Zaha Hadid
Une Architecture

ON 28 APRIL, AN EXHIBITION DESIGNED BY ZAHA HADID WILL INAUGURATE THE MOBILE ART PAVILION, A NEW ARTS VENUE INSTALLED IN FRONT OF THE INSTITUT DU MONDE ARABE.

Created by Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid for CHANEL in 2007 and commissioned by Karl Lagerfeld, the Mobile Art Pavilion's opening exhibition showcases a selection of work by the 2004 Pritzker Prize laureate Zaha Hadid, designer of some of the world's most highly acclaimed projects.

A genuine immersion into the architect's formal and conceptual repertoire, this exhibition of Hadid's work is presented within its own architecture. Translating the intellectual and physical into the sensual and using a wide range of media, the Mobile Art Pavilion unfolds through spatial sequences which engage the visitor in unique and unexpected environments.

The Mobile Art Pavilion, donated by CHANEL to the Institut du Monde Arabe, will allow the institute to further develop its cultural programmes in the field of contemporary creation.

Exhibition generously supported by exclusive sponsor, Fayat Group.

As part of the exhibition “Nouvelle Vague“, Paris based design studio NOCC will present their latest creations Elements & Rush in Centre Culturel Français, Corso Magenta 63, Milano.

ELEMENTS, image courtesy NOCC & Benjamin Le Du

ELEMENTS, image courtesy NOCC & Benjamin Le Du

Elements shelving system

Elements is a shelving system that explores the concept of DIY (Do It Yourself). The actual object is a 1mm aluminum flat shit that the user shapes by himself thanks to a special laser-cut folding system.

It's then assembled with standard 18mm thick wood boards that can have any type of length and finish. The shelf can be assembled in a traditional upright way, as well in a deconstructed form, to better adapt its setting place.

Each Element can have a paint finish, or an anodized metallic finish, that creates contrasts between the basic aspect of the wood, the industrial look of the unit, and a certain unexpected elegance.

RUSH, image courtesy NOCC & Benjamin Le Du

RUSH, image courtesy NOCC & Benjamin Le Du

Rush chair

Rush is a chair that is entirely covered with straw using a traditional rushing technique.

This technique, strongly associated in popular culture with traditional peasant furniture, is used here to trigger the memory of the childhood chair. The straw, which evokes the memory of the childhood chair, is transposed and expanded on the Rush chair to the point where it becomes the main element.

Through this process, the memory is transformed into the essence of the chair.  Thanks to the inner steel structure, the chair’s overall shape is no longer restricted to the bulky aesthetic of the past; it appears light and aerial, maintaining the stiffness that the rushing technique affords.

+ All images courtesy NOCC | Photo by Benjamin Le Du

Shared by Satelight Design, the Beads collection for Innermost is designed as a focus for any room. The lights have recently been installed in the front bar of the Hollyhock Restaurant in Port Melbourne. With its reflective surfaces, the installation is impressive in how it captures the light and reflections of its surroundings. Finished in a bright copper, the light is warm and inviting for the bar.

+ Please also visit our earlier story of Innermost Beads by Winnie Lui.

Beads Pendant Lights in Hollyhock Restaurant, image courtesy Satelight Design

Beads Pendant Lights in Hollyhock Restaurant, image courtesy Satelight Design

SALONE INTERNAZIONALE DEL MOBILE – MILAN FURNITURE FAIR
12-17 April 2011

InterfaceFLOR presents "The positive floor" at Milan's Trienniale
An interactive experience leads the visitor through a dreamlike environment, where research and innovation merge with design and respect for the environment

InterfaceFLOR, a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of innovative and sustainable modular flooring, presents "The positive floor", a new ground-breaking concept that guides visitors through the latest innovation in interior design.

The positive floor, image courtesy InterfaceFLOR

The positive floor, image courtesy InterfaceFLOR

The concept, developed by the designer Francesco Maria Bandini, can be seen in the attractive setting of Milan's Triennale, a true temple of design which reflects Italy’s artistic and architectural culture. In this artistic installation, the visitor is guided by his own sensitivity and interpretation of the space.

A towering display rises up within a pure white space, where the visitor can move between imposing prisms, topped with vibrant multi-coloured surfaces. The prism are arranged so as to recreate the effect of ground “cracked” by the heat of the sun, alluding to environmental issues and the company’s tireless commitment to sustainability. Their multi-coloured surfaces, which are made up of InterfaceFLOR carpet tiles are reflected in a mirrored ceiling. They act as a compass, enabling the visitor to check his position in the maze.

The positive floor, image courtesy InterfaceFLOR

The positive floor, image courtesy InterfaceFLOR

Michele Iacovitti Marketing & Branding Director EMEAI at InterfaceFLOR

The installation aims to take people's perception of flooring and turn it on its head. We have created a physical journey into the surreal where what should be under our feet, the floor, exists high up in another reality, a reality as positive as InterfaceFLOR carpet tiles.

Comments the designer Francesco Maria Bandini, who developed the project for InterfaceFLOR

When we look up, whilst searching for the ground we need to continue our journey and give our choices the right direction, a thought crosses our minds. For just this this one moment we wish that our feet were up in the air.

The positive floor, image courtesy InterfaceFLOR

The positive floor, image courtesy InterfaceFLOR

+ About InterfaceFLOR

InterfaceFLOR is the modular flooring division of US-based Interface Inc.  The company is a worldwide leader in the design and production of high-quality, innovative and sustainable modular floor coverings. Interface was one of the first companies to publicly commit to sustainability, when it made a pledge in the mid-nineties to eliminate its impact on the environment by 2020. Known as Mission Zero, this goal influences every business, manufacturing and design decision made and underpins all dimensions of the company: people, process, product, place and profit. Interface is now more than half way to reaching its Mission Zero goal and has been widely recognised for its achievements to date. Its products have also received several awards, specifically for design and innovation.

+ For more information about InterfaceFLOR, please visit http://www.interfaceflor.eu/.

In Barcelona, SPAIN, although municipal regulations make building on Montjuic – the mountain between the city and the sea – almost impossible, the Barcelona municipality is nonetheless keen to incorporate this green area into the city's leisure network. The only way to do so is by re-using and revitalizing existing structures in order to give new initiatives a place. A recent example is the conversion of the Miramar building. It dates from the 1970s and is a well known point of reference in the city, visible from far away. When the restaurant it housed was recently converted into a Chinese one, it was up to the Italian-Portugese team of Federico Calabrese, Fabio Ferone and Joana Carvalho to safeguard the quality of at least the exterior spaces of the complex and of the transformation of the upper part.

Montjuic Pavilion and Garden, image courtesy fondaRIUS architecture

Montjuic Pavilion and Garden, image courtesy fondaRIUS architecture

The architects took into account the two completely different 'faces' of the site they had to redefine. They turned the higher panoramic level into a maritime deck with a little bar overlooking the Mediterranean and the port, while the lower area is now an intimate garden (with bamboo, of course), between the rear facade of the restaurant and the rocky 'retaining wall' of the hill. The ambivalence of the genius loci ('high up on the mountain' or 'in the shelter of the slopes') is reflected by the tectonics of the used materials: the light steel and glass construction of the bar and the teak wood of the platform relate to the sea and the sky while the slate stone of the walls and the square platforms in the garden breathe earthly solidity.

Montjuic Pavilion and Garden, image courtesy fondaRIUS architecture

Montjuic Pavilion and Garden, image courtesy fondaRIUS architecture

The design connects with the styling of other modern bars and restaurants in the area: eclectic and informally elegant. The detailing, though, was inspired by an older 'modern' building and another major Montjuic attraction: Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona pavilion.

Montjuic Pavilion and Garden - Site plan, drawing courtesy fondaRIUS architecture

Montjuic Pavilion and Garden - Floor plan, courtesy fondaRIUS architecture

Montjuic Pavilion and Garden - Elevations, courtesy fondaRIUS architecture

+ Project credits / data

Project: Montjuic Pavilion and Garden
Location: Montjuic, Barcelona, Spain
Architect: fondaRIUS architecture | http://fondarius.com/
Typology: Pavilion

+ All images and drawings courtesy fondaRIUS architecture