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 ]

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 ]

 

THE LINE HOTEL / SEAN KNIBB

Situated in Los Angeles, California, the Wilshire Radisson Hotel, a high-rise built in 1964, was recently completely renovated by LA designer Sean Knibb.

// “It was going to be human-scaled,” he says of his guest-room proposal. “Nothing to do with the movie business or celebrity.” He drew inspiration instead from the beach, the mountains, and the city. “A true California hotel with a mix of surfing, skateboarding, Spanish colonial style, Latino cultures.” And let’s not forget  mid-century modernism. His 15-foot-wide presentation panel nailed the job.//

// "We started with the concept of repurpose—use as much of the existing structure as possible, and take materials that would not usually be considered luxurious and elevate them through substitution," says Knibb. Towards that end, he photographed the structure's exposed concrete and then had it turned into wallpaper, which is actually what lines the walls of the rooms. It was custom made by Astek in LA. Each room also has a chair upholstered in a vintage Mexican serape, a painted coffee table with a "cityscape" built from books, and a photo collage by Kevin Hanley of LA's Acme gallery. Knibb Design created the rakish lamp. //

[ Sources: Interior Design, Remodelista, Knibb Design, Home Adore, i am koream ]