Culture/Society: Monocle Magazine – February 2023
Category Archives: Design
AI Design Views: ‘Paris’
The French architects draw inspiration from existing buildings, as well as ecosystem feedback loops and biomimetics, to create a series of green, organic structures distributed throughout Paris. Through a sensitive and contemporary dialog that preserves the historical heritage of the French capital, the project creates islands of urban freshness by reviving nature, biodiversity and permaculture urban agriculture in the heart of the city.
Architecture: History Of Chrysler Building In NYC
Today Michael Wyetzner of Michielli + Wyetzner Architects returns to Architectural Digest for a deep, detail-oriented break down of New York City’s singular Chrysler Building. From its unmistakable Art Deco design to the hidden details that echo its automotive inspiration, see why the Chrysler Building is an iconic staple of the Manhattan skyline.
HISTORY
The story of the Chrysler Building began in 1928, when automotive titan Walter P. Chrysler, founder of Chrysler Corporation, bought the property from Coney Island developer William H. Reynolds for $2 million. Chrysler hired architect William Van Alen, who had previously designed a skyscraper for Reynolds on the site, to create the world’s tallest tower. Construction on Chrysler’s project began in 1929 and was completed in 1930. Reaching a height of 1,048 feet, including its 125-foot steel spire, the Chrysler Building surpassed the Woolworth Building and 40 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan in a “Race to the Sky” to claim the tallest building in the world–a title it held until 1931. The Chrysler Building still reigns as the world’s most famous skyscraper, playing prominent roles in film and television from Godzilla and Spider-Man to Sex and the City.
AI & Design: ‘Synthetic Architectural Dreams’
illustrative capabilities of AI-powered design programs
Perhaps the most sensational innovation has been the wave of AI-powered design programs, kicking off with DALL-E which quickly consolidated its place in the framework of popular culture, taken further by Midjourney from which a blurred but exciting reality emerged, to Stable Diffusion which moreover has made this work open source.
syntheticarchitecture
Architecture: The House At Lizard Island, The Great Barrier Reef In Australia
Lizard Island is an island on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, 1,624-kilometre northwest of Brisbane and part of the Lizard Island Group that also includes Palfrey Island. It is part of the Lizard Island National Park. Lizard Island is within the locality of Lizard in the Cook Shire.
Christmas 2022 Views: A Design Tour Of A 17th Century Palazzo In Venice
Video timeline: 00:00 – Inspiration: “It’s imperfect perfection” 02:00 – Living Room: “It’s where the real Christmas moment happens!” 05:20 – Kitchen: “I love the way that food brings people together” 07:50 – Breakfast Room: “It feels like a chocolate box…” 08:53 – Dining Room: “It feels very ramshackle”
Skye McAlpine’s Venetian sanctuary maintains plenty of the palazzo’s original details, such as the 18th-century fresco in the living room and the decorative flowering of rocaille in the breakfast room. As we’re guided into the light and airy kitchen that is set apart by its high-beamed ceilings, Skye McAlpine reveals a staple festive treat… a snowy panettone cake from her cookbook ‘A Table For Friends’. In the grand dining room, Skye’s dinner table is layered with a mixture of small plates over larger plates from her ‘Tavola’ tableware collection, which is inspired by ‘la dolce vita’ or ‘the sweet life’. The snowy panettone takes centre stage as it is served on a cake stand which towers above the rest of the festive treats, to complete her “over-the-top” Christmas table.
“Life is slower here. It’s unchanged, it’s like a time capsule,” McAlpine explains as she contrasts between her life in London and the Venetian way of living. “I think that’s part of the charm, it really is like stepping back into a different era”. Watch the full episode of Design Notes with Skye McAlpine, as we tour her slice of an Italian palace that is expertly decorated for the Christmas holidays.
Design: AI-Generated ‘Gaudí’ Home Appliances
The twentieth-century styles such as neo-gothic, art nouveau, and modernism that characterize Gaudí’s designs are reflected in the AI-generated images through vivid colors and free-flowing coral-like shapes. The digital art series are illustrated through the process of combining popular text-to-image software, Midjourney, and Photoshop for additional editing.
Homes: Interior Designers Transform Same Bedroom
Cover: The Architectural Review – December 2022
Charles Jencks and Maggie Keswick | Anupama Kundoo | Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky | João Batista Vilanova Artigas | Laurie Simmons | Kochi Architects Studio | Ekar Architects | Atelier Tho.A | Chat Architects | Fernanda Canales Arquitectura | Brillhart Architecture
Very few people have the resources to realise the house of their dreams, yet the results can be extraordinary. From the London home of Charles Jencks and Maggie Keswick, which is a manifestation of their postmodern fantasies, to the local materials and construction techniques of Anupama Kundoo’s Wall House in Auroville, this issue revisits houses designed by architects for themselves, and sometimes their families. Also celebrated are the winning projects of the 2022 AR House Awards, featuring innovative and intriguing dwellings from Mexico, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and the Bahamas.
Art & Design Reviews: The Best Book Covers Of 2022
TERRAFORM, DESIGNED BY CHLOE SCHEFFE
Selected by Alicia Tatone
“This cover feels simultaneously classic and entirely new. It’s slightly reminiscent of 1970s science fiction covers (albeit much more restrained), and yet I’ve never seen anything quite like it. That custom type! That illustration! Is it a world? An eye? Something else? All of the above? As a reader, I don’t typically gravitate toward sci-fi, but this cover is so compelling that it made me immediately want to buy the book.”
NO LAND IN SIGHT, DESIGNED BY JOHN GALL
Selected by Henry Sene Yee
“There were so many eye-catching covers this year, but the one that constantly stood out for me because of its stunning simplicity, beauty and mystery was designed by John Gall: No Land in Sight. In a sea of gorgeous covers exploding with kaleidoscopic colorful backgrounds, with elements twisting and intertwining, with the title and author type set in sans-serif condensed fonts, Gall’s cover was refreshing for its clean layout, tasteful typography, elements that are balanced and non-overlapping, in an austere monochromatic palette. Timeless.”
MRS. DALLOWAY & THE HOURS, DESIGNED BY PABLO DELCAN
Selected by Grace Han
“The whole package is stunning and smart—words I use a lot to describe Pablo Delcan’s works. The covers evoke introspectiveness and intimacy in such a beautiful way. Everything from the type to the flower placement feels considered and intentional. I love how both sides mirror and work with each other visually and conceptually.”
ASCESIS, DESIGNED BY DAVID PEARSON
Selected by Jack Smyth
“This cover is a feast of dualities: both a figurative scene and an abstract texture; a figure seen far off in the distance and a marbled paper viewed at almost 1:1 in scale; a formal, rigid, block colored layout, and a big, expressive interruption in the middle. The slightly muted colors are so refreshing, especially in a year when we’re reaching peak ‘pop,’ and David shows us here that you don’t need neon Pantones or massive type to create a big, bold, absorbing cover. I love that the type is almost pushed to the peripheries by the sprawl of the illustration, as if it’s something that’s happened over centuries; it makes everything feel massive in scale. Also, the silhouette of the figure is from a photo of the author, which is a perfect Pearson point of detail! There are worlds existing in this book cover, and I find it very easy to get lost in them.”
Boomers Daily 