Inspired by the night sky...

I've been finding myself admiring many architectural and design works resembling the night sky. I wanted to share a few of my favorites today.

The Van Cleef & Arpels exhibition 'L'Art de la Haute Joaillerie' in Paris is a collaboration with design agency Jouin Manku. The pieces are illuminated much like constellations in the sky, with the dark blue backdrop contrasting with the jewelry.

This tram stop at Rotonda de Sergio Cardell in Alicante, Spain is designed by SUBARQUITECTURA, and this cover provides shelter from the elements while consistently mimicking the night sky.

Architect Tiago Barros proposed his "Passing Cloud" design to the Van Alen Institute and the Department of Cultural Affairs of New York City as an in a high-speed rail competition. The idea actually contradicts the traditional goal behind a high-speed rail, to get to a particular location at a particular time in a particular manner. The "Passing Cloud" is just that, a free-floating mode of transportation that takes one from one point to another, but in a much freer nomadic type way. It didn't win the competition, but has gained a tremendous amount of attention. Sounds like a great holiday to me.

Florine's Cellophane

I recently thought of Florine Stettheimer and her lovely cellophane decoration. A less well-known female painter of the early 20th century, Stettheimer was friends with Duchamp, O'Keeffe, Stein, and that whole crew, but she kept her work in her own private group of friends to visit her Greenwich village home. She began her more public artist career creating the set for Four Saints in Three Acts (1934). Cellophane was a new invention at this time, and she used in both her home (Fig. 1) and on stage (Fig. 2). I always thought this such a great idea with this new invention at the time, so I wanted to include a few images. Florine Stettheimer is and will always remain one of my favorite ladies.

Aicher's Photoliths

Today I visited the High Museum in Atlanta with some friends. The High currently has an exhibition called "Fast Forward: Modern Moments 1913 - 2013," and it's a collection of modern art in America with several pieces from MOMA. One of my favorite collections in this show was a series of German Otl Aicher's Photoliths, beautiful graphic representations.

 

Athens Regional NICU: First Completed Project

So Tuesday, Athens Regional Medical Center in Athens, Georgia held an open house for the revealing of their new NICU, designed by LeVino-Jones Medical Interiors, my employer. This is the first project that has come to completion in which I took part. I helped select the furniture, materials, and colors for the space. I'm very excited, so I wanted to post some pictures. These are my own photographs, so I apologize for the lack of professional quality.

Höst: Scandinavian Minimalism

It's been quite a while since I've posted. Much has happened since my last post: I have finished design school, been thrown into the real world of balancing two jobs, but I have begun a design career in the healthcare sector. All that is to say, I miss this blog, and I'm making an early new year's resolution to get back into exploring current design in the world.

With that, I just discovered Höst, a beautiful example of industrial and minimal Scandinavian design in a Copenhagen restaurant. The restaurant was design by Norm Architects of Copenhagen, and the lighting and tableware were design by New Norm, a subdivision of Norm Architects. The restaurant has a small palette, including dark industrial lighting fixtures, white rustic walls, and reclaimed wood throughout.

"The theme has been to transform the feeling of eating outside on a Scandinavian farmyard in rural settings to an urban and more minimalist indoor context," said Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen of Norm Architects.    
What I find most remarkable about this space is the use of light, both natural and artificial. The natural daylighting enters in beautiful architectural ways, while the fixtures are stunning, industrial statements.

Desert Rocks

So I have officially graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design (and Magna Cum Laude at that). Now to finish my self applause, I have photographs of a product design project from a ceramics course I just finished.

Henry Leon Charbonnier Performing Arts Centre

I apologize for the lack of posts, but I have officially finished my senior exit project! I have designed the Henry Leon Charbonnier Performing Arts Centre for Athens, Georgia. The space features two concert halls, the 750 seat Albert F. Ligotti Hall and the 190 seat Studio Theatre. The lobby of the complex inhabits the Old Clarke County Jail, and an additional structure has been designed for the two theaters. The concept behind the project is a community connection to both the building and to music itself. The forms of the building evoke a musical score with gradations in forms and juxtapositions of delicacy and strength. The following images are my large 3' x 7' banners for the exhibition. I'll be updating my website with this project soon, and I'll add large images of the drawings and renderings.