Late Night Design

Good things DO come from Canada.

2010-12-14T08:28:00.000-08:00

(for Michael Lancione & Jon Horsman)

Paul Bernier is an architect out of Montreal. His work is elegant and simple, with a strong attention to detail.

Lesson for Today: What I like most about this residence is the experience of its spaces. The garden feels very much like part of the interior due to its exclusivity and the large glazing on both sides of the house. The downstairs is spacious and public, making the most use of light as possible. The stairs are a strong feature in the house and are designed to let light filter down into the spaces below. As you assend to the upper floors you happen upon bedrooms and small hints of the exterior. Finally on the top floor you reach the climax of the house both in the amount of light let in and the freedom to go outside onto a rooftop patio. It's a wonderful experience.

Paul Bernier website: http://bernier.v2hosting.net/
Photography by Marc Cramer: http://www.marccramer.com/

Richard Meier and a form of music.

2010-10-12T08:40:00.000-07:00

Richard Meier has established himself as one of the finest architects in the world, and was recognized as such when he won the Pritzker Prize (the fields' highest honor) in 1984, the same year he was awarded the commission to do the Getty Center in Los Angeles, a 1 billion dollar project.

Lesson for Today: Minimalism doesn't have to me minimal at all. Richard Meier is truly a sculptor of form and light. The Southern California Beach House displayed here is a great example of stripping away texture, ornamentation, unnecessary siding, roofing, trim... all that stuff, and building a house that is both simple and complicated at the same time. You can rest easy in it, or get pulled into its intricate harmonies in the same way a piano piece by the famous composer Chopin extracts your attention.

Exterior Expression

2010-07-12T09:44:00.000-07:00

At the risk of being redundant, I'm posting the work of another Swedish design firm called WIDJEDAL RACKI BERGERHOF, or WRB. The goal of this post is to illustrate a specific design feature often expressed in modern architecture. This will not be the last post dedicated to this theme.

Lesson for Today: Think of a rectangular space with a roof, a floor and four walls. Cutting holes in the walls to let in light and provide an entrance/exit is one approach, but why not let the elements be more expressive by separating them? Detach the roof from the floor and it becomes a plane that wonderfully expresses the core of what you're building: a shelter. By doing so you're allowing the floor to act like an extension of the earth around the house. Think of walls as something to be added only where they are needed instead of completely enclosing the house and cutting out holes to allow for light and view. -Now you're blurring the lines of interior and exterior and inviting the scenery into the home.

Project: House Gundersen

Project: H - House

Project: Island House

The right way to furnish a space.

2010-06-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

Claesson Koivisto Rune is not only a fabulous Swedish design firm, but their practice extends into furniture, light fixtures, kitchen appliances and even jewelry. Instead of designing a space and giving it over to an interior designer, CKR will furnish the space with the same thoughtfulness and attention as they put into the architecture, creating a wonderful dialogue between the two.

Lesson for Today: For a few of the concept mentioned above, see the captions above the images below.

Project: Apartment With Sauna

The pictures on the left align with the door openings creating a line that reflects the windows to the right. The long table and carpet help emphasize the length of the room.

The floating credenza is accentuated by a subtle reveal in the wall that turns the corner.

The large round light fixture acts as a focal point in the room and contrasts the square shapes throughout the rest of the decor.

Project: Loft Apartment With Spa

The bed frame reflects the tie beams in the ceiling and the hard lines in the space act like lines on a white page.

The glass table and wire-frame chairs are meant to reflect the glass curtain wall beyond.

In this image, the large couches to the right are having a dialogue with the large dark fireplace and the wooden chairs reflect the wood seen elsewhere in the architecture.

Project: The Designers Home

The same wooden right angle can be seen in both the chair and the shelf beyond.

I never knew toilet fixtures could be this sexy...

2010-05-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

I decided to stray from the norm a bit and show you one of my favorite product manufacturers, Duravit.

Bathrooms are often overlooked, which is unfortunate because they act as a sort of strong "detail" to the home. We think of them as a place to get "business" done; you're in your out, it's that simple, but there are those precious occasions when we just need a place to relax. Bathrooms are the most private part of the home and can be a sanctuary for the mind as well as the body.

Lesson for Today:

I'm always frustrated to see bathtubs as a small and shallow basin that serves the primary purpose of catching water from the shower. If a bathroom is where we clean ourselves, the bathtub is strongest symbol of that process, and therefore deserves a position of prominence in the bathroom... that is if you can afford a bathroom the size of my apartment.

Duravit continues to produce elegant and comfortable fixtures that encourage us to enjoy the in-between time. You can see more of their work on their website: Duravit.com

A lesson in form, materials... and a house with a moat.

2010-04-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to try and post something new once a month which is actually not that easy. I want to post work that people might actually get into; architecture that's not so far out there you have a hard time connecting with it, while at the same time stretching you a bit to see what else is out there -sort of the whole point of doing a blog about architecture. So this project is called The Apartment House; designed by Formwerkz Architects.

Lesson for Today:
Once again we have a strong play on solid/void and public/private. The house was designed as a multi-family (3 generation) dwelling, so it was split up into sections with the pool running through the center. The pool splits the house up, but also serves as a common connecting device, much like a hotel pool does. -It is also used to soften the concrete and wood and showcase their materiality. The vertical garden, primarily used for privacy, also helps to express the materials. Notice, there are some wonderful spaces and paths that are created without using four walls and a ceiling.

Finally... I'm back.

2010-03-03T13:32:00.000-08:00

I love that my wife started blogging after I did and has since posted 174 times to my 2. -Makes sense when you think that Layla is the reason she started posting, and the reason I stopped... temporarily. So I wanted to kick this off again really just to get some more great architecture in front of your eyes. This is by David Salmela, one of the better architects in Minnesota. I basically took these images right from his website. If you'd like to see more of his work here is a link: http://www.salmelaarchitect.com/

Lesson for Today:
Most notable here is the way the structure is the underlining theme throughout the house. Everywhere you are you see the overhead beams that are expressed again in the large windows. You're constantly reminded that you're in something bigger, even when you're in a smaller room, which has almost a sculptural effect. The architect also uses the materials and their colors in a strong way, painting the concrete fireplace white to contrast the rest.

The right and wrong way to use materials.

2009-09-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

Often people's use of materials is similar to putting a picture on the wall... its additive. They begin with an average house and insert alternate finishes in order to "upgrade" the house. Wood and other materials find their way into cabinets, trim, casings, and railings. It's similar to "tricking out" your Honda by putting a lot of bells and whistles on it. In the end, it's still a just a Honda.

Visually this room looks very cluttered. Wood is used sporadically in the trim, columns, and window casings, and not in one or two stronger elements so it appears weak and lacking punch.

What I really enjoy are the white light switches by the pictures next the kitchen and by the door. Both pictures and switches are stuck on the wall, but we're meant to ignore the switches and focus on the pictures.

Though the wood in this photo begins to work itself into the structure of the house, it stops abruptly and ends up having an uncomfortable relationship with the rest of its surroundings. One subconsciously asks the question "is this house held up by wood beams everywhere, or just in this location? Why do the beams stop there?" They would have been better off leaving them out in this instance.

The bed and nightstand are nicely crafted pieces of furniture; beefy and massive. The wood casing and base trim are meant to relate, but aren't strong enough to create the right setting for the furniture so the overall space is an uncomfortable relationship between the two.

-Christian Liaigre-

In this sitting nook Christian Liaigre integrates shelving into the space by means of a black high "base". By connecting it with black doors, it is further integrated. Walls are left clean and the black and white act as framework for the wood.

Mmmmm... so sexy...

Throughout the house, concrete is added for its materiality and additional structural support. The effect is a combination of materials whose relationship is not only strong in its tonal quality, but its architectural language as well. Though the materials are old and worn, the spaces created are new, clean and modern.

Note that there are almost no visible light fixtures or switches which can clutter up a wall and detract from its visual mass.

Though the wood in this bath room is not as old as the rest of the house, its use is similar so it maintains the same flavor. -You don't need a ton of old materials to create wonderful space, just an eye for how to use them.

No one lives there. Seriously. It looks like no one is living there...

2009-08-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

So I was visiting folks up north in Bemidji, and after going to lunch with my good friend Ben Caron he decided to show me a "good time" by taking me to a sporting goods store. Now, I like guns and fishing poles just as much as the next guy, but the Carons might be just a bit obsessive about killing animals. It's like; they walk into the woods with a sharp stick, and all of a sudden the forest gets quiet.

Living up north and not knowing a lot about us city folk, Ben wanted to know what it is I get excited about on a daily basis. Well, I actually WOULD love to get out there and hunt some elk, Last of the Mohican's style, but when I'm at home at my desk what often occupies my mind is design. I spend hours looking for new websites, products and architecture, and coming across great design is like a little present wrapped up just for me. So as a way of reaching out to all the hunter/gatherers, and the rest of you occupied in other pursuits, I've decided to write a bit about modern design. This is not going to be an in-depth study of the modern style and its place in our lives, but rather some short, albeit random thoughts on pretty much anything I’m interested in… Also, the last blog I started lasted one entry, so I wouldn't expect much with this one so... Let’s see what happens.

Your kitchen might look something like this. (But hopefully not)

A kitchen designed by John Pawson.
Mmmmm... clean.... This feels, right.

Most times when people see a room like the one above I hear comments like: “people don’t actually live there, right?” Or “I don't own artwork... so why would I want to live in a gallery?" Fair enough. But let’s just take a second to understand what those crazy modern designers are thinking when they create places seemingly void of all life.

Architecture is about space. In each of the five models seen here, space is defined to varying degrees. The model on the left is a plane that defines the space (rather loosely) above it. The second model from the left does a better job of defining space with a corner added. The model in the center is capturing space even further, and the last model does the best job clearly defining the space inside.

A room is most often defined by four walls, a ceiling and a floor. Doors typically connect rooms, but when privacy is not necessary, the separation of spaces can occur any number of ways.

This rendering shows the separation with merely an opening, which, because you can see the end of the dividing wall, is more expressive as an architectural element. By detaching the wall from the ceiling the wall becomes even more expressive while still maintaining the separation.

A credenza can also be used to separate space, but by itself is floating and is not "talking" to its surroundings.

If however, you connect the credenza to a change in floor height, and even further with a change in the wall and ceiling, now the credenza is more than a piece of furniture, but part of the architecture of the space.

This type of clean modern architecture is about a celebration of forms and voids. Walls, ceilings, floors, and furnishings are often a neutral tone to express their shape and form and their relationship to each other.

In this bedroom both the closet to the left and the bed itself contribute to the overall architectural expression in both color and form.

In this image, the sink becomes a reflection of the soffit above it, and the square openings in the sink and tub echo the void cut out of the ceiling. The fixtures not only relate to the rooms design, but strengthen the architecture of the space.

In this bathroom, the solid shapes of the vanity and bathtub mimic the architectural forms surrounding them, but they also help to define the negative space in the room. There are three voids in this room that are as strong as the shapes that define them. The main walking space is the biggest, followed by the space above the vanity and the space above the bathtub.

So the next time you're in a completely blank space that someone is calling their "living room"... . -though you might not know where to sit down, you'll know there's thought put into that.

Alright. There's a little bit of architecture talk for you. This is a blog about design, so because I've been into watches lately, here are a few of my latest finds that follow more of the minimalist tradition. Mind you: actually telling time is not always a priority for these people. Thanks for tuning in...

This is a conceptual alarm clock that allows you to program multiple alarms and wakes you without any sound. Each person wears a wireless rubber ring with an integrated vibration device that generates a tactile alarm. The snooze function is engaged by shaking your hand.