saffire [luxury resort]

So sorry about the month long hiatus... needed some time off to celebrate the holidays and start the new year off right.  I am hoping to have more regular postings this year so keep following!
 

I wanted to share this a beautiful resort I recently found, thanks to The Cool Hunter.  Saffire Freycinet is a luxury resort on Tasmania. Designed by architects Morris Nunn and Associates, the buildings are super-modern but in balance with the surrounding environment. Beautiful!

amazing [stairs]

Take a look at some of these amazing staircases...utilitarian sculpture.

              [designed by Bell Phillips Architects via dezeen]

cole rise [photographer]

I saw these photos and had to share.  Amazing, I wish I could take photos like Cole Rise, enjoy!

tugboat printshop

Woodblock prints - must check out Tugboat Printshop in Pittsburgh, PA.  I had no idea that this was still comercially done.  Can you image the amout of work that goes into these prints?  100% hard drawn and carved [see image 5].   I love the ocean themed ones especially....

places i'd love to live [contemporary beach house]

First off…  happy thanksgiving!  After a great evening with family and friends, I thought I’d try to post some places/projects I’ve been inspired by lately. And as holidays are all about being home with family, here’s the first post for a new category [places I’d like to live].  And as my taste for home design seems to changes often, there will be more to come.
this week | clean, contemporary beach house
There are many reasons why I love this place, first is it’s location. Located in Stinson Beach, CA which is about a 45 minute drive from my hometown and it is a perfect little beach town right outside the city[san francisco].  Sitting in the shadow of the beautiful Mount Tamalpais, there are amazing views in every direction. Second, I love it’s clean, textural design quality. Built by architects Matthew Peek and Renta Ancona, this project is not only beautiful, it is sustainable and disaster resistant.  Built in a flood zone, this home has been built to sustain hurricanes, tsunamis, and a drastic rise of sea level [as it sits 12 feet of the ground]. This home is also only 450 square feet… with 350 square feet of deck space, yet it feels expansive.  Green technology includes passive heating and cooling, natural lighting, and radiant heated flooring. And I LOVE the wood cladding and porch cover. So when can I move in?  

v&a dundee

I came across this project and was thoroughly impressed - I had to find out more about it... so here you go.
This design is the competition winner for a proposed major art and design galley in Scotland [V&A at Dundee].  Winners Kengo Kuma and Associates beat out some other great architects and firms such as Steven Holl and Snøhetta.  This project is slated to start construction 2012 with completion in 2014. 

gabriel dawe [artist]

Thanks to The Fox is Black [graphics/design blog out of L.A.] I've been exposed to Gabriel Dawe.  His installations are purely thread, nails, time.  Beautiful, ethereal and complexly simple...hope these brighten your day.   

musical stairs

Check this out: created by The Fun Theory - aimed to show how behavior can be influenced by changing the experience [ie. making it more fun, beautiful etc.] Think of how often this idea could be applied in everyday life...
 

think small[er]

I love micro-tecture...not sure if that is a subtype of architecture [and if not, let's made it one].  I love small spaces: because they take much more thought, planning, and creativity to be truly successful.  Anyone can be creative with 5,000 square feet, but 500 is a different story.  Little Diggs is a blog based around cool spaces under 500 square feet, so I thought I'd share one of my favorites...

This 400 square feet space in the East Village has all the requirements of an urban studio as well as some efficient storage solutions [check out the stairs] while still feeling open and modern.
Maybe we can all do without that extra space....

[designed by Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture]

cité a docks - a modern take on dorm living

So container architecture isn't anything new, but this project caught my eye.  I love the utilitarian nature and  the staggered placement [creating covered exterior walkways and balconies].  Cité a Docks is a 100 apartment student housing complex located in Le Havre,France. Modern and light filled - these dorms are awesome!

[designed by Cattani Architects]

building projections

My first post on my new blog:
Something that makes me smile...check out these amazing building projections.

These are done by NuFormer Digital Media with some extensive 3D mapping and really good projectors.