71 Above by Tag Front Architects

71 Above, Los Angeles, California, by Tag Front Architects

Joint Chopsticks by Yuma Kano for Katsuhisa Toda

This design applies the art of “tsugite” joints traditionally used by carpenters in Japan to attach pieces of wood together without nails or screws. Rather than placing the joints at the end as a bit of decoration, they are placed at the point that takes the most strain.The techniques used to join the chopsticks are the same as those used by “sashimonoshi”, masters of craft to make Buddhist altars, bureaus, and other furniture. This project is a collaboration between Katsuhisa Toda, a traditional carpenter in Shizuoka JAPAN, and studio yumakano. These designs were developed to help solve the problems around traditional crafts through the concept of “everyday crafts”, extending the breadth of ordinary work, rather than struggling to develop something entirely new.

Joint Chopsticks, by Yuma Kano
Photography by Satoru Ikegami & Yuichi Yamaguchi

Chocolatexture by Nendo

The 9 different types of chocolate are made within the same size, 26x26x26mm, featuring pointed tips, hollow interiors, smooth or rough surface textures and, while the raw materials are identical, the distinctive textures create different tastes.

Each chocolate is directly named after Japanese expressions used to describe texture.

1. “tubu-tubu” Chunks of smaller chocolate drops.
2. “sube-sube” Smooth edges and corners.
3. “zara-zara” Granular like a file.
4. “toge-toge” Sharp pointed tips.
5. “goro-goro” Fourteen connected small cubes.
6. “fuwa-fuwa” Soft and airy with many tiny holes.
7. “poki-poki” A cube frame made of chocolate sticks.
8. “suka-suka” A hollow cube with thin walls.
9. “zaku-zaku” Alternately placed thin chocolate rods forming a cube.

Chocolatexture, by Nendo
Photography by Akihiro Yoshida

Mizkan Vinegar Packaging by Taku Satoh

The simple wooden box has the company’s logo, as well as Matazaemon – the name of the founder – written in Kanji. The elegant package contains “ingredients” like a vinegar bottle, a rounded out block of wood that acts as a stand, and a booklet with an overview of the company, as well as various recipes.

Mizkan Vinegar Packaging Design, by Taku Satoh

Atrium Champagne Bar by Foster + Partners

Winners of the 2013 Restaurant & Bar Design Awards have been announced. Norman Foster’s Atrium Champagne Bar in London won for Best Bar.

Atrium Champagne Bar, London, by Foster + Partners, Overall Winner 2013 Restaurant & Bar Design Awards

Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Florale by Makoto Azuma

For the first time in its history, Perrier-Jouet is launching a limited edition of its iconic Belle Epoque Champagne Bottle, which has been re-interpreted by the highly talented Japanese flral artist Makoto Azuma.

At the start of the 20th century, master glassmaker Emile Gallé sketched a spray of white Japanese anemones for the House of Perrier-Jouët. Gracefully captured in all their freshness and vitality, depicting the elegant, floral and diamond-cut style of Perrier-Jouët, the anemones became the emblem of the cuvée Belle Epoque.

Today, in an echo of that original design, Perrier-Jouët has entrusted Japanese artist Makoto Azuma with creating a composition of great delicacy, an ethereal arabesque sprinkled with the anemones that, in Iapan, symbolise truth and sincerity.

Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Limited Edition and Florale by Makoto Azuma, Photography © Shiinoki Shunsuke

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Another thing that captures the true essence of Belle Opaque are artificial trees. Reflecting charm and vitality for years to come, they are the perfect decors for display.

Martin Creed x Pierre Gagnaire

Eindhoven-based design duo Raw Color toast the opening of Martin Creed’s grand overhaul of London’s Sketch restaurant with graphic still lifes dedicated to the restaurant’s new menu. The Turner Prize winning artist’s takeover saw him entirely revamp Sketch’s interiors, hanging his large-scale paintings along the walls and hand-picking each individual table, chair and piece of cutlery, as well as contributing in the kitchen. Sketch co-founder and Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire conceived two playfully named dishes dedicated to the conceptual artist–“Navet Martin Creed” and “Dundee Pinky”. Raw Color concocted their Irving Penn-esque visions from each dish’s disassembled ingredients, including black olive jelly, squid ink and parmesan cream. “The cooking side of the project was harder to translate into our own visual language,” says Christoph Brach, one half of Raw Color with Daniera ter Haar. “But looking at Creed and his approach to projects, how he organizes things, stacking from big to small, we knew we could take the ingredients and do something similar with them.” In typical Creed fashion the artist has even given the project a numbered title: Work No. 1347.

Read more: Edible Sculptures at Sketch

Still Life Series, Work No. 1347, Martin Creed x Pierre Gagnaire for Sketch Restaurant, London, United Kingdom, via: Nowness

The Cube by Electrolux: Belgium

Combining ground breaking design, fantastic cuisine and stunning locations, The Cube by Electrolux is taking fine dining to a new level. Travelling across Belgium, Italy, Russia, Switzerland and Sweden, two spectacularly designed restaurants will be popping up at some of Europe’s most famous landmarks, inspiring guests with wonderful meals, events and once-in-a-lifetime views.

The Cube is fully transparent and consisting of glass encased in a white, laser-cut aluminium layer. Everything apart from the floor is pure white.

The interior is white Corian in combination with matt and glossily varnished wood. The wooden floor and carpet under the tables give it extra warmth and atmosphere, while the terrace outside provides an exclusive view across the Jubelpark, the centre of Brussels, the Atomium, etc.

The Cube is sited on top of the triumphal arch at a height of 45 metres. The entire structure has a surface area of 150 m2 and weighs 60 tonnes. The guests are taken to the top of the arch by lift.

The Cube, by Electrolux, Photography by Carol Kohen

Icon: Essence Glasses by Alfredo Häberli for Iittala

Possibly the most beautiful glassware ever designed–Alfredo Häberli has created supremely elegant modern glassware for Iittala. He suggested a new series of glasses and a carafe with one essential idea: have as few glasses as possible, while still being able to serve a full range of fine wines and other drinks.

Häberli says that he always designs his objects for a specific person. When he designed the Iittala Essence glasses, he kept thinking about a friend who is a wine expert. “I went to dinner with him. I wondered how someone with the latest model mobile phone, an expensive watch, a modern car and clothing, could hold an ugly old wine glass. As I was designing the glasses I thought that this must be something that he will like.”

“My personal heritage was essential for this project. Knowing the gastronomic business well (restaurant & hotel in my family), my aim was to integrate this knowledge in a modern shape. Not losing the scientific functionality of a shape in relation to the liquid. The idea for the glass range was to create a balance between tradition and modernity, between celebration and daily use, a balance with one and different uses. In a way, I tried to find the essence in-between. The shape was a challenge for production. The most difficult detail was the stem going into the completely flat bottom plate. This detail with the trapeze shape of the bowl gives the unusual character of the glasses. The water glass is without a stem and can be used as a shot glass or table wine glass in a daily function.”
- Alfredo Häberli

Iittala Essence Glassware, by Alfredo Häberli

Books: The Geometry of Pasta

If you like design and you like to cook, then The Geometry of Pasta will help in pairing the right pasta shape with the perfect sauce. There are said to be over 300 shapes of pasta, each of which has a history, a story to tell, and an affinity with particular foods. These shapes have evolved alongside the flavours of local ingredients, and the perfect combination can turn an ordinary dish into something sublime.

Published by Boxtree, The Geometry of Pasta pairs over 100 authentic recipes from leading chef, Jacob Kenedy (co-founder of Soho restaurant Bocca di Lupo), with graphic designer Caz Hildebrand’s striking black-and-white designs to reveal the science, history and philosophy behind spectacular pasta dishes from all over Italy.

The Geometry of Pasta, by Jacob Kenedy and Caz Hildebrand, Publisher: Pan Macmillan, Hardback 288 pages, ISBN: 9780752227375
Buy it here: Amazon