News And Updates
It often feels like design-minded people — you and me — have opposing values: We’re among the loudest voices calling for more environmentally-friendly buildings, but at the same time, we want well-crafted, comfortable, designed homes.
DWR on Tremont Street has called in a professional to help us with this dilemma. Steve Glenn, founder and CEO of the green development firm Living Homes will present “High Design, Low Impact: Building LivingHomes”.
The developer of the nation’s first LEED Platinum home, and with over nine LivingHomes in development that are designed to achieve LEED Platinum, Glenn is one of the more experienced builders of environmentally conscious homes in the United States. While LivingHomes uses the LEED program for external review and validation, the company has established its own Z6 sustainable building goals, which serve as development objectives for each LivingHome, insuring that they have as close as possible to zero negative impact on health and environment. The Z6 goals are Zero Water, Zero Energy, Zero Waste, Zero Emissions, Zero Carbon and Zero Ignorance.
Glenn will share his experiences working with leading architects, including Ray Kappe, FAIA, one the most celebrated modern architects in the US, and KieranTimberlake, the AIA 2009 Firm of the Year, to create LivingHomes. He will discuss the specific elements that go into a LivingHome to achieve the Z6 goals and the process of building a LivingHome – from its factory construction to on-site installation in mere hours. Attendees will gain new insights into sustainable design and prefabrication, and will be able to get any questions answered about building a LivingHome.
“High Design, Low Impact” will be this Thursday, March 4, starting at 6:30. Planning on attending? Please RSVP.
DWR Boston Studio
519 Tremont St.
Boston, MA 02116
Phone: 617-451-7801
As part of their First Friday reception, Dennis Duffy is bringing “Bonsai: Living Sculpture – Ancient and Modern” to D Scale.
Mixed among D Scale’s brilliant selection of modern home furnishings, Bonsai West’s Michael Levin will introduce you to “some of the oldest and most beautiful bonsai trees outside of Japan. One such masterpiece in this exhibit is well over 400 years old, and has been collected from the mountains in California.”
Bonsai West has the most extensive collection of specimen Bonsai outside of Japan, featuring the work of American Bonsai artists such as Mr and Mrs Hatanaka, Mr Yamasaki, Roy Nagatoshi, Nick Lenz, Mr Ishii, Guy Guidry, Colin Lewis, Jim Smith and Michael Levin – as well as trees styled by artists in Japan, Korea, and China. Bonsai West has become a destination for bonsai lovers from throughout the world.
Local sculptor and furniture designer Jacob Kulin will be curating the show. As a way of uniquely exhibiting the sculptural trees, Kulin has designed many of the pedestals and tables “specifically to suit a given bonsai.”
For this event, Jacob Kulin is highlighting the significance of proper presentation of the bonsai. Jacob has addressed the challenge of finding the proper balance between the bonsai, the pedestal/table on which it is placed, and the surrounding space it occupies. The goal of the show is to explore the true beauty and artistic aesthetic of the bonsai, including technical composition and presentation.
“Bonsai: Living Sculpture – Ancient and Modern” is scheduled for this Friday, March 4, from 6 to 8pm. RSVP by email at info@dscalemodern.com. The exhibit will run from Friday through Sunday, March 6.
D Scale
520 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02116
I was recently walking down Tremont St, across the Mass Pike, when I was struck by the view above. Three hotels, all within a block or two of each other, yet clearly from three generations of Boston’s development: the concrete Radisson, the glass W Hotel, and the brick Courtyad by Marriott. (Click for a larger view)
These buildings speak to us about our city’s past as much as any brownstone, government building or office tower. You just need to look up every once in a while and appreciate the stories they tell.
Throughout February, the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions launched a new marketing campaign, “Just be. In Holland,” with a series of events aimed at showcasing the greatness of that European nation. For the next six days (the contest started yesterday), they are giving visitors to Holland.com a chance to win a Moooi Carbon Chair, designed by Bertjan Pot and Marcel Wanders!
Holland is currently one of the world’s poles of great modern design, a center of innovation and experimentation in architecture, urban planning, industrial design, and graphic design. Created by Bertjan Pot and Marcel Wanders for Moooi in Holland, the Carbon Chair is a great example of Dutch design – contemporary, sleek, yet down-to-earth.
Once you’ve entered in to win the Carbon Chair, you can then enter to win the grand prize: 2 round trip business class tickets on KLM to Amsterdam and 4 nights deluxe accommodations at the Sofitel Amsterdam The Grand! How great would that be?!
Good luck, but be warned: I’ve already entered, so you might be seeing posts about Dutch design!
It looks like spring cleaning is hitting early! All around the city, retailers are offering sales to clear space for new merchandise. Know of a sale coming up that we should mention? Let us know!
Infusion Furniture – 50% off selected inventory: Side tables, coffee tables, console tables, etc. Contact for more details. Through 2/28.
Grand – February Sip & Shop 2/27 – Sip Karlsson’s Gold Vodka Martinis and save 10% off everything in the store – tasty!
D Scale – Huge floor model sale with 40% or more off nearly everything in the store, through 2/28.
Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams – 20% off all tables and storage, through 3/14.
DWR Storage Sale – 15% off shelving/bookcases, media storage, credenzas/sideboards, dressers, bath storage, and more. Through 3/2.
Harvard GSD and ACTAR have recently released GSD Platform 2
Organized thematically, the publication identifies underlying congruencies among studio work, theses, research, lectures, conferences, and writings to unfold some of the many critical ideas and interests currently being explored in the School. Ranging in scope from detailed material fabrication to large-scale territorial and infrastructural strategies, the work spans a broad and diverse set of geographies and scenarios. In documenting this work, the publication archives and disseminates the rich intellectual momentum of the GSD.
GSD Platform 2 is a chance to look into the work of tomorrow’s design leaders. It’s a hefty book, weighing nearly 2 pounds and containing 300 pages in full color and B/W, in a variety of different papers.
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The pinkcommagallery has issued a call for entries for their inaugural Design Biennial Boston 2010 exhibit, a review of “design works that represent creative approaches and solutions to issues in contemporary design.”
Design Biennial Boston will be a “juried exhibition of the most significant emerging voices among Greater Boston’s early-career design talent (including practices working in architecture, landscape architecture, graphic design, industrial design, and interior design).”
To be considered for the exhibition, a designer must meet the following criteria:
Applicants must practice in Greater Boston, including the metropolitan area and suburbs;
Applicants must have graduated from a design or architecture program;
Applicants may work in another firm, but the work presented must have been completed
independently;
Applicants must have been in independent practice for fewer than 10 years or may be anyone
up to 45 years old, no matter how long they have been in practice;
Applicants may be a collaborative team or a firm if all applicants meet the criteria above.
Selected participants will be presented at the Design Biennial Boston 2010 exhibition at the pinkcommagallery and showcased in an accompanying pamplet publication.
The jury comes from across the spectrum of design in Boston:
Mark Pasnik, Chris Grimley, Michael Kubo, pinkcomma gallery.
Stefane Barbeau, Vessel.
Beate Becker, DIGMA.
Eric Höweler, Höweler + Yoon Architecture.
Fritz Klaetke, Visual Dialogue.
Dennis Kois, Director, DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum.
Amanda Lawrence, PRAXIS.
Beth Whittaker, MERGE Architects.
Interested in submitting for the Design Biennial Boston 2010 exhibition? Get all the details and application here, but hurry – all entries must be received at the gallery by 4:00pm on March 12. The exhibition will take place in late spring.
Last night, I had the chance to sit down, enjoy a great meal, and talk shop with a few great designers.
I made my way through the rain from Downtown, across the Common and onto Charles St. I was the first to arrive at the Beacon Hill Hotel and Bistro and got a moment to take in the intimate bar area. Shortly after, I was joined by the evening’s hosts, Lauren Gilbert of The Rug Company and David Anthony Harris of Duc Duc and MasonGray, who had traveled up from New York to visit clients around Boston.
We found our table and started talking about the differences between the different neighborhood of the city, and how shockingly less expensive apartments in Boston are compared to Manhattan. A few minutes later, the last of our group arrived, local husband and wife architects Lisa Cunningham and George Warner of Warner + Cunningham. Koo de Kir’s Kristine Irving was scheduled to join us, but had to cancel because of a busy workload — a great problem to have!
Dinner conversation revolved around growing up in various parts of the country, kiteboarding (a favorite sport for George), blending modernism and traditionalism, building a home in the rain forest of Puerto Rico, and, of course, catalogs from The Rug Company, Duc Duc and MasonGray.
Both catalogs do a beautiful job representing each company. The Rug Company’s catalog is more akin to a coffee table book, with huge, colorful photos of their rugs and accent pieces in amazing settings. The combined Duc Duc/Mason Gray catalog set resembles a scrap book of classic Americana — a reminder that all of their pieces are designed in New York and constructed in Connecticut — wrapped and tied with a piece of leather.
Also discussed was David’s new venture, the New Traditionalists, which is set to be introduced at the upcoming Architectural Digest Home Show in New York. According to David, the adult furniture line is “traditional, with a twist”, similar to the MasonGray children’s line. No pictures yet, so we’ll have to head to the AD Home show and see for ourselves.
In all, wonderful people, great food, even better conversation. A fantastic dinner.
Design Museum Boston, the new non-profit I met last month “with the goal of creating and maintaining a network of virtual and physical exhibit spaces online, in Boston, and across New England”, is throwing a party to launch their museum and social network, DesigningAMuseum.org.
For one night, the digital becomes physical as both designers and non-designers alike come together to help build the Design Museum Boston community. Have a drink, become a member of DesigningAMuseum.org, and live tweet at our onsite kiosks. View an onsite exhibit of the Design Museum Boston mission featuring local design work. Join the conversation as we work together to educate the public about the work local designers are doing and celebrate its broad impact.
Donations will be accepted onsite and there will be a silent auction with some fantastic items to benefit the museum, including: a litl webbook, pogoplug, imojito iphone wallet, Bose SoundLink digital music system, Philips Color Kinetics eW Profile Powercore and a variety of products from Converse. So bring your ideas and your check book. We’ll see you there!
It’s not often you get to be a part of the launch of a new museum, albeit a different kind of museum. “Through a decentralized network of physical and virtual exhibits, Design Museum Boston brings programming to galleries, retail environments, public spaces and the web. There, audiences can be exposed to the design process from a social, economic, and environmental point of view.”
The party (and inaugural exhibit) is planned for Tuesday, March 16, at West End Johhnies, starting at 7:30. If you’re going, please be sure to RSVP.
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Earlier this week, Yale Appliance & Lighting CEO Steve Sheinkopf announced that his company is now the lighting consultant on This Old House, the venerable home improvement show. In this new effort, Yale will work with the homeowners and This Old House designers to find the best fit to personalize their home — the same as what they do every day, but with cameras.
The thing that surprises me about this, is why it didn’t happen sooner. Yale Appliance and Electric has been a Dorchester landmark since 1923. This Old House has been rebuilding homes in the area for the last 31 years, and is the inspiration for pretty much all home improvement television.
Yale and This Old House have worked together on two homes so far, and are looking at extending the relationship into future projects.
Take a look at a recap of choosing the lighting for the kitchen in this recent episode. In it, Yale lighting specialist Bob Joyce explains the differences between incandescent, fluorescent and LED lighting, and the options for undercabinet and recessed lighting.
Now, if they only needed a blogger to document their progress… (hint, hint)