Ball-Nogues Studio - Desk Sculpture

The Edward Cella Art + Architecture gallery has recently put on display a permanent desk/sculpture by Ball-Nogues Studio, a Los Angles based fabrication practice. The desk is made of die cut cardboard topped with finished plywood.

via Contemporist

Other projects by Ball-Nogues:

Rip Curl Canyon:
Tiffany & Co. Display:

The Node Outlet

The Node.
Simple, clever, good looking.

Jonathan Segal Documentary

Fantastic 12 minute documentary of Architect/Developer Jonathan Segal. Watch, learn, imitate.

Jonathan Segal Documentary final 13 mins from BREADTRUCK TV on Vimeo.

Frank Lloyd Wright Ennis House for Sale - $15m

The 10,000 sq. ft., 1924 Ennis House in Los Angeles is up for sale. Asking price $15 million and it is estimated to require $5m to $7m in repairs.


Look at this monstrosity on google maps satellite:


via cbc

Sexy Stairs

In The Gray Hotel, Milan.
Mmmm.


via Stair Porn

The New Colossus of Rhodes

After watching a Roman documentary on TV I was online looking up the Colossus of Nero, and started finding articles on the Colossus of Rhodes. It was one of the 7 wonders of the world but only stood for 50 or so years until destroyed by an earthquake in 226 AD.
Several articles I found from late 2008 reported a green light for the construction of a new Colossus in Rhodes, to be between 60 and 100m tall, with the ability to go up in it like the Statue of Liberty. The cost is estimated at 200m Euros. This will be one hell of a sight to see, I hope this is finished in my lifetime!!

Article in the Guardian

Art depicting the ancient statue:

Location of Rhodes:


Rhodes on google maps:

METROFRAM Bed

METROFARM's bed comes in both 2 and 3-sided versions with walnut or teak veneer. They are like huge lounge chairs, get a group together and veg out!

Build LLC - How to Start Your Own Design Firm

My friends over at Build LLC have put together an awesome guide to starting a design firm for young (or old) architects and designers who need some direction and want to take the plunge.

Build LLC - How to Start Your Own Design Firm

The Work of Sid Wichienkuer

I came across Sid's online portfolio on the Indexhibit website. Cool renderings, interesting project presentation.

Eric Ku - Chair/Chair

Designer, or better described as an 'ideaist' Eric Ku has designed a chair made of the letters that make the word chair. His other work includes a pornographic coloring book and a remote control shark fin.....

Yazdani Studio - Ordos Villa

Los Angeles based Yazdani Studio's Ordos Villa for the Ordos 100 project in Mongolia is a triangular house with a central courtyard. From one corner the width disappears and it has a very slim appearance, quite slick.

Tools for Productivity Increase

I've been researching tools for getting more out of less time and to have a more productive day, month, year, and life. If you can get a full day's work done in 3 hours, why sit around at your desk for 8? Think of what you could do with the extra time; workout, get in shape, start a(nother) company, learn a new skill/language/hobby, etc.
Off we go:

Break up Complicated Tasks Into Smaller, More Achievable Ones:
Many times when it's hard to wrap our heads around a large project we get what's called 'analysis paralysis', we do nothing because it's unclear where to start, and we don't have a defined path of work. Define the path!
This works on many scales. Do you have a big presentation due? Break it up into small segments and set a schedule to finish each one. Designing a new building that's bigger than one you've ever done? Break it up into phases; plans, elevations, sections, details, schedules, etc. Want to develop an apartment building? Again, break it up; find average rental rates in your target area, look for available properties, ensure that it can produce cash flow, then onto the design and build. See this article on achieving something amazing.

Multi-Tasking:
Many people consider multitasking the ability to send emails, talk on the phone, and do work at the same time. Often when practicing this you'll make mistakes and not fully ingest the information that's coming at you. On top of that it normally takes much longer to complete your tasks. Set aside a time period to focus on each item and knock it out without distractions.

Re-Organize Your Work Day:
Does your typical day involve checking email every few minutes while juggling meetings and actual work? Set aside one or two times a day to check and reply to emails, say 10am and 4pm. Schedule meetings just before an event like lunch or a phone call or the end of the day, so there is a defined end point and it doesn't drag on. Again this follows our idea of focusing on one task at a time and completing it.

Avoid Meetings:
Like the plague. They area waste of resources.
-If the meeting could take place over the phone or through a group email (and most can) make it so. Politely ask the other parties in the meeting if you can cover the topic over the phone or through email. Nowadays we have IM chat with video so many people don't have to leave their desks.
-Set a time limit for the meeting beforehand. Work expands to fill the time allowed (Parkinson's Law) so limiting it to a 30 or 45 minute window will make sure it's wrapped up without extra 'fluff'.
-Keep a list of items to cover so you have a path for the meeting in front of everyone to follow. This will make sure there are no unnecessary tangents in the conversation.
-Make a list of action items and who is responsible for doing what after the meeting. The avoids further complications and/or meetings!

Find your most effective time periods:
Establishing the most productive time period during your day can help to pack the most work into the shortest time period, freeing you up to do whatever you want and pursue other interests.
Figure out what times of day you are most productive, and tailor your work day to meet that. I find I'm most productive from around 8-10am, and then from 9pm-midnight. I work from home, so I can split my day that way and field calls from clients while doing other things from 10am to 9pm.
Take a look at this article from dumblittleman.com that gives some guides on focusing work into productive time periods, as well as this post by author Tim Ferriss and this article on Zen Habits

Utilize Software for Productivity:
SelfControl is a tool that block you from accessing certain websites that burn up time, like facebook or twitter. You set the time for the allotted work period, and you can't access them until the timer counts to zero.

Dark Room and Writespace are programs that hide and block all distractions on your screen: those blinking IM boxes, the Firefox icon begging for you to surf, the email inbox poking at you to check it, etc. This provides a focused working environment to write.

Manic Time is a background process program that provides reports in the form of graphs and charts. It records which programs are open and which files they are accessing, and also recognizes idle time.
Screen Shots of Manic Time:
Line item reports:

Tham & Widegärd Hansson Arkitekter - House K

Stockholm's Tham & Widegärd Hansson Arkitekter's House K Project is a concrete structure with a unique facade of stained black plywood panels, essentialy giant shingles. Very cool.

Sofie Collin & Gustav Lanberg - Carpet Alarm Clock

The Carpet Alarm Clock by Sofie Collin & Gustav Lanberg follows the simple idea of getting up & out of bed to wake up. Smart, simple, excellent.

via yankodesign

Daniel Gillen - Paintings

New York based architect Daniel Gillen has a series of paintings for sale, and I was so impressed by them I thought I'd help spread the word. Painting has been a major focus of his for years and his architectural curiosities come through in his work. He's making the move to Beijing to work with MAD Architects and is literally selling everything off before the move.

Paintings for sale with prices, contact info below, click to enlarge:

'26'

1" vinyl letters, oil on canvas
$500


'nude'

oil on canvas (2 piece)

$500


'hands in sequence'
oil on canvas
$400


'eye'
ink on canvas
$300

Paintings are in NYC area, shipping is possible, email to discuss.
email Daniel: dgillen@dgillendesign.com
website: www.dgillendesign.com

Atelier Tekuto - Parabola House

The parabola house by Atelier Tekuto in Tokyo is set on an 18'x80' lot. The living room was placed on the top floor with the view, because the client spend the majority of his day there.

What I really loved about the house were the small outdoor spaces that act as light well bringing in daylight to the bedroom and bathroom.

I found a somewhat similar space on my visit to Tadao Ando's house on the Vitra campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany, that produces a feel close to this.

via Dezeen

Back From the Road....

I'm freshly home from a 2,800 mile road trip to and from Missouri for a project out there. Saw quite a few cities along the way, lots of inspiration, and lots of development models I'd love to see implemented locally.

I have a lot of photos to post once I've touched them up!