Up High

Nomiya is part temporary art installation, part parasitic architecture, and part experimental restaurant. Perched up high above the Palais de Tokyo, Laurent and Pascal Grasso have designed a truly lovely dining experience. The views alone would make the meal an event to remember, but add in the minimal interiors and the fantastic food... sign me up!

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Via The Beat That My Heart Skipped and David Leibovitz

Planning my escape

For some reason, I've had Paris on the brain for the last month... I keep planning my escape to Paris, even knowing that it won't happen for quite some time!

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I just can't stop thinking about it!

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Photos by Rita Crane
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Peru/France

I think my love of mixed age architecture is well documented... so its no surprise that I love this project. This interweaving of modern and historic sensibilities is quite lovely... Although this Epinay Town Hall looks more like a hotel lobby than town hall. How French! I'm ready to pack up and move right now!

The equis house by Barclay & Crousse has really been giving them a lot of press lately.... and its easy to see why! The pool itself is amazing, but the interconnectedness of the materials and colors is really what makes the project special. The materials and textures are simple, with a redundant use of color giving it more impact.

3X Fresh Architectures

I really love this signage by Fresh Architectures... I'm not sure if they designed the pendant lamps, but I love those too.

A fun restaurant interior by Fresh Architectures...

Lastly, a residential complex by Fresh Architectures. I really appreciate the attention paid to the human scale and public spaces in this design. They seem to have succeeded in creating a community rather than simply a collection of homes.

Doing Good Through Design

War Victims - 'child soldiers' by Pablo Grand Mourcel, France

Water Scarcity by Rémy Le Rumeur, France

Child Mortality by Behrooz Gorgin, Iran

Global Warming by Sadık Sakin, Turkey

Human Rights Violation - 'freedom' by Napin Mandhachitara, Thailand

Hunting - 'stop commercial whaling' by Cédric Quissola, France

STDs - 'aids' by Onur Gökalp, Turkey

Good 'O8 has created a contest for advertisers and graphic designers to allow them to use their craft for good, rather than sales. They created 7 topics and asked designers all over the world to create 50x70 posters based on these topics. Thirty winners were selected from each category (above are a few of my favorites) and could potentially be used by charities across the globe.

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Check the designs out... there are so many fabulous and thought provoking designs...

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Faceless

I really like this faceless collage available at L'Affiche Moderne, found via Emma's Design Blog.

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Forget about Dealing with Codes

Whenever I see an image like this, part of me wishes that I could have a project in an area without codes and restrictions, and part of me wishes we saw more exciting projects that managed to deal with the local codes and restrictions...

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Still... you've got to admit, that those are one spectacular run of stairs.

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Via Style Files

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Walk On Water

When you first look at these images, its almost as if they've been photoshopped to show different people standing in the middle of the lake. And that's obviously the idea...

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I love this installation by Sung Jang and Shin Azumi. It was intended an alternative playground for the Vitra Workshop in Boisbuchet, France. Visitors could wander out to the middle of the lake and commune with nature without the burden of man-made interferences like boats or aircraft. While the clear underwater platform allows you to walk out on top of the water, granting you the illusion of walking on the surface of the water, its still just an illusion and you are obviously using a man-made device. Still, these photos create such marvelous imagery, that its hard not to believe in the concept. I can only imagine that visiting the lake was even more impressive.

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Isn't Civilization Beautiful?

These images of a proposed Museum of Mediterranean Civilizations in Marseilles by Rudy Ricciotti are really speaking to me. But, they leave me wishing there was more information about the project, and perhaps some plans. Its hard to get a scale of the project against the city backdrop, but I can imagine that the design is for a huge structure. Comparing the far away images of a lacy structure to the single interior shot make it seem as though this is an absolutely enormous proposal. Still, if there was some evidence of human scale it would be easier to judge... not to mention it would be great to see how the interior is intended to be used as a museum.

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Rudy Ricciotti Architecte's entire website is filled with beautiful imagery and architectural designs. Unfortunately, none of the projects offers information beyond the photos and renderings. Still... the work is lovely and inspiring and definitely worth checking out.

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Hollow? Yes. Flexible? I'd guess so.

I'd be interested in seeing how this Hollow Chair by Laurrent Massaloux will adapt and flex when weight is put on the seat...

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A Flood of White and a Splash of Green

Flood Restaurant by Mathieu Lehanneur.

Via Yatzer

Inside the Box

While there is often a stereotype among architects (and others) about the uninspired designs of engineers... it often just isn't true. In fact, many engineers are very creative thinkers and talented designers in their own right. For example, this Welcoming and Security Pavilion in Dublin, Ireland was designed by French engineering firm RFR Ingenieurs. The simple glass enclosure is made quite dynamic by the use of exposed steel and glu lams. The glu lams act as a beautiful expression of the structure, while providing lateral support (at least I think they provide lateral resistance). I also quite like the contast of the clean modern lines with the older structures beyond.