jeff bridges photography

via jeffbridges by jeff bridges

- little did I know actor Jeff Bridges is quite the accomplished photographer. seen here are some gorgeous b&w panoramic frames from the Iron Man movie set. awesome

Mobile Mobile

"Work asked me to do something for their Christmas card. I work for an Interactive Agency.

To cut a long story short, after a company-wide upgrade the agency had a lot of old mobiles gathering dust. We took these, built and hoisted a gigantic interactive chandelier/mobile that plays Christmas jingles in our reception.

To add a little xmas spice to the mix, anyone can go online and enjoy annoying the hell out of people waiting around in the reception, by playing the thing live from their web browser: xmas.lbi.co.uk

Details on how we made it and some behind the scenes content are available on my blog: http://www.theophane.co.uk/mobile-mobile

Mobile Mobile has been made as a semi-permanent hanging (exhibition) space. In January the mobiles will be replaced with another hanging media, then updated month in, month out.

Mobile Mobile is just one in a line of many great lo-fi art/build concepts; from the Design Museum's Aquarium, Digital By Design, Troika and The Cloud, the Printer Bleeping Thingy (I can't remember who did it), all the great work by W+K, and of course, AKQA's wonderful microwaves from last Christmas.

Looking forward to many more to come.

Good Cause: One of the largest problems facing the developing world is a lack of trained physicians. MoCa, is a health screening system for developing countries using mobile (cell)phones and open source technologies. See www.mocamobile.org"

- brilliant, clever, thoughtful, relevant and contemporary ingenuity by James Théophane Jnr.

Squier

via katherinesquier

- some sublimely intimate photography by katherine squier.

Step Into Europe

"LSP Skateboarder Stefan Niedermeyer was originally raised in Singapore and is now a student in London. He will travel around Europe with some friends while documenting their interests and other fun stuff."

- little project I've worked on.

end of books

via swissmiss
- neat Quote/Unquote Bookends by Eric Janssen, manufactured by MERLO-T, Switzerland.

between the folds

- unbelievable documentary on 'the art of science, the science of art' by green fuse films. mindblowing.

villa in vals

All images by Iwan Baan. via abitare

- i have few words for this mad solution to framing an alpine view, except for perhaps a round of applause for the people behind it, but that's an action, not a word. said team of geniuses, SeARCH in collaboration with Christian Müller Architects, have this to say... taken from the SeARCH website:

"Shouldn’t it be possible to conceal a house in an Alpine slope while still exploiting the wonderful views and allowing light to enter the building?

Surprised that it was permissible to construct a pair of dwellings so close to the world famous thermal bath of Vals, the client seized the opportunity to develop the site, without disturbing the bath’s expansive views. The introduction of a central patio into the steep incline creates a large façade with considerable potential for window openings. The viewing angle from the building is slightly inclined, giving an even more dramatic view of the strikingly beautiful mountains on the opposite side of the narrow valley.

The local authority’s well intentioned caution, that un-usual modern proposals were generally not favoured, proved unfounded. The planners were pleased that the proposal did not appear ‘residential’ or impose on the adjacent bath building. The scheme was not perceived as a typical structure but rather an example of pragmatic unobtrusive development in a sensitive location. The placing of the entrance via an old Graubünder barn and an underground tunnel further convinced them that the concept, while slightly absurd, could still be permitted.

Switzerland’s planning laws dictate that it is only possible to grant a definitive planning permission after a timber model of the building’s volume has first been constructed on site. This can then be accurately appraised by the local community and objected to if considered unsuitable. For this proposal, logic prevailed and this part of the process was deemed to be unnecessary."

teuxdeux

"TeuxDeux is a simple, designy, browser-based to-do app and the first collaboration between studio-mates swissmiss and Fictive Kin. The idea was to build a bare-bones, but visually compelling and highly usable to-do app based on swissmiss' personal ideal work-flow.

Features include:
- week overview
- check off done tasks
- delete tasks
- move tasks
- someday bucket

TeuxDeux "

- brilliant.

bloom

via mymodernmet

- I was watching the BBC series 'Life' on BBC One, and a part on Japanese Snow Macaques (above) got me remembering some incredible shots by wildlife photographer Steve Bloom. These are all taken from his book Untamed - worth every penny.

top class.

track that

- as I gain continued inspiration from cinematography, some techniques stand out as extraordinary. CGI and other special effects are one thing, but when combined with intricate analog camera movement, prolonged time sequences and credible acting, the tracking shot sequence can take on epic proportions. check out this article at trueslant, which outlines some of the better tracking shots in films through the ages, as well as this story at fxguide, going behind the scenes on the set of Children of Men, where the above one-take shot is from.
bloody, but bloody awesome.

escp europe

The ESCP Europe Human Experience from ESCP Europe on Vimeo.

- people + patience = neat stop motion

ed stein time

- in the aftermath of the Obama circus that passed through the streets of Oslo recently, I continue to wonder how one man really is meant to be responsible for issues that require widespread changes of attitude.

can't blame him for not trying.

playing for change

- makes you smile no?
the people of Playing For Change seem to have the right idea :)

guise

via dailytonic

- new minimalist interior fit out for fashion brand Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair's Stockholm shop. With a considered, clean design the Swedish practice Guise was nominated for this year’s Great Indoors Award also picking up Design Firm of the Year 2009 at the event.

good looking shop i must say.

designers statement:

THE PROJECT

“The project concerns a new concept store for Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair. The Swedish fashion brand Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair works with traditional typologies of clothes but deconstructs them and create new hybrid garments. The assignment was to design an entirely new concept store that meets the commercial aspects of a retail space, but foremost to design the spatial encounter with the brand Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair.”

CONCEPT

The retail concept is based on Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair design methods, but transferred into architecture. Existing architectural typologies have been deformed in order to meet both the functional and the commercial requirements for a store interior. The visual presences of the furniture are designed to be ambivalent; they should resemble a stair although clearly having another purpose.

Jani Kristoffersen, one of the founders of Guise explains: “The ambition was to use strong silhouettes whereupon we choose a double helix-shaped stair as a basic form. In order to adapt the helix shape to meet the functional requirements we had to deform the shape of the stair until it met the commercial need for exposure, but also in order to give it an unique character of its own”.

Andreas Ferm, one of the founders of Guise continues: “Since the main form is folded and rotated it both conceals and exposes the garments and accessories while you move through the store. The rotated shape aims to create a more dynamic experience for the customers, by that we try to create a more well directed spatial experience.”

“The stairs has become the main spatial carriers of the retail concept Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, but in addition to the stairs a shelving system was designed to meet the flexible needs of the store. The exposure has to adapt to the changing needs of a retail shop. Each shelf is designed and tailored specially for each placement in the store. The shelves consist of a rigorous framework of steel rods, which together create a matrix of small cubic space in the structure, all with dimensions of 360×360x360 mm. By using the cubic dimensions of the structure, the clothes that hung in its bottom exposed in two directions, either along a wall, or by turning 90 degrees to allow for a frontal exposure from a wall.

To the shelf, hundreds of thin black steel plates were designed in order to make the shelf to become rearrangeable by changing the position of the plates. Both the visual aesthetics and the functionality of the shelves are radically changed by shifting the position of the plates.

Not only the furniture has been custom made, but also the cash register, the doll exposure, fitting rooms, doors and the mirrors are special designed to enhance the overall shopping experience.”

food for thought

loft life

via loftlifemag

- sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet pad in a converted sugar factory in amsterdam. by way of uxus design.