The second phase of the Blue Marlin lighting project was the design and installation of lamps for the existing/future conference rooms and reception area. To continue with the same language as the overall lighting of the space, we developed a chandelier out of the same laser-cut/flat packed elements we used in Phase I and off the shelf components. As you can imagine, I have by now a masters in pipe bending…
More images after the jump below.
SOFTlab recently completed a lighting installation at the Blue Marlin offices in NYC. 6 pairs of branches populate the ceiling and not only distribute light, but articulate and organize the space. The branches end in the light fixtures which we designed and fabricated at the studio, while the rest of the structure was made out of standard electrical conduit.
Take a peek at more images of the installation after the jump below.
Smart Cities vehicle prototype.
We just got back from Boston after being invited by MIT to give a lunchtime lecture. My good friend Daniel Cardoso, a PhD candidate there was kind enough to show us around the media lab, where a few -very generous- people showed us some of their work. We had a chance to see the fabrication labs and some of the robotic work being currently done there, and it was absolutely mesmerizing. Dimitris Papanikolaou gave us a full presentation on his Mobility on Demand (MOD) project for the Smart Cities group, not only was that incredibly generous, but an amazingly interesting solution to urban mobility. What I think was among the most interesting thing -not only of his project but of the lab in general- is the reality of it all. A lot of the research being conducted there is for real applications / products / solutions, which is very refreshing to see after having been involved in architecture school for some time now, where a very small percentage of what is produced has real-world implications. We had as well the opportunity to meet up with our friends Carlos Rocha (ex-Media Lab and current Honda scientist) and Skylar Tibbits.
View a few more images after the jump below.
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SOFTlab has just completed the website for our good friends Frank Gesualdi and Hayley Eber at EFGH.
The site was conceived as a pulsing array of pixels that contain the projects. After a while, it looks like the site is breathing, almost alive.
Go check it out.
I had forgotten to upload these images on Zaha’s Pavilion. It was definitely good walking through it, too bad though that (most of) the art was just, mediocre to say the least.
More images after the jump.
Check out our new toy at the studio: a Universal Laser Systems laser cutter: PLS 6.60, with a 60 watt laser and air assist with an 18″ x 32″ bed. Yumm.
Our good friends from EFGH -Frank Gesualdi and Hayley Eber- had the opening of their first completed architectural project: Dogmatic, a nifty little quasi fast food restaurant in Union Square which specializes in gourmet sausages, served in a vertical baguette. Very yummy by the way.
The design of the space is incredibly smart and playful: a hefty communal table takes the center stage, with a thick butcher block top and steel base. The table has cantilevered retractable seats which is such a good move for a small place, avoiding altogether any type of loose furniture. A mural baked into the tile is another great detail, moreover since it’s placed along the area where the waiting line will be. These guys took a lot of care in the details, so go take a look at it and try some of the goodies.
More images after the jump below
Buckminster Fuller’s exhibition at the Whitney is fantastic. On the first floor is the Dymaxion car, which, cool as it is, is surpassed by the beautiful technical drawings for it.
The fourth floor is where the main exhibit is, and there are some incredible drawings and models of experiments and projects of ranging scales. There were quite a few projects and many drawings, sketches as well as footage of Fuller that I had never seen before, and it was truly a treat.
I left the exhibition feeling a bit uneasy though: there has to be some level of insanity in someone that has such faith in technology as the savior. His completely ‘technocratic-utopian’ view seems in a sense harmless (even naive), yet it displaces man so swiftly.
Don’t miss the fantastic model and drawings of the floating city, the incredible sketch for the World Fair and his geometric models.
