Design Bureau Issue 2

Jeanne Gang

The Chicago architect’s material inspiration

Richard Avedon Fashion photography at the MFA

Alice Rawsthorn, Critic 1 DESIGN BUREAU // Informer Steven Heller, author Ruthie Davis, Shoe Designer MÁze: SÁmi People of Norway

INSTANT ANALOG

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The comedian on designing his Hollywood home

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 $8 USA/CAN

ADAM CAROLLA

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four italians, four cameras, one PHOTOJOURNAL

Luminaire presents: Double C-Future OLED Light Fixture by Ingo Maurer

Luminaire presents: Baghdad Table by Ezri Tarazi

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DESIGN BUREAU

DESIGN BUREAU

DESIGN BUREAU:

The Intelligencer

Publisher & editor-in-chief

Chris Force

MANAGING EDITOR

Kristin Lamprecht kristin@alarmpress.com copy editor

Kyle Gilkeson

Ellie Fehd ellie@alarmpress.com sales director

Tarra Kieckhaefer tarra@alarmpress.com MARKETING INTERN

editoriAL INTERN

Kathryn Freeman Rathbone

Jon A. Murray IV James Stearns Kathryn Steele

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DESIGN DIRECTOR

controller

Lindsey Eden Turner lindsey@alarmpress.com

Andrea DeMarte accounting assistant

Anya Hoestetler

art director

Design Bureau goes beyond print by engaging readers with The Intelligencer, a free bi-weekly e-newsletter sent to readers, delivering a dose of inspiration on everything design.

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Bojan Radojcic

assistant to the publisher

Brittany Miranda

design intern

Cyril Marsollier

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senior account manager

contributors

Murrye Bernard, Jeremy Brautman, CĂŠline Clanet, Aaron Farley, Caitlin Fitzgibbons, Lindsey Gregory, Steven Heller, Noah Kalina, Chris Kitahara, Ellen Knuti, Chad Kouri, Stewart Kuhlo, Jill McDonnell, Chris Moore, Liza Rush, Claire Scully, Kaira Townsend, Katie Weber Schroeder

Cheyenne Eiswald

account managers

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Human resources

Greg Waechter greg@alarmpress.com

cover image

By Four Lines, page 68

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DESIGN BUREAU

Contents

INFORMER 12 14 15 16 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 32 34 38

Established & Sons Stefan Strumbel Origami-Inspired Decor Naoto Fukasawa Reveal Watch MoutonCollet Tom Dixon's Void Light Plain Air Purifier Emergency Cocktail Station The Ghost of a Chair Minjjoo Door Design Dossier: Graphic Design Tree Bookshelf Etienne de Swardt: Etat Libre d'Orange Spencer Hansen, Blamo Toys Brooks Bike Saddles The Family Five: Michael Renaud Bureau Expert: Anne Havinga, Curator, MFA Boston Bureau Expert: Ruthie Davis, Shoe Designer Bureau Expert: Steven Heller, Design Critic DESIGN THINKING

40 46 50 56

Valerio Dewalt Train Associates Andre Kikoski Architects Mell Lawrence Architects Jacobsen Architects FEATURES

62 68 78 84 92 98 104 106 114

The Impossible Project Four Lines Alice Rawsthorn Rock Paper Show: Flatstock, Volume One .Sanne: Architecture of the Mind Jeanne Gang: The Building Blocks of Creativity The Quiet Revolution Design by Adam Carolla Máze: Photos of a Sámi Village PLUS

10 128 130

Editor’s Letter Contributors ALARM Presents: 7 New Albums to Hear For Hire: Brian Anderson

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DESIGN BUREAU // Contents

Alice Rawsthorn

Adam Carolla

The International Herald Tribune critic sheds light on the state of the design world. Page 78

Funnyman Adam Carolla might not be the next Rem Koolhaas, but he does know his way around a construction site and a square mortise. He discusses with Design Bureau how his former career as a carpenter has helped him to design and restore his Hollywood Hills home. Page 106

The Impossible Project Instant photography was dangerously close to becoming a thing of the past until one man took on the impossible. Now, with a renewed subculture spirit, 40 chosen photographers compose the Impossible Collection. Page 62

Alice Rawsthorn photo by Chris Moore. Adam Carolla photo by Aaron Farley. Polaroid photo by Lia Saile.

DESIGN BUREAU // Contents

Jeanne Gang The architect who has made her mark on the Chicago skyline details a childhood filled with Rubik's cubes and a fascination with materials. Page 98

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DESIGN BUREAU // Letter & Contributors

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

DESIGN BUREAU CONTRIBUTORS

It’s often nothing more than a designer’s commitment, misplaced confidence, and total disregard for recognition that allows his or her work to become reality.

You have to love that.

When Darin Montgomery chose to create the Emergency Cocktail Station in the shape of a first-aid kit, I assume that he wasn’t met with commercial support and enthusiasm (page 25).

Luckily, he runs his own company, Urbancase, and produced it anyway. When Johannes Müeller and Johannes Marmon thought it would be a wonderful idea to make the Minjjoo door for children, a small door inside a larger door, we guess that door manufacturers did not leap at the idea. These are, after all, the designers that bring us an annual exhibit of designer Christmas trees, not exactly financial blockbuster kind of stuff. But, eventually, the German door manufacturer Holistch accepted the design and allowed the designers to oversee the entire production process (page 26). And I wonder how the builders working with architect Hugh Newell Jacobson felt when he demanded all his projects’ floors and ceilings to be flawlessly laser level (page 62).

But it’s these seemingly absurd interests and demands that drive and fuel some of the best design creations.

At points, this steered us to the ludicrous: Valentina Gonzalez Wohler’s Ghost of a Chair (page 23), a perfume titled “Hotel Slut” (page 26), and the adult-sized onesie (monkey tail or rabbit ears? page 28). But it also brought us the loyal traditionalist, the hardworking non-content, the photographers keeping instant photography alive (page 58), and the fashion designers merging new ideas with old-world craftsmanship (see Ruthie Davis’ exquisitely manufactured shoes on page 34 and Sanne Jansen’s hand-stitched garments on page 92).

We also continue our conversation on inspiration and design.

Architect Jeanne Gang discusses an interest in craft and building materials and the way her childhood interest in puzzles and riddles have affected how she uses them, from engineering marble in unique structural ways to pushing the limit of how recycled materials can be used (page 99). Four Lines, a collective of four Italian photographers, documents a European road trip with instant-analog film—a selection of their poetic influences, photographs, and music playlists begin on page 68.

Lastly, we hope you will join the conversation at WeAreDesignBureau.com where you’ll find additional photos from our visit to Adam Carolla’s house, and our daily design blog.

- Chris Force Editor-in-Chief

Christopher Kitahara works as a photographer in Chicago, IL with collaborator Erik Liam Sanchez.

Their work explores the landscape of modern culture through satire and portraiture, emphasizing the concept more than its creator.

Kitahara photographed architect Jeanne Gang for this issue. He lists his favorite designer as Frederick Law Olmsted. www.sanchez-kitahara.com

Ellen Knuti grew up eating breakfast at an Eero Saarinen kitchen table, boiling water in a Michael Graves kettle, and microwaving popcorn in an Amana Touchmatic her parents bought at Marshall Field’s fifteen years before she was born. Today, she writes, shoots photos and lives in New York City, but is pictured here in Ernesto Guevara’s childhood bathroom. www.ellenknuti.com

Aaron Farley works out of Los Angeles, where he shot Adam Carolla, his family and his Lamborghini, inside his house in the Hills. His favorite design piece at this moment is Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel. www.aaronfarley.com

Photographer Chris Moore lives and works in London, UK. For this issue of Design Bureau, he shot design critic Alice Rawsthorn inside her home. He lists his favorite designer as Margaret Howell for her simple designs and beautiful fashion campaign images. www.chrismoorephoto.co.uk

DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

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DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

ESTABLISHED & SONS The British housewares company experiments with both new and traditional design processes.

Established & Sons has long been known for sophisticated offerings in their signature and principle collections, and their new line Estd is no exception. Inherent in each piece are the company’s key values: design integrity, economy and purposefulness. Repeated forms, shapes and color palettes forge the collection’s coherent aesthetic. By focusing on these aspects of design, Established & Sons offers fresh home furnishings that embody the key characteristics of the strong, contemporary designs for which they have become known.

WRONGWOODS by SEBASTIAN WRONG and RICHARD WOODS WrongWoods combines designer Sebastian Wrong’s utilitarian cabinets with artist Richard Woods’ bright woodblock prints. The credenza, reminiscent of 1950s furniture, is an especially fitting vehicle for the mid-century inspired patterns. Available in three of Woods’ signature colors, WrongWoods is an intriguing storage option well-suited for contemporary interiors.

Established & Sons, prices available upon request, www.establishedandsons.com

AUDREY VASE

by MICHAEL EDEN Inspired by the sculpture Continuous Profile of Mussolini, the Audrey Vase reworks the infamous leader’s powerful profile into one that represents Audrey Hepburn’s classic beauty. All of the pieces of the vase are individually hand-blown and its form features dual walls of glass.

DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

CORONA LIGHT by FRANK Corona light is an homage to the vintage Crown Silvered incandescent lightbulb. Made from glazed earthenware, its pendant shape eliminates glare and fills its surroundings with an atmospheric glow.

HANG by the ESTD COLLECTION A gentle pull unfolds this coat stand, expanding its concertina pattern to its full width. A highly purposeful piece of furniture, its design allows for the hanging of many garments on its hooks at one time, and is compact enough to be easily stored and transported.

TABLE by CARUSO ST. JOHN Cerebral, postmodern architectural details inspired Table’s beautifully understated form. Constructed from engineered timber, the muteness of the joints make the table look almost abstract, simply like a picture of a table.

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DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

STEFAN STRuMBEL The pop artist distorts conservative German home and religious values by radically reworking the traditional Black Forest cuckoo clock.

The Strumbel clock draws upon the bright colors and gritty graphic images present in German sprayed street art. “It's obvious that my color concept is inspired by pop art,” asserts Strumbel. “The spray can as a traditional urban art tool gave me the chance to develop the color composition in a very playful manner.” The designer believes that spraying advances, rather than subverts, cuckoo clock fabrication. “The clocks are really original cuckoo clocks, crafted based on my concepts and realized by specialists in the Black Forest. As a final step, I pimp the clocks with the spray can.” Strumbel also inserts pop culture symbols, such as hand grenades and AK-47s, into his designs.

The colorful end products turn the customary timepieces into a fun object made to comment on contemporary culture.

Strumbel Clock, available for exhibition only, www.stefanstrumbel.com

DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

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OrigamiInspired Décor The art of Japanese paper-folding gets an updated twist with products for the home.

Origami first emerged in 17th century Japan and since then, furniture and product designers have found plenty of inspiration through delicate folds, pleats and twists. Origami-inspired items can be found for virtually every room in the home—from a colorful plastic chair to an intricately folded wall hanging.

Lindsey Gregory is an Atlanta-based freelance writer.

Visit her Web site at www.lindsey-gregory.com.

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Clouds wall tiles, €290-805, Kvadrat Foscarini Rock Suspension Lamp, $740, Diesel Real Good Chair, $129, Blu Dot

www.kvadratclouds.com, www.diesel.foscarini.com, www.bludot.com

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DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

Naoto fukasawa For Naoto Fukasawa, good design doesn’t always happen with the first draft. “When you try to draw a circle, you draw it many times.

At first it’s not perfect, so you do it many times. My imagination of the products [I design] is like that—it’s not perfect,” says the Japanese designer.

His contemporary, industrial design products are created with the specific purpose of improving upon everyday life. Of the Piccola Papilio chair, he says it “holds you like a teddy bear and makes it very quiet,” and on his single slot toaster he says, “If you’re eating or cooking just for yourself, I love it. It’s a suggestion—[simple] life is better for you.”

"Good design means not leaving traces of the designer and not overworking the design." - Naoto Fukasawa

Piccola Papilio chair and ottoman, $2,195 Awa table, $1,122 Bunch flower vase, $408

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DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

REveal WATCH Watch designer Daniel Will-Harris looks to hide the passage of time with the Reveal Watch. The timepiece, available in both silver and black stainless steel, allows the current time to be read through a hole in a disk that displays the watch’s hour and minute hands while covering the rest of the numbers. By concealing the majority of the watch face, Will-Harris hopes it will encourage watch wearers to focus only on the present. “The real core of my design is to distill things down to their essence. When you really distill something down to its essence, it’s more potent.”

Another of Will-Harris’ recent creations was inspired by, and in partnership with, the Museum of Modern Art. According to Will-Harris, the Fritted Watch incorporates “little gestures” evident in architect Yoshio Taniguchi’s redesign of the MoMA building. The watch captures the glass fritting of the building’s windows and applies it to the face of the watch on a miniaturized scale. “The windows were a direct precedent for the watch. The way that fritted windows frame views through screens makes for very modern moments.”

Reveal Watch, $90, www.momastore.org

“The real core of my design is to distill things down to their essence. When you really distill something down to its essence, it’s more potent.”

- Daniel Will-Harris

DESIGN BUREAU MAGAZINE:

Inspiring Dialogue on Design

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DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

MOUTON COLLET French jewelry designers Matthieu Mouton and Nicolas Collet aim to tell stories with MoutonCollet, their eponymous line of necklaces, lariats, cufflinks and bracelets.

Their new collection Bords de Mer is inspired by fantasies of the sea. “The story results from an imaginary adventure which we had during a walk on the beaches of the North Sea,” state the designers. “Totally alone, a gray sky, a thick fog and intense wind, we were caught dreaming about cavalry.” Mouton and Collet feel that these types of stories unleash their inner creativity as designers. “We are anarchists of the imagination. The creativity, the emotion, and [the] violence [of stories] is a way of asserting a freedom of expression total and inescapable.”

The resulting pieces capture the essence of these imagined adventures by using naval motifs and rugged materials, such as brushed silver, gourmette chain and black and blue enamels.

Left, Matthieu Mouton, Right, Nicolas Collet MoutonCollet, €150-450, www.moutoncollet.com.

DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

Tom Dixon's void light Tom Dixon introduces the Void Light, part of his Industry collection launched at Superstudio Più at the Milan Salone Del Mobile 2010. In order to create the light’s dimpled shape, Dixon first presses, and then spins and brazes each metal sheet. The process results in Void Light’s 3D-disk form and reflective surface, evoking the iconic design of bronze, silver and gold Olympic medals. Void Light is available in copper, polished stainless steel and brass.

Void Light, £250, www.tomdixon.com

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DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

plain air purifier Patrick Norguet’s Plain Air purifier combines cutting-edge air purification technology with high-end design style. The wall-mounted unit filters air as it passes through its “central mouth,” purifying the air while consuming little energy. Commissioned by clean air product and technology companies TLV, Alhstrom and Philips, Norguet designed Plain Air with both the hospital and the home in mind. “The hospital is a highly technological environment and can be dehumanizing,” says Norguet.

“There is a need to introduce softness and more poetry because the environment is so serious.” Combined with its smart technology, Plain Air’s elegant design aesthetic improves the environment where it's placed through both its function and its form.

Plain Air purifier, price upon request, www.patricknorguet.com.

The Plain Air wall unit purifies indoor air with its miniaturized photocatalysis oxidation system.

It offers low mercury rate light sources, and boasts a long lifespan, few maintenance requirements and low energy and parts consumption.

Plain Air aims to improve its users' well-being in full respect of sustainable development.

DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

EMERGENCY COCKTAIL STATION Designer Darin Montgomery of Urbancase strives to make small spaces more livable through his wall-mounted wet bar, the Emergency Cocktail Station. “The bar is a throwback to the cocktail culture, when people would mingle over a drink,” says Montgomery.

The small box, measuring a mere 32” by 16” by 7”, was designed to house only the most necessary items for cocktail hour, providing space for just a few glasses, basic bar tools and up to four liquor bottles. The designer modeled the cocktail case after the shape of Berlin subway panels. “It is inspired by the safety and utilitarian compartment styles [of the signs].” The bar directly references these design inspirations through its rounded corners and the sunken cross on the front door panel. Says Montgomery: “The [emergency] cross came about at the last stage. It just made sense that it would take the shape of a first-aid kit.” The compactness of the design, coupled with its sleek aesthetic and sturdy construction, makes for a product that Montgomery hopes will be used to mix fine libations for many (emergency) happy hours to come.

The GHOST of a CHAIR Designer Valentina Gonzalez Wohlers channels the spirit of otherworldly beings with her creation, The Ghost of a Chair. Although the chair appears to be covered by a fine slip of cloth, a closer look reveals that the chair was never really there at all. Each chair is delicately handcrafted with transparent polyester and is made to order.

Lindsey Gregory

Emergency Cocktail Station, $850, www.urbancase.com. The Ghost of a Chair, price upon request, www.valentinagw.com

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DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

MINJJOO DOOR German product designers Johannes Müller and Johannes Marmon, the creative partnership behind jjoo design, enjoy imagining alternative possibilities for doors.

Exhibiting such possibility is the minjjoo door, functioning as a combined entryway adapted to the body scales of both adults and children.

The duo designed the door after recalling their childhood desire for smaller doorways.

“We remembered ourselves being small humans and how great it would have been to have had our own access to wherever...at

least it feels now like it would have been nice to have had it,” say Müller and Marmon.

A collaboration with door manufacturer Holitsch allowed them to control the entire design and production processes of the minjjoo. Bilateral door hinges enable the doors to swing open separately, and a white chalkboard coating converts the door’s surface into an erasable whiteboard on which children can create their own works of art. The door is available in both standard and custom sizes, and can be hung in an existing or custom-designed doorframe.

Design Dossier: Graphic Design Paintbox Press debuts a line of books focused on getting children interested in design.

Graphic Design, the latest installment in the Design Dossier book series, introduces children to the ways that shape, size, color and typography combine to create the graphic identities found in everyday life. By teaching kids about the fundamental elements of graphic design, it is hoped that they will gain the knowledge necessary to translate ideas into realities.

Other kid-friendly design titles include Product Design, Interior Design, Environmental Design and Architecture.

design dossiers

TM

dossier:

[doss’-ee-ay] a collection of papers or files, giving detailed information about a particular person or subject. source: french, a bundle of documents, labeled on the back / dos (back) from Latin dorsum

Minjjoo door, coming soon. www.holitsch.de, Design Dossier: Graphic Design, $24, www.paintboxpress.com

DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

TREE BOOKSHELF “A tree becomes a book becomes a tree”—a phrase Seoul-based designer Shawn Soh came up with to describe her Tree Bookshelf, a design she created after recalling a particularly vivid childhood dream: she stuck long sheets of folded paper into branches that then turned into a blooming tree. The customizable bookshelf is made to order, and is perfect for the design-conscious parent or child hoping to grow magical dreams of their own.

Lindsey Gregory

Tree Bookshelf, price upon request, www.designartist.co.kr

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DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

ETAT LIBRE D’ORANGE French for “Free State of Orange,” the perfumerie puts a spin on fragrances with racy themes and unique scent combinations.

Etienne De Swardt, the mastermind behind Etat Libre d'Orange, ackknowledges his line is different than others, not because of its sometimes x-rated themes, but due to its high quality. “When craftsmanship replaces industry and marketing concepts, perfumes become unexpected and totally unique,” says de Swardt. Taking this belief as the core for his work, Etat Libre d’Orange combines notes such as almond, sugar cane, and marshmallow in revolutionary proportions.

Each perfume also sports an equally unexpected name, with bold titles such as Magnificent Secretions, Unknown Soldier, and Hotel Slut. The monikers are meant to project the sensuality embodied in each perfume, aiming to appeal to a daring consumer. “Discovering Etat Libre d'Orange perfumes is an incitement to giving free rein to desire, to the most intimate secrets and obsessions,” says de Swardt. “[It’s] an enticement to wear sexuality like a second skin, to wear it like a dare.”

De Swardt gave the French graphic design duo Ich&Kar carte blanche when it came to developing a visual identity for Etat Libre d’Orange. They chose to depict the scents with cheeky illustrations to match the racy monikers.

Right: Real Blonde, Fat Electrician, and Hotel Slut.

Opposite: Incense & Bubblegum.

“[It’s] an enticement to wear sexuality like a second skin, to wear it like a dare.”

- Etienne De Swardt, Founder

DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

Etat Libre d’Orange perfumes, $80 for 50 ml, www.etatlibredorange.com

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DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

toys BY DESIGN Spencer Hansen, Blamo Toys Blamo Toys takes its cues from the culture of Bali, the mountains of Idaho, and the synergistic art scene of San Francisco—all places in which Blamo’s nomadic founder Spencer Hansen splits his time. He found that while the energy of the toy art scene excited him, he was put off by its mercurial qualities. So in 2007, Hansen founded Blamo to create more organic, enduring objects designed to outlast fickle fads. Bali, with its rich history of ceremonies and rituals, proved to be an intriguing and grounding “home away from home” for Hansen. At once productive and challenging, Hansen felt that the island was alive with an exciting passion—one that has since played heavily into the Blamo design aesthetic.

"I enjoy working with wood, metal, glass, leather, and other materials that feel real," says Hansen. "A good toy design is a toy you want to touch.” Although Hansen uses natural elements, Blamo’s art objects are informed more by contemporary culture than folk art. Materials and inspiration are nearly indistinguishable to Hansen, and he collects both from around the world. "I was walking down the beach in Indonesia and kept

DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

brooks BIKE Saddles

Hansen's "sidekick in adventures," Major Mars.

“A good toy design is a toy you want to touch.”

- Spencer Hansen, Blamo Toys finding light bulbs and bottle caps," he says.

"Eventually, they became the glass heads for Major Mars and the arms for Mr. Cappy.” Mr. Cappy's rusty bottle cap limbs hold individual histories, anchored together by hand-cast brass and resin torsos. The original Major Mars figure combined the found-object light bulbs with luxurious sheepskin leather. (A revamped Major Mars sporting a silver leather spacesuit and a blown-glass head was released in March of 2010.) One of Hansen's favorite Blamo creations is Rice Baby, a time and space traveler made from leather, brass, and rice.

Leather artisan Kara Ginther started creating hand-carved bike saddles with the intention of showing off design’s imperfections and wound up starting her own bike seat company. The designer, who says she finds inspiration from ancient textiles, embraces the imperfections and unique marks that come from hand-detailing. “I believe that it is important to maintain the hand of the artist in my work, and carving leather lends itself so well to this,” she explains. Ginther handcarves all of her bike saddles using fine woodcarving tools, a process that can take up to two weeks to complete. The intricacy in Ginther’s work is achieved by shaving off a thin layer from the leather’s surface, creating rich color and textural contrasts. “The process demands so much concentration. I often cannot afford to make even one mistake,” she says. Her meticulous work process translates into beautifully complex designs that elevate the mundane bike saddle to an extraordinary design object.

Outside of making toys, Hansen also produces a line of adult knit onesies that allow fans to actually embody their favorite characters.

Hansen, who graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute, says he first conceived of the idea after wearing a knit bunny onesie for the entire duration of his freshman year at Utah State. Now, when he encounters people who can't conceive of the fun in wearing an adult onesie, Hansen responds: "I'd take their measurements and ask: bunny ears or monkey tail?”

Jeremy Brautman is a regular contributor to several toy and trends blogs, and currently serves as Toy Maven to San Francisco’s Neon Monster. www.jeremyriad.com

Blamo Toys, pricing upon request, www.blamotoys.com Custom Brooks bike saddles, $99-400, www.karaginther.com

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DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

THE FAMILY FIVE: Michael Renaud of Mr. Design Co. The Post Family interviews Chicago-based Michael Renaud of multi-disciplinary studio Mr. Design Co. and design talk show, Show ’n Tell.

Design Studio) and his brother Seth (who is semi-professionally hilarious and foils all self-indulgent design speak with his "Spokesmom" character—a spokesmodel who is also everybody’s mother). We invite a handful of designers, photographers and illustrators to come on and talk about one project and its process. We try to focus on humor and humility in design.

I’ve always had a hard time working in the music industry as a designer (Renaud is a drummer in band Tiger Bones). Care to share some tips and or experiences?

Michael Renaud operates a small art and design studio in Chicago that specializes in branding, graphic design and identity work.

Q+A by Chad Kouri Each month The Post Family interviews a new designer/studio with the goal that they reveal all of their most secret wisdom so that we may learn to be as radical as them. www.thepostfamily.com

Do you get your inspiration from anything other than graphic design? Like furniture? Or fashion? Or paper mâché sculptures?

Yeah, totally. I mean, colors and shapes and spatial relationships can really happen by way of being exposed to great interiors, nature, fashion, etc. I especially keep up with a lot of style mags and blogs. What people wear is such a personal and emotional statement, and I don’t think you can get palette and dynamic inspiration from anything with such a broad spectrum of culture. I’m also very inspired by comedy—early and mid-tolate nineties SNL, Kids in the Hall, Monty Python, Caddyshack, Dr. Katz, Larry David, Mitch Hedberg, Eddie Murphy, Louis C.K. ...

I could seriously go on forever. Writing jokes is really similar to being a designer. For me, Farley and Dangerfield are way more inspiring than [Milton] Glaser and [Paul] Rand.

But I find myself getting more inspiration from experiences that don’t necessarily have aesthetic value, but somehow translate back to the design process. It’s like this kind of ambient intuition that develops…like when you’re doing something, such as making a wrong turn while driving, and you get that weird urge to hit Apple+Z, you know?

It’s pretty common to get the majority of your work through personal connections, and I’ve been playing in bands since I was 13. Most of the friendships I’ve made have been as a result of playing music. Making tape covers at Kinko’s and flyers on MS Paint in high school led to screen-printing posters in college, and I guess it was just a natural progression after that. It’d be like if you lived in Donut Village and just hung out with people in the doughnut industry all the time and all you thought about was eating doughnuts and making doughnuts and just like doughnuts, doughnuts, doughnuts. And you kind of liked art on the side.

Then you’d just be doing all of these doughnut boxes and websites by the time you were 31.

But the smart-ass answer would be to join a band and work harder at that than design.

What is the most untraditional tool in your designer toolbox?

Tell us about Show ‘n Tell.

Alphabet Thesaurus Vol. 2 - A Treasury of Letter Design, which was published in 1960.

I’ve scanned, traced, shot, re-drawn and vectorized so much stuff out of this thing it’s ridiculous. It’s hard to find, and expensive if you can track it down, so I feel like it’s this special little private thing I can access.

I wouldn’t normally think it to be untraditional, but it continues to baffle me how many young designers don’t consider using or working with anything that isn’t inside of their computer.

It’s a seasonal design talk show I host, alongside my friends Zach Dodson (who runs featherproof books and Bleached Whale

Was there a specific instance in which your inability to have a perfect connection on a high five really let you down?

DESIGN BUREAU // Informer 2

I don’t have that inability! There’s a trick.

Look at the other person’s elbow. Just look at their elbow and it will always connect. Your insecure hand is gonna thank me.

BONUS QUESTION: What do you enjoy most about Chicago’s design scene?

What’s true about Chicago in general—the people here are selfless, hard-working and funny. Designers find value in collaboration, promoting others and advancing the craft before they find it in money or some kind of weird niche fame. We’re all really lucky.

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Gig poster for Gay Baby Poster for The Hideout’s Immediate Sound Series.

The Hideout’s Immediate Sound Series in detail

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BUREAU EXPERT: Anne Havinga, Curator, MFA Boston Avedon Fashion 1944-2000 reflects legendary photographer Richard Avedon's strong perspective and intricate work processes as he captured some of fashion’s most high-profile women. Anne Havinga, the Estrellita and Yousuf Karsh Senior Curator of Photographs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, heads the show at the MFA Boston.

Why did you decide to bring the Richard Avedon show to the MFA, Boston?

Richard Avedon was one of the most important fashion photographers of the 20th century and we are thrilled to present this exhibition in Boston. Originally organized by the International Center of Photography and the Avedon Foundation, we wanted it to come to Boston because the MFA has long had a strong interest in fashion. The Museum has major holdings of fashionable dress in its collections, and our curators have organized a number of fashion photography exhibitions, including the show Fashion Photography I did a few years ago.

Anne Havinga has organized numerous exhibitions during her 20 years as curator at the MFA Boston.

Instead of representing models in static poses, Avedon used movement to infuse his images with dynamism, energy, spontaneity and charm. The playful exuberance of his work and its strong graphic quality made it greatly appealing. The art directors at Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue could not get enough of his imagery.

Avedon’s photographs are lively, optimistic, exciting, innovative and tremendously powerful.

What do Avedon’s fashion images communicate?

He had an instinctual eye for what made dressing up special, and he loved to show images of women living exciting, glamorous lives. He captured these women sitting in a Paris café, flirting with lovers and dancing madly. This was an ideal of the modern American woman—one of wit, individuality and fast-paced glamour. In 1957, Hollywood honored Avedon in the movie Funny Face, in which Fred Astaire played the role of fashion photographer Dick Avery, based on Avedon and Audrey Hepburn portrayed his muse, Jo Stockton, based on model Suzy Parker. Richard Avedon has been an important role model for high-profile fashion photographers, and still is today.

How is the work shown in the gallery so that it can communicate Avedon’s perspective?

Q+A by Kathryn Freeman Rathbone Photo courtesy of MFA Boston

The show is presented by decade, so visitors will be able to see the breadth of Avedon’s work

and its evolution from the mid 1940s until 2000 (Avedon died in 2004). His portrayals from the 1950s capture the elegance of Dior’s “New Look,” with its cinched waists and voluminous skirts. His images of the 1960s record the geometric, mod styles of Courréges, Cardin and others. In 1992, Avedon was named the first staff photographer for The New Yorker.

His post-apocalyptic fashion fable In Memory of the Late Mr. and Mrs. Comfort was published in that magazine.

There’s a wonderful range in scale among the works in the exhibition—some very large, some small—and they are installed in the gallery in a spacious and elegant manner. The Avedon Foundation likes his final works to be hung by themselves in order to give them space and air; they are so strong visually that they would otherwise compete with each other.

Why are documents such as Avedon’s contact sheets and magazine layouts included within the show?

The documentary material shows how Avedon thought out his compositions, and the magazine spreads reveal the final layout of his work.

Viewers can follow Avedon’s working method through proof sheets depicting his “shoot” sequences, in which the photographer and model are shown trying out a variety of positions.

He may have started out knowing that he could make a great picture with a dynamic model, but he would try a few things out until he got the precise one. The exhibition also includes some of the many striking Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue covers that Avedon created, which reveal his ability to create superb, upbeat images with tremendous graphic punch.

Donyale Luna, dress by Paco Rabanne, New York, December 1966 2. Penelope Tree, dress by Cardin, Paris, January 1968 3. Dovima, evening dress by Fath, Paris, August 1950 4. Suzy Parker, Avedon's muse 1.

Photographs by Richard Avedon © The Richard Avedon Foundation

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BUREAU EXPERT: Ruthie Davis, Shoe Designer Whether designing soaring heels or stylish flats, shoe designer Ruthie Davis approaches it as an architect would a skyscraper: by first planning the foundation and building up from there.

Her interesting and sometimes hazardous (when covered in spikes) designs have landed her in good company—she was featured in Harper's Bazaar as one of the top seven shoe designers in the world, along with Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin and Brian Atwood. Ruthies, as she’s nicknamed her kicks, have made repeat customers out of celebrities like Lady GaGa, Beyonce, and Alicia Keys, making her an expert when it comes to finely crafted footwear.

In your opinion, what goes into making a good stiletto?

First and foremost, the stiletto needs to look amazing on a woman. When she puts it on, she should instantly be transformed into a supermodel. This means the shoe should elongate her leg, flatter her foot and ankle and enhance the overall appearance of the woman. You should see the woman first and go “Wow!” and then notice the shoes. In order to do this, the lines of the shoe are critical. The shape of the upper needs to show just enough of the foot to be flattering, but should not be too fussy as to overtake the woman’s overall appearance. And the heel needs to be high enough to elongate her look, but not be out of proportion and make her leg look off-kilter. I think a platform in the front is critical on a stiletto heel because this makes the shoe more comfortable for the woman. This, too, is key to making a good stiletto—a woman does not need to cripple herself in the process of looking hot!

What goes into making a good flat?

Q+A by Kaira Townsend Photos by Noah Kalina

For me, it’s all about either sky-high or flat shoes— there is really nothing in between! I also don’t discriminate when I make flats. I like to make them really special and put the same sort of details or treatments you would find on my stilettos into my flats as well. It’s also really important to make sure the cuts and lines of these shoes also flatter the foot because much more of the foot shows in a flat.

How can you tell a good shoe from a cheap one?

First and foremost is where the shoe is made—that is the key. The easiest way is to turn a shoe over and look for the “Made in Italy” stamp, as this will assure good quality.

It will also indicate if the outsole is made in leather; a genuine Italian leather outsole is also indicative of high quality. It will wear well and last forever, if you take care of [the shoes]. It may say Vero Cuoio (real leather) on the outsole. You can also look at the stitch lines and see if they are fine and tight.

Look at the edging to see whether there is any glue showing or wrinkles. Another key thing to look for is the shape of the shoe. A high quality shoe will have beautiful lines and look sleek and pretty, whereas a lower quality shoe may look blocky and rougher, not as fine.

Does expensive always mean high quality?

I really believe in shoes it does. You get what’s put into the shoe, and more expensive shoes are that way for a reason: it means that more money went into producing these particular shoes. It’s like when you’re dealing with a car: if it’s not good, it will break down. Shoes are the same way; they carry you. They’re underneath you. If they’re not good, then they will break down. If the shoe is made in Italy and is expensive, then there is most likely a legitimate reason to justify the expense. A lot of people don’t understand the costs that go into making shoes. Every new heel, every platform on the forefoot, every custom ornament on the upper—they all require mold costs that are very expensive and you need to create and pay for many different molds for all of the different shoe sizes being offered. A lot of the new types of shoes you see where the platforms are totally hidden or shoes that feature double platforms—these sorts of things make the shoe much more expensive, and more expensive to make.

DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

Ruthie Davis inside her Chelsea, Manhattan studio.

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All about Ruthie Davis lets us in on what it has taken to become one of the leading ladies of shoe design.

How did you get your start in shoes?

Growing up, I sketched shoes. I owned a gazillion shoes. I wrote papers in school about shoe companies. I always drew buildings and shoes. And then it got to this point in high school where I had amassed this ridiculous collection of shoes—so much so, that my father was telling me that I was simply ridiculous. That’s how I knew I would be involved with shoes. My first job in the footwear industry was actually with Reebok. I am a certified shoe freak.

Where do you find your inspiration?

The lines. I love all kinds of modern architecture. In fact, I used to think I wanted to be an architect, and now when I design shoes, I often think of them as little buildings. I’m an architect of shoes. I’m also really into sports and I’m inspired by high tech, aerodynamic athletic gear with pops of bright neon colors and racing stripes. And I find myself heavily influenced by 1960s Italian thriller films,

where the female heroine is decked out in mini dresses and knee-skimming boots.

My muse is actually Eva Kant from Danger Diabolik, the Italian comic book series. I guess I am a visionary type of person who is always imagining life as a futuristic Bond girl in a one-piece cat suit, living in a modern spacecraft-like house with shoes that are to die for.

Who’s your favorite non-clothing designer?

Architect Richard Neutra Who’s your favorite clothing designer?

Honestly, I’m not a big wearer of brand-name clothing. I like the basic things, like basic tees and tanks. I do love American Apparel.

I also own a lot of Moncler jackets—I love jackets and blazers. Before I started my collection, I would wear other designers, but honestly, as time went by, I stopped wearing them and started wearing my own designs, and eventually it got to the point where all I was really wearing were my own shoes.

But I do think Balenciaga makes the coolest shoes. Nicolas Ghesquière does some amazing things. And YSL shoes—I’ve always loved YSL shoes.

Above: A sketch of the Sick shoe from Davis' Fall 2010 collection.

Facing page from left: Tatt, Jag, Pierced Sapphire, Stud, Spike and Spike detail.

DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

Ruthie Davis: “I could do a light jog in my shoes if I had to....that is my test.”

Tell us, for example, what went into creating the intricate spike bootie in your 2010 fall collection?

I was already feeling spikes and studding and the whole rock ‘n roll sensibility, but I wanted to take that a step further…I’m always wanting more! I wanted to put spikes that were taller than any I had seen [before], and I wanted to add studs, jewels and Swarovski crystals to it, which was like adding a little disco in the mix. I had to create a mold for the tall spike and design a special heel to accommodate the crystals and the spikes coming out of it. My vision for the shoe was to have the spikes and crystals coming out of the back like fire or little jets, almost propelling the girl forward. From the front you see only a sleek black bootie, with a hint of the spikes coming out of the shoe, but once she walks past you it’s like, “Bam! Don’t mess with me!’

Where is the line? And how far are you willing to push it?

I see the line being a shoe that is so high and so out of proportion that a woman cannot

walk in it. I’m all about girl power and feeling like a million bucks, but you’ve got to be able to move in the shoes—movement is such a big part of wearing a fabulous pair of shoes. I think of shoes not as just a sexy fashion accessory, but also as a vehicle on your foot; it should have a sleek and aerodynamic look, like a top-of-the-line Porsche.

In all of my shoes, I can do a light jog in them if I had to…that is my test. Not being able to move is not sexy.

What’s your advice for the non-shoe girl? What should she know? What should she buy?

Take it up a notch! I always hear women saying, “Oh, I can’t wear a heel that high” or, “Oh, I could never wear that.” My advice would be, Yes you can! I would tell that girl to push herself a little bit to buy a shoe that she may think is too colorful, too sexy, too high or too expensive. She will then realize that she can spend less money on her clothes or other items because once she puts on the amazing pair of shoes, they will transform her and nothing else really matters. She will instantly feel gorgeous and glamorous and confident.

Details denoting Quality Craftsmanship: ·· Where the shoe is made is key.

Look for “Made in Italy” mark ·· Vero Cuoio, or genuine leather stamped into outsole ·· No glue or wrinkles showing on the edging ·· Clean, sleek lines—the shoe should not appear block-like ·· Platform in the front will make stilettos more comfortable ·· Custom detailing and treatments will ensure extra attention to design ·· Tight, fine stitch lines ·· Heel should elongate a woman’s leg, but not be disproportionate ·· Shoe should flatter the overall appearance of the woman ·· A shoe should not be so tall that a woman cannot walk in it

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BUREAU EXPERT: Steven Heller, Art Director and Author Heller gives Design Bureau his two cents on all things design.

I like the give and take between author and designer. But sometimes, the presentation is critical to the story. More and more this is happening.

You’ve talked about fertile periods between new technologies and the moment when suits takes over. So, in your opinion, have the suits taken over certain technologies— social media, iPad, digital magazines?

The suits are always the ones who think they know better than designers when it comes to marketing and promoting products. Maybe they’re right, maybe wrong. But I believe you need to balance the business and creative aspects of design. One without the other is like cereal without milk.

What is the most spectacular advertising campaign ever?

“You Don’t Have to Be Jewish to Love Levy’s —Real Jewish Rye” and The Volkswagen “Think Small”. In both cases, stereotyped brands were totally transformed in public perception. These lead the way in total transformative manipulation. There are many that do this today, but these were the paradigm shifters.

What three digital design conversations should be abandoned?

Steven Heller is co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author Department at the School of Visual Arts, the Special Consultant to the President of SVA for New Programs, and writes the Visuals column for the New York Times Book Review.

Q+A by Kristin Lamprecht Illustration by Serifan Ozican

What makes a good designer?

Bad type, bad type and bad type.

I don’t believe there is one good answer. For some, a good designer is a brilliant aesthetician, for others, it is a keen strategist. I’d say a good designer is ostensibly an “artist” who understands the needs of an audience and produces products (graphic, 3D, motion, etc.) to meet the needs of that audience by elevating their standards of acceptance. In short (or long), it is someone who can make something from nothing, shinola from shit, that has social and cultural value. Of course, that’s a lot to heap on one individual, but a good designer should be a great creator when it comes to matching product to need.

What are the top five things employers look when hiring young designers?

Should authors have a say in how their work is presented?

The five Es: energy, enthusiasm, elegance, eccentricity and elation when the job is done well.

Is it more important that designers are creative or on time for work?

Do you really have a choice?

If I own InDesign and I know how to use some of the buttons, can I call myself a designer?

Never! I don’t own InDesign, but I am a designer—or was a designer. Tools make the craft, not the aesthetics or conception.

frei autumn 2010

DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

freidesigns.com

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The Doblin House was built inside the ruins of a screen printing factory, with only the common brick walls intact.

DESIGN THINKING

Industrial Living How Valerio Dewalt Train Associates transformed a factory in ruins and a concrete skyscraper into modern, luxurious homes

Chicago-based architecture firm Valerio Dewalt Train Associates’ portfolio features a remarkable range of work, from the luxurious Sixteen restaurant in the Trump Hotel to campuses for corporate giants like eBay and Google. So making the shift to minimalist, stripped-down residential design work required a new level of creativity and commitment for the firm.

THE DOBLIN HOUSE Valerio wanted to do something dramatic with The Doblin House project, so he took the shell of a dilapidated 1940s-era factory that had previously housed a silk-screen T-shirt company and decided to transform it into a private home. The problem was that since it had been abandoned, the roof had fallen in and pushed the exterior walls outward, making the frame very unstable. Although the architects couldn’t salvage this part of the front façade, they installed two galvanized metal scissor doors, which were in line with the neighborhood’s industrial-meetsresidential vibe and maintained the factory appeal. The doors were used to animate the façade and to conceal a garage and private garden space within the existing building’s

masonry walls. “The frame is a sling, but we made it as light and ethereal as possible,” explains founding partner Joe Valerio.

Text by Murrye Bernard

One theme that resonates throughout The Doblin House is the tension between opposites, visible in the perforated metal decking and exposed brick walls, which add texture and are contrasted by smooth, sealed concrete floors, custom millwork and an expanse of glass framing views of the garden. Virtually no interior partitions divide the space, which is bracketed only by a bath and kitchen in opposite corners, resulting in what Valerio describes as one space that flows together, as minimally as they could design it. “It’s about subtraction, not addition,” he says. The Doblin House went on to become the winner of the American Institute of Architects— Chicago Chapter Award.

1401 STATE STREET On the other end of the residential spectrum, VDTA designed a new high-rise apartment on Chicago's State Street. Valerio and his team exposed the concrete structural frame of the interior of the apartments and common spaces, but included special details like the

Opposite page: Interior of the Doblin House

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Valerio and his team installed two galvanized metal scissor doors, which kept the neighborhood’s industrialmeets-residential vibe and the original structure's factory aesthetic. The scissor doors functioned both as a way to conceal the garage and private garden space within the existing building’s masonry walls, and to animate the home's façade in a unique way.

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The scissor doors of the Doblin House The Doblin House's steel frame exterior

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The Doblin House is enclosed by a warped steel frame suspended from the surrounding masonry walls and supported in the center by a grid of columns. The interior of the home is anchored by a back/dressing room in one corner and the kitchen in the other.

Detailing like slate stones and floor-to-ceiling windows soften the industrial look, and bring the outdoors inside.

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The sleek interior of The Doblin House includes acccents like slate stones.

The Whirlpool Corporation Sales Center An interior look at an apartment in 1401 State Street.

The façade of the 23-story high-rise 1401 State Street.

A look at the lobby inside of1401 State St.

impressions of the board forms and rounded columns. Vibrant colors also lend warmth to the concrete surfaces, and floor-to-ceiling glass reveals breathtaking city views.

Valerio admits, however, that the project came in over budget on the first pass. To fix this, he met with a plumbing contractor and asked him, ‘How can I make your job easier and faster?’ By making simple adjustments behind the walls, such as eliminating risers, Valerio was able to cut the plumbing costs in half without sacrificing comfort or style.

Murrye Bernard is a freelance architecture writer in New York City. www.murrye.com

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WOW: The World of Whirlpool Valerio Dewalt Train Associates recently designed a sales center for the Whirlpool Corporation by transforming a landmark masonry building into a high-tech showroom for appliance design.

The new facility, overlooking the Chicago River, provides presentation space for product development and features a new penthouse roof terrace.

VDTA engaged audio/visual consulting firm AVTEG to incorporate high-tech details befitting a cutting-edge Fortune 500 company. Seven Whirlpool display kitchens feature digital, interactive signage and video monitoring displays to show pre-recorded content and computer presentations, and two functioning demonstration kitchens were designed to allow for productions on par with those of the Food Network.

Although the team placed an emphasis on careful coordination between AV components and the architects’ selection of high-level finishes and overall design, the real challenge, according to AVTEG President Lloyd Kozel, was “adding innovative AV requirements in a traditional, historic building.”

This was especially true of the technological components serving the roof terrace, which is set back from the façade to avoid altering the building’s exterior and competing with its distinctive clock tower. Kozel borrowed technology from the residential market, including speakers camouflaged as flowerpots.

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Designing within Wright One architect's challenge to create new spaces within the Frank Lloyd Wrightdesigned Guggenheim Museum

Being picked as the firm to design two restaurants inside Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim museum—regarded by design enthusiasts as the standard by which all other architects should be measured—was a privilege not lost on Kikoski. “It was both an incredible honor and an exhilarating challenge,” he says. Kikoski's Manhattan-based firm was tasked with designing The Wright, a 1,600-square foot upscale restaurant on the ground floor of the museum, and Cafe 3, an 850-square foot espresso and snack bar adjacent to the permanent Kandinsky Gallery on the third floor.

where else, but [one that] meshed within the Guggenheim,” says Anthony. The space features a curvilinear wall of walnut layered with illuminated fiber-optics; a bar created with custom metalwork and topped in white Corian; blue leather seating backed by woven grey texture; and a layered ceiling canopy.

Kikoski says he chose colors and materials that were restrained, yet elegant. “[Kikoski's] vision went hand-in-hand with the original design,” says Anthony. “The Wright appears to be an original wing of the existing structure.” The restaurant, which opened in December 2009, was awarded "Outstanding Restaurant Design" by The James Beard Foundation in 2010.

In order to uphold the modern style of the renowned museum, Kikoski made a personal promise that his design would work with For Cafe 3’s design, Kikoski and his team the existing structure rather than compete sought to create a similar style of work with it. “[The museum] is incredibly pure in that was both “contemporary and compleits expression, and yet rich and refined in its mentary.” To replicate the design ethos of presence,” says the architect. “Every time we the museum’s large structure on a smaller visit, we see a new subtlety in it that deepens scale, Kikoski chose to replicate Wright’s our appreciation of [the building’s] sophisti- “primitive initial”, the football-like shape of the rotunda’s columns and fountain, to cation.” bring energy and movement to the snack To achieve this, Kikoski called on Mark bar. “Our rotated geometries of primitive Anthony of John Celli Custom Furniture & initials produced a multi-tiered canopy.

Design Corp. “Andre wanted a crisp, clean Moving through the space and moving our design, something you wouldn’t see any- eyes across it, [we found] it created some fun

Text by Liza Rush

The Wright restaurant inside the Guggenheim Museum features a curvilinear wall of walnut layered with illuminated fiber-optics; a bar created with custom metalwork and topped in white Corian; blue leather seating backed by woven grey texture; and a layered ceiling canopy. Kikoski says he chose colors and materials that were restrained, yet elegant.

Opposite page: The Wright restaurant inside the Guggenheim Museum.

Photo of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum exterior by David M. Heald. © The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York

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perspectives,” says Kikoski. “The elliptical form that is repeated in the columns, the rotunda fountain and stair tower enclosures, is transposed into the cafe’s elegant espresso bar and attenuated tapered counters.”

Kikoski enlisted the assistance of Christopher Van der Linde of James G. Kennedy & Co. as senior project manager. It was Van der Linde who was able to make Kikoski’s vision into reality. “Andre implemented the architecture from the museum into the restaurant, almost translating something historic through his own eyes,” Van der Linde says. All elements of Cafe 3 were constructed using white Corian, a nonporous solid surface that created a f luid movement throughout the space, one that

was also highly responsive to subtle variations in lighting.

Kikoksi’s thoughtful design process for The Wright and Cafe 3 meshed Wright’s signature architectural style with his own modern spin, resulting in two beautiful additions to the Guggenheim. Both pure, simple and award-winning designs have demonstrated it was no coincidence why the seven-year-old architecture firm was commissioned to create two custom designs within the Guggenheim.

Liza Rush is a Chicago-based freelance writer and designer, and a regular contributor for ALARM. Her work can be found at lizarush.com.

All elements of Cafe 3 were constructed using white Corian, a non-porous solid surface that created a fluid movement throughout the space, one that was also highly responsive to subtle variations in lighting.

Above: Cafe 3 Photo of Guggenheim interior

by David M. Heald. © SRGF, New York.

DESIGN THINKING

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Living in Nature Architect Mell Lawrence's environmental inspiration

“From afar, we see what the forest looks like collectively—a grey silhouette in the distance. Moving closer, details reveal themselves: each individual tree, the leaves, the branches. We can move even closer: as close as the bark, noticing the texture, realizing even at this point, [that] with a magnifying glass or a microscope we could see more," says architect Mell Lawrence, revealing his inspiration to be the symmetry, patterns and colors of nature—all aspects that permeate his home design projects.

Lawrence’s Mod Cott guesthouse in Lake Buchanan, Texas, exemplifies how such a deep look at nature inspires his design, a layered perspective that he says “celebrates the extraordinary within the ordinary.” As in Lawrence’s description of the forest, the Mod Cott house first appears as a simple silhouette. However, when viewed at different angles and distances, more and more is revealed about the home and the ways in which it draws on nature for inspiration.

Clean, vertical lines draw the eye toward the sky, with a broad overhang reaching out into the surrounding environment. Large glass panel windows reflect the landscape and bring nature indoors.

Although Lawrence says his choice of materials came from an aesthetic pull befitting of his preference for modern design, they are extremely practical choices for such a warm climate like Austin, where, according to Lawrence, the heat tends to “fight and beat up” on the exteriors of homes, conditions that are too wearing on regular wood and paint. Lawrence’s design palette includes low maintenance materials like corrugated and galvanized steel, and poured concrete and limestone harvested by local masons, which provide both durability and affordability.

Another project derived from his natural inspiration is Concrete Studio, made entirely, as the name suggests, of poured concrete. The building appears simple from afar and fits in naturally with the surrounding environment, with a raised concrete walkway that winds through the natural foliage. However, more details are revealed as one moves closer to the building itself, with the exterior of the building resembling magnified bark. The exterior of the building is a series of angular planes that come together to form a boulder-like construct. Layers of concrete overlap and create movement, making an almost Cubist surface out of a typically static material.

Text by Caitlin Fitzgibbons

Opposite: The Mod Cott guesthouse in Lake Buchanan, Texas.

DESIGN THINKING

Mell Lawrence: “From afar, we see what the forest looks like collectively— a grey silhouette in the distance.

Moving closer, details reveal themselves: each individual tree, the leaves, the branches. We can move even closer: as close as the bark, noticing the texture, realizing even at this point, [that] with a magnifying glass or a microscope we could see more.”

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Clean, vertical lines draw the eye toward the sky, with a broad overhang reaching out into the surrounding environment. Large glass panel windows reflect the landscape and bring nature indoors.

1. Kitchen inside the Mod Cott guesthouse 2. Mod Cott's faรงade features galvanized steel and large glass panels

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Mell Lawrence: “My feeling about infinite scale in nature makes me feel more free from any doctrine or dogma of style.”

Layers of concrete overlap and create movement, making an almost cubist surface out of a typically static material.

1. Bathroom in the Mod Cott guesthouse 2. Path outside the Mod Cott

Lawrence acknowledges that each of his nature-based projects has a personality all its own. The Wilde Haire Ranch showcases a vibrant red hue on its exterior, created using painted Hardy board, a durable material that holds paint well even in the hot climate.

The exterior color was inspired and selected by the homeowner, a graphic designer.

This back-and-forth creative process is an aspect Lawrence encourages. “I am drawn to modern and minimal architecture, but clients are often not, and I prefer to respond to clients. That’s when the best work is produced,” he says. The bold color choice went on to inspire other such projects, including the

lime green Anita house in Austin, TX. “My feeling about infinite scale in nature makes me feel more free from any doctrine or dogma of style,” Lawrence says.

Just as nature continues to evolve, Lawrence continues to look for what inspires him— starting with a deeply rooted foundation and aiming for limitless growth.

Caitlin Fitzgibbons is currently living and working in Chicago, studying and performing improv, and writing a people-watching column for www.UPChicago.com

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Smart Home Style Jacobsen Architecture's technologydriven renovation projects

"We would have never thought, for example, 10–15 years ago, that we’d be building smart houses,” says architect Simon Jacobsen.

“Now we’re building houses that are not only self-aware, but user-aware.”

One half of the namesake Jacobsen Architecture team, along with father Hugh Newell Jacobsen, the two describe their business partnership as the “best of both worlds,” by incorporating ever-changing technology into their projects and blending it with their signature modern, understated elegance of renovation projects. Examples of the Jacobsens’ smart-home technology at work: a cooling system that senses a need for one-room temperature change rather than the entire house; a bathroom mirror lit from behind by lights that pulse to the beat of music; closet lights built into boxes running parallel to the clothing for more precise illumination.

“There’s a direct relation between architecture and technology,” says Simon Jacobsen.

“No longer do you just have a bedside table.

You have a bedside table that has an electronic element to it.” The electronic table he mentioned features a small wiring station hidden inside to handle all the devices a

person takes to bed: a Kindle, iPod and Blackberry. The unit lights up inside when a person enters the room and changes color when the phone rings.

Integrating sustainability and modernism has always been at the root of the firm, but what makes the father-and-son duo truly unique is the order of classic architecture as seen in their signature white surfaces and exacting, clean lines. Ceilings and floors are laser level; doors are flush to wall surfaces; casings and baseboards are absent. This precision allows Jacobsen Architecture to seamlessly incorporate innovation into everyday life.

Tom Glass, president and owner of Glass Construction and frequent colleague of the Jacobsens, recounts one of the numerous experiences he’s had while renovating historical residences with the team. “The exterior of the house was completely restored to a like-new condition, much like how it looked when it was originally built in 1815, but with the unique juxtaposition of the interior being completely modern.” He appreciates how Jacobsen Architecture integrates technologically efficient equipment into projects while

Text by Katie Weber Schroeder

DESIGN THINKING

Part of Jacobsens' smart home technology includes a cooling system that senses a need for one-room temperature change rather than the entire house.

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DESIGN THINKING

Simon Jacobsen: “We would never have thought...10–15 years ago that we'd be building smart houses. Now we're building houses that are not only self-aware, but user-aware.”

still managing to salvage recycled materials and matching them exactly to fit with exterior additions.

says. Simon notes that their line of furniture and interior objects will hit the market in about a year.

Outside of their architectural projects, the “I think the fact that Jacobsen [Architecture] Jacobsen men have designed their own designs furniture and interiors really allows yet-to-be titled line of home furnishings, them to take the construction of the project inspired by 51 years of custom furniture into consideration, and make decisions that designs for clients. “[The line] is authenti- will ultimately result in a spectacular home,” cally American; it’s not a European influ- says George Collins, president and co-owner ence. It’s influenced by what we’re all doing of Peterson & Collins Inc., a contracting now as a culture in the United States,” he firm specializing in high-end residential

properties. “[Hugh and Simon] consider everything, all the way down to the interior layout, so when you walk into a room, they have already figured out how the furniture patterns and the lighting will be arranged.”

Indeed, Simon Jacobsen states that he and his father approach every project with a road map of the “comfortable limits of living well.”

They envision the room’s design and the modern client’s everyday routine, so designing furniture has organically become a part of their design process.

d i s t i n c t i v e

w w w. glas s c ons t r uc t ion. biz / d i s ti n cti v e

Jacobsen Architecture integrates technologically efficient equipment into their renovation projects while still managing to salvage recycled materials and matching them exactly to fit with exterior additions.

G L A S S

C O N S T R U C T I O N

Tom Glass • 202.362.6012 • www.glassconstruction.biz

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“I think [Hugh Jacobsen] is one of the great designers of our time,” says Tim McDonald, president of Centric Building Inc., currently working with Jacobsen Architecture on a residence in the Napa Valley. “It has the Jacobsen fingerprint and style, and it’s going be a welcome addition to the community.” A sentiment echoed by Hugh himself. “It’s your obligation, your duty as an architect to make [the street] better and not lose the tempo that’s there,” he says. “For an architect to put a stamp

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on the corner and disregard the surrounding aesthetics is like shouting at the neighbors.”

And although father and son Jacobsen continue to extend the firm’s scope of work, they remain true to their roots: historical renovations and high-end residential and commercial buildings marked by precise attention to detail. “We’re involved in a very large deal, but it will never surpass the legacy of the company,” says Simon Jacobsen.

Katie Weber Schroeder is a Chicago-based freelance writer and social media maven who has written for Today's Chicago Woman, Indianapolis Monthly, PrettyCity.com and her about-town blog Driven. www.chicagonow.com/blogs/buick-driven.

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ARCHITECT: JACOBSEN ARCHITECTURE / PHOTOGRAPHER: MAXWELL MACKENZIE

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DESIGN BUREAU

THE MAN WHO SAVED POLAROID Text by Ellen Knuti

Florian Kaps' mission to save instant analog photography and the new class of classic photographers in The Impossible Collection The rumbling sounds of the Polaroid factory in Enschede, Holland were just hours away from being silenced forever when Austrian entrepreneur Florian “Doc” Kaps stepped in to make one final offer.

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He would buy the $130 million worth of machines at fire-sale prices and sign a 10-year lease on the factory. From there, he planned to bring instant film back to life. Kaps gave his mission a name: The Impossible Project, echoing the impregnable mantra of Polaroid’s founder and inventor Edwin H. Land.

Kaps’ dream of recreating what was at the time a photographic revolution and empire proved just as audacious as it was seemingly “impossible.” According to Polaroid’s own estimates, about half of all American households in the 1960s had a Polaroid camera, with the film and photographs to prove it. By the time Land died in 1991, the company had grown into a veritable optics empire, with sales of cameras and film peaking at nearly $3 billion. The company that had brought instant analog photography into the hands of millions worldwide fell on hard times and filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and again in 2008, changing management twice in as much time. In the most recent turnover, the Polaroid Corporation was caught in the wake of a Ponzi scheme perpetrated by the chief executive of its holding company, Petters Group Worldwide, and in February 2008, publicly announced the discontinuation of its instant films in favor of refocusing on the booming digital market. Since then, the Polaroid name has

The Impossible Project founder Florian Kaps

DESIGN BUREAU

Packaging for the Impossible Project's PX600 Silver Shade film

lived on, if only as a universally recognizable brand with undeniable cultural cachet.

An eccentric man with a bent for photography, Kaps first learned of Polaroid’s plan to cease production of its instant film while under the employ of the Lomographic Society, then one of the largest-scale buyers of Polaroid film, in 2007—well after the troubled company’s plan had been put into motion. In fact, Polaroid had stopped commissioning the chemicals and supplies necessary

“Don’t undertake a project unless it’s manifestly important and nearly impossible.” - Edwin H. Land (1909-1991), American

for producing instant film in 2004, believing that they had sufficient materials left to produce ten million exposures a year for the next ten years. But demand was larger than anticipated, and by June 2008 they were nearly out of negatives, and the medium so loved by artists like Robert Mapplethorpe, Andy Warhol and Ansel Adams was suddenly on its death bed. Polaroid enthusiasts took to the Web with last-ditch appeals and tributes to instant analog film. As news spread, the last stores of film flew off the shelves, and a new resale market emerged on the internet.

Then, in October of 2008, The Impossible Project was born. Over the course of 17 months, a devoted team of scientists, engineers, photographers, and Kaps himself

put their energies into reviving the medium. With the critical support of André Bosman, a longtime Polaroid employee and the former engineering manager of the Enschede plant, Kaps negotiated a partnership with Ilford Photo UK, and set about developing the Impossible Project’s first films, the PX100 and PX600 Silver Shade films for use in the SX-70 and 600 Series Polaroid cameras.

By 2011, Impossible plans to have a total of six instant film formats in circulation, including two PX color films and two larger integral films for use in Polaroid Image, Spectra, and 1200 cameras.

The Impossible Project aims both to pay tribute to instant Polaroid film and its history while improving upon the formula that contributed to its demise. Dave Bias, Vice President of the Impossible Project’s American wing, attested, “We’re all huge fans of Edwin Land; the man was one of the great geniuses of the 20th century, and largely unsung.” The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office might beg to differ; Land sits in the top tier of American inventors with 535 patents to his name, and during his lifetime was the recipient of three medals from The Franklin Institute, a premier science education and development center in Philadelphia.

Emblematic of Land’s innovative genius was his idea to solicit the input of skilled and celebrated photographers in the development of the company’s materials. Polaroid would provide equipment and film to a handful of heralded photographers in exchange for feedback and original prints. The comments helped to improve their products, and the prints became part of The Polaroid Collection— one of the most storied collections in the history of photography and ultimately, a valuable asset to a company plagued by financial troubles.

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Nearly six decades later, The Impossible Project has adopted a similar model with The Impossible Collection. Forty photographers from a variety of artistic and professional backgrounds were tapped to contribute the first prints to the collection. The inaugural images speak to the idiosyncracy of instant photography, and express the passion and fury of a medium that deserves to live another day. Featured in the collection are photographs

by Brian Henry, Grant Hamilton, Josh Goleman, and Lia Sáile, each with their own story of how instant photography has shaped their vision.

Grant Hamilton [A] Iowa City, Iowa

You’re making a documentary about the end of Polaroid film. What’s your impetus?

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The first idea was for it to be sort of a eulogy. It really bothered me that people didn’t appreciate or understand what was going away when Polaroid decided to stop production. I thought this was a big deal, not just for somebody who wanted to keep using the film, but a big deal culturally. Look at anything in any magazine that is supposed to represent “the photograph” and it’s got a big Polaroid frame around it. Polaroids are photography in terms of popular culture. So I wanted to try to make everyone else as disappointed as I was by the end of the movie. But then, Florian [of the Impossible Project] said they were gonna try to restart production and I thought, well, this a monumental task, but maybe I’ll actually end up with a happy ending, so then everything sort of changed a little bit.

So the Impossible Project has really changed the trajectory of the story for you?

Definitely. By virtue of the film, I feel that I’m uniquely aware of how technically challenging this task is for

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them. A lot of people thought, ‘Oh, they got the factory, they’ll just turn the switch back on and start making film.’ It is absolutely not that; it’s reinventing the film, not re-starting production.

How did you decide to make the documentary?

I wasn’t actually going to do it myself—my wife is friends with Patrick Creadon, who made the documentaries Wordplay and I.O.U.S.A., which both got theatrical distribution. He told me I should do it. I thought, I don’t know what I’m doing. I had guise for it and I have high enough standards that it wouldn’t look like I didn’t know what I was doing, but I literally didn’t know what I was doing. So I kicked it around for six months. The problem was that if I kept waiting then the story would just go away. I had this little window of opportunity where the story was going to be relevant and the people would still be around. I talked to my wife and we decided to go for it.

Do you have a working title?

If I don’t get harassed by Polaroid, I’m going to call it Time Zero: The Last Year of Polaroid Film. We’re submitting it to Sundance Film Festival.

Lia Sáile [B]

Vienna, Austria What draws you to instant photography as a medium? How do you think your work benefits from it?

That’s a very short, simple question with a huge, vast answer. The three things that make instant photography different are its tangibility, its unpredictability, and its immediacy. Integral film is like an open darkroom, and even now it is mysterious for children as well as grown-

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DESIGN BUREAU

Analyzing the Impossible

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ups, even if you’ve taken zillions of Polaroids or instant photographs, you’re still fascinated by it because you don’t know what’s going to happen, you don’t know what the outcome of the picture’s going to be, even if you just saw it seconds before through the viewfinder. Integral pictures have the association of being private and maybe even erotic; of being something secret, a little mystery in and of themselves. Plus, there’s the question of its permanence: How long is the picture gonna stay? Is it gonna

“It's as if I had told you to make a cake that tastes like a cake and looks like a cake, but you can't use any flour, sugar, eggs or water. You gotta go find all different ingredients. That's what the Impossible Project is.” - Grant Hamilton fade? Is it gonna get darker or scratched all over, because you can’t repair those things? You’re gonna see how time changes the picture and how time influences its meaning.

When did you first start experimenting with instant film?

It was at the same time that I started my studies in Vienna. I’d had a tough time choosing what subjects to study because I was into art and film and theatre, and during that time I went to a flea market and I saw a Polaroid camera for just €1. For some reason, I had been looking for one. I don’t remember what the trigger was—I think I just thought about it because I had just started working with photography a bit more professionally and wanted to go into the more analog area, but in a snapshot kind of way. So I bought that super cheap camera which worked, and all I needed was film.

Many have lauded the return of Polaroid film, but has its impact been overstated?

Andrew Davidhazy, professor of imaging and photographic technology at the Rochester Institute of Technology, gives his thoughts on Polaroid’s impact on photography— present and future.

Over the past decade, many artists and photographers have begun to work with instant film, specifically with Polaroid.

Do you think people are currently overstating the impact of Polaroid photography in the world of fine arts?

Polaroid photography is highly processdependent. It remains to be seen, however, just how long the materials will be supplied, both in the amateur and professional product markets. It is obviously a niche process, and partly for this very reason, it will be given greater importance than it otherwise might have achieved.

How does instant analog photography fit into the new age of photography, one dominated by the digital image?

As an art medium, it has nothing to fear from digital. At least that is my gut feeling right now. It has achieved, or is achieving, cult status and so it is somewhat insulated from the digital revolution. It is exactly the fact that it is not digital that makes it so appealing! It is “human”. I like that, myself.

How do you think Polaroid photography will influence the art market in years to come?

I think “influence” is a bit of an overstatement.

It will survive. Polaroid photography, like analog photography, is specialized in nature.

Similar to calling a traditional photo print a silver gelatin print, it sort of has an “aura” of importance and worth. This often is a very subjective and emotional thing. For these reasons, Polaroid work will most likely remain important in the coming decades.

Do you think photographers will continue to work with instant film in the future, given the rise of digital photography?

How long can an industry exist if the demand drops? I do not know.

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Brian Henry [C]

Baltimore, Maryland Are there specific subjects you like to shoot?

I spent the last two or three years traveling around the U.S. and exploring abandoned buildings with Polaroid film. Shooting abandoned places with instant film adds another layer of time to both the image and the experience. A lot of the places that I shoot will be completely demolished a couple months later, and it’s just really neat to have something in your hand that you shot in that space when it was right there at that moment. I shoot instant film slowly—probably because of how expensive it is, but also because after I expose a negative the film comes out instantly, and then it’s in the room with you at that very moment, developed.

I have to think a lot about what’s going to happen when I press the shutter, so my style has evolved from just snapping simple pictures to planning events weeks in advance. Polaroid’s very good for photographers who are trying to grow because at least for me the nature of the medium almost encourages you to put a lot of thought into it.

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Josh Goleman [D]

New York, New York Do you have a personal history with instant film?

I was in high school the first time I shot Polaroid [in the 90s], and it wasn’t anything special. You could buy film at any gas station, anywhere you went you could find some Polaroid to shoot. Polaroid helped me to realize what film actually is, probably in part because of its cultural saturation but mainly because of its sensitivity to light and how easy it is to manipulate. I got sort of obsessed with

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instant photography and found this whole scene of people who were obsessed with it, too. Nerds, of course, but of the breed that are half-artist, half-nerd.

What cameras do you shoot with?

I’ll always bring my SX-70 and my Polaroid 600SE, otherwise known as “Goosebox”. Have you heard that term?

If you look at the camera, on the front it says 600SE in all caps and it looks just like “GOOSE.” It’s a huge metal box that’s practically indestructible; it’s like a tank in a camera, so it’s nicknamed ‘Goosebox’.

“It’s almost like this underground market. You meet this guy on a street corner and they have 'the stuff' and you look at it and you have no idea what conditions these packs have been sitting in and you gotta be like, 'Have you tested this?', or 'Is this batch good?'” - Josh Goleman

Since Polaroid stopped manufacturing instant film in 2008, their old films have become a hot commodity. Where do you get your film?

I buy film off of eBay and off of Craigslist and I might meet someone on the street in Williamsburg [Brooklyn] and buy $200 worth of Polaroid off of them.

Sounds a little dicey.

It can be. Once I went to Philly to buy 20 packs of 665 off this guy and I bought it all and I was super stoked about it. I took it home and shot it and there was this staple that holds pressure on the pack and it had somehow rotted and the whole thing was oxidized. I got 20 packs and almost half of them were ruined.

ery own purveyor of porn, ly home-crafted grumble d Michaël Borremans, easures from some of tes in Christendom.

DESIGN BUREAU

Polaroid Porn: TicKL Magazine According to Kaps, instant photography’s very beginnings exposed the “strong connection to a new and intense way of exposing and picturing the other you: for the first time, every single picture could be a little secret between you, yourself and your camera.” Photos exist both privately and uniquely until someone consciously chooses to broaden its audience.

This quality is apparent in the erotic cabinet # 4 happy marriage of erotica and instant photos found in TicKL Magazine, described as a “naughty little publication” by founder and Editor-in-chief Carmen de Vos. Born out of the craving for a true and honest sensuality, TicKL’s pages are littered with human touches: artful arrangements and splashy language, a suggestive body part here and there, and a distinctly D.I.Y.

aesthetic. Few would readily characterize TicKL as pornography, which is not to say that its type of erotica isn’t compelling, or decidedly sexy. To the contrary, its representative sexuality is both explicit and lighthearted, and forthcoming in a way that indicates a degree of natural confidence and acceptance all too rare in the realm of the erotic.

The magazine’s companion website warns the unwitting Web surfer that in the course of their browsing, they might chance upon words, expressions or situations that would, perhaps, be unwelcome “in such locations as the parental bedroom or the vegetable department of one’s local supermarket (and, in the latter case, most particularly whilst considering the purchase of cucumbers for one’s salad).”

Though the website gives a taste of TicKL, the choicest bits are reserved for those who purchase the oversized print mag. Each edition sells for €12 and falls under a loose theme and tagline. TicKL #4’s theme was "The Dickstravaganza Issue." "New! Improved! Möre cöck per eüro than ever beföre!” Keep your eyes peeled for TicKL #5 come November—"Inflate, celebrate, fornicate (and don’t be late) — the Birthday Party Issue."

— Ellen Knuti

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FOUR LINES

A Journey through Film Four Italian photographers set off on a road trip with two things in mind: to spend time doing the thing they love and to do something meaningful with it.

In partnership with Fabrica, the Benetton Group’s Communications Research Center and The Impossible Project, photographers Gabriele Chiapparini, Anna Morosini, Elena Vaninetti and Andrea Colombo packed their Polaroid cameras into a rented Ford Galaxy and hit the road for a 24-day journey through Italy, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. “We all really love Polaroids,” says Chiapparini. “It’s a particular way to see pictures: a little bit dirty, a little bit unprecise, a little bit poetic and artistic, and a little out of control.”

Along the way, they documented their journey through their travel blog Four Lines, with each participant capturing the happenings of the trip through instant photos and online journal entries.

Although they often shot and wrote about the same thing, each one did so from their individual perspectives, making them realize that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. “We were driving and one of us would say ‘Stop the car!’ to take a photo, and [we would] try to understand why it was an important photo for the other person. It was really nice to see what is beautiful for one is maybe different for another one.”

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Norwegian Sea

NORWAY

SWEDEN

Baltic Sea North Sea

DENMARK

GERMANY

ITALY

Black Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Four Lines photographers traveled in a rented Ford Galaxy across five countries in 24 days: Italy, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The trip totaled 8,300 kilometers and 110 driving hours, with 200 Polaroid photos and more than 30 blog posts chronicling their journey.

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Street in Norway Trondhaim, Norway Trees in Sweden

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FOUR LINES TRAVELOGUE April 15 – Welcome Idlers (Gabriele)

15 aprile – Benvenuti Fannulloni (Gabriele)

Welcome to this blog. I never had a personal blog… i always thought never can be interested to read what i have write and say when I don’t have nothing to do (like now). Well. it’s a little bit melancholic night and I’m listening 10,000 times “pink bullets”. This record remember me the south of Spain and it mean in my mind my travels. I will take it with us during the long long trip to Scandinavia. It was long and hard to prepare all this. But… we almost finished now! just 15 days. I just finished to re-count and re-order a little part of films (Polaroid) we will take with us in our personal odyssey. A couple of numbers (just cold numbers I know) can give to you and idea about the project: 8300km. 110 hours driving. 24 days.

200 Polaroid films.

I stop Shins song and i go to sleep too.

Benvenuti su questo blog. Non ne ho mai tenuto uno. Ho sempre pensato non potesse interessare a nessuno quello che avevo da scrivere quando (come ora) non sapevo che fare o non riuscivo a prendere sonno. Bene.

Per una serie di grandi e piccoli motivi è una nottata vagamente malinconica. Ascolto in loop Pink Bullets degli Shins e, qualche volta, mi spingo oltre, nei meandri dell’intero disco comprato un (bel) po’ di anni fa nel sud della Spagna. Da allora è sempre stato un album legato all’idea di viaggio, di posti lontani, di persone lontane, di possibili direzioni e di improbabili alternative. Senza dubbio, appena scopriremo come e se ci sarà modo di ascoltare musica durante i lunghissimi tragitti nordici, lo porterò con me.

Con noi. Preparare tutto questo è stato lungo e a tratti parecchio snervante… ma ormai ci siamo. 15 giorni. Ho da poco finito di contare e riordinare una piccola parte delle pellicole (Polaroid) che useremo per scattare durante questo viaggio fotografico. La nostra piccola Odissea personale… Rimbalzando da un contatto all’altro circumnavigheremo la Scandinavia. Un paio di numeri (sterili ma indicativi) potrebbero dare un’idea più chiara della cosa: 8300km.

110 ore di guida. 24 giorni totali di viaggio. 200 pellicole Polaroid.

Metto gli Shins a riposare e vado a dormire anche io.

Day 1 – The Odyssey in 1400 km (Andrea)

Day 1 – Odissea in 1400km (Andrea)

Here we are, full car, everybody ready excepting for a little detail: Elena forgot her ID card at home. holy girl. “nothing wrong, stay calm, we’ll fix it”, we say. And that’s what happened. We leave Bologna, to Brescia where her boyfriend, Matteo, brings us her forgotten document.

After some km we realize that lighter of the car we rented does not work and we absolutely need it for GPS. it’s 1st of may and Italy is all closed. Everybody is at home, and nobody is working.

So we need to solve this by ourselves, trying to replace some electrical components. it sounds easy!!

We replace the pieces and it’s seems to be all ok…or not? Wheel is blocked and the radio is unusable. great!

With Gabriele at seven heaven for losing music, Andrea with a painful hand, anna with hysterical crisis and Elena in cathartic silence, we move to the border of the state where we meet an intense hailstorm.

Not satisfied, at an auto grill, we pick up a German auto stopper, that THEN appears to be a sociopathic and junkie.

Finally we arrive in Hamburg where a comfortable hostel waited for us.

Sick and tired, we fall to sleep.

Eccoci qua, macchina carica, tutti pronti, tutto pronto, tranne che per un piccolo dettaglio: Elena ha scordato la carta d’identità a casa.

Santa ragazza.

“Nulla, nulla, ce la risolviamo” diciamo tra noi, e così accade.

Si parte per Brescia, dove il gentile Matteo ci porta da Milano il documento dimenticato. Strada facendo ci accorgiamo che l’auto che abbiamo noleggiato ha l’accendisigari che non funziona, che se fosse per sigari e sigarette poco importerebbe…

Invece dobbiamo attaccarci uno di quegli attrezzi di certo antipatici, dalla voce elettrica, che ti dicono dove svoltare e dove sono gli autovelox, che ora come ora è di vitale importanza.

Fatto sta che è il primo maggio e giustamente sono tutti a casa, tutto è chiuso. Solo sporadicamente qualche gentilissimo benzinaio ci dice cosa dovremmo fare e disfare: sostituire un fusibile. Gioco da ragazzi!

Iniziamo a mettere e togliere fusibili da tutte le parti: risultato, il servosterzo bloccato (problema fortunatamente risolto) e la radio fuori uso, olè!!

Con Gabriele al settimo cielo per aver perso la radio, Andrea con una mano pinzata a causa del lavoro fatto, Anna con i capelli dritti dall’ansia e Elena che placava gli animi, ci iniziamo a dirigere verso il confine e, superatolo, in territorio austriaco ci rinfresca una intensa grandinata.

Non contenti, raccogliamo un’autostoppista tedesca all’autogrill, che si rivela sociopatica e a nostro parere una TOSSICA bella e buona.

Finalmente giungiamo ad Amburgo, dove un accogliente ostello ci attende.

Stanchi morti sveniamo a letto.

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Street in Lofoten, Norway Gamleby, Sweden Boy in the trees

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Day 2 – Hamburg (Elena)

Day 2 – Hamburg (Elena)

After a good breakfast at the hostel we are going out to visit the centre of Hamburg.

Friendly swans and ducks are taking attention of Gabriele that use an entire pack of film only to photograph them.

Unfortunately, we have no time for visiting the huge commercial port, but we have seen the tourist one.

After four hours of travel, we arrive in Horsens, Denmark, to meet Ines, our first contact.

Tomorrow morning we take a look around, if weather will let us do it.

Dopo una soddisfacente colazione in ostello, siamo usciti alla volta del centro di Amburgo.

Cigni addomesticati e anatre giganti hanno rapito Gabriele, che ha scattato un rullino intero.

Purtroppo, causa tempo insufficiente, non abbiamo potuto visitare il porto commerciale, ma abbiamo visto quello “turistico”.

Dopo 4 ore di viaggio siamo arrivati a Horsens, in Danimarca, dove ci ospita la gentilissima Ines.

Domani andremo a zonzo, condizioni meteo permettendo.

Day 3 – Too Small (Anna)

Day 3 – troppo piccolo (Anna)

Ines has eyes so big and dark to seems dramatic.

Ines smiles with a rare kindness.

She shows us places around her flat, the empty and straight streets, the coloured houses at the fiord, The wood from far, a little blond child who plays walking in the cold water, A huge and gold cane field near the lake.

And my eyes are so full that I couldn’t close all that infinity in little square.

Every time I looked in the camera it seemed to me a piece of paper, a cutter nail.

For the first time I realized how much harder is this adventure. How much smaller is a polaroid picture. How much smaller I am.

Through myself in things I know I can handle, just for a moment (just like to come back home, before to be too far away), I photograph Elena on Ines’s bed.

The hair … I don’t have more.

Tomorrow: Norway.

Ines ha occhi così grandi e neri da sembrare drammatici.

Ines sorride con una spontaneità rara.

Ci ha fatto vedere i posti qui intorno, le strade semivuote e drittissime, le case colorate ai margini del fiordo, un bosco da lontano, un bambino biondo che gioca a camminare nell’acqua gelata, un immenso e dorato canneto ai bordi di un lago.

E i miei, di occhi, si sono riempiti al punto che non sono riuscita a racchiudere tutta quella vastità in un quadratino.

Ogni volta che inquadravo mi sembrava un ritaglio di giornale, un’ unghia spezzata. Per la prima volta mi sono resa conto di quanto ardua sia l’impresa. Di quanto piccola sia una polaroid. E di quanto lo sia io.

Rigettandomi nelle cose che so di poter gestire, solo per un momento (come tornare a casa, prima di essere lontanissima), ho fotografato Elena sul letto di Ines.

La treccia di capelli che io non ho più.

Domani Norvegia

Day 6 – R.I.P. SX-70 (Gabriele)

Day 6 – r.i.p. sx-70 (Gabriele)

My SX-70 is fallen in the sea water. surely it can’t find a better place for die. rest in peace.

La mia sx-70 è caduta nell’acqua del mare. Sicuramente non poteva scegliere un luogo migliore per morire. Trattengo le lacrime. Riposa in pace.

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1. Lofoten, Norway 2. Near Umea, Sweden 3. Near Bergen, Norway

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Day 13 – The Beach (Elena)

Day 13 – The Beach (Elena)

Among mountains with sharp peaks, appears a white beach with crystal water.

I have no words.

In mezzo a montagne dalle vette taglienti come lame spunta una spiaggia dalla sabbia bianca e l’acqua cristallina.

Non ho parole.

Day 18 – at the lodge (if you love a woman) (Gabriele)

This one could be the first day free for us.

I didn’t take a photo. I didn’t drive at all.

Anyway I can’t stay on my legs. Stockholm totally takes my mind and here I do what she asks me to do. I just have few crowns and just two clean socks. But we are coming back. Slowly. It’s still not finished but we are coming back to Italy. A kiss.

Here there are 22°

Day 18 – at the lodge (if you love a woman) (Gabriele)

Questo potrebbe forse considerarsi il primo giorno “libero” dall’inizio. Non ho scattato nemmeno una foto.

Non ho guidato per nulla. Eppure non mi reggo in piedi.

Stoccolma mi rapisce e ogni volta, qui, faccio quello che lei mi chiede di fare. Ieri notte. Stamattina. Per pranzo.

Dopo pranzo. Mi sono ritagliato 10 minuti lontano da lei per scrivere qui (e farmi una doccia). Mi rimangono poche corone e solo due paia di mutande pulite. Ma ormai stiamo tornando. Lentamente. Non è ancora finita, ma stiamo tornando. Un bacio.

Dimenticavo… ci sono 22°.

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Day 21 – yellow flowers (Elena)

Day 21 – yellow flowers (Elena)

Oland island, for me sounds like Holland, but it’s very different and every time I speak with Swedish people they understand that i talking about Holland (Netherlands).

Indeed here is quite similar, there are mills and yellow flowers everywhere.

Tomorrow we begin the return journey, I can’t believe that the trip is already finished.

Isola Oland, che per me si pronuncia molto simile a Holland; in realtà c’è una differenza abissale, e ogni volta che parlo di quest’isola a uno Svedese, lui pensa che io mi stia riferendo all’Olanda.

In effetti un po’ le somiglia davvero: ci sono i mulini e tanti fiori, distese interminabili di bellissimi fiori gialli.

Domani cominciamo a scendere verso casa, non posso credere che questo viaggio sia già finito.

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Lofoten, Norway Lofoten, Norway Near Bodo, Norway

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May 28 – my own back home (sung on road trip) (Anna)

28 maggio – my own back home (sung on road trip) (Anna)

How is possible to understand when something is really finished?

Come si capisce quando è davvero finita?

Which border, door, barrier have we to cross to say “it’s over.”?

Travels are like love stories, for me. And also this trip (maybe this one more then others) has fleeting and impalpable limits.

It maybe started one winter night of month and month ago watching a movie, and it’s finished days and days before we passed the italian boundary.

But yet, there’s always this feeling inside myself. That trip is not finished. Maybe this is the reason why, first night I finally spent in my bed (I’ve change 19 different beds during this trip) i never closed my eyes.

My smells, profiles of my things, the shutter down, the night that finally comes again, my cat jumping silently on my bed to “make bread” on my legs. And here, myself, in a kind of ecstatic fibrillation.

Thinking about this journey differently from a one and only day, is impossible to me. Passed moving like fishes in the torrent water. We have drift on a way traced only by our wishes, smooth like it was always existed. Sunny like it’s waiting for us. Immense like it wanted to heat us.

And, according to me, it does. Maybe this is why it’s not yet ended for me. Because like big loves did, also big trips takes something from yourself, giving you back something else. Something that takes the place beside you in bed at night, that before was of something else. And it’s strange and inevitable.

This trip gave me a lot, and took from me too. I felt myself like an hourglass, constantly overfilled and depleted in an unceasing simultaneousness, there where time abandoned us, alone.

I want to thank my pals, without whom everything would be different. And who supported me, for all those days.

Andrea and his delicacy.

Quale confine, porta, barriera, bisogna oltrepassare per dire di aver concluso?

I viaggi sono come le storie d’amore, per me. E anche questo viaggio (questo forse molto più di tanti altri) ha confini labili e impalpabili: è iniziato forse una notte d’inverno mesi e mesi fa davanti ad un film e si è concluso giorni prima che rivarcassimo il confine italiano.

Eppure, c’è sempre questa sensazione dentro di me.

Che il viaggio non sia finito. E’ per questo, forse, che la prima notte che ho finalmente passato nel mio letto (ne ho cambiati 19, lungo il percorso) non ho chiuso occhio.

I miei odori, i profili delle mie cose, la serranda abbassata, la notte che finalmente cala di nuovo, il mio gatto che silenzioso sale ai piedi del mio letto per fare il pane sulle mie gambe. E io lì, in una specie di silenziosa e statica fibrillazione.

Mi è impossibile pensare a questo viaggio diversamente che come un unico e solo giorno, passato a muoverci come pesci nell’acqua di un torrente. Abbiamo scivolato su un percorso tracciato solo dalla nostra volontà, liscio come se fosse sempre esistito. Soleggiato come se ci stesse aspettando. Immenso come se volesse mangiarci.

E, per quanto mi riguarda, l’ha fatto. Forse è per questo che è come se per me non sia finito. Perché, come i grandi amori, i grandi viaggi si prendono qualcosa da te, dandoti in cambio qualcos’altro, di te. Qualcosa che la sera prende il posto nel letto, al tuo fianco, di ciò che c’era prima. Ed è strano e inevitabile.

Questo viaggio mi ha dato tanto e tolto altrettanto. Mi sono sentita una clessidra, continuamente rivoltata, riempita e svuotata in una simultaneità incessante, lì dove il tempo ci ha abbandonati a noi stessi.

Ringrazio i miei compagni, senza i quali tutto sarebbe stato diverso. E i quali mi hanno sopportato, per tutti quei giorni.

Andrea e la sua delicatezza.

Elena e la sua meticolosità.

Gabriele e la sua trasparenza.

Come i grandi amori, per me, questo viaggio non finirà mai.

Elena and her preciseness.

Gabriele and his transparency.

Just like big loves, this trip for me, will never end.

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To read the entire Four Lines travel journal, visit www.fourlines.it

As with most road trips, music was a very important part of the Four Lines road trip. Here are a few of the bands that inspired them along the journey: ·· THE CURE ·· THE RADIO DEPT. ·· A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS ·· REFUSED ·· OK GO ·· THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE QUEEN ·· IKARA COLT ·· WHY? ·· THE HORRORS ·· THE INTERNATIONAL NOISE CONSPIRACY ·· WOODS ·· !!! ·· WILCO ·· THE SOFT PACK ·· RÖYKSOPP ·· EMILIANA TORRINI ·· PETER BJORN & JOHN

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Design Critic Alice Rawsthorn The world is a design platform and hers to critique. The International Herald Tribune writer on the state of design criticism.

Text by Kristin Lamprecht Photos by Chris Moore

Your articles in the International Herald Tribune are pretty much what we hold as the standard here at our young publication: smart, educated dialogue on design, that is also accessible to people who are not specifically designers, but interested in the topic. Do you write with this in mind?

I write for a general readership, and that makes a huge difference. If I were writing for a design publication, I’d write completely differently. The themes might not be dramatically different, but the way I approached them and my style of writing would be. If you’re writing for the mainstream media, you have to be very clear in your writing, and can never resort to code or jargon. Sometimes it’s frustrating because you risk sacrificing subtlety for clarity, and it can become boring to always have to spell everything out, but that’s part of the challenge.

You have said that you’re not interested in writing about ‘expensive, uncomfortable chairs.’ Has that always been the case, or have you evolved into this place over time in your career?

Although I do write about them from time to time, I think there are many richer, more

complex and dynamic areas of design. There are, of course, lots of chairs, expensive and otherwise, that are also technologically innovative, beautiful, sustainable and comfortable. And no one could deny the chair’s importance in 20 th century design history.

But, like lots of design nuts, I find it deeply irritating that public perceptions of design should be dominated by a handful of badly designed, over-priced pieces of furniture.

Though, hopefully, that will change over time as public understanding of design becomes more knowledgeable and nuanced.

What do you think about the current state of design criticism?

The current condition of design criticism is quite healthy, largely thanks to the blogs.

If you look back historically, great design magazines have surfaced over the years to champion new design movements and generate debate. Some of my personal favorites are Typographica, the 1960s British graphics magazine, and Domus in Italy, first under Ponti’s editorship in the 1930s.

But blogging has democratized design criticism by enabling so many more designers and design commentators to share their

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views. Among the American blogs, I always enjoy Design Observer and Change Observer, and it’s great to follow new developments on Core77, Inhabitat and Worldchanging. Collectively, the blogs have created a more open, dynamic and intellectually engaged debate.

What do you think about the lack of American design critics in large publications?

This isn’t just an American phenomenon, it’s an international problem, which I hope will be redressed over time. I realize that I am very lucky to work for a paper like the International Herald Tribune, which has a large and influential international readership, and senior editors who have given me complete freedom to write about design as I see it. Also, as I’m the IHT’s first design critic, I’ve been able to define the role as I wished, which has been fantastic.

It would be great to think that other papers will follow the IHT’s example. Thankfully the column has been very successful. We’ve had a fantastic response from readers and, on the commercial front, from advertisers.

The IHT also syndicates the column to lots of other newspapers and magazines internationally. That said, it is expensive for the IHT to resource, not least because I have to travel widely to research it. And the economic pressure on the news media is now so severe that it is very difficult for major publications to consider expanding into design or any other area.

That said, as I’ve mentioned, the blogs have livened up design criticism considerably.

Another encouraging sign is that art critics are increasingly writing about design, as are commentators from other fields. Some of my favorite design pieces of the last year or so appeared in Artforum (where Sean Keller’s essays have been fantastic), The New Yorker and New York Review of Books.

“Like lots of design nuts, I find it deeply irritating that public perceptions of design should be dominated by a handful of badly designed, over-priced pieces of furniture.”

You said in your story “Engineering a Brighter Future” about social designers: “Rather than using design to produce visible things, such as objects or images, social designers apply the principles of design thinking to address social, political and humanitarian crises. They also use their instinctive flair for identifying the causes of problems and inventing ingenious ways of solving them, as well as their ability to “sell” those solutions clearly and persuasively."

From this standpoint, would you say that social design is becoming more inclusive from a consumer forum, with people outside of design getting involved, and less behind-closed-doors and trade-exclusive?

Inclusivity is one of the most important elements in any social design project, both in terms of forging cross-disciplinary collabora-

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tions between designers and, say, anthropologists, economists, ethnographers and social scientists, and of involving the “audience” in the design process. The designer’s role is the polar opposite to the 20th century cliché of the creative-control-freak-cum-design-hero.

You can see this in the work of one of the most exciting social design groups, Participle, which is based here in London. Participle was founded three years ago, but has already developed alternative ways of caring for the elderly and empowering young people. In both projects, the development process was led by designers, working with specialists from other disciplines and the target audience, all of who followed a design process and used design language.

Both projects have been extremely successful by replacing a dysfunctional service with a more efficient and inspiring one at no extra cost, which is critical at a time of recession. That said, neither has been labeled as an example of “social design,” the audience simply sees them as improved public services.

To this point, where is the most interesting/ relevant discussion on design taking place, in your opinion?

One of the most interesting design books I’ve read recently is Uncorporate Identity by the Dutch design research group, Metahaven, which explores a cynical, subversive, almost dystopian vision of design.

There are also exciting developments in design schools, some of which have become increasingly experimental in recent years, especially in the United States. MIT Media Lab is an obvious example, but it’s also fascinating to follow the development of the d.school at Stanford and John Maeda’s progress at RISD. The equivalent here in Europe is, of course, Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands, which is fantastic.

Then there are the humanitarian design networks, which are becoming increasingly influential. Both Architecture for Humanity and Project H Design have made a big impact, especially in the United States, as has INDEX:, the Danish humanitarian design initiative, internationally.

It has also been great to see how effective museums and contemporary art spaces have been in generating debate on design.

A stellar example is Design and the Elastic Mind, the 2008 show curated by Paola Antonelli at MoMA, New York on the intersection of design, technology and science. It was a fantastic exhibition, which, I’m sure, will be discussed for decades to come. Paola

Above: Charles Booth Poverty Map of London, late 1800s Below: London Underground map designed in 1933 by Harry Beck

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did an amazing job at using every element of the curatorial process to provoke discussion —hosting regular “salons” with scientists, designers and programmers to air the issues during the research phase; commissioning Yugo Nakamura to design a great Web site; and Irma Boom to produce a beautiful catalogue. All of this ensured that the debate extended beyond the exhibition itself.

Another exciting development is the emergence of design on the programs of independent art spaces, like Z33 at Hasselt in Belgium. Z33 has staged a series of exhibitions that have nailed new directions in design, such as Critical Design, the 2007 show, which explored the development of the new wave of conceptual designers, who treat design as an analytical and expressive

“The designer's role is the polar opposite to the 20th century cliché of the creative-control-freakcum-design-hero.” medium to comment on design and consumer culture, as artists have often done.

What would you say are some of the most impactful, yet simple creations you’ve seen?

And who would you say is an innovative social designer or design collaborative out there today?

An intriguing one is the Mahlangu, a portable hand-washing device developed by Irene Van Peer, a Dutch designer who worked in the South African townships. One of the biggest problems there is the spread of infectious diseases. The best way of preventing this is, of course, to wash your hands, but water is so scarce in the townships that hand washing is prohibitively difficult. Irene devised a lowto-no-cost solution by converting an empty plastic bottle into a water squirter. She did this by making a nozzle to attach to the top of the bottle from materials that people could find easily in the townships, including a pebble as a stopper. Each bottle would provide enough water for 40 hand washes, but would be light enough to be carried around all day.

Rather than manufacture them herself, she

built a few devices and taught people in the townships how to make them. They then told other people, so her design formula spread by word of mouth. Not only had she designed an ingenious—and very useful—product, she had come up with an equally ingenious means of distributing it.

Are there any designers we should be on the lookout for?

So many in so many different fields. One of the things I love about design is it’s so dynamic, constantly changing to address new needs and to solve new problems. A great example is the development of data visualization, the new visual language that translates digital information into a form that we can understand, one that evolves as the information changes.

American designers are at the forefront led by Ben Fry and Casey Reas, who developed Processing, the programming language that has helped thousands of other designers to create data visualizations. It has been incredibly exciting to watch that happen, just as it will be to follow its future progress.

Where do you find the things you review when compiling lists of favorites?

I’m constantly looking out for interesting things to write about. I read as much as I can online and off line, travel widely and talk to as many people as possible. I spotted the theme of one column while cycling along Oxford Street, the main shopping street in London, when I noticed the logo of Ann Summers, the biggest chain of sex shops in Britain. It was a bitten apple, just like [technology company]Apple’s, but completely different in style. That gave me the idea of comparing the two logos to see why they could be typologically identical yet convey such different messages.

Though many of my most popular columns aren’t on good design, but bad design. Why are cars so badly designed? Why are cell phones dysfunctional? Why are so many products over-complicated? Sadly there’s no shortage of “bad design” themes.

You mention in your article “Breaking Loose from the Sober side” that some of the most important issues in design right now are idealistic, serious and public spirited. Cracking the environmental crisis. Wrestling with social problems. Tackling humanitarian issues. Turning scientific discoveries and technological advances to our advantage. Now, granted the article goes on to discuss the more lavish inventions in design, I’d like to know if you find that your former point – about the ‘idealistic’ and ‘serious’ side of design – has anything to do with current events, and the political and economic landscapes?

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Oh absolutely. We’re living in such a dark, turbulent, dangerous era—almost dystopian. Economic recession. Environmental crisis. Social dissent. Geopolitical chaos.

That’s just for starters. Designers have such a constructive contribution to make at a time when other disciplines, like the social sciences, are acutely aware of the need to find new approaches to the problems in their fields, because their 20 th century way of working is no longer fit for purpose. Design is all about solving problems and helping us to make sense of change in a user-friendly way.

symbols of the city are also fantastic examples of design. One of my favorites is the London Underground Map. It was designed in the early 1930s by Harry Beck, a junior draughtsman at London Transport. London was expanding so rapidly into the suburbs that the old geographic map was cluttered and confusing, especially for people straining to see it across crowded platforms. Beck’s inspiration was to create a diagrammatic map based on the electrical circuit, which wasn’t geographically accurate but was much, much easier to understand. It’s a brilliant example of information design.

Where did you find the information about Charles Booth and his mapping system for your piece “An Early Triumph in Information Design”? You mention in that piece that as the data crisis worsens, finding new ways to make sense of this infinitely increasing amount of information, and the need to illustrate it clearly becomes ever more urgent. Why do you think the need to illustrate this becomes more urgent? And why do you think data visualization is necessary?

What’s your favorite Yves Saint Laurent item?

Years ago, a boyfriend gave me a reproduction of Booth’s first Poverty Map of the area of East London where I live. I’ve been interested in Booth’s work ever since. He was a wealthy philanthropist who sent teams of volunteers to walk around different areas of London in the late 1800s assessing the poverty (or otherwise) of each street, and then depicted their findings on a map through color-coding. They discovered that the authorities had significantly underestimated the scale of poverty. As soon as I had an excuse to write about it — the original maps went on display at the Museum of London recently—I did so. If you’re writing about a historic subject, it’s always helpful to draw parallels with contemporary life. It makes the theme seem more relevant and engaging to the reader. Data overload is a huge problem today and it’s worsening. As processing power rockets, computers are bombarding us with information at greater speed and scale than ever before. Data visualization is a solution, and a great example of design producing an intelligent and inspiring solution to a serious problem.

What do you think is the most iconic design item—whether object or print—out of London?

London has a great design heritage and we’re lucky in that some of the most visible

Well, the thing I admire most about Saint Laurent is his eclecticism. If you think of other great fashion designers, they excelled at a particular style or technique. Chanel at soft tailoring. Vionnet for the bias cut.

Balenciaga for sculpted tailoring and so on.

Saint Laurent could do everything. Tailoring.

Flou. Historicism. Pop. Decoration. He was so original and innovative, a master of every technique and style. It’s impossible to think of another designer having the same impact as he did with, say, the 1971 camp collection, which was inspired by his memories of his mother in the 1940s and the drag queens he’d met with Andy Warhol in New York. At the time it was wildly controversial because it broke so many taboos, but it defined the glam look that dominated fashion and pop culture throughout the 1970s.

Do you have a favorite fashion designer?

Looking back historically, I have favorites from different eras. Vionnet in the 1930s.

Balenciaga in the 1950s. Saint Laurent in the 1960s and early 1970s Comme des Garçons in the 1980s. The 1990s would be a toss-up between Margiela and Helmut Lang. More recently, I love what Nicolas Ghesquière has done at Balenciaga, Pierre Hardy with shoes and Miuccia Prada is incredibly inventive.

Among American designers, I like Alexander Wang for sporty stuff.

Quali Cose Siamo exhibition, La Triennale Design Museum in Milan. Photo by Fabrizio Marchesi.

2. Penguin Modern Poets books. Cover design by Alan Spain.

3. Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic Dome.

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A list of Alice's design picks: 1. Design heroine - Muriel Cooper 2. Design hero -Buckminster Fuller 3. Favorite Bauhäusler - László Moholy-Nagy 4. Favorite design causes - Project H Design and Architecture for Humanity’s Haiti appeal 5. Favorite design shops - Moss in New York and the Jasper Morrison Shop in London 6. Best-designed hotel - Tawaraya in Kyoto 7. Best-designed books - Penguin Modern Poetry series from the 1960s and 1970s, plus any book by Irma Boom 8. Favorite design museum - Studio Achille Castiglioni in Milan 9. Favorite (current) design exhibition - Quali Cose Siamo?

(The Things Are?) curated by Alessandro Mendini at La Triennale Design Museum in Milan, until February 27, 2011 10. Favorite (future) design exhibition - Talk To Me, curated

by Paola Antonelli, opening at the Museum of Modern Art, New York on July 24, 2011

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Aesthetic Apparatus 11″ × 17″. screen onpaper, paper. 11 x 17 inches Aesthetic Apparatus, silkSilk screen on

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A TRIBUTE TO FLATSTOCK POSTERS “I’m a big music fan and I love art and design,” says Mike Treff, director of Soundscreen Design Company. “I look around my apartment and think ‘What are the things that could enable me, in my home, to have a better experience with my music? Why don’t we make that?’ ”

BY STEWART KUHLO

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× 15.5″. Letterpress on paper.

25.5″. Letterpress on paper.

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Flatstock 12, Austin

″ × 25″. Silk screen on paper.

Aesthetic Apparatus, silk screen on paper Aesthetic Apparatus, silk screen on paper

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1 Animal Collective, Eric Copeland Minneapolis. Silk screen on paper.

en on paper.

2 Night Marchers, the Dynamiters, Red Pens Minneapolis. Silk screen on paper.

Yee-Haw Industries, letterpress on paper, 17 x 25.5 inches 2 Yee-Haw Industries, letterpress on paper, 13 x 15.5 inches

The Small Stakes, Stakes/Jason Munn 11″on × 17″.

Silk screen paper.

Jason Munn /The Small silk screen paper, 11 x 17on inches

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Treff admits that the design shop, which specializes in music-inspired books, prints, apparel and housewares, isn’t the first company to market music-related artifacts, but he thinks they have an advantage because, at heart, they are a music company (owned by Warner Media Group’s InSound). “You see boutiques and lifestyle companies making music-inspired apparel and shoes, or LP frames selling at Urban Outfitters, and we said, ‘Well, we’re a music company. What can we be making to enhance people’s lives?’”

Enter Rock Paper Show: Flatstock Volume One, a look into the insular world of the traveling rock poster show, Flatstock. The first volume of the oversized tome takes its cues from traditional rock-n-roll art books, but looks to enhance the reader’s experience by recounting the history of the festival through the words of those who helped to create and grow the traveling poster show.

Treff saw similarities between the poster community and his own past experience in the music industry. “When I first started to meet all the poster makers who would become a part of this book and who would go through this project with me...what struck me was the parallels between my experiences in DIY/hardcore/punk rock scene growing up; the sort of the energy, enthusiasm, integrity and passion of that scene is also in this [rock poster] scene.”

For those involved in Rock Paper Show ’s creation, it was important that the book didn’t merely become a form of poster porn. “We knew there were tons of rock poster books out there, but none of them focused on Flatstock itself as a community, and the body of work that is created for each Flatstock event by the attending artists,” says Treff. As Geoff Peveto, the creator of Flatstock, explains: “The key thing I was happy to see was that “Since Flatstock’s inception in 2002, through Mike and Holly [Gressley, of Rumors Studio, to where it is today, the world of rock posters who designed the book] were open to how the has seen a huge resurgence, and diversified content of the book would be; that it wouldn’t significantly and stylistically from its classic be page after page of ‘here’s a poster, here’s illustrative forms with modern designers who did it, here’s a poster, here’s who did getting involved,” explains Treff of the poster it.' The book is supplemented with process industry’s proliferation beyond a niche audi- essays: How do you screen print? How do ence. In putting together Rock Paper Show, you letterpress? and talks directly to indi-

Above: Rock Paper Show: Flatstock Volume One, curated by Geoff Peveto and published by Soundscreen Design

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2 Yee-Haw Industries 13″ × 15.5″. Letterpress on paper.

3 Yee-Haw Industries 17.5″ × 25.5″. Letterpress on paper.

4 Methane Studios 19″ × 25″. Silk screen on paper.

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Amy Jo and Tooth/Dale Flattum 11″ × 17″. Silk screen on paper.

Aesthetic Apparatus, silk screen on paper Amy Jo and Tooth/Dale Flattum, silk screen on paper, 11 x 17 inches

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Dirk Fowler/f2 Design, letterpress on paper, 17.5 x 23 inches Methane Studios, silk screen on paper, 19 x 25 inches

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Drew Millward, silkSilk screen on Drew Millward 11″ × 17″. screen onpaper, paper. 11 x 17 inches

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JEFF KLEINSMITH: "A lot of people will just break even to come out to Flatstock and show their posters...it’s a tough way to make a living, and the fact that there are so many people doing it and that love doing it, just to break even is a testament to the passion people have for poster design.” viduals who work in the medium and to col- and show their posters. People love being lectors on why they like posters, and what the involved with [the community] and don’t see importance of the event is. It was incredibly it as this money making venture,” says Jeff important to make the book a full spectrum Kleinsmith, art director of Sub Pop Records, of who is actually involved in the community,” and Rock Paper Show contributor. “Of course Peveto says. But before he gave Soundscreen we want to make money, and it’s a lot of work access, Peveto posed an important question and late nights, screen printing posters to Treff: “Are you really going to do a Flat- and hoping to break even…it’s a tough way stock book, or do you just want access to API to make a living, and the fact that there are (American Poster Institute) artists to make so many people doing it and that love doing another rock book?” To show his commit- it, just to break even is a testament to the ment to Peveto’s vision, Treff flew to Austin a passion people have for poster design.” week later to meet with Peveto and they went through the Flatstock archives from one to 18, “When you look at a music-lover’s personal and realized there was the potential to make identity, the things they put in their lives a book. Gressley echoes a similar sentiment, are very much a part of their psychology; as well. “It was interesting figuring out how music is such an identifier in group and to position the book, because in a lot of ways social dynamics,” Treff observes. “With it’s an art book, but we also wanted it to let the digital music, there is a void as to how can personality of all the work and people come I live with my music in a tangible way that forward and have space to breathe.” And for lets me show my identity, and I think creatPeveto, the characters and personalities in ing a physical product to fill that need is a this book are just as important as the art. “My viable pursuit.” Similarly, there are plenty of first goal in creating the anthology was not burgeoning poster artists who also feel this to exclude anybody. I said to Mike [Treff], ‘If way. “If there is a veteran who can’t make it I’ve got to put someone in the book because of to Flatstock, there is always a new artist to their involvement in the community, regard- fill that seat; the spots are always sold out,” less of what you think of their work, they are says Peveto. “We’ve watched the evolution of a number of artists, which has been amazing going to be in it.” to see. Everybody is very willing to help Perhaps these repeatedly mentioned notions people along.” of commitment and passion in the rock poster community are best exemplified through Ultimately, Treff’s goal with Rock Paper one of the great traditions of the nomadic Show is one of inspiration. “If one person exhibition. For each event, attending artists who has never made a poster before buys create a specially designed Flatstock poster this book and gets inspired, that’s wonderto commemorate the festival, which returned ful. If someone who hasn’t made posters in to its San Francisco birthplace for the first years gets inspired again, that’s wonderful, time since 2002, as a standalone event to too,” he says. For Peveto, his goal with Rock celebrate its 25th gathering in the fall. The Paper Show is protecting its integrity, and the dedication of the artists to this tradition can integrity of poster making as it gains in popube so great, in fact, that one year an artist larity. “I want to continue to have Flatstock who somehow forgot to design a poster for on a regular basis ; I want us to be smart about Flatstock drove back to his home hours away how we manage them so that there is always from the event, stayed up all night designing an excitement about them—so the crowds a poster, and made it back, poster in tow, in don’t peter out, and so people don’t get tired time to display it to music and poster fans the of posters.” next day. “I don’t want to overstate the artists’ passion or anything, but a lot of people will Stewart Kuhlo is is a Chicago- based attorney, just break even to come out to Flatstock writer and hip-hop obsessive.

VINYL IS FOREVER In addition to Rock Paper Show: Flatstock, Volume One, Soundscreen Design has a variety of other products currently available, including their line of “Vinyl Is Forever” T-shirts, hoodies and tote bags, which feature artists’ iconic interpretations of the phrase. The items are inspired by other iconic visual slogans such as ‘I (heart) NY’ and ‘Virginia is for Lovers,’ and references music obsessed fans’ everlasting love of vinyl records. Soundscreen is hoping the line will appeal to music, art and fashion fans alike.

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www.sannejansen.com

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ARCHITECTURE OF THE MIND

Fashion designer Sanne Jansen's structural style Text by Lindsey Gregory

Sanne Jansen’s latest collection, ‘Architecture of the Mind,’ manages to play with graphic form and sex appeal without being too frivolous or unwearable. Jansen’s subtle color palette includes navy, gray, pumpkin, dusty rose and black. A three-quarter length, straight-leg gray pantsuit is punctuated with ruffles along the shoulders that meet in a deep V at the back, while what could be a boring black miniskirt is made new with thick, voluminous vertical pleats.

Born and based in the Netherlands, Jansen never dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. Her mother made clothes for Jansen and her sister and she went to Academie St. Joost to study graphic design. After a few months, she changed her mind and considered the possibility of taking up fine art, photography or fashion. In the end, she chose to focus on fashion design at Hogeschool Zuyd since it combined aspects of art, photography and textiles—all crafts that are visible in Jansen’s namesake line, from the collection itself to the unique set designs created for each collection's photo shoot.

As most designers would agree, attention to detail is what makes a truly exceptional collection, and Jansen’s Fall/Winter 2010 line 'Architecture of the Mind' is no exception. Jansen designs her simple, sculptural pieces The merino wool cardigan is hand-woven, for the kind of woman who is independent, and Jansen says there are “details like little self-confident and loves to wear high-quality golden ribbons and golden slashes” included clothing. Her collection is modern and sexy into some of the pieces. Her items have a and she hopes that her clients will wear and sculptural quality worth noting. “I wanted to appreciate her clothes for seasons to come. see in what way unusual shapes and volumes “I like to celebrate simplicity and durability.

I don’t create clothes that only last a season.” could be integrated in a garment without becoming over-designed.”

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Dawn sweater, €199. Afterglow skirt, €399.

Clothes in the .Sanne studio.

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Top left: Dusk pants, €249. Top right: Shade blouse, €229. Incubus skirt, €249. Bottom left: Pandora jumpsuit, €399. Bottom right: Ampulla blouse, €229. Lux skirt, €249.

Model fitting for the .Sanne Fall/Winter 2010 line. Mood board in Sanne's studio.

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THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF CREATIVITY The foundation of Jeanne Gang's talent lies in the little details Text by Jill McDonnell Photos by Chris Kitahara

DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

Jeanne Gang sitting in the courtyard behind her Wicker Park office. Many people at Studio Gang (including Gang herself) ride their bike to work as they promote reducing their carbon footprint.Â

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1. Jeanne Gang in her studio 2. Gang's Aqua Tower in downtown Chicago.

From a distance, water appears to cascade down the Tower's side 3. Concrete slabs define the building's exterior 4. A stunning view from an Aqua Tower balcony

lthough Chicagoans may look out the window from their office buildings and see a strangely shaped building, Jeanne Gang looks out the window and sees her own handiwork: 82 stories of uneven concrete floor slabs that comprise the rippling facade of Aqua Tower—her personal imprint on the city’s skyline.

When viewing the unique building, onlookers may gaze up and envy the wide open terraces and stunning city views—both hallmarks of

the building’s luxury digs. Gang recalls how she had to design the building with balconies that stretched outward by as much as 12 feet to achieve such prize-winning vantage points. It’s this out-of-the box approach with Aqua Tower and her other projects that has garnered Gang and her team at namesake firm Studio Gang Architects national and international accolades within the architecture community, in part due to her fascination with the intricacies of building materials.

“Some artists are more about the paint than the subject, and that’s like me—I’m most

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Jeanne Gang: “Some artists are more about the paint than the subject, and that’s like me—I’m most interested in bringing out the inner secret of the specific material I’m using in my design.”

interested in bringing out the inner secret of the specific material I’m using in my design,” she says. Gang notes an early interest in how things fit together, which is why Christmastime at her household in the late 70s often included presents of puzzles and riddles, Legos and Rubik's cubes from her civil engineer father and school librarian mother. “I was always interested in what things were made of, and how they were composed,” says Gang.

the history of the city, the history of the site and the building types found commonly in that area,” said Gang. “All of this knowledge provides a backdrop to our design.”

Outside of building her personal portfolio, Gang is a major advocate of education in the field and passes her knowledge and experience on to students in her role as adjunct associate professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology. She hopes that her appreciation for both research and the building blocks of architecture will help to spark future generations of architects. “You don’t just graduate from school and all of a sudden you’re ready to become an architect. It’s important to have an interface between the academic classroom and the profession,” she says. “In the studios I teach, I allow students to explore ideas of how they might design a project and what materials they would use. Teaching also benefits me because it allows me to be even more creative.”

Gang’s youthful curiosity about the composition of materials is still alive and well in her work today, and has now given way to an emphasis on recycled materials during this era of green building. When she and her firm were conducting background research in preparation for their work designing the Ford Calumet Environmental Center, they learned the center was smack in the middle of a migratory pathway that birds used during their winter southbound journey to South America.

Suddenly, the building project became a death hazard for the literal thousands of birds who would fly over this path. “I think something Through all of the project sites she’s been like 30 million birds die a year from smashing exposed to, both big and small, to the captains into glass, which makes architects the biggest of industry she’s met who have asked for her bird killers. So, we created a kind of ‘nest’ insight on their latest endeavor, Gang holds that enclosed the front of the building out of firm to her favorite aspect of her near 30-year reclaimed local material, including steel, so career: the simple act of creating things. that they wouldn’t crash into this glass,” says Gang. It’s this kind of attention to detail with “I just love making things—drawing, building materials that not only saves birds’ lives, but models, etc.,” said Gang. “Being an architect also serves her well with the analytical aspect is 24/7—I never stop thinking about it.” inherent to her field.

“We want to create a building that has resonance, and to do so, we need to understand

Chicago-based Jill McDonnell has her master's degree in public relations and currently works in media relations. Follow her at www.Jeeill.tumblr.com.

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Interior of The Ford Calumet Environmental Center 2. Computer rendering of the exterior 1.

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CLAIRE SCULLY The Quiet Revolution

“Inspiration for my self-initiated work often comes from my everyday surroundings of the metropolis and its relationship with the natural world. I love 50s, 60s and 70s architecture, particularly tower blocks with their form and location; this is where I also find the connection to nature and natural patterns in the environment of interest.

I have a geeky obsession with science fiction books, TV and films. I am fascinated by the play of ideologies in the utopias and dystopias of science fiction, the creation of landscapes and societies where the impossible is made possible.

My work displays a mix of strange utopian worlds and parallel universes with juxtapositions of the unexpected, playing with scale and narrative.”

- Claire Scully, designer

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To view more of Claire’s work, visit www.thequietrevolution.co.uk

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DESIGNED BY ADAM CAROLLA Why the comedian and former construction worker believes that good design is free—despite the hydraulic garage lift in his mansion.

Text by Stewart Kuhlo and Kristin Lamprecht Photos by Aaron Farley

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sound like a dick, but I always tell got to explore a bit—evolve a bit as a designer,” people ‘I’m not handy—I’m a car- he says, “As you do [carpentry], your mind penter,’” explains Adam Carolla. starts working and you start seeing stuff.

“I grew up in this sort of downtrod- Most designers, they don’t build, and most den environment, where no one builders don’t design, and most architects went to college and it was every don’t really build, and I don’t know—I feel man for himself, and you went out like you gotta kind of do it. I feel like I have and got a job, and before you knew it, I was this great advantage because I actually build. a carpenter, even though I didn’t have the I know how to build,” he says. mind of a carpenter. I was working with guys I didn’t want to work with, just dumbos…you Comedian, carpenter, designer—call him know, born-again Christian gang-bangers what you want, just don’t call him handy. and illegal immigrants and dumb white guys “I know the codes. I know the difference from Simi Valley, and it’s just like, no one had between R19 insulation and R32, and I know layout, and I know that your studs are 16 on a sense of humor, no one was into design.” center, and I know what ‘on center’ is. But Ty Carolla, dressed in a maroon sweater and Pennington doesn’t know this. It seems like navy pants on a warm 70-degree Chicago he knows this, but he doesn’t, because I’ve inmorning, looks tired having already made an terviewed him. And I don’t want to be lumped early morning appearance on WGN, just hours in with the ‘handy’ guys because it’s what I after his cross-country flight to the Windy did as a living.”

City landed at 1 a.m. This afternoon, he’ll be on hand at Wrigley Field to toss out the cer- After more than a decade in the construction emonial first pitch at the Cubs game, and later world, Carolla somewhat serendipitously he’ll bring his number one daily downloaded found his way into comedy. While working podcast The Adam Carolla Show to the stage, nights as a boxing instructor for a Los the first of two shows he’ll be performing for Angeles gym (the sport being another lifedevoted fans of the “ACE man” at the Park long passion of his), Carolla was approached West theater. But before all of that can happen, by local radio station K-ROQ, to train on-air personality Jimmy Kimmel. Known on-air as he deadpans, “I’m going to need a nap.”

“Jimmy The Sports Guy,” Carolla was tasked As he stretches out on the orange leather sofa with training Kimmel for an upcoming ceinside a downtown hotel lounge, Carolla is lebrity fight. The student and trainer quickly quiet and slightly withdrawn; affable, but formed a friendship, which led to Carolla not yet fully engaged. His demeanor quickly making appearances on Kimmel’s radio show. changes, though, when asked about his The successful pairing eventually led to them self-described “blue collar” upbringing in co-hosting four seasons of The Man Show, folLos Angeles, with parents who, as he puts lowed by four seasons of Crank Yankers, and it, “didn’t give a shit” about their home. “I a decade-long run for Carolla on the radio grew up in a vacuum, with no tools and in (and later MTV show) Loveline. As a result, bad apartments,” he says. After high school, Carolla found himself with an income that he found himself working in manual labor. “I allowed him to work on his own design projwasn’t into carpentry [at first], I was diggin’ ects and no longer needing to build homes for ditches. I was a laborer—stuff people can’t strangers. “I sort of went nuts from a building really grasp. It’s sort of racist, really. It’s standpoint because I felt like I was deprived because I’m white, and people think I came [as a child]. Guys do it with women. Half the from something. ‘Oh, you were an appren- assholes in Hollywood, you know, none of them got laid in high school, and they all just tice?’ and it was like, ‘No, I dug ditches.’ ” went fuckin’ nuts when they got it. So it’s like Eventually, Carolla “dug ditches” long that, but with woodworking.” enough to buy himself a box of tools and a truck, and became a full-time carpenter, a job Purchasing his first Hollywood Hills home he held for the next 13 years. “I did a lot of shit in 1996, which, according to Carolla was work [during that time]: hanging drywall and the third house built in the originally titled cracking houses. I learned all that stuff, and I “Hollywoodland” area, was a significant mile-

ADAM CAROLLA: “I was diggin’ ditches. People think I came from something. ‘Oh, you were an apprentice?’ and it was like, ‘No, I dug ditches.’ ”

Opening spread: Carolla's office featuring his Lamborghini.

Right: A unique doorway and detailed woodwork overlook a pool outside Carolla's home.

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ADAM CAROLLA: “Most carpenters would go, ‘Fuck it— you gotta go over it with plywood,’ and a designer would go, ‘Fuck it—you gotta go over it with plywood,’ and I was able to figure it out with mortising.

And yeah. I’m a genius. For that floor thing alone.”

Top: A stone entryway leads to a custom-built door.

Bottom left: Carolla with his wife Lynette and twin children Sonny and Natalia.

Bottom right: Ornate flourishes adorn Carolla's Hollywood home.

stone in his life. “I just overcompensated for and replace it,’ but you can’t do that because what I thought was an architectural void in it’s tongue and groove, and it’s in, man. But my childhood,” he says. But restoring the I said, ‘I bet there’s a way I can figure this manse to a livable condition was no easy out.’ ” And he did, by devising his own solutask. Calling on his self-proclaimed days of tion involving routers, square mortises, jigs “swinging a hammer,” he put his years of con- and various other carpenter’s tools of the struction know-how and design skill to the trade before finally figuring out the f loor test to restore the dilapidated home to its puzzle—filling in the unsightly holes with original glory. He recalls bringing Kimmel a similar sanded wood and painting over out to the property for the first time. “Jimmy both, making the two indistinguishable showed up and said, ‘Why don’t you just get from each other. He describes the entire a new house?’ ” After some tense moments process in painstaking detail—expoundduring construction, and near-accidents ing on the differences in routers, preferred while securing the chimney to meet Califor- sanding techniques before remarking to nia earthquake code standards, Carolla was “raise your hands if you don’t know what able to restore the home to its original 1923 this means.” “It’s a good example of my specs. “It was like an old car, and I just put it experience knowing I could save the f loor. back to what it was.” He still owns the prop- Most carpenters would go, ‘Fuck it—you gotta go over it with plywood,’ and a deerty today. signer would go, ‘Fuck it—you gotta go over “Working on other people’s houses all the time, it with plywood,’ and I was able to figure it it got you thinking about what you did like, out with mortising. And yeah. I’m a genius. and what you didn’t like. You get your own For that floor thing alone.” style.” Carolla’s encyclopedic knowledge of building and design is enough to make even His desire to save the original floor of the Holthe most experienced craftsman take notice. lywood Hills home is indicative of Carolla’s However, his years of work experiences have design sensibilities and aesthetic. “I don’t not just shaped him as a carpenter, but also as understand how people rebuild a classic car a problem-solving designer in his own right. and then put shitty chrome rims from today A point, which, he illustrated quite vividly on it. “‘Well, these are cool’,” he says mockwhile describing the restoration of the origi- inginly. “‘Yeah, these are cool on a Denali, but nal kitchen floor in the home he currently not on a Duesenberg.’ People get so caught up with what’s cool, but like, it’s not gonna be inhabits. cool in 10 years when I can tell you when you “So it’s like this: in old houses, like in the did the rims on your car. You can walk into 20s, they put down clear Douglas fir—clear anyone’s bathroom and be like, ‘Oh. 1980? meaning it didn’t have any knots in it—and 1981? When did you redo this bathroom?’ it was tongue-and-groove, and it was a real with the pink and black tiles like Miami Vice inch versus three-quarters of an inch, and… in the middle of a cool 1940s or 1920s house. it was beautiful, to me,” he says, contrasting Put everything back the way it was if you’re the natural beauty of the original 20s-style doing an old house.” kitchen floor with the cheap vinyl covering that had been tacked on top when he pur- Passion for design and carpentry work aside— chased it. “The problem is, once you tear Carolla has a warning for anyone looking to everything out—the vinyl, the cabinets—and build in LA: don’t do it. With strict earthyou move shit around, you have a bunch quake and environmental codes, and seemof holes from plumbing and electrical and ingly needless regulations making it nearly sewage, whatever. You would have had this impossible to do construction work, he goes beautiful, old growth clear Doug fir, which off on one of his infamous rants about what you couldn’t mill or buy today, but [now] it’s it’s like to try to build anything in L.A. “L.A. got a bunch of big holes in the middle of it. is a total bullshit rip-off of a town. I mean, So how do you repair the big, gaping holes anybody who tries to build, it’s a total diin your tongue-and-groove Doug fir floor? saster. Don’t even try. That’s why everyone Most people [would] go, ‘Well, I guess you clears out of L.A.—like every business. You gotta cut out the part with the big holes in it can’t do anything there. It’s horrible. Just go

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Left to right: Carolla installed his fireplace tile by tile; Carolla's bathroom is reflective of the home's 1920s architecture; a hallway leads to the office; Carolla is an avid car enthusiast.

to Texas. Go anywhere; just don’t try [L.A.].

The building department, why not? They just see suckers with checkbooks and they let the gouging party begin. They’re just fucking gouging the fuck out of anyone who tries to do anything."

The same goes for L.A.’s beachfront neighbor, Malibu. “Don’t even think about Malibu.

Essentially, they attack people who build.

And it’s a crazy bureaucracy. I can’t tell you all the people that were like, ‘Eh, I was gonna build something’ but don’t do it. And they don’t realize how much it’s hurting their own economy by turning on their own revenue base. You know, Suzanne Somers lived in like Malibu for, like, a million years, and I interviewed her after her house burned down. And I was like, ‘You gonna rebuild?’

And she was like, ‘No way, I’m too old.’ You can’t do it. It’s a literal five-year process

just to get the paperwork in order. If you live in Malibu and you’re dealing with the coastal commission? You ain’t doin’ shit for five years, and $100,000, and the approval of a bunch of fuckin’ Sean Penn’s friends.

There’s a whole fuckin’ committee of the same hypocrites. They’ll ‘look out’ for you, and they’ll ‘look out’ for the coastline and the indigenous wildlife, and they’ll get to your shit in their sweet time, and—don’t call them, they’ll call you. And that’s it. You’re not building anything.”

After the near 20-minute rant reaches a boil, Carolla seems to have worn himself out and reverts to back to the quieter demeanor he exhibited at the start of the conversation.

But before retiring to his hotel room for that much needed nap, he offers his final thoughts on design and where he finds inspiration. “To me, design is not a linear thing that has a be-

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Carolla: Comedian and Carpenter The ultimate man’s man put his skills to use in detailing his home:

The Man Cave: (above) This secret hidden hideaway was carved out of the side foundation of the house underneath the pool.

ginning and end. It has a sort of evolvement Adam Carolla’s book, In Fifty Years We’ll to it. It's sort of a flowing thing, where ideas All Be Chicks: And Other Complaints that [have] just layed dormant for years all of From An Angry Middle-Aged White Guy a sudden they hit you and, it’s like ‘oh yeah…’.” from Random House will be available November 2nd in bookstores everywhere.

Still, the fact remains that projects like His podcast is available for free download installing a custom hydraulic lift in his on iTunes or at www.adamcarolla.com. garage and turning an old warehouse into the headquarters for his wildly successful podcast show are easy to accomplish with a celebrity bank account. They’re not the sort of design projects the average person can undertake. To this point, Carolla offers a simple response. “You know, design is free; the execution is where the money comes in.

The part where you think of it, where you lay it out—that whole part doesn’t cost a penny.

You could do that from a prison cell. It’s, you know, the actual Viking stove in the prison cell that becomes costly.”

His Office: This wall-to-wall glass room is perched perfectly atop the Hollywood Hills and features a stunning city view of L.A. His bright orange Lamborghini Mira sits parked in the middle via a hydraulic lift up from his garage. Four plasma TVs hang above the car.

Frescoed Beams: After chipping away years of paint, Carolla discovered detailed faces and decorative paintings on every support beam in the 20-foot tall living room.

Careful Detailing: Many of the windows, door knobs and fixtures have all been salvaged from Adam's favorite L.A. junkyard. In some cases, it has taken him years to find the right piece, but each one is authentic.

Batchelder Tile Fireplace: Carolla used diamond blades on grinders to remove the classic fireplace tile by tile from his other 20s-style property and re-installed it in the home he currently inhabits with his family.

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Máze:

Photos of a Sámi Village “Between 2005 and 2009, I traveled regularly to Máze, a small Sámi village located above the Arctic Circle in the Norwegian Lapland. Here, I met a quiet people. Sometimes melancholic, intensely captivating and always proud of their village and territory.

I have pictured people, houses, land and reindeer that should not be here today, flooded with waters of a hydroelectric dam project that Norwegian government planned in early 70s, and was fortunately aborted, thanks to Sámi people’s protests and resistance. But I have also pictured a reality that will undoubtedly transform in the coming century, due to global warming and cultural integration. To me, Máze is an ambivalent symbol of resistance and helplessness. Pride—as well as suspicion, solitude and great beauty—prevails here.

In the most beautiful tundra of the Arctic region, I tasted villagers Ante’s and Ole Ailo’s favorite season. The days get longer and the temperatures become milder; it's that perfect moment when time doesn’t exist anymore and night is gone. They immersed themselves in their favorite activities: fishing through ice holes in Lake Suolojávri, riding the snøskuter in the tundra and sitting outside on a reindeer skin. And hours spent inside their hytte or lávvu with friends and family, talking, joiking or doing nothing. Saying nothing. Just being.”

- Céline Clanet, photographer

Máze Photographs by Céline Clanet, photolucida, 2010. www.photoeye.com

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Sápmi (Lapland) ARCTIC C IRCLE

RUSSIA

FINLAND

NORWAY SWEDEN

Arctic Tundra The Sámi people have inhabited the northern region of FennoScandanavia—including Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden— for 2,500 years and are among the largest indigenous ethnic groups in Europe. They boast a variety of livelihoods, including coastal fishing, fur trapping and sheep herding. However, they are best known for their semi-nomadic reindeer herding.

- The Sami People—a Handbook, Karasjok, 2006.

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7 new albums to hear

Presented by

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GRINDERMAN

2 (Anti-) Nick Cave has been a cult icon for 30 years, from his days fronting The Birthday Party through the 14 albums he has led with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds.

With the help of the dynamic Bad Seeds, he has championed a dark and unparalleled brand of alt-rock, and in 2007, he launched another lauded project, Grinderman, with the aid of longtime Seeds. Marked by raw lyrics and impassioned vocals, the garage-rock side project now takes a sharp turn for its second album, presenting a much more sprawling, diverse recording. Layers of effects, noise, and backing vocals build each song into colorful stories of weirdness and absurdity, and all together, the album is a much greater studio labor than the twisted rock ballads of its predecessor. With 2, Grinderman has come into its own as a full-fledged group. /01 02/

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PULLING TEETH

Funerary (A389/Firestarter) This metal-imbued hardcore group from Baltimore took a crushing and despairing direction on its doubly themed 2009 EP, Paradise Illusions | Paranoid Delusions. The band’s full-throttle tempos, speed picking, push beats, and wailing solos were still present, but the final product was a wellrounded, ominous concoction that added melodic breakdowns. This release, Pulling Teeth’s long-anticipated full-length, provides an expanded take on the newfound epic-metal sound. /02

DARK DARK DARK

Wild Go (Supply & Demand) The vocal- and piano-driven chamber folk of Dark Dark Dark deftly balances commanding harmonies and melancholy melodies. The sextet’s music is beautiful and potent, but each tune has the potential to break hearts. (Think of a musical place between the dense indie folk of Mirah and the haunting sounds of The Black Heart Procession.) Wild Go, the band’s second fulllength, is another stunner. /05

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THE BAD PLUS

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MANOREXIA

Never Stop (E1) Built around piano, bass, and drums, the hard-hitting jazz trio known as The Bad Plus is beloved for its inimitable originals as well as its radically re-imagined covers.

Now, after an entire disc of covers, the trio follows with its first full release of original tunes. The instrumentation never shifts, but Never Stop embodies the assorted tastes that have been reflected in the trio’s cover selections—all filtered through a powerful jazz style. /03

Dinoflagellate Blooms (Ectopic Ents) A man of many aliases, JG Thirlwell is the mastermind behind the unclassifiable “industrial” oddities of the Foetus moniker. His instrumental work, which calls upon neoclassical and big-band orchestrations, also has taken many forms, including Manorexia, Steroid Maximus, and the soundtrack for The Venture Bros. TV show. Following a revised chamber-ensemble Manorexia release earlier in the year, Thirlwell’s December release is the first full studio Manorexia album—composed, performed, and produced by Thirlwell—since 2001. /04

RAH DIGGA

BUKE & GASS

Classic (Raw Koncept) Riposte (Brassland) Best known for her work with Busta Rhymes’ Take an altered baritone ukulele (the Flipmode Squad, this edgy MC has been “buke”) and a guitar-bass hybrid (the “gass”) one of the most prominent female lyricists and run them through thick, fuzzy distorin hip hop over the past decade. Classic is tion effects. Add homemade foot percussion Rah Digga’s first solo release since 2000— and the strong, über-melodic pop vocals of due to a sophomore album being shelved Arone Dyer (the buke-ist), and you get the in 2004—and it shines by coupling her shockingly effective duo dubbed Buke & contentious delivery with the head-nodding Gass. Listening to Riposte, the pair’s debut, production of Nottz. Banging beats, squiggly is a great pop-rock experience, but seeing electronics, and cuts of driving organs and it come together on stage is something else. funky flutes make Rah Digga’s return an /07 event to embrace. /06

Scott Morrow is the music editor at ALARM and author of This Week’s Best Albums, an eclectic weekly series presenting exceptional music.

Visit www.alarmpress.com for more. JG Thirlwell photo by Eric Luc.

130 DESIGN BUREAU

FOR HIRE: Brian Anderson The master's candidate puts his eye for detail to work while earning dual degrees from the School of the Art Institute—Chicago.

How did you pick both designed objects and writing as your joint areas of expertise?

Both design and writing seek to create emotional responses. Design happens to draw on mental muscles that overlapped with those I find important to writing, such as vivid recall of visual images and the ability to mentally animate in a spatial way, not to mention the exercise of empathy, placing oneself in another’s shoes, behaviors and circumstances.

Brian likes...

How would you describe your style in 3 words or less?

Hiding, revealing.

Why should somebody ‘hire you’?

Hopefully I am one of very few chemist-educator-writer-designer-makers with significant experience in manufacturing and business processes who is happy working both sides of the creative-rational divide independently or collectively.

motorcycling, John Coetzee’s literary explorations of South Africa, David Hockney’s fairy tale drawings, being able to touch and feel things, durian shakes at Argyle, a good baguette, memories of sporting around in a 1989 BMW 325is past 200,000 miles.

Brian dislikes...

unpredictable commuting, scoffing.

RESUME SNAPSHOT: BRIAN ANDERSON EDUCATION School of the Art Institute of Chicago, MFA Writing/MFA Designed Objects, 2007-present Harvard University, Masters of Education, 1998-1999 University of California San Diego, Bachelors of Science-Chemistry, 1989-1993

Work Experience School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Teaching Assistant, Furniture Making 1, 2007-2010 Washington Academy of Performing Arts, High School Instructor: Curriculum development and classroom instruction in Chemistry and Mathematics, 1997-98.

Interested in being featured in For Hire? Email us at forhire@wearedesignbureau.com

Research Experience Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Greenland Ice Sheet Project (GISP2), Collected ice and rock samples for magnetic field research at the Greenland ice summit and Disko island, 1992, 1993.

Honors Merit Scholar, Writing (2007) and Designed Objects (2009), School of the Art Institute of Chicago

DESIGN BUREAU //Informer

132 DESIGN BUREAU // Informer

NeoCon® World’s Trade Fair Chicago June 13–15, 2011 neocon.com

IIDEX/NeoCon® Canada Toronto September 23–24, 2010 iidexneocon.com

NeoCon® East Baltimore December 15–16, 2010 neoconeast.com

National Exposition of Contract Furnishings To exhibit or register to attend, visit merchandisemartproperties.com or call 800.677.6278.

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