Posts Tagged ‘New York’
Timeless Objects Exhibit at The Future Perfect in Manhattan
The Future Perfect’s recently opened store on Great Jones Street is now showing an exhibit featuring works by Constantin and Laurene Boym set to run through the holidays until January 7, 2010. Their presentation of Timeless Objects includes a number of items created exclusively for The Future Perfect. Prior to the store’s installation, the Boym duo presented Timeless Objects to the public at Lisbon’s ExperimentaDesign in September, NYC’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in October, and in a personal exhibition last month at Wright in Chicago.
(Photo from Dezeen.com)
(Photo from Objectdesignleague.org)
As modern alchemists in their Brooklyn studio, the Boyms take ordinary objects and apply a coat of special, secret formula for a tough type of polymer that ends up looking like the dripping bronze of historical monuments. And voila! The mundane, discarded objects are now quite beautiful, giving new life worthy of a second look from the people who might otherwise disregard them in their everyday worlds.
Their handmade collection, a sort of commentary on the essential versus the trivial, challenges the commonplace with permanence and attempts to give the objects everlasting value. In line with the Boyms’ earlier projects, such as Recycle (1989), Searstyle (1992-94), and SalvationCeramics (2000-02), Constantin and Laurene Boym aspired to emancipate conventional objects from oblivion and neglect to give them new value and another life.
Visit the exhibit at The Future Perfect Manhattan outpost:
The Future Perfect
55 Great Jones Street (Bowery)
New York City, 10012
212-473-2500
Posted by Nicole Bruce
Archivia Books Pop-Up Bookstore Opens December 1
The Molteni Group and Archivia Books are joining forces to invite you to toast the holiday season with furnishings, kitchens, and books at Archivia Books’ pop-up bookstore, which opens tomorrow evening.
Co-founders Cynthia Conigliaro and Will Rogers opened the independent bookshop Archivia Books on New York’s Upper East Side in 2007 to specialize in illustrated books. The original Archivia: The Decorative Arts Book Shop was located on Madison Avenue across from the Whitney Museum from 1991-2001, and had established an international reputation. Now housed in a lovely, 800 square-foot space on Manhattan’s Lexington Avenue, Archivia Books features over three thousand titles on architecture, design, decorative arts, interiors, furniture, gardens, fine arts, fashion, and a miscellany of fiction and non-fiction. The store serves neighborhood clientele as well as a professional base of architects, designers, gardeners, collectors, museum curators and all those interested in the visual and applied arts. Designed by Cynthia Conigliaro herself, the shop also offers a physical space where customers seeking design inspiration, cultural exploration, and historical reference can discover and interact.
The Italian furnishing company Molteni Group opened the two-floor Molteni&C Dada Unifor Flagship Store in the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan. The store features Molteni’s modern home furnishings, the Dada kitchen collections, doors by Citterio, and the contemporary furniture built for work environments by Unifor. The New York Flagship Store is the first example of integration not just of technology and style, but also of retail between all the firms in the Molteni Group.
We are excited to present the opening of their pop-up bookstore this season!
Details about the opening:
Tuesday, December 1, 2009 from 6-8 pm
Molteni&C Dada Unifor
New York Flagship Store
60 Greene Street
www.moltenidada.com
RSVP by phone at (212) 673-7106 or email rsvp@moltenidada.com.
Posted by Nicole Bruce
Loft Tour: Curated Chelsea Home
Photographer Anita Calero migrated to West Chelsea long before the current stampede of millionaires. Back in the 1990s, she rented a 2,000-square-foot loft in an artists’ condominium, which she then bought and began to reconfigure. Calero knocked wide doorways into several rooms, including the new eat-in kitchen with its major appliances carefully hidden from the adjacent spaces. The dining table and chairs are lightly restored Jean Prouvé “standard chairs,” with a faux-coral chandelier above (Calero frequents furniture dealers and flea markets). Of course, this kind of archaeology isn’t possible in the ultra-luxury apartments rising around Calero’s building. We especially love how she has embraced the older elements of the space.
Photography by Anita Calero/GMAimages.com and Jonny Valiant
RECAP: Tribeca Loft Tour
On Sunday October 18th, Duane Park, a not-for profit organization that was founded in 1994, hosted their 10th Tribeca Loft Tour. Some of the loft buildings have been around since the mid-1800’s. Many of the buildings facades and some of the core structural elements showcased these time periods. There were converted warehouses, most of which had classical elements in the Renaissance or Romanesque style, although there were a few that had a French derived Neo-Grec aesthetic. These various architectural trends from the past can be seen in the original ceiling beams, unusual window treatments, ornate columns, and vaulted detailing. The original purposes of the buildings ranged from old spice market factories, garment industrial manufacturers, paint makers, and, even, business oriented fields, such as the old American Express headquarters.
Personally, it was a privileged and treat to visit these historically rich homes that had not attempted to cover up their past. It’s not ever day that you enter someones home and see ancient paint spattered all over the wooden floors. Enjoy!
An Artist’s Loft:
Loft completed by Dean/Wolf Architects:
Photographer, journalist, and connoisseur’s Loft featuring Valerie Carmet’s lovely mosaic tiling:
Architecture designed by Acheson Doyle Partners Architects P.C & Design, construction, and contracting by European Interior Concepts, Inc.
Artists’ C. Michael Norton & Ruth Hardinger’s Live/Work Loft:
Photography by Linden Hass
RECAP: Rosenthal Concept Store Launch
Last Thursday German luxury brand Rosenthal hosted their concept store launch at The Plaza, featuring images from their EGO photography campaign shot by Karl Lagerfeld which showcases the brands innovative and design-driven tabletop culture.
According to Lagerfeld, “On one hand, I love this brand… on the other, I am also interested in the work as a link between beauty and functionality.” Rosenthal USA President Glenn de Stefano feels it’s “an opportunity to express Rosenthal’s artistry and make it accessible and available to those who understand and appreciate it” along with other esteemed stores within the Grand Concourse walls at the The Plaza.
With contemporary porcelain, stemware, tabletop, and homeware accessories that combine traditional design with avant-garde style, the 130-year old design house has collaborated on pieces showcasing an extensive list of architects and artists including Walter Gropius, Timo Sarpaneva, Raymond Loewy, Salvador Dalì, Jasper Morrison, Paul Wunderlich and Patricia Urquiola.
The event was hosted by notable interior designers Anthony Todd, Campion Platt, and Geoffrey Bradfield and drew a who’s who among the New York design community.
Photography by Patrick McMullan Company
NYC’s Storefront Presents The BLDGBLOG Book Event
Storefront for Art and Architecture, the New York City nonprofit organization founded in 1982, is committed to helping progress pioneering thinking in architecture, art and design through their acclaimed exhibition program. With exhibitions, artist talks, film screenings, conferences, and publications, the organization initiates conversation “across geographic, ideological and disciplinary boundaries.” Because of its location in the Chinatown/Little Italy/Soho area of New York City, three considerably different cultural neighborhoods, Storefront has been known to attract a diverse audience.
This Saturday, September 26, the public forum for emerging voices is inviting readers, artists, thinkers, builders, visionaries and the like to The BLDGBLOG Book Launch. Author Geoff Manaugh of The BLDGBLOG Book (Chronicle Books; Paperback; On-sale now) has been a voice in speculation about architecture, landscape, and the built environment since 2004. Enhanced by stunning images, The BLDGBLOG Book cultivates Manaugh’s distinct vision, offering an inspirational and entertaining idea-filled guide to the future of architecture.
It’s a free and open to the public day-long event of presentations covering architectural conjecture, urban speculation, and landscape futures, by many of the writers, thinkers, and practitioners whose work is featured in The BLDGBLOG Book at Storefront for Art and Architecture.
For more information on Storefront for Art and Architecture and this event, please visit Storefrontnews.org.
To purchase or read more about The BLDGBLOG Book, visit the Chronicle Books site.
Photos of Storefront for Art and Architecture by Rasmus Norlander found on Storefrontnews.org.
Posted by Nicole Bruce
Book(store) Review: Dashwood Books
Around the corner from the LoftLife offices, and one of our favorite bookstores in town is Dashwood Books. Opened to the public in 2005, the store is the city’s largest independent book store devoted entirely to contemporary photography. Featuring both new, used and the occasional signed copy as well as rare and out-of-print titles, the store carries an awe-inspiring selection of publications from around the world.
A quick search of architecture and interiors turned up the following:
The Transparent City by Michael Wolf
Interiors 1973 – 1974 by Robert Adams
Domestic Landscapes; A Portrait of Europeans at Home by Bert Teunissen
Home is Where the Heart Is by Bruce Webber
Dashwood Books is located at 33 Bond Street, between Bowery and Lafayette.
Loft Tour: Q Loft
7/8/09
Ok, it’s a fact, we’re head over heels for Resolution: 4 Architecture. We’re not even going to try and deny it. Yes, the previous two loft tours have been from them, and this one is too. Why should we explain, when we’re in love with this firm’s projects? Why hide it away?
This most recent loft comes with some quirks and some personal architectural choices (ones that display musical instruments and other collections), which is only befitting since the project was for Marvel Comic’s Editor-in-Chief in New York, Joe Quesada, and his family. The Chelsea loft was an entire gut-renovation and took 4,750-sq.-ft. and turned it into one large floor plan for the whole family to live and entertain in. Built-ins seem to be a distinguishing characteristic to the firm’s many projects, and they’re used again to accommodate Mr. Quesada’s large collection of comic artifacts. Besides the cool collections on display the master bedroom sits directly on axis with The Empire State Building (you can see it peeking out of one of the window views below). All in all, it’s one marv-elous loft for a Marvel Comics maven.
See if you can find the superhero who’s hiding out in this loft (hint: he’s got spider-like powers) . . .
Posted by Kyra Shapurji
TAKE THE TRIP: The Standard New York
After speaking with Chateau Marmont designer Campion Platt we were inspired to check out Andre Balazs’s latest property. West coast destination staple, The Standard, has opened shop in New York after establishing itself as a design mecca to Hollywood and Downtown LA travelers.
The 18-story glass and concrete tower was designed by Todd Schliemann, partner with Polshek Partnership Archicects, and sits in the heart of the Meatpacking District atop the High Line, housing 337 guest rooms decorated by Roman and Williams.
Also home to the Living Room bar and The Standard Grill, the hotel is a design destination which includes several public spaces for visitors to enjoy as well. The grand total would be two restaurants and five bars, including a roof deck with a and beer garden on the ground level.
Most unique about the details is a black glass elevator with clear glass portholes showing a video montage titled Civilization by artist Marco Brambilla, depicting the trip from heaven to hell.
Featuring the best in modern architecture and decor, rooms start at a recession-freindly $199 per night–virtually unheard of for a boutique hotel stay in New York.
Photos via Design Therapy.
Posted by Erin Ryder
TAKE THE TRIP: The High Line
6/8/09 Following ten years of advocacy, urban planning, and five years of construction, the High Line is set to open tomorrow, June 9th. Section 1, the first to open, runs from Gansevoort to 20th Street. Section 2, the remainder, runs to 30th Street is still under construction and projected to open in 2010, additionally pending development approval of the West Side Rail Yards.
Originally built in the 1930’s as part of a massive public-private infrastructure called the West Side Improvement, the elevated railway was abandoned in 1980 and otherwise faced demolition. The City of New York committed $50 million to revamp the structure à la the Promenade Plantée in Paris, with 720 teams from 36 countries submitting design plans to preserve the historic space. The High Line design team is led by landscape architecture and urban design firm James Corner Field Operations.
Visitors can enter from Gansevoort Street, and the High Line will be open daily from 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. On June 15th, Friends of the High Line will celebrate with First Party on the High Line.
Photography by Jesse Chehak and Paul Schlacter; courtesy of the High Line and flickr.
Posted by Erin Ryder
- March 2011
- July 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
