Up Rain Boot: A lower profile should suffice, assuming you’re not fording rivers. Laces all the way up ensure a snug fit. $189, www.needsupply.com

Hunter Original Tall Rain Boot: A classic style from the reigning king of rain boots. Add the optional $30 micro-fleece liner for extra warmth. $125, www.hunter-boot.com

UPGRADE

Chances are your skinny jeans have made the decision for you, but if not, now’s the time to ditch the bulk.

Despite the tantalizing potential it once represented, that expired coupon to Medieval Times is holding you back.

Do yourself a favor and trim your daily load to the bare essentials, and then get a Super Slimmy front-pocket wallet. Slimmy offers a wide variety of styles and colors, which look good from day one and get even better with use. You can keep your bloated bi-fold, but only for additional home storage.

FROM

Folding Wallet

TO

Super Slimmy

Slimmy front-pocket wallet, $39.95, www.superslimmy.com

Fashion & Beauty

Evolution of the Wellie The Hessian: A predecessor to the Duke of Wellington’s design, the Hessian was the go-to military footwear of the 18th century. The low heel and pointed toe made for easy horse-mounting, and the decorative tassel added flair to gallivanting troops everywhere.

The Wellington, first edition: The namesake, as designed by the Duke’s shoemaker in the early 19th century.

The width of the boot was reduced and the height shortened to mid-calf.

The Wellington, second edition: After a number of his men were wounded in the knee, the Wellington was elongated to cover the vulnerable joint exposed while riding a horse.

DESIGN BUREAU

Haute Happiness slightly frightening Belgian designer Walter van Beirendonck discusses his new collection, His recent Retrospective, and the Future of Fashion What part of yourself were you trying to express with Cloud #9?

Cloud #9 means the ultimate state of happiness. That’s what I wanted to express and create in this collection. An uplifting feeling. A reaction to the overwhelming bad vibes we get day in, day out.

You just had your first career retrospective. Is it strange to revisit some of your earlier designs?

I’m really proud that once the exhibition came together, everything fitted extremely well together and my signature is clearly visible. Of course, my work evolved, and the world changed, but my collections always have a contemporary feeling. What is shown in the exhibition feels rather timeless, not dated at all.

Who are your current style heroes?

I’m not that much impressed by the actual, so-called “stylemakers.” I’m really hoping [for] a strong, new, daring expression from a new generation! [It’s] high time to express new feelings and to do new statements. a

The Aigle: When Charles Goodyear and Hiram Hutchinson perfected the rubber vulcanization process in 1852, Hutchinson bought the patent to manufacture rubber footwear. Setting up shop in France, his company, A L’Aigle, introduced rubber boots to masses of clog-wearing field workers.

The North British Rubber Company: The NBRC, now better known as Hunter, met the demand for rubber boots that spiked during World War I. Over a million pairs were manufactured for soldiers. The practical boots then began to gain popularity amongst civilians.

Today: Wellington boots have invaded industrial industries and, recently, the fashion world. Hunter and Aigle are among the many brands who have feminized the Wellington with a slimmer calf circumference and wide array of colors.

Walter Van Beirendonck, www.waltervanbeirendonck.com; Portrait by Ronald Stoops; Cloud #9 photos by Dan Lecca

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Fashion & Beauty

All-American Jeans If you’re not wearing USAmade denim, you’re doing it wrong. Start with these five can’t-miss styles.

Classy!

Brand: Imogene + Willie

Alice, $225 www.imogeneandwillie. com FIT/wash: Stretchy with

a subtle flare and low rise WHEN TO WEAR IT: Justright proportions mean they go with everything

Casual!

Brand: Raleigh Nash, $275

www.raleighworkshop.com FIT/wash: Regular rise,

straight fit, raw indigo wash WHEN TO WEAR IT: All the time. Wear them for six months before washing for an unparalleled fit.

Versatile!

Brand: Tellason John Graham Mellor Slim Straight Fit, $198 www.tellason.com FIT/wash: Slim with a versatile wash WHEN TO WEAR IT: Dress ‘em up or down—they’ll almost always work.

Q&A Roy Slaper, Owner of Oakland-based Roy Denim, a one-man jean machine Roy, www.roydenim.com, photos by Molly Maeda

What does “selvage” mean exactly?

Selvage is the term that denotes the sides (edges) of a piece of fabric that runs along the entire length of the roll in the grain direction. In traditional old jeans, the side seam was pushed to the selvage in cutting the fabric, and so the edge is visible when you roll the leg up a bit.

What’s so special about Japanese denim?

The Japanese mills have embraced this sort of weaving in the last two decades in a way the rest of the world has not, and therefore have more variety of selection. I actually prefer certain American denim, when I can get it.

How about “unsanforized”?

Sanforizing a fabric presses the fibers tightly together and makes the fabric feel a little “dead.”

It does have advantages for the retailer in that the garment will fit as sold, but the unsanforized

Fashion & Beauty

DESIGN BUREAU

Stretchy!

Brand: Pray for Mother Nature Slick Rick, $185 www.shopbop.com FIT/wash: Anaconda-squeeze

legging in a subtle taupe wash

MUST-KNOW DENIM BOUTIQUES

WHEN TO WEAR IT: A night on the

town. The muted color pairs well with glitzy heels.

Baldwin Denim & Collections Baldwin is one of the Midwest’s premier Americanmade denim and apparel labels. Its luxurious men’s-only flagship location in Kansas City (where the clothing is made) opened in late 2011, right next door to its sister store, Standard Style.

4573 W. 119th St. Leawood, KS

The Curatory by Raleigh Denim Located in the front of Raleigh’s workshop, The Curatory stocks exclusive in-store-only items as well as goods from the owners’ favorite brands, such as Apolis. If you go, be sure to look up; the ceiling is bedecked with 3,500 paper airplanes.

319 W. Martin St. Raleigh, NC

Imogene + Willie Husband and wife Matt and Carrie Eddmenson renovated an old gas station in Nashville. The shop’s down-to-earth vibe makes shopping for denim more like a trip to a friend’s tastefully decorated home.

Bold!

Brand: Raleigh Macon Thin, $225 www.raleighworkshop.com

2601 12th Ave. S. Nashville, TN

FIT/wash: Slender and flashy in a

Felony Orange colorway WHEN TO WEAR IT: When you want to turn heads or brighten up an overcast day. Pair with neutrals and shades of grey.

Self Edge Denim

denim is so much more beautiful and feels nicer to the touch. When it is first washed the garment does shrink a significant amount and the weave tightens and gets a great texture.

What are the primary elements to look for in quality jeans?

I look at things that aren’t really noticed by someone that doesn’t sew. I would say that it’s the same advice for buying wine: buy what you like. Over time, you’ll gain an appreciation of the finer points. a

With locations in San Francisco, LA, and New York, Self Edge has got the Coasts covered. Variety is the name of the game; you’ll find premium denim brands from all over the world, including Roy, Nudie, 3Sixteen, and much more.

144 N. La Brea Ave. Los Angeles, CA

Baldwin photos by Ryan Strong; Raleigh photos by Nick Pironio; Imogene + Willie photo by Kristin Barlowe; Self Edge photo by Farhad Samari

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Eat, shop, explore, do what you do

Travel & Culture

TRAVEL & CULTURE

MERCI AT A GLANCE Location: Paris, France Year Founded: 2009 Sells: Designer hand-me-downs, perfume, cosmetics, furniture, home goods, craft supplies Website: www.merci-merci.com

Be your own scent mixologist at the mini perfumerie

DESIGN BUREAU

Travel & Culture 2

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STORE FRONT

A peek inside the world’s BEST Boutiques

Merci

Grab a book, have a seat, sip on some coffee; this nonprofit Parisian boutique wants you to get cozy If Anthropologie and super chic French shop Colette had a baby, Merci would be it. Occupying three levels of a former factory, bobos (that’s Parisian for “hipster”) come to Merci to shop for clothing, accessories, home decorations, and heaps of craft supplies.

Check out the store’s perfume station, where you can mix your own signature scent, or visit the haberdashery, where you can pick and choose fabrics and sewing supplies. A flower shop is also housed along the back of the store, offering a wide variety of blooms and greenery that will spruce up your living spaces.

We agree, it all sounds exhausting. So take respite in the shop’s café, where the book-lined walls beckon visitors to take a load off and catch up on a classic. In the mood for food? Just next door is Merci’s restaurant, Canteen, which offers hungry shoppers the chance to refuel for more shopping adventures.

What’s most special about Merci is that it’s a nonprofit operation, with 100 percent of profits benefitting children’s charities in Madagascar and India. A store selling goods to help the underprivileged? Merci, Merci! a —SARAH CASON

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Located in trendy Bastille, Merci was created by Marie-France Cohen, the founder of the Bonpoint children’s clothing brand

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A vintage Fiat 500 with a rowboat perched on its roof pulls you off the street and into Merci’s charming courtyard

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Be your own scent mixologist at the mini perfumerie

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Borrow (or buy) a book at Merci while indulging in a café crème and bite of chocolate cake

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Take a seat—any seat. A wall of mismatched chairs lines the top level.

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Bins of colorful office supplies make organizing your desk fun again

Photos courtesy Jillian Leiboff

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Travel & Culture

Shopping Computers Most passersby are curious about the giant aqua-blue building that is Threadless. So when they venture in and realize it’s a T-shirt shop, these computers are ready to connect to Threadless.com for the online shopping that will soon follow. Just bring the order number to the receptionist, and she’ll grab your shirt from the warehouse right there. It’s that easy!

STUDIO TOUR

A peek inside the world's BEST CREATIVE SPACES

Threadless

You own the T-shirts, now step inside the shop. Be forewarned: your office isn’t as cool as theirs.

From the Airstream trailer sitting in the lobby to the adultsized chicken suit casually lying on the floor, nearly everything about Threadless is meant to be fun. Just ask Mig Reyes, an interactive designer in the design company’s Art Department. “We don’t want to take ourselves too seriously, or our work will feel like that,” he says.

We invited ourselves over to take a trip through their headquarters / warehouse / photography studio / super cool space in Chicago’s West Loop to see the creative madness at work. a —Alyssa Meza

Sharprint Timing is everything, and when it came to working with Threadless, Sharprint’s timing was perfect. “In 2006, we were interested in setting up an online design studio where people could design and order T-shirts all in one shot,” says art director Tara Zanzig. Threadless was also taking off right around then, and was shopping for printers who weren’t afraid of new technology. “We’ve always been into new inks and press technology, so that’s how we started working together,” Zanzig explains. On the docket for their next collaboration is Zanzig’s own design, a geometric play on the Pantone book. “It will be super complicated,” Zanzig admits, “but really, I couldn’t imagine anything better.”

Photos by Craig Shimala, Sean Dorgan, and Mig Reyes

The Art Department This section of the office has all the design tools you might expect to find: a light table, protractors, pencils, erasers, and a drawer filled with hot sauce

Boss Hall of Fame Who’s the boss? Co-founders Jake Nickell and Jacob DeHart are, but they sit in front of photos of others dubbed “the big cheese”: Steve Carell, Mr. Burns, and of course, Donald Trump.

Target Decorated Apparel Designing T-shirts? No problem. But making them? That’s another story.

Threadless depends on Target Decorated Apparel to see that their shirts make it through production. “We don’t design the shirts,” says Steve Kanney, Target’s general manager. “It’s our job to work with the them to execute the designer’s vision as closely as possible.” Kanney finds Threadless’ devotion to the design refreshing because “they don’t try to water it down,” and in doing so, “they always put the designer first.” When asked what his T-shirt for Threadless would look like, he says with a laugh, “insert witty pageant answer here! We’ll leave the designing up to the enormously talented creatives submitting work to the Threadless team.”

The Achievement Wall When they launched their new website, it went on the wall. When they came up with their new tagline, “Make Great Together,” it went on the wall.

When they got breakfast burritos on Monday, it went on the wall. Achievements big and small…go on the wall.

Airstream No, you’re not seeing double. Threadless really does have two Airstream RV vehicles. These bad boys come equipped with outlets, benches, and plenty of room for creativity.

Department Design Threadless held an inter-office design competition to create their new space. Although each department competed against one another, everyone is a winner in their colorful new digs. The tech departmentfeatures paintings of Pac-Man and Super Mario Brothers, while the shipping office resembles an intergalactic voyage (Master Yoda poster included). “We all wanted to make the space our own,” Reyes says.

3 Our favorite Threadless Designs

Certified Adventure Seeker

by Zack Davenport

Smile / Frown

by Nicholas Gilbert

Spoilt by Olly Moss

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DESIGN BUREAU

Travel & Culture

Cigarillo-box lamp and Telephone lamp

The Gambiological Armor series: Helmet and Goggles

Makeshift Madness A group of Brazilian artists fed up with material excesses are turning junk into fully-functioning monster machines Gambiologia, a collective composed of Fred Paulino, Lucas Mafra, and Paulo Henrique, is a play on the Brazilian Portuguese word “gabriarra,” which loosely means “improvisation.”

In Gambiologia’s art, you’ll see materials reworked in surprising ways as a form of waste intervention—think bent circuits, retooled metal, and lots of LED lights.

A piece of work close to the collective’s heart is the “Gambiociclo,” a multimedia vehicle “hacked” together to project video and digital graffiti in public spaces. Hack, a term most often associated with computer work, is stretched beyond that traditional definition

by Paulino and his counterparts. “I prefer to define hack not only in computer terms, but also for everyday objects,” Paulino says. “We suggest thinking about hacking as any action towards modifying a system, inserting a piece of information on it, reprogramming it and, in our case, recreating it.”

Gambiologia is adept at what Paulino calls “visual research.” “This has a lot to do with a common artists’ wish of working more locally and thinking about technology as a technique for solving problems instead of always creating high-end products,” Paulino says. “[Gabriarra] is a natural consequence of our society being obligated to consume brand-new products every hour and the emergency of thinking about what will be done with so much trash that is being produced.” a—Caitlin M. ryan The Gambiological Armor series: Watch Glove and Shoe Phone

Photos by Pedro David, Daniel Mansur, and Rogerio Sol

Travel & Culture

Gambiociclo, a mobile, multimedia broadcasting tricycle that performs interactive video projections and digital graffiti in urban areas

DESIGN BUREAU

handmade spotlight

Priti Baiks Panamanian Steeds that value style over speed Dwindling resources have made the great American pastime of cruising around aimlessly in a big gas-guzzling car a serious faux pas. What if there was a better way to flaunt your one-of-a-kind ride and save the planet at the same time? Well, showboat, fix yourself up one of these two-wheeled stunners. They’re called Priti Baiks, and Panamanian photographer José Castrellon documented the vibrant subculture in his home country. “Priti” in this context has a dual meaning; obviously, it relates to beauty, but the locals’ definition is closer to “ingenious and striking grace.” Finally, some over-the-top ornamentation that we can all get behind. a

Clockwise from top left: Javier, El Espino, 2010; Ariel, San Carlos, 2010; Juan, Juanche, Colon, 2010; Erick, Nazareno, 2010; Daniel, Los Santos, 2010; Chimbilin, Cermeño, 2010

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Travel & Culture

Neon Luxury Pop art and hip hop collide inside RSVP, Chicago's illest retail boutique

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RSVP Gallery knows that it can come across as intimidating. With a stock of exclusive, limited-edition apparel, college-tuition level prices, and frequent in-store celebrity performances, it’s pretty clear why. Any apparent haughtiness, however, is undercut by a simple, highly visible request, en francais: RSVP. Please respond to our invitation. Come in, stay a while, drink in the style; it is a gallery, after all.

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Opened in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood in 2009 (what recession?) by a trio of stylish, business-savvy dudes—Virgil Abloh, Don Crawley, and Marc Moran—it hasn’t taken long for RSVP to establish a worldwide reputation. The store occupies a unique space in the retail world, which allows it to stock rare, hard-to-find items, like Kanye West’s much-ballyhooed high-tops, the Nike Air Yeezys, and Pharrell’s Ice Cream fashion line. For a taste of RSVP’s other offerings, we put together this collection of drool-worthy goods. a

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photo by doug human

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Travel & Culture

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DESIGN BUREAU

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Medicom Batman Bearbrick 400% $105

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Cambridge Satchel Co. 15-inch Satchel $190

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Christopher Kane Large Aqua Bag $980

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KaiKai KiKi Flower Cushion 30cm $105

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Eley Kishimoto Incase MacBook Case $60.00

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Kanye West x George Condo x M/M Paris Scarf $300

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RSVP Men’s Peace Tee $60

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Ice Cream Low Top Drip Sneaker $210

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Comme des Garcons PLAY Mens Sweater $385

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Kaws book $45

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Helmut Newton Polaroids book $60

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Incase Ping Pong iPhone 4 Case $30.00

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Tom Sachs Krink Marker Set $550

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Travel & Culture

RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT

Paging Nurse Bettie

On the drink list is the Bazooka Bettie, a girlie pink drink that tastes just like bubble gum

A naughty-but-nice bar pays tribute to pinup girls and New York City’s gritty, sexy Lower East Side Vanessa Keith, architect and founder of New York firm Studioteka, is known for both her built work and published ideas. She takes a break from the academic world with her design of Nurse Bettie bar, one of NYC’s coolest (and sexiest) new watering holes.

Designing bars isn’t your M.O. How did you get involved in the Nurse Bettie project?

There was a café around the corner from here where I would stop on my way to work. One day the café’s owner said, “You’re an architect, right? We’ve got this place around the corner, and we don’t know what to do with it. Can you come take a look?” I saw that the space was vacant and in a state of semidestruction.

Just like in the pages of Where’s Waldo?, there’s one image of vixen Bettie Page hidden on the pin-up themed bathroom ceiling for people to find

So the obvious question—who exactly is Nurse Bettie?

The owners were originally enamored with the idea of having a ’50s Cuban place. One day we were talking about styles from the ’40s and the ’50s, and one of the owners, Stephen, said, “I’m thinking about Bettie Page in a nurse’s outfit.” I said, “Nurse Bettie—that’s such a great bar name!” And it stuck.

Who did the glamorous, life-size pinup girl paintings?

When we decided we wanted to do the pinup theme, we looked at paint-

Photos by Tom Sibley/Wilk Marketing Communications; portrait by Jennifer Jeffrey Nurse Bettie co-designed with Karolin Keilbar, Studioteka

ings by Alberto Vargas who did classic pin-up girl art from the ’1950s. The owners found an artist, Brian Life, and commissioned him to make authentic reproductions. The three paintings in the bar are his. The one in the back, with the girl framed inside a keyhole, became the image on the bar’s business card, and also gave us the idea for the keyhole-shaped openings in the bar’s dark glass façade.

The atmosphere and the name exude sexiness. Does the design live up to that vibe?

Early on the owners asked me, “Where’s the make-out corner in the bar?” So the small banquette at the back of the bar was designed as “the make-out space.”

The first week the bar opened, we were inside one night and saw a couple back there start to kiss. We all looked at each other and said, “Yay, it worked!”a —NALINA MOSES

Travel & Culture

DESIGN BUREAU

By Kristen Eichenmuller photo by Jody D'Arcy

Bright idea: Burnham put a spunky twist on the chandelier by draping bundles of colorful European fabrics to fill the volume of the vast dark charcoalcolored ceiling. He says the vibrant lighting lid visually draws the eye toward the spectacular horizontal view of the Indian Ocean.

Tight turnaround: “Because we wanted to turn things around in seven weeks, materials were restricted to what was readily available,” Burnham says. This included harlequin chairs made from recycled timbers and old street signs.

RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT

Cool Down at Clancy’s

An Aussie architect goes crazy for color in this spunky beachside restaurant What: Clancy’s Fish Bar City Beach, a surfer and family- friendly

beachside hot spot owned by brothers Joe and John Fisher

Where: Perth, Australia Designer: Local architect and designer Paul Burnham elements: Crazy colors, anything beachy, and a whole lot of whimsy

Colorful Solutions: Painting the concrete floor with children’s games and cartoon drawings added color and humor to the space. “It was obvious from the very beginning that color and playfulness was the way to go, and we embraced it as fully as we could,” Burnham says.

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Enviable interiors to shamelessly ogle

Structures & Spaces

STRUCTURES & SPACES

Embroidered horseshoes give subtle depth to otherwise flat walls. www.tracykendall.com

Structures & Spaces

DESIGN BUREAU

Feeling up the Walls What happens when wallpaper gets dressed

Sixteen years ago, Tracy Kendall’s kitchen needed a facelift, but after unfruitful searches for a suitable wallpaper, the designer resolved to make her own. Kendall’s inspired wallpaper solution resulted in a blown-up trifecta of cutlery: a larger-than-life fork, spoon, and knife that stand taller than the chef without overpowering the room.

Kendall, then a print technician living in South London, showed a sample of her work to colleagues at The Royal College of Art, and one impressed professor gave her a coveted 15-minute slot among students to present her wallpaper to visiting fashion editors. The next week, Ilse Crawford, the founder of Europe’s Elle Decoration, requested a bespoke version of the wallpaper for a feature. More than a decade later, Kendall is at the helm of her own wallpaper design studio. Her original work still resides in her kitchen, not to mention the permanent collections of London’s Victoria & Albert Museum and New York’s Cooper Hewitt.

Much of Kendall’s work draws upon her varied fashion background. Stitches, sequins, and Vivienne Westwood-esque fringe fill the pages of her look books. But don’t fret; despite the couture design techniques, these made-toorder papers are durable and meant for living spaces. In fact, most can be installed as easily as the old, peeling Bart Simpson wallpaper that can be seen peeking out from the back of Kendall’s studio closet. a —sarah handelman

Clockwise from top: Open Feather wallpaper screen-printed by hand; London-based wallpaper designer Tracy Kendall; Bespoke Midsummer Night’s Dream wallpaper; Lace Paris wallpaper; In the White Room with Color stitched wallpaper

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in the mix From a desire to spin and a lack of space, a fold-up DJ booth was born “Have you ever seen a fold-up ironing board? We based our design off that,” says Will Kavesh, designer and co-founder of Token NYC. Kavesh and his partner, Emrys Berkower, designed the space-saving station using standard industrial parts, like airplane cable and pulleys, and counterweighted the drop-down table by ingeniously rigging the speaker on wall-mounted rollers. The platform supports two tables on its surface, and runs all the A/V cables through its four-inch depth. This helps play up Token’s signature raw yet clean look and maximizes the table’s functionality. When asked if he would design a one-off, Kavesh says yes. “The DJ booth was a fantastical context to play with solutions for professional environments, like conference rooms. I definitely would do it again.” a Photos by Frank Oudeman

Picture perfect Since Token specializes in creatively designing different pieces and parts, they enjoy projects that have a high level of hands-on detail work. The Heimbinder Residence, a recent NYC condo renovation, proved no exception. Jesse Robertson-Tait, the home’s general contractor, brought Token onboard to fabricate all of the steel framed glass doors and jambs for the project. The design team fiddled and tweaked with the elements, and all the while “They played an instrumental part in puzzling out the buildability of the elements they were responsible for while never compromising on the design,” Robertson-Tait says. “This is something that I feel very strongly about in my business. Too often you find people who just don’t understand the importance of taking it the extra step to make it perfect.”

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ASK THE EXPERT

The Heads of State Two experts are better than one. that’s why we enlisted Jason Kernevich and Dustin Summers to kick some knowledge.

Q: My buddy and I want to leave our corporate jobs and strike out on our own. Do you have any advice for turning a friendship into a working relationship?

A: Jason Kernevich and Dustin Summers—professionally known as The Heads of State—have been working together for a decade. Both graduates of the Tyler School of Art, Kernevich and Summers first put their stamp on the indie-music scene in Philadelphia with their eye-catching silk-screened posters. What began with local clients and small projects quickly grew to the international level, with clients like Starbucks, The New York Times, Random House, and NPR. The duo still operates out of Philly, running a full-service design and illustration firm that makes everything from illustrations to identities.

If you ask them, though, they simply “make ideas.” a

Navigating a work partnership with a friend can be tricky. As with any relationship, the keys to making it work are trust and communication. Having a great foundation of visual chemistry really helps. Chances are, there is already a built-in respect for each others’ work or else you wouldn’t be entertaining the idea of working together. This is a huge benefit. Over time, you’ll develop and refine a visual shorthand with each other and literally begin speaking your own graphic language. It streamlines what can otherwise be a stressful process. And let’s be honest, striking out on your own and building a business together is stressful enough.

The creative process should be exciting. Which is why it’s best to bring professionals to assist with the other aspects of the business.

A good accountant, bookkeeper, and interns will help ease the burdens put upon the creative partnership.

From left to right: Illustration for a Washington Post story on summer movies; Book cover design for Penguin; The Great Gatsby business-card poster; Illustration for the New Republic

Q:

A:

I’d like to get into editorial illustration. How do you walk the line between conceptual and literal? How do you know when you’ve struck the right balance?

The scope of today’s exciting illustration scene is quite vast. Illustrators are constantly flirting with multiple roles and personas. Some veer more towards fine art. Others balance design clients while simultaneously building a traditional illustration portfolio. Typography and lettering also factor in. All of these things fall under the umbrella of editorial illustration. But it’s important to stay focused on your core competencies. There is plenty of room for both literal and conceptual image makers. Striking a balance can be tough, but it’s more important that you cultivate a unique voice and a personal touch as an illustrator. It’s akin to having a creative brief from a client; only you, the artist, is constantly tweaking the mission statement as you grow and develop.

Have a question that only an expert can answer? Email us: letters@wearedesignbureau.com

Structures & Spaces

ARCHITECTURE Q&A

PAUL SCHULMAN DESIGN

DESIGN BUREAU

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We just did a kitchen with interesting ceiling beams. Before we updated the space, there was only one awkwardly placed beam, so I added others to balance the space. They span the whole kitchen, and one actually punches

Formerly a sculptor and metalworker, interior designer Paul Schulman is familiar with a whole slew of materials.

And yet: “I’m agnostic towards materials,” Schulman says. “What really turns me on is the challenge of the project.”

Your firm has been in business for ten years. What has been your favorite type of project over the past decade?

Above: Paul Schulman Right: Winona project dining room and nursery; photos courtesy of Studio This Is and Paul Schulman Design

I like residential work because it’s always meaningful. For me, I can make changes on the spot that I can’t do in larger projects. For my clients, the reality of using my design really impacts their lives. It’s an emotional rather than a technical experience.

Do you ever encounter design problems that need solving?

through the cabinets. It looks really cool, and because of where it’s placed, it only sacrifices a little bit of cabinet space.

Tell us: What’s your next challenge?

I want to be called into projects that nobody knows how to solve. To me, there are two types of designers: artists, who make the same thing every time, and chameleons, who play more with the project prospectus. I want to move into hotels and restaurants, but projects that let me be a chameleon will always be good. a

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on the rise SHARchITECTURE Though his firm’s name recalls a certain fierce predator, Jacob Shapiro really just wants to talk Name: Jacob Shapiro Hometown: Evanston, Illinois Occupation: Designer/ Builder/ Problem Solver Background: Shapiro discovered architecture while in college at Princeton, and worked in construction as an architectural draftsman, post-graduation. “I decided pretty early on that I could figure out how to build whatever I wanted just by asking enough questions,” he says of his inquisitive nature. “So far, trial and error has worked out pretty well.”

Building a Business: The young designer started his Chicago-based design-build firm, Sharchitecture, in 2005, where he’s worked on a variety of projects, including a synagogue lectern and a produce stand. Shapiro puts dialogue at the forefront of his design process.

“The final product is strongest if it comes from a place of dialogue instead of dogma,” he says.

Shark Bait: Though we wish we could say Shapiro’s firm name stems from a lifelong obsession with Jaws, he swears that’s not the case. Rather, the moniker was inspired by the tiger shark that hangs in the atrium of the Frist Campus Center at Princeton.

“Sharchitecture represents an opposition to the paper architecture being taught to us at the time,” he says. “It stands for the practical, common sense, hands-on approach to problem solving through design, outside the ivory towers of theory and intellectualism.” Sharchitecture’s logo also represents the toothy predator: it’s a a quirky woodblock print of a shark he found in an old copy of Moby Dick. a —Katie mendelson photo by lisa predko

Shapiro looking fly in his Chicago studio. For more on his work, visit www.sharchitecturedesignbuild.com.

FACTS & FIGURES

PHOTOGRAPHERS

54,550 The number of photographers working in the United States

$29,130 The median wage for a photographer

CALIFORNIA The state that employs the most photographers

MOTION PICTURES The top-paying industry for photographers

380 The number of photographers working in motion pictures

All data taken from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics

web: www.dsbldr.com phone: 773.698.7259 email: info@dsbldr.com facebook: weRbuilder twitter: weRbldr flickr: flickr.com/3ccmidwest

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A Very Brady Remodel This San Diego split-level had good bones, but the remnants of the feathered-hair-and-bell-bottom era had to go

By Katie Mendelson

BEFORE

AFTER

INTERIOR: BEFORE & AFTER

Home Sweet Home An ad for the original house upsold its potential for customization

Photos courtesy Silva Studios

If you find yourself unknowingly humming the infectious TV tune about a lovely lady while viewing this home, no, you’re not going crazy. Though this 1960s house recalls that of a man named Brady, it’s actually owned by a family named Jones, and was in desperate need of a new look.

The homeowners enlisted neighbor Mark Silva of San Diego architecture firm Silva Studios to helm the renovation.

“They knew my sensitivity to mid-century modern post-and-beam design,” Silva says, “and thought I would be able to reinvent their home to fit a modern lifestyle while honoring the original architecture.” Save for its vaulted ceiling beams—a trademark of

the original architect, William Krisel—the house needed to be nearly gutted. “The idea was to update the home with new technologies, finishes, fixtures, and, most importantly, the lifestyle changes that have occurred from 1960 to 2011,” Silva says. Mission accomplished. Now, how long until AstroTurf comes back into style? a

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By lesley stanley

HOW-TO

Give Savvy Style a Feng Shui Kick Yes, Feng Shui can clear the funky energy in your house, but usually at the cost of a cohesive style. Interior designer Marie Burgos shows us how to mix both and still have a chic space.

How do you bring Feng Shui to a room and keep your personal style?

It’s all about the items you use and placing the five natural elements—earth, fire, water, wood, and metal—in the right places.

For example, to incorporate water, you can bring in a mirror, which reflects light and creates more energy. It’s also important to place it in an area that reflects a spot that you’re comfortable with and love, so you see more of it.

What décor items can you use to incorporate the five basic elements of Feng Shui?

The goal is to create a balanced design by using the five elements and creating a layout that allows the chi, or energy, to come in with the use of furniture, accessories, and literally the elements themselves. You can bring in metal by having a coffee table with metal legs or trim, or you can bring in water by incorporating blue and green throw pillows on your sofa.

Photography by Scott Morris; Portrait by Francis Augustine

Are there specific Feng Shui techniques a person can use to make his or her life a little sweeter?

If you want to improve your finances, you should focus on wood, since it represents growth. Wood flooring, plants, and painting your space green or brown would all be appropriate. If you’re looking for a romantic relationship, fire is your element. That doesn’t mean you need to have a fireplace, but rather add candles, a triangular-shaped graphic, or red- and orange-colored pillows to your décor.

Let’s get down to business. How do you make sure that your bedroom has good chi?

The placement of your bed is important. It needs to be positioned so when you lie down you can see the door; that way, you feel in control of your space. Also, bigger headboards create confidence. Adding pairs of items such as bedside tables and pillows, and leaving a portion of your closet free of your belongings says, “I’m ready for a partner.” a

Structures & Spaces

Weaving a wedding wall

DESIGN BUREAU

By stephen killion

Two designers took the ultimate DIY challenge and turned their textile-mill workplace into a dream wedding venue for themselves

Going to the textile mill and we're gonna get married... It’s not really how the tune goes, but it was the case for designers Libby O’Bryan and Brandon Pass, who wed inside North Carolina’s Oriole Mill.

to beautify the site. O’Bryan and Pass cut 10,000 linear feet of selvage, the mill’s offcast fabric waste, into 18-foot strips and then hung them from the building’s truss to create suspended bands of color. The result was a 60-foot multicolored fabric wall that acted as a backdrop for their wedding. “It was truly an incredible environment to experience,” Pass says. “Almost our entire wedding ornamentation was composed from found objects, but in a way, that makes it even that much more special.”

It’s a surprising choice only for those unfamiliar with their work. O’Bryan, a textiles expert, worked with the mill on expanding its designs, while her then-fiancée, Pass, an architect, worked on designs within the mill’s structure, including custom acoustic doors that separated the quiet design studio from the humming weaving floor. With so much of their time spent on-site, it’s no wonder the pair chose the mill for their venue. “The mill is a part of who we are as a unit and has defined our lives in Asheville,” Pass says. “We wanted to share the place that has anchored us in our new home.”

Now that the wedding is done and the wall has come down, it’s back to business as usual at the mill, although it has provoked the newlyweds to continue designing installations within the space. “We think we’re going to try to do some sort of site-specific install each year,” Pass says. “Maybe accompanied by some party with a theme...”

But a textile mill isn’t exactly rife with photoops, so the couple decided to marry their skills

Perhaps an anniversary party for Mr. and Mrs. Pass? a

How's this for a backdrop? Pass and O’Bryan cut 6,480 feet of fabric waste into 18-foot strips and suspended them from the rafters.

THE ORIOLE MILL Since the mill’s selvage played such a large part in the couple’s wedding, it makes perfect sense that the bride’s dress used the mill’s textiles, too. “Libby wore a gown she made from our fabric,” says Oriole Mill co-founder Stephan Michelson. And, like the selvage installation, it was “creative beyond expectation.” So will Michelson partner with O’Bryan on a future fashion line? Yes, he says, “That’s a possibility.”

Above: Selvage wall process photo by Libby O’Bryan. Portrait by Todd Crawford Photography

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By NALINA MOSES

Designers discussing their process

MY STYLE

Doing it By Hand

Architect Omar Gandhi learned how to draw by documenting vegetable decay.

Now that he draws plans for houses, the precision, discipline, and desire to do it by hand has stuck with him.

A drawing assignment from high school haunts Omar Gandhi. “We drew the same red pepper over a month, with a continuous level of concentration, in different ways, until it rotted away in front of us,” he recalls. “It hurt your brain, but you learned to draw with control and see things clearly.” It’s this elusive, deep-rooted connection between the hand and the mind that is at the heart of Gandhi’s architecture.

As the founder of his eponymous Halifax, Nova Scotia-based firm, the architect still develops designs through sketches and handmade models before drafting them on a computer. “Most of the thinking happens before I turn on the computer,” he says. It’s a gutsy approach to take at a moment when every aspect of architecture, from design to fabrication, is becoming more and more automated, but his approach is paying off. Only two years after

All Photos by Omar Gandhi; models by Ryan Beecroft; portrait by Greg Richardson

he started his firm, Gandhi is busy with a full slate of residential commissions, including the Moore Studio, a new house and studio for two artists on a forested site in Nova Scotia. For his modeling work on this project, he created a series of ink sketches and cardboard models, which reveal a hand that is both expressive and precise.

If it was the power of drawing that first inspired Gandhi, it’s the pleasure of drawing that keeps him going. He is determined to hold manual modelmaking and drawing at the heart of his practice.

His total confidence in hand work is echoed in the advice he has for other architects: “Draw all the time, and don’t worry about the outcome of the drawing.” Because even if it means drawing a rotting vegetable, what results from it can be inspiring in surprising ways. a

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CNN Newsroom

What’s it like to design a space that millions will see on TV? Ask Michael Kostow.

His firm, Kostow Greenwood Architects, has become one of the go-to architecture firms for designing television studios. His impressive list of clients runs the gamut from newscentric stations like CNN, NBC, and PBS, to younger, more fun stations like MTV, VH-1, and Nickelodeon. Kostow let us in on what it’s like to have his work enter the households of viewers all over the world, and what you shouldn’t miss when touring MTV’s studios.

The face of the Network You see them every time you turn on the TV, but who’s really responsible for those iconic studio sets?

By jacquelin carnegie

Photography by Chun Lai Photography and Adrian Wilson

How did you break into the world of television design and architecture?

Years ago, we submitted a proposal for a job for CNN. We didn’t win, but CNN really liked our concept, and a few years later, when they moved to a huge studio space in the iconic Time Warner Center in New York, they hired us for the job.

Broadcast studios set the pace for a network’s public image. What elements are absolute musts to consider when designing these spaces?

First, we create the vision, the overall look.

Then, all materials and colors have to be tested to see how they appear on camera.

However, broadcast studios also need ancillary support areas: makeup rooms, green rooms, engineering departments, and newsgathering areas. Some even demand parking bays for their satellite trucks. This requires a

MTV Lounge

MTV Motion Capture Room

large team of experts and consultants. But no matter the technical demands—from floating floors to suspended ceilings—the overall design concept remains paramount.

Do you see any new trends in the field?

Theaters now all want broadcast capabilities, and radio stations want broadcast studios with space to invite in an audience. Lots of TV and radio stations are doing “streetscape” spaces, with glass-fronted studios on the ground floor so that passersby on the sidewalk can watch the shows being done live.

If you were giving the tour at MTV, what room would you be sure to not miss and why?

The most interesting space is the main lobby, with its swimming-pool-green floor. Because the space is not heavily branded, the architecture alone had to speak to the identity of the group [MTV, VH-1, Nickelodeon]. The green floor does that. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXa The most interesting spTh

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DESIGN BUREAU

Structures & Spaces

By Chuck swartz ART DIRECTION by cody haltom PHOTO BY ADAM VOORHES STYLING BY ROBIN FINLAY

GLOSSARY

The Metrobilly The metrobilly is equivalent to a design-world chimera. He enjoys art openings as well as dirt-track racing, and drinks well-mixed martinis and Budweiser with equal zeal.

Although this character seems highly improbable, Chuck Swartz, principal of Virginia-based Reader & Swartz Architects, explains that the metrobilly really does exist, and he’s got the definition to prove it.

metro’billy (me’trō bil ē) n., pl. –lies, adj. –n.

1. an individual with an urban mindset who lives in a small town or rural habitat, and whose cultural reference points reach beyond his or her immediate locale.

–n.

2. a person who shares the sophisticated fashion tastes of those who live in a metropolis, but who also enjoys rubbing elbows with those who live in backwoods country.

-adj.

3. of, like, or pertaining to metrobillies: metrobilly lifestyle

Origin:

thought to be derived from a combination of “metrosexual” and “hillbilly”

Use:

The metrobilly scrutinized the Le Corbusier print up on the auction block while thumbing the four-wheeler key in his pocket.

Design Bureau inspired Reader & Swartz so much that they decided to devote their own mag to the metrobilly. Check out our website for a sneak peek of their first covers.

ARCHITECTURE Q&A

Reader & Swartz Rethink the Tattoo

“Tattoos are probably better on buildings than on people,” Swartz says. At its Songbird Lane home, the firm put this idea to the test, designing “house tattoos” that reflect the family’s lifestyle on a very personal level. “Modern design can be so cold, so we’re always trying to humanize the objects,” Swartz says. “The house tattoos do this because they celebrate the life going on inside the home.”

The tattoos, squares cut from marina-grade plywood, display paintings done by the family and their friends, some located as far away as Japan. The builder originally painted the squares four jewel-tone colors, but when they re-collected them for installation, they found that some had completely obliterated the color with personal paintings. “This was the whole point,” Swartz says, “letting people do their own art really makes a house liveable. ”And like art, the tattoos, now installed throughout Songbird Lane’s interior and exterior, can be changed out if the family ever grows tired of their looks. Temporary architecture tattoos that add your personal design to your home?

Swartz is definitely onto something small that can make a home feel extra special.

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Design Dialogue

GUEST COLUMN: architects & artisans

By J. Michael Welton Illustration by Patrick Macomber

Cuba in Living Color A gorgeous new book reveals the architectural wonders of a country that few get to see Every now and then, the marketing team at Rizzoli New York will send me a review copy of a new book. I almost missed one about a month ago. The cover looked good, but I was too busy to open it. Spurred on by the publisher, I scheduled a phone interview with its author, Michael Connors. While we talked, I slipped off the plastic wrapping and opened up The Splendor of Cuba. I was immediately dumbfounded.

For the past five years, Connors has been working on the 320-page publication, which is packed with 450 years of Cuban architecture. True to its moniker, it’s a sumptuous tome that counters any notion of the island as an impoverished place populated by tired, dilapidated buildings and patched-up, late’50s Pontiacs and Chryslers. Among the striking images are architectural gems like rarely-seen castles and villas built for sugar barons from the Colonial era.

“I’m enthralled with the people and the architecture of Cuba,” says Connors, who holds a Ph.D. in decorative arts from New York University. “I’m also interested in the history of the country; not just how wealthy it was, but how prosperous, too. You can find every style of architecture in the past 500 years expressed one way or another in Cuba.”

Connors serves on the board of the nonprofit organization Fundación Amistad, a New York-based group dedicated to fostering better mutual understanding and respect between the people of the United States and Cuba. It was this specific connection that proved its worth when Connors and Brent Winebrenner, who also worked on the book, sought to photograph Finca Vigia, or “Lookout Farm”—where Ernest Hemingway lived from 1939 to 1960. “People are not allowed in. You can view the interior from the doors and windows, but that’s all,” Connors says of the home, which is just 10

The Splendor of Cuba counters any notion of the island as an impoverished place populated by dilapidated buildings and late-’50s Pontiacs and Chryslers. miles southeast of Havana. “One of Hemingway’s granddaughters was doing a modeling gig, and she wasn’t even allowed in.”

Connors and Winebrenner were granted free rein of the interior for a series of photos that depict the property, which is as impeccably maintained as the day the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer left. The book showcases the famed author’s desks, books, furnis-hings—even his bedspreads. “He had the furnishings built in the same way he wrote:

For more from J. Michael Welton, please visit www.architectsandartisans.com

true to himself, with no pretentiousness,” Connors says.

Despite the beautiful designs in many of Cuba’s neighborhoods, Connors says there are buildings that are in far worse shape than Hemingway’s home, which is almost perfectly preserved. But there’s so much beautiful architecture to be found in Cuba, with an audience ready to experience it just 90 miles away. And if that’s too far, cracking open The Splendor of Cuba is a close second. a

Design Dialogue

Image, Style, DesigN

DESIGN BUREAU

By Steven Fischer Illustration by Adam Hanson

Now Boarding: Luxury Travel The Stylish travel experience went to the wayside with the death of pan am—or did it?

Glamour. Grandeur. Jet set. Luxury.

All of these words once described the culture associated with airline travel in the 1950s through the ’70s, back when “stewardesses” wore sophisticatedly sexy (and perfectly tailored) uniforms, and a pilot’s job was not that unlike the swanky, martini-laden lifestyle of Hollywood stars. Comparable to a 007 of the sky, minus the gunfire and espionage (though the TV series Pan Am would lead you to believe that spy duties really did exist as a part of the job description), a jet-setter’s life was the epitome of style and class. From luxury airport terminals to the cutting-edge jumbo jets, every inch of the travel experience was doused in high design. Even passengers were expected to look the part. It was an unspoken but widely known rule that women should arrive in a skirt or dress, while men were expected to don the ever-dapper suit.

But living in a post-9/11 world, it’s no surprise that this partnership between travel and luxury had to take a necessary backseat to larger, more important issues. Security, the economy, and high oil and gas prices all took precedence over the need to maintain a high level of aesthetic interest for travelers.

No shoes, no liquids, no need to be concerned about how you look, especially when the TSA will have you remove nearly everything but your underwear, then scan you through a lifesize X-ray machine to see through that, too.

With all the hassle associated with modern air travel, it is no wonder that so many of our fellow passengers show up appearing as if they just rolled out of bed.

designer Cynthia Rowley to create smart, new uniforms for its flight crew, following in the footsteps of other designer airline outfits

by Kate Spade and Richard Tyler. And with the renewed interest in jet-set glam extending beyond travel to the world of fashion and even furniture design—as evidenced in the renewed focus on mid-century modern pieces—people can’t get enough of this bygone era of style.

As times have changed and more importance has been placed on security, the travel industry has gone from glamour to utility, and many feel fed up with paying more money for a lesser experience. At one time, the welldesigned travel experience gave passengers a self-image of importance and worldliness, but now it’s been replaced by a feeling of being lost in a herd, and this reflects poorly on the self-image of today’s jet-setter.

changes that are poised for a return to the golden age of travel. There have been interesting developments in the world of private jets—though the luxury of bypassing the invasive security screening process will still cost you, it won’t be as much as it has been in the past. Companies like NetJets are allowing people to buy single seats on flights that aren’t full, and at prices that rival a coach ticket on a commercial airline to the same destination. Commercial liners aren’t missing out on the style revival either. New plane redesigns put a premium on design and comfort, including Airbus’ new A380 plane, which features private compartments and lounge areas, not unlike train sleeper cars from journeys of yore. And Boeing’s new Dreamliner features blue ambient ceiling lighting to allow the traveler to feel as if the sky is just above them. Design-conscious details like this have helped to recapture some of the lost excitement of air travel.

But the glimmer of hope for a well-designed trip isn’t gone just yet, thanks to style-savvy

The fashion department is also kicking it up a notch. United Airlines hired fashion

But you still may need to take your shoes off before entering the terminal. a

As airlines work to renew the stylish travel experience that was lost along the way, will the flying public up its game as well? Perhaps an airline-instituted passenger dress code can class things up to standards from the past? Although it’s not likely that such a regulation will be coming anytime soon, with a renewed spirit for glamorous travel in pop culture and improvements being made on the industry side, the return of the grand experience is not out of reach.

Steven Fischer is Lecturer of Image, Style, & Design at Northwestern University and leader of StyleSalon Chicago.

Visit www.imagestyledesign.com for more details on Fischer’s lectures

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Design Dialogue

GUEST COLUMN: Joe VALERIO

By JOE VALERIO Illustration by garrett karol

If Design is the Answer, What is the Question?

What’s the key to a successful design? understanding your user and doing the research What was exceptional yesterday, becomes expected today, and looks ordinary tomorrow.

Since the late ’60s, there has been an increasing awareness of the value that design can add to just about everything. The handheld calculator was a technical innovation that announced the digital age. Yet as an object, this device was uniformly ugly. All that changed in 1978, when Dieter Rams, design director at Braun, introduced the ET44 calculator. Unlike bulkier models, it was slender and matte black with rounded corners. There was a thrill in its simplicity and elegance, and every designer I knew clamored to get one.

Design—modern design—was the answer this audience was looking for.

Fast-forward to 2007, with the introduction of the iPhone. Apple entered an already saturated smartphone market, yet overnight, its competition, the Blackberry, went from exceptional, to expected, to ordinary. The iPhone succeeded beyond expectations because it was a thrilling object. But it was more than that. It was enabling. It was an experience. And it reflected the values of a generation of first adopters, a generation not defined by age, but by an attitude: everyone wanted to join the iPhone generation. Apple had figured out what the question was, and then provided an exceptional design answer.

Like the Braun calculator and the iPhone, the population has embraced design changes that simplify and have a sense of authenticity—in other words, less is more, and form follows function. Today, design is the answer, but it is no longer enough just to thrill with design. It has become more and more important to understand what the question is.

For many, design has become part of an ongoing pursuit of pleasure, a search for that big thrill. High tech is driving change in our culture. Architecture has undergone a similar transformation, and there is nothing accidental about citing high-tech products as illustrations of how it has changed. At the time, a relatively small design community appreciated Rams’ calculator design; every architect had to have a Braun calculator. But now, the world appreciates the iPhone’s

Why did the iPhone succeed beyond anyone’s expectations? Because design answered the right question. design because it is an example of great design that changed the ground rules.

Architecture is driven by design, but now it is expected to be more than just memorable.

It must be enabling, and it must reflect the values of the users—something that designers as a whole have been slow to understand.

Very few designers realize that a successful

design is driven by an in-depth understanding of the user that can only be developed by immersing themselves in that user’s world.

Only through this research can a designer fully understand the questions that a thrilling—and hopefully exceptional—design should answer.

In other words, by figuring out the question, you can find the design answer. a

Joe Valerio is the principal of Valerio Dewalt Train Associates. For more information on Valerio, his writing, or his architecture firm, visit www.buildordie.com

guy hollaway A R CHI TECTS

London - Kent - UK London Kent Web Courtesy of Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa- Society Club

We are honored to collaborate with our Client’s design team in the continuous success of The Borgata & The Water Club

T +44 20 7239 4958 E london@guyhollaway.co.uk T +44 1303 260515 E kent@guyhollaway.co.uk www.guyhollaway.co.uk

Project: Rocksalt Restaurant, Folkestone Photographer: Paul Freeman

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Design Dialogue

Interior Designer Q & A

hitting the Jackpot

Atlantic City: Home to big hair, frosted lipstick, thick accents, and as it turns out, one of the most impressively designed casinos in the country

BY Jenny seyfried portraits by Brent Dundore

The Borgata Casino & Hotel boasts some seriously sleek interior design that steers away from all preconceived notions on what a Jersey casino looks like. The design is in part thanks to Andrea DeRosa and Ashley Manhan of Avenue Interior Design, who were the driving forces behind the redesign of the casino’s Long Bar and ultra-exclusive Society Club. We sat down with the West Coast-based duo to discuss what it’s like to roll the design dice inside a legendary hot spot.

Was your design approach influenced by being in a casino? More glitz, glamour?

How did you get involved with redesigning the Long Bar?

Borgata pretty much gave you free rein to do what you wanted to. With so much freedom, where did you start?

DeRosa: Borgata approached us to bid on the

project. I had a relationship with the Borgata from a previous firm, and completely out of the blue, we were asked to bid along with two other companies. We were pretty flattered, and were awarded the bid!

Above (left to right): Andrea DeRosa and Ashley Manhan

Derosa: I think the clientele looks to Borgata

to provide them with a luxurious and upscale environment across the property; they like to keep things clean and modern but not museum-like. Of all the casinos in Atlantic City, the Borgata is by far the newest and most contemporary, so they’d already moved away from “theme-ing” the space.

They wanted to create something that wasn’t overly hip or exclusive feeling.

They already have nightclubs, and they were missing that kind of bar where you could grab a drink before dinner. So we really tried Derosa:

Design Dialogue

DESIGN BUREAU

Illuminating design

71

The only light getting into casinos is of the artificial variety, so lighting design is of the utmost importance.

In the Long Bar and the Society Club, Sapphire Chandelier custom designed lighting fixtures to amp up each sexy interior's vibe. “The Long Bar is more retro, clean, and sleek, and the Society Club is more traditional, using crystal,” says Hayley Husted, design guru at Sapphire. Black acrylic domes with gold leaf hang at the Long Bar, while custom clear crystals individually strung along stainless steel wire cast off bright, sparkling light in the Society Club.

Husted says the fixtures “function as works of art,” and even though the two designs are very different, both tackle the dingy casino stereotype and play up the Borgata’s plush feel.

Balancing the bar Just because you’re building out a brand new space doesn't mean you're automatically given a spanking-clean slate. This is what happened in the Long Bar, a room that measures only 15 feet wide. “The first challenge was fitting the bar and all the food and beverage equipment into a long and narrow space,” says Cheryl Smith, an architect at Cope Linder Architects, the building firm at the Borgata. Although this affected DeRosa and Manhan’s interior plans, they played it to their advantage.

“Their interior design celebrates the narrow proportion as the design motif,” Smith says. “It sets the mood while adding variety to the overall casino experience.” Not an ideal parameter, but definitely a pro interior design solution. Because if you can’t beat 'em, join ‘em.

All things New Jersey!

We can’t do a story about designing inside an Atlantic City casino without asking the designers about a few of our other favorite guilty pleasures from the Garden State.

Medium warm woods are seen throughout Long Bar, including a wood wall covering that features pieces of veneer that gives it a feeling of movement.

Which Jersey Shore cast member would you most want to get a drink with at the Long Bar? Derosa: I’m totally a Pauly D fan. He would definitely provide a fun night out in Atlantic City.

Manhan: Definitely not Ronnie…hmmm.

Let’s go with JWoww.

While we’re at it, how about the Real Housewives of New Jersey?

Manhan: Caroline and her sons.

When you are inside a casino, everything is vying for attention, and you need your individual space to stand out.

Derosa: Hmm...I initially thought Melissa, but I think I have to go with Caroline.

You are both from LA. Is there anything you can get away with in Atlantic City that you could never pull off in LA? Manhan: A lot of hairspray and multicolor French-tip nails.

DeRosa: Big hair and big nails. In LA, you can get away with one, but in Atlantic City, you can get away with it all!

to give them a space that was set up to facilitate conversation. It’s already very beautiful, but when you are inside a casino, everything is vying for attention, and you need your individual space to stand out. With the Long Bar, we constructed a metal canopy that actually hangs out into the casino space [to get attention].

And the most obvious question: what is your game of choice at the Borgata?

ManhaN: Blackjack, definitely. derosa: Slots, all the way. I think I’ve played

three times in my life, and when I played at the Borgata, I won $20. a Borgata photography by Alex Anton

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Design Dialogue

Advice from an Architect

Start-up Success Story

I always knew I wanted to work for myself. I knew it was time when I was working as a senior designer and also doing design work on off-hours. It became very obvious that I was ready to make my own decisions and steer a business.

Seventeen years into his career, architect Adam Berkelhamer decided it was time to break away and start his own firm.

The entrepreneur talks business sense, the importance of advice, and how he records ideas at times when a pen and paper just won’t do.

It’s important to experience a variety of office types. I was able to experience the inner workings of a world-class designfocused office, a well-managed corporate architecture business, and a smaller office that encouraged a more complete approach to practicing architecture. Having this wellrounded work experience gave me the confidence to run a business.

Interview BY Lesley Stanley portrait by Scott Allard

The hardest part about starting my firm was managing the business side. Every day is a learning experience—design is the easiest part.

The more you work, the more opportunities present themselves. I was fortunate enough to work with architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava in Switzerland, assisting directly with new ideas and developments.

Ironically enough, when I was applying for the job, they were developing the Spire, a residential high-rise in Chicago—the exact type of work I’d been doing before at Booth Hansen in Chicago. I moved across the Atlantic, and I was only there for a year, but it was a very important year in my career. The more I worked there, the more opportunities I got.

Advice is important. I don’t necessarily follow it all the time, but will listen at every opportunity.

Missed opportunities make me uncomfortable. I see a lot of new buildings that use significant resources dedicated to shapemaking or showcasing a high-end material.

While there are appropriate applications for these things, without meaning, they seem like a bad value. It’s our responsibility as architects to make smart decisions with our clients’ resources.

You never know when ideas will surface. My mind will wander while driving, and one of my funny habits is keeping dry-erase markers handy so I can write down ideas on my windows—they’re easy to wipe off! a

Design Dialogue

DESIGN BUREAU

At a glance Milestones in the career of Adam Berkelhamer 1993 Participated in Bike Aid a cross-continental bicycle trip dedicated to raising funds for grassroots projects in Third World countries 1995 Receives architecture degree from the University of Michigan’s Taubman School 1995 Begins career as an architect at Thomas and Thomas, Ltd. Responsible for kitchen and bath remodels and small additions in Chicago’s Northern suburbs.

1997 Interns at Pappageorge/ Haymes Ltd. Works on townhouse projects Willow Court and Kinzie Park, both in Chicago 1998 Spends semester abroad in Florence, Italy to study design 2000 Receives Master of Architecture degree from the University of Michigan’s Taubman School 2000 Becomes principal at Booth Hansen Architects. Responsible for leading design on 30 West Oak project, the Joffrey Tower, and Sono West, all in Chicago 2002 Becomes a registered architect with the state of Illinois 2006 Backpacks for 12 months in Australia and South America

Advice is important.

I don’t necessarily follow it all the time, but will listen at every opportunity.

Berkelhamer is currently working on Sono East, a residential tower in Chicago. Sono West was completed while he worked at Booth Hansen.

2007 Becomes lead architect at Calatrava Valls in Zűrich, Switzerland. Works directly with renowned designer Santiago Calatrava, assisting with the development of the firm’s design concepts for railway stations, bridges, and towers throughout Europe 2008 Becomes senior associate at HOK Chicago. Responsible for leading design on large mixed-use projects in India, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain as well as healthcare projects in the Midwest 2010 Founds Berkelhamer Architects 2011 Working on a number of new projects, including a theater in Northwest Chicago, a threestory restaurant and bar with a rooftop pool club in Chicago, and several multi-family residential buildings in Arizona and Illinois

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Design Dialogue

Design Free-For-All

3

Across America, zoning codes prevent extreme home makeovers from popping up in historic neighborhoods. But not in Houston, where deed restrictions rule the land.

These standards, explains general contractor Harry Tallichet, president of First Crest Corporation, mean that “each neighborhood has it own set of rules for what can be built” and can range from “highly restrictive” to “anything goes.” Ballard has certainly used this technicality to his advantage. To date, the architect has teamed with Tallichet to rebuild two homes on the block, including the Thomas residence, an ultracontemporary house that Tallichet describes as “a one-of-a-kind home for big entertaining”—the kind of home that has become Ballard’s specialty.

Says Scott: I rebuilt the home of graphic designers, friends of mine who already lived on the block

3000 block

HOUSE 3

HOUSE 4

2000 block

74

collquitt avenue HOUSE 5

SCOTT's HOUSE

HOUSE 2

Designing the Block Architect Scott Ballard designed and built his own home—then six others on his street “Hi, neighbor, can I borrow some sugar? Oh, and by the way, I’m an architect. May I redesign your house?” The conversation Scott Ballard had with his neighbors probably wasn’t quite like this, but he was responsible for redesiging six homes on his block.

He took the 1940s wooden bungalows that lined his Houston street and updated them to match a more contemporary aesthetic.

The envelope-pushing architect lets us in on what it was like to shape his own ’hood.

How do you convince six neighbors to let you redesign their homes?

Images courtesy of Scott Ballard

Scott ballard’s block: How he redesigned his street, house by house

Each happened in a different way, one by one, over approximately 10 years.

Is there a style or personality trait that the homes share?

The neighborhood itself attracts a certain personality. There are photographers, graphic designers, other architects, an ad agency owner, a doctor, and several businessmen. I can’t think of another block where more neighbors seem willing to follow their local architect down the somewhat risky path of contemporary design.

A look at Ballard’s plan for the block.

The graphic depicts his work and his thoughts on each home’s redesign.

Says Scott: One woman I had worked with was ready to build, so she bought a lot across from me, and I built her home

2 Says Scott: I rebuilt my own home, and my neighbors thought it was cool

Do the owners of the homes you’ve designed ever become envious of other neighbors’ houses?

First Crest Corporation

No, I think they all like where they live—they all think they have the best home. In fact, I like mine the best. a — —CAITLIN FITZGIBBONS

1 4

Says Scott: While I was president of the neighborhood, I met a guy who needed a house built, so I designed his home

5

Building in Houston since 1988 Custom Home Building & Remodeling

713.461.3750

Says Scott: A couple who lived on a small lot one street over wanted me to design a home for them. So when a larger corner lot opened up on my street, I built their home and they moved.

We Build Value! www.firstcrestcorporation.com

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DESIGN BUREAU

Notes from the Bureau

Notes from the Bureau New Design projects

The 1,800-square-foot raw space boasted 13-foot ceilings and 10-foot windows, perfect for showcasing his enviable art collection, which includes photography by Robert Polidori and pop-art prints by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

Leung and Chu used a basic black, white, and walnut color palette to design Leong’s house and integrated a “wide spectrum of textures” into the design. “We were interested in organizing the movement of light throughout the space,” Leung says.

And since Leong lives by himself, the guest bedroom doors are often open, adding light into the main living area and increasing the gallery feel within the apartment.

Leong was pleased with the final result of his new space, and describes the feel of his new living area as viewing “layers of art.” But just because his apartment is complete, it doesn’t mean that his art collection is. Leong has now started to add three-dimensional sculptural works to his very personal gallery. a

Leong’s Tribeca loft

By IAN RITTER PHOTOS BY James Ewing

To Revive or Restart?

When an architect says your house is filled with “layers of crap,” you know it ain’t good

Layers of Art Leung Chu Design transforms a Tribeca loft from drab to fab with a little art museum inspiration

W

hen an architect’s client is a design buff, the stakes are already set high. Such was the case when the founders of firm Leung Chu Design, Jennifer Leung and Arthur Chu, worked with client Paul Leong on designing his new loft apartment into an art-friendly abode. Leong had a very clear idea of what he wanted his place to look like: an airy loft that would double as an art gallery. He thought the minimally divided space would be the best way to highlight his burgeoning collection of contemporary art and Asian antiques.

“I really wanted an open space—that ‘New

York loft’ look,” Leong says. He found the ideal spot in a two-bedroom loft in a landmarked former warehouse in Tribeca.

“ I really wanted an open space— that 'New York loft' look.”

—Paul Leong, homeowner

High-Design Appliances For Leong’s loft, LCD was on the hunt for high-performance appliances that double as gorgeous objects. They turned to Flamtech Appliance, led by director Jane Lok. “The appliances are all gorgeous, streamlined pieces that use stainless steel and glass and aluminum accents,” she says. “They showcase sophistication without adding visual noise to the space.” Leung and Chu selected wisely, as the appliances mesh seamlessly with the loft’s overall design by exuding an elegance that elevates them into works of art within Leong’s growing collection.

T

hat’s the phrase architect Jim Rill used to describe the Adams County Farmhouse in Pennsylvania. To its credit, the home was built before the Civil War. But the original structure had undergone a series of subpar renovations over the years that turned the 150-year old home into a hack-job mess.

“The original house was a small log structure that through the years had been plastered over, plywooded over, carpeted over—basically layered over,” Rill says. Though, he notes, not all was lost: “Underneath all the layers were some logs that were in good enough shape to be salvaged and reused as mantels in the new project.” But it wasn’t enough to save the structure, which left Rill with only one practical solution: tear down the original Civil War-era home.

Rill and his team rebuilt it as a 3,300-squarefoot log cabin-style home and 1,800-squarefoot addition, which houses the master suite, the conservatory, and even an elevator tucked inside a silo. The farmhouse’s new look is just clever enough to make passersby

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DESIGN BUREAU

Notes from the Bureau

Adams County Farmhouse by Rill Architects

wonder whether it’s an original building or new construction. “It’s got a timeless quality to it,” Rill says, noting that some architectural finesse was used to fool the eye. “[The client] really wanted the timbers to look like they came from a barn, so we used new timbers and made them look old.”

So what’s original and what’s not on the Adams County Farmhouse? It’s hard to tell just by looking at it, but that is Rill’s intent. By blending the old and new elements together, this manse doesn’t need to be defined by time. a By ian ritter Photos By James Ray Spahn

Peaceful on the Pacific When a home sits on both a wetland and a Native American burial site, the landscape design can be tricky

Anderson Residence

V

ladimir Berzunza, principal of V3 Studio Berzunza, knows this firsthand. When the landscape architect designed a new backyard for the Anderson home in Huntington Beach, California, he approached the complex site by adapting a Zen mentality.

“There’s that Japanese sense that you borrow the landscape and make it an extension of the site,” Berzunza says. The key was to give the terrain a chance to breathe, to make it a core element of the design. “We wanted to be clean, to show a sense of calmness, something beautiful and functional but not overpowering,” he says. “We wanted to bring some of that soul and character of the site’s history, but not necessarily design an archeological site.”

Berzunza created a luxurious landscape that not only brings entertainment and relaxation through its spa-like amenities, but also approaches its history of place openly, inspirationally, and soulfully. Every extra element is tied to something natural within the landscape. Berzunza filled the infinityedge hot tub with saltwater instead of chlorinated water. He also surrounded the barbecue area with an ipé wood countertop and barstools, and integrated a long fire pit with plenty of room for people to gather around it. Next, Berzunza filled in the landscape with native grasses and shrubs, and unified the space by laying a limestone pathway where the grass can grow naturally between the squares. Now, even the birds have noticed the relaxing atmosphere, and

“We wanted to bring some of the soul and character of the site’s history, but not necessarily design an archaeological site.”

— Vladimir Berzunza

have increasingly been seen feeding outside.

“Any project can change people’s lives,” Berzunza says of the final result. “We wanted to meet the client’s program and be very functional. But it isn’t just a bunch of elements stacked together. Everything you do has to have meaning.” a

By Brian Libby Photos courtesy of V3 Studio Berzunza

Working with Wire Making wire mesh might not sound like a dangerous job—until containing a shark is thrown into the mix

W

hat’s in a wire mesh? If you’re talking about one from 115-year-old manufacturing company Banker Wire, then it’s bound to be tough. Maybe even tough enough to contain sharks. Harrison Horan, who has been working with mesh at Banker Wire for eight years, gives

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us the inside scoop on their wefts, weaves, and other steel styles.

Sprucing up the Four Seasons

Wire is one of those materials that appears stealthily simple. So tell us, how is it made?

Our wire is woven with two pieces of equipment, a crimper and a loom. The crimper forms the pocket where two wires intersect. The weaver then organizes the crimped lengths of wire and weaves in the cross wires.

There are already hundreds of shapes, sizes, and patterns of wires available, but do you ever do custom designs?

Sure, we can create custom patterns without a problem. The beauty of wire mesh is that it is not meant for just one application; the possibilities are literally endless.

What is the most creative application of Banker Wire that you have seen?

The staircase at the University of California, Berkeley stands out. It has an opaque

The Four Seasons

weave with a relatively thin diameter and a futuristic texture and transparency. It was designed to look like it was floating.

Indulge us: which wire mesh would you use to build a shark tank?

I would definitely err on the safe side for this one. Thankfully, we have the ability to weave up to a .375-inch diameter wire. That ought to hold them back. a

“Stucco and the damp Pacific Northwest climate do not mix,” says Todd Kilburn, the principal architect of Seattle’s Kilburn Architects. He knows this firsthand, having completed a total stucco façade overhaul on The Four Seasons condo building. By the time the condo association hired Kilburn to fix the Portland, Oregon structure, water intrustion had wreaked massive havoc, causing wall damage and mold problems. “We had to take it down to the studs to fix the problems,” Kilburn says, “but that gave us the opportunity to revamp the entire structure.”

As part of the renovation, Kilburn wanted to upgrade The Four Season’s handrails and balcony treatments “so that they looked a little more contemporary, could be seen through, and would weather well in Portland.” He sourced a number of materials, but ultimately chose Banker Wire stainless steel mesh because it best fit the renovation’s new modern style. It took Kilburn a year to complete the work, but now that the façade is done and the Banker Wire panels are in place, he says everybody living at The Four Seasons likes the new look. “The mesh panels definitely update the façade and made the project super successful.”

By ryan delia Photos by Banker Wire and kilburn Architects www.bankerwire.com

CUSTOM WOVEN WIRE MESH

CREATIVITY UNLEASHED

WWW.bANkERWIRE.COM Weaving the wire that enhances dynamic design.

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The studio’s DESIGN BUREAU 80award-winning idyllic Shropshire setting is enough to induce a moment of workplace envy: rolling pastures and green meadows could make London city life seem overrated.

Design Thinking

KEEP IDEAS WEIRD A look into the ethos of British design-thinking studio Idea Nestled away in a centuries-old converted live and breathe as a business.” He says the mill, and tucked into the pastoral English team strives to make each project a new excountryside, is Idea, a design-thinking studio perience, even if it means flirting with the that develops innovative products to help its “f-word.” “We are quite prepared to fail. Of clients use their workplaces more effectively. course we have to deliver successful projIdea’s kind of design-thinking is done in very ects, but people within the organization non-traditional ways. The company’s unique have the freedom to do something a bit method of conducting business includes different.” holding meetings in an open-air boardroom, rain or shine. But don’t worry; if the British One of Idea’s, well, ideas is Me and My Workdrizzle takes a turn, there’s plenty of space place, an online suite of design tools that to chat indoors, next to the energy-efficient assesses office productivity and potential wood-burning stove or the communal dining while using the surveyed outcome to shape table. Idea’s interesting quirks and perks are the physical design of workspaces. Rather what attract high-profile clients such as BBC than hiring out pros to promote the product, and Google. a team of Idea’s graphic and interior designers, programmers, and writers developed “Everything we do is different because you the company’s first stop-motion animation. can’t have a set methodology or process Although the film’s hand-drawn aesthetic with the innumerable, diverse projects errs more on the side of craft than Web 2.0, we have,” says Idea creative Guy Miller, making shiny, streamlined projects isn’t part a veteran video game designer who now of Idea’s business plan. The firm does not writes client reports that resemble nov- cater to what clients think they want, but el-like page-turners instead of the more instead delivers what is best for business. conventional fact-sheets. Chris Ager, “We don’t win them all,” Ager say.s. “But the another Idea creative team member, adds: lion’s share of our work comes when we’ve “I wouldn’t really say there’s ever a routine had a chance to develop things over time with about how the office works. That’s how we clients and generate real change.”

Photos courtesy of Idea

By sarah handelman

Idea’s offbeat tendencies are apparent in its idiosyncratic spelling: iDEA (adjusted in the story for readability)

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“I wouldn’t really say there’s ever a routine about how the office works. That’s how we live and breathe as a business.”—CHRIS AGER

Clients can’t resist the office quirks at Idea.

When a client learned he scheduled meeting during Idea’s fancy dress day for charity, he turned up dressed as Woody from Toy Story.

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Long train journeys between Idea’s Shropshire office and the smaller London-based Shoreditch office allow workers to unplug and take creative thinking off the screen. And because many Idea employees spend weeks meeting with clients, they often work remotely. The team’s extensive travel prompted the organization to share its remote workplace practices as a product. “Nine times out of ten, we’ll be in a café or the British Library because we can get good coffee and Wi-Fi,” Ager says. The office’s hand-picked network of London’s Internet hubs inspired Idea to develop WorkSnug, an augmented reality app that helps any mobile worker find the best places to productively tuck in with a coffee and connection. “Designing a workplace should not be about designing a location,” Ager says. “Your workplace is very much a virtual tool that helps you work wherever you need­—or want—to work.” WorkSnug even implements technology to measure the volume of the nearest café, so an after-school craft hour won’t interrupt your work hour.

Although the app garnered rave reviews, Ager doesn’t see what all the fuss is about. The technology has been in place for years. Idea just helps people and businesses use it better, and maybe have a little fun in the process. “It feels quite normal to us, and it’s not like we’re trying hard to do it,” Ager says. “We’re always quite happy to be sitting slightly on the edge of the mainstream, otherwise we wouldn’t be what we are.” a

FUN AND GAMES

HARRY POTTER: Initial game character designs

LARA CROFT: The first look

Idea creative and former video game designer talks shop

Lara Croft cuts a dramatic figure in both looks and iconic video game design.

How did she begin?

As a former creative director at EA Games, Guy Miller has been hands-on with some of the world’s most successful video games, including the Harry Potter franchise and video game vixen Lara Croft.

The gaming guru shares what it’s like to be the creator of characters.

I was the creative manager at Core Design Ltd., and the company was looking to make a game based on one of its existing characters—an Indiana Jones rip-off called Rick Dangerous.

Myself and several others thought this was a mistake, but in spite of this, when a talented character designer was hired due to his extensive portfolio of Indiana Jones sketches, we went ahead with the Rick Dangerous project. I thought it would make for a good twist if Toby came up with a female Indy. Which he did. And the rest, as they say, is history...

We have to ask: what was it like meeting and working with J.K. Rowling?

The first time I met Jo was on a snowy day in Edinburgh. She asked that we meet at a “Hogwartian” hotel. The walls of the room we were to meet in were lined with wizard-y portraits of gray-bearded men.

I was nervous about presenting the game design to her and was pacing around and glancing out the window. During one of my window-glances, I noticed a beat-up old car drop off its passenger into the snow. I didn’t really give it a second thought; she looked like a bag lady. I was sure that the doorman wouldn’t let her in and made my way back into the meeting room. Moments later, the bag lady shuffled in, put down her bags, and shyly introduced herself as Jo.

Harry Potter characters copyright Electronic Arts

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PAYING IT FORWARD How one interior design firm shows it’s better to give than to receive Living a life of luxury is nice, but it’s not everything. And for Chicago-based interior designer Aimee Wertepny, helping others has become just as necessary to her as designing. “I get it from my mom,” Wertepny says. “Generosity was a part of our lives, even if we didn’t have much.”

As the founder of interior design firm Project, Wertepny has taken her success and channeled it into various volunteer efforts for those who are less fortunate. It’s a passion that has reached across the globe, all the way to East Africa. Wertepny, along with business colleague and friend Amanda Morrison, traveled to Tanzania as a part of the nonprofit group Peace House Africa, which provides support for orphans and vulnerable children through education, technology research, and business development. The duo spent nearly a month interacting with 120 orphaned children and teenagers, most of whom were directly or indirectly affected by AIDS. “You can’t imagine some of the situations these kids are coming from,” Wertepny says. “I can’t explain what it feels like to see a child just two or three years old, homeless on the street, or a five year old with a baby strapped to his back. It was crushing.”

Rather than just lending a hand, Wertepny and Morrison managed to mesh their passion for philanthropy with design through an exhibit entitled Exposed. The women brought disposable cameras to Tanzania and put the children to work capturing their everyday life. The images depicted the children happily interacting and socializing with one another, despite their desperate circumstances. “Seeing the children covet those simple disposable cameras brought such joy and excitement to us all. They were talking,

jumping, laughing, making goofy faces—it was one of the most incredible days I’ve lived,” she says, adding that they practically had to smuggle the cameras in due to the local population’s unfavorable attitude towards orphans. “It was difficult getting the cameras to the other side of the world and back, but it all paid off tenfold.”

The resulting images were the inspiration for more than 200 designers and artists involved with the Exposed exhibit. They each created paintings, drawings, furniture, and jewelry based on the childrens’ snapshots, and the items were auctioned off to raise money for the orphans at Peace House Africa and AMANI Home For Street Children. “Exposing the children’s individual personalities, and capturing that on film for our community to see, along with exposing the artists’ work in the exhibit/auction was so empowering,” Wertepny says. The auction raised an impressive $14,000, with nearly all of the proceeds donated back to the orphanage and secondary school.

Although Wertepny isn’t done helping out abroad (she’s been back to Africa twice since her original journey), she plans to steer her firm toward more volunteer work that showcases her studio’s design skills. She continues to be a mentor for the Cabrini Green Mentor and Tutoring Program in Chicago, and is involved with a nonprofit organization BuildOn that builds and designs schools in Third World countries. “To have your soul completely humbled at the most basic human level—I need that, everyone needs that,” she says. “Especially here in the US where we have every modern convenience one can imagine. As designers, we are in a luxury service industry. This is my balance.” a

GENEROSITY IN BRANDING, design, marketing, and social engagement Duffy & Partners’ Joe Duffy shares a sampling of logos from companies that are hard at work creating a better world Photography by Tony Soluri

By LESLEY STANLEY Portrait by drew reynolds

A 7,000-square-foot residence in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago, designed by Project

Top: Overjoyed students of the Peace House Africa school campus pose after an incredible day of shooting with their new cameras in 2007 Bottom: Project’s Amanda Morrison and Peace House student Erica hug at sunset

Aveda Men: Aveda is a prime example of commitment to the concept of sustainability—of humanity and our connection to the earth through a vital, economic business. Aveda Men is a collection of personal care products created specifically for men. Inspired by science, formulated for modern men, designed to speak to men—simply, viscerally—to help them look and feel their personal best.

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Wertepny says the designs created by the Project team are heavily influenced by their worldwide travels.

From left to right: Lauren Warnock, Amanda Morrison, Aimee Wertepny, Jennifer Lissner-Kranitz. Shot at LG development’s conference room, which was designed by Project.

Water for People:

Hands On Network:

Natural Inspirations:

Art for the River

Water for People is an organization that catalyzes collaboration among local resources around the world to build sustainable water solutions.

The brand identity was designed to reflect Water for People’s vision of a world in which all people have access to clean water.

HandsOn Network has mobilized millions of individuals and thousands of companies to take action and create meaningful change through volunteerism. The design solution was inspired by the many people who devote personal time and energy to helping others.

Created to provide women with the best of all worlds: natural products of the highest quality with a real purpose. This brand uses the power of purchase to fuel people to learn more and help make an impact in the fight against breast cancer.

Art for the River grew out of the idea that art can inform, educate, raise awareness, and finance support. Beginning with limitededition screen prints and extending to market bags, water bottles, T-shirts, and more, Art for the River is a means of building support for the Mississippi River as one of our nation’s great natural resources.

www.duffy.com

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GOOOoOOOOLLLL!!!

With a new take on school design, a Chicago architect scores big in the Latino community

By ANDREW SCHROEDTER Portrait by DREW REYNOLDS

Rising high above streets filled with modest bungalows and brick warehouses stands a modern steel and glass building, its floor-to-ceiling windows and slick façade sparkling in the sun. The monolith looks slightly out of place in Gage Park, a workingclass neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side.

But the 63,000-square-foot project is as much a part of the largely Latino enclave as the taquerías that line nearby streets.

It might be surprising to learn the new building is not a financial institution or other corporate construct. Rather, the $27-million development is an elementary school, one that privileges both academics and soccer.

Designed by Chicago architect Juan Moreno, the UNO Soccer Academy is meant to inspire children and the surrounding community through sports. The goal of the hybrid athletic and educational center is to attract Latino students who harbor a serious passion for the sport. “We’re using architecture as a way to inspire hope and faith,” Moreno says.

UNO Elementary’s architecture unites high design and soccer fever

The academy is the latest offering from United Neighborhood Organization, which operates charter schools in predominately Hispanic Chicago neighborhoods. The school runs normally throughout the day, but the kids play soccer during gym class and perform drills and scrimmages after school.

And the soccer focus doesn’t stop once the students leave the field. References to the sport are engrained in the academy’s details, from classrooms named after countries that have hosted the World Cup, to the layout of the building, which envelopes a state-of-theart soccer field. Leaders at UNO envision the Gage Park project as an eventual anchor for a larger campus, including someday an associate high school, training facility, and soccer stadium. But for now, the project is a promising start—both for the neighborhood and for Moreno.

Hailing from Bogota, Colombia, Moreno’s upand-coming firm, JGMA, beat out 30 others to win the soccer academy project. Although

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Moreno’s insider knowledge of the Latino culture drove him to include a soccer field in his competition entry, helping him to win the key assignment. “I had an inkling because I’m Latino,” he says, laughing. “I know what soccer means.”

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DESIGN From floor,BUREAU students 86 the third can see Chicago’s iconic skyline in the distance, connecting the school to “the land, the community, the city,” Moreno says.

Design Thinking

A Healthy outlook Moreno’s Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy also opened this past fall, and like UNO, its design is full of pleasant surprises, including the top-floor cafeteria. “Communal dining areas are typically positioned on the ground level,” explains Mark Tritschler, vice president of McShane Construction. “But Juan’s vision was to construct the school’s dining area and community room on the top floor to maximize the inspirational view of the downtown Chicago skyline.” Not only does this make the cafeteria a cool place to gather, but as Tritschler points out, showcasing the powerful views “provides the perspective that goals can be planned and success can be reached.” Although Tritschler admits this message comes across “subliminally,” it’s hard to imagine not wanting to hang out in a room with a direct skyline view.

UNO hadn’t formally announced the school would have a sports-related theme, Moreno’s insider knowledge of the culture drove him to include a soccer field in his competition entry, helping him to win the key assignment.

“I had an inkling because I’m Latino,” he says, laughing. “I know what soccer means.”

positive response to his design. “To me, that’s the ultimate success,” he says. “Whether people walk by and say they like it or hate it, I don’t care. That to me is the measurement.”

Moreno also proudly notes that attendance was near perfect the first month. “Ninetynine percent of the students want to be there.”

The building, one of JGMA’s first projects, helped the firm get off to a fast start, instantly raising Moreno’s profile in the local design community. Even Chicago’s mayor, Rahm Emanuel, attended the academy’s opening.

The concept school seems to have struck a chord with the Gage Park community, as there were more applicants than openings for the school’s inaugural class—even with more than 600 spots available. But Moreno says he’s most moved by the community’s

Moreno’s plans for the future include designs for more schools, international work, and other community projects—assignments that he hopes will impact overlooked neighborhoods like Gage Park and help Latino architects like himself win more commissions. But the ambitious designer wants it on his own terms. He’s adamant that his firm not be chosen to fill a minority quota. “I’m out to show that a Latino can be a leader in design.” a

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english estate redux Stodgy British style no more! A contemporary country house stands out from its traditional neighbors

By Nalina Moses

Great Britain is known for Many things: tea, the Royal Family, always maintaining a stiff upper lip. It’s also known for its traditional neoclassical estates that dot the verdant countryside. Since the 1700s, the upper eschelon of English elites have built and occupied these homes, but this kind of construction hasn’t gone on uninterrupted.

In 1947, the English Town and Country Planning Act mandated that all new buildings had to benefit their surrounding rural economy.

Structures like barns, factories, and holiday home sublets made the cut, but building brand new homes in the picturesque countryside became nearly impossible.

Unsurprisingly, the architecture of the existing estate homes grew quite dated, and after 30 years, parliament member John

Gummer decided it was time for a change.

He amended the law to allow new estate home construction—but only if it followed a strict building code that mandated “architectural excellence.” Architects Paulo Marto and Paul Acland were up for this challenge.

Specifically, “this clause, commonly known as ‘Gummer’s Clause,’ allowed for houses to be built on greenfield sites if they continued the English country-house tradition,” Marto says. The architects, principals of London firm Paul + O, started submitting proposals for a new design they felt would meet the Gummer’s Clause requirements. After the planning committee green-lighted their design, they began work on The Wilderness, one of only 25 new estate homes.

Photos of The Wilderness residence by Fernando Guerra

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INSIDE THE WILDERNESS

For the interior, Marto and Acland used an engaging material palette. “We used tactile natural materials,” Marto says, “including timber-framed windows, cashmere curtains, and stained oak for the kitchen shelves and library bookcases.”

The Wilderness stood out from the crowd of traditional English home proposals because it featured contemporary styling and minimalist design leanings. But despite its modern aesthetic, Marto and Acland’s design does highlight the idyllic English landscape. “We were obsessed with linking the outside with the inside, especially with such a magical site,” Marto says.

To create this transition, the architects wrapped the first floor in full-height, sliding glass panels, and opened the second floor with smaller panes. “Every window is like a television screen. It’s amazing what you can see outside—herds of deer, foxes, ferrets, and rabbits.” When it came to styling the rooms, Marto says they turned to layering.

“We created beautiful light-filled spaces and then enhanced them by layering with paintings, rugs, lights, etc.,” he explains. Remarkably, the homeowner’s older pieces, like an overstuffed armchair, blend with Marto’s and Acland’s picks to create an updated, contemporary vibe.

The Wilderness’ ultimate success is that both the homeowner and Gummer’s Clause enforcers love the estate’s heirloom-meetsmodern look. It’s a turnaround that’s especially satisfying for the architects. “For a lot of people, this house was an education,” Marto says. “It showed that you can live in contemporary architecture and that it can be quite wonderful.” a

“It’s a very unusual project for England. The English have always resisted modern design in the realm of residential architecture.”—PAULO MARTO

carpet & kilim house www.gunescarpet.com

Here you will find Turkish weaves, rare antique rugs, Anatolian kilims, exquisite Hereke silk rugs and fine vegetable-dyed carpets up to thirty square meters, personally selected and offered to you by Güneş Öztarakçı whose experience and unique feminine touch has created a collection of impeccable good taste.

Shopping for carpets is a delight when it is carried on in a pleasant setting where a wide range of choice is available and genuine guidance is provided. Mrs. Öztarakçı has a sharp eye for selecting appropriate colors and designs, which has helped her design for the most fashionable homes of Istanbul’s elite and international jetsetters.

All her rugs are handwoven and many of them are woven on order form from a given design. Recently there has been an interest in copying some of the famous historic pieces that are exhibited in the museums all around the world. These are woven on her private looms and sold as authentic handwoven rugs. In addition to the pile carpets, Mrs. Öztarakçı has a great number of flatweaves and kilims. Most of the kilims have striking geometric designs and they compliment the decoration in modern homes.

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Looking for a light switch? You won’t find one. One Lutron touch panel controls all the lights, blinds, and stereo system components in the home so that the super minimalist style isn’t broken by switch-plate clutter.

Barbecho built custom shoe racks to show off 24 pairs of trainers from the homeowner’s collection.

Optimal natural lighting and a dramatic pitch made the gable the ideal place for the master bed. Studio Sumo placed it first before designing the rest of the room.

Photos Frank Oudeman 2011 ©

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Because the duplex is so narrow, Studio Sumo pushed every built-in to its periphery. The stacked Viking oven, microwave, and Sub-Zero fridge aren’t super functional, but since the homeowner doesn’t really cook, they act as more of an appliance sculpture.

The elegant steel stairs, designed by Studio Sumo and fabricated by metal worker Ruben Barbecho, pivot like scissors so they don’t consume too much space. The Wenge wood treads are actually one of the resident dog’s favorite chew toys.

IN THE DETAILS

A top-to-bottom look inside sexy home design

Incognito style

On the outside, Studio Sumo’s Harlem Duplex looks just like any other neighborhood rowhouse. But on the inside, you’ll find a super sleek and modern home. We take a closer look at the design touches that give this uptown rowhouse a downtown-loft feel.

Architect: Studio Sumo Project: Harlem Duplex Location: New York PHOTOS: Frank Oudeman

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Studio Sumo chose most of the furnishings for the home.

Konstantin Grcic’s Osorom table brings the bright white on the ceiling and walls down to the ground plane.

Low-tech skylights made from double plexiglass give off a high-tech look.

In the bedroom, they come equipped with black-out blinds. Out on the deck, they sit flush with the planking and act as peepholes into the living room below.

Photos Frank Oudeman 2011 Š

Notice something strange in the bedroom? That pane of ultra transparent glass is actually the shower.

Enclosing it would have blocked out much of the light that passes through the room.

Classic RestorationCorp.

Trick photography didn’t create that super shiny ceiling. Five coats of high-gloss paint did.

Classic Resoration Corp. is pleased to have served as General Contractor for Studio Sumo's Harlem Duplex Project CLASSIC RESORATION CORP. CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS AND GENERAL CONTRACTORS 540 NEPPERHAN AVENUE C-50 YONKERS, NEW YORK 10701 914.375.7063

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AN AFTERNOON WITH

JULIUS SHULMAN A young architect’s crossroads with the photography legend brings his life’s work full circle BY ELLEN KNUTI evin Cozen didn’t want to become an architect; in fact, he wasn’t particularly drawn to anything at all, but he knew he didn’t want to be a doctor or dentist like the generations of Cozens that came before him. It was 1979, and he dropped out of high school and coasted along until his father told him he had three months to make something of himself or hit the curb. He got his act together, and soon after he found himself at Southern California Institute of Architecture. Within his first week as an architecture student, Cozen enrolled in a class that would bring him into the living room of Julius Shulman, one of the most celebrated architectural photographers of all time.

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Best known for his 1960 photo essay on Arts & Architecture’s Case Study homes, Shulman’s image “Case Study House #22” helped put modernism on the map, and went on to become one of the most widely-published images of contemporary architecture. Cozen met the legend under the unassuming auspices of a freshman-year research project. “We had to pick an architect out of a hat to study, and I got Raphael Soriano,” Cozen recalls. At the time, Soriano was a successful but struggling architect living on a houseboat in Sausalito, CA. Rather than conduct a phone interview with him like the rest of his classmates were doing with their projects, the intrepid 18-year-old Cozen called up Soriano and offered to buy him a plane ticket to LA to come speak to his class in person. Soriano countered with something even better. “He was known for having designed Shulman’s house and studio in the Hollywood Hills,” Cozen says, “so Soriano said, ‘I’ll call up Shulman and I’ll bring your class to his house and give a lecture in his living room.’”

Soriano made good on his big offer, and Cozen and his classmates took a trip to Shulman’s house, their wide eyes taking in every inch. “All they did was bicker like husband and wife about who designed what,” Cozen says of Soriano and Shulman. “Every time Soriano would say something like, ‘I put a window here because I wanted to capture the view,’ Shulman would chime-in and start yelling, ‘You didn’t put that window there; I put that window there! You wanted to put the window over there!’” The Chateau Zoo, designed by Kevin Cozen, photographed by Julius Shulman. These photos may be some of Shulman’s last.

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SHULMAN’S Associate, JUERGEN NOGAI, HAD BECOME MOSTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR SNAPPING SHULMAN’S IMAGES, BUT THE NONAGENERIAN BECAME SO EXCITED BY COZEN’S WORK THAT HE ENDED UP SHOOTING EVERYTHING HIMSELF. experience left an indelible memory on Cozen’s young veloping his own style. One project in particular was pivotal to shaping his aesthetic—a house he called the Chateau Zoo. architectural mind.

“When I first started the house in Malibu and people asked

Over the course of the next 30 years, Cozen began building me what I was doing, I’d explain it and say, ‘It’s either going his own design-build firm, taking architecture and con- to be really ugly or really cool,’” he says. “The style I was struction jobs to learn the ins and outs of the field while de- working toward blended everything I believe in.”

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That style was something he dubbed “classical progression”—a structural design that integrated antique and recycled materials. “As soon as I saw a fence going up for construction in Beverly Hills, or Hollywood, or wherever, I’d buy everything that was coming out of the project. Everything that was being thrown away, I’d take.

It made me sick to see pieces of wood and railings that were getting tossed.”

Cozen worked on the Chateau Zoo project for eight years, and he and his family inhabited the home while he worked it off and on. “After each phase of construction, we had more house to live in,” Cozen says. “I had no money to spend, but I started getting calls from people who had seen the house and wanted me to do their houses.”

One of his architectural admirers happened to be praising Cozen’s work on Chateau Zoo aloud at a cocktail party— to none other than Shulman. By this time, Shulman had reached the ripe old age of 98. The partygoer insisted that he needed to see Cozen’s work, and Shulman agreed.

Cozen vividly recalls the phone call that came next.

“Hello, this is Julius Shulman. I’d like to come see your work.” Cozen excitedly reminded him of the classroom lecture that took place inside his living room, and the two laughed at the memory of their first meeting decades before.

by Cozen’s work that he ended up shooting everything himself. Cozen and his wife snapped behind-the-scenes shots of Shulman as he captured Chateau Zoo on film. It was a memory in the making for the architect. “His praise for my work meant a lot,” Cozen says.

And just three months after visiting and photographing Chateau Zoo, Shulman passed away. Cozen says that the photographs he shot that day were very likely to be the last he ever took—the final images by the apostle of architectural photography. Shulman was kind enough to sign every one of the originals, stamping his work with authenticity. Having the iconic photographer capture Cozen’s work had pleasing justice for the architect who met him first as a young man, and then again decades later as an established professional.

They scheduled a date at Chateau Zoo, and Shulman arrived with his camera, his walker, and his photogra- “It’s gratifying to know that he felt that what I was doing, phy partner, Juergen Nogai. During that time, Nogai that this style of architecture, was worthy. It’s meant had become mostly responsible for snapping Shul- that this journey I took between the old and the new was man’s images, but the nonagenarian became so excited worthwhile.” a

Top: Shulman totes his walker and cane while Nogai brings along the camera to set up shots around Chateau Zoo. Above: Cozen's wife Caroline stands in the entry way of the home.

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Making Urbanized.

By Steven Heller

Gary Hustwit has released the final film in his design trilogy, Urbanized. The first, Helvetica, was a surprise hit, focusing in minute detail on one of the world’s most ubiquitous typefaces. His follow-up, Objectified, took a stab at explaining product design’s incredible impact on everyday life. Urbanized takes a similar route in explaining how city planning forms and reforms human existence. After seeing the premiere of Urbanized, I asked Hustwit how the trilogy came to pass.

Did this project start with the idea of a trilogy?

No. When I was making Helvetica I had no intention of making two more design documentaries. But once I’d completed that film and started touring around the world and screening it for audiences, the ideas for the two other films started percolating organically. I liked the idea of exploring these other areas through the documentary form, using a similar approach to what we’d used in Helvetica. I liked the world we created in that film, the ideas and music and visuals. So I guess I wanted to hang around in that world a little longer.

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Design Thinking

With Helvetica, you covered a very micro topic in a macro manner. With Objectified, you took on a broader swath, trying to explain industrial and product design and the controversial issues associated with it. With Urbanized, you’ve built up to an even more global theme and have ostensibly “crowd-sourced” the positions laid out in the film. Did you have a plan as to how these narratives would play out, or did you let your research determine your point of view?

Even with Helvetica, I let the interview subjects determine the point of view. I’m not a designer or an architect; I’m just curious. I want to know how and why these people do what they do, and how it affects my life. And it’s the issues that these people think are important that end up guiding the narrative of the films.

I’ve heard criticism that with Helvetica you effectively carved out and introduced the public to a subject they live with everyday but is invisible to them.

Clockwise from top: Gary Hustwit; Enrique Peñalosa bicycling; Paris street protesters; Lord Norman Foster Facing page: Alejandro Aravena in front of the Lo Barnechea project

But with Objectified and now Urbanized, you had a harder time because each theme was so large. What would you say to that?

I still think the design underlying these larger subjects is invisible to most people.

And arguably the design of our cities is the one area of design that has the most impact on our daily life. So with Urbanized, even if I can get a few people to think differently about their cities and the reasons they’re shaped and work they way they do, then I think it’s a successful film.

With Urbanized, the shock of how we live and how it is planned and unplanned really carried the film. Was your message to shock? Are you telling us that urbanization is evil?

No! I think the film has actually made me more optimistic about cities. But in a sense, they’re sort of the problem and the solution.

The challenges that come from more people living in one place, whether it’s housing or social equity or dealing with traffic and mo-

Design Thinking

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“We have to come up with better ways of living together in large numbers. We don't have a choice. The type of thinking I witnessed around the world in the projects we feature in the film gave me hope that we can meet those challenges through design.”—Gary Hustwit, filmmaker

bility issues or sustainability; these issues can only be addressed through the kind of mash-up of interests and creativity that cities enable. We have to come up with better ways of living together in large numbers. We don’t have a choice.

I enjoyed many of the “stars” you interviewed in the film. Enrique Peñalosa, the former mayor of Bogota, was fabulous, and his solution for mass transit was inspired. How did you determine who your “voices” would be?

I spent about six months before we started shooting just researching and talking to people in the field—architects, policymakers, academics. I first saw Enrique speaking at the Urban Age conference in Istanbul in 2009. During a break, I happened to see him preparing his PowerPoint slides before his talk, scrolling through them on screen. My first thought was, ‘This is going to be really

boring, just static images.’ But then he started his presentation, and I was completely blown away by his passion and his ideas. It didn’t matter what images he was showing, he was just on fire, and I decided at that moment that he needed to be in the film. Capturing people speaking about something they’re passionate about; that’s been the real goal for me with these films.

All your films, and with the exception of a photo of Jane Jacobs, are steadfastly about the here-and-now. You do not use documentary footage or vintage images, which are such a mainstay of documentaries. Why not?

On one level, I’m really not interested in making historical documentaries. I enjoy watching them, but I’d rather focus my work on what’s happening in the world right now. As a documentary filmmaker, I feel my biggest responsibility is to record this

moment in history and try to make some sense out of it.

If you had to do any of these films over again, is there anything that you would change?

No, I don’t think so. They’re sort of personal travelogues for me; every frame reminds me of a trip or a conversation I’ve been able to be a part of. Sometimes I wish I had bigger budgets.

Maybe it would’ve been faster and easier to make the films with more resources. But taking years to make each film, sort of piecing the story and the production together organically as we go, gives me some time to gestate the ideas we’re presenting. And even spending two and a half years on a movie about cities isn’t nearly enough. I could have easily kept going. We’re just scratching the surface in this film, just trying to start conversations. It’s up to the viewers to get involved in shaping their cities and to explore these ideas further. a

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COAST-TO-COAST

PLANTED & ENCHANTED Is your green space looking more like Grey Gardens than The Secret Garden? Well, fear the hoe no mo’. Whether you've got a spacious backyard or just a city-sized urban planter, we've asked some of the nation’s top landscape architects to compile their tips for the Design Bureau guide to landscape design.

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BY JASON ABBRUZZESE, aryn beitz, Murrye Bernard, and brian libby photo of chris dattola by juco

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RED-HOT GREEN THUMB

CHRIS DATTOLA Chris Dattola’s world is all about appearances, and in his case that’s not a bad thing. He’s gained success balancing two very aesthetic careers: modeling and owning his own landscape architecture firm, Dattola Designs.

Born with a green thumb and striking good looks, it seemed only natural for the laid-back California boy to explore both of his passions.

We chat with the bloom-savvy beefcake about muscles, making something from nothing, and the great outdoors.

What came first—your interest in landscape architecture or modeling?

I fell into modeling, but the landscaping and design in general is something I’ve always been passionate about.

How do you “fall” into modeling?

I was working in a grocery store and I was babysitting for this lady whose good friend was an ex-model/agent. She referred me to LA Models, and I’ve been with them since.

Which is harder, modeling or landscaping?

I don’t have to think about that very long— definitely the landscaping!

How would you describe your aesthetic?

I like mixing real clean modern or contemporary with mid-century. Things that are simple with clean lines. I like using cement and wood together. Less-is-more kind of deal.

What type of environments do you enjoy creating?

The thing I strive for most is extending your backyard into your home. Just creating that living-area feel—that extended home outdoors.

Did landscaping give you the muscles, or did modeling?

Ha. I would say landscaping. a

By Jenny Seyfried PHOTO BY JUCO

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SIX TIPS TO UPSTAGE YOUR NEIGHBOR’S PLANTERS

How To Plan For An

URBAN PLANTER

“Experiment and have fun—it’s not an exact science,” Bellalta says. Here are a few tips to ensure your planters are the envy of the block:

Garden Guru: Altamanu CHICAGO, il

No yard? No problem. Use a garden container. Josephine Bellalta, landscape architect at Altamanu, shares her secrets to growing citygarden bliss. BY Murrye Bernard Your work in the Chicago area has tasked you with designing more than 600 urban planters, so you know a thing or two about container landscaping. Are there certain plants that work better than others?

We’ve had success with a mix of annuals, perennials, and larger perennial grasses. Some of our favorites include Blue Fescue, a small blue grass, Sweet Potato Vine, a trailing annual, and Heuchera, a perennial with ruffled foliage.

Are all planters created equal, or are some better than others?

The best pots are terra cotta pots, because they are porous, hold water, and allow plant roots to breathe. But you can’t leave them outside in the winter because they’ll crack.

Concrete is the next best, because it is also porous, then fiberglass. Metal is the least desirable for the plants, because it gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter, though it is very durable.

four Sexy Plants in the City Bellalta mixes these plants with grasses to add some va-va-voom to her planters:

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Dirt isn’t exactly a glamorous topic, but I know it can make a big difference in how much your plants thrive. What do you recommend?

For small annual plants, try a standard, lightweight soil-less mix of organic compost, clean sand, peat, perlite, and mycorrhizae. It promotes root growth, which is a benefit when you want the plants to get big really quickly. Make sure every pot has holes for drainage, and place coarse gravel in the bottoms of large planters to leave air space and let excess water drain away from the roots.

Some of us city dwellers don’t even have the luxury of having a patio. Any tips for growing plants indoors?

Tropical plants work well indoors because they thrive in warmer conditions, as well as perennials like Begonia andImpatiens. Mix those with foliage plants like Croton and ferns. a

2

Coleus

provide a big splash of color for major curb appeal

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Check your zone. The US is divided into several climate zones. Choose plants that are hardy enough to weather your winter, like Heuchera, which provides interest in harsh areas.

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Keep it clean. If you live in a big city, Bellalta advises changing the soil each year to avoid toxin accumulation

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Buy Locally. Bellalta bases her plant approach on what’s available nearby, which varies annually

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Use Bold colors. This year, she’s favoring jewel tones, including red, orange, and deep purple

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Incorporate edibles. Herbs like basil, lavender, and rosemary leave your planter smelling sweet, and ornamental red peppers and tomatoes grow ripe for the picking

6

Black thumb scare you off?

Make a terrarium instead.

Nothing is cooler or more space-efficient than a garden in a bottle. Bellalta suggests checking out highend garden centers and florists for inspiration.

KAFKA GRANITE Like the plants that you choose, there are ideal gravels for all-seasons weather, too. And just because it’s gravel, it doesn’t mean you have to stick to little rocks. “Granite, quartzes, and recycled porcelain provide the best drainage,” says Dan Steidl of Kafka Granite. “They maintain maximum drainage, even in freeze/thaw conditions.” What if you have to plan for climactic extremes? “We do not recommend marbles or limestone,” Steidl says.

3

ZINNIA

for long-lasting and low-maintenace blooms, try the Zahara and Magellan series

DESIGN BUREAU

AGASTACHE

are really nice backdrop plants because they provide fine-texture flowers in a variety of colors, like hot pink, orange, and purple

4

BEGONIA

produces bold-colored flowers, dark green, glossy leaves, and is really versatile in part or full shade

Above: Altamanu projects, photos by Mark Jirik , Josh Andersson, and Josephine Bellalta

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Urbio Vertical Garden These planters are the product of a successful Kickstarter campaign. Each one is magnetized, meaning they can be endlessly rearranged on walls, fridges, and with each other as centerpieces. $20-200, www.myurbio.com

J Schatz Drip Drop Birdhouse Handmade in stoneware and available in six colors, this birdhouse is perfect for smaller birds. $95-135, www.jschatz.com

Urban Farming Tools DB RECOMMENDS

INDOOR GREENS

A five-piece set of gorgeous, functional tools with detachable heads by Olli Hirvonen and Mirko Ihrig. Comes with a backpack!

Price upon request, www.mirkoihrig.com

little indoor planters and gear to turn your studio apartment into a living oasis

UZ Planters A simple verticalgarden kit will transform your walls with an ever-changing canvas of greenery. $55-1,116 www.uzplanters.com

The Slug and the Squirrel Terrarium Using found vessels and local mosses and plants, Slug and Sqiurrel makes these stunning mini landscapes by hand. Price upon request, www.slugandsquirrel.com

Skleník Glasshouse Want to grow herbs in your light fixtures? Us, too. The Glasshouse’s bundt-like shape allows easy access. €1,400, www.krikri.cz

Skleník photo by Ondřej Telecký

The Kubala Washatko Architects Even Frank Lloyd Wright, who always planned for expanding populations, couldn’t predict the long-term growth of First Unitarian’s congregation. In 2008, The Kubala Washatko Architects completed a massive addition that expanded The Society Meeting House, and called upon the prairie masters at Ken Saiki Design to complete the landscape. “Ken Saiki Design selected a broad range of regionally appropriate plant materials,” says Allen Washatko, principal at TWKA. “They demonstrated not only a depth of knowledge of native plant species, but a subtle understanding of the unique site ecology impacted by the project.” The finished landscape strongly reflects the original Meeting House style but defines the addition as a contemporary building, too.

® How To PLAN FOR A

PRAIRIE-INSPIRED LANDSCAPE

THe iRRigaTion exPeRTS

Garden Guru: Sue Payne, Ken Saiki Design Landscape

Architects

Madison, WI

Ken Saiki’s firm was responsible for updating the landscaping at the First Unitarian Society Meeting House, an iconic structure designed by architectural legend Frank Lloyd Wright. Sue Payne, the lead on the project, gives us her tips and tricks on how to give your landscape a bit of Wright’s signature prairie style. BY JASON ABBRUZZESE

TuRF & SHRub iRRigaTion LandSCaPe LigHTing

Landscaping a Frank Lloyd Wright original has to be intimidating. What cues did you take from his design when planning the project?

We looked at Frank Lloyd Wright's original drawings. They emphasized native plants, local materials, and the horizontal lines of the prairie, so that was our starting point. Our style is still informal and dominated by perennial flowers and grasses, but may be less pure because of our mix of native and non-native plants.

Do you have any go-to plants for your landscape designs?

I almost always use native trees, especially oaks and maples. Midwestern prairies, Oak Savannas, and forests don’t have many small shrubs, so as I trend more towards natural styles, I use

fewer and fewer shrubs. I also use lots of perennials and grasses, like little Bluestem, Prairie Dropseed, and Switchgrass, because they fit so many environmental niches and provide many different types of textures and colors.

For those of us who don’t have a green thumb, tell us: Are there any tips on how to integrate your prairie landscaping style at home?

I believe landscape, as an extension of [a] person’s home, should reflect something about themselves. Visit botanical gardens and arboretums, or spend time in the natural world. You can intermix different plant species to get more of a meadow look. And then fire the lawn service, throw away the gas trimmer, and remember: acres of mulch is not landscaping! a Photos by Ken Saiki Design

Helping customers achieve more beautiful lawns and landscapes since 1981 288 Valley Road Cos Cob, CT 06807 P: 203.629.8050 F: 203.629.5775 info@summerrainsprinklers.com CT.J3 License #208695

G IVE YO U R F I L E T M I G N O N AN IN F E R I O R I T Y C O MP L E X.

How To create a

CALIFORNIA COASTAL look Garden Guru: Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture Los Osos, CA

Ditch the palm trees and tropical flowers and go native!

Landscape architect and long-time Cali resident Jeffrey Gordon Smith shows us how. BY Murrye Bernard Your design philosophy is based on “regionalism.” What does that mean?

Many California residents want palm trees because they can see the ocean from their backyards, but they’re actually in coastal sage-scrub communities with oak trees. I encourage clients to celebrate where they live.

Does that limit the types of plants you use?

Though I consider myself a “plant geek,” it’s difficult to describe how a plant wants to live: full shade, partial sun, etc.

If you experiment and push the limits, you learn that anything living will try to live, so you can really abuse the hell out of a lot of plants. Maybe you won’t get the best performance out of them—less flower or a little leggier look—but if you really want to grow that plant, you can break the rules.

You don’t rely much on flowering plants. Do you have an aversion to color?

I don’t use color as a primary focus for designing; instead, I focus on the structure and texture of the plant. When it’s not flowering, which is the majority of the time, what is it doing? The flower is the “Fourth of July”—an explosion of personality, but the rest of the year the landscape in California is primarily brown. Pink is a color that I have an aversion to; it’s just too cute for me. But I’ve always had a fantasy of designing a pink garden just to face my fear.

Any other design deal-breakers?

Lawns. It’s the American Dream, and most people judge you on how green your lawn is. I tell clients, “If you really want a lawn, I need you to explain how you’re going to use it.” When was the last time you went out and picnicked or did cartwheels on your lawn?! a

WHAT'S TRENDING ON THE CALI COAST: Vertical gardens Green roofs

KO M O D O KAM AD O.C O M Photo by Chris Leschinsky

Outdoor living spaces Bocce courts

Low-maintenance grasses

Colorful Kamado Gordon Smith certainly doesn’t shy away from color when choosing outdoor grills. In many of his projects, he has installed Komodo Kamados, ceramic grills covered in shimmering, jeweltone tiles. Their distinct shape is inspired by “a heart-shaped foil balloon,” says designer Dennis Linkletter, the company’s founder.

And although the shape comes standard, “it is very chameleonlike” due to the custom tile hues that fit almost any color palette. “Jacket it in earth tones; it’s subtle, and it blends right in.

Jacket it in vibrant blue tiles, you have a Fabergé egg that makes a grand statement and cooks great to boot,” Linkletter says.

A modern sculpture and cooking machine all in one? Yes, please.

brian maloney design

CALI Grasses & Plants Smith recommends using “Native-esque” plants. These aren’t all from California, but blend right in with the local species.

Anemanthele (New Zealand Wind Grass): A feathery, tactile “touch-me-feelme” plant

Fine Gardens for Residential & Commercial Properties

Restio: A reed-like South African plant

Thamnochortus: Very architectural, almost an art-piece that nods in the wind

Agave: Bulletproof (climate-wise) and bold

Aloe: Blooms in the wintertime and provides punchy color

Concord, MA 978.798.0809 www.brianmaloneydesign.com

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How To create a

BACKYARD FAIRY TALE Garden Guru: Artemis Landscape Architects BRIDGEPORT, CT

Fairy tales do come true: how to create a whimsical landscape based on your childhood faves BY Murrye Bernard

STEP ONE: accessorize

Tara M. Vincenta, founder of Artemis Landscape Architects, loves fairy tales. So when she teamed up with a Connecticut couple who shares her passion for A MidSummer Night’s Dream, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland, she began designing a fantastic “Enchanted Woodland” on their waterfront property. Vincenta created a series of outdoor rooms that evoke the stories’ bestknown themes and scenes through their design details.

She even recreated the Queen of Hearts’ red, seven-foot throne and the Lost Boys’ treehouse, complete with canvas sails. a

MUST-HAVE ACCENT PIECES Take a cue from Vincenta’s themed landscape and use these pieces to create an ethereal look in your yard Outdoor hearths and fire pits Outdoor kitchens Vegetable gardens

STEP two: set the mood

Vincenta’s 3 Tips to Make Your Garden Truly Enchanting Cue the quotes Think back to childhood, pick an inspiring story, and zero in on a few of its classic lines. Vincenta burned the phrase “I Won’t Grow Up” into an old slab of wood at the base of the Enchanted Woodland treehouse.

“We all remember the words to that song,” she says.

“It reminds you to stay a kid, or at least act like one.”

Photos by Roger Foley

Light the way Vincenta designed custom lights for the garden’s pathway, featuring copper vines that wrap up the posts. To further the fairy-tale effect, she pricked pinholes in the fixtures so they cast “fireflies” that move in the breeze and “fairy dust” that dots the ground with dancing light.

Fill it with flowers Serviceberry trees, which are native to the area, serve as a unifying element throughout the Woodland. “They are a great harbinger of spring,” Vincenta says of their white blossoms. She also incorporates lots of perennials so there are blooms throughout the garden at all times of the year.

people land place

STEP THREE: vine intervention

Adventuresome Vines Training vines to grow up tree trunks and light posts “creates a wildness that adds to the adventure of the place,” Vincenta says. Her top picks:

Honeysuckle: a sweet-smelling childhood favorite

Clematis: blooming vine for all seasons

Dutchman’s Pipe: a fastgrowing vine with charming, heart-shaped leaves

Morning glories: hardy in Connecticut woods

Boston and English ivy: the classic wall-climbing vine with pointy leaves

We are a group of Landscape Architects and LEED Accredited Professionals designing within an alternative business model

KEN SAIKI DESIGN, INC. Landscape Architects www.ksd-la.com

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DB PHOTO ESSAY

darkest star Pleasure Gardens were a part of English society from 1661 to 1860. During their time, there was an extraordinary furor named Orchidelirium surrounding the arrival of the first orchid into England in 1818. Affluent Victorians sent out search parties to discover and collect rare orchids. They would be exhibited as status symbols, in the same way tiger’s heads are displayed on walls as trophies.

This project is a vivid interpretation of the excitement and titillations that surrounded English Pleasure Gardens and female sexual liberation. a Text courtesy Coco De Mer

Photography: Stephanie Sian Smith; Models: Alice & Sam at Cosmic; Styling: Alexis Knox; Hair & Make up: Oscar Alexander Lundburg; Headdress: Feathersmith

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How To DESIGN a

RADIANT ROOFTOP Garden Guru: Amber Freda Landscape Designer new york city & long island

This rooftop landscape specialist’s philosophy: keep the four-season garden in mind, so that there is always something that looks beautiful. by aryn beitz C’mon, tell us: What’s the secret to creating a cool yet functional rooftop garden?

The view is really important, guiding the eye away from less attractive views, and drawing it toward other views. I also want to maximize the space in terms of functionality, so that it’s not just something to be looked at, but something we can interact with. In a city like New York, every square inch of space is valuable.

Are there any cool design trends you’ve been experimenting with?

I think living walls are really interesting. It’s always great to cover unattractive city walls with lush greenery. Indoors, they can also be used to evoke the sense of a living painting.

Once you have all your beautiful plants up on the roof, how do you make sure they get enough water? It’s not like most buildings come with rooftop spigots.

Find a good drip irrigation source. You will save yourself a lot of time and money in the long run, because when a rooftop garden isn’t watered correctly, you end up replacing 25-50 percent of the plants.

Do you have a rooftop garden pipe dream?

I have always wanted to re-create the Hanging Gardens of Babylon on top of a modern city building. Since no one really knows what they looked like, my imagination would have free rein to create a lush mix of hanging plants, living walls, and roof garden elements. a Photos by Rick Elezi

amber’s five favorite rooftop plants Red cut-leaf Japanese maples Striking color, beautiful form, small size White Himalayan birch trees Its amazing white bark stands out in every season

Ornamental grasses Make a fun rustling noise in the wind, and have dramatic fall blooms Knockout roses Pest- and pestilence-resistant with blooms that last from spring to frost Hydrangeas Perfect for areas with partial sun

Rose-of-Sharon Hearty bush that blooms all summer long, perfect for sun or shade

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How To MAKE

MID-ATLANTIC LANDSCAPE MAGIC Garden Guru: Brian Maloney Design Associates CONCORD, MA

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The Top-5 Native Mid-Atlantic Plants, according to Maloney

Eastern Red Bud It’s a small tree and can be treated as a large shrub if you want to prune it heavily. It has great fall color.

Zizia Golden Alexander is its common name. It is a nice yellow native plant that blooms from mid-June to mid-July. I like to use it with exotics like the Oriental poppy.

Alternatively, it looks really nice coming out from geraniums.

Rocky soil? Temperature swings? Don't tell Brian Maloney the Mid-Atlantic isn't full of landscaping opportunities BY brian libby

Brian Maloney started in the nursery business in his teens and hasn’t looked back since. The landscape architect has worked all over the United States, but he has come to believe that his native Mid-Atlantic represents the ideal marriage between history and the land; an opportunity to not only create amalgams of plants and outdoor gathering areas, but to mine the essence of place. a

Ornamental grasses New England is a great place to use them. The first thing in a garden you learn is that your eye can be overwhelmed by color. Grasses like the native Sea Oats provide a visual break and allow for more periodic bold plantings. And they will move in the wind.

MALONEY’S BEST TIPS Local context In New England, we are lucky to have an abundance of natural stone, including fieldstone, bluestone, and granite. These materials have historical relevance, since they have been used since colonial times. Use them for creative steps, borders, and walls, especially to blend modern, 21st century sensibilities within the historical framework of New England and the Mid-Atlantic’s past.

Pavers Get creative with a wider variety than ever before, thanks to artisans working with different finishes like metal and textured concrete.

Furniture Save room in your budget for outdoor pavilions and other futniture, which allow people to integrate their working and entertaining life in the garden. You can even hang a wide-screen TV on the side of a covered pavilion beside the pool.

Oriental poppies Native Butterfly Weed, or other bold flower colors

Catalpa tree This creates bold foliage with its large heart-shaped leaves, providing dark shade that makes an ideal bird habitat

Photo by Brian Maloney

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How To NAVIGATE

TRICKY GROUND

PLANT IT RIGHT! Some specimens to consider for steep ledges

Garden Guru: Brian Higley Landscape Architect Cold Spring, NY

Topography extraordinaire Brian Higley talks about challenging terrain, plant-eating deer, and his ultimate dream project

BY BRIAN LIBBY

Many of your projects have you working with some pretty challenging topography.

What’s the draw?

I actually prefer lots of topography—it makes for more drama in the landscape.

Mosses

happens to all the plants—like they are all eaten by the deer—there is still interesting space that shines through.

Ferns, including Interrupted, Polypody, and Carpet Bugle varieties

Sounds like you’ve had a few bad experiences with deer.

I really need someone who speaks and writes in deer language so I can tell them to stay the hell away from the new plants.

Trees, grass, flowers—tell us: What’s your favorite landscape element to work with?

What would your dream project look like?

Black and yellow Birch trees

I like to work with the ground plane, with structure, and with trees to sculpt special places. Many of my projects are in the woods with deer, and with clients who don’t want lots of maintenance, so the option of using lots of plants is very limited. The more I can make a design with strong bones, the more it feels like a sculpted space. If something

A project where I personally design both the architecture and the landscape together.

Let’s face it, when you draw the yin/yang symbol, it doesn’t matter which half you start with, it forms and defines the other half. Architects and engineers have usually completely defined the site by the time I get there, and true collaboration is rare. a

If in a sunny location, there are many alpine plants that will grow on ledges.

How to plant on a slippery slope If you’re dealing with a challenging site, deciphering how and what to plant can be an intimidating process. Higley offers up some insider secrets that will help you tackle scary gradients and steep ledges.

Start off with an existing plan showing topography and trees. Can you imagine renovating a building without a drawn plan that documents the structure’s existing floor levels or adjacent rooms?

You have to know the existing landscape in order to deal with it.

1

Mature, existing plants can be a huge asset to any landscape. If there are already plants thriving in a steep area, find out what they are and use more of the same.

2

Always acknowledge the architecture. It connects to your landscape and it is often the walls of your outdoor spaces. The two should intermingle.

3

When you get done with the grading, the slopes should look appealing.

Some situations are tough, but too often what we see is just “leftover”-looking or over-engineered and stands out that way.

You only deal with the problem and you forget to make it beautiful.

4

Always think about the scale of everything. It’s the one thing people notice most but can’t ever identify.

5

Photos of the Dupree Residence by Brian Higley. Robert Rhodes Associates, Architects designed the home, and Maple Leaf Assoicates acted as the landscape contractor.

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how to work with

permafrost-proof plants Garden Guru: Agrostis, Inc. JACKSON, WY

The faint of heart should steer clear of Jackson; it’s cold for nine months out of the year!

Landscape architects Heath Kuszak and R. Jason Snider divulge their secrets for planting a fuss-free landscape that can take a big chill. BY aryn beitz

inspirations, tips, and tools for making your mountaiNside garden grow

Most people have only visited Wyoming for winter skiing. What’s the climate like year-round?

Given your proximity to world-class ski resorts, do your clients ever ask you to design ski-friendly landscapes?

There are virtually no guaranteed frost-free days where we are in western Wyoming. This past year, summer—that is, days without snowfall—was only 119 days long. During the winter months, we typically get down to 30 or 40 below for a week or two.

We’re working on a few residential projects right now that have direct access to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. We often create ski trails into and out from a mudroom or garage entry on a home replete with a direct access spa.

How do such bitter temperatures influence your designs?

What else do your ski-savvy clients ask for?

Climatic conditions limit the available plant palette and landscaping materials, so it forces you to be creative with your planting schemes and methodologies. Some of our best performing plants for the harsh conditions include Aspen trees, which are wellsuited for hillside sites and have a wonderful orange-gold fall color. Also, Spruce trees are very useful as visual screening or as a windbreak because their effects are almost immediate, and Redosier dogwoods are a favorite shrub because they tolerate a variety of growing conditions.

We have been seeing an uptick in the amount of vegetable gardens we include in our designs, especially for cool-season crops like lettuce, spinach, carrots, potatoes, and radishes. However, we do have some clients who can’t live without their tomatoes or peppers.

For those folks, we custom-design small greenhouses that allow them their favorites most of the year, minus those few weeks of 40 below! a

Books are chock-full of smart ideas Sunset Western Garden Book, the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, and Cutting Edge Gardening in the Intermountain West are three of Kuszak and Snider’s favorites

Photo by R. Jason Snider, illustration by Agrostis

Before your grow, know your soil A major issue often overlooked

by DIYers is the quality and condition of your soil. Take a sample and get it tested at your local co-op. They can tell you what it is lacking for optimum growing conditions.

Elevate those beds Raised beds give you greater control over the soil quality and drainage. Also, the soil will thaw out sooner allowing for earlier planting than a conventional garden plot.

How To design for

BIG BACKYARDS Garden Guru: Chris Eiseman, ELI Land Design HOUSTON, TX

IMAGINE

Chris Eiseman knows that even in the vast Lone Star state, it’s not just the size of the space, but what you do with it, that counts BY brian libby Eiseman desribes himself as a “hybrid between a landscape architect, contractor, and a florist,” which makes sense given that those were his father’s and mother’s careers. Eiseman balances his

two sides to design landscapes for both humid eastern Texas and the state’s arid west. But regardless of a project’s climatic zone, he knows his way around a big yard. a

DESIGN

East Texas Tips from EisEman: I play more on leaf texture than I do on color, and I’ve found that there’s a lot of color when you start investigating texture and monochromatic palettes. Take greens as an example. It’s surprising how many different shades you can go through, from fiery chartreuse to deep hunter green, to play up contrast and structure.

Some people want a landscape to be nonchanging. What’s the fun in that? Going through the seasons is an opportunity. I think part of the fun is being out of control.

BUILD

A top shade tree is the live oak. It’s basically an evergreen, has several hundred droughtresistant variations, and can be used across Texas. Live oaks drop their leaves but only when they’re pushing new growth. That time of not holding leaf is very small.

When people are adamant on having a large lawn, I generally lead them away from your typical species of grass to a Zoysia species.

Zoysia requires less irrigation, less mowing, and is just a far better carpet grass because it’s finely textured and soft on your feet.

Lighting is the simplest way to punch up a landscape. You have lighting to aid wayfinding, and lighting that is more mood setting. One of my favorites is to have light bounce off a surface, like the pool. It makes for an elegant conversation piece.

We get a lot of requests for the typical Southern garden look: irises, camellias, azelias, rhododendrons, roses. You can plant them in certain areas if you’ve got a lot of tree canopy, but being out in the sun just will not allow growth. In eastern Texas, I’d be inclined to use an iris because it’s part of that environment.

In western Texas, I’d use a native miscanthus species to better deal with dryness.

Photos by Chris Eiseman

Landscape Architects and Contractors of Exquisite Gardens PO Box 131264 The Woodlands, TX 77393 936.448.8086 www.elilanddesign.com

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How To DESIGN A

DREAM GARDEN Garden Guru: Lisa Gimmy Landscape Architecture Culver City, CA

In LA, looking good is a top priority, and thousands of different professionals specialize in making the ideal image a reality. Lisa Gimmy, principal of Lisa Gimmy Landscape Architecture, is one such pro. Her specialty: designing landscapes that capitalize upon the glitz, glamour, and bountiful sunshine of the City of Angels. Here, she dishes her insider secrets on how to create jaw-dropping gardens that will get you out of the A/C and into the SoCal sun.

In Los Angeles, constantly sunny skies mean you can really glam up your outdoor space

BY Jason Abbruzzese

One garden, Four different landscapes

Word on the street is that your project, entitled Architect’s Garden, designed for an architect’s house, is drop-dead gorgeous.

What makes this project unique?

In the Architect’s Garden, Gimmy created a variety of landscape experiences in one project. Adapt some of her ideas to diversify your own garden.

TIP 1

That’s a wrap Create a natural boundary using plants. Gimmy favors a droughttolerant palette of native ceanothus and arbutus marina.

Photos by Jack Coyier

It was most important to relate the garden to

TIP 2

Group exotic plants Putting these unique varieties together will make your space look more lush. Gimmy’s Architect’s Garden features agaves, Kangaroo paws, dracaenas, aloe plicatilis, sanseverias, and aeonium zwartkop.

the home’s views of the Santa Monica Mountain. The house is sited on a steep slope, so we built small retaining walls and framed the rear lawn with a low hedge. Now, there is a pleasing sense of containment that relates to the geometry of the house. The forms of the boulders, the aloes silhouetted against the mountains, and the seasonal flowering of the bush germander hedge all play up the drama.

What’s your top tip for homeowners who want to bring your style to their projects?

Simplify. Consider limiting your plant palette and grouping plants for a dramatic contrast that generates a sense of discovery, and consider different themes and moods in different parts of the garden. a

TIP 3

Bring the woods to you Incorporate grasses and trees for a natural look. “We created a grass garden framed by eucalyptus trees,”Gimmy says.

TIP 4

Ditch the yard—well, most of it Gimmy replaced about 70 percent of the lawn with ground covers and decomposed granite, but she still carved out a lawn panel that focuses on the gorgeous Santa Monica view.

INNOVATION

TKWA brought our vision to life and designed a corporate headquarters that truly embodies our spirit of innovation.

As a world leader in the vehicular lighting market, J.W. Speaker continues to deliver innovative new products and technology to OEMs and end users.

Our new building not only communicates the idea of innovation externally to the world - it also stimulates and energizes our employees to develop innovative new lighting solutions on a daily basis.

GENERAL CONTRACTOR Antoni Originals has been doing business in the Los Angeles area for over 35 years, specializing in large remodels from houses built in the early twenties as well as houses just a few years old.

Styles range from old spanish/mediterranean to contemporary/modern.

His client list boasts high end entertainment people, from the president of Paramount Studios, to famous actors and actresses, and working with other successful landscape and design architects.

REMODEL FINISH CARPENTRY CUSTOM CABINETS NEW CONSTRUCTION Raymond D. Antoni 5531 Murietta Ave. Sherman Oaks, CA 91401 Lic.# 743248

www.jwspeaker.com

Tele (818) 902 3876 Cell (818) 481 5106 Fax (818) 901 6953 antoniorig@me.com

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manly, sexy, and more

kitchens & BATHS IS IT JUST US, OR IS IT GETTING STEAMY? WITHIN THESE PAGES, YOU’LL SEE SPACES THAT TRULY MAXIMIZE THEIR POTENTIAL—ALONG WITH DETAILED TIPS ON HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN OASES OF CUISINE AND CLEANLINESS.

KILLER KITCHENS Whatcha got cookin’, good lookin’?

Location: Light Loft by Fabrica 718 / Photo: Elizabeth Weinberg / Stylist: Caitlin M. Ryan Hair and Makeup: Annamarie Tendler / Model: Mikaela With Q Management Skirt: Vintage, Feathers Austin / Bra: VPL

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Style: MASCULINE Architect: Brandon Architects, Inc. Project Name: Newport Classic Cars Location: Costa Mesa, CA DON'T MISS: The kitchen is at the center of a classic car-collection showroom, so the colors and materials evoke a ’50s aesthetic without being kitschy. The play between vintage and modern accentuates the cars’ sleek, flowing lines. a

A bold backsplash of red subway tiles adds more punch to the otherwise stark car gallery

The 36-inch Italian Bertazzoni Ferrari Range is painted in the patented Ferrari red paint purchased from the Ferrari factory. The client was very excited to find an appliance with such a strong link to automobiles, and it inspired the whole look of the kitchen and other great details throughout the showroom.

Right now, the garage houses 23 classic cars. See that Corvette Sting Ray in the background?

It’s won some major show awards, which is no small feat in LA’s crazy car-collector scene.

Photos by Jeri Koegel

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Installed with the drywall, beveled, unfinished aluminum corners catch your eye from certain angles and add to the showroom's richness.Â

Durable Ceasarstone countertops provide a narrow countertop profile and match the lobby’s muted floating staircase

Polished concrete floors were created by sealing the existing cracked and cratered floors with a clear, highgloss finish. This gave the floor a slick showroom surface without sacrificing the industrial look.

All the structural columns, including the one that punches through the kitchen island, are painted Ferrari red

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Style: STRIPED Architect: Josh Wynne Construction Project Name: The Power Haus Location: Sarasota, FL PERK OF THE JOB: “I hired a renowned chef to cater a celebratory ‘end of construction’ meal for the client.

He cooked a fabulous, seven-course dinner in this kitchen and fell in love with it. As a result, we’re now working together to design and build a private kitchen and dining room where he can cater to his clientele.”—Josh Wynne a

A handmade Heath Ceramic backsplash gives an interesting texture to the kitchen without stealing the glory of the cabinets

Two sinks fit seamlessly into the concrete countertops that anchor fun yet functional Kohler Karbon faucets

Photos by Matt McCourtney, McCourtney Photographics

Fire-orange knobs, which control six whopping 22,000 BTU burners, punch up the color of the commercialgrade BlueStar range

BA

BRANDON ARCHITECTS, INC.

LED tape lighting laid into the underside of the island and the shelving over the counters casts light across the cypress beams, creating dramatic shadows on the ceiling at night

WWW.BRANDONARCHITECTS.COM 714.754.4040

BETTER LIVING

S M A RT D E S I G N

The 100% recycled cabinets were made from hardwood species rescued off the curb of a local mill. A custom jig pressed scraps of exotic sapelli, teak, and mahogany wood between local cypress and pine strips so that all the panels would be consistent.

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dB recommends

Six crazy kitchen products you can technically live without (but really shouldn’t)...

Outdoor Mobile Kitchen Designed by Nina Tolstrup of London-based Studiomama, this all-in-one food-prep station features a gas-cooking hob, a bucket sink, a chopping board, and storage. Though it’s not for sale, you can download building plans from Studiomama’s website for free. Hook up a garden hose, and you’re in business. www.studiomama.com

Are You Wheel

Dining à Deux

Called R2B2 (imagine if Star Wars were set in Amish country), this flywheel-powered contraption contains a food processor, a coffee grinder, and a hand blender. Berlin-based designer Christoph Thetard wanted to reduce energy consumption, so he turned himself into the motor. www.areyouwheel.com

Forget TV trays, this wood-frame meal caddy makes it possible to live in the poor house and still have a sense of fine dining. The Cool Vie Bohème by Daniel Gantes not only makes mealtime more beautiful but also a little easier, balancing plates, cups, a wine bucket, and a little greenery on its slender frame. Bon Appétit! www.danielgantes.com

Cocoon photo by Martin Gustavsson; Tuiyo photo by Roser Martinez.

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Compact Cocoon Cocoon’s design combines decoration, storage and cultivation in an elegant way. In this organic shape, you can grow spices and store fruits, which will bring life and color in the kitchen. The product is made of a clay that absorbs water from the cultivation, and when it evaporates, the storage space is instantly cooled down. www.salomonsen.se

Tuiyo Designed by Jordi Pla Studio for MIT Legend, these plastic storage containers plug into each other, lid to lid. They remind us of those pneumatic tubes at the bank. How can we get some of those in our house? www.jplastudio.com

Philips Microbial Home Digester Though just a concept for now, this sexy, free-standing station sports a methane digester which converts bathroom waste and vegetable trimmings into power. We love the combo of copper, cast iron, glass, and bamboo. www.philips.com

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Style: SURFER CHIC Architect: Richard Bubnowski Design Project Name: New Moon Cottage Location: Harvey Cedars, NJ shed love: “The clients were a family of surfers. When we first met, the wife pulled out an old magazine clipping of an outdoor shower/surfboard shed that I had done for myself nearly four years before. The wife said, ‘We like your style, and you’re a surfer, so we could all work well together.’

It was pretty amazing that such a small outdoor shower led to the commission of an entire waterfront house.”

—Richard Bubnowski a

The client suggested the custom, reclaimed oak cabinetry. It ties the kitchen to the oak cladding on the fireplace and works very well with the home’s casual yet sophisticated atmosphere.

The owners wanted the kitchen to be as open, multifunctional, and airy as possible. Visual Comfort pendants and recessed lighting by Lightolier brighten the space. A moveable island with stainless steel cabinets and reclaimed oak cabinetry maximizes flexibility.

Photos by Sam Oberter Photography LLC

The kitchen has an eastern exposure, so it picks up early morning and afternoon light, brightening up the space.

GREGORY

BUILDERS AND WOODWORKS BETHEL, CONNECTICUT 203.794.0726 WWW.GREGORY-BUILDERS.COM

Serenity Design is a complete home design center – For over 23 years, we’ve specialized in assisting homeowners through the entire new construction process from floors, tiles, lighting, kitchen and bath design, furniture and accessories.

We pride ourselves on offering our clients innovative design and exciting products to complete their home interiors.

Serenity Design 1102 Long Beach Blvd.

Ship Bottom, NJ 08008

www.serenitydesignlbi.com 609-494-5162

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Style: LIGHT & BRIGHT Architect: Fabrica 718 Project Name: Light Loft Location: New York, NY kitchen gallery: “We live with art—we even have a limited edition Liu Bolin sculpture that doubles as a bottle opener. The real beauty of our kitchen is that it serves as a gallery without sacrificing any functionality.”—Holly Hager, subletter of Light Loft a

Custom Valcucine white lacquer cabinetry conceals cooking clutter and blends perfectly with the compact kitchen system, maximizing the kitchen’s functionality and art-gallery aesthetic

Unconventional Fisher and Paykel dishwashers are streamlined into the kitchen cabinetry. They're so well hidden that house guests usually can't find them and end up washing dishes by hand.

Photo: Elizabeth Weinberg / Model: Mikaela with Q Management / Stylist: Caitlin M. Ryan / Hair and makeup: Annamarie Tendler / Shorts: Soyer / Vest: Reality Studio

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FOUR COOL KITCHEN WARES

A floating kitchen exhaust hood attached to the 18-foot ceiling draws an elegant vertical line upwards.

Its oversized feel lends a welcome juxtaposition to the otherworldliness of the Damien Hirst skull etchings that line the wall behind it.

High & Dry architectural dishrack It’s foldable and take-apart-able $49, www.black-blum.com

Pure Black knives are matte black and forged from one piece of stainless steel $120, www.stelton.com

Kitchen Bull combines cook book storage, a knife block and cutting board into one, Price available upon request, www.torolegno.com

Brick by brick Don’t let the Light Loft’s picture-perfectness deceive you. JT Stewart, of J. Thomas Construction, hit a few walls before getting it to look so good. While removing 58 ceiling joists to gain the 4-foot clearance needed for the mezzanine, the general contractor uncovered a surprise. “When we removed the existing ceiling, we realized that the brick wall stopped short at the level of the old ceiling,” Stewart recalls. To get around this problem, he had to build a new wall made from matching brick. This wasn’t such a big deal, but the nonelevator building didn’t make it any easier. “Getting the scaffolding up six flights of stairs wasn’t a very fun day,” Stewart says. In the end, it definitely paid off. Stewart’s meticulous work makes it nearly impossible to tell where the old wall ends and the new one begins.

Urbano folding trash. This smart-looking can was created by a Pratt student! $18, www.uncommongoods.com

Pure Black photo by Tue Schiørring; Kitchen Bull photo by Vivid Photography

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Style: MONOCHROMATIC Architect: Webber + Studio Project Name: Chimney Corners Location: Austin, TX leftovers: The extra trimmings from the limestone floor and baseboard were repurposed in the living room wall a

Paneled doors combat kitchen appliance clutter

Seven barstools pulled up to the kitchen’s extended countertops maximize seating in the living and dining areas, making dinner party setup a breeze

Tough yet reflective black Caesarstone countertops wrap down the seating bar to protect the high-traffic corner and give the kitchen a gleaming visual edge

Photos by Paul Bardagjy

Features

The range hood is actually built into the pecan ceiling

Pecan wood paneling makes the kitchen feel like a wooden jewel box in the center of the home

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Style: RELAXED LUXE Architect: Laidlaw Schultz Architects Project Name: Harborview Broadmoor Home Location: Corona del Mar, CA seamless harmony: “I’m most proud of the seamless integration of the La Cornue range and the surrounding kitchen backdrop. This is an aesthetic moment which appears without effort—always a great challenge and victory.”—Craig Schultz, Laidlaw Schultz a

Cabinets and handles made from cold-rolled steel pick up on the home’s raw stainless detailing

Mozambique solid wood cabinetry conceals an oversize Sub-Zero fridge, playing warm materials off the cool steel details

With its rough sand finish, the end grain mesquite block flooring makes the perfect base layer for the kitchen’s strong material palette

storage space to spare Cabinets, cabinets everywhere! Many different types of storage were used in Laidlaw Schultz’s design.

“H&J Cabinets handmade all the cabinets in the home,” says the company’s owner, Joe Worland. Designer Deborah Allen took charge on the cabinets’ overall styling, making sure that it fit into the architect’s vision.

“The kitchen’s hot-rolled steel panel cabinets were designed to complement the La Cornue range, while the solid Mozambique wooden cabinets were designed to complement the architectural materials used throughout the house,” she says. The juxtaposed cabinet materials work together, rounding out the house’s eclectic material palette and giving the kitchen a warm but sharp look that accentuates the casual Cali style.

Photos by Patricia Parinejad Photography

Split-face shell stone, a Texas limestone, helps visually blur the line between inside and outside space

A built-in fireplace not only adds the drama of an open fire, but can be used to cook, too

Bound, reclaimed barn timbers form the impressive central island.

A waxed finish adds polish to the rustic texture, giving the kitchen major visual oomph.

H & J CABINETS 428 W. 6TH ST. SUITE B TUSTIN, CA 92780 714.832.1991 WWW.HANDJCABINETS.COM

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Style: CREATIVELY COMPACT Architect: Hawkins & Associates Project Name: Hawkins Residence Location: Reno, NV that damn dog: Although the home’s Murphy bed fits right in with its stowable style, it wasn’t something principal Jack Hawkins had been planning. “It was an afterthought to the design process,” he says. “It came at the final hour as a result of an aging, needy wiener dog. I didn’t want to carry her down two flights of stairs to let her out in the middle of the night.” a

The custom Tutto Ferro steel stair adds sculptural polish

Attractive, magnetic spice containers, bought on the cheap from Bed, Bath, and Beyond, can be rearranged to make fun patterns on the steel backsplash

Reclaimed Jarrah hardwood floors enhance the kitchen’s warmth

A queen-size Murphy bed fit with Häfele hardware folds seamlessly into the wall, sheets and all, freeing up the second-story loft for reading, watching movies, and looking out onto the Sierra Mountains

Custom beech cabinetry flows under the firstfour steel stair treads and camouflages Miele appliances to optimize storage and play up the loft’s clean look

Photos by Asa Gilmore, Ruckus Studios

Steel stairs Hawkins knew he wanted his staircase to pull doubleduty as a sculpture. Lucky for him, Paolo Cividino, a master metal sculptor, just happens to live next door.

Cividino, head of Tutto Ferro (that’s “all iron” in English), has worked with Hawkins on many projects but was especially excited to build the stairs in the architect’s home because the two share a design style. “My aesthetic is in many ways similar to Jack’s—I would call it modern architectural,” Cividino says. “I don't get off on a bunch of embelishment for embelishment’s sake.”

This comes through in the pared-down stairs, which let the stainless steel speak for itself in Hawkin’s compact, chic home.

PROUD TO SUPPORT GWATHMEY SIEGEL & ASSOCIATES

K S DB kevin slagle design+build

1734 13th St, Oakland ksdesignbuild.com

841 Broadway NewYork, NY 10003 www.slcearch.com 212 979 8400 Telephone 212 979 8387 Telefax info@slcearch.com

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Style: candy colored Architect: Mal Corboy Design Project Name: Eye Candy Location: Kohimarama, Auckland, New Zealand Pink power: The kitchen’s Barbie-pink color is Corboy’s favorite

design element, even though its use was a big gamble. “Its intenseness could easily ruin a kitchen,” he admits. “However, it certainly paid off. Five years on, and this kitchen is still a showstopper!” a

Even though they look like gorgeous crystal chandeliers, the two Elica Star range hoods actually recirculate air, eliminating the need for duct work while adding some bling to the cooking space

Art glass was first dyed hot pink and then precisely etched with the fleur-delis motif, creating an effect of perfectly patternmatched wallpaper

Artemide FLPS globe lights complement the balloon shape of the range hoods

Sleek, white glass cabinets balance the bold pink color

The Gaggenau Sub-Zero Pro 40 fridge was the first of its kind to be imported into New Zealand

Trendsetting Color

Mounted to the top end of the island and underneath the countertops, LED color-change lighting sets different moods in the evening Two pieces of seamlessly-joined Corian cover the 20-foot island. Corboy had to cut a hole in the side of the house to transport the enormous countertop inside the kitchen.

Photos by Kallan MacLeod

Since Corboy prefers shocking colors like electric pink, he’s become a master of synthetic building materials. Suppliers know he is always on the hunt for the latest colors and textures, and they’ve come to see him as a material trendsetter. “Mal has been a leader in adopting new colors, especially with Corian,“ says Jesse Staines, who supplies Corboy through The Laminex Group. “We know that if Mal is requesting a new color, then chances are it will be a winner.”

The Laminex Group has put Corboy’s instinct to good use, bringing him on as a consultant for reviewing potential product color ranges. And if it’s up to Corboy, then New Zealand will be seeing an uptick in awesome neon kitchens.

Corian速 Rain Cloud kitchen design by Mal Corboy

The Laminex Group is proud to support kitchen designer Mal Corboy.

To view the new Corian colours visit www.corian.co.nz

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Style: BOLDLY FUNCTIONAL Architect: James Cleary Architecture Project Name: Connecticut Lake House Location: New Fairfield, CT GETTING THE BLUES, BABY: “Kitchens are an opportunity to go wild, but I like to be more restricted in my materials palette. Everything in this kitchen was chosen very carefully to let the blue be the true focal point.”—James Cleary, James Cleary Architecture a

Both the backsplash and countertops are made from a finelytextured concrete that keeps the spotlight on the blue cabinetry

Slightly patinated concrete countertops and stainless steel upper cabinets balance the jolt of color and reveal a subtle beauty that’s noticeable through up-close inspection

The electric-blue cabinetry visually counterpoints the subdued earth tones of the adjacent spaces

Like the floors, the walnut table takes on a natural elegance by letting its defects show

Granite Inspiration

Reclaimed chestnut floors add depth to the kitchen and connect it to the living space.

The planks were milled from chestnut logs that fell off of river shipments over 100 years ago, so when they were dug up from the bottom of the river bed, they were riddled with wormholes that only enhance their natural beauty.

Photos by Amy Barkow, Barkow Photo

Cleary’s bright blue kitchen sits inside a lake house in the heart of Connecticut. As part of its exterior look, Cleary chose to work with many types of natural stone, and had to turn to stone experts all over the country in order to access the right selection. “We created multiple samples to get the finish and texture of the granite just right,” says Richard Zinsmeister of North Carolina Granite.

For the walkway and terrace pavers, the company “fabricated the color, texture, and size to create a beautiful contrast with the home’s rougher rubble [stone] walls,” Zinsmeister explains. This very careful design process definitely helped the terrace and walkways hit the right note and made the house fit right in with its lakeside setting.

Averting a lakeside crisis Although the Connecticut Lake House appears idyllic, it took a lot of crafty site manipulation to get it looking that way. “The topography demanded that we build a temporary dam to hold off the lake while we poured new lake [foundation] walls,” explains David Gregory, the home’s general contractor. After failing on attempt one, Gregory had to devise a new plan. “Ultimately, we filled two yard sand bags, placed them along the 200 feet of lakefront, and lined the lake side [of the wall] with plastic sheeting,” he says. “After that, it was a matter of keeping the pumps running and plugging leaks as they arose.” Definitely not an easy solution, but one that paid off: just before the first winter freeze, Gregory poured the home’s walls.

Seasons @ Compton, CA - Four Awards

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WHITE-HOT BATHROOMS If you had one this cool, you’d be lounging in your skivvies too

Features

EYE-POPPING POWDER ROOMS The Setai Fifth Avenue has 308 of the nicest bathrooms in Manhattan. What makes them so special? Hotel insider Anne Maurice tells us all.

Out of all The Setai’s bathrooms, if you had to pick one to get ready in, which would you pick?

The Avenue Apartment Suites’ bathrooms. They’re particularly spacious, have floor-to-ceiling windows that let in great light, and feature a soaking tub and a separate, luxurious shower stall. TVs are built directly into the mirror, which is great as you’re getting ready for the day. There are also benches for the vanity so you can sit down to do your hair and makeup.

For those of us who can’t book a luxe suite, tell us about the design of the hotel’s public bathrooms.

There’s plenty of room, just like in our guest bathrooms. You can actually turn around in there! Each bathroom also has an orchid, which adds a really elegant touch.

In our opinion, it’s the little things that make the experience. Are there any special details that really set The Setai’s bathrooms apart?

We have phenomenal bath products made specifically for us by Lorenzo Villoresi Firenze. They’re made from fig, so it doesn’t feel too masculine or too feminine.

Yum! Er, sort of. Are there any bathrooms that boast a killer view?

The best bathroom views look south out onto the Empire State Building, and the worst look out onto the Chrysler Building. In other words, there are no bad views!

Obviously a lot of thought has gone into the design of the bathrooms at The Setai, but is there anything you would change?

I would put a lounge chair in the suite bathrooms because they’re just so comfortable. When I’m the manager on duty, I spend more time in there than I do in the bedroom! a

Here's Looking at you, new york How did The Setai get those killer views in skyscraper-packed Manhattan, anyway? Gwathmey Siegel, the powerhouse architecture firm, pulled out two oldschool Big Apple tricks. “We set a tower on top of lower buildings so that prime views are available in all directions,” says Greg Karn, an architect on The Setai.

“The building was also designed with a centralized core, allowing uninterrupted windows on all four sides of the tower,” he adds. Literally every room comes with a view, so if you stay at The Setai, be sure to open those heavy black-out blinds and look out your window.

BATH

Q&A:

Location: Light Loft by Fabrica 718 Photo: Elizabeth Weinberg Stylist: Caitlin M. Ryan Hair/Makeup: Annamarie Tendler Model: Mikaela With Q Management Shirt: Three Dot

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Style: FUTURISTIC Designer: Winka Dubbeldam, Archi-Tectonics Project Name: Schein Bathroom Location: New York, NY Shades of blue: Dubbeldam’s favorite part of the bathroom is its multiple hues of blue, from the cerulean-tinted glass wall that encapsulates the space, to the darker blue glass tiles and asymmetrically-shaped sink. The colors combine together to complement the rich bog-oak wall, making for a futuristic bathroom fantasy. a

The loft’s center spine is configured by two walls with a thin, black metal frame and bog-oak panels, which encapsule the master bathroom The blueish-green sink is made from a non-toxic resin, making it not only beautiful but safe for the homeowners

The relaxed bathroom layout includes an overflow bath and a large steam shower

Photos by Floto + Warner

BATH

Features

Style: texturized

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The Dombracht shower fixtures look both classic and modern and blend seamlessly with the Duravit tub and sink

Architect: Designpad Architecture Project Name: Ashbury Condo Location: San Francisco, CA PERK OF THE JOB: “I like to play with the scale of materials, and I often mix and match them to provide texture and depth. The goal is to make a subtle variation without having to use a different material.”

—Patrick Perez, Designpad a

A custom teak medicine cabinet enhances storage space and warms up the grey-veined white marble tiles

Detailed Design Ann Sacks tiles in two different sizes add texture to the bath by playing with visual scale

Spindle legs added to a large wall-hung sink bring elements of the home’s Edwardian vibe into the bathroom

Sometimes, the details get lost in translation between architects and builders. “That’s why attention to the most subtle detail is paramount,” explains Chris Burnham, founder of Chris Burnham Construction. He has partnered with Perez on many homes, and attributes their shared success to “the ability to speak each other’s [design] languages.” The two have honed their lingos so that they can fix problems on the spot, a development that has definitely strengthened their mutual trust and respect. “Responding at a moment’s notice transforms oversights in planning into design opportunities,” Burnham says.

Photography by Kee Sites

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Getting Intimate with Frederique We talk style and design with one of the world’s most famous supermodels In the heyday of supermodels, they all went by one name: Cindy. Naomi.

Tyra. And Frederique was no exception. The Dutch beauty has graced the covers of Vogue, Elle, and Cosmo, and has sashayed down designer catwalks all over the world.

But since then, Frederique van der Wal (yes, she actually does have a last name) has taken her career in a different direction, spending less time posing for pictures and more time developing her brand. She’s spearheaded a line of swimwear, lingerie, perfumes, and most recently, a high-end floral firm called Frederique's Choice. “I think, growing up in Holland, having flowers is so engrained in us,” she says. “The moment you put in an orchid or a bunch of tulips, it instantly gives life to a place. To me, my house isn’t alive if there aren't flowers.”

Van der Wal's house—a chic loft in NoHo—is very much alive, thanks in part to the budding orchids, but also to the clean yet warm aesthetic that permeates the 2,500-square-foot space. It’s the second design iteration for her apartment, both of which were the result of Dutch powerhouse designer, Winka Dubbeldam. The fact that they’re both from The Netherlands is no accident. “Someone mentioned to me this upcoming Dutch female designer, and being from Holland, and being a female in that industry, there are not that many.”

Dubbeldam spent lots of time with van der Wal discussing how to mesh her signature modern aesthetic with her client’s request to make the home feel, above all,“cozy.” She centered the floor plan around six skylights to ensure the home would always be flooded with light. She also used a palette of natural materials, including tile, stone, mirrors, and transclucent glass.

The combination of these elements executes on van der Wal’s request to keep the space soft, warm, and light. “Sometimes, when you think flowers, you think girlie,” van der Wal says. “I am much more architectural lines.

Winka and I are similar in that we have a same style. More mysterious.”

by Kristin Lamprecht location: Frederique's Home, New York Photographer: Noah Kalina Stylist: katharine brandes hair/makeup: annamarie tendler

The horizontal mirror extends through the glass divider wall and into the shower, creating an elongated line

The stone floor folds into the shower bench in one continuous sweep

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Style: TRANSLUCENT Design: Winka Dubbeldam, Archi-Tectonics Project Name: Van der Wal Loft Location: New York, NY for your viewing pleasure: The clear glass bathroom wall

introduces a spatial and light reversal and plays with the idea of voyeurism. By day, sunlight falls in the bathroom through a skylight in the room next door; by night, the glass shows silhouettes of the interior of the bathroom. a

Natural light filters in from the skylight above

Dubbeldam dabbled in different materials to make the bathroom feel texturized.

She used a mix of natural stone, glass tiles, wood flooring, and mirrors to create a feeling of translucent light throughout the space.

Clothes above and inset: Frederique's own

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design bureau DISCOVERS

Royal FLUSH: Six swanky toilets that are fit for a king Pop a Squat The Filtering Squatting toilet from Philips is part of the Microbial Home system. It separates and recycles your ones from your twos while using zero energy. www.philips.com

Camo-flush Designed to be hidden, this toilet is part of a whole bathroom set that disappears into streamlined shelving and storage.

Straightforward, functional, good-looking—a fixture that simply goes about its business. www.rapsel.it

Command Center Less gaudy and more tech-savvy than the others, Numi by Kohler claims a motionactivated seat, foot warmer, and built-in speakers. Totally necessary touchscreen remote included. www.kohler.com

Cistern, Cistern An elegant pan paired with a cast-iron cistern, chain-pull flush, and mahogany seat. It’s the top hat and monocle of the toilet world. www.watermonopoly.com

Artsy Fartsy

Blinged Outhouse

For the person who has everything—a sparkling, chromed-out captain’s chair. Signed and numbered, of course. www.jemalwright.com

From the same designer as the purple fecal eater above, this Swarovski crystalcovered exercise in excess is pure Liberace. www.jemalwright.com

Chicago Showroom

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312-755-0356

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CCE, a Florida Gulf Coast, and nationally recognized architecturally inspired concrete design studio is proud to have partnered with Josh Wynne Construction in the design and creation of The Power Haus.

CCE keeps pace with modern cutting edge design while evoking images of a hand-made craftsmanship which seems to have been long forgotten. The melding of timeless materials with the latest green technologies ensures compliance for LEED projects large and small.

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10/27/11 10:45 AM

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Style: LUXURIOUS Architect: BGD Architects Project Name: 102 Amalfi Location: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia the backstory: Bayden Goddard, principal at BGD, actually designed this home for himself, so the bathroom is just how he wanted it. An additional in-house BGD architect and an interior designer pitched in to make the project perfect. a

Rosewood floorto-ceiling windows flood the bathroom with natural light and frame pictureperfect skyline and river views

Team Work 100 and counting—that’s the impressive number of projects BGD Architects and Cozens Regan Williams Engineering have worked on together. And with such a large quantity of collaborations, it has pushed both firms into some tricky design dilemmas, including odd roof cantilevers and tight space restrictions. Rod Prove, head of Cozens Regan Williams, says that resolving issues has never been a problem due to Goddard’s crystal clear design vision. “Bayden knows exactly what he’s trying to achieve, and engages with us as structural engineers in a way that ensures the desired result.” We can see why he makes such a good partner.

Photos by Remco Jansen

An update to the claw footed tub, the Aveo Bath by Villeroy & Boch provides the ultimate space for soaking

While Goddard was out globe-trotting, his team topped off the luxe design by installing a surprise corner window in the master shower. It has since become Goddard’s favorite design detail.

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World-renowned architect and product designer Michael Graves has made hundreds of buildings and thousands of household products.

But when an illness left him partially paralyzed in 2003, it only renewed his commitment for making works with a “humanist” touch—for all people, even those who, like himself, are confined to a wheelchair. With indisputable authorit y, 78-year- old Graves is an unstoppable and impressive producer of design.

By Saundra Marcel / Photos by Matthew Williams

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ou’ve made your mark on products like toasters and toenail clippers, furniture, buildings and interiors—even your own hotel. Is there anything you can’t do?

Well, I can’t walk. But what kind of work can’t I do? I can’t do projects that take me away from what I do daily. For example, I was once invited to design an automobile, but that one project would have taken me from my home for two years. It would have meant that for that time I’d have to give up my production life and my product design life to do one thing that may or may not have been successful. For this, I said no.

How has your health challenged or changed the way you approach design?

Well, I’m a lot more sensitive to it. The ADA doesn’t cut it. Public environments need to be better for people with disabilities. When I go into retail stores, there are couches and tables and credenzas in the way, and I can’t get through the spaces. Sometimes I can’t even get farther than 10 feet. It’s against the law to do that—you’re supposed to have an open passage. But able-bodied people can slither through there, and those are the people that the retailers are interested in. No one really wants me in their stores knocking things over. That’s an insensitivity towards the disabled that I believe is amoral, and it hasn’t been properly addressed.

The other thing is that, generally, architects who design buildings are able-bodied. But if they were to get in a wheelchair for a week, they wouldn’t do it the same way. Even when I was in the hospital, for example, I couldn’t use the bathroom. From a wheelchair you can’t reach the faucet. You can’t get under the sink. You can’t reach the plug for your electric razor. The mirror is above your head. And there’s a curb for the shower that you can’t get over. This is stupid, simple stuff. It’s a matter of positioning; it’s not even a matter of money.

This is brought to your attention because of your own challenges, but you used to be able-bodied, and you were designing architecture. How were you designing it for people like yourself prior to your paralysis?

Even before I was paralyzed, I always followed something that a friend of mine once told me. He said: “I don’t want them to take the steps away from the city hall for the wheelchair. Those steps elevate the building, elevate the institution—they elevate us, as a society. What I do want is for wheelchair entrances [to have] the same elegance that the stairs contribute.” When the ADA came out with their regulations, suddenly there were wooden ramps everywhere, and those became the lasting design. I have always thought that those things should be built beautifully and permanently, from the beginning.

Located in Princeton, New Jersey, Graves’ Tuscan villa-style home was formerly a warehouse

“When the ADA came out with their regulations, suddenly there were wooden ramps everywhere, and those became the lasting design. I have always thought that those things should be built beautifully and permanently, from the beginning.”

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Light dances inside Graves’ home. Among the pieces pictured are: a Biedermeier pedestal table, a copy of Guido Reni’s Aurora, and two bas-relief medallions by Bertel Thorvaldsen

Like the rest of his home, Graves’ library is filled with antiques. And though it’s not visible, the room is lit from on high by a skylight.

A Biedermeier table and other 19th-century antiques pair with Graves’ own designs, including the sculpture stand in the background and the rug

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This photo and below: Hotel Michael, Singapore, 2003

GRAVES ON DESIGN: Given the range of brands you’ve designed for—Target, Alessi, Dansk, Steuben, and Disney—where might we most likely find you shopping?

At the flea market. Objects from the ’20s, ’30s, and ’40s have always been intriguing to me. I just love the spirit in which they were exploring materials.

You’ve done high-end and you’ve done affordable. What’s the difference?

The only difference is the material. I spend just as much time, if not more, trying to meet a price for a low-end retailer as I do for a high-end retailer where cost isn’t the object. The material that you’re using, like the difference between stainless steel and sterling silver, ends up being the price differential.

Trends in design come, and then trends go…usually. Is there anything you’re surprised to see sticking around?

Yes—trends. I’m surprised that trends stick around. I am so anti-trend. People who are selling products today are treating them like fashion, pushing what’s fresh at the moment, what the “in” colors are, what the next season’s collection will be. You know, the same classics have been around for a long time. For example, a chair by Le Corbusier, a chair by Mies van der Rohe, a chair by Charles Eames; those things are old friends and people still want them.

First generation Graves collection toaster for Target,1999

Singapore’s Hotel Michael is all about you, with Graves architecture, furnishings, and even the artwork on the walls.

How did this project come about?

We were working on this resort community in a place called Sentosa, a little island off of Singapore. We were asked to design hotels and restaurants, a Maritime Museum, a casino, a spa, and retail; and every time we met, I would show the developer new products to put in the buildings.

He liked that. It was his suggestion that one of the hotels would be all my stuff, and his idea to call it Hotel Michael. I was a little embarrassed by it. But every single thing in the interior I touched, even the paintings.

The outside of the building was designed by my partners, though, because I was in the hospital at that time. It’s pretty close to what I would have done.

Photos courtesy of Michael Graves & Associates

You’ve given credit to your partners for being able to recreate the Graves’ signature style. What is your “signature style”?

These last couple of weeks I’ve been drawing in my sketchbook nonstop. I’m sketching objects and display techniques for a new client. It’s a process: I do the initial drawings, they then go to designers who make working drawings, and then model makers who make models. After that, we have sessions and give criticism, and then the ideas will either be continued or dropped altogether.

But what about style?

Oh, yeah, I was like Michele Bachmann and didn’t answer your question. Signature style…I call myself a humanist. There are a lot of things I’m not working for; I’m not working for the press and I’m not working

Limited edition tea and coffee service for Alessi, 1983

for the longevity. I’m working for us. If someone asked me: “Michael, why did you design this soap dish?” I would answer that I designed it because I needed one. I designed it for exactly how it would be used, how I would use it, how you would use it, how anybody would use it.

Your now-famous Alessi teapot made you a household name. And it’s fun— with friendly colors and a whimsical red bird. Are we allowed to play with design?

Of course! It’s in the kitchen. Where do you think we get the word “kitsch” from? Sure, we’re allowed to have fun.

Do you still have fun?

I can’t wait to get to the office in the morning.

I just love what I do so much. a

Features DESIGNthe BUREAU 159 Graves designed table and built-in bookshelves, around and upon which antiques abound. The walls are wood panels cut to resemble blocks of stone .

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FASHION

FEVER DREAM German online retailer ZouZou Vintage teamed up with French photographer Damien “Elroy” Vignaux to showcase its one-of-a-kind offerings.

Haunting, hallucinatory, provocative—these dreamy photos will have you seeing double (and triple).

Photography: Damien “Elroy” Vignaux / Styling: Anja at ZouZou Vintage / Makeup: Anna Czilinsky / Model: Caroline Bruchmann / Assistant: Christina Michelitsch

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For more information on the clothing, visit www.zouzouvintage.de.

To see more of Elroy’s work, visit www.elroy.fr

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PHOTO ESSAY

Animal Logic “In doing Animal Logic, I chose to work with collections in natural history museums often undergoing renovation. Granted access to the dismantling process, I was able to cross the proscenium of the stage and go behind the curtain to reveal the artifice of our fabricated nature. In these scenarios, the conservators, construction workers, and scene painters occupy the places normally reserved for the animals and become replacement actors on the stage. These understudies remind us of our fragile interdependence, just as the animals do in their fictive states of suspended animation.”—RICHARD BARNES

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER:

New York-based Photographer Richard Barnes has been shown in many solo exhibitions, and his works can be found in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Barnes’ photographs of the cabin of Ted Kaczynski, a.k.a. the “Unabomber,” were featured in the 2006 Whitney Biennial and awarded the Alfred Eisenstadt Award for Photography.

A monograph of his work, entitled Animal Logic, was included in the American Institute of Graphic Arts juried competition/exhibition, 50 Books/50 Covers in 2010.

www.richardbarnes.net

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Giraffe, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, 2005

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Antelope, Bear, and Monkey, Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC, 2005

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Top: Animals with Painter, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, 2004 Above: Single Ungulate Amid Blue Crosses, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, 2008 Right: Flayed Man, Museum of Comparative Anatomy, Paris, 2005

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people & places

Partygoers pose in front of the step and repeat Jessie Devereaux, Darcie Young, and Gina Panijan, from Maya Romanoff

Carmen Quintana, Kaira Townsend, Rickia Buckley, Lavonna Williams

Elizabeth Gilmore and Katie Bezrouch

DESIGN BUREAU ANNIVERSARY PARTY

Mobolaji Akintunde and partygoer Party photos by Kaitlyn McQuaid; Step and Repeat Photos by Alyssa Jongsma

Cole Stevens and Andrew Spena

Our first year as a magazine was a fantastic whirlwind, so we wanted to take some time to show our gratitude to the people who helped us make it happen.

We invited colleagues, contributors, friends, and the brightest design-scene luminaries to Venue One in Chicago to celebrate our first six issues. The evening's theme centered around “Exploring the Minds of Creative Fanatics”— an adventure inspired by our guest-edited Sep/Oct issue. Special thanks to Event Creative, Food For Thought, Bombay Sapphire, Corzo, 42 Below, Shock Top, Bud Light, Neuro, Elizabeth Grace, and I Heart Thorsday. a

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Alexandra Tarrant, Carrie Richardson, and Alex Gavin

A Gala attendee views Poetry Foundation broadsides by Sonnenzimmer

Lucy Hewitt, Chad Behnke, Mig Reyes, KatherineWalker of VSA. Adrienne Hawthorne in foreground.

SOCIETY OF TYPOGRAPHIC ARTS ARCHIVE 11

Tyler Deal, Ben Deter, and Robyn Paprocki

Design veterans and up-and-comers alike gathered at the Harrington College of Design in Chicago for the Society of Typographic Arts' Archive 11 Gala. Attendees enjoyed local craft beer from Finch’s Brewery and wine from Trinchero Family Estates. The winners of the Archive 11 competition were the true stars of the night, as they became the newest additions to the Design Archive’s permanent collection. Special thanks to Artistry Engraving, Consolidated Printing, Design Chat, Finch’s Beer, Harrington College of Design, Mohawk Paper, 3XData, Thirst, Trinchero Family Estates, UniqueActive and Alright Sans. For a complete list of the Archive 11 winners, visit www.chicagodesignarchive.org/competitions.php a Photos by Elizabeth Gilmore

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Elan Cole

Allan Chochinov

AIGA PIVOT CONFERENCE

Chip Kidd

We recently had the opportunity to attend AIGA’s Pivot Design Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. Uniting designers from all across the globe, the three day event included workshops, professional development lectures, presentations on the latest innovations in the industry, and speeches from notable individuals from across the spectrum of design. Topics ranged from practical design implementation to future proposals of how design can effectively influence the various aspects of society. Season three of Command X—a graphic designer’s survival of the fittest reality show—showcased the skill-sets of up-and-coming young designers. a —Tim Winstanley

Frank Chimero Photos by Kendra Enriquez

BELLOMO ARCHITECTS Our firm specializes in innovative modern architecture that is sensitive to the subtleties of place. Inspired by the inherent beauty of expressive materials, structure, and light, we believe in a unified approach to design that successfully blends the needs of our clients with those of nature.

Palo Alto

CALIFORNIA

Michael Bierut

650.326.0374

contact@bellomoarchitects.com

Sadik Kwaish Alfraji

Kailua-Kona

HAWAII

808.322.9393

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This issue’s best Albums

Presented by

Music

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ALARMPRESS

Rodrigo y Gabriela Area 52 (ATO) With their last album, 11:11, dueling guitarists Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero came to prominence via a blend of acoustic rock and Latin sounds. Now the duo—whose material is infused with the energy and fretwork of classical guitar and metal—has re-imagined its songs with the aid of a 13-piece Cuban big band.

Area 52 is full of horn stabs, jazzy piano accents, and flute flourishes, but a healthy diversity is borne from psychedelic guitar effects and unexpected guest appearances, including sitarist Anoushka Shankar. “Hunuman,” one of the duo’s biggest songs, is re-imagined—and nearly unrecognizable from its powerful acoustic-thrash beginning—with a dramatic string-tinged intro that paves the way for the song’s main melody. It even bears shades of Carlos Santana. Though fans will have to keep waiting for brand-new songs, these selections nearly qualify. [SM] /01

02/

03/

04/

05/

06/

07/

Shining

Doomtree

Gonjasufi

Live Blackjazz album and DVD (Indie Recordings / Prosthetic) With its 2010 album, Blackjazz, Norway’s Shining completed a transition from jazz experimentalism to classically informed progfusion to sinister electro-industrial metal. The transformation seems extreme, but when heard linearly, it feels surprisingly natural. Much of that transformational fluidity, in fact, is owed to the band’s hyperkinetic live show, where old and new tunes alike are delivered with equal parts precision and punishment. A combined DVD and live album, Live Blackjazz documents Shining’s cathartic stage show in stunning quality while bordering on sensory overload. Live recordings generally aren’t recommended for first introductions—but, as you might have guessed, Shining isn’t your average band. [SM] /02

No Kings (Doomtree) Over just a few years, the unlikely “family” Doomtree collective, a Minneapolis-based hip-hop crew and label, went from trading beats at Hopkins High to producing albums, organizing tours, and throwing the annual Doomtree Blowout, all with a small but mighty lineup.

MU.ZZ.LE (Warp) Written as an emotional and spiritual outlet while on the road touring, MU.ZZ.LE is psychedelic rapper Gonjasufi’s latest “mini-album” since his 2010 debut, A Sufi and a Killer. The combination of down-tempo beats and haunting lyrics on this album make for a dark and introspective atmosphere, but his voice is his most powerful and versatile instrument. At times, it’s something of a hoarse croak, a barely audible mumble; at other times, it reaches a sorrowful croon and a creeping howl, often in a sudden, drastic shift.

Calexico

TriBeCaStan

Loincloth

Road Atlas 1998–2011 limited-edition vinyl box set and Selections from Road Atlas 1998–2011 CD (Quarterstick) In their 15 years as a band, Calexico’s Joey Burns and John Convertino have built their music around being on the road. It’s as evident in their thematic lyrics as it is in their sound— which, though it’s been described as Southwestern or “desert noir,” can’t be pinned to one region.

The two have drawn musical influences from around the globe because that’s exactly where they’ve been. With Road Atlas, Calexico compiles eight of its off-the-map recordings from the past 13 years, including live sets and self-released tour albums. In a sense, the band has mapped out the detours in its history, taking listeners to places where few have been. [MK] /05

New Deli (EverGreene Music) Though its music only has been available since 2009, the quizzical “ethno-galactic” duo TriBeCaStan spans centuries with its incomparable blend of traditional folk styles with rock, jazz, and other modern styles. And though its two founding members, multi-(multi-multi-) instrumentalists Jeff Greene and John Kruth, hail from lower Manhattan, their origins, naturally, seem spread across the globe. With its third album, New Deli, the duo (along with the eight-piece TriBeCaStani FolklOrkestra) continues its spirited, genre-bending expedition with such unlikely sonic pairings as surf rock alongside avant-garde jazz and Afghani folk.

Indeed, TriBeCaStan is a strange place where East meets West and old meets new. [MK] /06

Iron Balls of Steel (Southern Lord) It might be silly to call a band named Loincloth stripped-down, but that’s exactly what it is. There are no vocals or indulgent riffing—just pure, soaring metal.

Its foundation was built on the wings of impassioned, down-to-earth MCs P.O.S and Sims, hybrid rapper/songstress Dessa, multifaceted instrumentalist Paper Tiger, and nostalgic storyteller Cecil Otter, but the seven-member collective also has demonstrated its cohesiveness as a group. No Kings is Doomtree’s third studio album, and though it maintains a playful demeanor, it’s the most diverse and mature of the three. More importantly, it maintains the balance that makes such a large collaboration work, both as a group and as a business. [PM & SM] /03

The effect is unsettling—and unforgettable.

[MK] /04

Iron Balls of Steel, the group’s debut, might be considered progressive in its rhythmic technicality. But its dedication to the power-trio lineup and refusal to overstay its welcome (nearly half the songs are less than two minutes) keep the album on task. And though Loincloth’s start-stop style doesn’t preclude punishing grooves, its percussive tangents will challenge many experienced head-bangers. If that sounds intimidating, don’t overlook the band’s sense of humor—Iron Balls of Steel and all—which helps the band rise above the seriousness of modern metal. [KG] /07

Scott Morrow is the music editor at ALARM Press and author of This Week’s Best Albums, an eclectic weekly series presenting exceptional music. Visit www.alarmpress.com for more.

[SM] Scott Morrow, [KG] Kyle Gilkeson, [MK] Meaghann Korbel, [PM] Portia Medina

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For Hire

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For Hire: André FOR HIRERomainFOR HIRE DESIGN TALENT FRESH ON THE MARKET

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On theproblem-solving A French illustrator import interested in designFresh for its Market capabilities? Trés chic.

How did you pick design and illustration as your areas of expertise? gave me FOR HIRE FORDesign HIRE a way to respond DESIGN TALENT Design Talent FRESH ON THE to On questions I had Fresh MARKET theabout Market my surroundings. I am interested in things like people’s behaviour and what conditions it. Especially how social structures manage to influence people’s ideas and understandings of the world around them, to the point that we believe our behavior is natural and forget that it is cultural and time-based.

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Who are some designers you look to for inspiration?

I’m inspired by designers who succeed in creating who use design to solve DESIGN TALENTbridges FRESH between different fields,DESIGN TALENT FRESH ON THE MARKET ON THE MARKET problems outside the world of design.

FORFORHIRE HIRE

What’s the most useful piece of information you learned in design school? The least?

Most useful: there are many good solutions to one problem. Least useful: I’ve probably already forgotten it!

What are your post-graduation career goals?

I don’t really have defined career goals. I think that I am in a stage where I need to be open to opportunities and surprises that might lead me somewhere exciting. But in the near future, I would like to have the opportunity to challenge my thinking processes and use what I’ve learned as a designer in collaborating with people from other fields and disciplines on interdisciplinary projects.

Why should somebody hire you?

Studying in the UK and France exposed me to different approaches to visual communication and helped me to appreciate the confrontation of ideas. At Central Saint Martins, I worked with people from around the world who sometimes barely shared a language. This has forced me to come up with strong, simple ideas that communicate efficiently. a

Romain Likes: Dinosaurs, rubber bands (truly genius!), opening boxes, A4 paper size, fridge ice maker (there is some kind of magic happening here!), tourist-trap museums on the side of the highway, the Duke of Cambridge Organic Pub in London, when Google knows what I want (awesome!), The New Man logo, unintentionally clumsy reproductions of Disney characters, my friend Adrien’s collection of painted clay dental molds (awesome!)

Romain Dislikes: My friend Adrien’s collection of painted clay dental molds (creepy!), barefoot sports shoes that make you look like a Ninja Turtle, bad copycats of Dutch graphic design, cats playing piano, dogs skateboarding, debates about which typeface is the best ever, the Facebook “like” button, when people remove the label from the beer or soda bottles, when Google knows what I want (creepy!), when people assume that I am an expert on wine because I am French

RESUME SNAPSHOT: Romain André EDUCATION Central Saint Martins BA (Honors) in Graphic Design 2008-2011 Ecole Superieur d’Arts et Design D.N.A.P. with distinction 2005-2008

Work Experience 4Août, Communication Agency, Intern 2009 City Hall of Arpajon, Municipal Elections Redesign 2008

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honors First runner-up for the redesign of the “Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education”

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Check out his website: www.romainandre.com