Located in front of the Casalgrande Padana Headquarters, the CCCloud monument is a result of the collaboration between Kengo Kuma Architects, Alfonso Acocella, Luigi Alini, and Casalgrande Padana. The monument is constructed of unglazed ceramic tiles that have been adapted for structural use.

The entire structure is 45 meters long and 12 meters high, with a maximum width of 1.7 meters in the central section. It consists of nine layers of porcelain stoneware tiles 60 x 120 cm that are stacked and articulated through fine threaded rods. Traditionally used as coating, the ceramic tiles are here used as a structural component.

As a thin curtain, the CCCloud divides the roundabout, drawing the attention of visitors. The monument is oriented in line with the street, making cars disappear from view. This anti-monumental strategy creates a low profile on the site that generates a space without overwhelming the viewer. The actual proportion of the line is apparent throughout the car’s movement through the site. Read the rest of this entry »

Last days to order a copy of the Limited Edition book EVOLO SKYSCRAPERS. The publication has been praised by the critics, including the Wall Street Journal for its importance in showcasing the future of architecture.

Every day we receive several emails requesting a copy of the book which was sold out in only two months after its initial release. We strongly believe that all interested in this 1,200-page publication (300+ innovative skyscrapers) should be able to acquire it and for this reason we have decided to print it on demand for a limited time. Books ordered will be delivered in August 2012. Read the rest of this entry »

“Observe the motion of the surface of the water, which resembles that of hair; which has two motions, of which one is caused by the weight of the hair, the other the direction of the curls; thus the water has eddying motions, one part of which is due to the principal current, the other to the random and reverse motion.” Read the rest of this entry »

BLOOM is what its designers call an “urban toy.” It is a “distributed social game and collective ‘gardening’ experience that seeks the engagement of people in order to construct fuzzy BLOOM formations.” These formations are aggregate volumes composed of repeated, identical parts, which the designers refer to as “cells.” These “cells” are designed and fabricated by the designers themselves, Alisa Andrasek of Biothing, and Jose Sanchez of Plethora Project, in London. Meant to contribute an air of jovial democratized design in relation to the 2012 London Olympic Games, BLOOM is representative of the artistic, collective act. Each individual component, as the designers explain, can do nothing on its own, but instead, reach their full and limitless potential when arrayed en masse. Read the rest of this entry »

The Taavi Chair, chair designed by Minnesota-based American architect David Salmela and manufactured in Duluth, Minnesota by Loll Designs, is an excellent example of sustainable design. The chair, with its elegant, simple design, is made, on average, from a common household item: milk jugs.  Each chair is made from roughly 256 of these recycled milk jugs. Milk jugs, made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) are highly recyclable, with a chemical composition that lends itself to molded, weather-resistant outdoor furniture.Taavi is inspired by low profile lounge chairs of Mid-Century Modern lore, perfectly suited to outdoor contemplation and leisure. This chair, aside from being formally streamlined and minimal, is also inherently sustainable: it is made from recycled materials that can be recycled once again, features interchangeable, replaceable parts, and is fabricated in America. Furthermore, the manufacturing process itself is based on ‘lean manufacturing’ principles, economizing material, labor, and mitigating industrial byproducts. This chair is an example of sustainable, American-made design and manufacturing. Read the rest of this entry »

Breakfast New York City is an interactive installation in Midtown Manhattan that both mimics and responds to interactive movement. Located that the intersection of 32nd Street and 6th Avenue, this installation is a revival of an antique sign technology that utilizes over 40,000 metallic spinning dots on a computerized surface to broadcast messages, including scrolling text and images. Because of its analog technology, the mechanism that is analogous to digital pixels, actually mimics the movement and rotation of pistons on a mechanical engine. The dots are either black or white, depending on which side is exposed, creating a binary that, when taken in aggregate and seen from afar, render images and text. This literal movement, however, from black to white, is done so through mechanical means, creating various clicks, like those made on a typewriter. Read the rest of this entry »

A building dedicated to the art and experience of film-making, Amsterdam’s EYE Film Institute is an attempt to bring social activity to the movie-going experience. The structure, located on the banks of Amsterdam’s lj River, across from the Centraal train station, contributes to the city’s burgeoning waterfront cultural scene. The facade’s geometric formations, simultaneously chaotically-faceted and predictably-tessellated, are made from pressed aluminum tiles providing a compelling visual carpet of aesthetic expression. The building, designed by Austria’s Delugan Meissl Associated Architects and dubbed ‘The Oyster’ by locals, houses the EYE Film Institute’s film archives, which enjoy a healthy rotation both on the theatre’s silver screen, as well as along the interior walls, where they are projected and displayed for the viewer’s enjoyment. A social component is added when viewers are allowed to pause frames, compelling one to study the details of each still.  Read the rest of this entry »

The Vortex Chandelier is in line with the series of furniture pieces, which is also a collaboration of designers Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher and Sawaya & Moroni. The Chandelier’s Opaque surface etches two transparent acrylic light spirals and a recessed LED light strip provides animated and programmable light sensations. Its complex curvilinearity follows a double helix connecting its beginning to its end and therefore forming an endless ribbon of light. In plan the object resembles a star with its protrusions pointing outwards from the center, emphasizing an imaginary centrifugal force. Read the rest of this entry »

Italian designer Marco Stefanelli infuses natural objects with a delicately abstracted presence of the human hand. These chairs, made for the 2012 Fuorisalone Milano exhibition contemporary intervention through rustic materials.  His small incisions of light, cut, filled and sculpted from and into these existing blocks of tree stumps represent the designer’s meticulous sensibility. Each log undergoes a linear and straightforward transformation involving the formal evolution of a predetermined incision that is graphed on the stump’s exterior surface. Those lines are carefully traced with the blade of a saw and the resultant carving is removed. This piece is cast in acrylic and inserted to the log, holding in place lights. These internalized lights illuminate the interior flesh of the stump,reflecting the color of this heartwood through the acrylic cap. The light emitted through each acrylic scar varies depending on the type and age of the wood in question, glowing anywhere from pristine white to warm yellow to dingy orange. Read the rest of this entry »

Undulus is a modular lighting system designed by London-based artist Scott Jarvie. It’s inspired by the beauty of cloud formations. It can be installed individually, in groups or in rows depending on the lighting requirements of the space. It provides a vertical directional light with a diffuse horizontal glow, utilising fluorescent tube bulbs, which have a number of benefits, including energy efficiency, low cost, long life in service and wide availability. Unlike compact fluorescent bulbs you are not required to dispose of the electronic starter every time you change a bulb. Read the rest of this entry »