Sunday, November 27, 2011

New York City Trash Upcycled

Carlo Sampietro is an environmentally concerned artisan who repurposes what he literally finds in the street into industrial chic furniture. A plastic traffic barrel, for instance, becomes a Cloche Chair (with a light-up base) when Carlo Sampietro reinvents “thrown away stuff” from New York City Streets and conjures up his “street is in the house” line of furniture and accessories. He also incorporates old Police barriers, mailboxes, and even used newspaper and magazine holders into vintage chic tables, aquariums, and even dishwashers!










Sunday, November 13, 2011

Zimoun «Sculpting Sound» : The Ringling Museum of Art























Using simple and functional components, Zimoun builds architecturally-minded platforms of sound. Exploring mechanical rhythm and flow in prepared systems, his installations incorporate commonplace industrial objects. In an obsessive display of curiously collected material, these works articulate a tension between the orderly patterns of Modernism and the chaotic forces of life. Carrying an emotional depth, the acoustic hum of natural phenomena blends effortlessly with electric reverberation in Zimoun's minimalist constructions.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Split-Level Loft




Plywood and white paint are known, respectively, as being cheap and bland … but the combination can make for a marvelous modern apartment with ample storage and surprising spaces (that does not cost overly much to renovate into shape).





Two rooms and one dividing wall were the starting point for this remodel in Barcelona by Arquitectura-G (photographs via?Jos? Hevia). From there, the living-and-bedroom half was spliced with a ceiling-hung bedroom loft (hopefully for someone who does not roll over in their sleep!) and packed with built-in cabinets, cubbies, and staircase drawers.







On the other side, a clean and simple kitchen again uses white as the backdrop and light ply to accent the core cooking area, with a slim mobile metal island floating in front of it that can double as a small dining-room table too.






Photos only go so far in depicting a pair of relatively tiny rooms, though – these 3D-projected sectional drawings are a great visual aid to help comprehend the split-level and dual-room experience.









The beauty of this interior lies in part in its status as an apartment – for a full-time, rest-of-your-life home it might seem a bit austere, but as a rental or otherwise temporary urban dwelling it conveys a clear and clean simplicity that sells it as freshly remodeled. With only a few dozen square meters to work with, light-colored wood and paint also help it feel bright and open.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Infinity bookcase

























Created by Dutch artist Job Koelewijn, it is supposed to represent the power of learning, or the infinite number of books that you are never going to read, or something like that.