cooper union_morphosis

Passed by the new Cooper Union building by Morphosis today during my walk through the rain in the lower east side. Cool.

(images by: vivien chin)

night walk_juilliard (DS+R)

Passed by Juilliard and the Alice Tully Hall the other night. Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s addition and outdoor seating area was very nice. It was chilly and windy the day I passed by so I didn’t take advantage of the outdoor space. I’m sure the outdoor seating area is much more enjoyable during the day. Thumbs up for public spaces!

(image by: vivien chin)

redhook_water’s edge

Redhook–one of my favorite parts of Brooklyn.  Riding along its water’s edge was something I haven’t done before ’til yesterday.  Great views of this what still remains of industrial times.

 

(images by: vivien chin)

stone sky_turrell

Installation by James Turrell for Norman and Norah Stone at their Napa estate.  A perfect stone pavillion set on an infinity pool with viewing to the sky in the interior of the cube.  Beautiful reflections of the sky on the face of the stone are stunning.  (Thanks Stella for the find!)

(images from Stonescape and Into the Studio)

film star = caltrans bldg by morphosis

Who else has noticed this building in alot of movies?  Maybe I’m just more aware of it being that I’m from California and have visited this building on a trip to LA, but the Caltrans District 7 building by Morphosis has seriously had a lot of screen appearances in movies and tv.  I just watched “The Island” tonight and saw it pop up on the screen in the background and it reminded me of how often the exterior of this building shows up in things I’ve watched.

Where I’ve seen it:

_Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie)
_The Island (Scarlett Johanssen, Ewan Mcgregor)
_Fun With Dick & Jane (Jim Carrey, Tea Leoni)
_Mission Impossible 3 (Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman)
_Because I Said So (Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore)
_Alias (Jennifer Garner)
_Usher music video
_Maroon 5 music video
_and the many other appearances in movies, tv, & commercial that I’ve never personally seen)

the highline_etc

Beautiful sky behind the railing

Edge of the railing.  Fond of its simplicity

More blue sky…

Building overhead…just cutting through…

hmmm….how is that plant growing??

I really liked this building for some reason!

 

(images by: vivien chin)

the highline_keep it wild

Some examples of the various flowers and vegetation you can see up on the Highline.  And along the way you will see these little signs asking you to “Keep It Wild.  Keep On the Path”, which is ever so slightly sad because one of my favorite things about parks is being able to sit on the grass and you can’t really do that here, but that’s ok.  Still a really great place to be!!

A little ladybug that landed on my sunglasses and decided to migrate to my skirt.  Very cute.

 

(images by: vivien chin)

the highline_meeting the paving

The pavers reach out like fingers to intertwine with the vegetation, gravel, and railroad tracks up on the Highline.  Very nice way to meet the landscaping and existing railroad tracks, fading out as they reach further out for the “paths”.

the highline_lounging over 10th

Hovering over 10th ave is a portion of the Highline with wood, stepped seating where you can lounge and watch the cars passing from under you.  It’s a pretty nice little seating area where you can sit and car/people watch those below on the street level.

 

(images by: vivien chin)

the highline_furniture

The many options you have to take a rest on and sit awhile…

The wood and concrete bench that seems to come up from the paving.  These are the 2 most common benches at the Highline to sit on.

The all wood bench.  This is my favorite.  Love the all wood aspect of it and how it comes out from the floor boards.

Thick, all wood, loungers.

Wood bench with corten steel details.

Yellow picnic tables at ground level

Fire pit??

Water fountain.  So this isn’t really for sitting, but I do like how the water falls over the edge and down to the drain

 

(images by: vivien chin)

the highline_open spaces

The more open spaces of the Highline. 

 

(images by: vivien chin)

the highline_coming and going

Went to the Highline today on this beautiful day.  Location: the Meatpacking District.  The Highline was orginally an elevated set of railroad tracks running along the West Side of Manhattan through a few buildings.  After the trains on them stopped being used 30 years ago, they were left abandoned and overgrown with wild vegetation.  Now it has been converted into an elevated park that opened up within the last couple weeks.  The design of the park is by firm, Diller Scofidio + Renfro.  The entire length park is not open yet, but a portion of it going up to about 20th st. is open to the public.  The remaining length of the elevated park with open up in phases as they are completed.  The main entry (and currently the only entry open) is pictured above and located at the intersection of Gansevoort St. and Washington St.  The Highline is about 1.5 miles long and is really a great outdoor space to stroll along and just relax.  I really enjoyed my outing there today.

Exit stairs of the park lined with corten steel.

 

(images by: vivien chin)

musée hergé (tintin museum!)

Museum dedicated to Belgian artist and Tintin author Hergé, designed by Atelier Christian de Portzamparc located in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium opened recently.  Museum inspired by Tintin works sounds awesome.  I love Tintin!

(images from dezeen and Atelier Christian de Portzamparc site)

i’m now LEED AP!!!

Passed my LEED AP test earlier today!!  My brain can finally be taken out of overdrive.  It feels so good to be out of study study study mode.  Veg out time much needed now.

study study study…

in the zone for the next week…..

NY Public library above.

(image by: vivien chin)

human tetris

The GAME OVER Project by artist Guillaume Reymond. awesome sound effects!

putt putt kids

Great to see that kids were enjoying themselves at the Putting Lot.  Eventhough this little baby is too small to hold a putter, glad he’s still entertaining himself with the astroturf cover palettes.  Sooo cute!

putting lot hole 9_the living lot

“The Living Lot” by Interface Studio

[concept]:  Navigate your ball through the urban wildlife and habitat with additional bonus or penalty holes along the way to the final hole.

 

(images by: vivien chin)

putting lot hole 8_last gasp

“Last Gasp” by Zabor/Tsien-Shiang

[concept]: Hit your ball up the roof of the house into random pipes leading you to different parts of the course.

 

(images by: vivien chin)

putting lot hole 7_pachinko putt putt

“Pachinko Putt Putt” by Meat Pallet

[concept]:  influenced by the Japanese game, Pachinko, get your ball up the ramp of the furniture “Pachinko” wall.  Wherever the ball falls/bounces down from the ramp will either land you a potential hole in one, take you closer to back where you started, or just somewhere in between.  great challenge!

Awesome hole dave, hannah, laura, jeff, and justin!!  Love the details of the wall.

 

(images by: vivien chin)

putting lot hole 6_the art market

“The Art Market” by Skewville

[concept]: navigate you ball through the art bodega.

 

(image by: vivien chin)

putting lot hole 5_untitled (the reservoir)

“untitled: (the reservoir) by common room

[concept]:  Putt your ball throught the rain water reservoir

 

(image by: vivien chin)

putting lot hole 4_i (bike) ny

mini cityscape

golf ball in the bike path

golf ball flies high over the bridge

“I (bike) NY” by High Five

[concept]:  Navigate your ball/bike through the NY cityscape

 

(image by: vivien chin)

putting lot hole 3_are you wet yet?

“Are You Wet Yet?” by Openshop

[concept]: Launch you ball off the ramp for the impossible hole in one shot that you can’t help but try for.  If you miss…well you have to do a little golf ball fishing in the pool to try again.

 

(image by: vivien chin)

putting lot hole 2_G.L.O.R.Y. hole

which hole do I pick???

victory!!

“G.L.O.R.Y. hole” by PLOT

[concept]:  Choose the correct hole at the top of the platform to land a hole in one.

 

(image by: vivien chin)

putting lot hole 1_ghost hole

“Ghost Hole” by Ben Roosevelt

[concept]: image decal of plot of land where the hole is as it was before construction…garbage, dirt, debris and all

 

(image by: vivien chin)

putt putt golf

mini golf in brooklyn!  “The Putting Lot” opens on June 6 in Bushwick.  A competition was held to design a hole in this 9 hole mini golf course.  Groups of artists and architects are among the winners and are not all from NY.  Yay to friends from group, Meat Pallet, who are there (yay dave, hannah, jeff, laura, and justin for winning a hole to build).  They are pictured above in the pics I found on the Putting Lot website.  They are doing hole 7 called “Pachinko Putt Putt“.  You can read up on them and the hole at that link.  I’m excited to head out there and check it out!

cost: $5 for adults, $3 for kids 12 and under
hours: wed-fri = 12pm-8pm; sat-sun = 10am-8pm

address:
12 Wyckoff Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11237
(take the L train to Jefferson St. Stop)

(images from Putting Lot site)

“blue sticks”

“blue sticks” by claude cormier

I have a soft spot for architectural landscape art and installation.  Featured in book, “avant gardeners: visionary designers for the contemporary landscape”

 

(image from Designboom)

legos!_dispatchwork_berlin

Jan Vormann’s project, “Dispatchwork”, shows up in Berlin.  He fills holes left on/in buildings remaining from World War II with LEGOS!  He has also done this in Italy and Isreal.  In Berlin, many spontaneous people started helping him fill the bullet holes with Lego bricks at a building of Humbold University. 

Awesome project!  Love this idea!  Very fun and creative and gets people involved.

(images from Likecool)

jamie hayes_artist

 

 

Saw these fun dolls and artwork by New Orleans artist, Jamie Hayes.  These were some of the things being displayed in the window of his gallery on 621 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA.

(images by: vivien chin)

il fiore di novembre

Installation by Italian designer, Fabio Novembre, is on show at the Triennale Design Museum in Milan.  Each mosaic covered partition represent a flower when viewed from the front. The spaces between showcase different pieces of his work.  Installation open until May 17, 2009

(images from Dezeen)

retro wall-e

Artist Eric Tan created these very cool retro style Wall-E and Eve posters.  Love them!

exsistence of light

Japanese painter and graphic artist Que Houxo created these works for an exhibition called “Exsistence of Light”.  Very fluorescent!  Awesome!

(images from Hypebeast)

tweenbots…help them find their way

   

These tiny cardboard robots designed by Kacie Kinzer roam the city in hopes that someone will help them find their way.  The robots are human-dependent–navigating the city with the help of people they encounter.  They roll in a straight line, at a constant speed.  The little flag at the top indicates their end goal destination.  If the Tweenbots are headed the wrong way, people who are willing to engage them will physically turn/point them in the right direction where it will continue to roll.

Soooo cute!  I hope I run into one soon! (Thanks Jeff for the find!)

Here’s a map of it’s run around Washington Square Park:
(Course time = 42 mins.  People encountered = 29)

(images from Tweenbots site)

wooden carpet

wooden carpet by Elisa Stroyzk (images from dezeen)

Student, Elisa Stroyzk, designed this wood textile rug from laser and hand cut wood veneer that is then bonded to a textile backing. The wood pieces form a very flexible material that can be molded into very interesting 3-dimensional shapes.  All the wood veneer pieces are scraps from a wood workshop that is closing.  This is an exploration in “blurring relationships between furniture and textiles”.  Here is the original article.

therme vals by peter zumthor

Congratulations to Peter Zumthor for winning the Pritzker Prize this year!  Therme Vals is my favorite of his projects and I hope to go there one day.  It is a hotel/spa complex in Vals, Switzerland and is built over the only thermal springs in the Graubünden canton in Switzerland.  The building is constructed from locally quarried Valser quarzite slabs.

naked city spleen by miru kim

richmond power_philadelphia, pa

les catacombes_paris, france

richmond power_philadelphia, pa

glenwood_yonkers, ny

freedom tunnel_new york city, ny
(images from mirukim naked city)

“I wanted to put something else in there.  A living thing”…”She’s small and naked and human, and all around her is hard, cold, sharp, and dirty, and everything is in ruins”
-Miru Kim realizing there was something missing from her photos…

Photographer, Miru Kim, took these beautiful photographs of a nude model in these really incredible, abandoned, industrial spaces or ruins that I think are pretty spectacular. The composition, texture, light, and setting of each photo is amazing and sometimes surreal.  Prints are available for purchase on her site as well as more photos just like these taken at other locations.  I also found an article at Esquire that describes the experiences while shooting at these locations.  (Thanks Hannah for the great find!!)

PUBLIC

dining area and bar

reception desk

old post office boxes (images from http://www.public-nyc.com/)

Had an amazing and delicious birthday dinner last night at PUBLIC located near the New Museum (I included the address below).  The restaurant is designed and operated by design firm AvroKO whose office is located right above the restaurant.  AvroKO designed and operates a few other pretty cool restaurants that I want to check out someday.

The space at PUBLIC has very industrial yet elegant feel through their use of materials, fixtures, and lighting.  It was a really beautiful space to be in and the lighting is much darker than it appears in the pictures so it sets a great mood for dinner at night.  The restaurant and bar filled up fast so it seems like a pretty popular place.  The food is a mix of Austrailian, Asian, and Mid-Eastern cuisine. 

The items off the menu I tried were all delicious and I would highly recommend: 

[Starters] Grilled scallops with sweet chili sauce, crème fraiche and green plantain crisps (the scallops were sooo tenderly cooked and go really well with the sweet chili sauce); Artichoke salad with mixed Spring greens and vinaigrette

[Main] Snail and oxtail ravioli with pickled shiitake mushrooms, oven dried tomatoes, peashoots and smoked paprika oil (this is very very delicious if you are willing to give it a try); Crispy skinned barramundi with a wild mushroom broth, fingerling potatoes, pickled ginger and pea leaf salad

[Dessert] Cheesecake flan, blood orange caramel, citrus salad and pistachio brittle (highly recommend! This was sooo good and I want to learn to make my own); the dessert wine paired with it was – Lilly Pilly “Noble Blend”, 2002 (Riverina, Australia) – (Loved the name Lilly Pilly and it had a great taste as well)

PUBLIC
210 Elizabeth St. (Between Prince St. & Spring St.)
New York, NY 10012
(212) 343-7011

my comfy niche

After all these furniture and design postings I got a little nostagic for my chair/lounge.  I wish it was here in NY with me.  Many comfy naps in it were definitely had by myself and others.  Those who went to school with me already are familiar with it, but for those who didn’t here’s some background. 

This was part of my 5th yr thesis project in college as well as an entry for a furniture design competition held yearly by a local contemporary furniture store, Vellum.  I bent and welded the rebar frame and hand wove the fabric weave from belting material commonly used for backpack straps (many many hours of weaving!).  It was a really fun project and even better that I came out with a comfy lounge that fits me perfectly.  The concept idea behind my design was to create something that had a variety of ways to sit and lounge.  There’s no right way it sit or lie in it and I even did a photoshoot and study of how people decided to sit in it.  It was pretty intrested to watch as people decided how they wanted to sit in it.  Too many options I suppose!

back view

deatail – the weave

happy lounger

sleepy lounger  (images by: vivien chin)

growing a crystal chair

I’ve seen this on Wallpaper, Dezeen, and Inhabitat and think it is amazing.  Tokujin Yoshioka designed and grew these crystal chairs for his “Second Nature” exhibit.  The furniture and art in this exhibit are formed by soaking a polyester mesh in a mineral solution for a month.  These are all really beautiful pieces and I wish I could have experienced the exhibit in person.

“Second Nature” exhibit

“Second Nature” Exhibit

Venus – crystal chaise lounge

the making of a crystal chair

the making of a chair