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Bentley Reveals New Branding Strategy

Chrissy Atherholt — Fri, 24 May 2013 17:00:19 +0000

Bentley (aka Bentley Prince Street) has revealed a comprehensive new branding strategy. The new branding returns the company to its original name, and embraces Bentley’s rich Los Angeles heritage.

The new branding elements will be in full display at NeoCon, the contract interiors industry’s premiere market event in mid-June in Chicago, being the formal introduction to the marketplace. The branding elements are supported by an advertising campaign that features photography of iconic Los Angeles architecture.

Propp & Guerin, a leading graphics firm in San Francisco, provided the artistic direction for Bentley’s new visual identity.

PUMA’s SoHo location by Colkitt & Co

Chrissy Atherholt — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:00:35 +0000

San Diego and New York City-based architecture and design firm Colkitt & Co., recently remodeled PUMA’s SoHo location. Nathan Lee Colkitt, principal and CEO of Colkitt & Co. said, “each design element results in a distinctive twist that incorporates local influences, regional culture, as well as global features coming straight from the heart of the brand.” Every detail reflects the PUMA brand and local city life ,all the way down to the ceramic tiles that line the walls of the fitting rooms to mimic popular subway stops.

The long, narrow footprint of the store inspired Colkitt’s design team to focus on the core of the brand, PUMA footwear. The design team also implemented many digital features echoing the brands message with iPads and videos. Secondary elements include directional wood slats, neon lighting, pixelated red branding walls, exposed concrete floors, existing granite and brick walls, cast iron details, and custom tile mosaics. Colkitt’s mission was to make every aspect of the store immersive and bring the local city into the space, creating an interactive environment.

Project Buzz: Union Balmain by ANKA Property Developers

Chrissy Atherholt — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:55:34 +0000

ANKA Property Developers have recently launched a new development, Union Balmain, in Sydney, Australia. The project is a collaboration between architects Turner Studio, Interior Designers SJB, and Aspect Landscaping.

The 202 apartment development offers one, two, and three bedroom options. A unique feature of Union Balmain is the rooftop park, complete with communal vegetable garden, grassed zones, barbecue areas and trees. Residents will reap the environmental, cultural, social and psychological benefits of the rooftop garden.

Sustainability, a sense of community, eco-friendly living and offering residents sanctuary in an urban jungle, is all part of the trend currently being perpetuated by developers, internationally.

Night Club Eskada Porto by AAMD

Chrissy Atherholt — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:00:16 +0000

AAMD, an architectural practice based in Porto, Portugal, recently renovated the Night Club Eskada Porto, an exclusive night club in Portugal’s northern region. When considering the redesign, AAMD wanted to create a luxurious and invigorating atmosphere. An important consideration in the redesign was retaining the original features of the façade and blending them with an interior of modern European design.

Original elements, such as the stone, architraves, and coving have been restored and contrasted with modern features such as custom designed furniture, brushed and polished copper and steel finishes. The final design is a blend of community, luxury, fantasy and function.

Andreu World’s NeoCon Fiesta: “An Evening in Valencia”

Chrissy Atherholt — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:00:25 +0000

What: Andreu World’s NeoCon Fiesta “An Evening in Valencia”
When: Monday, June 10, from 4 - 8 PM
Where: Suite 10-132, NeoCon 2013, Chicago
Why: Andreu World hosts its annual NeoCon party, and this year’s event, “An Evening in Valencia,” will feature tapas, Spanish wine, Valencia oranges sangria, and a live performance by a Spanish guitarist.

Portland State University’s School of Architecture launches Center for Public Interest Design

Chrissy Atherholt — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:00:39 +0000

Portland State University’s School of Architecture announced the launch of its new Center for Public Interest Design, a research center that aims to investigate and utilize the power of design to make social, economic and environmental change in disadvantaged communities worldwide. The Center is the first of its kind in the nation.

The new Center’s startup is being funded by a gift from an anonymous donor, who has pledged a total of $1.5 million over a five-year period.

The mission of the Center meets a critical worldwide need for affordable, sustainable design. Bryan Bell, the founder of Design Corps, has often said that only 2 percent of building in the US involves an architect. That number is even lower in developing or undeveloped countries, where access to clean water, safe and well-designed shelter and other basic necessities may go unmet. The Center aims to change this fact, with the understanding that architecture can help make the world a better place and that architects can be agents of change.

The first five projects in the Center are rethinking the way designers collaborate with communities to change living conditions, regardless of economic or social status. The projects include the design and construction of an orphanage and environmental-technical school in Titanyen, Haiti, a collaboration with architecture faculty and students at Ecole Speciale d’Architecture, Paris, France; and the SAGE classroom, which has gone on the market nationally in the last week and promises to make healthy and green modular classrooms affordable to all.

Parsons and Poltrona Frau Announce “Wasteless” Competition Winners

Chrissy Atherholt — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:00:13 +0000

The winning designs of the “Wasteless” exhibition were announced during New York’s ICFF. Held by Poltrona Frau, the world’s leading producer of luxury home furnishings, and leading art and design school Parsons The New School for Design, the competition was to convert left-over scraps of Poltrona Frau leather into luxury accessory pieces in an attempt to maximize the potential of the material and emphasize Poltrona Frau’s Zero-Waste Design initiatives.

For the past seven weeks, 15 Parsons Product Design students have been working under the direction of noted designer and Parsons alumnus, Andrea Ruggiero. The students presented their work to a panel of judges who announced the three winning designs at a reception held at the Poltrona Frau showroom in Soho. Jenny Hsu was awarded first place for her design “Piqnique,” (shown above) a woven case for meals on the go that doubles as a leather placemat. Yuna Kim and Benjamin Billick came in second and third respectively for their designs, “Miovino” leather wine glass tags and “Tuft” candle holders.

IIDA Announces 2013 Dubai Competition Winners at INDEX

Chrissy Atherholt — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:00:40 +0000

The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) recently announced the winners of the 2013 INDEX & Office Exhibition Product Design Competition and The Middle East Interior Design Competition. Winners of the competition, which featured many entries from countries in the Middle East, were announced and presented May 20, 2013, the opening day of the INDEX show.

The judging panel for both the 2013 INDEX & Office Exhibition Product Design Competition and The Middle East Interior Design Competition consisted of Lewis Goetz, FIIDA, Leo A Daly; and Julio Braga, IIDA, of IA Interior Architects.

The INDEX & Office Exhibition Product Design Awards honors manufacturers and designers for excellence in product design for the residential and commercial office industries. The 2013 winners, starting with the Best of Competition Award, are as follows:

BEST OF COMPETITION:

Product: In_Motion
Manufacturer: GUIALMI
Designer: Rita Cruz

CATEGORY: CASE GOODS AND FREESTANDING OFFICE FURNITURE

Best of Category
Product: Eleven (shown above)
Manufacturer: OFS Brands
Designer: Daniel Korb

Honorable Mention
Product: unicatum
Manufacturer: ANB art & design
Designer: Nadia Zaoui & Bernd Muller

Honorable Mention
Product: cWave
Manufacturer: Dieffebi S.p.A.
Designer: Michael Burford

CATEGORY: FLOORING

Best of Category
Product: Avant Signature Flooring
Manufacturer: Avant Enterprises
Designer: Avant Enterprises

Honorable Mention
Product: Kährs Oak Trollaborg
Manufacturer: Nordic Homeworx
Designer: Kährs

CATEGORY: SEATING

Best of Category
Product: In_Motion
Manufacturer: GUIALMI
Designer: Rita Cruz

Honorable Mention
Product: Clarity
Manufacturer: HNI International
Designer: BMW Design Group

Honorable Mention
Product: Madrid
Manufacturer: OFS Brands
Designer: Daniel Korb

CATEGORY: TABLES

Honorable Mention
Product: Optima Air
Manufacturer: DAS Business Furniture
Designer: Rob Jones

The Middle East Interior Design Competition recognizes and rewards outstanding Interior Design/ architecture projects in the Middle East while also encouraging new ideas and techniques in the design and furnishing of interior spaces. The 2013 winners of this prestigious honor are as follows:

BEST OF COMPETITION:

Project: One GE Solution Offices
Design Firm: AK Design (Adel Al Mojil, Consulting Engineers)

CATEGORY: CORPORATE SPACE LARGE

Best of Category
Project: One GE Solution Offices
Design Firm: AK Design (Adel Al Mojil, Consulting Engineers)

Honorable Mention
Project: Waagner Biro Gulf Head Office
Design Firm: Wanders Architects

CATEGORY: CORPORATE SPACE SMALL

Best of Category
Project: Prime Holdings
Design Firm: Studio M

CATEGORY: CULTURAL/INSTITUTIONAL/EDUCATIONAL

Best of Category
Project: Women’s Museum
Design Firm: Enrico Botta Architecture

Honorable Mention
Project: Gurudwara Sikh Temple
Design Firm: Bishop Design LLC

CATEGORY: HEALTHCARE

Best of Category
Project: Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice
Design Firm: NBBJ

CATEGORY: HOTELS

Best of Category
Project: Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa
Design Firm: The Gettys Group

Honorable Mention
Project: Raffles Makkah Palace
Design Firm: AREEN HOSPITALITY

CATEGORY: RESTAURANTS

Best of Category
Project: Slider Station
Design Firm: Bishop Design LLC

Honorable Mention
Project: The Farm
Design Firm: Etcetera Living

CATEGORY: RETAIL

Best of Category
Project: Bin Sina Pharmacies
Design Firm: Brand Creative

CATEGORY: SPAS/FITNESS/WELLNESS CENTERS

Best of Category
Project: Ahasees Spa & Club at Grand Hyatt Dubai
Design Firm: HBA

izzy+ Design Competition Winners

Chrissy Atherholt — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:00:03 +0000

A pair of young designers have won the inaugural competition to customize and conceptualize the new izzy Nemo Trellis (shown above) from izzy+.

The winning designers are Lindsey Salazar of Archideas in Chicago and Eda Muco of Dyer Brown & Associates in Boston. Their designs will be on display in the izzy+ showroom at 11-100 in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart during next month’s NeoCon World’s Trade Fair. Both designers will be hosted by izzy+ at the annual trade show in Chicago, and they will be part of a design team that izzy+ will take to Nicaragua in November for a design-focused service project.

Lindsey Salazar’s design was inspired by the idea of a tree house that generates energy and well-being, and Eda Muco’s design explores the interaction between individual and collaborative space using perforated metal.

The two custom designs will be in the izzy+ showroom throughout NeoCon 2013, and the winning designers will be featured in the showroom during the first half of the show, on Monday and Tuesday morning. Last year, the izzy Nemo Trellis and Bar won the Best of NeoCon Gold Award for Furniture Systems.

Project Buzz: Blaffer Art Museum’s New Entrance

Chrissy Atherholt — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:00:15 +0000

The University of Houston’s Blaffer Art Museum has transformed its appearance with a new entrance featuring Bendheim Wall Systems’ channel glass. Designed by New York City-based WORKac, the welcoming, light-filled entrance creates a sense of openness throughout the reception area. WORKac’s design enhances the building’s entrance, improves the flow of pedestrian traffic into the museum and creates a more welcoming entrance to the public.

The architects worked closely with Bendheim Wall Systems’ team to achieve the slanted appearance of the facade while staying on budget. The concealed design change substantially lowered the cost of material when compared to an angle-cut channel glass solution and also facilitated the installation. The architects selected Lamberts 504 Rough Cast, pebble textured channel glass, with a blue-gray Azur coating to enhance the solar heat gain coefficient of the wall, to help the building remain cool in the hot Texas climate.