Wednesday, January 31, 2018

MIT engineers transform plants into lights

MIT has taken the first steps towards turning plants into functional lighting by embedding the firefly enzyme in the leaves of a watercress plant. Read more



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MVRDV reveals renderings of mirrored "crystal rock" office block in Germany

The Milestone by MVRDV

Dutch firm MVRDV has unveiled plans for an office block with an interactive mirrored facade in the city of Esslingen in southern Germany. Read more



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Rainbow windows pattern Ellsworth Kelly's minimal Austin pavilion

Austin by Ellsworth Kelly

A pavilion with colourful geometric windows by late American artist Ellsworth Kelly has been built at the University of Texas in Austin. Read more



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Decorative and moody NoMad Los Angeles hotel opens in former bank headquarters

French architect Jacques Garcia has designed an outpost for hotel brand NoMad in LA's old Bank of Italy, pairing its ornate ceilings, columns and marble flooring with floral furnishings and planting. Read more



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Atlanta stadium by HOK hosts American football games under retractable "petals"

Mercedes-Benz Stadium by HOK

Giant triangular panels overlap to surround this American football stadium in Atlanta by architecture firm HOK, which has a roof that "opens and closes like a camera aperture". Read more



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10 game-changing ideas and innovations from IKEA

Following the death of IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad this week, here's a look at some of the company's biggest design milestones, from the birth of flat-pack furniture to the launch of augmented-reality shopping. Read more



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First foreign Serpentine Pavilion will be built in China this year

The Serpentine Pavilion programme is launching in Beijing, with an inaugural commission by Chinese studio Jiakun Architects to open in May this year. Read more



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Sasaki creates two landmark buildings for Monterrey Tec campus in Mexico

Monterrey Tec library and pavilion by Sasaki

Design studio Sasaki has completed a minimalist white pavilion and a glazed library for a growing university in Monterrey, with terraces that offer generous views of the city. Read more



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Jean and Nicolas Jullien create playful animations to illustrate the story of Emeco

Jean and Nicolas Jullien illustration of Emeco Navy Chair

Dezeen has teamed up with French illustrator Jean Jullien and his animator brother Nicolas to create this exclusive film, in which Emeco CEO Gregg Buchbinder tells the story behind five of the American furniture brand's chairs. Read more



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World's biggest property event criticised for response to the Presidents Club scandal

Organisers of the world's biggest property event, MIPIM, have been attacked for their soft approach after vowing to "increase communications" with delegates about inappropriate behaviour at the male-dominated trade fair.

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February Reads: So Much Good Stuff, It's Hard to Choose

February always trips me up.  I think I've got plenty of time, and before I know it, March is knocking at the door.  Who'd think a few missing days at the end of the month would create such havoc in my reading world?

I started 2018 off with a roar, spending plenty of weekends and nights unapologetically reading.  It was wonderful.  I'm going to try to do the same in February, but life has a way of taking my plans and turning them upside down.  

February may be a short month, but that doesn't stop me from trying to read as many books as I can before the end of the month. I'm currently reading two books that I won't list here, but they'll probably show up as reviews in the next week.  Here's what I've got planned to read in February:

I've read about the Halifax explosion before, but this new book looks to be fascinating!

A historical novel about Mary Pickford and her friendship with Francis Marion in early Hollywood.  

Ahhhh!!  This book!  I can't wait to read it!!  

A publisher review book from the author of My Name is Mary Sutter.  Cannot wait to dive in!

I had such a hard time deciding which books to show on this post.  I've got another 5 or 6 demanding to be read this month.  Clearly impossible (unless I take a nice, two week vacation) but nevertheless, they egg me on to at least try.  We'll see.  

On the book group front, I finally got together with a group I affectionately call the book nerds.  There are six of us, and we meet every month and talk about what we're reading.  We've been meeting for probably 6 years, and recently took a hiatus and finally regrouped last night.  We always have such a good time.  I had to write down a few more titles that appealed to me, and even took a book home.  We've made plans to meet again in early March, and we'll have even more books to talk about.  What I love about our group is that there's no pressure on what to read, but rather an exchange of books that we've each read over the previous month, and what we did or did not like about them.  Usually the rest of us end up reading the same books, and it's fun to discuss what we each thought of the books.  Such a great way to hear about a lot of books from friends who have different tastes.  

We have a member who loves to read mysteries and young adult, another who is the most well read person I know--she reads fiction that usually involves other countries, current issues, and important moments in 20th century history.  Another reads multi-cultural books that she also shares with her high school English students; another just buys ebooks on his Nook that are daily specials and reads them. He enjoys family dramas. Our final member reads a lot of young adult novels (and listens to them on audio with her son), mysteries, and non-fiction centered around the Catholic faith.  All of us are open to reading different genres, authors, and ideas.  And we all know I read just a bunch of stuff; whatever appeals to me.  

Happy February everyone, and let me know what you're reading.  I always love to hear from you!



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February Reads: So Much Good Stuff, It's Hard to Choose

February always trips me up.  I think I've got plenty of time, and before I know it, March is knocking at the door.  Who'd think a few missing days at the end of the month would create such havoc in my reading world?

I started 2018 off with a roar, spending plenty of weekends and nights unapologetically reading.  It was wonderful.  I'm going to try to do the same in February, but life has a way of taking my plans and turning them upside down.  

February may be a short month, but that doesn't stop me from trying to read as many books as I can before the end of the month. I'm currently reading two books that I won't list here, but they'll probably show up as reviews in the next week.  Here's what I've got planned to read in February:

I've read about the Halifax explosion before, but this new book looks to be fascinating!

A historical novel about Mary Pickford and her friendship with Francis Marion in early Hollywood.  

Ahhhh!!  This book!  I can't wait to read it!!  

A publisher review book from the author of My Name is Mary Sutter.  Cannot wait to dive in!

I had such a hard time deciding which books to show on this post.  I've got another 5 or 6 demanding to be read this month.  Clearly impossible (unless I take a nice, two week vacation) but nevertheless, they egg me on to at least try.  We'll see.  

On the book group front, I finally got together with a group I affectionately call the book nerds.  There are six of us, and we meet every month and talk about what we're reading.  We've been meeting for probably 6 years, and recently took a hiatus and finally regrouped last night.  We always have such a good time.  I had to write down a few more titles that appealed to me, and even took a book home.  We've made plans to meet again in early March, and we'll have even more books to talk about.  What I love about our group is that there's no pressure on what to read, but rather an exchange of books that we've each read over the previous month, and what we did or did not like about them.  Usually the rest of us end up reading the same books, and it's fun to discuss what we each thought of the books.  Such a great way to hear about a lot of books from friends who have different tastes.  

We have a member who loves to read mysteries and young adult, another who is the most well read person I know--she reads fiction that usually involves other countries, current issues, and important moments in 20th century history.  Another reads multi-cultural books that she also shares with her high school English students; another just buys ebooks on his Nook that are daily specials and reads them. He enjoys family dramas. Our final member reads a lot of young adult novels (and listens to them on audio with her son), mysteries, and non-fiction centered around the Catholic faith.  All of us are open to reading different genres, authors, and ideas.  And we all know I read just a bunch of stuff; whatever appeals to me.  

Happy February everyone, and let me know what you're reading.  I always love to hear from you!



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LGBT+ survey reveals decreasing number of architects "out" at work

The Architects' Journal's LGBT+ survey shows the number of architects who are openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender in British practices has fallen over the past two years. Read more



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Six of football's most controversial rebrands

With football club Leeds United facing backlash from fans over its redesigned crest, here's a look at some of the sport's most controversial rebrands – from the minimal redesign of Juventus' logo to Red Bull's creation of RB Leipzig. Read more



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Shoe Box apartment in Beirut packs everything into 15 square metres

Shoe Box Apartment by Elie Metn

Lebanese studio Eliemetni has squeezed everything a guest could need into a micro studio apartment on the roof of an old building in the Achrafieh district of Beirut. Read more



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Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Guide to creating circular design launches at Davos

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has teamed up with design and consulting firm IDEO to create a guide that helps businesses design for the circular economy. Read more



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Troll's Peak cabin features facades and roofs clad in contrasting materials

Cabin at Troll´s Peak by Rever & Drage Architects

Oslo studio Rever & Drage Architects used a variety of cladding materials and traditional construction techniques to distinguish the different functional spaces at this mountain cabin in Norway's Sunndal region. Read more



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Hassell and MVRDV devise "suite of adaptable structures" to combat Bay Area flooding

Resilient by Design by Hassell and MVRDV

Architecture firms Hassell and MVRDV have imagined a scheme featuring floating stadiums, emergency castles and pop-up restaurants, which aims to build resiliency to flooding in South San Francisco and foster the local community. Read more



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Plant-filled Seattle Spheres open at Amazon headquarters

Amazon The Spheres

Retail company Amazon has completed a set of glass orbs filled with "cloud forest" gardens for its headquarters in Seattle, providing work areas for employees and green space for the public. Read more



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"The language of this will have to change in order to be successful"

Readers aren't happy about the use of the phrase "parasitic pods" to describe a housing concept for homeless people, in this week's comments update. Read more



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"Should we feel guilty for causing pollution? Oh yeah!" admit green designers

Eco-minded designers have admitted to feeling guilty about creating products that help deplete resources and cause pollution at our Good Design for a Bad World talks in Eindhoven. Read more



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New York's best emerging architecture studios of 2018 revealed

NHDM

Five young architecture studios based in the Big Apple have been selected for this year's New Practices New York awards, set up to promote the city's best up-and-coming talent. Read more



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Giant metal lattice fronts atrium of Texas engineering school by Ennead

EERC at University of Texas by Ennead Architects

American firm Ennead has completed a new building for the engineering programme at the University of Texas in Austin, where two towers are linked by a central glass volume with diamond-patterned structural supports across its facade. Read more



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