This small apartment (45 m2) in Amsterdam, Holland is completely renovated because of foundation repair. In it’s new layout by i29 interior architects all the functions of the house are placed in two wall units. Entrance hall, wardrobe and kitchen equipment are hidden behind a pinewood wall. On the opposite a second wooden wall of the same material is placed. This wall integrated a bench, fireplace and storage. Floor, ceiling and walls are all white. A custom designed table and bench, together with the fireplace are anthracite gray. The simplicity of the design and choice of materials give this apartment lots of space within the limited area.

From 26th August to 23rd November 2010, Didier Fiúza Faustino will present ‘Agnosian Fields’ at Le Forum de la Maison Hermès in Tokyo. The exhibition comprising two new installations as well as previous work indicates the different scales and obsessions that the work of an architect is based upon. The term ‘agnosia’ – the loss of the ability to recognise objects and perceptive amnesia – sums up the state in which the architect wishes the visitor to be immersed. His work, mainly based on putting the body under tension in its environment, leads him to explore the fields of architecture and contemporary art, assuming equally status as artist, designer and architect.

Following the itinerant video projection space ‘H-Box,’ the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, which provides the Forum’s programming, has again invited Didier Fiúza Faustino for an individual exhibition. The Japanese public will be able to discover the immersive micro architecture installation, ‘Erase your Head’ (photo below), for which the English artist Russell Haswell has designed a sound landscape. A second installation produced in partnership with Hiroya Oku, author of the Japanese manga Gantz, will appropriate the piece called ‘Hand Architecture.’

The installation will be completed by the ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ discussion room, whilst three pieces will trace other paths between the body and architecture: the model of an unusual Japanese house, ‘Uncut House,’ ‘The Naked Lunch,’ a confusing object which penetrates domestic space and lastly the new seated prototype of ‘Hermaphrodite,’ which puts its user in an ambiguous position (photo above).

Maison Hermès 8F Le Forum, 5-4-1, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. Monday to Saturday: 11am to 8pm, Sunday: 11am to 7pm.

Completing its trilogy of housing projects in Oerestad with the same client, BIG + green roof contractor Veg Tech receives the award for 8 House’s 1.700 m2 sloping green roof.
The Scandinavian Green Roof Association based in Malmo, Sweden today honored the Best Green Roof in the Scandinavia, at an award ceremony at the 8 House in Oerestad, Copenhagen. Since 2000, the association has promoted an increased use of green roofs in Scandinavia and created numerous working examples at its Malmo address. In addition the association and its members educate the positive impact of green roofs on urban ecology, and provide inspiration for legislation and building standards.

“BIG has demonstrated a very clear and conscious use of the green roof successfully integrating it into the visual identity of the building ‐ something which was seen in BIG’s green roof award application last year with the M2 houses, but on a much grander scale”, Louise Lundberg, Scandinavian Green Roof Association’s Superintendent.

The moss‐sedum roof covers an extraordinarily long, steep and sloping roof surface descending 11 floors downward to the edge of a canal in Oerestad South opening up the interior courtyard to a view of the protected open spaces of Kalvebod Faelled. The 60.000m2 mixed‐use development is designed in the form of a figure 8 by manipulating the housing typology most often found in Copenhagen. The massing steps up and down depending on access to daylight and views and is broken into four programmatic bars of retail and housing. Green spaces upon the roof and within the courtyard are strategically placed to reduce the urban heat island effect as well as providing a visual relief to the inhabitants. The first residents have already moved in while the building will be finally completed by 1st of October.

“The parts of the green roof that remain were seen by the client as integral to the building as they are visible from the ground. These not only provide the environmental benefits that we all know come from green roofs, but also add to the visual drama and appeal of the sloping roofs and rooftop terrace in between”, Bjarke Ingels, BIG

This year Kivik Art Centre presents a new work that manifests the basic concept of our project: an architect and an artist in collaboration. It is also the first time that both are women and we can present a Swedish participants. Architect Petra Gipp has created a Refugium, a refuge in the forest of solid wood and concrete. An architectural sculpture that doubles as a small cinema, a walk-in-cinema” with a few seats for both a contemplative and an intense experience. The film shown was filmed by Runa Islam in a museum in Washington during her research stay at the Smithsonian Institute. The film called Cabinet of Prototypes, was commissioned by Kivik Art Centre and form an exquisite combination with Petra’s architecture.

From previous summers most works are still here. The five structures by Snøhetta Architects, three in collaboration with the photographer Tom Sandberg (2007). The visionary Venturo house by Matti Suuronen (1971/2009) and the sculpture for the individual experience of architecture, a collaboration between David Chipperfield and Antony Gormley (2008). In one of the old stables on the farm the exhibition KIVIK ART 2020 will be installed.
individually studied the conditions for Kivik Art Centre, and then, without any thoughts on politics or money, have visualized their visions for the future. Local presence, sustainability and environmental aspects have formed the critical platform for the project. It is important to note that these are indeed visions - sometimes utopian - but are all healthy stimulus to our imagination and for our dreams of what Kivik Art Centre one day might become.

Photo by Gerry Johansson.

Kjellgren Kaminsky has produced Swedens first series of passive houses sold as type houses in collaboration with Emrahus. Their goal is to make this environmentally friendly building technique available for all. Villa Nyberg is the first one to get built. The villa has been customized for the Nyberg family and is situated in Borlänge, central Sweden.

Passive houses are extremely well-insulated buildings that are largely heated by the energy already present in the building - people and the household equipment generate a lot of energy. The energy simulations show that this villa will have an energy consumption for heating of only 25 kWh/m²year.

The villa is situated by a lake in a fur forest in central Sweden. The living room and kitchen open up towards the views of the lake, the more private areas such as the bedrooms and bathrooms are situated on the other side of the house with smaller windows overlooking the forest. The round shape of the villa eliminates coldbridges and reduces the enclosing wallarea of the house. It also effects the way you live in the house, during the day one will move from room to room around the building experiencing different views and daylight conditions.

This summer marks the 125th birthday of designer Josef Frank. Recently he was honored with a public place at Gärdet in Stockholm. Now Svenskt Tenn opens its Josef Frank exhibition just in time for anniversary.

Svenskt Tenn’s decorators have produced modern reflections of three expressive Josef Frank interiors taken from the exhibitions at Liljevalchs in 1934, and in New York and San Fransisco in 1939. These are displayed in different parts of the store.

”We have chosen a piece of furniture with a particularly strong character from each picture and designers have built the interiors around it with products that are available in the shop right now,” says Thommy Bindefeld, Marketing Manager at Svenskt Tenn.

For example, the same drinks cabinet that was shown in the Liljevalchs exhibition in 1934 occurs here, while the couch and armchair are upholstered in Aramal, which were printed for the first time last fall. Here, the new blue version of Aramal which has just been launched is used.

At the other end of the shop, in what is called the Aquarium, Estrid Ericson’s alcove from 1930 has been built up. In the Svenskt Tenn archives, the designers managed to find the right wallpaper pattern in some botanical posters and decorated the wall with it.

In the third environment, in the part of the store facing Väpnargatan, is a study which originates from the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. Here the kidney-shaped desk has been replaced with one similar in glass, again a finding from the archives.

The exhibition at Svenskt Tenn at Strandvägen 5 in Stockholm is open June 10–August 15.

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec are presenting an exhibition in the Le Corbusier Apartment 50 of Radiant City in Marseille between July 15 and August 15.

It all started early this year when Jasper Morrison introduced us to the owners of one of the apartments in the housing block unit of the Marseille-based Radiant City. The Apartment 50 is not a museum; it is a lived-in space that we remodelled – just for the time of the summer season. We decided to feature a selection of objects from our collection of designs which seemed to rightly fit in this apartment and match the way the owners are living in it. As an echo to Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouvé’s original furniture of the space, it seemed natural to us to articulate the remodelling around the SteelWood collection, Magis – including a table, some chairs and a shelving system. Additionally, while remembering that Le Corbusier had a special interest in tapestries, we felt comfortable with the idea of installing a group of Clouds, Kvadrat up on the wall. Finally, a Zip carpet, Vitra and two of our latest lighting designs, including Lampalumina, Bitossi and LightHouse, Established & Sons and Venini, complete this ephemeral remodelling project.

In the U.S., where wood-frame homes are the most common form of single-family housing, the concept of underground or bermed homes is nothing new, but still a bit of an oddity.

Underground homes are generally built at ground level and then all or partially covered in earth, or built directly into the side of a hill. They are hailed by proponents as being exceedingly environmentally-friendly and representative of green, sustainable living. These homes are also criticized by traditional homebuilders as being dark and claustrophobic—generally not pleasing to the eye. However, it is important to note that there are certain design innovations taking place in the architecture of underground homes that are increasing their aesthetic appeal. After all, interior attractiveness is vital if eco-friendly homes ever expect to have a more mainstream appeal.

For instance, one builder of these homes, R.C. Smoot, runs a Texas-based construction business in the U.S. called Earth-Sheltered Homes. One way he brings natural light into these dwellings and increases visual appeal is to incorporate domed ceilings and roofs, which he says allows light to travel on it, reflecting light more effectively than flat, vaulted or cathedral ceilings. The dome also contributes to a feeling of spaciousness. Another way is through the addition of skylights, which are already popular in more traditional homes. Smoot incorporates luxuries such as indoor swimming pools and rooftop putting greens into his earth-sheltered homes, making the dwellings a place to exercise and play as well as a place to sleep. Rooftop putting greens are made possible by the fact that the roof of the house are grassed over, or incorporate some other type of vegetation to combat erosion.

The aesthetic appeal inside some underground homes simply cannot be denied. More and more of them are designed to feel positively light and airy. For instance, check out the lovely, almost ethereal interior featured in this photo in The Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy and Sustainable Living. The interior radiates cleanliness and serenity. Also, take a close look at these photos of the stunning interior and exterior of an earth-sheltered home in New Hampshire conceived by architect Donald Jasinski. Jasinski Architects International adheres to a “humanist design philosophy.” For lovers of nature for whom the central principle of aesthetics is to interrupt their natural surroundings as little as possible, the underground or earth-sheltered home is also a design solution. See another example here.

This guest post is contributed by Kristie Lewis, who writes on the topics of construction management degrees.  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: Kristie.Lewis81@gmail.com.

As capital of an art-savvy country, keen on recycling and charmed by the honest beauty of nature, there’s little surprise on Stockholm’s first photography museum to soon open its doors in a coastal location, with a privileged city view.

The pictures already hang on the red-bricked walls of the old customs house. A stake of southern Stockholm, Stadgårdskajen Stora Tullhus, offers 4000m2 as an excellent platform for the council’s purposes. Fotografiska Museet’s aim is to move beyond the traditional museum concept, to become an international exchange trading spot with photographic expressions as the contemporaneous deal.

Do not miss the Annie Leibovitz first solo exhibition in Sweden: 190 iconic images or 15 years, as seen through her lenses.

Japanese producer Sfera is announcing the opening of SferaSenses in Milan, their first showroom in Europe. The Swedish design and architectural office Claesson Koivisto Rune helped Sfera design a physical space with an ethereal atmosphere, where sbuble aromas, rich textures and seductive sounds guide visitors across thresholds to the sensory world. The five senses shape the new space and strengthen the services, charging the Sfera experience with the essence of life itself.