A Sartorial ‘Shop in Shop’ for Neil Barrett
 |
 |
A series of curvaceous, modular display shelves by Zaha Hadid Architects creates a powerful store image for Neil Barrett. (Virgile Simon Bertrand)
Zaha Hadid Architects designed 16 bespoke polyurethane display units for fashion designer Neil Barrett’s shops.
Fashion designer Neil Barrett hired Zaha Hadid Architects to design a cohesive display concept for a new flagship store in Tokyo that could be easily rolled out to his other locations as well, which include four shops in Seoul and one in Hong Kong. The result had to be as sartorial as Barrett’s fashions, so Hadid’s team came up with the idea of cutting the displays for all of the stores from a single block of material. The concept resulted in 16 bespoke display elements, which all fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
“We wanted to design a project that always belongs together but offers a choice between different sizes,” said project architect Claudia Wulf. “The reason we designed a modular landscape is that we have extremely different area requirements [across all of the shops].” The units, which are carved from a solid unit, range in size from 13 1/2 feet by 13 3/4 feet to 4 feet by 6 feet. Paired, the units create a sinuous artificial landscape that unfolds across multiple display levels. The pieces can be grouped to suit the scale and space of each boutique, and display shoes, bags, or accessories just as easily. Read More
Dome, Sweet Dome: Artist Knits a Hat For Rem Koolhaas
Rem Koolhaas, the Koolhaas Hat, and the Seattle Public Library. (Montage by AN)
We’ve always known that Rem Koolhaas has a special relationship with textiles and those who make them. But watch out Petra Blaisse, someone else may be hoping to knit his way into Rem’s heart. According to the blog Knitting Daily, artist Jared Flood has created the wool “Koolhaas Hat,” a toboggan whose diamond-shaped pattern is inspired by the facade of OMA’s Seattle Public Library. We hope Flood will send a sample directly to Rotterdam. Watching a recent video of Rem accepting the annual Charles Jencks Award at RIBA in London, the formidable noggin looked particularly windswept.
Rem’s Next New York Commission is in the Bag
OMA to design Coach display in New York and Tokyo.
High-design fashion label Coach has been pursuing big-name architects, recently announcing its corporate headquarters will be the anchor tenant for a new Kohn Pederson Fox tower at Hudson Yards with James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s High Line running underneath. Next up, Rem Koolhaas’ OMA will design the brand’s new flagship shop-in-shop at Macy’s in Herald Square.
Form. Function. Gloves.
Courtesy Renee Verhoeven
For her graduation project at Dutch art and design school ArtEZ, Renee Verhoeven explored the relationship between function and materialization with Concealed Layers of Product Life. Anatomy, movement, and utility are translated through fabrication in a collection of gloves that attempt to tackle one of the fundamental projects of Modern design and architecture. As Verhoeven explained in a statement, “It was an idea I nurtured for a long time: making the outer layers of a product expressive for its interior, the way it functions and the scientific knowledge that it materializes.”
Architects Design Fashions for A+D Museum’s Celebrate Fundraiser
Richard Meier's white linen blazer has a colorful and chaotic collage lining.
This Saturday, LA’s A+D Museum will host its annual fundraising banquet, Celebrate. This year’s event will not only include music from KCRW DJ Raul Campos (himself a trained urban planner) and some impressive celebs (including our favorite architecture fan Moby), but it will feature a runway show with custom clothing and accessories by architects and designers like Richard Meier, Neil Denari, Predock Frane, BMW Designworks, Karim Rashid, Robert A.M. Stern and many others. The runway show and live auction will be hosted by LA humorist Charles Phoenix and by Frances Anderton, host of KCRW’s DnA.
Times are tough for architecture, but is it time for starchitects to begin taking on other jobs on the side? John Hill over at A Daily Dose of Architecture spotted architect Charles Renfro’s newest gig—J. Crew model—which is helping Renfro to become a household name. Appearing in a two-page ad running in the latest issue of Fast Company, Renfro is sporting a trim, tailored outfit of fine Italian fabrics, otherwise known as the Ludlow Suit, and some dazzling multi-colored socks. “This is what they mean by style with substance,” says the copy. (Oh, that’s what they mean…) Who should J. Crew pick for its next architecture model?
Clothing Becomes A Canopy at SCI-Arc
Friday's review of the two new structures (courtesy Chung Ming Lam)
For the last several years, SCI-Arc’s Studio 1A has given new students the chance to literally make their mark by producing projects that become permanent fixtures at the school. On Friday, this year’s class revealed a project that started as a piece of clothing, then became a wire model, then became a mockup, and finally ended as a new undulating and faceted canopy and wall. Made of a recycled carbon fiber called Nyloboard, the project’s more than 2,000 pieces were all hand cut and, somehow, none are exactly alike. They’re attached with Gorilla Glue, nails, and screws. “It’s something that exists at the scale of the world, which can take years for an architect,” said Nathan Bishop, who along with Jackilin Hah Bloom and Jenny Wu led the studio.
Gaga for Gehry
Lady Gaga rocks her Frank Gehry-designed hat at a MOCA LA benefit. (Courtesy Gaga Daily)
We knew Rem Koolhaas had a crush on Miuccia Prada, but now Frank Gehry and her have teamed up, and it’s not for a new “epicenter.” As The New Yorker details in a Talk piece this week, the Santa Monica architect was asked by his artist friend Francesco Vezzoli to design a hat for none other than walking art piece Lady Gaga, and the hat, along with her dress, were made by Prada for a benefit at LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art last month. As Dana Goodyear describes it, “Gaga wore the Gehry hat all folded in on itself, a millinery version of Walt Disney Hall.” But this being The New Yorker, there were no pictures, only a drawing, so we had to see the hat for ourselves, which, thanks to Gaga Daily, we found it. Read More
The Banality of Fashion
The offending images: These were among the photos from a fashion shoot done at Peter Eisenman's Holocaust memorial in Berlin. (Courtesy New Statesman)
First the cracks, and now this? Sure, Peter Eisenman’s Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin has seen its fair share of controversies over the years, but it doesn’t get much worse than a fashion shoot for an in-flight magazine. According to the New Statesman‘s scoop, easyJet had no idea the Holocaust memorial had been used as the backdrop for a bunch of models because its magazine is produced by an outside company. That company has yet to speak up about the matter, so it remains unclear whether the fine folks at INK publishing are ignorant or just stupid. Looks like Hannah Arendt is right once again. Read More
Vito Acconci, Male Model
Vito Acconci, as seen on page 26 of the October Men's J. Crew catalog.
Back in June, we spoke with Vito Acconci about his decision to close up shop. The artist and designer essentially said he was yet another victim of the recession—”The contradictory thing is that at a time when there are these architectural projects that we have the possibility of doing, how do we keep the studio active on a day-to-day basis?”—but now we’re wondering if he maybe had a career change in mind. It would appear so, as Archinect alerts us to Vito’s appearance in none other than October’s J. Crew catalog. Maybe it’s some kind of performance art? He’s ready for his close-up after the jump. Read More
Wearable Architecture
Tricolor Wedge Platforms With Leather Straps (Images Courtesy Sergio Rossi)
We’ve heard the story now and again, designers being influenced by art and architecture, but just when we thought architects were the ones taking cues from designers – think Zaha – Italian shoe company Sergio Rossi’s Creative Director Francesco Russo, in a related press statement, cites specific references to the work of Hadid and photographer David Zimmerman in his latest shoe collection. Read More
In Her Shoes
Women's limited edition boot
London-based architect Zaha Hadid’s latest project explores futuristic vessels of movement in relation to the human body, or in non-archispeak she’s designed a pair of shoes! Read More
Advertise on The Architect's Newspaper.
Archives
Categories
Architecture
Design
East Coast
Midwest
National
Planning
Shft+Alt+Del
Sustainability
Transportation
West Coast
