French architect Jean Nouvel has been chosen as the 2008 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. The
formal ceremony for what has come to be known throughout the world as
architecture’s highest honor will be held on June 2 in Washington,D.C.
at the Library of Congress. At that time, a $100,000 grant and a bronze
medallion will be bestowed on the 62-year old architect.
Photo by Gaston Bergeret
Nouvel who came to international attention with the completion of his Institut du Monde Arabe in 1987 in Paris, now has several projects in the United States, including the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis completed in 2006, a 75-story tower (Tour Verre) next door to MOMA in New York, and recently announced plans for a high rise condominium (Suncal Tower) in the Century City district of Los Angeles. In Europe, some of his other important works are the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art (Paris 1994), the Branly Museum (Paris 2006), the Agbar Tower (Barcelona 2005), a Courthouse (Nantes 2000), a Cultural and Conference Center (Lucerne 2000), an Opera House (Lyon 1993), and Expo 2002 (Switzerland). Also currently under construction is a concert hall in Copenhagen.
Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA or Arab World Institute) 1981-87 Paris, France (photo by Philippe Ruault)
In announcing the jury’s choice, Thomas J. Pritzker, chairman of The Hyatt Foundation, quoted from the jury citation, “Of the many phrases that might be used to describe the career of architect Jean Nouvel, foremost are those that emphasize his courageous pursuit of new ideas and his challenge of accepted norms in order to stretch the boundaries of the field.” And further, Pritzker added, “The jury acknowledged the ‘persistence, imagination, exuberance, and, above all, an insatiable urge for creative experimentation’ as qualities abundant in Nouvel’s work.”
Tour de Verre, New York City, NY - 2007-in progress - Guthrie Theater Minneapolis, Minnesota - 1999-2006 (photo by Roland Halbe)
In Nouvel’s own words, “My interest has always been in an architecture which reflects the modernity of our epoch as opposed to the rethinking of historical references. My work deals with what is happening now—our techniques and materials, what we are capable of doing today.”
Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, Paris, France 1991-94 (photos by George Fessy)
The 'Nested Bunk Beds' was a winning entry by architect Y. Tsai of
Tsai Design Studio for the 36sqm Challenge, a design competition
sponsored by Pick 'n Pay Ackerman Foundation. The requirements for the
competition was to design 36sqm of home for 7-8 people, a condition
commonly found in the low cost income housing in South Africa.
Tsai Design Studio’s Nested Bunk Bed was inspired by Matriochka Russian dolls that can unpack itself into several other dolls. Each
bed is fitted with standard single mattress. The length of the beds
increases to allow each bed to be nested under each other, leaving some
storage space on the side of the beds. Sections of the nested bed can
be pulled out to serve a number of purposes, such as a sofa for two, a
grandstand seating, or as five beds, which can be packed away into a
standard bunk bed area. When fully extended, the bed system can sleep
20 children in a tight space of 50m2, as well as providing play space
when the beds are retracted.
Subsequent to winning the design competition, the sponsors initiated a
project whereby 4 sets of the bed system were placed into an Aids
Orphanage in Wellington, near Cape Town, South Africa, for 20 kids,
where a flexible Play / Sleeping area forms the core of the house. The
beds were painted with bright colours to bring about messages of hope
and joy to the Aids affected children.
Shoebox Homes has plans to produce 200 beds this year for other
orphanages in need of assistance, with funding from Pick ‘n Pay
Ackerman Foundation, as well as other corporate and private
sponsorships. The beds will also be available to the public by April,
once the factory is up and running.
The Nested Bunk Beds has been nominated at Design Indaba as The Most Beautiful Object in South Africa Award.
This is the first ever energy saving lamp purposely designed to suit fixtures where existing energy-savers could not be used and giving excellent light quality. The lamp helps energy without compromising the light or visual effect of the lighting installation.
The lamp saves 50% energy, is dimmable, has an instant start and a lifespan of 3 years.
This new product might interest Design Addict readers who have vintage lamps but could not find energy saving lamps to fit in.
This series of mirrors designed by Jean-Marie Massaud for Glas Italia are made in extralight glass with degrading shaded silvering. They hang
on the wall with a chromium-plated metal cylinder. The small mirror can
have a degrading shade upwards or downwards.
Fiction mirrors won Interior Innovation Award Cologne in the category Materials at IMM Cologne 2008.
Casulo is a complete set of room furniture which can be set up in less than ten minutes and later disassembled and repacked like a standard Euro pallet of 80 cm by 120 cm. No tools are needed in the process.
The unit is constructed of durable, long-lasting materials. Even after many moves the strong materials chosen for the unit mean that the Casulo will never show signs of wear and tear. This is for people on the move, those in job training, students, and people who have to change their location frequently.
Casulo, a collaborative project of designers Marcel Krings and Sebastian Mühlhäuser, won the Abraham & David Roentgen Prize for its innovative design in November 2007.
The Kaj Franck Design Prize 2007 has been awarded to ceramic artist Kati Tuominen-Niittylä (born 1947).
The recipient of the Kaj Franck Design Prize was announced on December 13 2007 at Design Forum in Helsinki. Kati Tuominen-Niittylä began working at the Arabia factory in 1980. Her minimalist and timeless language of form appears in numerous serially manufactured products and one-off works. One of Arabia’s most recent success stories is the KoKo series of products, a result of Tuominen-Niittylä's and Kristina Riska’s creative cooperation. Prior to the Kaj Franck Design Prize of 2007 Kati Tuominen-Niittylä has received the Grand Prix, Honourable Mention and the Gold Medal in the Mino Ceramics Competition in Japan. She is a charter member of the Arabia Art Department Society (established in November 2003). The main idea of the new society is to maintain and continue the cultural heritage of the Art Department, which was originally established in 1932.
The Kaj Franck Design Prize has become a distinction highly valued by design professionals, the media and the general public. It is awarded according to the decision of a special prize jury. The jury noted that during her long time career Kati Tuominen-Niittylä has created versatile ceramic art and design involving interplay, from unique archaic art objects to playful modern serial products such as the KoKo series.
Prototypes, 1984
Storybirds, 1993 Oy Arabia Ab
Gluck pitchers, 1993 Oy Iittala Ab
Koko tableware service, 2005 Oy Iittala Ab (with Kristina Riska)
Pot from the series Iron Age, 2004
Pot from the series Iron Age, 2004
Kaj Franck Prize was established in 1992 to honour the legacy of Finnish designer Kaj Franck (1911–89). He was, in his capacity as a designer and artistic director in industry (Arabia and the Nuutajärven glassworks) and as a teacher at the University of Art and Design, Helsinki. Franck was the "conscience of Finnish design". Functionality and compatibility were the underlying concepts of his streamlined utility articles. His best-known designs are Teema dishes (Arabia) and Kartio glassware (Iittala), which have become classics of modern design. His several awards included a Gold Medal (1951), the Diplome d'honneur (1954) and the Grand Prix (1957) at the Milan Triennials, and he also received the Compasso d'Oro (1957), the Lunning Award and the Finnish State Design Prize, among other distinctions.
Exhibition: The Kaj Franck Design Prize 2007 – Kati Tuominen-Niittylä from December 14 2007 to January 14 2008 Design Forum Finland, Space1 Erottajankatu 7, Helsinki, Finland
Nostalgia and charm have been key factors in the good marks the Car of the Year 2008 Jury has given to the retro-looking 500, a car of classless appeal in the Fiat tradition. In the showdown between two small cars, the Fiat has had a clear win with 385 points against the Mazda2, that finished with just 60 points less. The 500 has received top points from 34 of the 58 Jury members plus 17 second places. The Ford Mondeo was third, with 202 points, with the other finalists well behind.
Beyond its reality as a practical urban car, it was clear from its inception that the retro-chic 500 has enormous public appeal. This cute car copies the aesthetics of the legendary 500 of half a century ago, but it is a modern vehicle in functionality and safety features, reasonably roomy for its size and shape, and with efficient engines that provide performance and economy. With a better noise insulation, one would even venture into longer road journeys.
Zlgdesign has received the 2007 International Barbara Cappochin Foundation Award for Special Prize, for the BOH Cameron Highlands Visitor Centre project in Malaysia.
The purpose of the International Biennial “Barbara Cappochin” Prize for Architecture is to remember Barbara, a young student of the Faculty of Architecture I.U.A.V of Venice by promoting high quality architecture. This quality can only be obtained if the three essential figures, the Contractor, the Designer and the Constructor, work together to identify that thin line that connects life and architecture, by focusing on choices, ideas and materials in order to attain high quality results. This is the objective of the Foundation.
This was the jury’s assessment: “The construction is an expressive, perfectly straight cantilever structure used as a visitor centre. It combines a series of pre-existing buildings and vegetation (tea factory/warehouse), forming a 145 metre long “path of experience”. The constraint of a low budget has been turned to account, with the exclusive use of simple, locally available materials and low-tech building techniques. The beautiful surroundings have been exploited by using a metal structure with transparent walls, filled in at irregularly spaced points by slices from pine trunks and/or glass.
Faithful to its tradition, Designed in Brussels, once again made the event in September, with the presentation of the Dynamo Belgian Young Design Awards 2007.
The public, gathered in an astonishing place, very close to the Flagey place, was avid to discover the rising generation of Belgian designers. Thirty designers had been pre-selected, only a small group has been selected to show their work and one designer has been elected Young designer 2007.
The jury deliberated the same day and delivered his unanimous opinion..., that Maarten de Ceulaer would be the winner, gaining a cheque of 3000 euros offered by Designed in Brussels.
I am one of those people who can't easily deprive themselves of the 'plop' when the cork pops out of the wine bottle. It is, for me, the first step before the pleasure of tasting the wine. The opening of the bottle is part of a ritual that I highly estimate.
But for those who don't attach so much importance to these details, I find this "bag in box" designed by Berliner designers Markus Hayn and Tobias Willemeit for Hauswein.de rather clever: simple and elegant, with a sensible packaging for transport and storage.
We must immediately reassure those who think that they missed some important information about this small kingdom. The King of the Belgians remains Albert II. No coup d'état in this curious European country. No, we just want to refer to the prestigious award received a few days ago by Koen De Winter. Design Vlaanderen has given him the Henry van de Velde 2005 Career Award, the highest token of recognition a designer can hope to receive in Belgium. Which makes Koen the King of Belgian design.
