BMW’s Kinetic Sculpture by ART+COM
July 7, 2008 | Categories: Architecture / Art / Design / Transportation

Good morning everyone, I hope you all had an awesome weekend. I had a really long, fun weekend, which culminated last night with two parties and way too much tequila, so I’m going to start out today with something amazing, but simple.

The video above was taken at the BMW Museum in Munich, which just opened a few weeks ago, of a kinetic sculpture created by the folks over at ART+COM. The kinetic sculpture is made up of 714 metal balls that “moves through a cycle of free abstractions and typical BMW vehicle forms.” It takes about a minute before the crazy stuff starts happening, but once it does it’s pretty damn incredible. I love that the metal balls can go from totally random, to undulating waves, to the shape of a car, that’s just insane to me. I also love how flawlessly fluid it all moves, it’s completely surreal. I watched the video while listening to Lonely Souls by UNKLE, it made for a fitting soundtrack.

Found through Aldebaran

Bobby

Praq by Tjep.
June 26, 2008 | Categories: Architecture / Design

I was inspired today to post some architecture, so I was really happy when I came across this amazing little restaurant called Prak. Prak is a unique concept that creates a place to eat that’s both fun for kids and adults, sort of like a well-designed, contemporary, Chuck E. Cheese!

The space was designed by the folks over at Tjep., a Dutch design agency that actually makes a ton of amazing stuff. I feel like they did such an amazing job that it’s hard to know where to start! First thing I noticed is all the great shapes and exposed wood beams. Then probably the color palette which is pretty much natural wood, white, teal blues, pinks, and oranges. I also really love that they mixed giant pieces of colorful acrylic with a more traditional furniture pieces. The only downside I could see to this place is that unfortunately, it’s made for children to run around in!

I also thought it was cute that Praq in Dutch means “mashed food”! Definitely check out the rest of Tjep.’s work, it totally made my day so far.

Bobby

ROYAL/T
June 15, 2008 | Categories: Architecture / Art / Design / Food & Drinks / Los Angeles

Yesterday I had a pretty epic day with friends Nick and Jen, consisting of brunch at my favorite place in LA, Aroma Café, then shopping at Heritage and H&M at the Beverly Center and finally ending at ROYAL/T out in Culver City. ROYAL/T is a new café/shop/art space that opened a few months ago that’s totally dedicated to all things Japanese-y. It reminded me a lot of Giant Robot, but only if you mixed Giant Robot, GR2 and GR/EATS all together in one big building.

As you walk up to the building you see it’s totally covered in foliage, much like Fred Segal on Melrose. The one difference is that it’s a very convincing but fake foliage. Once you get inside you’re confronted with a giant Yoshitomo Nara dog statue set behind giant panes of glass, sort of like a high-tech version of the cages from Planet of the Apes. This is the gallery portion of the building, filled with Takashi Murakami paintings and other works of Japanese artists. Opposite the gallery is a small shop with art for sale, small blind-packed toys and other knick knacks.

Once you head to the back you enter the café filled with some rather cute tables and ultra-contemporary chairs. We decided have some tea and snacks and they were all really good. I had the Kyoto Sunset tea, a fruity tea with a taste of apricot. I also ordered Avocado Toast which was absolutely delicious. I was expecting something like guacamole on toast, but was surprised to taste avocado mixed with lemon zest and some other spice. It was totally unexpected and extremely refreshing. They also had sandwiches and soups and salads as well, they all looked pretty good. On a side note, all of the food and drinks are brought to you by girls in brown and white maid outfits, furthering the Japanese feel.

I took a bunch of photos with my iPhone, so they’re not the best, but it should definitely give you a sense of the space. If you live in LA I’d highly suggest taking a trip out there, it was particularly nice on a Saturday afternoon. Check out the rest of the photos under the cut!

Keep reading ROYAL/T…

My Take on Dwell on Design
June 8, 2008 | Categories: Architecture / Design / Los Angeles / Magazine

Friday afternoon I headed over the Los Angeles Convention Center for the 3rd Annual Dwell on Design Conference and Exhibition, something I had been really excited about since I first saw the ads pop up in the magazine. I got there around 1pm and it wasn’t very busy, which I was happy for, but there also wasn’t as many exhibitors as I thought there would be.

My friend Frank ended up meeting me there and we walked around, were slightly disappointed my the lack of really exciting products or services or whatever I thought I might find there. Not to say there weren’t some really cool things, but I had higher expectations. Frank and I were a little annoyed that everything was “hip and modern”, like there was no other way to describe the things you’re selling. The highlight for me was the cute, blonde guy at the GOOD Magazine booth who let me take a free magazine. Seriously.

I’ve posted photos of some of the other things that I really liked under the cut along with some descriptions, so check out more under there!

Keep reading My Take on Dwell on Design…

Dwell on Design Conference
June 6, 2008 | Categories: Architecture / Design / Los Angeles

I’m playing hooky today from the blog because I’m headed out to the Dwell on Design conference. I wasn’t able to go yesterday so I’m trying to make sure and cram as many things in today as I can. I’m excited for the Systems Building and Prefab as well as the Sustainable Interiors talk, should be fun. I’m bringing my camera along, but I’m not really sure if there’s going to be a lot to take photos of, but I’ll do my damnedest. I’ll also be at the exhibition tomorrow as well, so if you’re gonna be there shoot me an email!

Bobby

Johnny Cupcakes, Los Angeles
May 15, 2008 | Categories: • T-shirts / Architecture / Clothing / Design

Though I’m not a fan of t-shirts that cost more than $30, Johnny Cupcakes has always been one of those shops that comes out with a pretty consistent blend of shirts with some solid illustrations. Well it turns out that Mr. Cupcakes has decided to take his proven recipe and bring it to a new home here in Los Angeles, opening a brand new store on the oh-so-fancy Melrose Ave.

In order to get people drooling over this upcoming store he’s provided a video sneak preview of the ideas he has for the shop. The store itself is going to be right across the street from Kid Robot and Paul Frank, so he’ll be in good company. Inside the store you’ll purchase shirts at a counter that looks like a stove top, the shirts will be stored in a giant refrigerator, a wall of oven doors that hold even more t-shirts, including some doors that open randomly and shoot out steam! He’s been working with a company that creates things for Disneyland, so it seems like this is going to be an attraction all on it’s own!

The store is set to open this summer, and I’ll definitely be there when it does open with some photos and maybe some video, hopefully it turns out as good as it sounds!

Found through High Snobiety

Bobby

Time’s Design 100
May 15, 2008 | Categories: Architecture / Art / Clothing / Design / Furniture / Magazine

Time Magazine today released their list of the top 100 “most influential design,” a list that covers all aspects of design, or so they say. Reading through this list I wasn’t impressed at all. The list covers 16 different categories from all reaches of design, but I feel like overall they just wanted to make a giant list to seem “cool”, a word I’m learning to hate. It’s also a list heavy on “green” items which seems like a bunch of greenwashing to me, just trying to get some “cool” points on how in-the-know they are.

In their technology section the feature an electric lawnmower that helps save the environment… except that it’s electric, which means it has to be plugged into your home which still creates pollution. Plus the lawnmower isn’t even well designed, unless you get a boner over standard fare Sears merchandise. To offset this green trend, they feature a 6 foot by 11 foot wide television that is not only completely unnecessary, but I’m sure costs at least $100 a month to power, not to mention pollution factors. Not every category is like this though, some are better than others, but overall it seems like they pulled a bunch of things out of their asses.

The website section definitely caught my eye though, especially because Kitsune Noir was somehow not included! (C’mon, that was a joke, I had to…) But seriously, congrats to Grace over at Design*Sponge and Marcus over at Dezeen, they both totally deserved to be mentioned… but who the hell are these other blogs?! If there’s one thing I know it’s blogs and by god I’ve only heard of or read regularly Better Living Through Design. Looking at the list it seems to me like all they did was look at Design*Sponge’s link section and cut and paste them! And what’s with all the green blogs in this list? Green Home Guide is described as “A room-by-room guide for efficient, easy and stylish ways to live a green lifestyle and have a positive impact on the environment”… I’m sure it’s a very nice site and the people who run it are great, but that’s not what design is about, that is an aspect of design as a whole.

I guess if you care at all you can visit the complete list of “influential design” and see for yourself, but personally I think Time needs to stick to reporting on the news.

Bobby

The New A Bathing Ape Store in Los Angeles
May 12, 2008 | Categories: Architecture / Clothing / Design

A couple weeks ago I was driving down Melrose heading toward the Beverly Center when I was shocked to see a pink, neon glow that I hadn’t seen before. Bear in mind I’m driving at dusk, a little after the sun had set, so this was BRIGHT. As I get closer I realize that this has to be the brand new A Bathing Ape store that has been in the process of opening forever.

For the five you who’ve never heard of A Bathing Ape, it’s basically this cult clothing brand in Japan, mostly because of it’s limited edition t-shirts and sneakers. Is it really all that exciting? I personally don’t think so, but Nigo, the man behind A Bathing Ape, is pretty smart and has come up with some great designs over the years. So while you won’t see me shopping there any time soon, it was still exciting to come upon.

The store was created by one of the best architecture/design firms companies out there, Wonderwall. I’ve been a huge fan of Wonderwall’s work for years now, so it’s exciting to have something of theirs here in Los Angeles. It’s a lot like the other BAPE stores out there, a lot of glass and patterns and neon, but it’s pretty cool in person. While I was taking photos there was a couple taking Facebook photos from the reflected neon light, so I thought that was funny.

Check under the cut for a bunch more photos!

Keep reading The New A Bathing Ape Store in Los Angeles…

Photos of the High Line
May 6, 2008 | Categories: Architecture / Photography

The folks over at Curbed have a nice gallery of photos showing the construction going on the High Line. From the looks of it there’s still a long way to go, but they’re making some good progress so far.

For those who don’t know, the High Line used to be an elevated railway used by freight trains that went into disuse in the 80’s. But a group of concerned citizens called Friends of the High Line decided to put this old landmark to use and proposed to turn the space into an elevated park. I’m a huge fan of taking existing spaces and making them new and exciting again, so I’m really excited to see this project come to a conclusion. Parts of the High Line might be finished by this summer, but as far as I can tell there’s no FINAL final date.

Bobby

House Uc by Miyahara Architect Office
April 26, 2008 | Categories: Architecture

When it comes to architecture I prefer clean and minimal. I’m also a fan of smaller spaces, which is probably why I’m so smitten for Japanese architecture like the building above, called House Uc. House Uc was created by Miyahara Architect Office, a company run by Teruo Miyahara.

I pretty much love everything about this house, but what stands out to me most is the stained, polished concrete that surrounds the whole it. It look so natural but clean at the same time. I’m also in love with the shape of it as well, the way they took a large slice of the building away. The front door is also pretty smart as well, leaving a place for people to stand in case it’s raining. The interior is extremely white and minimal which is good, but I’d need to throw in some color here and there.

To see more photos of the house, click here.

Found through today and tomorrow

Bobby