berlin cafés – Signorina Yv
Lychener Str., mid block just south of Helmholtzplatz hides Signorina Yv. It’s a mixture of vibes, neither homey nor exclusively posh, resting comfortably in between the Standard Hotel and your typical Parisian bar. An elderly couple enjoy the rare sunshine, sunglasses on, still chic. A young mother looks after her son, her demeanor is as if with a history in modeling. An oversized gray sweater accented with a green scarf cycles by. A light blue suit walks in, the silk peeking out of his coat pocket speaks volumes. A roll of paper in hand, he takes a seat, a teddybear as his companion on the white bench by the window front. Touches of red and pink accent the space. The soft music, the sparkling glasses, wooden furniture, flowers, the smell of freshly ground coffee – all quite disarming; One can spend hours in this little space…say with an Auster or a Fforde? Friends chitchat at the counter, each customer greeted with a smile, and the owner waves to locals strolling by. Morning croissants are fantastic here with some jam and the coffee??…well the customers keep coming back all day long so INCLUDE YOURSELF!
paris review – Château de Compiègne
From Gare du Nord, train yourself an hour outside of Paris and you’ve got yourself at Compiègne and it’s Château. I must confess I was actually in search of Château de Pierrefonds but with a helpful hint from fellow train rider Nico, I ended at “the Castle,” namely Château de Compiègne. Unfortunately since I never made it to Pierrefonds, I’m unable to compare the two, but Château de Compiègne is a fantasy in itself. It may not have the panache of Versailles, however it’s typical French landscape layout (a central axis disappearing over the hill and the forested horizon with smaller blocks of up-kept gardens on either side of the axis) has a languid elegance in it’s seeming simplicity. Open to the public, Château gardens hold shirtless youths playing football, couples strolling through the flowers, lovers lounging in the grass, and the town’s population at large enjoying the sunny afternoon with various bottles of chilled white. With the typical Parisian clouds bobbing overhead, you feel as if in a Monet. Definitely worth a worth trip for those in need of a escape from Paris!
paris review – MERCE AND THE MUSE
Merce, Tess, and Brian – this trio is the bonded operation behind a brand new Paris Coffeehouse so listen up! Located in the northern corners of the 3ème arrondissement, MERCE AND THE MUSE is bringing in all sorts of crowds. Families enjoy salads for lunch and youths are discussing travel plans to Chartres, an architect is reading in the corner and locals are enjoying their coffee on the outside bench (finally, that bit of sunshine!). It’s chill, it’s hip, it’s dynamic. If you step in, Merce might be sitting in the corner creating the menu while Tess prepares the dough for the next day’s fruit tart. On the rare moments between crowds, the two madamoiselles adpot a chic Parisian air as they enjoy cigarettes outside their boutique. Brian keeps up the fight, taking charge of the Marzocco station. But you will always be regarded by this trio with warm welcomes and happy grins!
berlin review – Neukölln INTERIOR
If you’re a designer, you’ve got a grasp on all that is Berlin’s design frenzy. Good part is it never gets old so you throw in for a visit now and then. But let’s dig under the skin and spit out the seeds within the confines of a penthouse – or attik – flat of a Neukölln AltBau. The walls are whitewashed, the floors of hardwood. Structure violates space but, they rise through and coalesce into pitched ceilings. Wine is poured into ornate crystal goblets, rescued from a forgotten storefront or another, and sparkles in the light. But don’t get too comfortable yet.
Sensual Deformations
A tangle of dark hair cropped short, black blouse, brown trous, black sunglasses and a bag slung over her shoulder – if you’re a regular on the streets of Soho, you might see this figure stepping out of a coffeehouse. OK, she sounds like your stereotypical New Yorker no? Well this striving wall sculptor is on the move and goes by the name of Cristina COVUCCI. Her compositions are “architectural deformations” that peel off the wall and uses frames to create a voyeuristic approach to peering into space. Her medium, the most basic of basics: clay. But her magic: an iron-like finish that completes each earthly piece in elegance.
apartamento 05
And the new issue is OUT for the world at large ladies and gents, the awaited 05 Issue of apartamento. This is not your stereotypical glossy paged mag on the shelves of every international bookstore, neither is it a ragtag school publication. It’s a cover a bit harder to find but definitely a golden gem if you spot it. The content of apartamento is concrete, the topics both captivating and intruiging. The photography candidly exposes the spaces of inherently elegant spaces, whether it be of a family apartment in Milano or of a NYC studio. At only a few Euros, it’s an inspiring piece of literature to float around your flat.
Grey is out, gloom is gone!
“Grey is out, gloom is gone!” , this is the leitmotiv of the interesting initiative called Let’s colour project powered by a group of volunteers and Dulux, an international paint and dyes brand. It’s just a guerrilla colour attack, the idea: brightening up poor and outlying districts colouring their buildings! The firs attack was in Rio de Janeiro last month, then Paris, London and the last city is Jodhpur. And the next? Rajasthan, Istanbul e Shanghai. They are creating an really worldwide movement that work with local communties in order to make not just buildings but also school and streets better. You can follow the next attack directly on the website letscolourproject.com/ and social networks.
SIVA, lighting object
SIVA is a lighting object designed by Marco Veroli for Romanò , inspired by indian divinity Siva, also named Shiva and known as a destroyer and as creator. The object was born from decontextualization of a plant grid, that becomes a decorative ambient divider with lights and elegant lampshades.
Will be presented during Fuorisalone 2010.
LED illumination, Aluminium and Palm-tree wood, Otton & Aluminium Fiber, MDF.
MAISON SWISS SLEEK
Heard of Michael Meier? Chances are, you haven’t. It’s not a brand name and outside of the CH, you won’t place a face to the name. So why bother with a blog? Because this young Basel-based architect fresh from ETH Zurich, has a flat just soooo darned sleek, it belongs in the pages of apartamento or Dwell.
VITRAHAUS
Just outside of Basel is Vitra Campus. If you’re in any way involved with architecture or product design, then you know this place Weil am Rhein; more of less the chillout spot of the modern Holy Grail. The names attached to the complex are all revered – Eames, Jacobsen, Castiglioni, SANAA, Ando, Hadid, etc. The latest addition is the VitraHaus by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. It houses the Vitra Home Collection as well as the Vitra Design Museum Shop (online).
HIGHLINE AT 23RD – Jon Kleinhample
Exploding Plastic Inevitable - Highline at 23rd
Operating out of a PrenzlauerBerg Altbau, Berlin based architect and designer Jon Kleinhample is not just another design upstart. His starkly white homepage masks a series of independent and professional work with a broad range. The design project Exploding Plastic Inevitable is an exploration into the agglomeration of cellular structured spaces. Rejecting the popular trend of script-generated geometry, Kleinhample manually controls and models each piece of his designs. Despite the evident rigor, Kleinhample’s graphics are never without humor and Exploding Plastic Inevitable in particular is tinged with a hat tip to black and white film.
Exploding Plastic Inevitable - Geometric Structuring
Pop-Up-Bar: Bucky Bar in Rotterdam
Bucky Bar is a spontaneous and temporary public building made entirely of umbrellas.
Visitors were asked to show up with an umbrella at an outdoor location on a Friday night in Rotterdam, NL. With the help of a team of architects, the umbrellas were then used to build a fully equipped bar, complete with DJ and drinks.
300 people turned up at the event, and just as it began, the beautiful building ended its life spontaneously when the Police showed up at 2:00 AM.
Bucky Bar is a project by the DUS Architects and the Studio for Unsolicited Architecture, produced to coincide with the opening of the Architecture of Consequence exhibition at the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi).
