2015 Seattle Design Festival

Design in Public and AIA Seattle will present the fifth annual Seattle Design Festival September 12-25, 2015. Every year, this citywide celebration brings together community members, city officials, experts, designers, and local organizations to explore how design improves the quality of our lives and our community. The Festival – the largest design-related event in the Pacific Northwest – is presented in collaboration with dozens of partner organizations and includes nearly 100 programs, such as workshops, performances, tours, exhibitions, talks, installations, films, and gatherings.

The 2015 Seattle Design Festival (SDF2015) explores how design can contribute to a more equitable society. The theme Design for Equity gives us pause and inspires reflection. Design for Equity inspires us to question our biases and assumptions and work toward ensuring that everyone in our society – from every background, ability, race, age, gender, location or economic status – can access the same opportunities and outcomes, both now and in the future.

For more information, visit DesignInPublic.org.

Terrazzo, Tile & Marble Association of Canada (TTMAC)

2015 Tech Expo – Victoria 
Architects, specification writers, contractors and designers are invited to the Terrazzo, Tile & Marble Association of Canada’s 10th Biennial Tech Expo. Seminars have been approved for AIBC learning credit and topics include: soundproofing and heated flooring; innovative technologies in ceramic; designing installation systems for thin tile; tile and stone project specification; exterior moisture management; new generation bathrooms and a panel discussion on large format tile.

Date: October 23, 2015, 9am-4pm
Location: Harbour Hotel & Suites, 345 Quebec St, Victoria
Learning Units (LUs): 8.75 Core
Cost: Free (registration required)
To register: http://www.ttmac.com/en/upcoming-events.html

The World’s Coolest Underground Architecture

By Katherine Wisniewski
Fox News, August 20, 2015

From an event venue to a winery, these subterranean structures prove that you sometimes you have go a little deeper to find the coolest architectural feats.

1. Data center in Stockholm

(Image: Courtesy of Albert France-Lanord Architects)

Submerged beneath the granite bedrock of Stockholm, a former nuclear bunker built in 2008 has been transformed into a sleek data center by Albert France-Lanord Architects. The impenetrable complex boasts soaring waterfalls and verdant greenhouses, the latter of which are made possible by artificial daylight, while a German submarine engine is used for backup power.

2. A home in the Swiss Alps

(Image: Courtesy of Bjarne Mastenbroek)

Only a stone’s throw from Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals, this luxurious Bjarne Mastenbroek–designed three-story home rises triumphantly from the Swiss Alps. Entering through an Alpine barn on the outskirts of the property, visitors traverse a 72-foot-long concrete tunnel before arriving at the light-filled modernist cave. Inside, the stark white rooms are furnished by a coterie of Dutch designers, including Hella Jongerius and Claudy Jongstra.

Read more…

The Ultimate High-Tech Man Cave

By Madeline Stone
Business Insider, July 26, 2015

(Image: Williams worked on the construction for three years, spending about 3,000 hours outside of his day job. Courtesy of Business Insider, photo by Jono Williams)

Jono Williams, a plastics engineer and graphic designer based on the north island of New Zealand, has built the ultimate man cave.

Dubbed the “Skysphere,” his getaway is a stunning steel tower surrounded on all sides by glass.

The Skysphere makes an ultra-futuristic statement in a field ringed by trees. The tower’s lighting and security system can be controlled using an app Williams built for Android. Read more…

Belgium Sculptural Steel Labyrinth Built at Former Coal Mine

by designboom staff
designboom, July 21, 2015

(Image: Tunnels, caverns and enclosed chambers frame the surrounding site. Courtesy of designboom, photo by Filip Dujardin)

With a focus on the experience of space, gijs van vaerenbergh — a collaboration of belgian architects and artists pieterjan gijs and arnout van vaerenbergh — have realized an immersive labyrinth at the central square of c-mine art centre in genk, belgium.

a one kilometer maze of steel corridors, with walls that tower 5 meters above the earth, surrounds installation visitors, placing them within the intricate depths of the imposing structural mass. a series of boolean transformations comprising large, geometric shapes are cut from the structure — a sphere, a cylinder, and a cone create voids and apertures that alter the walk through the labyrinth into a sequence of spatial and sculptural experiences. Read more…