Sketch of Boating Club, Ireland by Alan Dunlop. Excerpt from his folio.

Sketch of New residences and Restaurant, Leeds by Alan Dunlop. Excerpt from his folio.

Sketch of St Pancras Penthouse, Alan Dunlop. Excerpt from his folio.

Ella here again of pages from my moleskine. Dana is still busy laying the foundations for design-eagle-eye junior (it’s no easy feat) so I’m hanging around for one more post.

Today I’ll be talking hand drawings. I’ve witnessed many designers gush about hand drawings with an adoration normally reserved for a firstborn. Despite this, presentation hand drawings are disappearing from the architectural landscape. The sad reality is, they aren’t as zippy-zoo as a computer generated image. So in this age, where immediacy is king, we’re saying sayonara to manual drawing.

Such a shame, as hand drawings can communicate a warmth and intimacy that computer renders so often struggle to do. Hand drawings are so engaging because of that palpable evidence of the human hand. There’s a magic that happens when a designer understands and consciously commits to every imprint on the page. Yes, there’s a place for digital drawings, but wouldn’t it be a shame to see hand drawings reach extinction?

With that, I leave you with this swoon-worthy collection of hand drawings. I hope they get you gasping at your screens as I did. Better still, I hope these encourage you to dust off the ol’ 6Bs and rotrings and revive this dying skill. Come on. Brave the world without Ctrl+Z! I dare you.

- Ella | blog | twitter | facebook |

Research Futures by Daniel O Donnell of Edinburgh College of Art. Image via Project Context.

The Rehabilitation of the Fragment by Geordie Shaw. Project from third year (2009) via Drawing Architecture. By the way, Drawing Architecture is a mind-blowingly good blog for  presentation drawings. Absolutely worth a visit.

Jacob Peel of University of Florida. Winner of 2009 Student Hand category at Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition.

James Thompson, 2010. Winner of 2010 Best in Show at Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition.

Terra Nova by Lebbeus Woods 1988 via Lebbeus Woods.

Moon Joo Lee. Finalist in 2011 in the Professional Hand category at Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition.

Sketch of Callahan Residence, Birmingham, Alabama, by architect Paul Rudolph, 1965. Image via.

More Paul Rudolph mastery. Left: Dharmala Tower Rendering. Image via Design Observer. Right: Yale Art and Architecture Building, currently displayed at MoMa. Image via.

Steve Quevedo. Winner of 2009 Physical Submission category at Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition.

Drawing by Su Wang, University College Dublin. Image via Drawing Architecture.

City sketch by Tom Fotheringham from Edinburgh School of Architecture. Image via Project Context.

AZL Pension Fund Headquarters by Wiel Arets Architects via Architecture Ideas.

Colin Chillag is a New York based artist who paints these incredible “unfinished” photorealistic portraits of the elderly. Each one of his pieces looks as though Colin decided to step out to lunch or out to the pub before returning to finish the work. However, instead of perfecting them, Chillag allows viewers a glimpse into his process by deliberately revealing all the various steps taken to create his pieces – from pencil sketching, to mixing various colour shade to achieve the final portrait.

Extreme love!

[Images © Colin Chillag, via iGNANT.]

Henrique Oliveira‘s work is nothing short of authentic genius. Creating giant sculptures and installations of colourful tree trunks bursting through buildings and walls is all in a day’s work for this young Brazilian artist. Henrique creates his sculptures using timber salvaged off the streets of his home town – São Paulo. His mind bending site-specific installations twist, curve, bend and split in a chaotic and abstract ways. Actually, is it just me, or do some of his sculptures look almost rude?

During his student days, he was inspired by a plywood fence outside his window which started to peel and fade into different layers of colours. He used the timber from this fence to create a piece for his graduation show. Nowadays he still uses salvaged materials, always choosing pieces that are already splitting and dying as they perfectly represent the decay of life in the city of São Paulo.

Amaze, no? I’m sure that these, like many other installations, really need to be experienced in person to be fully appreciated.

[All images © Henrique Oliveira via My Modern Metroplis, Yatzer and iGNANT.]

Bonjour! It’s Si here again from the FrenchByDesign. Dana asked me to compile a selection of quotes I posted on my blog in the last few months. People often ask me why I post so many quotes…. For some reason, I have a thing for quotes – not the typical inspirational quotes that are supposed to uplift you spiritually, but plain logical, rational, common sense, generally uncensored and most of the time humorous quotes from famous or not-so-famous people… Because there is nothing better to me than starting a day of work with a good laugh… So here is a round up of some of my favorite quotes posted on the blog… Hope you like them!

- Si.

[Images via FrenchByDesign.]

Evie Group is a young Sydney based design studio founded in 2010 by industrial designers Alex Gilmour and Dominic Chong. The philosophy behind the brand is to create designs that are carefully considered, elegant and timeless in their aesthetic.

Featured Project // Spun series of lights.

Why it Rocks // Spun was one of the finalists at the prestigious Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Awards in 2011. Nice one guys!

Below is a little Q&A with the designers.

Spun pendant light.

+ What was your design inspiration for Spun Lamps – i.e was it a result of a specific brief, a particular concept, your favourite song or a book etc?

The Spun lamps were inspired by the classic toy – the wooden spinning top. We wanted to create a playful yet sophisticated lighting piece that would reflect on childhood memories but also provide a decorative sculptural piece.

+What do you love about Spun Lamps?

We love the flexibility in the light. Here we created a floor/table lamp in various sizes that can be freely positioned as well as a pendant. When hung in multiples, the smooth curves paired with the reflective surfaces create an impact to any environment.

Spun floor light in gold finish.

+ Did you learn anything during the design/ production of Spun? Would you have done anything differently?

Yes, we learnt a lot! Creating a closed lamp required a great amount of stringent testing and certification. Designing and manufacturing the lamps ourselves, we were quite strict on the level of care and quality produced and overall happy with the end result.

Spun floor light in silver finish.

+ Any other interesting/ funny/ quirky facts you could share with us?

Initially inspired by the spinning top, the lamp was to be made from wood. Due to manufacturing capabilities and not being able to get the perfect fit of the shade to the body, we switched to metal. This also enabled the shade to be fitted to the metal body without any fasteners or screws.

+ Best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Be determined. Design doesn’t just happen with an idea. It takes a lot of hard work and many sleepless nights!

Spun floor light silver finish.

+ If you were not a designer, what would you be?

Alex: a musician // Dominic: a photographer.

+ Nothing inspires me like…

The simplicity in Japanese and Scandinavian designs.

+ I am really good at…

Alex: yoga // Dominic: video games.

+ Most people don’t know that I…

Alex: play violin and guitar // Dominic: am an expert marksman.

Designers – Dominic Chong & Alex Gilmour – surrounded by Spun lights!

[Images courtesy of Evie Group.]

Pleat Farm is an informational and inspirational online platform, and a design pasture for all things apparel, textiles, architecture, furniture, paper art and product design-related – with a twist and a fold. Pleat Farm is about more than origami. The site is focused entirely on innovations in material applications involving bending, knotting.

Thanks to Dana for the honor of guest-posting on her beautiful blog!

‘Retail villages’ have been an emerging occurrence in Tokyo as of recently, and Yoyogi Village is one such concept which integrates a green, slow space/ sanctuary with an exclusive retail experience for the sophisticated urban crowd. The urban oasis is the brainchild of two high-profile music creatives Takeshi Kobayashi and Shinichi Osawa, and the two visionaries branded themselves as “Kurkku’ for this venture. Helming the overall architecture is interior designer Masamichi Katayama of Wonderwall in collaboration with ‘plant hunter’ and landscape designer Seijun Nishihata.

As you enter the compound through a gateway of steel and glass, you’ll be greeted with a “village” of specialty shops and cafes nestled in converted shipping containers. A landscaped pathway would take you to the main attraction – code kurkku – which comprises of a lounge area, a music bar, and an eatery with a focus on Kyoto-Italian organic cuisine. The choice of natural wood floors and ceilings harks back to the wood architecture of rural Japan, and it is further enhanced by Nishihata’s lush massive green living wall which is breathtaking when viewed on every angle.

So the next time you jet off to Tokyo and feel the need to slow down, hope on the JR line heading for Yoyogi and step into the Village!

- Pleat Farm.

[via spoon and tamago. Photography by Nacasa & Partners.]

I have a slight (borderline clinical condition) addiction to collages. Pattern, colour, texture – what’s not to like!

One of my favorite collage artists is Ashkan Honarvar. He’s a genius when it comes to communicating social issues through images. In his series Vanitas, Ashkan teams up with stylist Kathi Kauder and photographer Sabrina Theissen (two other artful aces!) to depict the equilibrium between life and death and “the instincts that guide people under extreme circumstances”.

Holy guacamole – I think Ashkan has created the perfect visual marriage between fashion, art and poetry, don’t you think?

-Gabriel.

[All images: Ashkan Honarvar]

Mary Katrantzou, Florals

Erik Madigan Heck is a New York–based photographer with a signature style for which I have nothing but extreme levels of admiration, love and affection. Oh ok, and slight envy dammit! His work contains multiple rich layers and crosses the genres of photography, fashion, fine-art and mixed media. In today’s world where digital post-production is routinely performed on the majority of photographs, Erik’s work is almost always jazzed up the good old-fashioned way—using his camera or in the darkroom. Amen to that!

Etro Homme

Felicity Brown and The End of Spring

Erik began photographing at the age of 14. By the time he was 23-year-old, he founded an exclusive semi-annual art journal Nomenus Quarterly (dubbed as the world’s most expensive magazine—ummm… wow!)  where he frequently collaborates with some of the world’s most influential artists, fashion designers and institutions including Dries Van Noten, Helmut Lang, Jean Paul Gaultier, Azzedine Alaïa and Ann Demeulemeester. Each new issue of Nomenus comes both as a limited edition printed format for several thousand dollars (!!), and as an online publication with free bonus content.

Mary Katrantzou, Surreal Planes

Mary Katrantzou, The Surrealist Ideal

Last year, PDN selected Erik for its annual “30” list of photographers to watch. He has also been featured in Forbes‘ 30 under 30, WWD, The New York Times to name a few. In other words, he’s so hot right now. I shall certainly keep a close (eagle) eye on this ballsy and wildly talented young photographer. Extreme love!

Kenzo Spring Summer 2012

Valentino Couture

Selected Fashion 2007-2011 (left) Rodarte, (right) Lanvin.

Giambattista Valli

[All images © Erik Madigan Heck.]

Ahhh, these images brought me so much joy that I had to share them with you guys. Joel Robinson, a photographer based in Canada, is the creator of this series of surreal and conceptual photos. I love the way Joel’s vivid imagination shines through his work, and the way he manages to bring fantasy to life by combining child-like wonder, dreams and magic. And this is coming from someone who didn’t like reading/ watching/ having anything to do with “fantasy” while growing up. True story. And you?

You can see more of Joel’s work on Flickr, and you can also buy some of his prints on Etsy.

[Found via fuckyeahbookarts.]

Leah here again from The Minimalist with my second post. Susanna Vento is my style hero. This Finnish stylist has a signature pure and minimalist eye like no other. Through her work she aims to startle the viewer while offering inspiring tips for their own interior and helping them break free of a boring, uniform homes.

Her styling consists of many layers and always combines modern and classic pieces and her favourite element – DIY.  Susanna doesn’t take herself too seriously and has been quoted saying “Interior design is not a serious business”. She currently styles for Scandinavian Deko magazine. You can see her portfolio of work here.

-Leah.

[Images:  Susanna Vento.]