RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘Decor’

Unboxing Buildings: Dull Modern Facades Removed to Reveal Historic Decor

24 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

Modernist architects rejected brick, stone and iron ornament in favor of clean metal and brutalist concrete, and in some extreme cases went so far as to cover up old facades with more contemporary cladding. But what was originally an act of erasure can also turn into an unintentional act of preservation, as in the case of this structure built in the 1920s but clad over in the 1960s.

This drab building in San Antonio, Texas was at best unremarkable and at worst a bit of an eyesore. White stripes and vertical strips of red worked with rows of glass to create something simple, Modern and a bit dull. It was also somewhat misleading: many of those apparent windows were covering up walls, not openings. All of this became clear as the surface started to be stripped away and old structure restored.

Echoing a similar trend in recent decades of stripping back paint to reveal wooden details in homes, developers and cities have started to realize the potential value in hidden landmark architecture. The Schoenfield Building in Cleveland, for instance (depicted above), was a beautiful structure built of brick but for a time covered in a less glamorous coat. Its underlying facade has since been uncovered.

In the case of the Odean theater, it is hard to imagine what ever possessed someone to cover the elaborate facade of the original (upper left) with its decorative details and beautiful windows with an array of vertical metal strips (upper right). Fortunately, though the name has changed, the architecture has since been restored (bottom).

The decision is not always so clear-cut, however. Architectural Observer followed the restoration of a structure in Hays, Kansas where “there was a push to ‘restore’ and ‘revitalize’ the immediate downtown area. The master plan called for the removal of this particular facade.”

“Much history was lost in the redevelopment process; should this facade be counted among the losses?  Or do you feel that the two early 20th-century facades (both needing restoration) which were revealed are the stronger asset?” It is a question that often faces preservationists, especially in places like Europe where long histories can result in many iterative additions and changes over time. In this case, the facade was removed but saved. To see more examples like these and discussion about historic preservation, check out this thread on reddit.

Share on Facebook





[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Unboxing Buildings: Dull Modern Facades Removed to Reveal Historic Decor

Posted in Creativity

 

Horror House: Real Estate Listing Instantly Infamous for ‘Terrifying’ Decor

15 Oct

[ By SA Rogers in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]

horror-house-3

Had Buffalo Bill escaped Clarice Starling and moved into a quaint suburban Connecticut home, his interior decor might have looked a little something like this. At 24 Brentwood Drive, an absolutely amazing color palette in shades of dried blood, glistening internal organs and Exorcist vomit green adorns every available surface in the form of hand-painted designs. And the best part is – all of this could be yours for just $ 339,900.

horror-house-1

horror-house-2

horror-house-5

Believe it or not, this is an actual real estate listing on Zillow.com, described by listing agent Ernie Rossi as a “unique one of a kind finishing completed by a professional!” The agents provide a full 51-photo tour on the site, showing off room after room filled with decoupaged stair rails, musty-looking floral curtains, decorative stamped paint in rust red and squiggly designs in shiny copper.

horror-house-7

horror-house-8

horror-house-9

Naturally, the listing went viral on social media upon discovery, with people describing the interiors as “serial killer chic,” “deranged” and “a portal to hell.” The real estate agents told The National Post that the sellers are artists, and remain optimistic that someone out there will fall in love with their designs. The home has only had one interested party in thirty days online, however.

horror-house-10 \

horror-house-11

horror-house-12

Who knows – maybe it’s actually some kind of viral horror marketing for a horror movie or a Halloween attraction, given that it’s mid-October and the house is located near the ominously named Mount Horr and Secret Lake – but there are elements of the home that feel earnest. Check out the full listing to decide for yourself.

Share on Facebook





[ By SA Rogers in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Horror House: Real Estate Listing Instantly Infamous for ‘Terrifying’ Decor

Posted in Creativity

 

A Silver Lining: 14 Cloud-Shaped Homes, Furnishings & Decor Designs

12 Oct

[ By SA Rogers in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

cloud-shaped-floating-speaker-main

Floating on air, flickering with lightning, providing a pillowy soft surface or gently raining water down on plants, these cloud-shaped home accents and architectural designs are downright heavenly. A bluetooth speaker magically levitates above its base, a lamp provides motion-activated thunderstorm shows, a concrete display base makes toilet paper commercials literal in their comparisons and a house in Australia takes on a highly unusual silhouette.

Levitating Cloud Speaker by Richard Clarkson Studio + Crealev

cloud-shaped-floating-speaker

cloud-shaped-floating-speaker-2

cloud-shaped-floating-speaker-3

A cumulus cloud hovers over a wooden base, floating up to two inches above the surface, bobbing back and forth. That cloud is actually a speaker, and it levitates using the power of magnets. ‘Making Weather’ blends Crealev’s magnetic levitation technology with Richard Clarkson’s artificial cloud designs for an eye-catching product that flickers with ‘lightning’ when you play music.

Knitted Cloud Stools by Studio Joon&Jung

cloud-shaped-knitted-stool

cloud-shaped-knitted-stool-2

Chunky skeins of wool get hand-knitted into soft, cloudily masses made to sit atop wooden stools. Say the designers, Joon+Jung, “Cloud Stool is inspired by the flexibility and softness of the cloudscape. It can be singular or become a group as a human being. It gives the illusion that it’s alive, by using irregularity, flexibility and subtle differences in tone of perception. Conclusively, the form interacts between objects, and people could explore with it.”

Concrete Cloud Toilet Paper Holder

cloud-shaped-toilet-paper-holder

cloud-shaped-toilet-paper-holder-2

This might just be the most clever display of backup toilet paper ever created, yet it’s so simple. A curving concrete base lets you stack the rolls into a cloud shape, fitting up to 14 rolls for the large size, and it’s also available in a smaller size for space-challenged bathrooms.

Cloud House by McBride Charles Ryan

cloud-shaped-house

cloud-shaped-house-2

cloud-shaped-house-4

This modern home addition by McBride Charles Ryan expands the back of an Edwardian house in Victoria, Australia, with a glazed end looking out onto a long, narrow lap pool. “The new living addition faces due south while allowing controlled north sun into the living area and providing effective cross ventilation,” say the architects. “The form of the ‘cloud’ conforms to setback regulations without appearing obviously determined by them. The extrusion creates a dramatic interior language where walls merge seamlessly with the floor and ceiling. While the geometry is playful, the extrusion is essentially a contemporary barrel vault. It is our hope that this cloud has a ‘silver lining.’

Le Nuage by Wout Wessemius

cloud-shaped-le-nuage

cloud-shaped-le-nuage-2

cloud-shaped-le-nuage-3

Puffs of ultra-realistic clouds glow as if caught by rays of sunlight, illuminated from within by energy-efficient bulbs and hung from the ceiling. ‘Le Nuage’ by Netherlands-based designer Wout Wessemius is a particularly striking version of the ‘cloud lamp’ phenomenon that swept through the industrial design world over the last few years.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Floating On Air 14 Cloud Shaped Homes Furnishings Decor Designs

Share on Facebook





[ By SA Rogers in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on A Silver Lining: 14 Cloud-Shaped Homes, Furnishings & Decor Designs

Posted in Creativity

 

Tips for Photographing Wedding Decor Details

26 Aug

Wouldn’t we all love to be the photographer for lavish, perfectly detailed weddings? It’s discouraging sometimes to follow the work of famous wedding photographers and feel like we’ll never measure up. The truth is that for most of us, we’re photographing weddings of average everyday people, who can’t afford those over-the-top perfect weddings.

700

That doesn’t mean that the wedding we’re photographing is any less special, or any less important. The bride and groom have put so much time, effort, and thought into every detail of their wedding. Even if their budget is a fraction of some of those perfect weddings, they’ve most likely spent what amounts to a small fortune for them.

When I am hired to photograph a wedding, I want to treat each wedding as if it were the glamorous wedding of royalty. Whether you are the hired wedding photographer, or just a friend of the bride with a camera, I have a few hints to help you photograph the decor details of any wedding, and make it look like everything the bride and groom hoped it would be.

698

Get There Early

Arrive at the wedding or reception about half hour before it’s supposed to start. You will most likely have a small window of time where the decorations will be finished, but the guests have not arrived yet. You can photograph details with the guests there, but it’s harder to get clean photos without people in them, and sometimes the decorations have been moved or ruined later in the day. There are some things that you’ll need to photograph later, like if you want to show guest signatures on the guest book (or globe!), but try to get most of the details shots before the guests arrive.

696

Arrange the Details

Sometimes you can move things around a little bit to get more of the story of the wedding theme. In the photo above I wanted to capture the mass amounts of origami cranes that the bride and groom had folded themselves, but I also wanted to pull one out to photograph with the sign telling the guests to “please take a favor”. Often I will open a favor box to photograph the contents inside, artfully arranged.

Sometimes you can photograph a centerpiece arrangement better if it’s moved slightly closer. You can borrow the bride’s bouquet if she has set it down for a bit (ask first), or borrow one of the bridesmaid’s bouquets to photograph. As long as you don’t do anything that can’t quickly be put back into place, you’ll be fine. Make sure to return everything how you found it when you’re done capturing that particular detail.

697

Shoot Wide Open

I like to photograph most wedding details with my lens almost wide open (with my aperture set between f/1.4 and f/2, usually). This can give the photograph more of an artistic feel, and help the focus be on exactly what you are photographing. If the wedding doesn’t have a lot of fancy details, or attention to perfection, you may want to blur out a lot of background.

I use a 50mm 1.4 lens, or an 85mm 1.4 lens, but most prime lenses will do. Be especially careful that your focus is exactly where you want it to be, and hold very steady. Your focus has to be tack sharp, or the whole thing will just look like a blurry mess. Shooting wide open is, of course, a matter of style and preference, and some may like an entirely different look.

Find Different Angles

I will often stand on a chair to get the angle I want when I’m photographing details. (This is where it’s definitely better to get there before the guests!) You have to get creative with your angles, so your photos don’t look like every other guest’s pics. (This is especially important if you are the hired photographer.) Pay attention to what you can see in the background, where the light is coming from, and which parts are the most important. Even a slightly different angle can transform a photo from “meh” to “wow”, so try lots of different angles to see which one looks the best.

693

Work With Difficult Lighting

Many weddings and receptions are held indoors, and sometimes they’ve created a specific mood with low lights. This can be a challenge as a photographer, but it’s completely doable. I prefer not to use flash, because I very much prefer the look of no flash in this instance, so I’ll be sharing how I work in dim lighting without flash.

Remember how we are shooting wide open? Not only does this give us an artistic look, but it really helps when there isn’t much light. Sometimes I’ll photograph an entire reception with my aperture at f/1.4 to let in as much light as possible. You will also need to crank up your ISO; keep going higher until you can shoot with a shutter speed that can safely be handheld (for me, that’s about 1/80th, but you may have a steadier hand and be able to go even slower than that). You may have quite a bit of noise in your photos when your ISO is that high, but I like that look, especially when there’s a moody low-light ambience.

In a pinch, if the lighting is extremely low, try shooting in RAW, underexposing to allow your shutter speed to be as fast as you need it to be, and then bringing the exposure up in post-processing.

694

Photograph Everything

It’s guaranteed that there was a lot of thought, time, and money put into creating the bride and groom’s perfect wedding and reception. I want to capture every detail for them, because although all of the food and flowers will be gone a few days after the wedding, my photos will be there forever.

So I recommend that you photograph the food, the drinks, the centerpieces, the flowers, the favors, the guest book, and every single decor grouping around the room. It might seem silly to photograph a bowl of blueberries, but it will be so much fun for them to look back through the photos later, and remember all the little details of their wedding. If they want to make a book out of the photos, pretty detail photos can make the book have the same feel as the whole wedding did, and they really add to a collage. When in doubt, just take the photo. If their centerpieces are all the same, I’ll just photograph one of them, but if they are all different, I photograph most, or all of them.

695

Get the Whole Picture AND the Close-ups

As you can see with the above photo, you can photograph the exact same thing, but get a whole different feel by stepping back, then getting in really close, focusing on one little detail. Get the surrounding setting, and then focus in on the parts that make it special.

If there’s a decor grouping in a corner, I’ll photograph the whole thing, and then pick parts of it to get in close. I’ll do the same thing with the centerpieces, floral arrangements, cake, food table, etc. This is a great way to really tell the story, and make your photos a lot more interesting.

Edit the Wedding Consistently

Make sure that all the photos from the same wedding or reception are edited consistently. My weddings each look different from each other, because every wedding is a different lighting and coloring situation, but each wedding is consistent with itself.

Batch editing can help with keeping things consistent, or using the same actions or presets on every photo can help too. Do not edit one photo with a “vintage” action, one photo with bright colors, and another matte. This will make them look unprofessional, and make it hard to put together a book or collage of their big day.

699

As you photograph any wedding or reception, remember that every little detail is important to the bride and the groom. They thought everything through from top to bottom, start to finish. Even if it’s not a picture perfect wedding, it still represents what they love, and everything is important to them. Help them remember their special day with photos that will last long after the last crumb of cake is eaten, and the final flower is withered.

googletag.cmd.push(function() {
tablet_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_tab-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78623” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );

googletag.cmd.push(function() {
mobile_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_mob-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78158” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );

The post Tips for Photographing Wedding Decor Details by Melinda Smith appeared first on Digital Photography School.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Tips for Photographing Wedding Decor Details

Posted in Photography

 

High Tech DIY Decor: 15 3D-Printed Home Accessories

03 Jun

[ By SA Rogers in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

3D Printed Home Decor

Take DIY home decor to a whole new level with 3D printing, whether you’re just purchasing a pre-printed geometric aquarium ornament or custom-designing an object you just can’t find anywhere else. This small-scale, low-impact manufacturing model makes it easy to produce all sorts of complex items, from lampshades and mini greenhouses to replacement parts for broken objects. Print them yourself if you can, or just browse the thousands of ‘digitally hand-crafted’ 3D-printed products on sites like Shapeways.

Aquarium Flora

3d printed aquarium 1

3d printed aquarium 4

waterscapes 4

waterscapes 3

‘Waterscapes’ by Haruka Misawa is a series of 3d printed objects inspired by aquatic plant life, intended for use in aquariums for a minimalist look that’s still fun and functional for fish. In addition to sculptural creations mimicking coral, the objects include bubbles of air that fit within the aquariums to make surface-growing aquatic plants the visual centerpiece.

Cityscape Light Bulbs

3d printed bulb 1

3d printed bulb 2

Cityscapes sprout from the tips of LED light bulbs in the ‘Huddle’ series by designer David Graas, available for purchase at Layers. “Just like the penguins in the Antarctic huddle to survive the extreme cold during the winter time also people have taken on huddling as a strategy for survival. The mega city, despite its many problems, seems to be our destined habitat now that resources are becoming scarce. It also holds the key to a sustainable future with its concentration of information, technology and talent.”

Screw It Vase

Screen Shot 2016-06-03 at 8.36.09 AM

Screen Shot 2016-06-03 at 8.35.57 AM

Screen Shot 2016-06-03 at 8.35.48 AM

A slightly curved, connected collection of twelve universal PET bottle screw tops turns a dozen used plastic bottles into a collective vase, each bottle holding one or two stems of flowers and greenery. You can use bottles of various colors and sizes, as long as the three center bottles supporting the weight of the collective vase are the same size.

Tardigrade Bottle Opener

3d printed tardigrade bottle opener

Anyone who already knows what a tardigrade (aka ‘water bear’) is will love this bottle opener, and the rest just need to watch this video about the strangest creature to ever be sent to outer space. Available in a variety of steel colors at Shapeways, it’s definitely an unusual item to have in your house.

Flexible Mini Greenhouse Dome

Screen Shot 2016-06-02 at 9.08.44 PM

Screen Shot 2016-06-02 at 9.09.05 PM

Got access to your own 3D printer, or a shared one? Try your hand at building some of the thousands of items that have been made available online in the form of printable STL files. This one will print out a kit of parts to build a flexible mini greenhouse dome with a geometric pot, perfect for seed starting.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
High Tech Diy Decor 15 3d Printed Home Accessories

Share on Facebook





[ By SA Rogers in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on High Tech DIY Decor: 15 3D-Printed Home Accessories

Posted in Creativity

 

Magnetically Attractive Furniture & Decor: 14 Floating Designs

28 Jan

[ By Steph in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

magnetic design main

A billionaire who’s really into magnets could fill his entire home with levitating objects, from a bed platform that costs nearly two million dollars down to his clothes hangers, houseplants, lamps, computer mouse and even salt and pepper shakers. While some of these designs are utterly lacking in practicality, others make up for it in fun.

Floating Bed
floating bed 1

floating bed 2

floating bed 3

Tethered to its base with steel cables, a heavy slab of wood levitates in midair, clearly unsupported. Sold as an ‘art piece,’ which appears to be an implicit acknowledgement that few people will ever actually have this thing in their homes, the Floating Bed fittingly debuted at the Belgium ‘Millionaire Fair.” It uses the power of permanent opposing industrial-strength magnets and can hold 900 kilograms (1984 pounds) of weight. A smaller fifth-scale version can be used as a table. Truly a toy for billionaires, the bed version will set you back $ 1.75 million.

Air Bonsai
air bonsai 2

air bonsai 3

air bonsai 4

Everything about this little potted plant looks like an ordinary bonsai – except the fact that the tree is actually floating. Hidden inside the pot and moss ball are two powerful magnets that literally levitate the entire plant above the ‘energy base.’ No optical illusions here. Currently raising funds on Kickstarter, the project is called ‘Air Bonsai’ and comes in a range of pots, with plants to be procured locally.

Hovering Computer Mouse

magnetic design mouse

magnetic design mouse 2

mganetic design mouse 3

Designed to relieve pressure on the median nerve of the wrist to prevent injuries like carpal tunnel, The Bat is a levitating computer mouse that hovers 40 millimeters above the pad when not in use, or 10 millimeters with the pressure of your hand. The design was supposed to be released a few years ago after a period of testing, and since that never happened, it seems unlikely it’ll ever be for sale, but it’s an interesting prototype.

FLOAT Table
float table 1

float table 2

float table 4

float table 3
Push on this Rubik’s cube-like arrangement of wooden blocks and it’ll give slightly and then bounce back, each individual cube separated from its neighbors by an inch or so of space. The tiny steel cables that can be seen between them aren’t holding them up – they’re keeping the whole thing together. The walnut blocks of the Float Table by RockPaper Robot are, of course, embedded with magnets to produce this cool-looking effect. “Each handcrafted table is precisely tuned to seem rigid and stable, yet a touch reveals the secret to Float’s dynamic character.”

Cliq Magnetic Clothes Hangers
magnetic hangers

magnetic hangers 2

magnetic hangers 3

When you need a specific garment, just tug gently on the Cliq hanger by Flow Design, which is magnetically held to any metal clothes bar. Replacing the hooks with strong earth magnets, the hangers each support up to two kilograms of weight and can also be used underneath larger metal surfaces like shelves.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Magnetically Attractive Furniture Decor 14 Floating Designs

Share on Facebook





[ By Steph in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Magnetically Attractive Furniture & Decor: 14 Floating Designs

Posted in Creativity

 

Cyclist-Centric Decor: Furniture with Built-in Bike Racks

28 Jan

[ By Steph in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

bike shelf 2

Bikes are a convenient way to get around in the city, but if you’re like most of the cycling masses in crowded urban locales, you probably don’t have a dedicated and tidy-looking spot for your bike inside your apartment. Space is always at a premium, so sometimes, just hanging it from the ceiling is your only option. But what if an existing piece of functional furniture could be adapted not only to store your bike, but put it on display, too?

bike shelf 1

This series of bike-centric furniture by Chilean designer Manuel Rossel features simple cut-outs for bike wheels. Not only is there always a place to put your bike, you’re basically making it a major focal point in the room (which could be a good or bad thing, depending on whether you’re riding a replaceable thief-unfriendly beater or a bike that’s a work of modern design in itself.)

bike shelf 3 bike shelf 4

That’s intentional, says Rossel, noting that when you put a bike on top of a bookshelf, it take the place of what would normally be the center of attention: the television. “It changes the cult of the TV to one of the bike,” he told Fast Company. “It’s a way to optimize space that’s scarce in urban centers. If you already store your bike inside, it’s a way to avoid marking the walls. It also turns into a firm support that keeps the bike from falling.”

bike shelf 6 bike shelf 7

The furniture line includes single-tier bookshelves with either straight or angled bike niches, a sideboard and a couch. The bikes are currently only available in Chile, but may soon go on sale internationally.

Share on Facebook





[ By Steph in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Cyclist-Centric Decor: Furniture with Built-in Bike Racks

Posted in Creativity

 

Layer Chair: Mod Slots Let You Swap Out Panelized Acrylic Decor

10 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

layer chair

Treating the seat and back as blank slates for expression, the Layer Chair allows its owner to slip in and slide out works of art and design, transforming the look of the furniture on demand.

layer hologram pop art

layer print insertion

The clear acrylic framework “allows for a see-through structure. Both the back and the base of the chair have a void where the user can fit three different layers of printed or colored acrylic, or even wood, glass, or any other material that comes in mind.”

layer chair mod effect

layer chair diy mod

The approach by South Korean graphic and industrial designer Sohyun Yun is intended to address aesthetic limitations of traditional chairs, which are locked into a single style or look. Instead, through layers, this seat is visually refreshed through user-driven modifications.

layer normal seat use

layer seat insert

Anything is possible, from pairing a hologram back with an Andy Warhol seat print, to slotting in more conventional looking pieces and parts aligned with other furniture looks and styles.

layer custom chair color

layers sliding into place

layer simple colors seat

The layers also allow for experimentation and playful interactions between sheets, since their patterns can be partial and/or semi-opaque. A number of layers come with the initial object, but others can be created or bought by users as well.

Share on Facebook





[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Layer Chair: Mod Slots Let You Swap Out Panelized Acrylic Decor

Posted in Creativity

 

Sculptural Skyscraper: Ornate NYC Design Redefines Tower Decor

11 Dec

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

ornate manhattan skyscraper concept

Architect Mark Foster Gage has unveiled stunning plans for this 100-story, skyline-defining structure for Midtown Manhattan with views of Central Park. Commissioned by a developer to explore a statement-making skyscraper, the work includes carved figures and ornate balconies.

ornate midtown tower design

No expense was spared, at least in this conceptual stage: limestone-tinted concrete cladding and hydroformed sheet-bronze details are accompanied by brass-tinted alloy wrapping structural extrusions and enclosures. The program features ballrooms and restaurants at various heights as well as a mid-structure retail ‘sky lobby’.

ornate facade balcony level

Early skyscrapers puzzled architects initially, and many were envisaged as lower-height buildings (featuring a plinth at the base and crowned with decorative roofs) with the central portion stretched vertically. Then Modernists came along, smoothing out lines and discarding sculptural effects for glass and steel. This design goes a step behind recalling early towers, including iterative and undulating embellishments from top to bottom.

ornate street view building

Of course, there was a logic to architectural predecessors with elongated central zones – they were street-friendly at the bottom, and sky-friendly at the top, saving cost and complexity in the middle.

Whether such an extravegant reinterpretation of skyscrapers as this represents is indeed desirable or even feasible remains an open question. Still, there is something to be said for attempting to bring non-minimalist beauty back to tall buildings.

ornate towering structure nyc

In many ways, this approach represents a hybrid of old skyscrapers and new city-in-the-sky attitudes championed by contemporary architects, mixing programs at various levels to create a sort of self-contained structure for living, working and recreating.

Share on Facebook





[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Sculptural Skyscraper: Ornate NYC Design Redefines Tower Decor

Posted in Creativity

 

Gamer Geek Wearables: 12 8-Bit Fashion & Decor Designs

09 Apr

[ By Steph in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]

8-bit sleeve 1

If you’ve always wished you could step inside an old 8-bit game or computer, outfitting yourself and your home in these pixelated designs is about as close as you’re likely to get. Make your own post-it mural, throw on a pair of extra-geeky glasses, strap a clock icon watch to your wrist and even assemble a real-life replica of an early Microsoft Windows trash can.

8-Bit Fashion by Kunihilo Morinage

8-bit fashion 1

8-bit fashion 3

8-bit fashion 2

Designer Kunihilo Morinage of Anrealage unveiled a collection of 8-bit fashions at Tokyo’s Japan Fashion Week in 2012, featuring pixelated dresses, tights, shoes, masks, jackets and more. As the models walked at the show, a pianist played music reminiscent of ‘80s video games.

Key Holder and Hanger

8-bit key holder hand

Meninos Design offers a hand-shaped 8-bit hanger and magnetic key holder for under $ 20.

Superhero Mural Made of Sticky Notes

8 bit sticky note mural 2

8 bit sticky note mural 1

A group of employees at an office used 8,024 colorful post-it notes to create a series of 8-bit portraits of superheroes and comic book characters including Batman, Captain America and Wonder Woman. The use of sticky notes makes it look as if the murals are made of tiles from afar, but get close up and you’ll see that they’re actually paper. This idea would be easy to reproduce at home, if you’e so inclined.

‘Gary’ Costume by Toshiba

8-bit costume 2

8-bit costume 1

Artists Kiel Johnson and Klai Brown created this relatively creepy wearable 8-bit sculpture for a Toshiba commercial. ‘Gary’ is made of thousands of pieces of high-density foam glued to an articulated cardboard suit structure.

Pixelated Glasses Concept by Dzmitry Samal

8-bit glasses 2

8-bit glasses 1

Parisian designer Dzmitry Samal created ‘6 DPI,’ a series of 8-bit-style eyewear made of acetate, available in a range of colors. According to Samal, the design is an homage to ‘our age of informational esthetic.’

8-Bit Sleeves by Big Big Pixel

8-bit sleeve 3

8-bit sleeve 2

“Is retina display too much for you? Go backwards! You define your resolution!” says Big Big Pixel, the designer of this 8-bit sleeve made from waterproof kraft material and a soft microfiber material. It’s available in a range of sizes for MacBooks, iPads and iPad Minis.

Secret Video Game Stairway Sticker

8-bit video game stairway

Pretend like you’ve got a secret portal to another game level with this fun vinyl floor decal by JamesBit, available on Easy for $ 30.

Geek Wear: Matching Watch & Tie

8-bit watch and tie

8-bit watch

Go into full-on gamer geek mode with this matching 8-bit watch and tie set. The ‘Icon Watch’ by Japanese firm &design is made of ABS and stainless steel, and comes in black and white, while the tie is available in red or blue at ThinkGeek.

Pixelated Bed by Cristian Zuzunaga

8-bit bedding 2

8-bit bedding

Sleep in a pixelated dreamscape with this bed set by Spanish designer Cristian Zuzunaga, created for Swedish bed manufacturer Hastens. The limited edition upholstered bed frame, headboard and bedding set is pretty cool but comes with a steep price tag of $ 58,430.

Real-Life Microsoft Windows Trash Can

8-bit trash can

Just what you’ve always wanted: a three-dimensional replica of the trash can icon from early versions of MS Windows. Codeco offers a PDF so you can print sections onto pieces of paper and assemble them into your very own can.

8-Bit Sculptures by Shawn Smith

8-bit sculpture smith 2

8-bit sculpture smith 1

Made of tiny plywood cubes, Shawn Smith’s pixelated creatures look like they climbed right out of a video game screen. “My work investigates the intersection between the digital world and reality,” says Smith. “Specifically, I am interested in how we experience nature through technology. When we see images of nature on TV or on a computer screen, we feel that we are seeing nature but we are really only seeing patterns of pixelated light.”

Share on Facebook





[ By Steph in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Gamer Geek Wearables: 12 8-Bit Fashion & Decor Designs

Posted in Creativity