2009 May « my design fix

‘Concrete Light’

May 27, 2009 at 12:45 am | Posted in my work, photography | Leave a comment
Tags: my photography, photography

Photo: Aidan Taylor 2004

The Chapel of the Holy Cross by Pekka Pitkanen in Turku, Finland

Binimelis House – Polidura + Talhouk Arquitectos

May 27, 2009 at 12:00 am | Posted in architecture, houses | 2 Comments
Tags: architecture, chile, concrete, houses, stone, timber

The Binimelis House designed by Polidura + Talhouk Arquitectos is located in Colina, Chile and is situated on a triangular shaped block with a slope of 40%. The living spaces are located upstairs with the bedrooms cut into the hillside downstairs.

The house has been orientated parallel with the terrain to create a direct relationship with the landscape on both levels while also taking advantage of the northern sun and views (an ideal arrangement with street access to the upper living areas from the south). A kink in the upper volume also directs the occupant’s view toward the valley and away from a nearby quarry.

Concrete, timber and stone form the simple, yet beautiful palette of materials but it is how they are used that is most appealing to me. The lower level’s organic dry stone walls create a nice contrast with the crisp and sharp nature of the upper level’s gloss stone tiles, reinforcing the appearance that the upper level is just sitting or floating there.

The stone tile cladding on the upper floor is also interestingly detailed. Check out the section detail showing this cladding extending onto the roof and how there is no hidden box gutter – the water would just run off the edge and down the walls. The other section showing the window/door opening has a 50×50 steel angle near the roof edge. I assume this would divert the rain to either side of the opening. It would be interesting to see how this works in a heavy downpour.

Photos: Aryeh Kornfeld

Visit the Polidura + Talhouk Arquitectos website here.

For more photographs and drawings visit Archdaily here.

Via Archdaily

Diana+ Camera

May 13, 2009 at 11:43 pm | Posted in photography | 3 Comments
Tags: 120 format, diana+, lomography, photography

Diana+

The Diana+ is a remake of the original 1960’s plastic lens Diana camera whose production was discontinued in the 1970’s. Using 120 format film, this lo-fi analogue camera shoots dreamy, colour drenched images with cool and at times unpredictable results.

The Diana+ can shoot multiple formats, has two shutter speeds (daytime and unlimited exposure), four aperture settings (including pinhole), a removable lens (for pinhole mode) and a manual advance wheel that doesn’t lock so you can take multiple or partial exposures. There are also a number of accessories available such as different lenses and flashes.

I finally got one for Christmas last year and I love it. I initially had trouble getting the lens off but Karen and the folks at Lomo HQ Australia were very helpful when contacted and sent a replacement without any fuss.

With the select number of features the Diana+ has, it allows you to get back to the basics of film photography. Point. Shoot and wait with anticipation for your film to be developed.

Oh yeah – I forgot to mention that this classic also looks rad on my shelf at home!

Click the above images to view them in their original galleries on the Diana+ microsite (no photoshop used!)

Visit the Diana+ microsite here.

www.lomography.com

www.lomography.com.au

Ramp House – Archivirus

May 5, 2009 at 12:17 am | Posted in architecture, houses | Leave a comment
Tags: greece, ramp house, skateboarding

Designed by Athanasia Psaraki of Archivirus, the Ramp House is a project that questions and redefines the individual elements of ‘house’ and ‘skate ramp’ melding them together to create a new type of multifunctional living space.

“The ‘skateboarding’ element is adopted in every possible way. When the client asked me to design a home where she could be able to skate, I immediately eliminated the idea of just putting a mini ramp in the living room. For me, the challenge of this project was to make a living space where the ramp, the bowl and all the interpretations of those terms would actually become the building elements for this space. I wanted to make a ‘ramp house’ and not a ‘house with a ramp’.” Athanasia Psaraki

Located in Athens, Greece, the Ramp House is an 80 square metre roof addition to an existing 3 storey building. Externally timber was chosen for the balustrade, pergola and louvres to complement the existing timber balustrades and windows – both dominant features of the existing building.

“Basic house elements such as the fireplace and storage units are hidden inside the ramp forms. I also tried to combine the street aesthetics of the skate scene using concrete and the cosy atmosphere of a house using wood. So concrete walls mould into the floor and then concrete turns into wood to create a ramp partition with the kitchen.” Athanasia Psaraki

Even details such as the balcony sliding door have not been overlooked with it too reflecting the shape of the adjacent ramp as shown above.

I think this is a really cool space though I’d sure hate to stack it onto the kitchen stove when a meal’s being cooked or even the fire place for that matter!