Browse by Space and Style- For Example:
05 November 2010
Ceramic Tiles of Italy is calling "Show us your tile!"
The Italian Trade Commission and Confindustria Ceramica, the Association of Italian Ceramics, are proud to announce the 2011 Ceramic Tiles of Italy Design Competition Call for Entries. The competition, now in its 18th year, recognizes the exceptional work of North American architects and designers who feature Italian ceramic tiles in their institutional, residential or commercial/hospitality spaces.
2010 / Residential Winner
Pentagram Architects New York, New York
Montauk Residence
Tiles: Ceramica Bardelli
Contractor: Men At Work
Distributor: Hastings Tile and Bath
Credits: Peter Mauss © Peter Mauss/Esto
The deadline for entries is 17 January 2011 and at stake is a $4,000 cash prize for one winner in each category plus a trip to Coverings 2011 in Las Vegas plus a five-day trip to Italy to attend Cersaie 2011 in Bologna.
2010 / Residential Honorable Mention
Baldinger Architectural Studio, Inc. Tempe, Arizona
Tempe Urban Living
Tiles: Cooperativa Ceramica D'Imola
Contractor: Giaconi Di Roma, LLC
Distributor: Imperial Tile Imports
Credits: Raul Garcia
The competition is open to all North American architects and interior designers. Domestic and international new construction and renovation projects completed between January 2006 and January 2011 are eligible for entry.
2010 / Commercial Winner
KARIM RASHID Inc. New York, New York
Prizeotel
Tiles: Ceramiche Refin
Contractor: Weser-Wohnbau GmbH & Co. KG
Distributor: Werner Doellmann
Credits: Prizehotel Management Group
A panel of design experts will judge the projects based on their creativity, functionality and aesthetic appeal. The official criterion for the jury includes: overall design of the project, innovative use of tile, tile design, quality of installation, degree that tile enhances the setting and the project’s sustainable attributes.
So North American designers and architects, what are you waiting for? The submission form is on the Ceramic Tiles of Italy Design Competition web page.
Counters to go with the kitchen that Henrybuilt
Almost a year ago I wrote a post about Viola Park, a new semi-custom cabinet line from amazingly custom cabinet maker Henrybuilt. A year later and my fondness for Viola Park remains as does Henrybuilt's commitment to bringing great design to more people.
Recently, Viola Park has added a series of counters to go with their semi custom kitchens and by combining a counter order with cabinet order, it's possible for someone to streamline their renovation process and save some money at the same time.
Because the counters are made to go with the kitchen design at the Henrybuilt factory in Seattle, all of the edges can be finished and the overhangs calculated ahead of time. Any corners are also machined and ready to be installed upon delivery.
Most intelligently, the rear edges of the counters are left unfinished so that they can be scribed against an uneven wall in the field if need be.
The materials in Viola Park's counter program are part of the program due to their high quality and longevity but also due to their relative ease in installation.
It's a really smart idea and it's being executed very well.
Viola Park is only available from Viola Park directly. If you're interested in a Viola Park kitchen, I encourage you to contact them through their website. Viola Park's dedicated project coordinators are waiting to answer your questions and help you get started on their process.
As I said a year ago and so so again today, bravo Viola Park.
04 November 2010
Tile of Spain is asking "Wanna go to Spain?"
You heard that right. Tile of Spain is currently seeking four designers or architects to go on a week-long, all expense paid press junket to Spain. The trip runs from February 4th through the 12th, 2011 and coincides with Cevisama. Cevisama is Spain's international tile and bath furnishings show.
This trip promises to expose its lucky attendees to the wonder and complexity of Spanish culture, architecture, food and art.
The tour starts in Zaragoza, Spain's fifth largest city and the capital of Arragon. Zaragoza boasts 1500 years of architectural and cultural heritage and was the farthest north Arab city in Spain.
 |
| La Basilica del Pilar, Zaragoza |
From Zaragoza, the tour heads to Teruel, a small city also in Arragon. Teruel brought the world jamón serrano, Spain's world famous cured ham and it's also the home of Mudéjar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 |
| La Torre San Pedro, Teruel |
From Teruel, the tour wraps up in Valencia, Spain's third largest city and the site of Cevisama, Spain's great tile and bath industry show.
 |
| La Ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias, Valencia |
This trip is open to any US Interior Designer or Architect out there and four people will make the final cut. If you'd like to register for consideration, you can do so by filling out an application on Tile of Spain's Reign in Spain page on their website. Hurry though, the deadline is December 1st.
03 November 2010
Alessi and the Philadelphia Museum of Art
When I was a kid, from time to time we'd pile into the station wagon and cruise down the Schuylkill Expressway, cross the Walt Whitman Bridge and visit our cousins in New Jersey. I enjoyed those drives and the highlight every time was how Philadelphia's Center City pops into view as you turn a bend in the highway. Just before that though, a museum I grew up calling the Parthenon in the Park rises on a bluff above the Schuylkill (it's pronounced skoo-kill) River.
The Parthenon in the Park is the Philadelphia Museum of Art, one of the largest and best art museums in the US and it sits in the center of Fairmount Park, the largest urban park in the world. That museum started me on a lifelong appreciation for art. It was in that museum that I saw for the first time works by Rembrandt, el Goya, Caravaggio and the rest of the titans of western art. It was in that museum too that I first saw a Picasso, an Ellsworth Kelly, a Warhol and I first learned to draw the connections that link the modern to the ancient.
So it was with great surprise that last week I got an email from my friend Kevin who alerted me to a new exhibition that's starting this month at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It's no secret that I love all things Alessi and yes, they're an advertiser. But what a great surprise to learn that the Philadelphia Museum of Art is mounting Alessi: Ethical and Radical from November 21st through April 10th, 2011.
Alessi has been busily revolutionizing industrial design since its founding in 1921 by Giovanni Alessi. Beginning in the '50s, Alessi started commissioning works by the great designers of the day. By that same time, the Alessi company had come under the direction of Giovanni's son Carlo Alessi.
Building on the work started by Giovanni and Carlo, Carlo's son Alberto Alessi has brought the company to what it is today. Under Alberto's watch, Alessi has brought in for collaborations such luminaries as Achille Castiglioni, Michael Graves, Greg Lynn, Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass, Philippe Starck and Robert Venturi.
Different from any other modern manufacturer, Alessi has offered its collaborators absolute creative freedom and technical support in a series of radical, experimental projects, whether or not the results could ever be brought to production.
Alessi: Ethical and Radical includes objects, drawings, videos, and photographs that demonstrate the company’s unique approach to design and unique way of working with its designers.
If you are in or near the fair city of Philadelphia at any point in the next five months, please go see this exhibition. I am toying with a return trip to my homeland and this exhibit just about clinches it. If you find yourself in that part of the world, everything you need to know about the museum in general and this exhibition in particular can be found on the Museum's website. If you go, let me know. I'd love to hear some impressions of Alessi: Ethical and Radical.
 |
| The Philadelphia Museum of Art rises above the Fairmount Waterworks --photo via Flickr |
The Parthenon in the Park is the Philadelphia Museum of Art, one of the largest and best art museums in the US and it sits in the center of Fairmount Park, the largest urban park in the world. That museum started me on a lifelong appreciation for art. It was in that museum that I saw for the first time works by Rembrandt, el Goya, Caravaggio and the rest of the titans of western art. It was in that museum too that I first saw a Picasso, an Ellsworth Kelly, a Warhol and I first learned to draw the connections that link the modern to the ancient.
So it was with great surprise that last week I got an email from my friend Kevin who alerted me to a new exhibition that's starting this month at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It's no secret that I love all things Alessi and yes, they're an advertiser. But what a great surprise to learn that the Philadelphia Museum of Art is mounting Alessi: Ethical and Radical from November 21st through April 10th, 2011.
Alessi has been busily revolutionizing industrial design since its founding in 1921 by Giovanni Alessi. Beginning in the '50s, Alessi started commissioning works by the great designers of the day. By that same time, the Alessi company had come under the direction of Giovanni's son Carlo Alessi.
 |
| Bombé Tea and Coffee Service (1945). Designed by Carlo Alessi. First produced in chrome-plated and silver-plated heavy brass, later in stainless steel, applewood. Image courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. |
Building on the work started by Giovanni and Carlo, Carlo's son Alberto Alessi has brought the company to what it is today. Under Alberto's watch, Alessi has brought in for collaborations such luminaries as Achille Castiglioni, Michael Graves, Greg Lynn, Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass, Philippe Starck and Robert Venturi.
 |
| Sketch (1979), designed by Richard Sapper. Espresso coffee maker sketch. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Alessi archives. Image courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. |
 |
| (1979), designed by Richard Sapper. Espresso coffee maker. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Image courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. |
Different from any other modern manufacturer, Alessi has offered its collaborators absolute creative freedom and technical support in a series of radical, experimental projects, whether or not the results could ever be brought to production.
 |
| Sketch by Michael Graves. Kettle with handle and small bird-shaped whistle. Image courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. |
 |
| (1985), by Michael Graves. Kettle with handle and small bird-shaped whistle. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of the designer. Image courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. |
Alessi: Ethical and Radical includes objects, drawings, videos, and photographs that demonstrate the company’s unique approach to design and unique way of working with its designers.
If you are in or near the fair city of Philadelphia at any point in the next five months, please go see this exhibition. I am toying with a return trip to my homeland and this exhibit just about clinches it. If you find yourself in that part of the world, everything you need to know about the museum in general and this exhibition in particular can be found on the Museum's website. If you go, let me know. I'd love to hear some impressions of Alessi: Ethical and Radical.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)