2Modern Design Talk - Modern Furniture & Design Blog

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

2009 will certainly go down as a very memorable one, to say the least. I think there will be a lot of reflection on what exactly transpired over this past year. There is no need to rehash it all, the Media does a great job at keeping us up to date with every detail possible.

I guess the one thing that I can decipher from all of this is this...if you are in a position of power, and your decisions impact several people, then make sure that you are acting with other people's best interest in mind. Make sure that your integrity is in check and that you are as concerned with other people's well-being as your own.

CEO's, Politicians, Hedge Fund Managers (Ponzi Scheme Operators), Teachers, Parents, etc...we all inherently know right from wrong. We all know when we are looking to 'just get ours', regardless of the end result of our actions on others.

I am sure I am preaching to the choir...as most of the people that are the root cause of some of these current global concerns will likely never read this, let alone have it sink in. Maybe if we start giving more attention to the people that are doing good things for people, doing the right or selfless thing when no one is even watching, then things will start to change in a positive direction. I hope that good behavior is rewarded and bad behavior isn't in 2009. That is my wish.

I sincerely hope that all of you out there have a very Happy, Healthy (and Conscious) New Year!

Greg

The London Underground and its 100th Anniversary.

Brightest London is Best Reached by Underground, by Horace Taylor, 1924. Published by Underground Electric Railway Company Ltd, 1924. Printed by Dangerfield Printing Company Ltd.

In art, nothing does it for me like the poster, especially the mid century poster, and the London Underground's 100th Anniversary helps to satiate the need for the period  by doing a retrospective of the original posters commissioned by London Transports Frank Pick who as chief of staff for the London Underground made it his mission to create a masterpiece of underground design to alert all potential commuters of the "romance" of traveling by underground.  Now on view at London's Museum of Transport and for a quick tour of some of the finest artists and graphic design posters of the 20th century go online here or for the entire collection view online at the London Transport Museum's website.

No Need to Ask a P'liceman, by John Hassall, 1908. Published by Underground Electric Railway Company Ltd, 1908. Printed by Johnson, Riddle & Company Ltd.

circa 1950, London's Roundel, the symbol created for London's Underground corporate logo that came to be assoicated with much of the city of London was designed by Edward Johnston, a brilliant artist and calligrapher and is a study in typography.

See a century of the Underground Logo, here.

To celebrate the centennial of London's Transport system, 100 new pieces of art have been commissioned by London's Transport.  Also on view, and for sale, at The London Transport Museum's website.

From the Guardian and the Daily Heller.

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CCTV-TV Station and Headquarters, China, Beijing-Nearing Finish.

Architect Rem Koolhaus and his firm the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (Rotterdam) won the competition (in 2002) set for the design and construction of a new complex for the CCTV's new headquarters to be completed in time for the Beijing Olympics.  The design was/is so spectacular that the Museum of Modern Art in New York created an exhibit around it in 2006, already a phenomenon in architectural circles, to address the preconceived notions surrounding the building of a tower with the magnitude this has.  “It’s a fiendishly complex building in terms of program and structure,” Mr. Koolhaas said in a quote from a 2006 New York Times article about the exhibit.

Construction began in 2004 and the famous right angle cantilever at the top of the building was joined in December of 2007.  Reaching their goal of finishing by the time of the scheduled Olympics in Beijing began to look not only possible but plausible.

Several flickr accounts have begun taking images with regularity to keep us updated as to the construction's progress.  Then on May 31st, Nike got the jump on the Olympics when it projected the introduction of China's Golden Athletes Olympic suits  against 4 of the building's columns giving us a small glimpse of what is soon to come at the same time realizing the imaginations of those who created  the sci-fi worlds of Blade Runner and the Fifth Element.  For more stills and to see Nike's eerie video go here. 

Meantime the 5 million square foot complex is more than an astral projection....

The CCTV project also includes a second  building that will house a five-star hotel (bldg left of CCTV) with 300 rooms, restaurants and spas, recording studios and a 1,500-seat theater.  This structure, the Television Cultural Center or TVCC is, as described by the architects, the public component of the project and was to open ahead of the larger headquarters in 2007.

Also as reported by the New York Times, China’s television network  will be capable of broadcasting 250 channels when the headquarters is completed. CCTV currently produces and broadcasts just 16 channels.  For more information about the building and interior drawings visit OMA's official website.

Make Some Green Competition

Keeseh Studio invites students and design enthusiasts to celebrate the pursuit of ecodesign through an international competition to utilize waste material.

A given manufacturing facility creates many copies of a product; therefore they create many copies of their waste material as well. Waste material can be used as raw material for other products or processes; this concept is known as upcycling.

The goal of the competition is to promote upcycling by encouraging the use of wasted materials to generate innovative designs and redefine the standards of environmental sustainability by fostering balance between conservation and development. This competition will provide a stepping stone to help educate viewers of the vast opportunities and future development of environmentally friendly processes, materials, and products.

All entries must be received digitally or by mail no later than October 1st.

3 entries will win media coverage and recognition of their product or process and one will win a cash prize of $1000.

Visit www.makesomegreen.otherpeoplespixels.com for more details

2Modern Supports Emerging Designers

2Modern was proud to sponsor the Design*Sponge Scholarship! Grace at D*S does a wonderful job at promoting and fostering design contests. 2Modern is a primary sponsor on the Design*Sponge blog and for contest, like these, that help emerging designers get their vision to market. Thanks Grace!

There were over 2000 entries and 12 finalists. $11,000 was awarded to 4 winners (listed below):

Jaime Karoses : 1st Place

Talia Bromstad : 2nd Place

Julia Bonnell : 3rd Place

Sharon Levy : 4th Pace

Congratulations to all the winners and best of luck with your design aspirations!

The Level Vodka Tunnel by Hussein Chalayan Vol.8

Level Vodka's owner, the V&S Group, the same spirits manufacturer of Absolut Vodka, took a page out of Absolut's branding book and hired one of fashion's most creative and temporal designers of today, Hussein Chalayan, to somehow reproduce the essence of Level Vodka's taste and deliver it to the world.  The result:  The Level Vodka Tunnel by Hussein Chalayan Vol. 8 on world tour beginning with Mexico City (May 08) heading to Athens Greece for a September exhibit, ending in Paris October 08 and is open to the public for viewing.

     

“The art installation focuses on the unique taste of Level Vodka. My work intends to challenge beholders on many levels – via stimulation of their senses. The idea is to engage in a captivating sensual experience of scent, sound and touch. I want to match all senses – excluding vision – to emphasize the exceptional taste of Level Vodka,” explains Hussein Chalayan.

       

The tunnel itself, made of glass and fiberglass, is 15 meters long x 5 meters high.  The visitor begins by taking in the outside of the tunnel, enters blindfolded and walks through the installation .  Once inside, they will be sensually and innovatively enveloped with the unique taste of Level Vodka through scent, sound and touch. They will hear music played on a flute made with a Level Vodka bottle. (below image) The glass bottle creates a protective shell that results in muted, hypnotic acoustics. Also inside: a breeze carries the scent of lemon and cedar and conjures up the flavor of Level Vodka. Railings coated in the softest leather run through the installation to create an exclusive tactile experience. Before entering the installation, visitors will be fitted with a heart monitor, which displays their heartbeat on the outside of the tunnel.

Hussein Chalayan, left, with flute renderings.  Level Vodka bottle flute, right.

At the other end, visitors can then sidle up to a Level Vodka bar, also part of the installation, and enjoy specially created drinks using Level Vodka as well as sample appetizers picked specifically to compliment Level Vodka's unique tastes.

                  

    

Recipes for the drinks are at Level Vodka's site as is the blog that Chalayan and his team created that will document the journey of the installation from inception through the Paris tour. 

For a very fascinating background on the designer, Hussein Chalayan by Designboom, and to see excellent examples of his fashions and the big reason why Level Vokda would consider tapping him for the project, go here. I highly recommend it.

benita larsson

My good friend Benita is officially a blogger. Definitely bookmark-able... she's a real keeper.

Read more about dear Benita here and here!
[originally posted on designformankind.]

Residential Starchitects on the Rise in New York

I wanted to make quick reference to a fun article in this week's Sunday New York Times called "Nice Tower! Who’s Your Architect?".  It's about the new trend in residential New York "starchitecture". I still haven't made up my mind if it's a blessing or a curse to have residential developers finally realize it might be appealing to have an avant-garde world renowned architect design their building. It's appealing because I always find it challenging and exciting when people like Frank Gehry press physical space to their limits. It's unappealing because, as an unknown architect, I have fewer chances to break into this upper crust of design stars. If you only choose a brand name designer then how do the young guns move up?

In the last five years more than a dozen have been completed; maybe a dozen more are scheduled to break ground this year. They range from soaring, elaborately decorated towers by international celebrities like Jean Nouvel and Frank Gehry to smaller but equally ambitious architectural statements by lesser-known talents like Mr. Denari.

Beautiful chairs at Cribcandy

               

The site Cribcandy is my very last great discovery.  If you don't know it, is like a browser of household design or like a virtual store window.  They select the best pictures that Internet can provide and put all together, including the original link.   So,  is a easy way to find very good pieces.

I've made my own selection here, but you can find many more if you go directly to the category "chairs" from the site.  And, off course, you will find whatever you want in the other categories.

I hope you enjoy my list.  ¿Which one is your favorite?

1) Tete-a-Tete Rocker, by Laurie Beckerman.

2) Doonut, by Branex Design.

3) Scandia Junior Stackable Chair, by Hans Brattrud.

4) Botticelli, by Interior Internet (seller).

5) Get Bent,  by Alexandre Berthiaume.