FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects - House of Inclusion

FORM / Kouichi Kimura Architects' House of inclusion in Shiga, Japan piqued my curiosity with the lofted curved ceiling space and the exterior courtyards. Almost all the views to the surrounding neighborhood are intentionally interrupted with the surrounding walls, creating a peaceful retreat amidst the urban environment.

via dezeen

Eumar - Abisko Sink

A cool modern sink that dumps your water into a floor drain. This will most likely splash all over but still a cool concept.

via trendir

Eric Owen Moss' Glass Tower = Gehry + Herzog & deMeuron?

Is it just me, or does Eric Owen Moss' design for a glass tower look like H&dM's Bird's Nest stadium in China had a baby with Frank Gehry's dancing building in Prague? A little low on the creativity juice are we?

shown at design boom

Ventury Divine Collection

Ventury has a clean new line of chairs out in its Divine collection. They come in 3 'trim' levels, Glam, Steel and Glitz. The Glitz line offers gold, platinum, or titanium squares on the back/bottom of the chair.

Valentina Gonzalez Wohlers - Prickly Pair Chairs

via core77

Markus Wespi Jérôme de Meuron - Vacation House in Scaiano

One of my dreams is to purchase a centuries old, unused stone structure in the alps and renovate it into a small, modernized home to take in the views and relax. This vacation house by Markus Wespi Jérôme de Meuron Architects does exactly that. Overlooking Lago Maggiore steps from the Italian border, Scaiano is a small village and in fact the house has only foot access.

Google Earth view of Scaiano:

Where in the World - Scaiano, Switzlerand

Pacific Cycles - IF Mode Bike

The 26" IF Mode bike by Pacific Cycles weighs 32 lbs and folds to 40"H x 10.6"W x 26" L. It can fit into the trunk of a car.



For Sale here for $2,329

Preston Scott Cohen - Ordos 100 House

Preston Scott Cohen's design for the Ordos 100 competition has been unveiled over at Arch Daily.
The home features a tower over 2 sunken courtywards, all leaning this way and that with an expensive, complicated structure. Very cool, but it won't be easy to build!

via Arch Daily

Business Models - Patterns That Work

Following up yesterdays list of side business ideas for laid off architects or people in general, I came across a list of standard business models on personalmba.com that can be used to describe almost every kind of business out there.

• Product: make a physical product, then sell and deliver it for more than it cost.
• Service: provide a useful service, then charge a fee.
• Shared Resource: create a shared resource that can be used by many people (like a gym), then charge for access.
• Subscription: offer an ongoing subscription, then charge a recurring fee.
• Insurance: write an insurance policy against some specific bad thing happening, collect premium payments up-front, then pay out claims only when the bad thing happens.
• Resale: acquire an asset, then sell the asset to another buyer at a higher price.
• Lease: acquire an asset, then allow another person to use that asset for a certain amount of time in exchange for a fee.
• Audience Aggregation: create and distribute information that appeals to a specific set of people, then sell access to that audience (advertising, direct mail, etc.) to an interested third-party.
• Commission: sell an asset you don’t own on behalf of a third-party, then collect a percentage of the sale price as a fee.
• Dividend: purchase an ownership stake in a business, then collect a corresponding portion of that business’ profit over time as a dividend.

This list got my thoughts going on how an architect's skillset can be applied outside of simply providing a service, design & drafting, for clients. I'll share my thoughts in a future post!

Laid Off? 50 Side Business Ideas

Trent over at thesimpledollar.com recently put together a great list of easy side businesses one can start if you were so inclined. With all the recent architectural layoffs there's more of us with free time and in need of money!

Some examples:

Antique refurbishment This is a perfect side business for people who love antiquing. Take worn-out antiques home with you, invest the time and care needed to transform those old items into something amazing, then resell them at a profit.

Handy man services Skilled at basic home repair? Let people know that they can call you for little repair jobs, like basic plumbing and other things. You’d be amazed at the simple things people are willing to pay others to help them with.

Landscaping services Willing to mow lawns and trim bushes and trees? Many people are quite happy to pay for such services. Not only is this a great side business for a fit adult, it’s also a great way for a teenager to get a small business started.

Furniture making If you’re adept at woodworking and have just a bit of basic equipment, it’s easy to get into business making deck furniture. It only requires a few items - a saw, a drill, a sander - and some creativity and passion for working with wood.

Toy making From simple things like sock monkeys to more elaborate things like handcrafted chess sets, many people are willing to pay good money for handcrafted toys that you can easily make at home in your spare time. Again, gift shops are the place to go with items like these.

Tutoring Did you major in a particular topic in college? Do you have patience with children? You likely have what you need to tutor kids in particular subjects. Seek out parents and let them know that you tutor in a particular subject and provide materials for them to share and phone calls will often trickle in.

Full post here

Peter Zumthor Wins 2009 Pritzker Prize

I was very excited today to see the announcement that Peter Zumthor is the 2009 Pritzker Prize winner. He continues to be my favorite architect; I've traveled thousand of miles to see and experience his projects, and I consider all of them life changing. Congratulations.

A post of mine on the journey to the thermal baths in Vals, Switzlerand.

My photos of Zumthor's work (I took the liberty of jumping into some of the shots):

Correia/Ragazzi Arquitectos - Casa no Gerês

Portugal design firm Correia/Ragazzi has completed a simple shaped house with a fantastic cantilever that sets it apart from the multitude of box shaped modern houses we see. It looks over the amazing Peneda-Gerês National Park.

Finalists for NMAAHC in Washington DC

In January the shortlist of architects in the competition for the National Museum of African American Heritage was announced, and this past week an exhibit opened in the Castle Smithsonian building in DC displaying their designs.

After the rain cleared up yesterday I took the metro into the city yesterday and had a look, here's what was on display:

-Devrouax & Purnell Architects/Planners, P.C, and Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects, LLP

-Diller Scofidio + Renfro in association with Kling Stubbins

-Foster + Partners and URS

-Freelon Adjaye Bond in association with Smith Group

-Moody Nolan Inc. in association with Antoine Predock Architect PC

-Moshe Safdie and Associates Inc. in association with Sultan Campbell Britt & Associates

(All photos by me!)

Gehry Chosen for Eisenhower Memorial in DC

A press release was issued March 31 naming Frank Gehry's firm as the designer for the upcoming Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington DC.
Site Plan below:

memorial website