Of the many new estates at Copenhagen Harbour, Havneholmen by architect Lene Tranberg from Lundgaard & Tranberg is one of the most interesting. Located on an island at the entrance to the harbour - just opposite Fisketorvet and with a walkway to Islands Brygge.
The project builds upon an urban plan that transforms a former industrial area to a modern, integrated residential and business zone, taking better advantage of the harbour front location. The project consists of 236 apartments in two U-shaped blocks with inner courtyards opening towards the harbour.
Varying heights of 5 to 8 storeys visually reduce the scale of the project and, along with the thin proportions of the glass partitions, give the white facades a light and graceful appearance. The entire project, including the projecting bays, is rendered in warm white stucco with teak fenestration, giving the entire project a maritime feel.
As I have reported about beforeDuPont Corian and Amanda Levete Architects (AL_A) made an exhibition called “CORIAN super-surfaces” at the April Milan Design Week.
Above is a brand new video of the presented re-defined lounge environment and also an interview with Amanda Levete.
Take an exclusive hard-hat tour and meet the city architect of the spectacular new Pompidou Centre in Metz by Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastine. It’s the first decentralisation of a major cultural institution in France. The construction started in 2006 and the inauguration is planned for 2010. Wallpaper made the interview above and in the May issue, writer Anya Pope visits the new Pompidou Centre in Metz.
The classic Malmsten shop at Strandvägen in Stockholm has got a revamp treatment by designer Martin Bergström and creator Pontus Djanaieff. Stepping into the shop you will be refreshed by the genuine quality of Carl Malmstens furniture accompanied by the best of Swedish handicrafts of today. The Malmsten shop has actually been at the same address as for the last 69 years and the furniture by Carl Malmsten is part of the Swedish design heritage. But, at the same time it was time to make a fresh take on the complete concept. A couple of the classic furniture has got new fabrics which will make them attractive also for a younger generation. The armchair Jättepaddan (Giant toad) from 1934 has got new life through a Martin Bergström fabric (see below). The fabric is called Ufomyran (Ufo ant). Since 1999 the Malmsten shop is owned and run by Jerk Malmsten, grandson of Carl Malmsten.
Here’s a short text about Carl Malmsten from their webpage.
“Carl Malmsten (1888–1972) devoted his life to the renewal of traditional Swedish craftsmanship, inspired by the cultural examples of the Swedish country manor and rustic styles – furniture endowed with a creative simplicity, with a feeling for the wood itself, with function in mind and a high technical quality.
Malmsten’s light wooden furniture with their blonde range of colours have in themselves become an allegory for that which is typically Swedish, with strong references to Swedish nature and cultural traditions. As a furniture maker he expressed the old, inherited forms as well as the new, bold ideas with his language of design. The result will forever be the same - beautiful, eternal individual pieces of furniture which together create a unified and harmonious feeling.”
Located in what was the French Quarter of London’s Soho, Kettner’s, is one of the oldest restaurants in London’s theatre land. It has recently got a new look by Ilse Crawford. I know I’m a bit late with the review but from the look of the restaurant I’m sure it will feel updated and inviting for many years to come. As always when Ilse Crawford has been involved, the place has an unmistakable touch of emotions and stories.
The thinh is that this revamp returns the venue to its original spirit. The design plays on its proximity to theatreland; some spaces with an ‘on stage’ feeling and others celebrating the thrills and spills of backstage. The essence of the new Kettner’s is ‘fresh, fun and French’, a thread that runs throughout the design, the graphics, the music, the uniforms and the food.
By the way, here’s an old story about the place:
“What’s Kettners, anyway?” queried Mrs Tota: and I told her of the snug little restaurant buried away in Church st, which was first discovered by two well-known journalists, a restaurant of such individuality that when is was necessary to rebuild is a few years ago it was rebuilt as nearly as possible on the old lines, with its three or four pubic dining rooms below, and its network of passages and warren of little rooms above.” Diners and Dinners, by Lieutenant-Colonel Newnham-Davis, 1899
As I have reported earlier my company Designboost presented a Miniboost from the Stockholm Furniture Fair/Stockholm Design Week as a Boost Cast the other week. It’s like a relay race around the notion of sustainable cities with questions as batons passed on to new boosters. The film above is with the Stockholm based design and architect trio Claesson Koivisto Rune.
KjellgrenKaminsky architects presents Villa Grow; a Villa that is adaptable to all kinds of families and can be extended as they grow.
Today most houses are built with a traditional nucleus family in mind, but few families look like that nowadays, so why should their houses? We have designed a series of Villas that suites modern families with different needs. The villas have a common basic unit that can be extended and customized in a number of ways, offering suitable alternatives for all. The video above shows it all. Or check out the sketches below.
Do you like the music in the video as well? It’s made by Derango.
Media architecture collective Urban Alliance has recently finished the Moodwall: a 24 meter long interactive light installation in Amsterdam.
The Moodwall is situated in a pedestrian tunnel and interacts with people passing by, improving the atmosphere in the tunnel and making people happy and feel less unsafe. The interactive urban wallpaper is built out of about 2500 leds behind a ribbed semi-transparent wall. The curves in the wall make it less suitable for grafitti and improve the visibility of the content for the side.
The resolution is horizontally stretched so the images of the screen are better for the side so people are stimulated to watch the screen from outside the tunnel. This prevents the tunnel to become a hang-out spot.
The Moodwall is a pilot project for a 70 meter long media wall proposal by Urban Alliance (in collaboration with Daan Hartoog) which won a competition for ideas to improve the public space of the social unsafe area of the Amsterdam Bijlmer.
Urban Alliance is a collaboration of: Studio Klink (architecture and design), Illuminate (interactive lighting and video content) and Cube (building and development).
The Moodwall was designed by Jasper Klinkhamer (Studio Klink) in collaboration with Remco Wilcke (Cube), who was also responsible for the construction. The content was developed by Hans van Helden and Matthijs ten Berge of Illuminate in collaboration with artist Matthias Oostrik and students of the dutch art academy HKU.
You can read about an earlier project here by Studio Klink which I wrote about a while ago.
