The 5th International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam: Making City is only a few weeks away. Opening on 20 April 2012, the 5th IABR: Making City explores the making of tomorrow’s city and the new alliances between designers, politicians and other stakeholders. Making City includes exhibitions at various venues across Rotterdam, Almere, Sao Paulo and Istanbul, a conference, debates, lectures and publications.

Furthermore, during the IABR, a varied program of events will be held in Rotterdam’s public space. The full program is online now at http://www.iabr.nl/EN/program/exhibitions/

NOMA Lab: An Architectural Cookbook for the Nordic Cuisine

3XNs interior for NOMA Restaurant's food lab unites the creative worlds of gastronomy and architecture in a modern expression of the Nordic aesthetic.

NOMA Lab, image courtesy GXN | Photo © Adam Mørk

NOMA Lab, image courtesy GXN | Photo © Adam Mørk

New Inspiration

As the number one ranked restaurant on theworlds50best.com for two years in a row, the expectations for creative innovation at NOMA are higher than ever before. Therein lay the need for an inspiring 'experimentarium' where chefs could continue to take their skills further in the evolution and development of Nordic cuisine. This commission was given to 3XN's Innovation Unit, GXN, whose experimental design was an excellent match for NOMA's innovative gastronomy.

NOMA Lab, image courtesy GXN | Photo © Adam Mørk

We have been happy to work with GXN on the transformation of our former meeting rooms. The result is great and has contributed to not only the space, but also organizational life and inspiration,' says Founder and Chef of NOMA, Rene Redzepi.

NOMA Lab, image courtesy GXN | Photo © Adam Mørk

Head of GXN, Kasper Guldager Jørgensen refers to the project as an Architectural Cookbook and says of the collaboration,

We move in parallel worlds. NOMA's dedicated and creative engagement in gastronomy is similar in many ways to GXN's experimental take on new materials and ingredients in the architectural world.

NOMA Lab, image courtesy GXN | Photo © Adam Mørk

Nordic, Raw and Playful.

The NOMA Lab is connected to NOMA situated in a former warehouse on the national registry of protected buildings. The tight restrictions meant that GXN was required to design the interior without using so much as one single nail in the walls or flooring. The approach was to design four central multi-functional storage units; each composed from over five hundred uniquely formed wooden cubes. Curving playfully throughout the space, these units divide the 200M2 room into smaller areas accommodating the Food Lab, the herb garden, staff areas and office. Raw and simple, through colours and forms, it captures a unique Nordic aesthetic. True to the restaurant's philosophy, the NOMA Lab is developed exclusively using Nordic materials.

NOMA Lab, image courtesy GXN | Photo © Adam Mørk

The organic forms of the furniture pieces stand out through use of integrated light features, which also give the interior a lighter feel. The additional lighting is provided by GXN's specially developed STAR lamp, whose reflective light casts dramatic geometric shadows into the surroundings.

NOMA Lab, image courtesy GXN | Photo © Adam Mørk

Three Dimensional Puzzle

The NOMA Lab has been an opportunity for GXN to experiment with digital design methods. 'For the project, we developed a 'living software' which made it possible to send drawings direct to fabrication from the computer. It's kind of similar to printing a text one has just typed – but instead we are printing furniture pieces,' explains Kasper Guldager Jørgensen on the design method. In practice, it meant that the interior was delivered as a three dimensional puzzle of over 5000 pieces that were assembled without the help of any carpenters.

In addition to the 'direct from computer to printer' interior pieces, furniture manufacturers GUBI, CPH Square and Gaggenau have been major contributors to the NOMA Lab.

NOMA Lab - Layout plan, drawing courtesy GXN

+ Project facts

NOMA Lab
Strandgade 93, 1401 Copenhagen, Denmark

Management:
Architect: GXN (Innovation Unit of 3XN)
Project Director: Kasper Guldager Jørgensen, Head of GXN
Project team: Kim Herforth Nielsen, Kasper Guldager Jørgensen, André van Leth, Lila Held, Morten Norman Lund, Lars-Erik Eriksson, Pedram Seddighzadeh, Matthew Scarlett, Bjørk Christensen, Kyle Baumgardner, Elliot Mistur, Tore Banke, Simon McKenzie and Jacob Hilmer

Client: Restaurant NOMA
Project Type: Interior Design
Use: Experimental food laboratory, storage, office, personel lounge, meeting room, herb garden
Location: Strandgade 93, 1401 Copenhagen, Denmark
Completion: January 2012
Size: 200 m2
Materials: All done in Nordic wood, for example plywood

Suppliers and Production:
Kitchen: CPH Square. Contact person Thomas Seloy: Thomas@cphsquare.dk
Household appliances: Gaggenau. Contact person Anne Herskov: anne.herskov@bshg.com
Furniture: GUBI. Contact person Allan Torp: ato@gubi.com
Lighting: Normann Copenhagen (STAR Lamp by GXN). Contact person Johanne Toft: johanne@normann-copenhagen.com
Production: 1:1 Production. Contact person Frederik Agdrup: frederik@eentileen.dk

Photographer: © Adam Mørk

+ All images and drawings courtesy GXN | Photo © Adam Mørk

Courtesy IFAC

IFAC (International Festival of Art & Construction) is focused on 200 young and dynamic people from the world of art and architecture from different parts of Europe. They will live and work together for 10 days in August 2012, in a creative and integrated space of different art programmes, to debate, work and exchange experiences, through the participation of 20 different exciting workshops, establishing a balance between academic, practical, cultural and social networking.

It is located in a remote area, called “Villarino de los Aires” where it is one of the most beautiful and mesmerizing landscapes of the Spanish territory.

The event’s theme is ” SELF- SUFFICENT RURAL FURURE ” It open up debates, in a globalized environment, proposing self-sufficiency as a possible future model that taps into the rural past.

If you want to join, you should register sending a small motivation letter in the website.

More info: www.ifac2012.com

On the theme of the surprise, hundred of international teams answered and 10 of them + the invited university are going to present to you works all more surprising than the others for this 7th edition of the Festival of the Lively Architectures in Montpellier, France.

From 13 till 17 June 2012, the courtyards are going to open their doors to the public to show the work of architects’ young generation and allow to discover symbolic places of the city of Montpellier. The Lively Architectures are going to be real surprises transforming patrimonial architecture, in a space revisited thanks to short-lived architecture. The unexpected will take place so that each feels a soft surprise. And it will be through the path in the city that each will go from surprise to surprise.

The participating teams:

- Cyril Rheims, Mathieu Collos, Pérols – Montpellier, France, 'INVITATION A LA LÉVITATION'

… … …

- Adam Scales, Pierre Berthelomeau, Paul Van Den Berg – Rotterdam, Netherlands, 'REFRAME'

… … …

- MN-Lab – Gwenole Mary, Arnaud Negre, Nîmes, France, 'SMOOTH ROCK'

… … …

- Tri-Oh! ateliers – Javier Peña Ibáñez, Cristina Sánchez Algarra, Madrid – Paris, Spain – France, 'CITE SURPRISE, CITE SURPRENANTE'

… … …

- UrbanB's – Farzaneh Bahrami, Marco Asciutti, Matteo Muggianu, Enrique Enriquez, Lausanne – Milan – Montréal, Switzerland – Italy – Canada, 'TOPOGRAPHIE DE LA SUPRISE'

… … …

- Shalumo – Samuel Berthomeau, Lucie Mothes, Bordeaux, France, 'BYE BYE BALLOON'

… … …

- Julie Biron, Berlin, Germany, 'NE DÉRANGE PAS MES CERCLES'

- Dondecabentres – Erik Herrera Iturat, Cristina Bestraten del Pino, Aina Bigorra Gonzalez, Barcelone, Spain, 'TOURNE AROUND'

… … …

- Le Bureau des Affaires Scéniques – Suzanne Thoma, Domnine Jobelot, Paris, France, 'LE RENVERSEMENT DU CIEL'

… … …

- Aa64 – Phillip Anzalone, Stéphanie Bayard, Will Laufs, New-York, United-States, ‘FORET URBAINE’

… … …

- Ecole d'architecture de l'Université Laval, Le collectif de la fourchette, Emilie Benoit Beaulé, Alexandre Boulianne, Jean-François Laroche, Eric Lizotte, accompagnés de Marianne Charbonneau, Etienne Bernier, Jean-Philippe Saucier – Québec, Canada, 'PREMIÈRE NEIGE'

… … …

“LAKE OF SHIMMER” – AVANT Time Nº 3 by Tokujin Yoshioka
2012
-The passage of time marked by the luminance of crystal-

Image courtesy Tokujin Yoshioka

“LAKE OF SHIMMER”-AVANT TIME Nº3, watch, was presented by SWAROVSKI at Baselworld in Switzerland in March of 2012.

The watch, distinctly representing brand’s elegant and poetic essence, marks the passage of time by the luminance of the dial of watch, which is consisted of one piece of twelve faceted crystal.

Image courtesy Tokujin Yoshioka

Inspired by the façade of “Lake of Shimmer,” SWAROVSKI stand, presented at Baselworld 2009, the delicate bracelet of this watch is adorned with small hexagonal stainless steel that reflects the light beautifully.

Image courtesy Tokujin Yoshioka

Image courtesy Tokujin Yoshioka

The façade of the stand has brought the luminance to the space by having number of small mirrors flutter in wind.

The bracelet of the watch reinterprets this scenery, as if the sunlight reflects on the surface of the lake.

+ Project facts

“Lake of Shimmer” – Swarovski stand at Baselworld 2009
Concept Design: Tokujin Yoshioka
Construction: Expomobilia
Release Date: Planned to be in September, 2012

+ All images courtesy Tokujin Yoshioka

Image courtesy HBA

Image courtesy HBA

HBA / Hirsch Bedner Associates unveiled their first ever design installation at DIFFA's 2012 Dining by Design. DIFFA is known for bringing together some of the most talented and celebrated individuals in the worlds of fashion, interior design, art and architecture to create awe-inspiring dining environments and raise money for HIV/AIDS service and education programs in the United States. Leading the hospitality interior design industry since 1965, HBA was proud to participate in this year's events and showcase a unique design installation that is inspired by the Brothers Grimm story, The Raven.

Image courtesy HBA

Designers’ Concept

HBA's designers Kelly Sutton, Jessica Rae Sommer and Kathleen Dauber worked tirelessly to create a design concept based on The Raven that embodies all of the depth, enchantment and anticipation of thriving in the midst of change and adversity. In this dark children's fairytale, a young princess is trapped. Transformed into a raven, her only hope is in waiting for the prince that will one day set her free. Through a myriad of design elements presented throughout the installation, HBA communicates their understanding of how a person's current state, situation, or place so often appears dark, leaving one 'lost in a story' that does not feel their own. In their design, HBA seeks to visually express the greater hope and transformation that exists within us all.

Image courtesy HBA

Image courtesy HBA

Design

• Through luxurious surfaces, textures, reflection and exaggerated proportions, HBA with the help of vendors, created the illusion of another world where each visitor can be wrapped in the story. The encompassing structure, featuring an undulating herringbone pattern, structural cutouts and a glossy surface create a puzzle-like jewel box that forms this altered reality.
• Within the space, three large black Schonbek chandeliers and a crystallized tabletop Made with Swarovski Elements from Beverly communicate a shimmering spellbound state.
• The chair designs, named Armstrong and Colette, are also signature pieces from Beverly. This seating features luxurious upholstery that calls on the wild natural elements. The story then comes to life with custom chair back upholstery designed to abstractly illustrate the girl's stages of transformation while the graphic letting in the fabrics and carpeting from Zenith International allow the words of the fairytale to quite literally surround each visitor.
• At the feature wall of the space, Trove's Indi wall covering ends the story as a myriad of blackbirds is released up the wall. A graphic tribute to film luminary Alfred Hitchcock, Indi feels like an action shot of a flock of birds in flight and conjures up visions of the great filmmakers' masterpiece, The Birds. The intertwining pattern is formed by groups of blackbirds in motion, not in an orderly fashion, but randomly bumping into each other, falling over one another, and attempting to catch up with the rest of the flock. Indi is an authentic representation of the spontaneous and unpretentious splendor of the natural world.

Now you have set me free.

The wild, fantastic journey and optimism of The Raven speaks to the passion HBA has for design and in supporting DIFFA's great cause.

+ All images and drawings courtesy HBA / Hirsch Bedner Associates