THE EAST
NEWSPAPER
08 05.09.2012
$3.95
EAST COAST ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN WWW.ARCHPAPER.COM
INTERIORS: THE RULES OF REFINEMENT OFFICE BRIGHT SPOTS THE FINISHES NEW FROM MILAN
DESIGN
The Architect’s Newspaper 21 Murray St., 5th Floor New York, NY 10007
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID ITHACA, NY PERMIT No. 188
point by paul smith
NEWS 03 PUBLISHER
Diana Darling EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
William Menking EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Julie V. Iovine MANAGING EDITOR
Molly Heintz ART DIRECTOR
Dustin Koda
STAR POWER
THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER MAY 9, 2012
MIDWEST EDITOR
Alan G. Brake WEST COAST EDITOR
Sam Lubell SPECIAL PROJECTS
Jennifer K. Gorsche ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Tom Stoelker ASSOCIATE WEB EDITOR
Branden Klayko ASSISTANT MARKETING MANAGER
Clara Jauquet ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Lynn Backalenick CIRCULATION ASSISTANT
Adriana Echandi EDITORIAL INTERNS
Cindy Yewon Chun Matt Shaw Michael Lawlor Tyler Silvestro
CONTRIBUTORS MARISA BARTOLUCCI / SARAH F. COX / DAVID D’ARCY / THOMAS DE MONCHAUX / ROB GREGORY / PETER LANG / ALEXANDRA LANGE / LIANE LEFAIVRE / STEPHANIE MURG / LUIGI PRESTINENZA PUGLISI / KESTER RATTENBURY / CLAY RISEN / AARON SEWARD / D. GRAHAME SHANE / ALEX ULAM / GWEN WRIGHT / PETER ZELLNER EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD PAOLA ANTONELLI / M. CHRISTINE BOYER / PETER COOK / WHITNEY COX / MELISSA FELDMAN / ODILE DECQ / TOM HANRAHAN / SARAH HERDA / CRAIG KONYK / REED KROLOFF / JAYNE MERKEL / SIGNE NIELSEN / HANS ULRICH OBRIST / JOAN OCKMAN / KYONG PARK / CHEE PEARLMAN / ANNE RIESELBACH / TERENCE RILEY / KEN SAYLOR / MICHAEL SORKIN / MARK STRAUSS GENERAL INFORMATION: INFO@ARCHPAPER.COM EDITORIAL: EDITOR@ARCHPAPER.COM ADVERTISING: DDARLING@ARCHPAPER.COM SUBSCRIPTION: SUBSCRIBE@ARCHPAPER.COM REPRINTS: REPRINTS@PARSINTL.COM VOLUME 10, ISSUE 08 MAY 9, 2012. THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER (ISSN 1552-8081) IS PUBLISHED 20 TIMES A YEAR (SEMI-MONTHLY EXCEPT THE FOLLOWING: ONCE IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY AND NONE IN AUGUST) BY THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER, LLC, 21 MURRAY ST., 5TH FL., NEW YORK, NY 10007. PRESORT-STANDARD POSTAGE PAID IN NEW YORK, NY. POSTMASTER, SEND ADDRESS CHANGE TO: 21 MURRAY ST., 5TH FL., NEW YORK, NY 10007. FOR SUBSCRIBER SERVICE: CALL 212-966-0630. FAX 212-966-0633. $3.95 A COPY, $39.00 ONE YEAR, INTERNATIONAL $160.00 ONE YEAR, INSTITUTIONAL $149.00 ONE YEAR. ENTIRE CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2012 BY THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PLEASE NOTIFY US IF YOU ARE RECEIVING DUPLICATE COPIES. THE VIEWS OF OUR REVIEWERS AND COLUMNISTS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF THE STAFF OR ADVISORS OF THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER.
LETTERS
FOR REPRINTS, E-PRINTS AND RELATED ITEMS CONTACT PARS INTERNATIONAL, TEL 212-221-9595; FAX 212-221-9191; WWW.MAGREPRINTS.COM/QUICKQUOTE.ASP.
RECOMMENDED READING
I wanted to thank Paul Gunther for his very generous review in The Architect’s Newspaper (“Fellow Traveler,” AN 02_02.01.2012, on Edward Durell Stone: A Son's Untold Story of a Legendary Architect by Hicks Stone). I have to confess that it was exactly the kind of response that I was hoping to
Recently, Rem Koolhaas was in town talking up Project Japan: Metabolism Speaks (Taschen), a book of interviews, jointly conducted with freelance intellectual Hans Ulrich Obrist, with the surviving leading lights of the Metabolist movement in 1960s Japan. The pair spent six years on the Metabolists, a hugely influential but under-appreciated group that clearly made a deep impression on Koolhaas if not always for the architecture (combining a Brutalist streak with Lego piece overtones) as much as for the dynamics of the group itself. Speaking at the New York Public Library, Koolhaas seemed intrigued with the career paths of the Metabolists—especially their treatment by the media and their solidarity, two aspects of professional life that today seem to be particularly out of joint. We think of starchitecture as a post-Bilbao, post-little black round glasses phenomenon, but in Japan from the 1950s through the ‘70s, architects were not merely celebrated on magazine covers but elevated to “gurus capable of reorganizing the nation,” according to Koolhaas and Obrist. While today’s architects wait for an invite to chat briefly on the Charlie Rose Show, Kisho Kurokawa was not only the host of a TV program where he mused about his theories and activities but even interviewed the prime minister, and also New York Mayor John Lindsay when he paid a visit after Expo 70. In 2007, the year he died, Kurokawa ran for governor of Tokyo. Koolhaas suggests that serious attention was paid to architects in part because of the scale of the problems the nation faced. The war made a “tabula rasa” of modern Japan and the bureaucracy well understood that a blank slate was something that architects might find easier than other professions to negotiate. Secondly, Koolhaas and Obrist remark on the power of fellowship and the sense of shared responsibility fostered among postwar Japanese architects, starting with Kengo Tange who set out purposefully to mold a generation of engaged practitioners literally in his home and at the University of Tokyo where he arranged “committees and groups of architects to rehearse their roles as players on the world stage.” It sounds so invigorating and, except for the part about most of your major cities blown to smithereens, one can’t help wondering what conditions, what trigger could light the same kind of fire underneath architects today. Koolhaas sounds discouraged, describing ours as “a moment when the connection between architects and their own culture has dwindled to insignificance, and the market has dissolved any connective tissue between colleagues.” Koolhaas doesn’t accept that architects have to be invited into the political process; participation itself engenders credibility. He also vastly underestimates the collegial spirit of the upcoming generation of architects, engineers, landscape designers, curators, and critics who are already on the move from a fixation with object architecture to focusing on a much broader shaping of the built environment. Too rarefied to be a manifesto, Project Japan will probably be read as a very thorough documentation of historic importance. Much better to tune into its underlying message: An urgent call to architects to use whatever they have, including celebrity, to locate and nurture intellectual community. JULIE V. IOVINE
elicit when I started my project in 2008. I am exceedingly grateful to you for being so open to the message and not letting the shallow and controversial aspects of father’s story interfere with your reading, as other reviewers have fallen victim to. With warmth and gratitude, HICKS STONE ROXBURY, CT
CORRECTION
In the feature “Inner Circle” (AN 01_01.18.2012) the Poe Park Visitor Center was incorrectly credited to Sheldon Slate Company; Vermont Structural Slate Company (Box 98, 3 Prospect Street, Fair Haven, VT 05743) provided materials for the project.
FOLLOW US AT WWW.ARCHPAPER.COM, FACEBOOK.COM/ARCHPAPER, AND TWITTER.COM/ARCHPAPER
GSA MAY LIMIT PEER REVIEW IN DESIGN EXCELLENCE PROGRAM
Peer Pressure Since the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which oversees the federal government’s multibillion dollar building program, launched its Design Excellence program in 1994, the quality of new federal buildings has improved significantly. Of course Design Excellence is not perfect, but it stresses creative proposals and talented architects and streamlines architect and engineer hiring. Perhaps the most vital part of the initiative, peer review—in which a list of top architects from across the country help advise on and even help select architects—has been put into doubt by new federal guidelines. Currently private sector architects, or “peers,” make up one of five voting members on technical evaluation panels that help select architects for Design Excellence projects. During design and construction review, three-person architecture peer panels provide design critiques. Last October the Office of Federal Procurement Policy issued Policy Letter 11-01, addressing the issue of ending guidance of “the performance of inherently governmental and critical functions.” The letter stresses a determination on “when governmental outsourcing of services is, and is not, appropriate.” Such outsourcing could include consultants, private contractors, or, in the case of Design Excellence, private sector professionals. So GSA is examining whether peer review for architecture projects selection is “in keeping with the regulations and the policy,” said Frank Giblin, who works in the office of GSA’s chief architect. The decision would not affect design/build projects nor would it impact the peer panels that provide design critiques during projects (these architects only play an advisory role). The agency’s goal, said Giblin in midMarch, “would be to have things clarified before it becomes an issue on the next selection of an architectural firm—about six weeks from now. “ The result, he said, could mean that “current architecture/ engineering procurement processes are unaffected.” Of course the decision could also mean the end of a vital component of peer review, which the AIA, for one, sees as a huge mistake. In an email to AN, Andrew Goldberg, AIA’s managing director of government relations, wrote, “Peer review is a central component of GSA’s Design Excellence program. It ensures that federal facilities are designed and built to the highest standards, safeguarding the taxpayers’ investment in government facilities. At a time when federal policymakers are striving to lower energy costs, make federal buildings safer and more accessible, and represent the best in American design, it would make no sense to eliminate or scale back the [peer review] program.” Giblin himself doesn’t disagree. “The peers,” he said, “have helped to raise the bar on the quality of federal design.” But that doesn’t guarantee they’ll remain part of the process. Now it’s a waiting game to see what verdict the bureaucracy delivers. SAM LUBELL
NEWS 04 30 Kenmare St. Tel: 212-925-2555 Designer: Grzywinski + Pons
Located on the corner of Kenmare and Elizabeth streets, the Nolitan hotel is a new presence among the old row houses and industrial garages of its namesake neighborhood. The New York-based architecture firm Grzywinski + Pons took up the challenge of working within the project’s tight parameters. “We wanted to obey the proportions of the pre-existing building stock but not construct a fake facsimile of the 100 to 200 year-old surroundings,” said principal Matthew Grzywinski. In the 3,850-square-foot trapezoidal lot, the architects created several volumes, wrapping them in a cohesive facade made of a terracotta rain screen and low-iron channel glass. The play of shape and shadow continues indoors, where an intimate atrium gives way to a sunken lobby and double-height mezzanine. Mirrors embedded in the bookshelves reflect the city streets through the glazed glass wall. Oak flooring continues into Ellabess, the hotel’s restaurant, which also features a white Carrera marble bar. Upstairs, guestrooms outfitted with neutral wood furniture and exposed bathrooms are illuminated by floor-to-ceiling windows. Maximum light exposure is the running theme throughout the hotel, especially on top, where a 2400-square-foot rooftop deck offers views of downtown, midtown, and Brooklyn. MIRIAM DREIBLATT
EAVESDROP> ISADORA MULLION
> THE NOLITAN
COURTESY THE NOLITAN
OPEN> HOTEL
THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER MAY 9, 2012
MUSICAL DEANS Will a lady dean be stepping into the shoes of Stan Allen, departing Dean of Architectural Design at Princeton? All the names in circulation suggest as much: Sylvia Lavin, scholar, critic, and former chair at UCLA is in the lead; NYC-based Keller Easterling, a commuter associate professor at Yale, has scored an interview; Monica Ponce de Leon, U of Michigan’s Dean of Architecture and Urban Planning, has been passed over. It’s now in the hands of the president, Shirley M. Tilghman.
LOW SUGAR Domino Sugar Factory is back on the block, according to The Observer. And developer Community Preservation Corporation Resources (CPCR) is “shopping all or portions of the potentially $2 billion multi-building development to potential buyers.” What happens now to the gargantuan, glamorous residential towers by Rafael Viñoly? Michael Lappin, who first headed Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), before also taking on its 1992 for-profit spin-off CPCR, quietly resigned last fall. In January another Rafael took over, Rafael E. Cestero, former NYC Housing, Preservation and Development Commissioner. A source familiar with the project suggests that inner turmoil over the mission of CPC-CPCR is the root cause for the sell-off. We’ve heard of for-profits starting non-profits, but non-profits starting for-profits? Dicey for Domino.
DUBBLE-DUTY Last issue, Eavesdrop overshared a New York Post item concerning renovation trouble in Tribeca between Winka Dubbeldam and Stephen Werther, a former president of Ralph Lauren Home. Both co-own and live/work in a building on Hubert Street. The Post pulled the piece the next day; Dubbeldam is actually a minority owner and is counter-suing Werther, who has fired their architect, engineer, and expediter, among a slew of other past legal actions involving former landlords, Kate Spade and Troy Halterman of now defunct Troy design gallery. We also heard he is trying to buy her out, a negotiation trick?....Sorry, Winka! SEND SCORECARDS AND CHOCOLATE COINS TO EAVESDROP@ARCHPAPER.COM
COMMUNITY ON EDGE AS NEW OWNER PLANS RENOVATION OF WRECK
Castore design Michele De Lucchi
Chelsea Checked Out
design
innovation
architecture
Contact your local Artemide sales office for more information. Toll free: 1-877-Art-9111 • contractsales@artemide.net • www.artemide.net
After sightings of Andre Balazs and W Hotel executives slipping into the lobby, the Chelsea Hotel, that high church of poetry and punk, finally found a buyer in August for $80 million. The property landed in the vast portfolio of Joseph Chetrit, a stealth investor who bought Chicago’s Sears Tower with partners in 2004 and has somehow become a major New York real estate player while avoiding the spotlight. That may not be possible any longer. Everyone from Chelsea locals and Didi Ramone fans to lovers of raunch and Hart Crane’s
poetry feel that a piece of quintessential New York is now on the line. The Chelsea’s ramshackle quality was always considered part of its charm. A dank basement odor permeated much of the building. Blackouts, pipe bursts and mice were common. Walls contain several generations worth of wires and pipes run naked along hallways. Fire escapes are only at the west end of the hotel. (Disclosure: I lived in the hotel for seven years.) The Bard family, who managed the hotel for much of the last century, seemed to take
better care of the tenants than of the building. Artwork was often exchanged for rent. Amidst the tumult of the last few years, many commercial tenants and several residents moved out. Those remaining will endure months of empty halls save for construction workers as the hotel has stopped accepting overnight guests to make way for a major renovation. Architect Gene Kaufman, who will oversee the project, has worked with the Chetrit Organization before. Like Chetrit, Kaufman has quietly built a substantial portfolio. TS
PRODUCT 05 ART BARN
TAI PING SHOWROOM
HILLSIDE HOUSE
Spatial clarity, exquisite detailing, and material richness define Matthew Baird’s work, which is refined and never flashy. An interest in materiality runs through the office’s portfolio, which is not surprising given Baird’s ten years of work at Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. Since founding his own office in 2002, the firm has completed a variety of residential and commercial projects that demonstrate this interest to great effect, including a series of showrooms for Tai Ping Carpets and earlier projects such as an awardwinning West Village townhouse with a massive, 17-ton mottled steel plate facade. Recently, the firm has been working at a larger urban scale, first in a proposal for a ramped park and mixed-use neighborhood in Dallas as part of a larger proposal for converting the city’s downtown surface parking lots into
parkland. MoMA selected the firm for its Rising Currents exhibition, which will propose mitigation measures for climate-induced rising waters in New York harbor. Reflecting the firm’s approach, they were the only team selected that included a contemporary artist: Matthew Ritchie is collaborating on the project, and together they have designed a new reef made of recycled glass. Their site includes the Bayonne piers and northern Staten Island shoreline. “We hope to change the way people think about a tarnished landscape,” Baird said. The MoMA commission provides an unusual opportunity for a firm of this size—they number 11 and usually fluctuate between 10 and 15 employees—to take on a regional planning and design problem. “I could do this for a long time,” he said. “Working at this scale is fantastic.” AGB
EQUESTRIAN CENTER EAST HAMPTON, NEW YORK
TAI PING SHOWROOM HAMBURG, GERMANY
ART BARN NEW YORK
HILLSIDE HOUSE PARK CITY, UTAH
The client wanted to avoid the usual tropes of horse parks—white board fences, barns with cupolas—for this new equestrian center in the Hamptons. Baird designed a series of barns and stables as well as a riding ring that are largely concealed behind a series of grasscovered berms. Green roofs, sliding wood screens, and stone walls also help to root the complex in the landscape.
The firm has designed 14 showrooms in different cities across the globe for the custom rug company Tai Ping. Each showroom is meant to reflect the company’s modern aesthetic while embodying the essence of the place. The Hamburg, Germany showroom is located in an Art Moderne office building, the bones of which the architects have exposed. Resin panels, used as room dividers, are embedded with thread, reflecting the company’s wares.
This large house project was almost shelved during the downturn. Baird came back to the clients with the idea of doing a prefabricated house—something of a departure for the architect—that would cost a fraction of the previous design. In keeping with his interest in materials, one side of the house is clad in polycarbonate panels, the other in corrugated Cor-ten. The length of the building functions as a double-height gallery for the client’s extensive art collection.
This three-level hillside house has a flat green roof over the first and second levels, wrapping the building on three sides. The third level— capped by a subdivision-mandated peaked roof—pierces through the green roof with views of Park City below. Inside, walls are covered in reclaimed Douglas Fir and Myrtle, which is typically discarded as a waste wood, giving the room a “mountain modern” feel, according to Baird.
COURTESY MBA EXCEPT TAI PING SHOWROOM: RALPH WENTZ/RAW PHOTOGRAPHY
STUDIO VISIT> MATTHEW BAIRD ARCHITECTS
EQUESTRIAN CENTER
NEWS 04 THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER MAY 9, 2012
GOIN G PU BLIC
NEW O FOR UTDOOR CIVI P C DU RODUCT S TY B Y JE DURABL NNIF E ER K ENOUGH . GO RSCH E
1
2
3
4
5
6
1 GRILLAGE LIGNE ROSET
2 FARMHOUSE CHAIR BEND SEATING
3 CHARLIE TABLE LANDSCAPE FORMS
4 EMU PATTERN COALESSE
5 BASKET JAB ANSTOETZ
6 SMART GRID ATHLETIC LIGHT ENNEAD LAB
Ligne Roset’s new Grillage armchair, designed by Francois Azambourg, is made of a single piece of sheet metal passed through a milling machine to create a mesh pattern, which is then folded to create an oragamilike seat. Coated in either black or blue, the seats can be covered with a quilted slipcover that attaches with magnets. More Grillage styles are forthcoming. www.ligne-roset-usa.com
Based in LA, Bend is a new seating company launched by designer Gaurav Nanda last month. The company’s geometric bent-wire chairs come in one table and four chair designs: Bunny, Lucy, Ethel, and the Farmhouse Lounge Chair (pictured), whose geometry is inspired by the architecture of Amish barns. Each chair is created with a handcrafted shaping and welding process to ensure strength. www.bendseating.com
Originally designed by landscape architects Gustafson Guthrie Nichol for Chicago’s Millennium Park, the Charlie table is now available through the firm’s collaboration with Landscape Forms. Swooping legs take the place of traditional picnic table supports beneath the oval tabletop and curved seats that comfortably seat six while also accommodating wheelchair access. GGN’s Maggie bench is also available. www.landscapeforms.com
Part of the EMU indoor/outdoor line, Coalesse’s new Pattern collection is constructed with a production process that produces a press-molded, 100 percent recyclable chair made from one piece of steel. Designed by Arik Levy, the line includes stackable chairs, square and round tables, and a bench (pictured), all punched with an airy hexagonal pattern. www.coalesse.com
JAB Anstoetz’s Basket line of fabrics are 100 percent acrylic and are suitable for either indoor or outdoor use. Coated in a DuPont Teflon fabric protector, the upholstery is sunlightand UV-resistant as well as mildew-proof, making it ideal for high-traffic areas in which stainresistance and durability are important. www.jab.us
Ennead architect Andrew Burdick’s entry for the Philips Livable Cities Award is the Smart Grid Athletic Light, a modular system of solar- or wind-powered street lights that would offset energy and maintenance costs for recreational sports spaces while allowing the facilities to stay open at night. The light is one of eight finalists in the running for a grant to create a prototype. Public voting ends March 24. www.philips.com/yourvote
NEWS 06 THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER MAY 9, 2012
TOWNHOUSE IN MANHATTAN ARCHITECT: STEVEN HARRIS INTERIOR DESIGNER: LUCIEN REESE ROBERTS NEW YORK, NY
LANDING TRANSFORMATION BEGINS WHERE ARCHITECTURE MEETS DESIGN MEETS A GREAT COLLABORATION.
To a penthouse with terraces on three sides, the firm added 15 pairs of French doors where once there had been mostly windows in this 2,600square-foot apartment in Chelsea. “We wanted to bring a modern sensibility to this prewar apartment,” Janson said. In addition to the architecture, the firm worked with the owners—who are avid collectors—on the interior design, which balances modern and traditional elements. The living area is a warm, light color with a geometric patterned rug, while the library has darker walls appropri-
ate for a more intimate feel. To a penthouse with terraces on three sides, the firm added 15 pairs of French doors where once there had been mostly windows in this 2,600square-foot apartment in Chelsea. “We wanted to bring a modern sensibility to this prewar apartment,” Janson said. In addition to the architecture, the firm worked with the owners—who are avid collectors—on the interior design, which balances modern and traditional elements. The living area is a warm, light color with a geometric patterned rug, while the library has darker walls appropriate for a more intimate feel. To a penthouse with terraces on three sides, the firm added 15 pairs of French doors where once there had been mostly windows in this 2,600-
NEWS 07
To a penthouse with terraces on three sides, the firm added 15 pairs of French doors where once there had been mostly windows in this 2,600-square-foot apartment in Chelsea. “We wanted to bring a modern sensibility to this prewar apartment,� Janson said. In addition to the
NEWS 08 THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER MAY 9, 2012
BUT REFINED HEADQUARTERS FOR A LAWFIRM ARCHITECT: STEVEN HARRIS INTERIOR DESIGNER: LUCIEN REESE ROBERTS CHICAGO, IL
NEWS 09 IN CORPORATE WORLD, THEY GOT THE MEMO: OFFICES SHOULD BE LIVABLE, SLEEK.
screen. Supported with steel beams, the permeable veil is part of the interplay between shared and private space. From the entry, the only fully transparent area to the outside, clients are led west along Bankruptcy is not a cheerful jumping off the glass-walled, screened corridor into point for any design project, but in the one of four doorways to the conference new offices for a law firm specializing in rooms. Here Benson used bamboo the subject in Chicago’s West Loop, local flooring and different shades of yellow in the rooms to create a warm environment, architecture firm 4240 has created an uplifting and open environment. “There’s while the perforated aluminum screen allows light to flood in while keeping a lot going on in this little building,” said public scrutiny out. Robert Benson, design director at 4240. From here the firm’s clients move “It was important to strike a great workthrough a second door into the central life, public-private balance.” space to the four rows of white-top desks Taking its lead from the site’s former with custom-built fixed leather bench occupant, an automotive repair shop, seats. The rows are divided with boxy the design of the 10,000-square-foot glass-fronted shelving units. The ceiling’s office combines industrial materials exposed ducts and pipes, and the bands with luxurious, refined finishes. From of polished concrete floor, reflect the the outside, an aluminum split-roof overarching industrial aesthetic. Indeed, lifts skywards and folds down over the the law firm’s owner initially wanted south-facing glass wall as a perforated to convert the existing repair shop
PRODUCT 10 THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER MAY 9, 2012
HORSE BY DANIEL R. WHITENECK EXHIBITED AT SPAZIO ROSSANA ORLANDI
FLIP FLOP STORY BY DIEDERIK SCHNEEMANN STUDIO SCHNEEMANN
PIANA BY DAVID CHIPPERFIELD ALESSI
XXXX_SOFA BY YUYA USHIDA AHREND
A surreal table with hand-cast iron hooves, laminated plywood legs, and coated foam upper torso. www.danielwhiteneck.com
Used flip flops wash up by the thousands on East African shores and are collected by the Uniqueco Foundation. Dutch designer Schneemann makes lamps and objects out of them. www.studioschneemann.com
Smartly engineered, multi-colored folding chair made of polypropylene with glass fibre in many colors. www.alessi.com
Assembled without tools from eight recycled plastic units (pipes, rings and studs), this two- or three-seater sofa expands, concertina-style. www.ahrend.com
DOMUS CHAIR BY ILMARI TAPIOVAARA ARTEK
POLARIS BY FREDERIC GOORIS ALESSILUX
POH BY RAPHAEL NAVOT CAPPELLINI
REN BY NEMO BY YASUTOSHI MIFUNE CASSINA LIGHTING
From a collection designed by the Finnish master in the 1940s and now reintroduced. www.artek.fi
Part of a new collection of seven LED bulbs with a lot of personality. www.alessi.com
It’s table, bench, and sculpture in wood by a new designer to watch. www.cappellini.it
Three cones support stacked wooden discs that can be adjusted for different lighting effects. www.nemo.cassina.it
SFATTO BY FRANCESCO BINFARÈ EDRA
ARMCHAIR 4801 BY JOE COLOMBO KARTELL
It looks loose as a shar-pei puppy, feels like a cloud. Available in a range of suede, leather, and tapestry fabrics. www.edra.com
A reissue of the iconic Colombo piece first designed in the Sixties. Then the curves were in wood, now it’s all plastic. www.kartell.it
STOOL BY FERNANDO & HUMBERTO CAMPANA KLEIN KAROO
SELLIER CHAIR BY DENIS MONTEL HERMES
Malleable ostrich leather covers a small foldable stool that also comes in acid green and pink. www.kleinkaroo.com
As is their custom, Hermes turns exquisitely crafted leather into highluxe furnishings. www.hermes.com
POWERS OF 50
PRODUCT 11 PEBBLE BY BENJAMIN HUBERT DE VORM
PAVO REAL BY PATRICIA URQUIOLA DRIADE
Easy to assemble and ship, a seating collection of chairs and stools with oak legs and pebble-smooth recycled plastic seats. www.devorm.nl
Outdoor rattan furniture exotic in scale, detail and craftsmanship. www.driade.com
A borosilicate glass tube reveals and celebrates finned heat sink of anodized metal. Available in 1, 2, or 3-tube versions. www.fontanaarte.it
CHOUCHIN BY IONNA VAUTRIN FOSCARINI
FELIX BY WILLIAM SAWAYA SAWAYA & MORONI
With the Japanese name and shape of a traditional bamboo lantern, now made of opaque lacquered blown glass in olive, burnt orange or grey. www.foscarini.com
Indoors or outdoors, kitchen or reception area, this steel bench is meant to conjure Pierre Chareau. www.sawayamoroni.com
KELVIN LED GREEN BY ANTONIO CITTERIO WITH TOAN NGUYEN FLOS
LOUNGER ROUND BY CHRISTOPHE PILLET EMU Long lines and deep molding express the essence of outdoor comfort in a black or white chaise. www.emu.it
TOOL BOXES LINE DEPPING Danish design from 1978, a stack of drawers made of solid ash within a lacquered steel frame. www.linedepping.dk
COURTESY RESPECTIVE MANUFACTURERS
A desk lamp with a green sensor. A brush of the hand and it detects ambient light, adjusting accordingly. www.flos.com
TUBO LED FONTANAARTE
TIDE BY ZAHA HADID MAGIS
COMFORTABLE JEAN-MICHEL FRANK COLLECTION HERMES
It’s a bookcase and shelf any way you arrange it; but not free standing. www.magisdesign.com
The classic armchair comes in leather, of course, but natural sheepskin speaks more to the name. www.hermes.com
BRICK PLAN BY ROCK WANG WITH PEI-ZE CHEN YII
BALANCE BY LAKIYA WEAVERS OF THE NEGEV BCXSY
The marriage of Taiwan craft and design brings forth an improbably delicate concrete and brick vase and bowl collection. www.yiidesign.com
Hand-woven area rugs by Bedouin artisans using the wool of desert sheep through an initiative by the non-profit organization, Sidreh. www.bcxsy.com
OUR PICK OF THE MOST USEFULLY INTRIGUING FROM THE INTERNATIONAL FURNITURE FAIR IN MILAN.
12
RESOURCES
THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER MAY 9, 2012
CHICAGO TRADING FIRM
BATHROOM FIXTURES: Hansgrohe www.hansgrohe.com
Stylex www.stylexseating.com
TILE: CASEGOODS Tuohy Furniture www.tuohyfurniture.com
Anne Sacks www.annsacks.com The Fine Line www.finelinetile.com
LIGHTING: Artemide www.artemide.ud Vibia www.vibialight.com Focal Point www.focalpointlights.com
STOREFRONT WALLS: Pittco www.pittcometals.com
WORK STATIONS: Geiger International www.geigerintl.com
SEATING: Herman Miller www.hermanmiller.com Holly Hunt www.hollyhunt.com
CHICAGO LAW OFFICE
BATHROOM FIXTURES: Kohler www.kohler.com
EXTERIOR: Fabral Architectural Systems www.fabral.com/archcomm Accurate Perforating www.accurateperforating.com
FLOORING: Teragren Bamboo Flooring www.teragren.com
B-K Lighting www.bklighting.com Delray www.delraylighting.com Flos www.flos.it Focal Point www.focalpointlights.com Oxygen www.oxygenlighting.com Tech Lighting www.techlighting.com
STOREFRONT WALLS: KITCHEN: Ernestomeda www.ernestomeda.com
Pittco www.pittcometals.com
WORK STATIONS: LIGHTING Alight www.alights.com
CHICAGO FINANCIAL OFFICE
COMPTIA
Geiger International www.geigerintl.com
SYSTEMS FURNITURE:
LIGHTING:
Teknion www.teknion.com Woodtronics www.woodtronics.com
Energie www.energielighting.com Focal Point www.focalpointlights.com
FLOORING:
CEILINGS:
Lees www.leescarpet.com Milliken www.milliken.com Merida Meridian www.meridameridian.com Ceramica Fioranese www.fioranese.it
Armstrong www.armstrong.com USG www.usg.com
SEATING:
WALLCOVERING:
Moroso www.moroso.com ICF www.icf-office.it
SanFoot veneer www.jacaranda.com
ACCENT LIGHTING
DRY-ERASE PAINT
Artemide Tolomeo www.artemidestore.com
MDC Tabrasa www.mdcwall.com/tabrasa
CEILING TILES
LOUNGE SEATING
Armstrong www.armstrong.com
Coalesse www.coalesse.com
CONFERENCE ROOM SEATING
STORAGE
Haworth www.haworth.com
LAMINATE: Lamin-Art www.laminart.com
Izzy Plus www.izzyplus.com
TASK SEATING CONFERENCE TABLES Bernhardt www.bernhardtdesign.com
Steelcase www.steelcase.com
WORKSTATIONS CARPET Tandus www.tandus.com
Allsteel Stride www.allsteeloffice.com/stride
May 19-22 2012 The 24th annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair May 19-22 2012 at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center 800-272-7469 or 212-204-1060 icff.com
Produced and Managed by GLM