Tuesday, November 30, 2004

My Favorite Things ....


The Olman coffee table is just one of many pieces crafted by Nikolas Piper and on display at niksproject.com.

"Nik's Project presents a limited collection of pieces designed by Nikolas Piper for specific projects ordered by foundations and private institutions. The combination of traditional forge and modern technologies which Nikolas combines in his designs create these timeless pieces of furniture whose outstanding features are their organic, sensual and functional characteristics."

From My Library



The New York Times,
"Anthropology of the present: the entries in a new softcover series of design directories have the chunky heft of a Boy Scout Handbook. Paola Antonelli, the Museum of Modern Art's curator for design and architecture, wrote the books' introductions. They take an anthropological viewpoint and, she said, "Nothing could be more interesting." Interesting, but not stuffy."

Product Description:

With their affordable modernism for the home--from Alvar Aalto to Ikea--the Scandinavians have taught the world the significance of good design. Design Directory: Scandinavia is the definitive guide to and a stunning celebration of the designers of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, who have created icons ranging from Volvos to Legos and more. Included within this fine directory are noted designers and companies such as: Alvar & Aino Aalto, Gunnar Asplund, Arabia, Artek, Bla Station, Marten Claesson, Box Design, Niels Gammelgaard, Garsnas, Kallemo, Iform, Marimekko, Louis Poulsen, Bang & Olufsen, Arne Jacobsen, John Kandell, Kasthall, Kaare Klint, Hans Wegner and many more. Pick up a copy!

A failed experiment can be more important than a trivial design. Verner Panton

Wish Upon A Star - I Would Love To Be A

Best of NeoCon 2004 Interior Designer Jurors... how can I join this elite group?

Ms. Clare Ardizzone, IIDA, Senior Associate, A3C
Ms. Jennifer Barnes, IIDA, CID, Associate Vice President, RTKL Associates
Ms. Linda Bishop, IIDA, Vice President, Director of Interiors, FKP Architects

Ms. Katie Bowman, IIDA, ASID, VOA Associates
Ms. Jean Buckley, Principal, Buckley & Associates, Inc.
Ms. Mary A. Burke, AIA IIDA, Director of Interiors, Gruzen Samton LLP
Ms. Jan Dufault, IIDA, Senior Interior Designer, Mohagen/Hansen

Ms. Tama Duffy, ASID, Senior Associate
Ms. Martha J. Ginn, CID, Vice President, D'Aleo Interiors
Ms. Lois Goodell, IIDA, Principal/Director of Interior Design, CBT
Ms. Jana Gunsul, IIDA, ISPE, Senior Associate, DES Architects + Engineers

Mr. Rod Hammer, IIDA, Associate, Hillier
Mr. Mark D. Harbick, AIA, Vice President, Huntsman Architectural Group

Ms. Karen Kopicki, IIDA, Interior Designer, Susman Tisdale Gayle
Mr. Daniel Krause, Managing Principal, Nelson /Charlotte
Mr. Jaime Machado, Principal, Machado+Marsky Designs
Ms. Linda Marshall, IIDA, Linda Marshall Associates, IIDA

Ms. Bharti Parikh, IIDA, ASID, Bharti A. Parikh Interior Design Services
Mr. Ronald A. Reed, IIDA, FAIA, Principal, Westlake Reed Leskosky

Mr. Joseph Rondinelli, Senior Associate, Shepley Bulfinch RA
Mr. Nestor Santa-Cruz, IIDA, Partner, SKB Architecture and Design
Mr. Bruce Sienkowski, Principal, 2B Studio Inc.
Ms. Sue Specht, Designer, TVS Interiors
Ms. Kimberly R. Williams, IDC, Principal, Director of Interior Design, Kling
Mr. Douglas Zalis, AIA, IIDA, Rafael Vinoly Architects PC

Or a Best of NeoCon 2004 Facilities Manager Jurors....

Ms. June Blanchard, Manager of Design and Standards, Global Realty Services, State Street Corporation, Boston

Ms. Kim Brannan, Vice President, Sales and Facility Services, Precision Office Furniture Installation, St. Louis

Ms. Celia Boyle, Facilities Planner II, AIM Investments, Houston

Ms. Gail Edmiston, Facilities Planning Manager, AIM Investments, Houston

Mr. Dave Falls, CFM, Facility Manager, WW Grainger, Inc., Lake Forest, Illinois

Ms. Doreen Fentress, Vice President, Technical Director-Facilities, Quality Technical Services, Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia

Ms. Mary Freemire, Real Estate Program Manager, Career Education Corporation, Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Ms. Monica M. Gailus, Assistant Facility Manager, Sargent & Lundy LLC, Chicago

Ms. M. Alice Hogueisson, Vice President, Edelman, Chicago

Mr. Joseph Lajeune, ASID, IIDA, Chicago

Mr. James J. Jaksa, NCARB, CFM, Vice President, Facilities and Services, Horizon, Michigan City, Indiana

Ms. Sharon H. Kasachkoff , Facilities Director, Jackson Walker L.L.P., Dallas

Ms. Paula Mengarelli, Manager, Facilities, Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Security and Corporate Services, Lincolnshire, Illinois

Ms. Olimpia Oree, Senior Facility Consultant, FUSION Facilities Team, Facilities Projects, Sun Life Financial, Toronto, Ontario

Mr. Dom Ruggerio, Principal, Ruggerio & Associates, Inc., Chicago

Ms. Patricia Ryan, Manager, FF+E, Worldwide Facilities Group, General Motors Corporation,

Ms. Genevieve Salvacion, Facilities Management, Presbyterian Homes, Evanston, Illinois

Ms. Mariann Schofield, HQ AFSPC/CECP Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base

Ms. Elise Friedman Shapiro, IIDA, Senior Facilities Planner

Mr. Scott Sherman, Manager, MTVN Facilities Planning & Management, Central Region, MTV Networks, Chicago

Ms. Sandra W. Warner, IIDA, Headquarters Air Force Command EE/TDD, Brooks City-Base, Texas , McLean, Virginia

I guess it would take more than just "knowing what I like", maybe a successful architecture/design career or a facility to manage... Like I said "wish upon a star." :-)

Monday, November 29, 2004

My Favorite Things...


Ambassad Chair designed by Mats Theselius.

Belt leather upholstery around a steel frame. Crafted in Sweden by Kallemo.

In modern society, the father may be a stone mason, the mother a teacher and the daughter a movie star. The modern dwelling must be built to meet all these requirements. Alvar Aalto

Rice Design Alliance - Civic Forums

Earth, Fire, and Wind
A Series of Three Civic Forums Sponsored by the Rice Design Alliance

This season, RDA's civic forums will focus on the Houston region's self-assessment at the beginning of a new century. In June, Part 1, Earth, addressed the successes and challenges in shaping the face of our residential life through various neighborhood organizations and activists.
In September, the second forum, Fire, focused on the current economic engines and their impact on the city form. The final forum, to be held at 7pm on December 1, will address the larger forces beginning to coalesce that will reconfigure our region, including economic, environmental, and social conditions.

Panelists:

James D. Calaway, CEO, Center for Houston's Future
David Crossley, President, Gulf Coast Institute
Nestor Rodriguez, Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology,
University of Houston and Co-Director, Center for Immigration Research

Brown Auditorium, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
1001 Bissonnet (Enter via the Main Street Door)

Parking at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is available for $3 in the museum garage located at the corner of Binz and Fannin.

Admission is free and open to the public.

This program is supported in part by Crescent Real Estate Equities, Ltd.; Intell Management and Investment Company; The Invironmentalists; KUHF 88.7 FM; MetroNational; Schenck and Company; Trammell Crow Company; Walter P. Moore; Webb Architects; The Corporate Members of the Rice Design Alliance; and the City of Houston/Harris County through the Cultural Arts Council.

The Rice Design Alliance is an AIA/CES Registered Provider of quality educational programs. For this civic forum, attendees will earn one Learning Unit/Health, Safety, Welfare, which will be reported to CES Records on the member's behalf. Registration at the lecture is required. Non-AIA members may request a Certificate of Completion to fulfill state MCE requirements.

From My Library



Because design is all around us, it often goes unnoticed unless it's strikingly awful--as in the case of an uncomfortable chair or a pen that's too large to hold correctly. Conversely, great design is commonly overlooked because it performs so well--the perfect typeface or an ever-present logo, for example. An Yves Saint Laurent woman's dinner jacket worn without a shirt and an Eero Aarnio bright orange ball chair from the 1960s, however, are two wonderful designs that won't soon be lost in the shuffle. World Design, an encyclopedia of some of the best designed objects and ideas of the 20th century, takes readers on a visual tour of smart things designed for living. Arranged alphabetically by designer, it begins with beautiful Aino Aalto (the wife of Alvar) ridged glassware from the 1930s. The pressed glass rings that encircle these pitchers and drinking glasses were originally conceived as a means to hide imperfections in the material, but the visual simplicity has been routinely imitated by other designers since then. At the other end of this thick book, readers will find a page for Marco Zanuso, the Italian industrial designer who created a yellow plastic portable television in 1964. In between, readers are treated to glimpses of iconic objects by Le Corbusier and Issey Miyake as well as newer, innovative designs such as a chair made of a transparent gel originally used only in medicine. Along with the beautiful, these pages document objects that changed our world: Earl S. Tupper's ingenious, now-ubiquitous containers revolutionized food storage when they were introduced with their airtight lids in the late 1930s. At a hefty 432 pages with 1,000 color photographs, this book is full of fascinating information and wonderful images that track the last 100 years of influential design.

IIDA Chapter President: 2004-2005

IIDA has announced the new Chapter Presidents for 2004-05. Congratulations go out to:

Chapter President
Alabama - Tommie Sledge Ford IIDA
Carolinas - Jeannine M Rodgers IIDA
Delta Regional - Heidi E Meibaum IIDA
Florida - Alex Bonet IIDA
Georgia - Laura M Bailey FIIDA
Great Plains - Heather Van Essen IIDA
Guadalajara Mexico - Rita Beatriz Sanchez Larrauri IIDA
Illinois - Jennifer A. Carzoli IIDA
Indiana - Donna Miller IIDA
Japan - Mieko Nakayama IIDA
Mexico City - Morales Arambula IIDA
Michigan - Christina L. Johnson IIDA
Mid America - Kevin Carr IIDA
Mid Atlantic - Michael S. Polovina IIDA
North California - David Meckley IIDA
Northern Pacific - LaRayne J. Arnold IIDA
New England - Diane L. Hanley IIDA
New York - Gerald F. Geier IIDA
Northland - Sheila H. Mozayeny IIDA
Ohio Kentucky - Jeffrey G. Gillispie IIDA

Oregon - Lisa Zangerle IIDA
Portugal - Bruno de Viterbo IIDA
Rocky Mountain - Judy Schvaneveldt IIDA
Southern California - Linda W. Isley IIDA
Southwest - Rebecca Tomasek IIDA
Tennessee - Debbie Ross IIDA
Texas Oklahoma - Michelle Rees IIDA
Virginia West Virginia - Jennifer Meier Canfield IIDA
Wisconsin - Susan Wohlitz IIDA

My Favorite Things....


Borge Mogensen's Spanish Chair. A true classic designed by Danish master, Borge Mogensen. Originally designed in the early 50's, this wonderful chair is still manufactured by Fredericia and available in the USA and Canada through Hightower Group.

"Affluence offers the kind of freedom I am deeply suspicious of. It offers freedom from restraint and it is virtually impossible to do something without restraints." Charles Eames

NY AIA Member Updates

MEMBER UPDATE for the AIA New York Chapter and the Center for Architecture.

Newly Licensed Architects, Congratulations!
Andrew Bernheimer, AIA, Della Valle & Bernheimer Design Inc
Michael C.Y. Fei, AIA, Michael C.Y. Fei
Rolando Kraeher, AIA, Murphy Burnham & Buttrick, LLP
Philip C. Maguire, AIA, Weiser LLP
Michael M. Samuelian, AIA, NYC Department of City Planning
Stephen A. Varone, AIA, Rand Engineering, PC

New Associate Members
John H. Acton, Assoc. AIA, Kenneth Park Architects
Benson B. Billespie, Assoc. AIA, Cesar Pelli & Assoc.
Meredith L. Bostwick, Assoc. AIA, Hillier Architecture
John E. Czarnecki, Assoc. AIA, John Wiley & Sons
Erica S. Freeman, Assoc. AIA, Allen & Killcoyne Associates
Ellie J. Gamburg, Assoc. AIA, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, PC
Campbell R. Garratt, Assoc. AIA, Allen & Killcoyne Associates
Christopher A. Hendrickson, Assoc. AIA, Studio JS2
Terrance Allen Jones, Jr., Assoc. AIA, Architecture Research Office
Zubair A. Kazi, Assoc. AIA, William Nicholas Bodouva & Associates
Anna Klingmann, Assoc. AIA, Cornell University College of Architecture
Min-Chang Lee, Assoc. AIA, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Architects LLP
Cheng-Hao Lo, Assoc. AIA, Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP
Rose Mehrkhah, Assoc. AIA, New York Transit Authority
Lionel Ohayon, Assoc. AIA, Icrave Design Studio
Christian E. Salvati, Assoc. AIA
Maria Sutter, Assoc. AIA, Suben/Dougherty Partnership
Michelle Swanson, Assoc. AIA
Na Wei, Assoc. AIA, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects

New Registered Architect Members:
Kimberly A. Ackert, AIA, Ackert Architecture, PC
Kenneth O. Bainton, AIA, Kouzmanoff Bainton Architects
Micheal E. Bardin, AIA, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Christian G. Bjone, AIA, SBLM Architects, P.C.
Christopher J. Broshears, AIA, Rafael Vinoly Architects, P.C.
Michael K. Buesing, AIA, Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Arch. & Eng.
Un-Peng Chan, AIA, Pei Partnership Architects LLP
Edward H. Chang, AIA, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, PC
John T. Clappi, AIA, Richard Meier & Partners
Todd A. Cossman, AIA, Rafael Viñoly Architects, P.C.
Anthony Cucich, AIA, Anthony Cucich-R.A.
Martin Finio, AIA, Christoff:Finio Architecture
Daniel Frisch, AIA, Daniel Frisch Architect, PC
Joseph E. Gall, AIA, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects
Michael A. Hayes, AIA, The Phillips Group
Thomas A. Lanzelotti, AIA, Gensler
Steven Lee, AIA, Davis Brody Bond, LLP
Jose Arturo Madrigal, AIA, Larsen Shein Ginsberg Snyder, LLP
Brian K. Marsh, AIA, Dennis Wedlick Architect, LLC
Leo Modrcin, AIA, URED Architecture
Randall G. Morton, AIA, Cooper Robertson & Partners
Norman Nemec, AIA, North Shore Architecture and Interiors
Jayne Rattiner, AIA, Karlsberger Architecture PC
David P. Reese, AIA, Bovis Lend Lease
Mary Rusz, AIA, New York City Housing Authority
Philip A. Santantonio, AIA, KM Associates of NY, Inc.
Michael B. Schiff, AIA, DMJM + Harris
Galia Solomonoff, AIA, Openoffice
Christopher H. Stone, AIA, Stonefox Design, LLC
James A. Vira, AIA, Dattner Architects
Tobert Yu, AIA, Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Arch. & Eng.

New Center for Architecture Professional Members.
Bethany Alexander, Catt Lyon Design, Inc.
Catt Lyon, Catt Lyon Design, Inc.
Nadine Chin-Santos, Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc.C
Amy Victoria Dachs, Amy Dachs Associates
Barbara Eberlein, ASID, Eberlein Design Consultants Ltd.
Kenneth K. Fisher, Philips Nizer LLP
Sally A. Handley, Sally Handley, Inc.
Bryce Hejtmancik, LEED, Fox & Fowle Architects
Mark Maljanian, Swanke Hayden Connell Architects
Susan Dunlope Masi, Fox & Fowle Architects
Thomson, Swanke Hayden Connell Architects
Tracy Turner, Tracy Turner Designs
Mary Williamson, Brennan Beer Gorman

Members transferred in. Welcome to New York!
Tamar Kisilevitz, Assoc. AIA, Scarano & Associates Architects
Anna Lira V. Luis, Assoc. AIA
Michael A.P. Casolo, AIA, Waldner's Business Environments, Inc.
Ralf M. Dremel, AIA, Polo Ralph Lauren
Paul Simon Keene, AIA
Sangwoo Lee, AIA, Mitchell/Giurgola Architects, LLP
Stuart Narofsky, AIA, Narofsky Architecture & Design

Sunday, November 28, 2004

The "Bible" of Chair Collecting



If you don't already have it on your shelf, all I can say is BUY IT.

Editorial Reviews. Amazon.com. 1000 Chairs. Sleek, stuffed, buttoned, or bent, in the den or the dining room, the chair is an indicator of its owner's identity. Chairs make up much of the interior landscape of our homes and workplaces, and a comfortable chair is considered a great asset in either location.

A rigorous survey of the last 150 years of chairs, 1000 Chairs is a pictorial guide to the axiom "you are where you sit." Writers Charlotte and Peter Fiell argue that, as well as being an icon of identity, the chair is a form through which designers engage in social, political, and even ergonomic rhetoric.

A good example is George Nelson's mass-produced modular seating system. Geometrical in design, its austere, mostly rectilinear lines are efficient and economical. The book follows developments and mutations in chair design from the days before art deco through the rise of modernity and into the mid-'90s, when designers like Philippe Starck used such materials as recycled plastic and injection molded polypropylene.

In total there are more than the 1000 advertised illustrations, and each is accompanied by a small text describing the significance of the chair and its designer. The book includes more than 100 capsule biographies of such designers as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Adolph Loos, and Marcel Breuer. The only problem with 1000 Chairs is, ironically, its own ergonomics. At about eight by six inches and nearly 800 pages, it is an unwieldy little tome. That aside, this is a great book--a must for anyone interested in sitting down.


DUNBAR Furniture. The company that was heralded as the "best of their time" during the peak of midcentury modern design is once again a leading supplier of fine furniture "to the trade."

The spirit of Edward J Wormley is being presented to a new generation of young receptive designers. As an owner of over a dozen vintage pieces and the satisfied buyer of a new Listen-To-Me chaise, I highly recommend DUNBAR.

Seattle Public Library - Rem Koolhas.


Seattle Public Library. Designed by renowned architect Rem Koolhaas and his Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), and Seattle-based LMN Architects, the new 363,000-square-foot Seattle Public Library is offically open to the public.

The $165 million library was designed to reflect both the building's content and how it will be used. The new structure, on the site where Seattle's first permanent public library was built in 1906, has space for 1.4 million books -- a half-million more than its predecessor -- and is equipped with more than 400 computers.

The new library will house the library's main collection of books, government publications, periodicals, audio visual materials and the technology to access and distribute information from the physical collection online.

The building is divided into horizontal layers, each varying in size and shape. Each of these levels has its own function, including "the Living Room," featuring long couches and a coffee bar; "the Reading Room," a more traditional setting; and the "Teen Center." A "Mixing Chamber" has a reference center that includes 132 public computers, wireless hot spots for people to research on their own laptops, and a conference room.

Children will have a 15,000-square-foot area for their books, six times larger than in the old library. There is also a 275-seat auditorium which can be expanded by 150 seats, connecting the two main entries, while a soaring atrium lobby extends along the southern half of the building. The building features five main "platforms," or levels, that are pushed and pulled out, creating an angular effect. Appearing as if it has just been through an earthquake one layer stacked and shifted upon the next. Between these platforms are floating layers, which provide the libraries public spaces. The asymmetric form(s) create not only a work of art, but are sure to serve as a magnet that will spark excitement for both the library and the surrounding context. Koolhaas stated "it would be a pity to be as boring as the context." The building appears transparent, clad in two layers of glass -- between which are steel tubes that join together to form a lattice of diamond shapes.

The steel-tubed skin of the new library, Koolhaas said, "not only provides the main structural support for the building but also modulates light and, with built-in coolers and filters, controls internal air temperature." He noted the building is "pre-quaked," with its irregular shape helping to counteract the movement of an earthquake. With an array of brilliant yellow escalators, colorful floor and wall treatments, waist-high signage, cavernous hallways, the library assist in providing a fun filled learning experience.

Instead of being a boring book warehouse this library demands investigation. Circulation through the library includes a continuous square ramp winding upward through four levels of the entire non-fiction collection. Above the stacks on the tenth floor a reading room with slanted glass walls provides a unique perspective on the Seattle skyline.

MoMA Reopens In New York City

Throughout its history, The Museum of Modern Art has used architecture as a vehicle for self-renewal and regeneration. The recently completed building project represents MoMA's most extensive redefinition since its founding seventy-five years ago. The Museum combines new spaces with MoMA's original architecture to dramatically enhance its dynamic collection of modern and contemporary art.

MoMA conducted an extensive worldwide search for an architect who would not simply add on to the Museum's existing architecture, but would be able to transform MoMA's various buildings and additions into a unified whole. Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi won the commission with a design that would, in his own words, " to transform MoMA into a bold new museum while maintaining its historical, cultural, and social context."

The 630,000-square-foot Museum has nearly twice the capacity of the former facility. The new six-story David and Peggy Rockefeller Gallery Building houses the main collection and temporary exhibition galleries. Taniguchi worked closely with curators to refine his concept into a design that would expertly accommodate the type and scale of works displayed. Spacious galleries for contemporary art are located on the second floor, with more intimately scaled galleries for the collection on the levels above. Expansive, sky-lit galleries for temporary exhibitions are located on the top floor. MoMA's Film and Media program resumes in the two refurbished Titus Theaters, located below the lobby level.

In the expanded Museum Lobby, Taniguchi takes inspiration from the unique vitality of the streets of midtown Manhattan. This bustling interior promenade connects Fifty-third and Fifty-fourth Streets and offers spectacular views of both The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden and a light-filled atrium that soars 110 feet above street level. The lobby also serves as the Museum's "information center" with multiple ticket counters; information about membership, exhibitions, and programs; and access to the Museum's theaters, restaurant, stores, and garden.

Masterworks of modern sculpture, seasonal plantings, and reflecting pools once again welcome visitors to the beloved Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, which Taniguchi identified as "perhaps the most distinctive single element of the Museum today." The architect preserved Philip Johnson's original 1953 design and re-established the garden's southern terrace to create an elegant outdoor patio for The Modern, the Museum's new fine-dining restaurant.

Interior work continues on MoMa's new, eight-story Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building. When complete, it will offer five times more space for educational and research activities, including an expanded Library and Archives, a reading room, a 125-seat auditorium, workshop space for teacher training programs, study centers, and a lobby with magnificent views of the Sculpture Garden.

With his design for The Museum of Modern Art, Taniguchi has demonstrated that architectural expression and the proper environment for looking at art can be brilliantly intertwined. The result, in the architect's own work, is "an ideal environment for art and people [created] through the imaginative and disciplined use of light, materials, and space."

Edward Larrabee Barnes, 1915-2004

A diehard modernist who never succumbed to the whims of postmodernism, Edward Larrabee Barnes died in September at the age of 89. Trained at Harvard in the 1940s under Walter Gropius, Barnes was part of the second generation of American modernists that included Philip Johnson, I.M. Pei, and Paul Rudolph.

One of Barnes's most beloved works was his 1961 Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, a grouping of linked shingled pavilions overlooking the ocean in Deer Isle, Maine, that garnered the 25-Year Award from the AIA in 1994; the jury noted it as an "early and profound example of the fruitful and liberating fusion of the vernacular building traditions with the rationality and discipline of Modern architecture."

In 1989, Barnes told Architecture "I've always been drawn to making things as simple as possible, if you can do that without making them inhuman or dull or oppressive."Barnes got his start after World War II, working for industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss, on low-cost, prefabricated housing in California. For the young architect, there was an inextricable link between modern architecture and social commitment, if not enough money. Regardless, after establishing his firm in Manhattan in 1949, he kept his hand in housing, albeit designing private homes. Other lauded works by Barnes include the 1971 Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the IBM Corporate Headquarters tower on Manhattan's Madison Avenue.

Best Practices - Interior Architecture GENSLER

Gensler has announced their 2004 appointments.

Congratulations go out to; Lisa Amster Patricia Aponte, Hector Ayala, Tim Barry, Donna Becco-Schroeder, Michele Bedard, Stephen Bellairs, Cassie Brekka, David Broz, Joni Calkins, Jeff Campbell, Enrico Caruso, Hunter Clayton, Charlene Collins, Jennifer Cooper, Susana Covarrubias, Dan Craner, Amit Desai, Ravinder Dhillon, Pablo Diaz, Todd Dundon, Colleen Edlund, Ron Ferg, Al Fiesel, Matthew Forn, Luigi Franeschina, Stan Fukawa, Rob Garzke, Gerald Gehm, Phillip Gillard, Jordan Goldstein, Alan Grant, Joe Harris, Julie Henline, Diane Hird, Lauren Howard, Masahiro Iwata, Ted Jacobs, Stephanie Jaeger, Gail Jefferson, William Jenkinson, Andrew Johnson, Ursula Kachler, Ma Ry Kim, Eric Lam, Laura Latham, Joseph Lauro, Janice Legg, Karen Le-Gray, Nadege Lespinasse, Heather Litton, Joseph Lo, Jay Longo, Dare Lovett, Amy Lyons, Daniel Ma, Gin Ma, LoriAnn Maas, Todd PacPherson, John Mader, John Mapes, Steve Martin, Carlos Martinez, Chie Matsushita, Allison Maucere, Scott A. McAllister, Jim Meredith, Andy Meyer, Irwin Miller, Susan Miller, George Miller-Ramos, Neil Mitchell, Tracy Moore, Gary Napper, Janice Natchek, Michael Niemann, Barbara Noguera Frye, Chris Oakley, Trevor Oldridge, Karen Panico, Bronwyn Paterson, Duncan Paterson, Cathy Peterson, Scott Peterson (No, not that Scott Peterson), Carlos Posada, Amanda Pratt, Joan Price, Pearl Pyo, Kate Randolph, Glenn Rasmussen, Beth Readym Nellie Reid, Dee Rendleman, David Robinson, Mari Saito, Erik Sander, Oliver Schaper, Ian Sheardwright, Georgina Showell, Del Shuford, Cindy Simpson, Jessica Risko Smith, Carolyn Sponza, Aimee St. Cyr, Bob Stefko, Christopher Strawbridge, Ram Summan, Timothy Taylor, Tosh Townsend, Maurice Van Eijs, Rosalinda Vejarm James Walker, Leslie Walker, Jim Wallace, Fergal Walsh, Thomas Wang, Joanne Weston, Steve White, Mindy Wieland, Michael Wiener, Eric Wilbur, Chip Williams, Cherrie Wysong, Rebecca Yoder, and Chad Yoshinobu. Wow... thats a lot of people, but Gensler is a big firm. CONGRATS to all!!!!


Rapson Rocker - The Rapson Rapid Rocker was designed by Ralph Rapson in 1945 as a part of the Knoll "Rapson Line."

A true modernist, Ralph Rapson is a visionary architect and designer, much admired for his forward-thinking structures and furniture designs. His formal training in architecture began in the early 1930's at the University of Michigan. Upon graduation, he was the recipient of a two-year scholarship to the renowned Cranbrook Academy of Art, led by Eliel Saarinen. Cranbrook exposed Rapson to a variety of art and design disciplines, including painting, city planning, sculpture, photography, graphic design, and textile design. All deeply influenced his later architectural and furniture design projects.In the 1940's Rapson moved to Chicago and joined the New Bauhaus, led by Laszio Moholy-Nagy.

He eventually became head of the architectural curriculum at the highly experimental school. During this period, Rapson gained experience transforming the abstract principles of modernism into concrete structural forms. By experimenting with new technologies and materials in novel ways, he created homes with prefabricated structural elements and 'industrial' mechanisms.

When construction was almost stagnant in the late Depression, Rapson competed in a series of groundbreaking architectural contests. Perhaps the most famous and influential of these was the 1945 Case Study Houses competition for Arts and Architecture magazine. Only 31 at the time, Rapson was the youngest architect invited to enter. Some of the other entrants included such stars of modern design as Charles Eames, Richard Neutra, Eero Saarinen and others.

Rapson's design, the Case Study House #4, married prefabricated construction techniques to sophisticated modern design. It won the acclaim of architects and critics alike, and was widely considered one of the most progressive of all the submissions.

In 1946 Rapson joined the faculty of MIT and eight years later was invited to head the University of Minnesota School of Architecture. Under his direction, Rapson revolutionized the school and led it to national prominence. As a testament to Rapson's teaching abilities, twenty-seven of the forty winners of the prestigious Rotch Traveling Fellowship, between 1950 and 1990, were his pupils.

During the 1950's Rapson was selected by the U.S. State Department to design a series of embassies in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Western Europe. In the post-WWII era, these embassies were significant in conveying the cultural leadership of the U.S. Perhaps his best-known work, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis was completed in 1963. An asymmetrical structure with seats placed around a thrust stage, was intended to encourage theatergoers to anticipate "the delight, fantasy, and stimulation of the theater experience itself." Over the last sixty years architecture has weathered many fleeting trends and fads.

Like a rock in the throes of a tempest, Ralph Rapson has maintained an immovable commitment to the basic and best principles of modern architecture. His vision has always been clearly focused on the big picture of architecture – its potential for community betterment and enrichment of the human experience.

Saturday, November 27, 2004

Best of Class - Book On Scandiavian Design




About the Authors. Charlotte J. Fiell studied at the British Institute, Florence and at Camberwell School of Arts & Crafts, London, where she received a BA (Hons) in the History of Drawing and Printmaking with Material Science. She later trained with Sotheby's Educational Studies, also in London.

Peter M. Fiell trained with Sotheby's Educational Studies in London and later received an MA in Design Studies from Central St Martin's College of Art & Design, London. Together, the Fiells run a design consultancy in London specializing in the sale, acquisition, study and promotion of design artifacts. They have lectured widely, curated a number of exhibitions and written numerous articles and books on design and designers, including TASCHEN's Charles Rennie Mackintosh, William Morris, 1000 Chairs, Design of the 20th Century, and Industrial Design A-Z. They also edited the six-volume Decorative Arts series published by TASCHEN.


Scandinavians are exceptionally gifted in design. They are world-famous for their inimitable, democratic designs which bridge the gap between crafts and industrial production. The marriage of beautiful, organic forms with everyday functionality is one of the primary strengths of Scandinavian design and one of the reasons why Scandinavian creations are so cherished and sought after.

This all-you-need guide includes a detailed look at Scandinavian furniture, glass, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, metalware and industrial design from 1900 to the present day, with in-depth entries on over 200 designers and design-led companies, plus essays on the similarities and differences in approach between Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark.

Also included is a list of important design-related places to visit for readers planning to travel to Scandinavia. Featured designers and companies include; Verner Panton, Arne Jacobsen, Alvar Aalto, Timo Sarpaneva, Hans Wegner, Borge Mogensen, Nanna Ditzel. Jonas Bohlin, Tapio Wirkkala, Sigvard Bernadotte, Stig Lindberg, Ingeborg Lundin, Finn Juhl, Absolut, Fritz Hansen, Carl Hansen & Son, Fredericia, Dansk, Artek, Le Klint, Louis Poulsen, Gustavsberg, Iittala, Fiskars, Volvo, Saab, Orrefors, Royal Copenhagen, Holmegaard, Arabia, Marimekko, Georg Jensen and Ikea.

Thursday, November 25, 2004

Links To Pacific Northwest Interior Design Sources

Abbott Heys & Associates Inc., Seattle, WAAKS, P.S. Inc., Seattle, WAALSC Architects, Spokane, WAAlta Telecom, Duluth, GAAmbia (formerly BJSS Duarte Bryant), Olympia, WAAnne Fisher Interior Design, Seattle, WAAnshen + Allen, Seattle, WAApex Facility Resources Inc., Seattle, WAArai Jackson Ellison Murakami LLP, Seattle, WAArchitects Alaska, Anchorage, AKArchitects BCRA-Tsang, Tacoma, WAArchitectural Design West Inc., Burlington, WAArchitettura Design LLC, Seattle, WAARRJW, PLLC, Tacoma, WABaker & Baker Marketing Communications, Seattle, WABank & Office Interiors, Seattle, WABargreen-Ellingson Inc., Seattle, WABarnett Schorr Architects, Seattle, WABassetti Architects, Seattle, WABaylis Architects Inc., Bellevue, WABehrens-Benedict Limited, Bellevue, WABjarkoSerra Architects, Seattle, WABJSS Duarte Bryant, Seattle, WABohlin Cywinski Jackson, Seattle, WABoxwood, Seattle, WABuffalo Design, Seattle, WABUILD llc, Seattle, waBuilding Performance Analysis, Moscow, IDBumgardner, Seattle, WABusiness Interiors Northwest, Tacoma, WACalvin Jordan Associates Inc., Bellevue, WACandela Architectural Lighting Design, Seattle, WACar Store Design, Vashon Island, WACIDA Inc., Portland, ORClark Associates, Seattle, WACommercial Installation Services Inc., Portland, ORConnell Design Group, Mountlake Terrace, WACornerstone Architectural Group, LLC, South Plainfield, NeCrow/Clay & Associates Inc., Coos Bay, ORCrow/Clay & Associates Inc., Portland, ORCSCB Architects PC, Portland, ORCTA Design Builders Inc., Seattle, WADavid Coleman / Architecture, Seattle, WADavis & Davis Interior Design Build Firm, Kennewick, WADegen & Degen, Seattle, WADesign Perspectives, Seattle, WAdesign works, Bellevue, WADesigns Northwest Architects Inc., Stanwood, WADeWilliam/Charf Architects, AIA, Seattle, WADKA, Seattle, WADLR Group, Seattle, WADMJM H+N, Richland, WADomus-USA, Bellingham, WADonald Reed Chandler Architect, Washington, VADouglas Snider, Architect, Medford, ORDull Olson Weekes Architects, Portland, ORDuus Construction Inc., Battleground, WADykeman Architects, Everett, WADynamikspace, Inc., Seattle, WAEAS Builders NW LLC, Seattle, WAEAS Builders NW, LLC, Kirkland, WAEAS Design LLC, Kirkland, WAEC Designs, Edmonds, WAEdberg Christiansen Heidenreich PS, Seattle, WAEhm Architecture, Seattle, WAEmick Howard & Seibert Inc., Seattle, WAEnvironmental Works/The Works, Seattle, WAFacilities West, Bellevue, WAFood Service Design, Bellevue, WAFreeman Fong Architecture, Seattle, WAFreiheit & Ho Architects Inc., PS, Bellevue, WAFuller / Sears Architects, Seattle, WAG A + P S, Tacoma, WAGarrison Design, Seattle, WAGensler Architecture, Seattle, WAGGLO, Seattle, WAGLSC Architects Inc., Seattle, WAGordon Olson, High River, ABGrape Street Design Associates, Medford, ORGretchen Sturtevant, Olympia, WAGrulich Architecture + Planning Servic, Tacoma, WaHDR Architecture Inc., Boise, IDHDR Engineering Inc., Chicago, ILHeery International Inc., Seattle, WAHelix Design Group, Tacoma, WAHellmuth Obata + Kassabaum (HOK), Redmond, WAHendrix Interiors, Seattle, WAHennebery Eddy Architects Inc., Portland, ORHNTB Architecture Inc., Bellevue, WAHochstrasser Associates, Architects, University Place, WAHolmes & Narver/DMJM, Richland, WAHolmes and Narver/DMJM, Richland, WAIn Form, Inc., Bellevue, WAIng & Associates, Seattle, WAINOX DESIGN, INC., Avondale Estates, GAINTEGRUS Architecture, Seattle, WAJaso Ludviksen Inc., Seattle, WAJensen/Fey Architecture and Planning, Redmond, WAJensen/Hayes/Shropshire Architects, Pocatello, IDJPC Architects, PLLC, Bellevue, WAKaplan McLaughlin Diaz, San Francisco, CAKDW Architects, PS, Seattle, WAKiewit Construction Co., Renton, WAKinko's Corporate, Spokane, WAKMD Architects, Seattle, WAKoonce Pfeffer Bettis Inc., Anchorage, AKKumin Associates Inc., Anchorage, AKKurt R Jensen & Associates, Seattle, WALautus Marble, Shanghai, SHLAWRENCE SCARPA, Santa Monica, CaLawrence Scarpa Architect, Santa Monica, CaLehrman Cameron Studio, Seattle, WALewis Architecture + Interior Design, Bellevue, WALighting Designs Inc., Seattle, WALLK Interior Design LLC, Bellevue, WALMN Architects, Seattle, WALombard-Conrad Architects, Boise, IDLux Designs, A Design Build Corporation, Seattle, WAM Studios, Inc., Seattle, WAMadora Lawson Interior Design, Seattle, WAMadsen Mitchell Evenson & Conrad PLLC, Spokane, WAMagellan Architects, Redmond, WAMahlum Architects, Seattle, WAMandeville Berge Box Architects, Seattle, WAMaple Dell + McClelland Architects, Port Orchard, WAMarvin Stein & Associates LLC, Seattle, WAMasterly Corporation, Lacey, WAMcGranahan Architects, Tacoma, WAMcKinney & Associates, Kirkland, WAMedici Architects, Bellevue, WAMerritt Arch PLLC, Tacoma, WAMerritt+Pardini Architects, Tacoma, WAMerritt+Pardini Architects, Seattle, WAMesher Shing & Assoc, Seattle, WAMetroplitan Audio Video, Seattle, WAMills, John & Rigdon, Seattle, WAMithun Architects+Designers+Planners, Seattle, WAMorris Stafford Architects, University Place, WAMorrison Knudsen Corp, Kent, WAMosaic Architecture, Seattle, WAMulvannyG2 Architecture, Bellevue, WAOrbit Acoustics, New York, NYP2 Design Group, Seattle, WAParametrix Inc., Bremerton, WAParametrix Inc., Portland, ORParametrix Inc., Sumner, WAParker Design Group, Bainbridge Island, WAPatrick Janikowski Architects, Seattle, WAPeck Smiley Ettlin Architects, Inc., Portland, ORPelletier + Schaar, Stanwood, WAPerrault Interiors LLC, Seattle, WAPhoenix Options, LLC, Bothell, WAPinnacle Consulting Group Inc., Snohomish, WAPLACE Architects PLLC, Seattle, WAPlanet Retail Studios, Seattle, WAPrimedia Group, Seattle, WAPuchlik Design Associates, Seattle, WAQuantum Digital Designs, Seattle, WAR Group Communications Inc., Vancouver, BCRice Fergus Miller Architecture & Planning, Bremerton, WARobertson/Sherwood Architects, Eugene, ORRodney Bauch & Associates, Seattle, WARolluda Architects Inc., Seattle, WARyan Architecture, Tacoma, WASasaki Associates Inc., San Francisco, CASCM Consultants Inc., Kennewick, WASERA Architects, Portland, ORSPL Integrated Solutions, Redmond, WASSOE Inc., Bothell, WAStafford Design Group Inc., Seattle, WAStewart+King Partnership, Bellingham, WAStuart Silk Architects, Seattle, WAStudio Meng Strazzara, Seattle, WASturman Architects, Inc., Seattle, WASusan K Okamoto, Inc., Seattle, WASusan Ryan Interior Design, Tacoma, WATaylor/Gregory Butterfield Architects, Edmonds, WATDSA Architecture, Federal Way, WATechstaff Inc./CSR Tech Services, Seattle, WAThe Austin Company, Seattle, WAThe Creative Office, Olympia, WAThe DOH Associates, PS, Wenatchee, WAThe Driftmier Architects, Redmond, WAThe Tsang Partnership, Seattle, WAThe Tsang Partnership, Tacoma, WAThe Warner Group, Inc., Seattle, WATRA, Ltd. (defunct), Seattle, WATriamp Group Inc., Puyallup, WAVikrant, Jalore, RAVisions Development Inc., Seattle, WAVoute Design Group, Inc., Seattle, WAWALLACE Design, Bellevue, WAWanzer Munizza Design Studio, Seattle, WAWE Group Architects, Portland, ORWeber + Thompson Architects, Seattle, WAWilliamson-McCarter, Portland, ORWire Ways Inc., Bellevue, WAWise Miller Architects PLLC, Seattle, WAWJA Design Collaborative, Seattle, WAWonderlane Studios, Seattle, WAWorthy & Associates, Seattle, WAYost Grube Hall Architecture, Portland, ORZAC Design Inc., Bainbridge Island, WAzero plus, Seattle, WAZervas Group Architects, Bellingham, WAZimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, Seattle, WAZimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, Portland, OR