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| 03:30 Wed 14 May 2008 |
Tag: Office
These items have all been tagged with the tag "Office", You can see other tags in the Tag Cloud| UXUS Design Offices |
| 2008-04-08 16:53:39 |
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We always thought that fables anthropomorphized animals, plants and inanimate objects, giving them human-like character. For us, the word fable evokes thoughts of rich, organic color - a sort of Cirque du Soleil Varekai world. So when we heard that the new office of the Amsterdam-based UXUS Design was inspired by the fables, we expected a riot of color. Instead, we saw a predominantly white interior with transparent walls, white, gauzy drapery and residential-style floor lamps. A few wall graphics and some organic furnishings do give a nod to nature and, without doubt, the office is a cool background for colorful ideas. It is a stylish base for UXUS, founded in 2003 by USA-born co-creative director Georg Anthony Gottl, Costa Rica native Erica Gottl, and French-born co-creative director Oliver J.P. Michell. Their collective experience spans the globe and their work includes interiors, architecture, retail, hospitality, identity, graphics and packaging projects for clients such as Levi's, Nokia and Adidas. By Tuija Seipell. 6-- |
| Diane von Fürstenberg Studio - NYC |
| 2008-02-15 20:02:27 |
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Diane von Fürstenberg Studio’s new headquarters fits perfectly in New York City’s fashionable Meatpacking District, also known as the Gansevoort Market Historic District. The new, six-story building is wedged between two historical, landmarked facades that resemble the wall props in Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba. One corner of the structure is topped by a Olot, Spain-made faceted glass sphere that is part of the penthouse suite and seems like a gigantic diamond fallen from the sky. In the design, New York-based WORK Architecture managed to combine old and new, light and dark, openness and enclosure, artistry and practicality. The building houses DVF’s flagship store, a 5,000-square-foot showroom and event space, offices and studios for a 120 people, an executive suite, and a penthouse apartment. Inside the building, the chief feature is the “stairdelier,” a wide stairway that connects the floors and distributes light throughout the building. Flexibility characterizes all of the public areas. Pivoting walls and built-in unfolding “steamer-trunk” structures allow for a wide use of the space for fashion shows, photo shoots, events and parties. WORK was founded in 2002 by Beirut, Lebanon-born Amale Andraos and Rhode Island native Dan Wood. Many of their projects are in New York, but their work includes everything from a master plan of an Icelandic town to a theatre stage set, from low-income housing towers in New York to a luxury residence in Panama, plus retail, office and residential projects around the world. WORK is also designing 14 DVF stores in 11 countries. Diane von Fürstenberg was born in Brussels, Belgium, 61 years ago. She started her fashion designer career in 1970. Famous for her wrap dresses, which she started creating in 1973, she has become a veritable fashion icon. She is also the current president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the non-profit association of America’s fashion heavy-weights. By Tuija Seipell See also Creative Work Environments Random archive Skype Phones Neon Disco Drink Away The Art Mobile Movies |
| Straps Band Chair by Yahïa Ouled-Moussa |
| 2008-01-09 17:33:23 |
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Paris based designer, Yahïa Ouled-Moussa, has a way with reinventing old clothing or fabrics into funky and functional design objects. He studied interior architecture in Paris, but it was through a job with a French cabinet-maker who specialized in restoring period furniture where he developed his passion for furniture and design. Ouled-Moussa transforms sturdy, vintage French linens, army sacks or antique porcelain tea sets into stylish smocks, small sitting stools, and bound sculpture. His “strap bands chair” uses old canvas belts that you may have worn in the 1980s, (and those born in the 1980s may be wearing today), and weaves them onto discarded, wooden chairs to create the seat and back. The unwoven part of the belts hang under the seat or along the back, giving the piece an added, looser dimension in contrast to the tight weave of the front. The “strap bands chair” has been made in shades of pinks, as well as in a mix of bright yellow, red, blue and orange. There is also a military version, which incorporates old canvas military belts in green, brown and beige. Chairs can be commissioned by the piece or bought directly from his boutique on rue Nollet, in Paris’s 17th arrondissement. By Blaire Dessent |
| CREATIVE WORK ENVIRONMENTS - Do you work in one? |
| 2007-12-04 08:01:32 |
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Chances are if you talk to any CEO within the traditional corporation model they will most likely agree that productivity is primarily measured in monetary terms (i.e. profits and margins). If numbers continually rise or remain stable, then change within an organization should be avoided at all costs. If, at any time, productivity declines, the CEO will undoubtedly be the first to take notice, and a top-down chain of events could result in layoffs and downsizing and consequently evoke fear and panic from the bottom up through the ranks. But what about a change to the physical environment within which people operate – create – innovate? Most companies adapted to the so-called ‘open plan’ lining employees up in rows of cube-shaped spaces essentially allowing working minds to adjust according to stimulus created in the workplace. Individuals who became accustomed to hiding inside their own closed off sanctuaries were suddenly forced into listening and discussing openly and candidly work-related problems and ideas abandoning the ability of retreating into isolation. Those who had a difficult time acclimating were either kicked out or discredited for not being able to operate effectively. During this phase in the evolution of work space design many larger companies who could afford to do so, spent money on architecturally impressive buildings from the outside – modern, sleek, media-attracting structures – while simultaneously neglecting following through within where the work generally takes shape. The office cube became synonymous with monotonous, uninspiring highly systematic office space. A new era of work space design was dawning, and design professionals across the world began to seriously consider the practices of an organization as an essential prerequisite for subsequent design briefs. Jump Studios in London have made a substantial contribution to the new generation of work spaces in their innovative design for the Red Bull Headquarters. Ideas about work environment design centered around feelings associated with adrenaline and energy – directly associated with the brand itself. The offices are spread across three floors in a nineteenth century building in the West End. Visitors are received at the main reception from the top floor – an area that serves as the social space for the employees complete with a bar, café, various meeting areas as well as the central boardroom. A continuous carbon fiber feature links the entire space together – starting as a canopy outside the building, winding inside and around the boardroom, through the reception area, enclosing space for an actual slide between floors, and finally forming an additional informal meeting area on the lowest level. This ramp-like feature is a direct reference to the various extreme sports associated with Red Bull. A number of projects have also been completed by the Danish company of Bosch & Fjord that fulfill the changing needs of work space design. One recent project saw the creation of a series of meeting rooms, a reception area, a café and several meeting spaces for the Lego Group in Billund, Denmark – where the majority of the world’s Lego products are conceived, produced and manufactured. In the hands-on world of a company such as Lego, creative talent thrive in dynamic spaces that encourage interaction among people, products and thought, and the Bosch & Fjord design team successfully followed through by producing meeting rooms and furniture that truly inspire. And what about adaptability for the changing needs of an organization? Again, Bosch & Fjord believe that people should not accommodate a room; a room should accommodate the people. In an office, often the physical surroundings need to be shaped according to what is happening within the company. In this sense, the social aspect of design eliminates conventional hierarchies among employees, and thereby enhances communal exchange and communication. Bosch and Fjord created a furniture system for Innovation Lab’s new space at the IT University in Copenhagen. Rooms are designed within raw shipping crates that include three types of workstations: a small meeting room, a kitchen box and a large worktable that are packed, unpacked, arranged and rearranged with ease and flexibility. A new model without guidelines or conformity has been established for work place design yielding visually interesting and mentally stimulating environments. Steve Jobs hired Bohlin Cywinki Jackson to design the gigantic Pixar Animation Studios outside of San Francisco (BCJ have also designed ten Apple Stores worldwide). While Jobs insisted on including a swimming pool, soccer field, basketball court and fitness center, his main concern was about the longevity of the design. The interior space also includes a 10,000 square foot atrium used as a reception and lounge area, a café, screening rooms and a large theatre. The workspaces are laid out in 46,500 square foot wings accommodating offices for the 650-person staff. Interesting, office spaces are individual and full enclosed set out in units of six – each around a central meeting area. The San Francisco based firm Garcia + Francica installed the fit-outs based on Jobs’ recommendation of mid-century classics and his love of color. Pieces from Cassina, Ligne Roset, Eames, Aalto and Platner can be found throughout the entire space. Perhaps the most impressive aspect is a series of handwoven Tibetan floor coverings that add a level of comfort to the large office areas. The Los Angeles based Clive Wilkinson Architects designed the space for Google’s headquarters – known at the Googleplex with a combination of open and closed spaces allowing for maximum flexibility for all members of the organization. Employees are grouped in three or four-person clusters - and each shared space includes a meeting area with sofas. Other office amenities include a fitness center, spa complete with massage rooms, various video and table games spread throughout the complex as well as a full service café and snack rooms. Again vibrant colors are splashed around the space – colored glass panels, bright red walls, green, grass-textured flooring – all set against white work stations. Ultimately there seems to be no general guidelines set that reveal how to create the perfect office environment. From the designer perspective, it becomes apparent to understand the type of work that will be carried out in the space, and plan accordingly. The cookie-cutter open-plan office spaces are no longer an effective means of stimulating creativity. Physical dimensions such as light and surrounding noise undoubtedly affect the way people work with one another. Even subtle alterations in the color of a wall or the angle of a work station may result in highly sustainable creative thinking efforts. Not everyone does their best work from their own desk either. Individual work spaces may serve as an organizational area – a home base to return after meeting with coworkers in a nearby meeting room – or in a shared informal conference space – or even after a competitive round of ping pong or foosball. New and improved stimuli have only just begun to inspire a new way of working and relating to our corporate peers. Is your office (or one you know of) a super cool, creative space that defies the usual drab rules that dominate most work environments? If the answer's yes, send us This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it By Andrew J Wiener. |
| Test Pattern Clock | ||
| 2007-10-24 16:56:37 | ||
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| Paper Lounge |
| 2007-09-19 17:17:13 |
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Computers could have been the biggest tree-saving invention of all time, yet here we are, “paperless office” still just a dream and trees being cut down faster than ever. Award-winning creative architect duo Stephanie Forsythe and Todd MacAllen at molo design in Vancouver, Canada, are not discouraged by this. They have decided to ensure that paper does some serious work at the office. Their amazing corrugated paper furniture and white “soft” walls are not only fun to assemble, alter and move around, but good for the environment, too. Molo is the product arm of their bigger-scheme practice forsythe-macallen.com. Forsythe and MacAllen have been recognized around the world for their innovative housing and living-space projects and events. The first location for a molo design workshop will open in Milan, Italy by early 2008. It was previewed during this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan. By Tuija Seipell |
| Better View Curtain | ||
| 2007-07-24 19:39:18 | ||
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| Tischmich - Foldaway Desk |
| 2007-05-31 10:20:08 |
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If a piece of furniture is colorful, handy, knock-down and made of wood, does it have to be from Sweden? Not at all, proves Tischmich (could be translated as “Table me”), a table designed by Jakob Gebert for the Germany-based Moormann. Exhibited at the Salone del Mobile in Milan in April, Tischmich joins the fun but practical line-up of Moormann furnishings that include shelving units, tables, storage units, wardrobes, seating, lights and few really wacky storage “walls.” What makes Tischmich so very practical and fun, is the clever legs. The legs fold for storage under the top and the table is easy to assemble by inserting the legs into the grooves that go right through the table top. Made of birch and covered with red, blue or black linoleum, Tischmich has a huge range of uses – from boardroom to kids’ room, from kitchen to office. We can just picture three or four of the black 178-centimeter-long Tischmichs arranged end-to-end, forming an impressive boardroom table with airport-tarmac sensibilities. Moormann’s founder Nils Holger Moormann quit law school to wander the world of design and look for an application for his analytical but nature-loving mind. He found his place in the furniture world and has since the early 1980s produced and sold products by young, unknown designers. All of Moormann’s products are characterized by simplicity, functionality and fun. The company is located right in the middle of the Alps, in the town of Aschau in Chiemgau in upper Bavaria. Product materials are often sourced locally and everything is also manufactured locally. Tischmich designer Jakob Gebert was born in Freiburg, Germany, and graduated in 1994 from the Basel College of Design. He has collaborated with Moormann, Belux, and Vitra since 1998. His perhaps best-known design is the Taino chair for Vitra in 2000. By Tuija Seipell |
| Shelving It |
| 2007-05-23 14:41:45 |
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Function is paramount when it comes to office furniture but that needn't mean drab. These two shelving units have taken a creative approach to storage and display. The Flying Vee solution (above) is a series of units fixed to the wall, which you can arrange in several different configurations, almost like an art work. The Save Our Souls shelving unit (below) takes a quirkier approach to shelving, with this metal bookcase which rather oddly (if profanities offend you don’t read further) spells out the word fuck. Strange but true.t By Lisa Evans |
| VIP FOOTBALL |
| 2006-04-18 16:30:00 |
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Soccer's glamour makeover. Football has never been so fashionable, with what is arguably the world's most stylish VIP stadium viewing lounge. Munich's new Allianz-Arena stadium is home to the new lounge which was designed by local architects Hild & K. Designers have maintained the 'sporty' theme with the use of black and white and Astroturf on the walls. The result is a space that feels more like a trendy bar or art gallery than a football stadium. by Lisa Evans |
