Got turned on to this band in the early 90’s and have been listening to them quite a bit over the pandemic. Here’s Harness Your Hopes by Pavement + our 16yr old has been learning this tune on ukulele.
Parametric Design
Parametric Design can be thought of like a spreadsheet, you supply the parameters and the computer kicks-out a summation. It’s a quick way to explore designs while adjusting the variables.
Wood Stove
The bigfish shop just got a little cozier for winter. Four weeks after ordering, the Alpine from CO Cylinder Stoves arrived and got piped into an existing double-walled vent pipe in corner + opted for the side-arm water tank with valve so tea/hot chocolate can be offered to visitors. The wood storage unit for shop scraps is sided with cement board to protect frig., and don’t worry, bikes will only hang there when stove is not firing.
Kylle Sebree - Furniture
Here’s another example of a thoughtful furniture maker creating mostly custom pieces - his blog is worth a look, as well.
Contribution from fellow designer Dan Sjogren at Sjotime Industries.
Copenhagen Loop B.I.G. (Bjarke Ingles Group)
Charged with rethinking urban sprawl and an outdated infrastructure in/around the city of Copenhagen, B.I.G. proposes a 50yr plan (LOOP) that links energy exchange, waste/recycling, water treatment, EV charging, and most interestingly, a public transportation line that is also building, park, commerce hubs and health care campus.
Mary Ellen Mark - Photographer (Mar. 20, 1940 - May 25, 2015)
Mark was best known for her fearless photographs of groups on the fringe of society. Her husband spent the last 4 years distilling her nearly 2 million images down to a retrospective book of 515 plates. Lovely NPR story here.
Mary Ellen Mark by the water, near Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1972.
Diamond the Halloween Mermaid, South Bronx H.E.L.P. Shelter, New York, USA. 1993
Hanging House / Casa Container Marìlia (Brazil)
Fun way to think about materials, reuse and space. More here.
CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY
Cards Against Humanity’s 2020 response to Black Friday (below) says much about this impressive company.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone
Covid Detect (At Home Test Kit) - Jonathan Rothberg
Our daughter, Greta (16), shared this article from the New Yorker with us in the early Fall. Rothberg’s test will be a self administered/at home/rapid test (30mins.) that is less than $20. Approval and roll-out projections are for January 2021, it has a very high accuracy rate and will hopefully be a game changer - in the meantime, where a mask and give everyone lots of space.
Rothberg received the 2015 National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
Studio Gorm
This impressive couple (John and Wonhee Arndt) founded Studio Gorm in 2007 where they design products, furniture, lighting, interiors and exhibitions. They are currently both professors in the Product Design Department at the University of Oregon in Eugene. More here.
Shared with us by our good friends over at Sjotime Industries.
Detail of No. 3 Chair Leather
Micro-Library by SHAU Bandung (Indonesia)
Made with 2000+ ice cream buckets, seems like everyone wins on this one - considered UpCycled Architecture. More here.
Kenzō Takada (Feb. 27, 1939 – Oct. 4, 2020)
Takada was a Japanese fashion designer living in France. He founded KENZO, a worldwide brand of perfumes, skincare products, and clothes, and was the honorary president of the Asian Couture Federation. He died last month (at 81 yrs. old) from complication of Covid-19.
Casa en el Bosque - Weyes Estudio (Mexico)
Love how these impressively small structures (all part of one residence) were carefully tucked into this densely vegetated, rather small lot. More here.
Gordon Matta-Clark (June 22, 1943 – Aug. 27, 1978)
Matta-Clark was best known for artfully dissecting buildings that were slated for demolition. He studied architecture at Cornell but never went on to work at a traditional practice. His art brought attention to a world where buildings (and their histories) were being erased at an alarming rate. It’s believed that his efforts brought further attention to the Historic Preservation movement of the 70s, which would see buildings such as Grand Central Station, several of Louis Sullivan projects and many others, saved.
Barcelona - Green Shift
Barcelona’s city council announced plans to transform (over the next 10 yrs.) one in three streets in its central district into green, car-free public spaces to tackle air pollution and create safer outdoor spaces around the city - this will hopefully be a model many other cities will follow with success.
Santa Anita Cabin
Check out the lovely touches in this retrofit 100+ yr. old cabin (approx. 600sf) where all the materials and furnishings needed to be transported down a narrow canyon path by wheel barrel or pack mule.
Kelvin Doe - Engineer/Inventor/DJ (b. 1996)
Inspiring youth from Sierra Leone, who created among many other things, a windmill (made of scavenged parts) to provide electricity for his community. At 13 years old, he built his own radio equipment and station where he broadcasts news and plays music to his community under the name “DJ Focus”. By age 17, he signed a $100,000 solar project pact with Canadian High-Speed Service Provider Sierra WiFi. Read more here.
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Immortal Jellyfish
About the size of an adult human fingernail, these organisms have a remarkable ability - they can reset from old age to new again, hence the immortal. Turns out, other jellyfish may have this unique Benjamin Button gift as well. More here.
This story was recommended by my daughter Piper.
Heidi Earnshaw Design
Lovely modern furniture by Heidi Earnshaw. More here.
