South Korean designer Jongho Park has recently created ‘Square in Boots’. Funny and friendly the 'Square in Boots' series looks as if square tables are wearing boots in their legs to walk, and has two stools and one table.

Square in Boots, image courtesy Jongho Park

Wood and metal, which have different character, were used, harmonized into one piece of furniture, and made into a neat and easy shape through the contrast of material and color.

Square in Boots, image courtesy Jongho Park

Metal's tenderness of lines and wood's solidness of side are reflected to look like bent iron metal is hugging a tree. The side where people make contact is made of wood, and the line and structure that support the side is metal.

The 'Square in Boots' series has a simple square shape that is created during the process of creating space called furniture, by making the sides folding lines and by sides meeting sides.

Square in Boots, image courtesy Jongho Park

The characters of the material influence the shape and it creates the whole image.

Iron and wood are natural materials, each having advantages tenderness of lines and solidness of sides. Just when lines are together, they become a side. When sides are together, they become a space. Small space of furniture is made up with lines and sides.

Furniture that is using the character of the material well would not be strange or mismatching, even if many materials are used together.

+ Designer: Jongho Park | http://www.park-jongho.com/

+ Other projects by Jongho Park

MOT Hanger | Jongho Park

Power Shoulder | Jongho Park

Before

8030 is located in an industrial site in Silver Spring, MD. The site has been retrofitted with café's, and artist's studios. There has also been a surge of condominium construction around the sites periphery. The site acts as a hinge between residences, retail, and 2 major streets.

The stairs act as a focal point while marking entry to the site. Conceptually the stairs are an abstraction of the industrial character of the site. A raw steel frame grabs onto an existing two-story structure. The skin of the frame is articulated in raw steel sheets, grated metal, and glass as a way to modulate light and movement.

8030 Georgia Avenue, image courtesy Division1

8030 Georgia Avenue, image courtesy Division1

8030 Georgia Avenue, image courtesy Division1

+ Project credits / data

Project: 8030 Georgia Avenue
Type: Public Space
Size: 9,200 SF
Location: Silver Spring, MD

Architect: Division1
Photographer: Division1

+ All images courtesy Division1

The restaurant captures American and Chinese Cultures through layers of decorative design elements. Conceptualized around different dining experiences within the same restaurant, the rectangular space is sliced into three different zones, with each providing its own unique dining hall. Each zone [Bar, Communal and Dining] is separated through a design element, such as color, a steel louver wall or by a simple change in elevation or ceiling height.

Ping, image courtesy Division1 | Photo by Debi Fox

Ping, image courtesy Division1 | Photo by Debi Fox

The Bar is the most casual and the public zone of the restaurant. The zone is dominated by the long bar which is a unique feature in a Chinese restaurant. Red cedar planks are used on the bar top and bar canopy which continue on the facade of the restaurant in a linear manner, making the zone a threshold between indoor and outdoor. The bar also features built-in seating with wood tabletop’s which feature recessed lighting replacing the more traditional candle lighting.

Ping, image courtesy Division1 | Photo by Debi Fox

Ping, image courtesy Division1 | Photo by Debi Fox

The Communal is the semi-public zone defined by 14 feet long tables and 10 feet long lights above. Seen from the street through the solid steel panels and large glass façade the dining is the most private zone in the restaurant. The space is separated from the communal with a steel lover wall.

Ping, image courtesy Division1 | Photo by Debi Fox

Natural cedar wood strip ceiling continues to the outside to become part of the facade and signage. A large wine cabinet, another unique feature in a Chinese restaurant, terminates the space. The restaurant also features a wait area by the poured in place concrete hostess stand.

Ping - Floor plan, drawing courtesy Division1

Ping - Front elevation, drawing courtesy Division1

Ping - Front elevation, drawing courtesy Division1

+ Project credits / data

Project: Ping
Type: Hospitality | Restaurant
Size: 4,000 SF
Location: Shirlington, VA

Architect: Division1
Photographer: Debi Fox Photography

+ All images and drawings courtesy Division1 | Photo by Debi Fox Photography

+ Restaurant projects on +MOOD

Tatami Japanese Restaurant | Jassim Alshehab

Oth Sombath | Jouin Manku & Patrick Jouin

Division1 has designed the Lacey condominium building located in Washington, DC.

Program

The Lacey is a 26-unit, four level, 25,000 SF residential building organized around a three-level central corridor/atrium. Outdoor space is ample with a communal second floor terrace and rooftop, as well as private balconies, courtyards, and terraces for the units.

The Lacey, image courtesy Division1 | Photo by Debi Fox

The Lacey, image courtesy Division1 | Photo by Debi Fox

Neighborhood

The Lacey is located three blocks from the famed U Street Corridor in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC. The buildings comprising the neighborhood are predominately Victorian-era, hastily constructed, row houses by speculative builders and real estate developers in response to the rapid growth of the federal government following the Civil War. During the turn of the 20th century the U Street Corridor was home to the nation's largest African American community until it was surpassed by Harlem in the 1920's. The Neighborhood remained a cultural center for African Americans, producing the likes of Pearl Bailey and Duke Ellington. Following the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and consequent riots, the neighborhood went into rapid decline until the 1990's. One of the first transformative projects for the neighborhood was a 5 row house development developed and designed on vacant drug infested lots by Division1. This was soon followed by the W Street residence, only a couple of blocks away, also developed and designed by Division1, and most recently the Lacey condominiums. With these 3 projects, Division1 anchored the neighborhood and reinstated its cultural significance — now the design-center of Washington, DC.

The Lacey, image courtesy Division1 | Photo by Debi Fox

The Developer

We are thrilled to begin the construction phase of a project that celebrates the vision, perseverance and ambition of two men, who symbolize the essence of this community, considerable effort has gone into its planning and we are excited to bring to life the innovative designs conceived by Division1 Architects.

Imar Hutchins, developer

The Lacey is Mr. Hutchins' premier venture in residential development in the "U" Street neighborhood. As the owner of the Florida Avenue Grill, he champions the concept of creating and preserving unique establishments that celebrate the past and help shape the future, while continuing to serve the community. The Florida Avenue Grill is known as much today for its celebrity clientele as for serving what's widely considered the best soul food in DC since 1944.

The Lacey - First floor plan, drawing courtesy Division1

The Site

The site of the Lacey was a former parking lot for the Florida Avenue Grill, a landmark African American soul-food establishment that opened in 1944, and one of the few restaurants that survived through decades of decline. The owner of the Florida Avenue Grill commissioned Division1 to build a forward-looking building that would depart from the brick and mortar tenant buildings of the declining past and express an optimism for the future while symbolizing a dedication to the neighborhood and its rebirth. Thus the building was named the Lacey in honor of Lacey C. Wilson Sr. and Lacey C. Wilson Jr. longtime proprietors of the Florida Avenue Grill.

The Lacey, image courtesy Division1 | Photo by Debi Fox

The Design

From the street the Lacey can be seen as one large volume set upon a lower volume comprised of duplexes with private entrances, stoops, small front yards (typical of the surrounding row homes). The larger volume holding the various units is actually split in two creating a full-height corridor that runs the length of the site. Each end of the corridor is full-height glass (a light steel frame exterior staircase pushes out from one side that takes residents to a communal terrace and rooftop) allowing for maximum light and ventilation. All access to the units is contained in this central space by means of staggered landings that maximize openness. All of the units have either a balcony, while many have a balcony and either a terrace or courtyard.

The Lacey, image courtesy Division1 | Photo by Debi Fox

Glass, steel and concrete:
The units are all open-plan with floor-to-ceiling windows, wide-plank maple hardwood floors, and movable glass partitions for maximum light and flexibility.

The Lacey - Section, drawing courtesy Division1

+ Project credits / data

Project:  The Lacey
Type:  Residential, Condominiums
Size: 25,000 SF
Location: Washington, DC
Architect: Division1 | http://www.division1architects.com/
Photographer: Debi Fox Photography
Software: Vectorworks and Form-Z

Curtain Wall and Storefront: AGM
Skylights: Velux
Exterior Finishes: Trespa and Viroc
Flooring is Ceramic Tile: Ceramiche Caesar
Wood: Shaw
Laminate: Abet Laminiati

+ All images and drawings courtesy Division1 | Photo by Debi Fox Photography

Pap is the first piece of furniture launched in the 2011 collection by Projecto Martins. Designed by architect Maria Manuel Oliveira, the bookcase is now being presented and marketed in Portugal and abroad.

Whe designing Pap, Maria Manuel Oliveira wanted to reinterpret a piece of furniture that existed in living rooms or libraries to store books, and which rotated.

I knew some very beautiful ones, and I always thought it was very interesting peice of furniture to store books and magazines that are usually piled up everwhere in a house.

Maria Manuel Oliveira

Pad is made with satinwood and panga panga. A timber of warm color, clear and uniform, was chosen for the external part, and very dark color for the interior surfaces, so as to dramatize the holes and add thickness to Pap, which is relatively small and shallow. The base that supports this bookcase is solid. Pap is a parallelepiped that only suggests a slight tension when it rotates.

Designer: Maria Manuel Oliveira
Production: Paularte
Dimension: 100x48x48
Materials: Satinwood and panga panga

Pap, image courtesy Paularte

Pap, image courtesy Paularte

+ About

Maria Manuel Oliveira was born in Guimaraes and studied Architecture in Escola Superior de Belas-Artes, Porto.

Projecto Martins was created in 2007 by Paularte, a company established in Braga, aiming to produce numbered and signed pieces of furniture designed by Portuguese architects and designers.