London architects Carmody Groarke have completed a pavilion in London featuring a steel plate supported eight meters above the ground on thin poles.

Called Regent’s Place Pavilion, the three milimetre-thick steel plate is attached atop the posts by a decorative structural lattice.

The density of posts under the canopy varies, leaving a central clearing open to the sky.

LED lights embedded in the cobbles below bathe the pavilion in golden light at night.

The project was the result of a competition organised by The Architecture Foundation in 2007.

Photographs are by Luke Hayes.

Here’s some more information from Carmody Groarke:

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Carmody Groarke’s Regent’s Place Pavilion is completed

A new pavilion in British Land’s Regent’s Place development opens this week. Designed by Carmody Groarke, the Regent’s Place Pavilion was the result of a competition run by The Architecture Foundation in 2007. The original competition brief called for a new pavilion to mark the Osnaburgh Street entrance to Regent’s Place, that enriches and activates the public open space at street level. Carmody Groarke’s winning concept for the pavilion, presents a pavilion as an open field of slender columns which supports a canopy eight metres above the landscape of the street.

Visible from Euston Road, the pavilion reveals various clustered densities of the vertical columns beneath its canopy, that shimmer in sunlight by day and contain intense projected ‘gold’ light by night, generating a visual moiré effect for passers-by. Its dramatic form is visible from approaching each end of Triton Street intensifing the experience of movement between 10 and 20 Triton Street, two newly-developed office buildings at the Western entrance to British Land’s Regent’s Place. The pavilion’s design has been the product of a architectural / engineering collaboration between Arup and Carmody Groarke. Holding the 3mm plate stainless steel canopy aloft 8m, extremely slender vertical elements stand without any cross-bracing, joined only at the top with a decorative structural lattice. Extensive testing of prototypes was undertaken on full size mock-ups at the Building Research Establishment as part of the design development process.

The pavilion forms a lightweight counterpoint to the architecture of the public colonnades flanking each side of the street, relating architecturally to the height of these adjacent structures, but also inviting views across the street from one side to the other. The grain of the pavilion, from the form of the lozenge shaped canopy to the alignment of the columns in their surrounding green-granite cobbled landscape base, is turned 45 degrees to its context to form a dynamic relationship between the buildings and the public realm. Amongst the field of elements, bespoke LED lighting is set into the pattern of the cobbled surface to up-light the pavilion’s canopy, providing all the ambient external lighting to this end of Regent’s Place.

The creation of this new ornamental pavilion within Regent’s Place, examines how the public space is defined without enclosing it. It is the latest addition to the collection of public artworks and installations at Regent’s Place, which already features works by Antony Gormley, Ben Langlands & Nikki Bell, Liam Gillick and Edward Hodges Baily.

Client: British Land Project
Manager: M3 Consulting
Architects: Carmody Groarke
Engineering: Arup
Landscape Architecture: EDCO
Lighting design: Maurice Brill
Lighting Design Contractor: BOVIS
Sub Contractor: Skanska Specialist
Sub contractors: Sheetfabs, Nottingham

Source: dezeen.com

Cologne 2010: designer Eric Degenhardt of Cologne has designed a coat hook for German manufacturer Schönbuch that incorporates a tray for smaller items such as keys.

Called saucer, the product was launched at imm Cologne in Germany last week.

The hook is made of a bent wire rod with a thin metal plate on top.

The following text is from Degenhardt:

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Saucer by Colgne-based architect and industrial designer Eric Degenhardt – the new simple coat hook has been launched at the imm cologne 2010 – by German manufacturer Schönbuch who specialises in functional furniture for hallways.

The bent wire rod hook works with and without coat hangers or cambrels. The sharp bent loop allows even storing rackets and umbrellas. A hovering saucer-like thin metal plate works as key or cap rest. The matte powder coated hook comes in different colours.

Source: dezeen.com

The house is hided behind a harmonious sculptural set of curved walls made of stone dark granite and marble travertino that seem to emerge from a big water plate arranged in the house entry.

In addition to the beauty of this structure, it offers a high grade of privacy and tact between the exterior (street) and the house.  Other more, this structure goes to the back part, as a front, where is a natural, clear and kind scenery.

This block disposition and the house plot (a descending slope towards a lake) are used to distribute the house in two plants: a high floor, with exterior access, and a low floor. Both of them are looking to a wide terrace with a pergola and to the garden house.

In the high plant, we find a very wide and luminous hall provided with natural light for top skylights, and with two plates of waters dominated by two bronze lions. In addition it is used to lead to the kitchen, wine vault, dining room, lounge, office – library, and to the most private area: the principal bedroom, dressing-room, bath, interior swimming pool and small gymnasium. Also we find the stairs that descend to the low floor where there are a games lounge and a movies room, kids and guests bedrooms and the service area with two bedrooms in suite and with a wide area for the housework. All the house rooms are provided with wide large windows in a dark safety glass. These windows (that also works as doors) and a lot of house elements are completely computerized and motorized: lighting, safety, blinds, air conditioning … everything is centralized.

The high floor communicates with a terrace. In the lounge the access to outside is made by a long large window that provides a continuity sensation from the interior space to outside.

This terrace is covered by a pergola made of an aluminium structure that supports the sculptural premeditation of the building. In one of the side parts of the garden, there is a relaxation area with a pond of Buddhist inspiration.

Photographer: Ferran Silva (A-cero)

Source: contemporist.com

Source: contemporist.com

The Archipod is a new concept in backyard office design. With the increase in technology and the rise in traffic and travel costs, perhaps a backyard office is just the place for you to get your work done without feeling trapped in your house all day.

Archipod offers workers an alternative to office work. Designed around the idea that a garden building should become part of the garden landscape, Archipod’s “pod” office is unique to other garden office designs in that it consists of a 3m-diameter sphere rather than a conventional square box. The structure is prefabricated in sections that are sized to allow all the parts to be carried through a house, so it doesn’t matter where you live — they’ll be able to get it into your garden.

There are power outlets, data ports, electric heat, and natural light and ventilation. Additionally, because of its unique shape and the generous natural light from the roof dome, it actually looks bigger on the inside than the outside. 

Source: design-milk.com

The site for the Banks building was treated as an integral part of the newly formed center on the right riverbank of Neris, which is being developed on the axis of the old Ukmerges street. At that point meet the Konstitucijos Avenue and the pedestrian street. As a result, this pedestrian street becomes the main axis of the buildings composition, which consists of three main parts.

Firstly, the base of the building emphasizes the line of the street. Secondly, the two towers of 16 and 14 storeys, and thirdly, the horizontal 4-storey part are placed on it. While the essential client service is concentrated on the ground floor, the auditorium and the cafe are placed on the -1st floor. Great views to Neris riverbank will be open from it. The ground floor, the flowing space of the cafe and the pedestrian street are planned as a public urban space. Separated functional zones are laid out in that space. The roof of the base is treated as a part of the landscape, so greenery and recreation zones are placed on it.

Architects: Audrius Ambrasas Architects
Location: Konstitucijos Ave. 20, Vilnius, Lithuania
Design team: Audrius Ambrasas, Vilma Adomonytė, Tomas Eidukevičius, Donatas Malinauskas
Client: UAB “Swedbank valda”
Construction: Idea Constructiva
Engineering: COWI Baltic
Project manager: Saulius Mikaliūnas
Total area (above-ground): 23,000 sqm
Total area (underground): 19,000 sqm
Project Year: 2007-2009
Photographs: Courtesy of Audrius Ambrasas Architects

Source: karmatrendz.wordpress.com

Source: fubiz.net

Source: fubiz.net

Spanish company Vondom, which is well-known for its amazing products as for outdoor as for indoor design, has presented several new collections designed by the famous designers on Maison&Objet 2010. One of its new collections is an awesome Rest created by Studio A-cero. This collection consists of the very modern outdoor furniture inspired by the origami. Simple forms and pure lines are its main features. The Rest offers comfortable sofas for pleasant relaxing in your patio space. The sofas are available in usual and in corner models. Both of them can be perfectly complemented by cool and very original coffee table. All the furniture is modular and can be easily adapted to your needs and wishes. You could find more information on Vondom site.

Source: digsdigs.com

Source: yankodesign.com