Zaha Hadid’s Oxford Extension Branded ‘Awkward’

Zaha Hadid’s proposed extension to the Middle East Centre at St Antony’s College in Oxford has been branded ‘awkward’ and ‘in constant competition with its neighbours’ by CABE, the commission’s design review panel.

We are not always fans of Hadid’s work but this solution seems entirely suitable, if a bit radical for this setting — better awkward than mediocre.

Oxford College Extension, Oxford, United Kingdom by Zaha Hadid, full story at Architects Journal

New York City Waterfalls, Public Art Project by Olafur Eliasson

We’ve written before about Olafur Eliasson, the New York Times writes about a new project called “The New York City Waterfalls” a public art project of four man-made waterfalls rising from New York Harbor, some as high as the Statue of Liberty. Organized by the nonprofit Public Art Fund and the City of New York.

The New York City Waterfalls, by Olafur Eliasson

Buy the Book: Studio Olafur Eliasson: An Encyclopedia (Extra Large Series)

Noguchi Prototype Prismatic Table sells for $290,500

An Important and Rare Prototype Prismatic Table for the Alcoa Forecast Program
The Aluminum Corporation of America (Alcoa) program emphasized the artistic and functional possibilities of aluminum. Select commissioned designs were featured in full-page advertisements shot by noted photographers in widely-read weekly magazines. It is for this program that Isamu Noguchi developed the iconic design of the Prismatic table.

Isamu Noguchi, who was the third artist featured in the Forecast program in early 1957, developed an abstract three-dimensional form. Noguchi’s Prismatic tables were conceived in multiple to form a “kaleidoscope” with variant colors with the intention of adaptability. The advertisement photographed by Irving Penn used the table as a casual, yet romantic platform for dinner at home.

Prototype Prismatic Table, Sold at Auction for $290,500, by Isamu Noguchi, at Sotheby’s

Exhibition: Industrial Facility at Design Museum London

“Industrial Facility is the London-based design office of Sam Hecht, Kim Colin and Ippei Matsumoto. A studio primarily designing mass produced goods, Industrial Facility take pleasure in the anonymity of everyday items, applying intellectual rigour, high design values and vision to products such as coffee makers, stationary and kitchen utensils.”

Industrial Facility (09 May – 07 September) at the Design Museum
via: Designboom

Exhibition: Eric Stephany Explores Mirco & Macro

French artist Eric Stephany lives and works in Paris where is currently an artist in residence at the point ephémère artist center. his works focuses on sculpture and installation that explores symbolism through materials. he will be exhibiting this month at glassbox ‘Sans les Murs’ in Paris. 

Exhibition, by Eric Stephany
via: Designboom

Aavra Verde, A Tucson Desert Development

Aavra Verde, Tucson, AZ, USA by, Rick Joy Architects

Marmol-Radziner House, Desert Hot Springs, up for Sale

“Art, architecture and environmental awareness have been forged together in Marmol-Radziner’s custom prototype for their industrially fabricated residential architecture. Recycled steel framing, highly energy-efficient glass, and solar-assisted power add an all-important, eco-friendly element to this milestone achievement. From the two-parcel, nearly 7.5 acre site on which the main house, guest house, studio and nearly 2,400 square feet of outdoor decks reside, broad panoramic vistas across the pool capture the all encompassing desert floor sweeping out to towering Mount San Jacinto and San Gorgonio.”

The Desert House (2005) Desert Hot Springs, CA, USA, $1,350,000, by Marmol-Radziner & Associates, at Architecture for Sale

Artek Pavilion up for Auction at Sotheby’s

At last year’s Salone Internazionale del Mobile, in Milan, Artek debuted a Shigeru Ban–designed pavilion constructed of UPM Pro-Fi, a wood-plastic composite made, in part, from recycled sticky labels.  Sotheby’s announced that the pavilion, which has since been exhibited in Helsinki and Miami, will be auctioned off in June at an expected selling price of $800,000 to $1.2 million.

Pavilion up for Auction, $800,000 to $1.2 million, by Shigeru Ban, for Artek
via: Metropolis

Pretzel Chair is back from Vitra.

In honor of George Nelson’s 100th birthday, Vitra has released a special re-edition (limited to 1,000) of Nelson’s Pretzel Chair he designed in 1952.

Pretzel Chair, by George Nelson, manufatured by Vitra, via: Design Related

Jean Nouvel Awarded Design for Tour Signal Paris

In July 2007, EPAD launched an international call for projects for the construction of the Tour Signal, which forms an integral part of the plan for Tour Signal, La Défense, Paris, France. Due for completion in 2015, the Tour Signal will symbolise the renewal of La Défense. The winner is Ateliers Jean Nouvel. The team has chosen to locate its project at the Porte Ouest to open up the La Défense neighbourhood to Puteaux.
The project comprises 71 storeys, forming a mixed-use building which brings together apartments, hotels, offices and retail premises in the lower section. It is made up of four blocks piled one on top of the other with atriums forming huge windows, each facing in alternate directions. These perspectives reveal floor levels which form balconies within each of the atriums.

Tour Signal, La Défense Paris, France, by Jean Nouvel, for EPAD