Archinect - News

Passion for making furniture? A new role at OTTRA may be for you

2024-12-04T10:22:00-05:00

Following our previous look at an opening for an architectural designer at Samara, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a CNC Programmer, Operator, and Fabricator at OTTRA.

The role, based in Brooklyn, calls for an individual interested in using digital skills to fabricate hardwood furniture, objects, and installations. Among the responsibilities for the role will be customizing existing designs on request, building new projects from start to finish, and producing shop drawings.

Image courtesy of OTTRA

Why the role interests us

The open role at OTTRA offers us the opportunity to explore recent engagements by architects in furniture design reported by Archinect. OTTRA is itself an embodiment of this collaboration, existing as the furniture brand of architecture and design firm Zimmerman Workshop.

“As an architect myself, we have hired architects and designers in the past with great success,” Zimmerman notes in t...

SOM and Neri debut inaugural line of urban furniture

2024-11-29T08:45:00-05:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has collaborated with Italian manufacturer Neri on a collection of outdoor furniture products. Named the Nebula collection, the products are designed to fill a need for considered, versatile street furniture to populate main streets and urban corridors. The collection includes bench seating, stools, tables, and a bicycle rack.

“This is a collection born of necessity,” said Carlos Madrid III, Senior Associate Principal at SOM, about the collection. “Our firm has a long history of working at the urban scale, and we have consistently found a dearth of products in the marketplace that are flexible enough to work at the scale of the conversation, as well as the scale of the city.”

Santiago Calatrava designs $40,000 watch for Gübelin

2024-10-08T14:48:00-04:00

Architect Santiago Calatrava has collaborated with Swiss jewelry company Gübelin to develop a limited edition watch. Named the Ipsomatic, the piece is the first watch to be designed by Calatrava and is listed by Gübelin at 34,900 CHF (over 40,000 US Dollars).

Image credit: Gübelin

“I was inspired by the idea of time,” Calatrava said about the watch. “Time exists because there is change, change means movement, the eternal essence of time is the dynamic component of its shape.”

Image credit: Gübelin

According to Gübelin, the watch’s design is informed by the “organic, flowing, and sculptural design” of Calatrava’s architecture. The platinum watch likewise features curved shapes as well as an engraved drawing by Calatrava on the back of the watch depicting two bulls. The hand-drawn sketch was engraved with a four-step laser process with different engraving depths applied to achieve varying shades of color.

Image credit: Gübelin

“The two bulls represent the positive energy, the force and ...

Checking in on Jony Ive’s San Francisco plans post-Apple stardom

2024-09-27T15:56:00-04:00

But for Mr. Ive, Jackson Square also represents personal reinvention. Few people walk away from their profession’s premier job. Even fewer start over again. A self-professed control freak, Mr. Ive decided that he had fretted enough over the snugness of each iPhone box, the layout of every Apple Watch component and the curve of every iPad corner. He wanted something new.

The former Chief Design Officer at Apple, Ive, is fresh off a $100 million-plus real estate buying spree in San Francisco’s Jackson Square, where a large-scale redevelopment is now planned for 2025. Clients of LoveFrom are paying up to $200 million for his services, per the Times. Ive formed the company in 2019. Lots of projects are still veiled in secrecy, including the development of an AI-powered computing experience that is "less socially disruptive than the iPhone."

Eduardo Souto de Moura debuts new timepiece collection for Cauny

2024-06-05T08:00:00-04:00

Eduardo Souto de Moura has debuted a new timepiece collection for the Swiss watchmaker Cauny. His sober grayscale design evokes both the contemporary and classical with an “ironic” modern use of Roman numerals and a polished steel case. Its wrist strap is made of German leather.

Image courtesy Cauny

“I like this watch because it’s simple, you can tell the time well, and it’s like a building: It has to be simple and functional, and if possible beautiful...or, ‘it has to be beautiful and if it works, even better’ as Oscar Niemeyer said,” quips the 71-year-old Pritzker winner.

Previously: Four Pritzker Prize-winning architects have recently designed watches

Moura's contribution to The Architects of Time Series follows a previous collection he designed for the Spanish brand Lebond Watches. He is one of four Pritzker-winning architects to design watch collections lately, joining Rafael Moneo (also for Cauny), Frank Gehry, and his fellow countryman Álvaro Siza.

Image courtesy Cauny

The wat...

MoMA exhibition on 20th-century Latin American design is a 'gem' says Michael Kimmelman

2024-04-05T13:31:00-04:00

The show is a gem. It focuses on domestic design from six countries (Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Venezuela), produced between 1940 and 1980. Latin America had entered a period of transformation, industrial expansion and creativity. Across the region, design was becoming institutionalized as a profession, opening up new avenues, especially for women.

Critic Michael Kimmelman has heaped praise on the 'Crafting Modernity: Design in Latin America, 1940–1980' MoMA exhibition in a new piece for The New York Times. As we reported in December of last year, the show looks at the growth of modernism through an industrial and entrepreneurial lens, using a selection of examples from well-known and revered architects and designers such as Joaquim Tenreiro, Lina Bo Bardi, and Oscar Niemeyer.

"The role that women and immigrants played in shaping professional design and developing a national design vocabulary in Latin America will be emphasized, including the work of designers such as Clara Porset in Mexico, Cornelis Zitman in Venezuela, and Susi Aczel in Argentina," MoMA said about their exhibition at the time.

Samuel Ross unveils Brutalism-inspired Kohler smart toilet concept for Milan Design Week

2024-04-02T12:59:00-04:00

Designer Samuel Ross has shared a preview of the new Formation 02, his first smart toilet concept for Kohler, ahead of the opening of this year’s Milan Design Week on April 16th.

The piece is inspired by Brutalist architecture and will retail for $25,000. The brand is marketing his creation as an inspired demarcation from the traditional silhouettes used in its Eir Smart Toilet line.

Ross sees it as a sculptural enhancement of a necessity intended for use in a variety of settings he describes as capable of delivering "democratic, open, public experiences."

Image courtesy Kohler Co.

His design intentions were so described via a scrollable digital 'Manifesto' relating Ross and his studio SR_A’s philosophy and new model for water solutions. This adds to Ross’ longstanding creative relationship with Kohler, which includes the Formation 01 faucets the new product, rendered Haptic Orange, serves to compliment.

Image courtesy Kohler Co.

"Our objective goes beyond function — it’s closer to v...

Four Pritzker Prize-winning architects have recently designed watches

2024-03-28T11:00:00-04:00

There are countless examples of architects expanding beyond buildings and architecture to engage with product design. This month alone, for example, our news coverage has included a swirling whisky bottle designed by a Zaha Hadid Architects director, a lighting product range by Snøhetta, and a series of biophilic design products by ecoLogicStudio.

In particular, the fashion industry has played host to several intriguing collaborations with big architectural names. Late last year, Frank Gehry collaborated with Louis Vuitton on a handbag for Art Basel Miami Beach one year after Louis Vuitton’s Peter Marino collaboration while, in 2022, Amale Andraos debuted a jewelry collection for Judith Ripka. To further explore this relationship between architecture, product, and fashion, we have rounded up four recent examples of notable architects engaging in the design of watches.

Tambour Moon Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève Sapphire. Image credit: Louis Vuitton

Frank Gehry for Louis Vuitton: Tambou...

Zaha Hadid Architects director designs ‘glowing, swirling’ whisky bottle for V&A Dundee

2024-03-25T13:24:00-04:00

Zaha Hadid Architects director Melodie Leung has collaborated with Scottish whisky distillery Dalmore to create a “dramatic glass sculpture” housing two rare Highland Single Malt whiskies. The sculpture is the second chapter of ‘The Dalmore Luminary Series,’ a collaboration between the distillery and V&A Dundee, Scotland’s design museum.

Image credit: The Dalmore

Leung’s piece is titled ‘The Dalmore Luminary - The Rare - 2024 Edition’ and will be offered at auction with all proceeds donated to the museum. For the piece, Leung worked with Dalmore and master glass artist Fiaz Elson from The Glass Foundry to create a “dynamic glass amber sculpture” to house the 49-year-old Old Single Malt.

Image credit: The Dalmore

The sculpture was produced at The Glass Foundry’s kiln for 12 weeks. An initial molding was made at 890 degrees Celsius and held at that temperature for 15 hours to remove moisture and air bubbles. The temperature was then grad...

Snøhetta designs hemp-based lighting product inspired by 1970s ateljé Lyktan line

2024-03-13T12:02:00-04:00

Snøhetta has designed a line of lighting products for Swedish lighting manufacturer ateljé Lyktan.

The line, named Superdupertube, sees a revision of the manufacturer’s 1970s Supertube product, which was given a “contemporary makeover through extensive material research.”

Image credit: ateljé Lyktan

Image credit: Jonas Lindstrom

“When ateljé Lyktan challenged us to create a new technical office luminaire, we rediscovered their iconic Supertube from the 1970s,” said Snøhetta Partner Jenny B. Osuldsen about the project. “Our joint decision was clear — let's update and elevate the Supertube to a 2.0 version, guided by our commitment to sustainability and cradle-to-cradle thinking.”

Image credit: ateljé Lyktan

The project began as an exploration into how ateljé Lyktan’s products could be reimagined using locally sourced materials with a smaller ecological footprint. Initial experiments with pine cones and coffee grounds led to the choice of hemp fiber, which the...

ecoLogicStudio’s collection of biophilic design products includes algae-based air purifier and 3D printed compostable stool

2024-03-07T11:43:00-05:00

London-based ecoLogicStudio has unveiled a collection of biophilic design products as part of their wider PhotoSynethetica research project.

The collection includes a desktop biotechnological air purifier, a compostable stool, and a 3D printed jewel made of re-metabolized pollution.

Image credit: Pepe Fotografia

The project was overseen by ecoLogicStudio directors Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto, who spoke with Archinect last year on a range of topics related to PhotoSynethetica and ‘ecological intelligence.’ Launched as a research project in 2018 with an academic consortium, the project seeks to “tackle the negative effects of climate change and air pollution on urban wellbeing.”

Image credit: Pepe Fotografia

Each piece in the latest collection has been designed to connect biophilic and design spheres, such as biomass grown from the air purification process becoming a raw material for 3D printing the collection’s compostable stool and jewel. “This collection is born from the drea...

Eames Institute unveils new Eames Archives space in the Bay Area

2024-02-01T18:24:00-05:00

The nearly two-year-old Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity has shared news of its arrival in a new permanent home in the San Francisco Bay Area that will consolidate its archival collection under one roof for the first time.

The new location helps the Institute engage with the collection, which had until now been warehoused at the Eames Office global headquarters in Venice, California. The new Eames Archives will now be housed and exhibited in a gallery space located in Richmond, California, about 15 minutes north of Oakland.

Ray & Charles Eames. Image courtesy Eames Office

Plans had been originally to have the archive located at the Eames Institute’s ranch complex in nearby Sonoma County. Now, the nonprofit's first public space includes a Gallery, Collections Center, and Archives Study Center for its more than 40,000 artifacts overseen by dedicated on-site preservation specialists. A small gift shop bookends the experience. The Eames Institute says this is all vital to making it...

Frank Gehry designs Louis Vuitton handbag collection for Art Basel Miami Beach

2023-12-12T12:53:00-05:00

The 21st edition of Art Basel Miami Beach, which took place last week, featured a special capsule collection from Frank Gehry for Louis Vuitton. The latest in a string of creative product collaborations that have to date included a special fragrance bottle design and the 2014 'Iconoclasts' series contribution offers a “reinterpretation” of the brand’s iconic Capucines bag designed to encapsulate four themes: 'Architecture and Form,' 'Material Exploration,' 'Animals,' and the 'Twisted Box.'

Image courtesy Louis Vuitton.

“It is hard to adjust the existing Capucines shape, which is very strong. We had been working on that design graphically in 2D, and the images that we had made were compelling. I was skeptical that the architectural shape would be strong enough, though,” Gehry explained in Vogue. “The final bag not only got the sculptural feeling that I was looking for, but it also has the graphic quality that we liked.”

Image © Mario Kroes

The fluid fish motif Gehry has revisited tim...

BIG unveils a new sofa piece designed for Natuzzi Italia

2023-10-04T12:45:00-04:00

Furniture brand Natuzzi Italia has unveiled a sofa designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. The Colle Sofa, available online, draws inspiration from Natuzzi Italia’s early iconic designs, “known for their inviting, hospitable style that captures the essence of Mediterranean living,” as the company describes it.

Image credit: Natuzzi Italia

The piece is part of the wider Natuzzi Italia project titled ‘The Circle of Harmony,’ which has included a collaboration with dozens of renowned architects, artists, and designers over the past four years. Described by the company as “a physical and mental place that welcomes the most intimate and social moments by hosting quality time with ourselves and others,” the Colle Sofa features a wide selection of fabric and leather coverings.

Image credit: Natuzzi Italia

“Rooted in Natuzzi Italia's core values — Mediterranean flair, design, harmony, Italian character, innovation, comfort, and sustainability — the 2023 iteration of this philosophy, featuring the Co...

Switzerland releases postal stamp honoring concrete architecture

2023-09-01T11:13:00-04:00

Switzerland's postal service Swiss Post has released a new concrete-inspired stamp. The ‘Art in Architecture’ stamp is the third edition of a series launched by the postal service in 2020, which seeks to “reflect Swiss Post’s commitment to art.”

The stamp follows the previous two editions in incorporating their subject’s material in the stamp itself. Made using cement pigments, the latest stamp holds an ultra-matte finish to give the depicted concrete wall a “tactile dimension.”

Image credit: Swiss Post

“This is a material that plays an important role in the history of architecture,” Swiss Post explains. “Concrete helped art, previously seen by most people as decorative, to attain its independence as an art form. As a stamp design, the symbolic concrete wall represents an artistic pillar that characterizes Swiss Post buildings throughout Switzerland.”

The wider project derives from an initiative that began in Switzerland after the Second World War which said that one percent of publi...

Renowned luxury interiors brand Boffi is looking for a new designer

2023-07-19T18:38:00-04:00

Following our previous look at an opening for an Architectural Senior Project Coordinator - Aviation/Airport Sector at The Beck Group, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Designer at Boffi.

The successful candidate will join Boffi’s team in Georgetown, where they will work with the global luxury brand which is “synonymous with innovation and excellence in kitchens and bathrooms.” The role, which the company says would be ideal for a graduate in interior design or a related field, will involve the use of Vectorworks to produce layout drawings for kitchen, bathroom, and closet designs, as well as assisting the wider team in proposals and presentation preparation.

Related on Archinect: Archinect's Guide to Job Titles: Interior Designer

Why the role interests us

The open role at Boffi offers the opportunity to join a company with a long history of high-profile collaborations. The company was established in 1934 by...

Japanese designer showcases Flatiron Building-shaped speaker

2023-04-14T12:12:00-04:00

Japanese fashion designer Takahiro Miyashita, through his eponymous label TAKAHIROMIYASHITATheSoloist., has unveiled a Hi-Fi speaker in the form of New York City’s Flatiron Building.

The piece stands 43 inches tall and depicts the iconic structure like a sculpture in the process of being carved from a block of cement. The speaker’s material is a high-performance grade polycarbonate composite resin. It features seven speaker units, with an output of 2,000W and a wide frequency range of 20Hz to 25KHz.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by HYPEBEAST (@hypebeast)

The speaker is available for pre-order now, set to be available in early September. It is going for a price of approximately $6,768. More details can be found on the company’s website.

Architect Amale Andraos debuts first-ever jewelry collection for Judith Ripka

2022-12-19T19:00:00-05:00

“The challenge was adjusting to the scale,” Andraos said. “When I first started sketching, the pieces were much bigger. I remember the reaction — the team was very excited about the ideas but I wasn’t computing the budget,” adding that the process of design is “always the same across scales, but this experience was very different because the scale of jewelry and the way it relates to the body is so precise.”

Andraos, who stepped down as Dean of Columbia's GSAPP last May, told WWD that her inspiration to make jewelry for the first time came from her hometown of Beirut’s Art Deco tradition. Other architects like Elena Manferdini and Rossana Hu have contributed designs for the Judith Ripka brand. Pieces from Andraos’ new Ayah Collection retail for between $550 and $1,995. The WORKac co-founder will now rejoin the faculty in Morningside Heights in September after a yearlong sabbatical.

Related Feature Interview on Archinect: Deans List: Amale Andraos of Columbia University's GSAPP

“If you look at Amale’s body of work, she is known for asymmetry. Most people prefer symmetry in jewelry so it was an interesting challenge for us to wrap our heads around Amale’s aesthetic and make it work in jewelry,” CEO and GSAPP alumnus Robert D’Loren of Xcel Brands, Ripka’s parent company, added. “There are several finishes on the metal work, from shiny to matte which creates this remarkable sense of balance...

A look back at Charles & Ray Eames' lesser-known designs in honor of their symmetry in life and death

2022-08-22T18:31:00-04:00

Yesterday's date, August 21st, occupies a unique place in architectural and design history as the day when Charles and Ray Eames both passed away, separated by a decade (1978 and 1988), respectively.

The shared life and work of the iconic power couple has since become the subject of numerous books, catalogs, museum retrospectives, and an excellent 2011 documentary (to name only a few), and enjoys an outsized place in the rich lineage of other husband-and-wife architectural partnerships continued today by the work of SO – IL, TWBTA, Höweler + Yoon, DS+R, and many others.

From the possible influence on early hip-hop carried on later by Ice Cube and Michael Ford, to Ray’s rediscovered RIBA Gold Medal speech, the studio’s legacy as ongoing source of inspiration, and the tranquility of watching perhaps their most famous design being assembled by hand, Archinect has explored the output of their relationship from a number of different angles over the years. All are exemplary of the many me...

Architecture's long relationship with furniture and product design remind us of alternative career paths for architects

2022-01-06T08:37:00-05:00

An architectural background offers a specific level of skills and expertise that individuals can use and leverage outside of traditional employment formats. Take furniture making and product design, for example. This long-standing relationship between architects diving into furniture and product design can be seen in pieces like Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Chair, the Eames' line of iconic chairs, Zaha Hadid's Mesa Table, or my personal favorite Eero Aarnio's Ball Chair.

This merging of craft and discipline has offered individuals with a background in architecture to pursue other branches of design to satisfy their creative interests. In Archinect's Working Out of the Box series, we've had the opportunity to chat with several architects and designers who have pivoted their professional interests into specialized craft-related disciplines such as textile design, sculpture, and furniture/product design. We learn how valuable and multi-dimensional an architecture background can be th...

Louis Vuitton announces Frank Gehry's new fish-inspired perfume bottle collaboration

2021-10-08T17:20:00-04:00

Taking from the movement and fluidity found in his fish motif, Frank Gehry has now teamed up with one of France’s most storied fashion houses for the design of a new fragrance bottle that was unveiled today.

As part of Louis Vuitton’s new Les Extraits Collection, the 92-year-old architect transformed the iconic bottle into a sculptural form that embodies the fragrance’s evocation of travel designed and developed by master perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud.

Image © Florian Joye via Louis Vuitton Les Extraits Collection

“This bottle is a fixed gesture,” Gehry said in a statement to Elle Decor, “a hydrodynamic line that recalls the undulating motion of fish, the spatial expression of that slow, continuous back and forth, the interplay of unstable equilibrium and gliding underwater, which have always been an architect’s obsession.”

Image © Florian Joye via Louis Vuitton Les Extraits Collection

Following the completion of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in 2014, Gehry has collaborated with ...

Savio Firmino unveils chair collection inspired by architectural landmarks, underwritten by the Blockchain

2021-10-01T12:42:00-04:00

Italian furniture and interior design studio Savio Firmino has unveiled a collection of 16 chairs inspired by some of the world’s most iconic architectural landmarks. Titled CITYNG, and designed in collaboration with artist Cosimo De Vita, the collection was exhibited at the 2021 Salone del Mobile in September. The iconic design event, which was curated this year by Stefano Boeri, came one month after the Salone del Mobile appointed Maria Porro as its new president.

Image courtesy of Savio Firmino

The collection of 16 chairs depicts both a geographical journey between West and East and a temporal journey between tradition and contemporary design. “The chair not only becomes a symbolic object of the cities but also symbolically represents their values, traditions, and cultural substratum,” explains Savio Firmino. “It starts in Europe from Florence, the hometown of both Cosimo and the Savio Firmino company, continues to Milan, the city of the Salone and of design par excellence, to t...

Jean Nouvel designs 'dazzling and lasting' kitchen for Reform

2021-09-01T08:54:00-04:00

Jean Nouvel has collaborated with Danish design company Reform on a new kitchen unit, the first designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect. Described as “tight and minimalist, yet characteristically dazzling and lasting,” the kitchen is defined by an understated, art deco design language. The kitchen is available in black or untreated metal, both featuring a monochrome design activated by diffuse reflections across their surface.

Image: Reform / Jean Nouvel

The kitchen is constructed of steel imbued with vertical ridges, finished in a high gloss, reflective surface. The countertops are available in stainless steel with gray and black Fenix laminate, complimenting and accentuating the unit’s reflectivity.

Image: Reform / Jean Nouvel

“Jean Nouvel and Reform occupy different ends of the design spectrum,” Reform said in a statement. “Where Jean Nouvel concerns himself with creating ‘visual landscapes’, Reform is dedicated to delivering extraordinary, yet accessible kitchen desig...

10 new furniture designs for your Friday inspiration

2020-03-13T07:00:00-04:00

In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles.

(Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles!)

Today's top images (in no particular order) are from the board Furniture.

↑ Asanoha by destilat Design Studio GmbH for Grüne Erde

↑ RigUp Office in Austin, TX by MF Architecture; Millwork: Dovetail; Custom Furniture: KKDW; Photo: Hua Liu, Rachel Deng, Charles Davis Smith

↑ Olivera Chaise Longue by Roberto Guzman for KGBL

↑ Coffeebar in Menlo Park, CA by Walker Warner Architects; Interior Design & live-edge walnut communal table: NICOLEHOLLIS

↑ Hi/Lo House Closet Vanity by Hufft

↑ Sant Antoni Lofts in Barcelona, Spain by ROMAN IZQUIERDO BOULDSTRIDGE; Photo: Adrià Goula

↑ Paper Store in New Delhi, India by Architecture Discipline; Photo: Jeetin Sharma

↑ Saint-Laurent Apartment in Montreal, Cana...

"From plates to parks," Julie Smith-Clementi and Frank Clementi launch new design office

2020-01-08T09:00:00-05:00

Los Angeles-based architects Julie Smith-Clementi and Frank Clementi, former founding partners at multidisciplinary architecture office Rios Clementi Hale Studios (RCH Studios), have launched a new comprehensive design practice offering "the full spectrum of place-based design."

Exterior of the Austin City Limits complex. Image courtesy of Smith-Clementi.

The new firm, Smith-Clementi, will work in many of the same arenas that the two principals have engaged with over the decades, including educational projects, public space design, and re-programmed commercial and retail spaces. In addition, Smith-Clementi will continue a focus on residential projects and "artful product designs for the home.”

The two designers left RCH Studios in late 2019 and launched their new practice, according to an announcement, "to more directly work with clients and end users on broader place-based design."

View of the revamped Hollywood Bowl artist spaces (top) and public concession areas (bottom). Image co...

Apple's Jony Ive to leave Apple and form independent design company

2019-06-27T17:58:00-04:00

Apple® today announced that Sir Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, will depart the company as an employee later this year to form an independent design company which will count Apple among its primary clients. While he pursues personal projects, Ive in his new company will continue to work closely and on a range of projects with Apple.

Apple's long-running chief design office, Jony Ive, has announced plans to depart the company to open up his own design practice.

Ive, the designer behind the iMac, iPhone, and iPod, among many other products, is perhaps the most influential industrial designer of his generation.

Jony Ive and Tim Cook at the September 2018 launch of iPhone Xr. Image courtesy of Apple.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said, "Jony is a singular figure in the design world and his role in Apple’s revival cannot be overstated, from 1998’s groundbreaking iMac to the iPhone and the unprecedented ambition of Apple Park, where recently he has been putting so much of his energy and care."

Cook added, "Apple will continue to benefit from Jony’s talents by working directly with him on exclusive projects, and through the ongoing work of the brilliant and passionate design team he has built. After so many years working closely together, I’m happy that our relationship continues to evolve and I look forward to working wit...

What ever happened to pleasurable design? Looking back on Alessandro Mendini's career

2019-03-01T18:06:00-05:00

Exuberant design was [Alessandro] Mendini’s specialty. Mendini died last week, age 87, and his death leaves a void in the school of thought that favored emotion and surprise over the cold efficiency that has come to dominate much of design, calibrated as it is to the precise and bottomless needs of the technology industry.

Trained as an architect with a passion for design, Alessandro Mendini (1931-2019) will be remembered as an advocate for the function of pleasure in design. Mendini and other Italian architects and designers championed a vibrant postmodernism throughout the second half of the 20th century, but Mendini's work was uniquely pervasive in the modern design world.

Anna, designed by Alessandro Medini

Medini's Anna corkscrew (above) was one of the most popular items in the Alessi lineup when it was designed in 1994. Of the design, Fast Company's Suzanne Labarre wrote that "as you stab the screw into a cork and twist, Anna’s arms rise up over her head in a silent hallelujah to the wine-fueled revelry that awaits. Today you can buy all manner of wine openers: electric ones, air pressure pumps, one-handed varieties. But how many corkscrews can make you laugh out loud?"

Medini's name was said in the same sentences as those including Michael Graves and Ettore Sottsass among aesthetes in the 80s...

This new incense conjures up the spirits of Frank Lloyd Wright, Carlo Scarpa and the Eameses

2019-02-07T14:47:00-05:00

The Archinect Outpost has never smelled better. We're now carrying YIELD's new Architect Series incense — a delicious way to spruce up the atmosphere of your work or living space! You can purchase them from us online or visit our retail store in the LA Arts District to smell-before-buying.

Locally handcrafted by Florida-based designer and manufacturer YIELD, this series was inspired by some of the YIELD team's favorite 20th-century architects. The collection features three scents that distill distinct elements of nature and place: Entenza, Wright, and Scarpa.

Inspired by the natural surroundings of the Case Study Homes in the Pacific Palisades, Entenza embodies the essence of the California coast with notes of eucalyptus, rosemary, and birch.

Wright pairs light floral rose with warm sandy tones, like the desert landscape of the iconic architect's Arizona home.

Scarpa balances deep notes of palo santo and rich leather, drawing from the architect's bold yet harmonious sanctuary ne...

From the creator of eVolo Magazine comes a brilliant redesign for the scale-ruler

2019-02-05T13:49:00-05:00

The scale-ruler is as much a staple of architectural draftsmanship as the T-Square or vellum, and it potentially just got a significant redesign. Carlo Aiello, the founder of eVolo Magazine, recently published photos and a video of ESCALA, a 2-in-1 drawing tool combining the scale-ruler with an insertable fountain pen.

ESCALA: scale-ruler fountain pen. Photo by ENSSO.

As of writing this article, 326 Kickstarter backers have invested $21,445 in the product, far exceeding its goal of $7,500.

Celebrated and Detested: 100 Years of Bauhaus

2019-01-21T16:20:00-05:00

“Every child,” lamented Tom Wolfe in From Bauhaus to Our House of 1981, “goes to school in a building that looks like a duplicating-machine replacement-parts wholesale distribution warehouse”. Had there ever been another place on earth, he also said of Bauhaus-influenced America, “where so many people of wealth and power paid for and put up with so much architecture they detested?”

Observer architecture critic, Rowan Moore, on the vast and enduring impact of the "short-lived but longlasting" Bauhaus movement—both the sympathetic and the averse.

The famed school celebrates the centenary of its original founding this year.