Berlin’s Magma Architecture
won several awards for its entry in the JETZT | NOW series of temporary
installations at the Berlinische Galerie, Museum for Contemporary Art,
Photography and Architecture. Magma’s installation, 11th in the series,
was called fittingly “head-in | im kopf” and its concept is based on
exploring the properties of materials, form, color and light.
The
main feature of the installation is an alarmingly orange flexible
fabric (polyamide-elastan mix) stretched between the walls, ceiling and
floor. The fabric is the most visible part of the exhibit, yet it is
also the tool with which the viewers can focus on smaller details.
Visitors bend down under the fabric into which openings were cut.
Through these holes, visitors pop their heads up into the orange space
to view drawings, models and photographs suspended from wires. These
items are from Magma’s work and include representations of the
revitalization of the former GDR Radio Centre (Berlin, Nalepastrasse,
2007), a bridge over the Landwehrkanal river in Berlin (competition
entry in 2006), the new Nexus Productions headquarters in London, and
the exhibition Trial & Error in London (2003). Luckily, we have
images to show how it all worked as the full effect of the experience
is quite impossible to describe in mere words.
The project team
for head-in | im kopf included Anke Noske, Hendrik Bohle, Dominik Jörg,
Lena Kleinheine, Ksenia Kagler, Yohko Mizushima, Lena Kleinheinz,
Martin Ostermann and Ben Reynolds.
Magma was established in 2003 by Martin Ostermann and Lena Kleinheinz.
The Ohio native Ostermann is a former senior architect at Studio Daniel
Libeskind. The Denmark-born Kleinheinz is an exhibition designer. Magma
is known for its inventive, experimental and experiential approaches to
architectural work. By Tuija Seipell
We do our best to seek out exceptional design from all corners of the globe, and on Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands off the north west coast of Africa, we found an extraordinary architectural example in timber, glass and concrete. The House in Tenerife was built into the cliffs 300m above a black sand beach.
The entrance to the house leads to the upper tier of the double-height living room. And descending the concrete staircase, the minimalist interior becomes second nature against the surrounding backdrop – where the blues of the sky and the sea appear vertically in formation. Before long, the sensory experiences from the natural world envelope the built form, and the house’s relevance in its surroundings are revealed.
The layout places living areas of the home on the shorter end of the L-shaped form, while both bedrooms and bathrooms sit along the longer side. Both living and sleeping spaces open out to a wooden deck and pool that spills into nature.
The heaviness of the concrete double-story living room allows glass panels to sit effortlessly on the deck. The room’s only furniture, le Corbuiser’s chaise and Mies’ Barcelona chair face out, away from a small fireplace that meets a wall of two-storey shelving.
The sleeping spaces both open to the deck and pool as well. Each has its own bathroom – and from the master, the owners can sleep and bathe in the same space looking out at the same view, as the sink and the concrete tub sit at the foot of the bed.
The house even contains a basement where a home gym looks through a glass wall into the side of the pool. We couldn’t really think of anything else we would want from a home on a Spanish island – except great wine storage, we’d be doing plenty of entertaining. By Andrew J Wiener
Yummy! Wow! Ooops! The playful, colorful and juicy Taka-Tuka-Land
kindergarten in Berlin evokes a rambunctious reaction. You hear the
kids at play. You see the bright colors. You sense the kids are happy.
So it is no wonder that the students who designed and created this
funhouse call their approach “sensuous architecture.”
Baupiloten is
a group of architecture students who during their studies at Faculty
VI, Institute for Architecture at Berlin Technical University
(Technische Universität Berlin) develop their own projects from concept
to implementation under professional guidance. Architect Susanne
Hoffmann founded Baupiloten (Bau=build, Piloten=pilot) in 2003 and has
headed it since 2004.
The Taka-Tuka-Land kindergarten was originally erected as a
temporary solution, but with the fantastic Baupiloten approach to the
refurbishment, it has become a permanent place for children.
The
Taka-Tuka-Land is part of the Pippi Longstocking lore created by the
Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Pippi in Taka-Tuka Country is a movie
based on one of her novels. The children at the kindergarten and their
teachers created collages, models, drawings and ideas based on
Taka-Tuka Land with bridges, huts, merry-go-rounds made of blossoms and
thrones made of seashells. The Baupiloten students then spent several
days with the children observing their daily routines, their schedules
and their ways of communication.
From this extensive groundwork, the design story for the space was
developed. The building itself is Pippi’s old oak tree that contains a
lemonade factory. The lemonade breaks through the bark of the tree and
flows outside creating padded play areas. The story of the building is
a trip through the seven stages of the lemon tree, each facilitating a
different activity: The lemonade tree, Glittering lemonade in the sun,
Lemonade drops, The lemonade island, Waiting for the parents, Lemonade
gallery, The bark breaks open, and Delving into lemonade. Pippi’s most
likely verdict would be “Jätte god!” By Tuija Seipell.
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology merges the concepts of lighting and art with this spectacular 3D LED piece, dubbed NOVA. Created for the institute's 150th anniversary, the display is made up of 25000 lightballs.
Incredibly it can display 16 million colours per second. The behemoth, which weighs 3.3 tonnes, is currently displayed at the Zurich train stations main hall, where it will live until September 2009. By Lisa Evans
After three and a half years spreading the latest word on cool, the online portal thecoolhunter.net is excited to announce a new industry arm of the award-winning site.
Brands, marketeers and agencies across the globe now have an opportunity to tap into the vision of the site’s founder Bill Tikos and his hand-picked international team of dynamic thinkers who have turned Cool Hunting into an art.
WHO ARE WE?
We don’t talk marketing-speak. In fact, we loathe it and its superfluous jargon.
None of our team has a background in this area. Hailing instead from the worlds of fashion, book publishing, newspaper journalism, glossy magazines, photography, graphic design, product design and other creative disciplines, The Cool Hunter Platinum team offers a unique view into the world of Cool Culture.
We specialize in developing ideas to help your brand move into the new, niche Cool Age.
ENTER THE COOL-AGE
The official launch of The Cool Hunter Platinum comes after a period of organic growth, which has seen international brands around the world – from New York to Buenos Aries, Moscow to Sydney – seek out The Cool Hunter in myriad ways, including:
* Seminars and trend briefings * Speeches at international launches/events * Photo-research on advertising pitches * Consulting with advertising agencies; generating ideas and concepts * Consultation on hotel interior design/decoration and concepts * The Cool Hunter branded music/cultural events * Consultation and development of TV concepts
And there’s much more to come. But before we reveal additional ways we can collaborate with you, a word on why your brand needs The Cool Hunter Platinum.
The hunt for Cool Culture’s newest buzzword.
Cool is fast becoming the new frontier in a niche-mad world, which has major implications for all culture and consumer industries, from marketing, advertising and media, right through to retail and hospitality. The Cool Age has begun.
Cool has become a concept, denoting a kind of elusive X-factor that makes something exceptional. Individual. Covetable. Inspiring. Independent. Thoughtful. Limited. Pioneering. Exclusive. Innovative. Original.
Cool has become shorthand for anything “interesting,” used by everyone – from Boomers through to Generation Y.
Whatever its manifestation, cool gives a brand, person, product, place or service a supernatural power to rise above the noise. To stand out in an ocean of “stuff” and make people remark to themselves:
“I want that.”
“I love that.”
“I’m going to tell my friends about that.”
Led by the founders of thecoolhunter.net, The Cool Hunter Platinum offers clients, agencies and marketeers an opportunity to de-code the concept of cool, to help successfully usher their product or brand into the Cool Age.
THE COOL HUNTER COLLABORATIVE SERVICES
Custom subject-specific trend reports and presentations From the world’s hottest trends in packaging and retail interior design, through to cutting-edge trends in fashion, pop culture and gadgetry – the cool hunter Platinum creates reports which zone in on your industry.
Event concepts/product launch concepts The Cool Hunter has covered some of the world’s most original concepts in events and launches. Let us help you ensure that yours won’t be forgotten.
Online concepts, online strategy and web design As one of the most successful culture sites in the world, thecoolhunter.net knows a thing or two about creating websites that hit the pulse and pageviews. If you want to increase your brand’s presence on the web and reach a whole new online audience, The Cool Hunter Platinum offers innovative ideas to make it happen.
Advertising/creative agency consultation Are you an agency pitching for a large fashion/lifestyle client? Working with The Cool Hunter can give the essential edge needed to rise above the rest. Our unique view into the Cool World can enrich your own creative team through participating in brainstorming sessions, providing background or “inspiration-presentations” which reveal a snapshot of what innovators around the world are doing. Brand revival and strategic associations Does your brand need an overhaul? Access the cool hunter’s little black book and let us assemble a team of the world’s best creatives who will help transform your image. Do your stores need a redesign? Do you want to enter into strategic collaborations with designers? Let us work our contacts and help facilitate your transformation.
Product development and innovation Through ideas and inspiration, the cool hunter team can help give your new product or service the elusive C-factor – whether it’s a lifestyle product or techno-gadget.
Project consultancy Are you a property developer/hotelier and looking for inspiration on design and decoration? The Cool Hunter team can help refine your vision and hook you up with some of the world’s hottest design and architecture firms.
Media concepts Production companies around the world have already come to The Cool Hunter to help them create new TV/Film ideas. If you’re putting together a series with a lifestyle/design/travel bent, we can help you refine the concept and ensure you’re featuring the “right” people and places.
Most of us know when we see an ‘M’ on the back of
the BMW passing us on the freeway, there’s virtually no way we’re going
to catch up. The ‘M’ division BMW has recently revealed its
latest concept – a tribute to their first mid-engine supercar
originally manufactured by collaborative efforts of BMW and Lamborghini
thirty years ago – the M1.
In the
world of supercars, the M1 certainly looks like it will hold its own –
an effortless blend of retro cool with revolutionary elegance. The new
Liquid Orange M1 may only be a concept right now, but just know if you
see those beady headlights quickly approaching from your rear view
mirror, move out of the fast lane – you’re about to be overtaken! By Andrew J Wiener
We don’t care if it’s winter or summer, these European baby
sleeping baggies are just too cute to keep to ourselves. We also don’t
care that we happen to have no babies around, we bought these just to
adore and to play dress-up with our teddy bears.
But for the
rest of you who actually like to buy these for real babies, we have
good news. They are now available to purchase through us.
Santogold’s 'L.E.S. Artistes' is a whole lot of good. With a spin of the single and the accompanying faux-gore video, it sounds like it was pieced together over several late nights at M.I.A.’s loft with help from with invited guests Tegan & Sara serving drinks, Nick Zinner controlling the stereo with all those obscure late ‘80s noise bands you’ve never heard of and revered UK beatsmith Switch twiddling a knob here and there for effect.
All the while Philly native, Santogold, bellows above it all with rousing, fists-clenched intensity. CSS’s Lovefoxx was there too, overseeing the green sausage guts aesthetic of the clip but she passed out in bathtub before the end. Sounds pretty damn great, don’t you think? Me too. By Dave Ruby Howe
Here at The Cool Hunter we are always on the look out for innovative gadgets that as well as being aesthetically pleasing, are also practical and can be used in real world situations. miShare is such a product.
One of the biggest problems that people have with iPods is that unless you have a diploma in hacking, it is extremely difficult to share your tunes, especially without getting a computer involved. That is of course until now. Want the latest album from your friends' iPod? Simply connect both iPods to the miShare unit, press the button and away you go. It's kind of like swapping football cards in the playground, although much cooler.
Providing that your files are not DRM protected (that's digital rights management to you technophobes), everything from movies to photos to songs can be transferred. Even entire playlists. Nice. There is however one downside – for now the unit does not work with the iPhone or iPod touch, although we are told that a firmware update is being looked in to.
Developed in Brooklyn and currently being shipped to all corners of the world for US$100, may the sharing epidemic begin. By Brendan McKnight
New Yorkers call it ‘Upstate.’ Londoners call it ‘the Country.’ But for many of the so-called Sydney-siders, living just about an hour north of the CBD in and around the stunning Pittwater Bay, it’s called home. And the design brief for the James-Robertson House set upon a steep slope at Great Mackerel Beach overlooking the bay was to provide the owners with a permanent residence that separates living, sleeping and guest spaces in three pavilion-like glass, steel and copper structures.
The Sydney-based team of Casey Brown Architecture abides by principles of lying built form atop of the natural environment, and their house perched above the blue waters of the bay is no exception to the practice. For the James-Robertson House, the architects, who also live on the hillside, employed their local knowledge of climate and topography in the relationship between the natural and the tectonic.
After crossing the bay by ferry, visitors and the very few local residents arrive at Great Mackerel Beach via a pier that jets out from the shore. The homes on the hillside sit at the edge of the Ku-ring-gai National Park – a vast expansive protected area just north of Sydney – and no road access means no cars at all – the dream of many urbanists worldwide.
The structure of the house is comprised of three double-storey pavilions that are anchored down into the rock formations yet seem to hang off the steep hill. The climate-sensitive design allows the vast open areas to capture sea breezes from the South Pacific Ocean just out beyond the Bay. Sunlight is effortlessly filtered through folding hoods, mechanical blinds and eaves and long overhangs. The entire steel structure was painted black, which helps the house fade into its natural environment. Along with the structural materials, the architects placed a copper roof above and used local timber and stone.
The two pavilions below house a guest room and bathroom on the lower level, while the main kitchen, dining and living areas are accessed via an exterior stone stairway. The upper pavilion sits 50 metres above the lower, and can only be accessed by riding aboard a very steep inclinator. The pavilion contains the laundry area below, and the master bedroom and bathroom were placed on the highest point for the most expansive views of the surrounding landscape. By Andrew J Wiener
Jamie Lidell - the IDM nerd turned whiteboyfunksuperfreak - is back. His 2005 jaw-dropper 'Multiply' found fans on dance floors, head phones, cafes, Grey's Anatomy and in Target commercials.
Berlin based Lidell is an everyman whose cheery Motown soul is simultaneously uplifting and cerebral and his sophomore effort 'Jim' is a cracker of an album.
Opener 'Another Day' bursts out of the speakers with bird songs and all the hope and joy of a summer dawn. It's the kind of track that will have neighbours knocking down your door to join the party every time you play it.
Backed by gospel choirs and vaulting keys, Lidell's croon makes you realise how good Michael Buble could be if only he sounded this good.
The album's first single 'Little Bit Of Feel Good' is as funky as 'Jim' gets.
It's an unmissable plea to the feet-draggers and cynics.
'Jim' is ten tracks of gorgeous pop and soul. It's a summer record. But regardless of the season you'll be playing it endlessly and feeling all the better for it. By Nick Christie
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