London Open House

Open House Weekend was here again year, and instead of seeing some landmark buildings, I took the opportunity to check out some newly renovated or completed residences in my new neighbourhood, Hackney.

The ques were immense, so we only got around 2 places, Ginger Bread House, and 71 Greenwood Road.

Both designed by the architects who now live in the space, they are designed to an exacting specification to suit their lifestyles.

Gingerbread house was constructed with what is essentially construction-grade plywood, but on a massive scale. All the walls were manufactured off-site and slotted together in a day, the technique leading it's name to the building! Lovely detailing throughout, no space was wasted, making the most of this small plot. 

I really loved the wet room, and the stone lighting detail. So chic!

71 Greenwood Road was a retrofit of a subdivided Victorian Townhouse, into a family home for 5. 

The architect stayed true to most of the materials that the Victorian builder would use, but in some rooms, using a fresh modern take on the cornicing. 

The void and double height space is reminiscent of what we are trying to achieve at Church Road, connecting the main living-areas together spatially.

Wet Room at Ginger Bread House

Honest Detailing

Simple decorative elements let timber speak for itself.

External Cladding

Long queues.. get there early!

Double Height Space at Greenwood Road

View to the Garden from Ground Floor

Rectilinear Detailing

Original Features

http://www.londonopenhouse.org/

Room with a View

A lucky lady, I got treated to a trip to the viewing platform of the Shard!  Pics below.

And we missed the fog.. this was about 3 hours later!!

London Design Week

Last week was Design Week in London, and as usual, there was lots to see. I made it to the stalwarts TENT and 100% Design and caught up on lots of new Trends. Beautiful Pieces from Laura Smith, and Annik at TENT, and some really interesting materials at 100%. Some pics below!

Laura Smith Glass - My Favourite Work!

Laura Smith Glass

Curiousa & Curiousa

IVANKA Concrete

Mini Chandelier.... Reverse Post Modernism

British Porcelain

ALP - love the way the vein runs through the marble

Korean Paper Cuts

http://www.laurasmithglass.com/

http://www.alp-design.co.uk/

http://curiousaandcuriousa.co.uk/

http://www.ivanka.hu/

Catching my breath!

It's been a very busy few months for me, so I've literally just got around to editing some photos from my Bermuda trip in May!  Just thought I'd share some pre-edits for the accessory prints which I'll be working on for some prototypes.  

Alexandra Mosher Studio Jewellery

I've just returned from a fantastic trip to Bermuda, where I have been developing concepts for my accessories range as well as visiting a recent project which has been completed.

Alexandra Mosher is a Bermudian Artisan who creates beautiful Jewellery which represents Bermuda's rustic landscape through the use of texture and sand.

I was honoured to be able to help Alexandra with her new-look shop!  We spent a lot of time on Skype, discussing how she creates pieces, what her collections are like, and how she sees her store working.

I'm thrilled with the result.  She and her team worked tirelessly to create a space which truly reflects her brand.  Here are a few shots I've uploaded onto my website today.

Bright Lights

I finally got to see the Light Show at the  Hayward on Good Friday.   

Really fantastic show, but unable to take photos, I can't show you any of the treats inside.  It really was worth the trip though.  We all enjoyed it, arty-types and non-arty-types alike.

Looking at the medium of light art in much more depth, learning about new artists, and seeing a few old favourites (I had seen the Dan Flavin Retrospective there a few years ago).  

Leo Villareal's Cylinder (at the entrance, and on most of the publicity!) was a firm favourite of most of the group, but when we got to Carlos Cruz-Diez' piece, "Chromosaturation" we were pretty blown away.  There were 3 seperate colour chambers (red green blue), and if you spent too long in one, the colour would drain out, your brain, dulling it down.  It is intended to highlight the physicality of colour, and did just that.

The show has been extended to May 6th, so go!  And take your friends.

SOUTHBANK CENTRE - HAYWARD

PHOTOS FROM THE SOUTHBANK CENTRE WEBSITE.

Arty-tecture - Pecha Kucha

Last wednesday I went to a Pecha Kucha evening organised by the NLA (New London Architecture) and Squire and Partners at 06 Chad's Place near Kings Cross.  

The idea behind "Pecha Kucha" came from Klien Dytham Architects ten years ago in Tokyo, where each speaker would have 20 slides and 20 seconds per slide, to discuss a topic of their choice.  I've been to a few of these events before, they are great because you are always thinking, and if you get a bit bored by a speaker, you are onto the next one in no time!  Also good for learning new things, and meeting some more designers.

This event was specifically aimed at Art and Architecture, and the interaction between both, and at what stage should one begin working with an artist (answer: as soon as to the start of the architectural process as possible).

It was absolutely fascinating and absorbing.  Artists and Architects who worked on project ranging from the London 2012 Olympics through to the Angel Building and the Room for London (that boat on top of the Southbank Centre), they gave us an insight into how rewarding and exciting it can be, to work with an artist.

Personally, I've always pushed for collaborating with local artists when I see fit.  I feel, especially in  interiors, that this creates a strong sense of location for the user, and ownership over the space.  So not like some totally obscure designer has just landed a project in their laps!

Anyhow, it was very enlightening.  I'm really looking forward to the next one.

Klein Dytham - Pecha Kucha

NLA: Pecha Kucha

Paula Rego

I happened upon Ms. Rego’s new exhibition at Marlborough Fine Art on Friday morning.

I’ve not had much opportunity to see much of her work up close, so it was a bit of a treat, although not a necessarily pleasant one!

Her work deals with “the beautiful grotesque” according to her, and there was definitely a strong combination of the both in this show.  I get the feeling she is trying to expose a level of the true nature of  humanity, as she hyper-accentuates ugliness in the characters she portrays.

Really interestingly, she showed the maquettes that she uses to set up for the pastels. 

I especially liked the hand coloured etchings (only £18,000 each…).

The show runs until the 1^st of March.

http://www.marlboroughfineart.com/

David Breuer-Weil - Project 4

On Thursday night this week, I popped along to see David Breuer-Weil’s solo exhibition in the Waterloo vault’s on Leake Street.

Dark and dank, the venue provided a truly atmospheric backdrop for the pieces.  Creating the collection was a huge undertaking by Breuer-Weil’s.  It was great to see not only the finished pieces, but the sketches and videos of the artist at work.

The series spoke of humanity, philosophy and politics, as well as diaspora.  A masterful painter, the colours he used resonated as some sort of memory, being muddied and not clear.  The sculptures were dramatic and aggressive.

It’s running until the 24th of March, and sponsored by artnet.

http://www.davidbreuerweil.com/

Scratch the Surface

So I went to Surface Design show last night, and apart from being a great opportunity to catch up with some old work mates over a couple of pints, I picked up a few good new products, which I'm pretty keen to use.

Firstly, Caesar Ceramiche's dry fix tiles.  Put down on raised flooring, and ready to walk on immediately, a great solution for retailers and commercial office spaces.  And it looks good. No grout! And it doesn't budge.  Call Ben @ Caesar for more info. http://www.caesar.it/contattiUk.jsp

Clayworks have these gorgeous plasters, in natural colours which have a really lovely patina.  It's great to be able to specify a new product, although this one has won a lot of awards already, so I've missed it before!  Eco Friendly, manufactured in the UK.... a great product to spec. http://www.clay-works.com/

And last but not least, these stunning tiles by Japanese Designer Tokujin Yoshioka, supplied by Vicalvi Contract http://www.vicalvi.eu/ . "Rain Mosaics". So so lovely.  I am lucky I stopped in here, on my way out.  They have their permanent showroom at the Business Design Centre... so if you missed the show, you could always stop by.  They had some really stunning decorative tiles. 

Other than that, there wasn't too much going on that really jumped out at me.  I heard a rumour that Surfaceform are about to produce some really exciting plaster products soon though.. watch this space.

Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty.. Don't Wake Me!

Photo Credit: Hugo Glendinning

A very organised friend of mine brought a group of us tickets to Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty.  And I am SO glad she did.  This is the first ballet I have been to for ages.  Now I wish I went to the ballet more often.  It was fantastic.

The set design was gorgeously sumptuous.  It created this amazing dream-like backdrop to the fairytale. It was kind of like watching a Disney film on Ice (the movements were so smooth).. not sure if Matthew Bourne would appreciate that description, but it was pure escapism. 

Watching the dancers were amazing, with such control over their movement, using body language to tell the story.

If you haven't been to a ballet before, this would be an excellent introduction to the genre.  Thoroughly enjoyable.  The performance reminded how important the arts are, and what a great job Sadler's Wells does.  I will try and support them more often.

Photo Credit: Simon Annand

Photo Credit: Simon Annand

Photo Credit: Simon Annand


http://www.sadlerswells.com/