Anisha Table Light by Studio Lievore Altherr Molina for Foscarini

Like a fluid and enveloping frame, an irregular ellipse that gives a sense of becoming, Anisha outlines an empty space, defines it and fills it with its light, producing a magical sensation. Realized in ABS, the table lamp Anisha is available in two two colours – pure white that blends with the space or red for a decisive, recognisable presence. It is suitable for a wide range of settings, environments and uses. In the entrance, in a lounge, bedroom or on a desk, with its light spirit and unmistakable identity: both on and off.

Anisha Table Light, by Studio Lievore Altherr Molina, for Foscarini

New Zealand Residence by Marmol Radziner

With distant views of alpine peaks, the hillside site overlooks rolling farmland. The site faces north, directly into the blazing sun of the southern hemisphere. Strict agency requirements limited both the size and form of the home in relation to the slope. The climate is one of extremes with very hot summers and freezing cold winters.

The approach to building on this barren hillside was to merge with the slope, rather than to stick out from it. In response to the climactic extremes, a distinctive roof form protects the home from the sun with generous roof overhangs. Inspired by the form of the hillside, the roof is shaped like an upside down checkmark. A long, thin footprint allows for views of the mountains from every room. Entry is through the side of the house with circulation along the back wall. Upon entering the rooms, the strong horizontals of the roof and deck frame the view.

The massing consists of two volumes, public and private, that are linked by a staircase. The first volume contains the “great room” including the kitchen, living room and indoor/outdoor dining rooms. At the back of the great room, a wood wall conceals the study, bathrooms, refrigerator and ladder access to a sleeping loft. Sliding glass doors open to the pool and exterior lounge area. A retaining wall, constructed of a local stone called Gibbston Valley Schist, runs from the living room to the exterior patio and incorporates an outdoor fireplace and benches. The second volume is the private wing containing the master suite and children’s rooms.

New Zealand Residence, Wanaka, New Zealand, by Marmol Radziner, Photography by Emily Andrews and Marmol Radziner

Alnwick Road House by Park + Associates

Alnwick Road House, Alnwick Road, Singapore, by Park + Associates, Photography by Edward Hendricks, via: Contemporist

Books: Hokusai Manga by Katsushika Hokusai

The legendary masterpieces of Hokusai-fifteen volumes in a single chunky book. Hokusai Manga is one of the masterpieces by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), a master of Ukiyo-e art, depicting ordinary people’s lives, animals, plants, landscapes and human figures, historical and supernatural, even demons and monsters, as if it were a visual encyclopedia, amounting to fifteen volumes. Hokusai Manga turned out to be very popular among every class of people, from feudal lords to the general public, and became a long time best-seller in the Edo period. This book selects pieces from each volume and compiles them into one charming book.
The original masterpiece spread throughout Japan and flowed into Europe in the middle of the nineteenth century, where it had a striking impact on artists, including Impressionists Manet, Monet, Degas, and others. The artistic movement ‘Japonisme’ began in part due to its influence.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was a Japanese artist and ukiyo-e painter of the Edo period, and best-known as the author of the woodblock print series “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji”.

Hokusai Manga, by Katsushika Hokusai, Designed by Kazuya Takaoka, via: Cool Hunting
Buy it here: Amazon

Exhibition: Philippon and Lecoq at Demisch Danant

Central to the French postwar reconstruction/industrialization effort, Philippon and Lecoq were among a group of young architects who changed the face of French furniture production in the 1950s and 1960s. Inspired by the teachings of the modernist masters of the Union des Artistes Modernes (U.A.M.), their goal was to bring harmony and comfort to interiors, employing modern materials and techniques, to improve the daily life of French citizens in the challenging postwar climate. Philippon and Lecoq’s furniture combines minimalism with a pervasive sense of architectural refinement and elegance. The couple approached interiors as well with an almost puritanical sense of functionalism, but succeeded in creating an extremely efficient environment which was still comfortable and humanly accessible. They received numerous prestigious awards during their career including the ‘Rene Gabriel’ prize in 1961.

Exhibition: Antoine Philippon and Jacqueline Lecoq, at Demisch Danant

Lujan House by Robert M Gurney

Modest houses on small lots comprise the Quillen’s Point neighborhood, adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay in Ocean View, Delaware. An eclectic mix of houses, gravel roads ending at the bay and wooded lots provide a nostalgic, informal setting for this new house. The project site is near the end of Burbage Lane, the second lot from the bay with expectations that the adjacent waterfront lot will eventually be developed.

In an effort to integrate living spaces with the outdoors while maintaining privacy from Burbage Lane and neighboring houses, the scheme is organized around a centrally located garden. With sixteen foot high ceilings, the eastern volume contains the public living spaces. Continuous clerestory windows assist in providing an abundance of natural light into the space, allowing views to the treetops and sky while minimizing the close proximity of the adjacent houses. A twenty foot wide glass wall slides into a pocket, enhancing the relationship to the outdoors, and provides a sense of living in a garden. The two story western volume is comprised of bedrooms and a small second floor living space. A one story glass link connects the volumes and visually opens to the central garden.

The house was conceived as two simple, flat-roofed volumes, varying in height, intersecting and overlapping a one story circulation space which connects the volumes. The east volume is constructed with cement board, the west volume with corrugated siding and the one story connecting space with the ground face concrete block. The exterior material palette is quiet and subdued. Materials are selected for their expected long term durability, ease of installation and initial cost. The impact of the one story horizontal volume facing the street is intended to reflect the scale of neighboring structures while the narrow two story volumes are oriented perpendicular to the street reducing their apparent scale.

This house is designed in strong counterpoint to many of the houses built in the last era of abundant resources, expensive materials, and limitless floor area. The house is not large; it comprises three bedrooms and 2400 square feet. The house is constructed with modest materials that include concrete floors throughout the first floor, oak flooring on the second floor and plastic laminate and oak millwork.

The house was designed to achieve a balance between recognition of the picturesque Chesapeake Bay landscape and a more intimate, secluded garden environment. Expansive openings to the private garden combined with smaller, selectively oriented openings toward the greater landscape allow for a sense of privacy while maintaining a sensibility of direct connection to the rhythms of nature.

Lujan House, Ocean View, Delaware, USA, by, Robert M Gurney, Photography by, Anice Hoachlander of HD Photo, via: Contemporist

Highboard & Table by Eric Degenhardt for Böwer

German Manuacturer Böwer is showing matching highboards and a table to compliment a sideboard by designer Eric Degenhardt at imm cologne. With a similar construction of six milimeter wooden sheets, a horizontal gap and the long tabular steel legs, the highboards are available with drawers or doors and a open compartment. 120 cm wide and 100 cm high. The table is made of a vacuum veneered top – with a thin line ( available in wood or linoleum ) and is simply held by the v-shaped wooden base.

Sideboard, Highboard, by Eric Degenhardt, Table by Eric Degenhardt + Böwer, for Böwer, Photography by Tillmann Franzen

Books: OKOLO Mollino

Carlo Mollino represents one of the most authentic creative figures of the last century. Mollino became a modern Renaissance man whose production embraced the entire cultural and technological world of his time thanks to his undisguised love of life and everything that our world offers.

The book, which presents the work of Carlo Mollino in a different way than usual, is divided into six basic chapters, i.e. six life stages and six of Mollino’s passions. Apart from a text on a specific theme, each part brings a materialized symbol of Mollino’s creativity. Thus, the reader can assemble miniature models of Mollino’s fascinating projects, implementations, and symbols related to Mollino’s life. Paper models serve to update the versatile activities of the charming Italian and place his work into a new context. Mollino will be gradually presented as a visionary designer, excellent architect, courageous race driver, fearless acrobatic pilot, style-setting skier, photographer and womanizer. Mollino is a phenomenon.

OKOLO Mollino, First edition of 80, by OKOLO, Created in the collaboration with Studio Činčera, Signpek print and 3DH furniture showroom.

Skyphos Chandelier by Kateřina Smolíková

A chandelier designed by Kateřina Smolíková, inspired by deep sea luminescent organisms. Intended for darker places as an orientational light. It should remind one of the lightness of an organism levitating in the dark space.

Skyphos Chandelier, by Kateřina Smolíková, via: Designeast

Haven by Claesson Koivisto Rune for Paola Lenti

The lightness and the semi-transparent character make Haven perfect for outdoor lounging. The sofa consists of a frame made of a treated and varnished tubular metal covered with a high tech support net, which is resistant and elastic, letting air, light and water pass through. The rigorous shape is softened by the asymmetry of the seat cushion, which can be also produced with specific materials suited to remain outdoors.

Haven, by Claesson Koivisto Rune, for Paola Lenti