THE DENISE / JARRE

The Denise is a set of cabinets designed to condition fruits and vegetables in a way that enables for them to be stored for a long time, without the need for electrical appliances. The design duo spent several years on projects aimed at improving food consumption and supporting the importance of local food and draw their inspiration, among others, from the research on conservation methods by design studio Jihyun David. The final solution for this project is simple and the product is made entirely out of renewable and locally sourced materials.

The first section uses sand to naturally preserve the moisture of root vegetables. The tray allows them to be stored vertically, in their original position. This conservation principle is inspired from cellars which our ancestors used to keep vegetables throughout winter. This section is designed for: Root vegetables such as shallots, celery, beetroots, carrots, leeks etc.

Some fruits and vegetables need to be hydrated daily while others do not tolerate low fridge temperatures. The Denise II is a ceramic bowl fitted with wooden slats that allows for the watering of fruits and vegetables. The collected water brings them the freshness and hydration they need. The bowl can be fixed on a wall, put on the dining room table, or simply left on the kitchen counter. This section is designed for: Tomatoes, cucumbers, gherkins, squashes, melons, zucchinis, peppers, apricots, lemons, oranges, kiwis, exotic fruits, peaches, pears, aubergines.  

The first compartment of this section is used for potatoes. Right above it is for apples. There is an air exchange between the two, as they have mutual conservation properties. The second compartment is to store garlic, onions, and French shallots.

[ kickstarter, Jarre ]

INTRODUCTION TO POETRY / AUSTIN KLEON

Introduction to poetry #newspaperblackout #blackoutpoetry

A photo posted by Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) on Jun 14, 2015 at 1:11pm PDT

DARK SIDE OF THE LENS / MICKY SMITH

//Life on the road is something I was raised to embrace. Me ma' always encouraged us to open our eyes and our hearts to the world, make up our own minds for experience of being inspired. I see life in angles, in lines of perspective, a slight turn of the head, the blink of an eye, subtle glimpses of magic other folk might pass by. Cameras help me translate, interpret and understand what I see. It’s a simple act that keeps me grin’. I never set out to become anything in particular, only to live creatively and push the scope of my experience for adventure and for passion. Still all of it means something to me, same as most anyone with dreams. My heart bleeds Celtic blood and I am magnetized of familiar frontiers: broad, brutal, cold coastlines for the right waveriders to challenge. This is where my heart bleeds hardest. I try to pay tribute to that magic through photographs, weathering the endless storms for rare glimpses of magic each winter is both a blessing and a curse I relish. I want to see wave riding documented the way I see it in my head and the way I feel it in the sea. It's a strange set of skills to begin to acquire. And its only achievable through time spent riding waves. All sorts of waves on all sorts of crafts, means more time learning out in the water. Floating in the sea amongst lumps that swell, you’ll always learn something. Its been a life long wise classroom teacher of sorts, and hopefully, always will be. Buried beneath headlands, shaping the coast, mind blowing images of empty waves burn away at me. Solid ocean swells powering through deep cold water. Heavy wave, waves with weight. Coaxed from comfortable routine, ignite the imagination, convey some divine spark, whisper the possibilities, conjure the situations I thrive amongst enough to document. We all take knocks in the process: broken backs, drownings, near drownings, hypothermia, dislocations, fractures, frost bite, head wounds, stitches, concussions, broke my arm… and that was just the last couple of years. Still look forward to getting amongst it each winter though. Cold creeping into your core, driving you mad, day after day, mumbling to yourself while you hold position and wait for the next set to come. The Dark Side of the Lens – an art form unto yourself not us: silent workhorses of the surfing world. There’s no sugary cliché. Most folk don’t know who we are, what we do or how we do it. Let alone want to pay us for it. I never want to take this for granted, so I try to keep motivations simple, real, positive. If I only scrape out a living, at least it’s a living worth scraping. If there’s no future in it, this is a present worth remembering. For fires of happiness or waves of gratitude. For everything that brought us to that point in life, to that moment in time to do something worth remembering with a photograph or a scar. I feel genuinely lucky to hand on heart to say I love what I do. And I may never be a rich man but if I live long enough, I’ll certainly have a tale or two for the nephews. And I dig the thought of that.//

[ Mickey Smith, Astray Films ]

INDUSTRIAL STYLE RENOVATION / PAOLA NAVONE

A 200-year-old, abandoned tobacco-drying factory in Umbria is transformed into an inviting home by designer Paola Navone. It is 500m² of open-plan floor area with 9m high ceiling. All the functions have been housed in one room, with an exception of the kitchen which has been closed off, but with a window wall.

//Visitors pass by a sentry wall of lamps on their way to the airy living-dining room with its 52 windows. Beyond, a gauzy wall of Indian cotton curtains leads to the bath. A balcony runs the perimeter of the living-dining room, a solution Navone came up with to deal with existing structural beams, which would have been too costly to remove. The walkway, or passerelle, is about four feet wide. Here, an Ergofocus hanging fireplace is flanked by two Navone-designed leather armchairs for Baxter. Farther along are a library and office. The massive dining table—12 mlong, made of kauri wood thousands of years old, and designed by Mario Botta—sits on a carpet of tile. “I didn’t want to have this old wood sitting on top of parquet,” says Navone. A motley assortment of chairs completes the vignette. “The table is so big, so important,” explains the architect. “You can’t make a statement with a chair.” The overscaled, slipcovered white sofa, a Navone design for Linteloo, is set parallel to the dining area, flanked by two armchairs. An old printer’s trolley, found at a flea market, serves as a coffee table. The rest of the living space is filled with an assortment of objects the couple has amassed over the years. The loft’s bed and bath areas are equally compelling. Andrea bought an old iron-framed bed at a flea market after texting photos to Navone for approval; the bed now takes pride of place in the room, swaddled mostly in white Indian cotton. The bathroom is a classic Navone tour de force. She created the bathroom sink, her own design for Ceramica Flaminia, and the stand is custom made from old discarded wood. The floor and the shower are tiled with more Navone-designed Moroccan tiles from Carocim. A freestanding tub from the Water Monopoly, an English company that specializes in antique tubs as well as reproductions, is installed by the white linen–curtained window.//

[ Dwell ]

SEA VILLAGE / BARBERIO COLELLA ARC

Sea Village is a conceptual project proposing sustainable design of temporary housing for surfers. A living unit, tetrahedron-shaped hut, is made mostly of bamboo, salvaged wood, and thrashed surfboards. The master plan of the village is an aggregation of 100 modules connected together by a promenade that extends in a straight line from the shore outwards. Alternatively, modules can be combined into clusters or exist as stand-alone units. //Life in the village system is organized across two levels: a lower floor, four meters above sea level, contains walkways and stairs that run the length of the development; above the promenade are the actual residences. Each has an area of about 100 square feet (30 square meters) and includes a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom located above the staircase. To allow the units to function off-grid, Colella and Barberio conceived a system of mini-turbines and rooftop solar panels. This hybrid system of locally sourced materials, non-invasive energy acquisition, and communally adaptive infrastructure makes the Lanterns Sea Village an insightful perspective into the adaptive possibilities of oceanfront architecture and design.//

 [ ArchDaily, Barberio Colella ARC ]