WIDN blog: March 2009 Archives
Dancefloor Power poses huge potential
March 31, 2009
I was talking to a friend of a friend on the weekend who told me about an interesting energy conservation idea that’s gaining popularity in interior design. The story went: “They’re designing a dance club in Germany where the floorboards sit above these special crystals which generate power when people dance over them. The amount of pressure on the dance floor is enough to power all the lighting and sound system.”
Hoppy Easter bathroom set
For only $14.99 you could own this HOPPY EASTER commode set.
Colorful 3-pc. commode set features toilet seat & tank covers plus matching contour rug with anti-slip rubber back. Tank topper holds boutique size tissue box. Elastic seat and tank covers. Polyester, machine wash. Imported. 16"L x 14"W seat cover. Tank cover fits tanks 20"L. Rug 21 3/4"L x 23"W.
Really, who on earth thinks this stuff up?
Kitchen Gang
March 30, 2009
If you ever get lonely in the kitchen...
...get the Head Chef range from Colloco.
Robotic Living
When I first read the headline - ‘Museum of Robots launch new products for the home’ – images of garish metal vases and robot shaped salt shakers came to mind.
Gin and Titonic ice cubes
March 27, 2009
It's Friday, and after work I will be kick-starting my weekend with a tasty gin and tonic. Or will I be enjoying a Gin and Titonic?
Nagasaka and Schemata Architecture Office - Box Home
March 24, 2009
If you’re currently looking for somewhere to live in the location of your choice I may have found you the perfect pad... well it's more of a box really.
Studio Ooms - Solar Powered Bird House
Sometimes I hear a phrase and its cuteness simply breaks my heart. Never anything standard like, "you're the best thing that ever happened to me so I crafted a portrait of you on a pizza for you to eat" (what can I say? I'm vain and hungry), but little nuggets of words that simply make me melt inside.
Rem Koolhaas’ answer to Lego Bricks: Cantilevers & Deconstructivity
March 20, 2009
Think Lego Bricks. See Koolhaas’ 23rd East 22nd West. Spot the step-pyramid like ascension. The comparison stops just there.
The best bed for your cash stash
March 19, 2009
I’d like to preface this by confirming that I am aware stashing cash under a mattress is not the best solution to our current economic troubles. This blog post does not suggest stashing cash in your mattress, it only seeks to reveal the best options for doing so.
TMZ’s video on Tuesday asking various members of Congress what mattress they suggest is best for stashing cash…
…has inspired me to find the best-looking bed options for folks who would prefer to harbour their savings at home. Or clothing, linens, what you decide to store in these drawers, is entirely up to you.
I found myself quite disappointed because most options on the market are quite obviously providing additional storage. How can you keep your Benjamins safe if there are clear-cut drawers like this bed?
This bed is an excellent reflection of the adult-size captain’s bed industry.
This captain's bed from West Elm is the best I could find for non-descript drawers, but I think part of that is due to its dark finish.
Another plus for this bed is its modern design.
Ticking both boxes of disguise and style, Italian company Presotto has beds where the base can be used for storage, accessible by lifting up the mattress.
Plenty of room to stash lots of cash – like if you’ve earned a big bonus.
However, it seems those who fair the best when it comes to selection, are children. I guess it’s your call whether you're comfortable keeping your money stashed in their bedrooms. You know your kids better than me. They might be greedy.
I cannot put into words the joy this bed would have brought me a couple decades ago.
Although I’m not sure I could verbalize how I felt about this one:
Computer game themed design
March 18, 2009
People who play computer games are often scorned. Echoing shouts of "Nerd!" "Loser!" "Sociopath!" follow them wherever they go - or maybe that's just people's opinions of me.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
March 17, 2009
In the spirit of Ireland, I thought I'd share a quick note about a design concept I heard about a few years ago.
(On a random tangent: I'm sure we've all seen today's Google artwork, anyone care comment? I think it's a deep and meaningful representation of Ireland, but that's not why we're here.)
Companies have been developed to sell and install all the shopfittings necessary for folks who want to creat their own Irish pub. Personally, I like the creativity of choosing those sorts of design and branding details myself, but I'm not in the market to open a pub, and that's also off today's topic.
Today I'm picking out all the bits and pieces for my hypothetical Irish pub. Basing my experience off of The Irish Pub Company, which has designed and built more than 400 pubs in more than 40 countries world-wide, and came up at the top of my Google results, I will plan my pub. There are other options of course, like The Ol Irish Pub Company, which put together my home state's drinking holes The Liffey in St. Paul and The Local in Minneapolis. Both pass Nicole’s approval for both beer and sandwiches, the later of which doesn’t get bestowed without serious contemplation (extra points for Reubens).
The pub will be in the outer-ring Minnesotan suburb where my parents live, as I think my current London hometown has plenty to choose from. First I must pick my pub’s style from the options of Country Cottage, Brewery, Gaelic, Traditional and Victorian Dublin.
Country Cottage and Traditional Pub seem like they would suit both the tastes of the locals and blend the best with our local late-1800s, “trading post” architecture.
Country Cottage
Traditional Pub
Although the Gaelic style, which supposedly works well for performance would suit the thriving musicians and arts scene our fair city boasts. Gaelic it is!
Gaelic
All images from the Irish Pub Company
Now I’ll need to choose a name and that’s a problem. Nicole’s Irish Pub just doesn’t sound right, and I’m not Irish. But my husband’s family is, so I’ll steal theirs. The Allens’ Irish pub. (It will of course be family-run and I’m a stickler for proper punctuation on signage).
Next, I’ll need to develop a menu, a logo and other merchandising. (You all know you’ll want an Allens’ Irish Pub t-shirt after your first of many visits). I need to design all Back of House areas to “meet the concept needs and service demands,” take care of zoning and traffic flow planning, look into regulations, hire staff, the list goes on and on and it’s St. Patrick’s Day. I’m off for a Guinness.
Gateshead Milennium Bridge lightens up
March 16, 2009
Gateshead's Milennium Bridge has received a state-of-the-state LED lighting solution that really highlights how well engineered the bridge is.
Sail Rocket's sailing challenge
March 13, 2009
Looking at coverage of a UK team's attempt to set a new world record sailing speed this week for me was a welcome reminder that extreme fun can be extremely useful.
Brit Awards nomination
March 11, 2009
A few months ago I was asked by the Design Museum to make a nomination for the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year Awards. The categories are wide for these awards, including graphics, architecture furniture and product design. But it seemed to me that as architecture is well covered by other awards, I should focus on product and furniture design.
Ecobuild 2009 + Futurebuild
The world’s biggest event dedicated to sustainable design, construction and the built environment, Ecobuild 2009, was held at London's Earl's Court last week.
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Secret Wars: 100 Minutes of Havana
March 10, 2009
Secret Wars: 100 Minutes of Havana
Wenesday 4th March
Village Underground, Shoreditch
This year’s 100 Minutes of Havana event saw the Monorex (the guys behind Secret Wars) and Intercity crews take on the Havana Club’s freestyle drawing challenge. No sketches, no plans, just Edding pens, coloured acrylics and 100 minutes to fill a 16ft high by 40ft wide white wall. This was the first Secret Wars to use coloured inks, so expectations were high…
Capital Gate design by RMJM - Hyatt Hotel, Abu Dhabi
March 09, 2009
Capital Gate design by RMJM
Anyone who’s seen the design for the new tower planned for a Hyatt hotel and office space in Abu Dhabi will inevitably draw parallels with the Leaning Tower of Pisa!
Recession to the pink bathroom rescue
March 06, 2009
We’ve all been to someone’s house, or even lived in a house, with a pink (or, gasp, pea green) midcentury bathroom. I can think of one, in a friends’ parents’ house, which I learned to loathe from her distaste. I hadn’t actually really noticed the pink toilet and tub until she pointed it out.
Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising - Sustainable packaging exhibition
Packaging is one of those things most of us don’t tend to spend much time thinking about. On the other side of the coin, and judging by the complex form and extreme beauty of items as mundane as a drink container, those selling products these days are obviously only too aware of the value of good packaging.
Dollhouses
March 05, 2009
Rachel Whiteread – Place (2008)
I’m yet to work out if it’s the fact I look like Chucky from Child’s Play or that I am 5’10 that makes me yearn to be a doll. Perhaps it’s that everything would be so much easier if I was doll sized. I would get carried around or hitch a lift in secret places or on the backs of cats (I’m very lazy) and I would like to think I’d have a killer bod like Barbie. But thinking about Barbie with Chucky’s face on top is slightly gross so let’s just assume I’d be a generic squashy doll shape.
Exhibition - Ceramic Art London 2009
March 02, 2009
I paid a visit to Ceramic Art London 2009 over the weekend. It was held at the Royal College of Art, and hosted 80 stalls displaying a variety of different ceramics, from ornaments and vases to pots and brooches.
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