Brad Cloepfil's Clyfford Still Museum Breaks Ground

By: Nicholas Tamarin

Residents of the Mile High City can walk even taller now that ground has been broken on the highly anticipated Clyfford Still Museum.

Located in Denver's arts district and scheduled to open in 2011, the museum is designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture, the firm behind several major museum projects, including the Museum of Arts & Design in New York. Cloepfil's design calls for a two-story, 30,000-square-foot cantilevered building of textured concrete with a series of open, light-filled spaces designed to accommodate a rotating exhibition program of the abstract expressionist's work.

http://www.interiordesign.net/article/CA6712796.html?nid=2068

Mini by Designerette

Design studio Designerette of London and Amsterdam have created a scaled-up version of a doll’s house tea service. Called Mini, the full-size teapot, cups and saucers are made of porcelain and retain the shape of the tiny originals.
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/12/23/mini-by-designerette/#more-57979

nimbl wheelchair

The nimbl is a wheelchair concept by edmonton, canada based designer lawrence kwok. the design wascreated specifically for use in the home. kwok wanted to create a wheelchair that could navigate inside a home without the need for renovating or retrofitting a home for wheelchair use. http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/8582/nimbl-wheelchair.html

Inventables' Number 1 Material for 2009

Inventables.com garnered nearly a million hits in 2009 from designers searching for new materials and technologies. The most viewed material, with roughly 167,000 hits: Temperature-sensitive glass, seen above in tile form. http://www.core77.com/

Patrick's Sticks

In April, when you visit the NCMA’s new restaurant, you won’t have to take a break from the art—instead, you’ll be dining amongst it. Artist Patrick Dougherty is creating an installation specifically for the restaurant that brings the outdoors in with unique sculptural forms created from young tree saplings. Using branches and boughs from surrounding areas, Dougherty coaxes, bends, and gently prods them into amazing oversize forms. http://ncartmuseum.org/untitled/2009/12/patricks-sticks/

Special Exhibition, Metropolitan Museum of Art

NYC-Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156–1868October 21, 2009–January 10, 2010The Tisch Galleries, 2nd floor

This is the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the arts of the samurai. Arms and armor is the principal focus, bringing together the finest examples of armor, swords and sword mountings, archery equipment and firearms, equestrian equipment, banners, surcoats, and related accessories of rank such as fans and batons. Drawn entirely from public and private collections in Japan, the majority of objects date from the rise of the samurai in the late Heian period, ca. 1156, through the early modern Edo period, ending in 1868, when samurai culture was abolished. http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={F8E9ACA7-5B17-471F-9394-D298E7E53159}&HomePageLink=special_c2b

Singapore’s Largest Garden Project Unveiled

by Mike Chino

Designs have just been released for Bay South, an incredible botanical preserve topped with super-tall solar trees that is set to be Singapore’s largest garden project. Conceived by Grant Associates, the 101-hectare expanse of lush green space will be situated right next to the Marina Bay resort and will feature two botanical biospheres and a series of towering tree structures that double as vertical gardens.



http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/12/21/singapores-largest-garden-project-unveiled/#more-76956

New Biomass Plant for the UK Looks Like a Giant Green Volcano

by Bridgette Meinhold

The United Kingdom is splattered with fossil fuel based power plants and concrete cooling towers which are major carbon producers as well as eyesores. Luckily, plans for a new biomass power plant covered in native grasses in the UK have just been released and they will complement the surrounding ecology as well as decrease carbon emissions by 80% compared to coal or gas fired power stations. Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, a London-based firm, the 49.3 MW power plant located on the banks of the River Tees will be a man-made mountain covered in plants and will certainly be a welcome replacement to the older, pollution-spewing plants around the country. http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/12/21/new-biomass-plant-for-the-uk-looks-like-a-giant-green-volcano/

Built to Wear by Ball-Nogues Studio

Los Angeles designers Ball-Nogues Studio have completed a temporary, dragon-like installation made from 10,000 items of clothing hanging on cords.



Called Built to Wear, the project is part of the Shenzhen & Hong Kong bi-city Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture that opened in China last week, and was assembled by 30 volunteers from Shenzhen.



The installation, made up of garments donated by American Apparel, will be gradually dismantled as the clothes are given to visitors, finally ending on 23 January 2010.

http://www.dezeen.com/2009/12/18/built-to-wear-by-ball-nogues-studio/#more-57351

Stolen Leonardo da Vinci Masterpiece Back on Display

A painting by Leonardo da Vinci has gone back on display in Scotland six years after it was stolen.
The Madonna with the Yarnwinder was taken from the Duke of Buccleuch's home at Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfriesshire in August 2003.
It was recovered in Glasgow in 2007 and has now been loaned to the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh where it has been put back on display.
Eight men have been charged in connection with the theft.
The artwork has an estimated value of £30m and is the only Leonardo painting in Scotland. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8417859.stm

Drawing Life: The Dutch Visual Tradition

Getty Center November 24, 2009- February 28, 2010





During the 1600s citizens of the Dutch Republic enjoyed increasing political freedom and economic prosperity, which ushered in a tremendous boom in art production and a flourishing art market. This exhibition of drawings features some of the most beloved genres depicted by Dutch artists during this highly active period. These subjects include the depiction of a tiny native caterpillar, the panoramic landscape, the weathered farmhouse, and a smiling shepherd—a celebration of Dutch life in all of its diversity. http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/drawing_life/

Louis Vuitton: Bet on This

By Gillian Mohney for Interview

Louis Vuitton has opened its seventh flagship in Macau, once a seedy counterpart to Hong Kong but now the single great tribute to the human weakness for gambling in the world. In honor of the new store, Louis Vuitton lets you lose your shirt in style with a new logo casino valise. When packing for your next trip to Macau, you might bring a visor or an elegant undress. Or you might just cut to the chase and fill your bag with ebony dice, a deck of cards, and a stack of chips. The luggage is more Montecarlo than Vegas or Atlantic City—there are no watery drinks to be concealed here, or machine guns for that matter. Instead, there's just enough room to store yet another Louis Vuitton bag, the square monogrammed President carrying case.
http://www.interviewmagazine.com/blogs/fashion/2009-12-15/louis-vuitton-bets-on-this/

KNN Media Center by DRDS

Posted by Natasha Lyons for Dezeen

Californian architects DRDS have been awarded first place in a competition to design a new broadcast and media centre in Busan, South Korea.
The KNN Media Center will be the new home of the Korea News Network and will contain broadcast studios, office space, retail outlets and a teddy bear museum.
The project was designed in collaboration with Ilshin Architecture and Engineering and is due to open in 2012.
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/12/15/knn-media-center-by-drds/#more-56707

Guarda Chuvas by Vik Dias

The hurly-burly of city life is softened by Vik Dias, based in São Paulo. Dias manipulates photographic images to show the urban arena in a different light. The action is set against a paler horticultural background that adds a different type of life to the narrative. Public transport takes on a warmer aspect and manages to soften the hard edges of the concrete jungle, while the people that are its players are highlighted in their intimacy.

http://mocoloco.com/art/archives/012922.php

Dochodo Zoo Island is an Eden at Sea

by: Ariel Schwartz

It sounds like the plot of the movie Jurassic Park (minus the dinosaurs), but JDS Architects’ have created an incredible plan for a zoo located on the South Korean island of Dochodo. The island could, according to the architecture firm, be a “case study to define a tourist region based on sustainable development only, where natures and structures function in equilibrium, symbiotically feeding one another.”

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/12/14/dochodo-zoo-is-an-island-eden/#more-75172

Vodafone Headquarters

Barbosa & Guimaraes designed the new headquarters for mobile phone brand Vodafone in Porto, Portugal.
The new building is faithful to the Vodafone
slogan “Vodafone Life, Life in Motion”, adopting a dynamic image, covering the sense of movement, challenging the static.
The formalization of this concept is based on the concrete, which through its plasticity, allows to create irregular and free-form shapes, working both as a structural solution and exterior appearance, creating a unique shape, a monolithic building, bringing cohesion and unity to the set.


http://coolboom.net/architecture/vodafone-headquarters/#more-7883

The Überstairs of Cooper Union

By Reid Pillifant

The timing of architecture reviews is a mystery. The Cooper Union building has been open for months--The Times reviewed it in June--but the Wall Street Journal is just now weighing in.
To date, the outside of the building has gotten most of the attention. Local residents have opposed its size and said its hulking waves are out of context for the neighborhood. Lately, its exterior rises doubled as a BMX ramp and a slide.

http://www.observer.com/2009/daily-transom/uberstairs-cooper-union

Godiva Chocoiste by Wonderwall

Japanese interior design company Wonderwall have completed a chocolatier’s shop in Harajuku, Japan, where chocolate seems to drip from the walls and ceiling.

The lower section of the downstairs walls is painted white, contrasting with the chocolate-coloured paint that appears to seep down from the moulded ceiling on the second floor.

Designed for chocolatier Godiva, the two-storey shop has a glass front making the effect clearly visible from the street.

http://www.dezeen.com/2009/12/03/godiva-chocoiste-by-wonderwall/#more-54460

Found by Stuart Haygarth

This chandelier made of spectacle frames (above) is on show at the Haunch of Venison gallery in London as part of an exhibition of work by London designer Stuart Haygarth.



http://www.dezeen.com/2009/12/04/found-by-stuart-haygarth-at-haunch-of-venison/

ShowCase: 3.1 Phillip Lim Seoul Flagship Store

The second flagship store designed by Leong Leong Architecture for 3.1 Phillip Lim is located in Cheongdam-Dong, Seoul’s premiere fashion district. In a period of eight months, Leong Leong designed and oversaw the construction of the 550-square-meter store in an existing four-story building.The Flagship Typology - Sameness vs. DifferenceThis project is a single store within 3.1 Phillip Lim's global roll-out campaign, which will include many international locations. Aware of the inevitable repetition that is necessary for such a commercial expansion, we thought of the typology of a flagship store as being characterized by the simultaneous need for sameness and difference. Typically, the consistent repetition of brand traits is necessary to reinforce an identity, while novelty can refresh the aura and desire for the brand. In this particular case the client, a relatively new fashion house launched in 2004, emphasized the need to establish a legible consistency in order to unify the different existing stores in New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. http://archinect.com/features/article.php?id=94255_0_23_0_M

Out-of-Site: Young Art in Miami

by Alex Gartenfeld

Art Basel Miami Beach is as blue-chip as an American art fair gets. In the past few years, even NADA has moved upscale. But in a less than blue-chip year, we look at the young art galleries presenting exhibitions off-site, many of them in the less than prosperous Design District.



http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-opinion/the-market/2009-12-01/young-art-in-miami/