CasaSugar

This Just In: MIT Sues Frank Gehry

CasaSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:47:15 -0800

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has has filed a negligence suit against famed architect Frank Gehry for serious design flaws in the Stata Center, a campus building holding labs, offices, classrooms, and meeting rooms. MIT paid Gehry $15 million to design the building, which was completed in 2004, and spent $300 million to build it. The school alleges the flaws in Gehry's design have caused leaks, drainage problems, and mold growing on its brick exterior.

According to Gehry: "You never quite know where they went wrong. A building goes together with seven billion pieces of connective tissue. The chances of it getting done ever without something colliding or some misstep are small." The Stata Center’s builder, Skanska USA Building Inc., is also a defendant in the case, but Paul Hewins, executive vice president and area general manager of the company, told The Globe: “This is not a construction issue. Never has been.”
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Crave Worthy: Frank Gehry Vases for Tiffany & Co.

CasaSugar — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 10:27:17 -0700

Following up on his jewelry collection for Tiffany & Co., famed architect Frank Gehry has created a line of vases for one of the world's best-known jewelers.

Gehry is definitely one of those figures that people either love or hate, and I'm guessing the Frank Gehry collection at Tiffany & Co. will be just as polarizing. Currently, the line includes four vases that echo Gehry's signature deconstructed or "crumpled" building style. Of course, I happen to love the most expensive piece in the line, the Crinkly Vase ( $2,700, at right). The foot-tall vessel is made from hand-blown Venetian glass, so each one is unique.

The other vases are made from bone china and priced between $125 to $195. I'm not crazy about the Torque Vase (below, at right), but I absolutely love the Rock Vase (center). Plus, they're perfectly priced to give as wedding gifts. What do you guys think?

Via Apartment Therapy New York

Sale Alert: 15% Off Vitra Products at Zwello

CasaSugar — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 08:30:50 -0700

From today through Oct. 11, all Vitra furniture and accessories at Zwello will be 15 percent off. From clocks to tables to stools, there's something for every inch of your home. Many, if not all, of these pieces are classic designs, like the Verner Panton S Chair ($221, reduced from $260) and Frank Gehry's Easy Edges Wiggle Side Chair ($837, reduced from $985) which rarely go on sale - let alone out of style. So you can rest assured that you're getting a good deal and making a good investment. If only I had room for it all in my home!

Student Designers Win Corrugated Chair Competition

CasaSugar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:00:03 -0700

This year, the fourth annual Chair Affair student design competition asked architecture and package design students from 49 schools throughout North America to create chairs from nothing but corrugated board and glue. After much deliberation, the competition sponsors, American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation, have chosen six lucky winners. First place went to Cuesta College's Jessica Leung for her Hole on Hole chair, which I must say looks very inspired by the Campana Brothers' Favela Chair. To see and hear about the other winners, read more.

Two teams - Winston Mi and Jessica Brown of Rhode Island School of Design, and Sarah Clement and Michael Wallace of Louisiana State University - tied in second place. Mi and Brown's "Profile and Silhouette," clearly draws inspiration from architect Frank Gehry's innovative corrugated board 1972 Easy Edges Side Chairs, which are in the MoMA Collection. Meanwhile, Clement and Wallace's "A Corrugated Chair or a Chair Made of Corrugated" conjures Gehry's Bubbles Chaise Lounge, with its soft top layer.

Honorable mentions went to Keith Holman, Benjamin Shullaw, Neal Birchum, and Sean McDow for University of Oklahoma for their "Adjustable" chair; Brad Smith of Cuesta College for his "Caterpillared" chair; and Jonathan Coop of California State University Long Beach for his "Corrugated Board Chair."

It's inspiring to see how these students have created stylish, modern furnishings from such a common packaging and display material. Corrugated board is made from a natural renewable resource, and seeing these innovative creations suggests that the possibilities for sustainable furniture design truly are endless. While I personally like these contemporary creations, what I'd love to see is a corrugated chair designed for traditional design enthusiasts. Sustainable furniture designs will never make a huge impact if they don't appeal to everyone's tastes.

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In the News: Redefining an Architect's Legacy

CasaSugar — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:00:44 -0700

Many of us have seen architect John Lautner's modern, unusual work - we just didn't realize it. The bachelor pad that Charlie's Angels's villain Eric Knox inhabits is based on the design for the Chemosphere. This eight-sided home was built in the Hollywood Hills in 1960, and sits atop a 30-foot-tall concrete poll, which was Lautner's solution to building on the steeply pitched site.

A recent New York Times article, "Bonding Humanity and Landscape in a Perfect Circle," reviews a current exhibit on Lautner at LA's Hammer Museum. The exhibit attempts to remedy misunderstandings about Lautner's body of work, which some people interpret as space age-y and removed from the landscape. Instead, we discover through the exhibit an architect who possesses, according to the article, "a keen structural knowledge wedded to an environmental sensitivity - a seamless bond of nature, space and humankind."

While the Chemosphere may not be your cup of tea, it's undeniable that the building solution for this piece of property reflects Lautner's understanding of site-specific construction. My favorite Lautner home is probably the Mar Brisas House, which was built in 1973 in Acapulco, Mexico, and whose lines echo the beach and water below (seen in this photo).

To see some gorgeous images of Lautner's homes, and to find out how to visit one yourself, read more.

Lautner, who trained with Frank Lloyd Wright, went on to influence numerous architects, including Frank Gehry. While the New York Times's review of the exhibit says that it errs on the serious side, and notes that "the curators have toned down the fantasy and sensuality that make his houses so intoxicating," I think that this show would be fascinating for architecture or mid-century design buffs. The exhibit is open through Oct. 12 at the Hammer Museum in LA, and you can also take a house tour of one of Lautner's LA-area homes.

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Weird Furniture: Straight Line Designs

CasaSugar — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:00:22 -0800

This furniture is the antithesis of Straight Line Designs' handle, and may actually be, believe it or not, more reserved than the other works you'll find in their portfolio. The Canadian company designs whimsical custom furniture that takes on a life of its own. More often than not, it's built for child's play, but they're often commissioned for trade show booths, movie and TV props, and retail environments.
Shown above (clockwise from top left) are the "Bad Table," "Daddy Long Legs," "Melting," "Accordian," and "Burnt Leg Table." Not surprisingly, designer Judson Beaumont cites his influences as Walt Disney, Dr. Seuss, Warner Brothers, Pee Wee Herman, Philippe Starck, and Frank Gehry, as well as Saturday morning cartoons. He also does not like green eggs and ham.