IDA Magazine by Georgia Nevison

INTERIOR DESIGN ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECT IN RESIDENCE

DANIEL LIBESKIND’S TRIBECA FLAT

URBAN HOMES: YOUR DREAM HOME INTO A NARROW LOT

CAPTIVATING STAIRS SLAB HEADBOARDS MODERN CHAIRS BATHROOM SINKS

August 2010

$8.99 CN $7.99 US www.ida.org

August 2010

Contents

Editor’s Note 9

In the Now

A general overview of up and coming projects and products. This month IDA will highlight new projects, exhibitions, up and coming designers, and new items in furniture design.

INTERIOR 18

Profile: Stuart Haygarth

Take a look into Stuart Haygarth’s interior light designs. A little avant-guarde for the average home-owner, but one of his lights, might brighten up your day.

Colour Inspiration

As a new home-owner, some new colour might brighten up your own living room.

5 Dressing Rooms

This month IDA will highlight new projects, exhibitions, up and coming design.

August 2010 | IDA

DESIGN 30

Profile: Nani Marquina

A new textile and rug designer. An indepth look at Nani’s exhibition for her pices calld “Little Field of Flowers” all her work is made from recycled and biodegradable materials. She is also a beleiver in fair labor and trade practices

New Modern Chairs

A general overview of up and coming projects and products. This month IDA will highlight new projects, exhibitions, up and coming designers, and new items in furniture design.

ARCHITECTURE 36

Feature: Daniel Libeskind

Take a look into Daniel Libeskind’s new Tribeca flat. A complete tear down and reconstruction. He revamped a historic bank, and turned it into a New York oasis. The vault turned into his bedroom.

The Close Up: Staircase Designs

Looking up close and in detail, at a vast variety of staircases. Interior, corporate, and outdoor examples, to show you the possibilities are endless.

Inspiration: Dream Home

Architects show how even in urban areas, you can still design and enjoy your dream home, even with a narrow lot.

30 Cover: Fitting your dream home in a narrow lot. Article on Page 84. IDA | August 2010

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EDITOR’S NOTE

A Deadline for Design Design? What is or isn’t design? Surorunded in a world of objects, important or not, we look, feel, touch and see the world where everything has been designed. The purpose for this magazine was to create a place where different styles of design came together in a place where they can be seen for what they truly are. With no serparatism readers who want to see a variety of things can come and explore, sit, read and indulge. Being a graphic designer, but influences in product design, interior design and living with architectures. I knew IDA would be the perfect balance. In my day to day life, I don’t just look at graphic design as a place for research and resource, I take examples from all aspects of lige, from my roomates maquette models, or from my naturally vast knowledge of colour and space relationship. Knowing everything there is to know about design is impossible, I would like to see some sort of design encyclopedia, I don’t think it would be physically or humanly possible. So as I continue to sit and thnk about things regarding my design life, the reason and life of this magazine, it starts to worry me about sustainability, and does design need saving? In a world where everyone is so focused on green this and reusable that, what happens to a world that is focused on creating the new, and printing. When there is a world there are people who love collecting, and having things that arent necessarily environmentally friendly, I feel like its important to address this huge concern. Despite having published eco sensitive projects in this issue, I can hardly imagine what green will turn out to be, as I think of what a phenomeon it has already become. Its a good thing that “we” the giant planetary “we” are increasingly aware of environmental issues, and that green has leapt into the nonhippie mainstream. However, as with anything that becomes a full-fledged movement, so follows the inevitable blacklash of antipathy, corporate malfeasance, and marketing mumbo jumbo. The elephant in the room isn’t “greenwashing”, its the everwidening scope of the problems at hand. In a time of melting ice caps, how can low-VOC paint make a difference? WIth more and more greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere

every minute, how will one chair made out of recyclable plastic change anything? While our problems are indeed macro, by making incremental changes, perhaps you or I can effect change. That’s when it comes down to: you and me, two of the almost seven billion people on the planet. The history of the green movement isn’t so much about sequentially pinpointing an arc of events but telling the story of human pressure ont he environment. Consider that it took 123 years for Earth’s population to doublee from one to two billion, but just 12 years to add the most recent billion. It’s no wonder we’re in trouble. Luckily, our scientific understanding of the world seems to increase at a comarable rate, and with it, the drive and ability to change course. That’s where design comes in— Design has always been at its best when it solves problems, and the question of sustainability offers design the biggest problem of all: how to create more stuff without th eimpact of creating more stuff. Sustainability could save design by giving it a renewed sense of purpose. Design shouldn’t just be about making our toothbrushes more grippable and our teapots more quirky. And its shouldn’t just be about moving ore SKUs or producing a fashionable limited edition for a VIP audience. Design should be working toward a world where every aspect of a products lifecycle is thoughtfully considered. Where new technologies, processes and materials are exploited to the utmost. Where costs are minimized, Where durability is as important as aesthetics, And where today’s novelty easily transitions to tomorrow’s precious antique. Design can go a long way to righting the wrongs of our consumer culture by making bad things less bad and good things better, but it can only go as far. The rest is up to you me and IDA •

Georgia Nevison, Editor-in-Chief georgia@ida.com

IDA | August 2010

NSCAD Street Studios Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J1A7 Canada

Owner & Fonder Georgia Nevison President & Publisher Zoe Shelton

letters@ida.com Subscription inquiries Call toll-free 877–939–3553 or visit ida.com

Editor–in–Chief Phil Wilson Design Director Ry Ry Managing Editor NSCAD Studios Senior Editors Editorial Design Class Halifax Editor Ashley Harris Associate Editor Sarita Mann Editorial Assistant Rob Mckaye Copy Editors Kale Harper Fact Checkers Dalhousie Architects Senior Designer Georgia Nevison Design Production Manager Patricial Corbellgio Photo Director G Nevs Photo Editor Leslie Nevison Contributing Editors Greg Nevison (Toronto) Nikki Nevison (London) Laura Corbet (Paris) Media Relations Joanne Nevison Article Reprints Send requests to: reprints@ida.com Fax: 902–412–6387

HIGHLIGHTS

Now In the world of Interiors, Design and Architecture

New Products Exhibitions Architects

10 12 13

Fixtures 14

Ultra modern and retro at the same time, the Tutumu pink casual chairs from Bonaldo are very aesthetically pleasing with their formal bows. Details in Design section.

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HIGHLIGHTS | NEW PRODUCTS Sleeper Sofa: Winner of a furniture competition at the Århus School of Architecture in 1999, Flemming Busk’s Twilight Sleep Sofa distills the concept of a convertible couch to a simple cylinder and rectangle. A compact and scaled sofa, adjusts to three different positions for customized seat depths and lumbar support. A great small space solution. Made in Denmark. $1,800

7 Unique Products Aura Desk Clock: This simply analog clock features large easy to read numbers. A detachable clip on stand allows the clock to be either place on a table or wall mounted. Made of ABS plastic Seiko precision. Hardware, clip on stand, and one AA battery included. MOMO Store. $49

Trinket Tissue Box: Made of durable plastic, this white tissue box cover has a delicate crinkled paper design that adds style to standard tissue boxes. Made in Germany John Brauer. $30

Urban Textiles: Seetal Solanki is a textile designer from the UK currently challenging textiles through urban regeneration. Specialising in constructed and multi media approaches to textiles, Seetal is creating an interactive facade for spaces and buildings that are considered as neglected and abandoned.

August 2010 | IDA

NEW PRODUCTS | HIGHLIGHTS Wallpaper Designs: Osborne & Little are leading fabric and wallpaper designers. We are also distributors of Nina Campbell, Liberty Furnishings, Lorca and Michael Reeves Furniture. Treatro Wallpaper. A dramatic collection of twelve new wallpaper designs inspired by Italian theatre introduces new printing techniques and textured finishes. Some are printed witha new granular glitter texture.

Bookshelf Design: Designer Nauris Kalinauskas X marks shelving unit! Multi-sized shelves store your CDs, DVDs, folders and books all in one clever product. For even more storage space, separate units can be joined together. Asymmetry in perfect balance! $ 999.00

Headboard- Interior Design: King Size Bed with Integrated Side Tables. Bleached sycamore headboard, fir frame and tables with steel inserts. $12,900

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HIGHLIGHTS | EXHIBITIONS

Exhibition Review 1. The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs, featuring more than 40 pieces of furniture and related objects by this protean artist, actor, and furniture-maker will be presented January 30 to April 25, 2010 at Carnegie Museum of Art. A protean artist, actor, and furniture maker dedicated to the primacy of individual expression, Charles Rohlfs (1853-1936) called his unprecedented designs "artistic furniture." The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs is the first major museum exhibition to bring together designer's rich body of work. Rohlfs combined design motifs in remarkably inventive ways and created furniture like none other, contributing a new chapter to the history of American design. He was dedicated to the primacy of individual expression and called his unprecedented creations simply "artistic furniture." His virtuosic carving and imaginative silhouettes relate to Art Nouveau patterns and a wide range of international design traditions, while his innovations influenced the pared-down oak forms of the Arts and Crafts movement. The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs draws on research into the Rohlfs family archives and new documentary sources, which reveal the origins of Rohlfs' designs and the role of his wife, Anna Katharine Green. Additionally, several pieces from the Rohlfs archives are presented for the first time.

2. James Welling: Glass House Regen Projects announced an exhibition of new works by Los Angeles artist James Welling. This exhibition will present new photographs from the “Glass House” series and a video installation “Sun Pavilion.” The “Glass House” photographs were taken over the course of three years (October 2006 to October 2009) at the iconic Philip Johnson Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. The photographs of the House (1949), the Lake Pavilion (1962), the Lincoln Kirstein sculpture (1985), and the Brick Guest House (1949) were made with an array of color filters positioned in front of the lens of a digital camera. The luminous and sublime “Glass House” photographs utilize color in bold and unexpected ways and further the artist’s examination of light, color, and reflectivity and how these elements articulate architectural form. Using an experimental approach to the medium of photography, Welling investigates a variety of formal and theoretical ideas of picture making. His work is uncompromisingly radical and does not adhere to a signature style. Appearance and illusion, the reality of the camera

August 2010 | IDA

and the photographic print, what we see or think we see, perceptionand how things are revealed photographically have always been in dialogue in his work. “Glass House” epitomizes Welling’s investigation into photographic representation and abstracted visual experience, and seamlessly combines these two disparate elements in one body of work.

3. Finnish Films on Architecture: 3 Houses In anticipation of the Center for Architecture’s inaugural participation in MUSE’s annual Art on Screen Film Festival, the Center for Architecture will screen three Finnish films. Both filmmakers feature architecture in their work, and are recent winners at the Montreal International Festival of Film on Art (FIFA).

4. Pentawards 2010 Exhibition in Paris From February 1 to March 27, 2010 the winning packaging designs of Pentawards 2009, the worldwide competition that each year crowns the best packaging designs of the world, will be on show in Paris. The exhibition is a unique opportunity to see these creative and stunning designs from the four corners of the world.

5. Design Walk in Athens 2010 Since 2007 there has been a distinctive reason to come to Athens in February and wander around the historic center of the city: the Design Walk. Each year, studios open their doors to visitors, inviting them to follow a trail that brings them closer to the most functional and everyday applied art. The walk takes in the vibrant area of the city next to the Acropolis, leading the visitor between cult shops and hip bars to discover works by award-winning graphic designers, in one of the most inspiring neighbourhoods in Europe, where ancient Greece, West, East, yesterday and tomorrow meet. For the 2010 walk, double-decker, the London-based curating agency, is challenging 13 Graphic Design Studios to create a piece of work inspired by the contradictions / oppositions with whictal questions in design methodology.

6. Integrated Design: The Complete Experience Decision-making protocols, complementary design principles, and a unified vision support the opportunity to dream without boundaries, then apply a reality check to determine what’s achievable in today’s terms and provide a road map to the future. Melanie Robinson, Krautz is a Principal and Director of Design Group’s Brand Experience Studio. (See- Integrated Continued on page 23)

ARCHITECTS | HIGHLIGHTS

New Talent Teddy Cruz

Jeanne Gang

ost architects live to build. Teddy Cruz lives to lay the economic, social and political groundwork for buildings — specifically, housing and small-scale commercial centers for minority communities, most of them in the rapidly growing area q“some of the richest real estate in the world is 20 minutes away from some of the poorest.” Rather than obsess over the design of a facade or a door handle, Cruz, 47, whose six-person office is in San Diego and who does only nonprofit projects, designs systems. “I call myself a facilitator,” he explained. But these systems are not the grand mega-schemes of contemporary urban planning; Cruz is all about the small-scale. Finding inspiration in border shantytowns, Cruz — who was born in Guatemala and came to this country when he was 20 — argues that their highdensity, ad hoc, “bottom-up” brand of development provides a better model of urbanism than that of the low-density, faux-traditional conformity of the typical American suburb. Cruz, who also teaches at the University of California, San Diego, cited as an example the large numbers of tiny California bungalows, which would otherwise have been demolished, that are trucked across the border to Mexico. There, they are often jacked up on steel frames, with a food shop or carrepair service in the space below, or placed astride their neighbors’ frames, creating communities in (See- Teddy Continued on Page 23)

hen the innovative 82-story Aqua residential tower — with its curving concrete floor slabs that incorporate balconies with enhanced views and double as passive solar shading — opened recently in Chicago, articles on the project noted that it was the tallest skyscraper ever designed by a woman. But even more impressive is the fact that the woman in question, Jeanne Gang, is a mere 45 years old (a youngster by architects’ standards) and founded her office, Studio Gang, in Chicago only 13 years ago — a point at which many architects are still doing apartment renovations. The Illinois-born daughter of a civil engineer and her 35-person office have quickly amassed a portfolio of projects that address the issues of materials, process and community context with equal amounts of boldness and common sense. Aqua’s unusual floor slabs would have been impossible without today’s digital design technology. But Gang’s decision to make them user- and energy-friendly, rather than just formal devices, reveals her interest in making tall buildings better citizens. “Terraces help create a community in the sky,” she said, in a reference to a large apartment project her firm has designed for Hyderabad, India, but which could easily apply to Aqua. “High-rises can often be very isolating.” Studio Gang’s project list includes plenty of small-scale and community projects, too. For a foster-care services and community center on the city’s south side, (See- Jeanne Continued on Page 23)

IDA | August 2010 13

New Sink Fixtures Looking for a statement sink, a conversation starter design for your powder room, a guest bathroom or a master bathroom? Then this fine selection of beautiful bathroom sinks is for you. These carefully chosen out 10 artistic sinks, are the most modern and elegant designs available today. The purpose of this article is to show you what is available in today's modern bathroom sinks. It's up to you to contact manufacturers for details on where to purchase the items mentioned.

(Below) Elegant and practical sink, and is the perfect finishing touch for your bathroom. The irregular shapes have an organic charm and it is, both utilising the same dipped space.

August 2010窶ポ窶オDA

(Above) Elegant and ergonomic, the free standing sinks from Hidra, mould to the shape of your body as the front allows you to lean in to meet the flow.

(Above) These two very modern contemporary, playful, fun-like sinks are from Arredo. With an oversized drain cover making them look like toys, kids will love these unusual sinks. Really unique, the Drag and the Net are deck-mounted designs with no overflow and no tap holes. These cool bathroom sinks stand out for their minimalist artistic appeal.

FIXTURES窶ポ窶ォIGHLIGHTS

(Above) This Swan sink by Amin Design. Designed to complement a waterfall faucet. Art and function, uniqueness and high-tech are some of the characteristics of this design. Install it as a pair to make a beautiful addition to your luxury master bathroom, or as an intriguing centerpiece in your powder room. (Below) A breathtaking sculpture in glacial white, imitating naturally cascading waterfall. No pipes, no drain. Abisko sink creates a soothing sound effect, just like the waterfall, with the falling water disappearing right into the floor. Beautiful and brilliant idea, Abisko Washbasin from Eumar is a totally new concept for our modern lifestyle.

(Above) A nature-inspired art creation, to remind you of sand dunes on that beach you just came from or desire to go to ... the Dune sink is made of Corian by Omvivo and gets its cue from the natural beauty of the constantly evolving dune landscape. It appears as a "soothing and soft presence in the bathroom". It is also practical with its flat side ledge designed for storage. Australia made by Omvivo, this sink is a perfect fit in any contemporary bathroom. (Left) Philip Watts Design, Spoon Sink. Simple and elegant, it is a definite statement piece for a guest bathroom or a powder room. An unexpected design for a pedestal sink, Spoon will charm you.

(Below) Bandini's modern sculptural sinks are true bathroom art, reminding us what artistic gems today's bathroom has to offer. It is the most unusual bathroom installation, sculptural, yet functional. Combining four basins to make a washing area suitable for simultaneous users.

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Design Junkie

Stuart Haygarth

Story by Michael Grozik

Stuart Haygarth is a lighting designer based in London and Berlin. In 2004, he began working on design projects which revolve around the collections of objects. The objects are normally collected in large quantities then categorized and assembled in a way that transforms their meaning. His work is about giving banal and overlooked objects a new significance. The finished piece of work takes various forms such as chandeliers, installations, functional and sculptural objects

Stuart Haygarth’s talent lies in re-imagining waste into striking lighting design. As a London based designer, his work falls into an increasingly present design movement that is part salvage, part make-doand-mend, and 100% stunning. This approach to more sustainable product ranges seems to be a recipe for success, as both the Deptford Design Market Challenge and Trash Luxe at London’s recent Design Festival centered around recycled materials. Stuart’s fixtures have long been an Inhabitat favorite, including his Disposable wine glass chandelier and his beach-waste Tide chandelier. Haygarth has spent many years gathering seemingly insignificant, discarded items such as ceramic figurines, spectacles, glassware and plastic objects whilst beachcombing, cycling and on excursions to markets and car boot sales. These are then sorted and graded, methodically stored by colour, material and subject. Often inspiring the final work through their form, previous use, tactile qualities and

their relationship to light, the found materials are then painstakingly compiled to create lamps and furniture, giving otherwise banal and overlooked objects a new significance. Haygarth sees his years of collecting and studying our unwanted items as an opportunity to investigate our social behaviour and habits. Haygarth has been gathering smashed car wing mirrors from narrow roads and ‘hot spots’ in London, such as the Rotherhithe tunnel, using them to create several new objects including a revolving mirror-ball with 350 smashed wing mirrors attached to a mirrored sphere, and a series of wing-mirror shaped tables complete with smashed glass surfaces. Haygarth is struck by the complex emotions and stories evoked by

PROFILE | INTERIORS PROFILE | INTERIOR

The Tail Light is created from carefully selected vehicle light lenses mainly from trucks, tractors and trailers. Haygarth became intrigued by the lenses covering vehicle lights due to their complexity and beauty. I saw these lenses as lampshades for vehicle lights. The selected lenses are grouped by style and size and attached to acrylic boxes to form robotic structures. When the vehicle lenses are illuminated they are reminiscent of stained glass.

these shattered mirrors and the fact that modern society moves at such a fast pace, courting risk. Haygarth has also continued to explore his famed fascination with spectacles, creating a series of urchin lights for the exhibition; shaggy cascades of frame parts lit from within, and an optical chandelier made from tinted lenses. Hours and weeks are spent measuring and configuring the layout of the assembled quantities until they are ready to be fixed to a central platform or base, creating a unified visual work of art. Originally trained as a graphic designer and photographer, he’s been generating interest in the world of product design for his technique of transforming rubbish into desirable objects. For Trash Luxe, Haygarth will be showing three new chandeliers made from found objects including unwanted sunglasses and a new version using party popper cartridges (Black Millennium chandelier, above). His Millenium Chandelier, shown above, is made from an assortment of exploded Party Poppers and debris collected from London’s millennial celebrations. Originally created as a ‘one-off’ piece, subsequent editions have followed including one exclusively constructed from black poppers. Turning various forms of flotsam into fashioned design piece is nothing new, as we’ve seen with his Tide Chandelier. Although trained in graphic design and photography, Haygarth’s fresh approach to found objects: meticulously collecting, categorizing and crafting new meaning through design, makes his sculptural practice a green benchmark in product innovation. This idea of celebrating the ordinary, reusing forgotten objects instead of manufacturing new materials and generating new waste, is a trend we hope to see more of. This chandelier made of spectacle frames is on show at the Haunch of Venison gallery in London as part of an exhibition of work by London designer Stuart Haygarth. IDA | August 2010 19

INTERIOR | PROFILE

Called Found, the show features lighting made of objects Haygarth has collected through beachcombing, visits to markets and car boot sales. New pieces include a lamp stand made of toothpaste-tube caps and lamps where the base is filled with porcelain figurines. Haygarth has also continued to explore his famed fascination with spectacles, creating a series of urchin lights. Hours and weeks are spent measuring and configuring the layout of the assembled quantities until they are ready to be fixed to a central platform or base, creating a unified visual work of art.Luxe, Haygarth will be showing three new chandeliers made from found objects including unwanted sunglasses and a new version using party popper cartridges Black Millennium chandelier, above. His Millenium Chandelier, shown above, is made from an assortment of exploded Party Poppers and debris collected from London’s millennial celebrations. Originally created as a ‘one-off’ piece, subsequent editions have followed including one exclusively constructed from black poppers. Turning various forms of flotsam into fashioned design piece is nothing new, as we’ve seen with his Tide Chandelier. Although trained in graphic design and photography, Haygarth’s fresh approach to found objects: meticulously collecting, categorizing and crafting new meaning through design, makes his sculptural practice a green benchmark in product innovation. This idea of celebrating the ordinary, reusing forgotten objects instead of manufacturing new materials and generating new waste, is a trend we hope to see more of. Called Found, the show features lighting made of objects Haygarth has collected through beachcombing, visits to markets and car boot sales. New pieces include a lamp stand made of toothpaste-tube caps, and lamps where the base is filled with porcelain figurines. •

August 2010 | IDA

“ I guess from a young age I collected things that interested me, bizzare things from the street, put them in boxes, took them to my room.”

This chandelier made of spectacle frames (left) was on show at the Haunch of Venison gallery in London as part of an exhibition of work by London designer Stuart Haygarth. Previous page: (Top Left) His Millenium Chandelier is made from an assortment of exploded Party Poppers and debris collected from London’s millennial celebrations. Originally created as a ‘one-off’ piece, subsequent editions have followed including one exclusively constructed from black poppers. (Top Right & Bottom) More images of the spectacle light.

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FIXTURES | HIGHLIGHTS

(Integrated- Continued from page 12) She moderates a discussion on how to work more effectively and collaboratively with artists of various disciplines and the importance of this artistic collaboration in the world of design. Panelists include architect Grant Kirkpatrick, landscape designer Jerry Williams, product designer Jon Rahman and interior designer Chris Barrett.• (Teddy- Continued from page 13) which residential and com mercial zones are basically indistinguishable, and which teem with activity day and night. Places like these are “less about

physical buildings and more about social flows,” Cruz noted. “Density is not just about units per acre but the number of social and economic exchanges.” Cruz years in the making should start construction this year in the California border town of San Ysidro. Under the auspices of Casa Familiar, a nonprofit organization that serves immigrant communities, includes a community center on the site of an old church, and affordable rental housing. Projects like these allow Cruz to “focus on the issues of the local — to look in our backyards,” he said. “Every issue converges there.” •

(Jeanne- Continued from page 13) for which the budget was so low that most of the materials were donated or in-kind, Gang designed a facade of three strata of donated concrete, which looks like a geologic cross-section. “Community projects have just as big an impact as something on the skyline,” she said, noting that the building has become a point of pride for the neighborhood. Gang’s current projects include asoon-to-open film school at Columbia College in Chicago; a house near Los Angeles; a wildlife exhibition at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo; and the Ford Calumet Environmental Center in Chicago, which is made solely

of materials recycled from its industrial landscape. Gang loves the challenge of integrating art, science and math with the individual issues that come with each commission, but, as she explained, “At some point in the process, you can turn them off and just make something that inspires.” •

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Colour Inspiration “If you're not quite “ If you’re not quite ready to commit to ready to to bright bright commit furniture, jewel furniture, jewel toned accessories will toned accessories will trick.” dodo thethe trick.”

August 2010 | IDA

COLOUR | INTERIOR

Furniture upholstered in jewel-toned velvets, mohairs and chenilles adds both bright color and sumptuous texture to a room with soft matte brown walls. Glossy red paint on a desk or smooth blue leather on a dining chair provides a gorgeous contrast too. But if you're not quite ready to commit to bright furniture, jewel-toned accessories will do the trick just as well. A candy-pink throw blanket is an energetic touch in a mostly neutral room. Even something as small and fleeting as a vase of flowers can bring a brown room to life. Our dining room has a brown accent wall, and my husband and I labored over the color decision, waffling between browns that were more purplish and those that veered toward black. Ultimately we went with Benjamin Moore's Bison Brown, and we couldn't love it more! It's beautiful on a wall that looks out onto a garden or a view; the outdoor view really pops against the dark paint. IDA | August 2010 25

INTERIOR | COLOUR

There’s something so elegant, even regal, and yet also warm and inviting, about a room with chocolate brown walls, accented with jewel tone colors. The sophistication and drama of the dark brown is just a beautiful counter point to the whimsy and boldness of bright, unexpected color. Have you tried this color scheme at home? Please have fun, be creative and explore! There’s something so elegant, even regal, and yet also warm and invitama of the dark brown is just a beautiful counter ing, about a room with chocolate brown walls, accented with jewel tone colors. The sophistication and drab point to the whimsy and boldness of bright, unexpected color. • Colourful Accents for Your Home: Sylvana Damask Fabric by Nina Campbell, color no. 5, available to the trade through The Joan Lockwood Collections Inc., Seattle Design Center, Ste. A-203, (206) 763-1912.

August 2010 | IDA

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Dreaming for Dressing Rooms

Many a little girl dreams of having her very own dressing room. Some adults managed to have grown-up versions. Because of space constraints, we’ll just have to be consoled with inspiration from other homes.

August 2010 | IDA

IDEAS窶ポ窶オNTERIOR

Many a little girl dreams of having her very own dressing room. Some adults managed to have grown-up versions. But because of space constraints, we'll just have to be consoled with inspiration from other homes.

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Little Field of Flowers Virginia Gardiner

In 1987, Barcelona based designer Nanimarquina established a textile and rug design studio. Since 1993, the company’s designs have been made in northern India. Marquina has devoted her career to promoting sustainable ethics in production. Her definition of “sustainable” applies both to materials (her rugs are biodegradable, one is made from recycled bike inner tubes) and to fair labor and trade practices. 30

August 2010 | IDA

PROFILE | DESIGN

Sketching

As Boontje’s signature style is often associated with cutouts, Marquina’s solution was a good fit. Sheets of felt from Rajasthan go into a die cutter, which is essentially a combination of a waffle iron and a cookie cutter. An iron press cuts outlines into shapes. Using Boontje’s designs, the team at Nanimarquina created six flower combinations for the process, connecting a large blossom to a small one with a narrow stem that is then attached to the rug. Die cutting takes place at SPN Carpets in Panipat, an industrial town and weaving hub on the massive outskirts of Delhi. “We outsource the die–there are lots of die manufacturers in Delhi,” says Tony Mittal, the factory owner. “The machine is about the size of a washing machine. After we press the flowers, we remove them from the machine by hand. Occasionally we find that the edges are no longer crisp, at which point we replace the die.”

Little Field of Flowers was first conceived in 2005, when, in the cyclical course of design trends, flowery was at the height of fashionability. Nani Marquina says, “We thought it would be nice to work with a designer who excels in floral creations, so we contacted Tord Boontje and asked him to send us a proposal.” Boontje’s studio responded to Nanimarquina’s request with an array of characteristic drawings—ornate winding patterns of flowers, leaves, branches, deer, birds, horses, and dragons—that looked like graphic updates of medieval tapestries. Nanimarquina’s Catalonian production team envisioned the designs as modern day textured patterns on woven surfaces.

Die Cutting

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PROFILE | DESIGN

“We ordered the first prototypes in an embossed pattern.” The Nanimarquina team instructed the manufacturers to use a traditional rug-making technique called hand-knotting to transform Boontje’s iconic graphics into relief patterned rug samples. The weft threads weave over and under the tensioned warp threads to create a surface. The technicians tie knots to the warp threads and use a tufting gun to secure them in a rapid pulling motion. The resulting samples showed Boontje’s patterns through changes in surface level, but Boontje didn’t like them. “We then understood that he needed more levels of texture, superimposition, and movement, so we had to alter our manufacturing technique. Our solution was to make the flower shapes by die-cutting felt and placing the pieces into a thick woolen carpet, all in one shade.”

Prototyping

Weaving

Depending on the size of the rug—they come in three sizes—one or two technicians at SPN operate the loom, which involves painstaking manual labor. “Every two or three lines,” Marquina explains, “we insert a pair of die-cut flowers. They are fixed through a wool thread that is woven between the flowers and the base.” The technicians follow an intricate pattern which graphically conveys the intended location of each distinct flower pairing. One rug in a seven-hour workday. “It wasn’t easy,” Marquina remembers, “to find manufacturers willing to take on this project—it’s quite complex.” Mittal was more than willing. “I really enjoy working with Nanimarquina,” he says. “Every time they give me different kinds of designs to make, and I like the challenge. We feel proud.” •

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Modern Chairs

August 2010窶ポ窶オDA

NEW PRODUCTS | DESIGN

We start with the ultra modern chairs for outdoors as these are rare. The Hoop chair designed by Arik Levy for Living Divani is made from steel and covered with weather-proof cushions and pillows. This durable and light design will fit nicely on a modern patio. A great contrast between the bare rigid rod frame and the softness of the pillows gives it a very ultra look. Not every day you see wood furniture that is so seamlessly crafted as these Maui chairs from Riva. These hand-made from a section of cedar trunk objects are truly unique. This next design from Zanotta has that retro feel that you may

be looking for in a modern chair. A combination of tan and white colors on fine leather gives it a very modern and expensive look. This Derby chair with a swivel base will fit nicely in a living room or a bedroom. Zanotta Ultra modern and retro the Tutumu casual chairs from Bonaldo are very aesthetically pleasing with their formal bows. And not without added functionality these chic and classy chairs by Japan's Kaori Shiina can double up as foldable twin-size futons a design for small homes. Bonaldo. A plain design, these almost contemporary Capri swivel chairs from Globe Zero 4 will fit any ultra modern decor space.

With a simple metal base and a bright color and polka dot upholstery they are just a bit too ultra for a classic contemporary taste. These ultra modern chairs Oppo from Bla Station are lovely designs by Stefan Borselius. These funky chairs are great for a kids room or a cool living room. Looking like cute stuffed animals they can fill a room with joy. Can be upholstered with fabric or leather. • Some ultra modern chairs are just art and are not really useful pieces of furniture but these newest chairs can be practical and are very modern looking at the same time. Consider these designs.

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Tribeca Flat

ARCHITECT IN RESIDENCE

DANIEL LIBESKIND

Architect Daniel Libeskind doesn’t do apartments. Befores never became Afters with Libeskind in residence. He simply didn’t have the time. Upon winning the competition to master plan the rebuilding on the former World Trade Center site, the architect returned to New York City from Berlin. Before this move, his wife and business partner, Nina, recalls that they and their two sons, now grown, and their daughter, Rachel, now 15, moved 17 times, to and from New York, London, Toronto, Helsinki, Milan, Berlin and elsewhere. In those years they simply rented or sublet apartments in good buildings with great space, light and views, in architecturally interesting parts of town, and made sure their choices didn’t require much fixing. The family had other imperatives. In his earlier years Libeskind traveled widely, teaching at many architecture schools, and Nina and the children lived where he taught. Libeskind explains, “We always lived in improvised quarters because we never had the money to buy or build. In Berlin, we first furnished our apartment with the huge, empty crates we had used to ship architectural models back and forth. We had a crate for Rachel, and one of our sons turned some into bunk beds.” In 1989, having won the competition to design the Jewish Museum Berlin, he opened his architectural office in that city and soon established an international practice. Back in New York City, the Libeskinds might have moved into a pleasant and conveniently located rental, but instead they did immeasurably better than that. What happened? Architect Alexander Gorlin, a student of Libeskind’s at The Cooper Union in the late 1970s, thought he knew exactly where and how his friend and former teacher should live and offered advice that was heeded. Gorlin himself was remodeling a full-floor apartment for his own use on the third floor of a 100-year-old 10-story loft structure shaped like the Flatiron Building, only smaller. It is located at the very edge of the Tribeca West Historic District, five blocks north of ground zero. A similar, 2,100-square-foot full-floor apartment on the seventh floor in almost derelict condition was for sale, and he arranged for Daniel and Nina Libeskind to see it.

In Breaking Ground, his recently published autobiography, Libeskind writes: “When we first saw the space, it was a mess virtually irredeemable, with a funny shape that had been chopped into rooms in a clumsy fashion. Nina was ready to walk out the door, but I sensed something. ‘If you don’t mind, I’d like to just sit here by this window for five minutes alone,’ I told her and the man who was showing us the space. They shrugged and left me in a chair by the windowsill. When Nina returned, I announced, ‘This is the perfect apartment. Listen to it. It sounds right. Come sit here, get a feel for the light. The light is perfect here. I want to live with this light. We will be happy here.’ ” Gorlin fully expected that Libeskind would be his own architect for the loft and was surprised and pleased by the couple’s decision to give him the job while they played the client role. “At the beginning, when Daniel asked me to do this,” Gorlin recalls, “I expected to be doing his design, but he said, ‘No, do your own thing.’ ” Gorlin, as a resident, was already familiar with the renovation problems of the building, as well as with New York building codes and regulations. The Libeskinds, given the everyday stresses and challenges of their general practice, combined with the inevitable struggles for design control at the World Trade Center site, would presumably have had even less time to dedicate to a renovation than ever before. And Gorlin, a noted residential architect who does do apartments, would bring his talent and years of experience to the effort. This unusual collaboration between architect as client and architect as acting designer is the first time that Libeskind’s architectural aesthetic has been displayed in a domestic environment. With the help of Gorlin, it is a very different aesthetic indeed—no deconstructivist tilted walls, slanted floors, sharp triangulations, mixed geometries, aggressive projections and diagonal slashes of light. “What Nina and I wanted was a quiet refuge,” says Libeskind. “Alex understood without too many discussions what exactly should be done, and he worked well with Nina and Rachel because they were also involved.” And Gorlin remembers, “In the end, when Daniel would say, ‘I trust you,’ that was so invigorating in so many ways. He

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ARCHITECTURE | PROFILE

gave me freedom to experiment, to take his architecture not as a style to emulate but as a model of creative thinking. I didn’t believe it was my task to design the apartment as an homage to Daniel. Instead, it became an opportunity to extend and perfect my own vocabulary.” In plan, the new Libeskind home is an elongated triangle with the points squared off. The diagonal wall facing east to the street once had a row of many small double-hung windows. The great bowl of daylight that enticed Libeskind to buy the loft exists because the high-rises that border the Tribeca district are too far away to fill the immediate sky. Several deep and full blocks of five-story loft and store buildings, built from about 1850 to the early years of the 20th century, lend great beauty and interest to the foreground, their ornamental details reminding Libeskind of those in paintings by Edward Hopper. The remaining two walls of the triangular space also have windows and views. Gorlin and his clients agreed that the apartment had to be gutted completely and all the existing windows replaced by others as wide and high as the building’s structural system and new spatial arrangements would allow. No interior walls impede the vistas from the huge windows on the east wall that now borders the newly created living and dining areas. There is a straight, uninterrupted sweep through the entire space, ending at the street-facing wall to the south. On this wall is the open steel fire escape—like the apartment’s quaint radiators, a necessary relic of the building’s venerable past. While walking about or sitting in the living and dining areas, it is possible to see what Libeskind calls “the greatest iconic buildings in New York City—the distant Chrysler Building and, up closer, the Municipal Building, the Woolworth Building and others.” The Chrysler Building can also be seen through a slot Gorlin ingeniously placed in the sauna. Eventually, from their bedroom, the couple will be able to watch the construction of an icon to come Libeskind’s much-debated and perhaps compromised 1,776sq foo high Freedom Tower as it emerges from ground zero. “I did this,” says Gorlin, “so that Daniel could have a similar experience to Roebling watching the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge from his bed in Brooklyn Heights.” The master bedroom, bath, sauna and walk-in closet are in the southwest corner, with a Murphy bed hidden for occasional visits from the sons. “The most radical thing I did,” says Gorlin, “is the all-glass shower that lets light through from the windows on the diagonal wall.” The Libeskinds can lie in bed and look through the shower and beyond the living space to the view. A mechanized curtain can enclose it for privacy. Rachel’s bedroom and bath and the kitchen fill the remaining west wall. All the enclosed or semi enclosed spaces have invisible doors to make the interior walls appear as uninterrupted surfaces, and a wide and high rotating aluminum door separates the master bedroom from the living space if desired.

August 2010 | IDA

Top: A length of windows spans the east façade, opening the living and dining areas to views of landmark structures. The interior glass allows light to flow through the master shower Above: After- Ingo Maurer light fixtures hang above the glass-topped Le Corbusier dining table.

PROFILE窶ポ窶アRCHITECTURE

In the floor plans, Gorlin and Libeskind reshaped a warren of small, ungainly rooms and reversed the public areas. Here we have the living room which was originally a couple of little useless rooms. Now the Le Corbusier sofa and chair define the living space, along with a Mies van der Rohe chaise and low table and an Eero Saarinen stool

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ARCHITECTURE | PROFILE

“ We always lived in improvised quarters because we never had the money to buy or build. In Berlin, we first furnished our apartment with the huge, empty crates we had used to ship architectural models back and forth. We had a crate for Rachel, and one our sons turned some into bunk beds.” Left: The new dining area. “We fell into an exciting rhythm. It was like being in a symposium on interior design and how it relates to modern architecture.” Top: Near the entrance is the remodeled kitchen. “In order to leave the eastern, diagonal wall open, we put the kitchen on the west side, with a vertical wall deflecting one’s view to the dining and living areas,” Gorlin says. Sub-Zero refrigerator. Wolf stovetop.

August 2010 | IDA

PROFILE | ARCHITECTURE

The palette of materials is consistent and simple: gypsum walls painted white, and gray floors of pietra serena, a stone, chosen by Gorlin, that is said to be from the same quarry in Tuscany used by Michelangelo and Brunelleschi. The Libeskinds decided to keep their immense library at the office 10 blocks away and bring home just a few books at a time, so there are no bookshelves. Nor do they want art on their walls. “You don’t need paintings, because the painting is around us,” says Libeskind. “Looking out these windows is like being on a ship somehow and arriving at the incredible piece of art that is the city.” “For someone whose public persona is very avant-garde, Daniel has a very traditional idea of what modernism is,” says Gorlin, citing his furniture as an example. The Libeskinds’ taste in modern furniture remains fixed mostly in the 1920s. They prefer pieces by Le Corbusier, Mies, Breuer, Rietveld, Saarinen, Aalto—and they like them black. Some were bought in the late 1970s when the couple were at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and have so far survived all the moves of their lives. Libeskind points with affection to a Breuer chair so old, used and often crated and shipped that some of the enamel is worn down to the wood. Gorlin did, of course, suggest that if they were to replace some of their classics with items currently in fashion, their apartment might be a bit chicer, but style for its own sake, at least where they live, appears to be of no interest to them. It is plain that their furniture is a very significant part of their history and is the single constant that makes all the places they have lived in seem like home.•

Below: A rotating aluminum door separates the master bedroom from the living area, while still permitting access to the expansive vistas. When the door is closed, a Murphy bed can accommodate visitors. In the bedroom are a Gerrit Rietveld chair and an Isamu Noguchi lamp. Left: Light enters the bedroom through the glass walled shower which has a retractable privacy shade. Creating dimension within the room are “fractured planes of space,” says Gorlin, adding, “Doors are treated as part of the walls, with reveals at the bases.”

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ARCHITECTURE窶ポ窶ケROFILE

Architect Alexander Gorlin and client and architect Daniel Libeskind peruse books in the living area of the 2,100 square foot apartment Libeskind and his wife, commissioned Gorlin to design in a 100 year-old former bank building in Tribeca

August 2010窶ポ窶オDA

Captivating Stairs

Exterior Spiral Staircase in Metal As for exterior spiral staircases, this is one incredible metal design in Ceccano, Italy. Completed in a monumental style and almost entirely from stainless steel, this modern 3-story staircase is attached to a traditional Italian house architecture. The spiral stairway design is by Italian architects Paolo Belardi and Alessio Burini at HOF Association.

August 2010窶ポ窶オDA

NEW DESIGNS | ARCHITECTURE

Luxury House by Jouin Manku Architects This design is good, and cannot be any better. The wooden staircase that is a centerpiece of the structure is so stunning that it becomes more of an art piece than a functional spiral staircase. It was designed by Jouin Manku, a Parisian architecture firm. This is their first project that was actually built. Right from the get-go, they set the bar very high. The inside of the house is very luxurious and modern, with wood finishes that add a lot of richness to the mostly white interiors.

The Rolling Stairs: Semprini The designer draws inspiration from the ergonomic forms of natural rocks smoothed by water. The stairs look like the giant river stones but they are actually concrete blocks polished to perfection. This spiral staircase appears to lead to nowhere as it was installed as a part of Milan's exposition aimed to show that decor objects can be art. Notice how the spiral steel railing is at no point connected to the staircase. This unusual three-dimensional design is an art masterpiece indeed.

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HOW TO | ARCHITECTURE

Fitting Your Dream Home into a Narrow Lot Vandeventer + Carlander Architects are the brains behind this striking urban home design the Madrona residence located in Seattle, Washington. This chic urban home is situated on a narrow, 35 ft. lot, so the architect created a long and lean house design to suit these dimensions. Sun-soaked interiors are flooded with natural light via tall windows spanning from ground to roof. This south facade of glass is clad in a cedar sun screen, for privacy’s sake as well as for aesthetic appeal. “Designed for a young couple, the wife desired to live at grade

and the husband to dwell in the sky,” according to the architects. These seemingly contradictory dreams come together in this unusual home plan, which incorporates living areas on the ground floor, and bedroom on the second level, and office space atop third floor which opens onto rooftop patios. By designing a linear floor plan, this compact house accommodates the couple’s needs for living, working, socializing and relaxing, all within a busy urban setting.

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