Archive for December, 2009

The Lin Pod Bench from De La Espada features a planter built right in, which you can use either as intended, for plants, or as a hilarious and uncomfortable resting place for a tiny dog. It costs $2,250. [BuzzBeast]

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to see a building completely reduced to rubble by a few precisely planned, powerful synchronized explosions. Which is exactly what is not happening in this video taken in the city of Liuzhou, China.

The technical name for this is coitus interruptus.

Do we love us some Alton Brown food science around here? We most certainly do. You can learn a whole lot more from the Food Network star and kitchen hacker at the wonderful Good Eats Fan Page.

To put it mildly, the Fan Page has neither a slick interface (frame navigation ahoy) nor the kind of inter-locking, wiki-style organization that such a subject cries out for. Still, what the Good Eats Fan Page has is in-depth information on all the food, gadgets, and clever work-arounds Alton has covered on his much-loved show, and lots of it. Want to know more about the pressure cooking Alton was doing in that one episode? Check the equipment list, grab recipes and location links from the episode guide, or, heck, Ctrl+F-search the entire episode transcript. If it’s not covered on the site, it’s probably somewhere in the user forums.

It's the kind of geeky, obsessed site that restores your faith in the web's promise—and makes you eager to do crazy things with your kitchen equipment.

After four months of gains, home prices flattened in October. Worse yet, industry insiders think that they’ll soon start to fall.

Here's an easy and effective way to manage screws, washers, and other small parts that you need to transport or want to store with the hardware that they belong to.  I find it most useful when I'm removing usable parts from broken computer hardware. The problem So here I am in the office.  I've r…
By: Crucio

While every city and country has its own unique way of celebrating the new year, fireworks and sparkling lights seem to be universal. I thought it would be fun to take a virtual world tour of some of the lights and sights of New Year’s Eve. So, even if you’re hunkered down at home this evening, you can still say that you’ve celebrated internationally.

Throwing a shindig at your casa this New Year’s Eve? Try one of these DIY projects to glam up your pad!

© Bruno Helbling

Architects: nimmrichter cda, Architekten ETH SIA
Location: Dietlikon, Switzerland
Project Team: Rolf Carl Nimmrichter, Dennis Clayton Matthiesen
Site management: Knecht Baumangement, Schlieren
Timber construction: Hector Egger, Langenthal
Interior: Teo Jakob Colombo, Zurich
Project Year: 2007-2008
Photographs: Bruno Helbling, Zurich

In a Zurich municipality, better known for its industrial and shopping facilities, nimmrichter cda compiled a study dealing with the long term development of a plot of land with an existing building on site.  A comprehensive survey of various factors revealed the plot’s development potential for the next generation. Competing against a modular house manufacturer, the unconventional design submitted by Rolf Nimmrichter’s architecture office was awarded the commission.

plan 01

The parameters of the design were determined by the desire for autonomy of form and materiality, as well as the new building’s interaction with the house and pool already on the land. An existing pavilion, acting as pool and summer house, was demolished and replaced by a new volume.

The new building’s form is a response to its position on the site, and the angled façade reflects the client’s desire for living areas offering different degrees of openness or seclusion. The exterior is faced with horizontal, open-jointed cedar batten cladding, which further emphasises the geometry of the building.

© Bruno Helbling

The three-floor building’s overall volume is 1, 000 m³. Garage and necessary storage and utility rooms are located in the basement. The open-plan ground floor comprises one large living, eating and cooking area, and there are three bedrooms and a recessed balcony on the upper floor.

The interior, also designed by nimmrichter cda, is defined by its core faced in chestnut wood, which encompasses the entrance hall, with cloakroom and externally-accessible guest toilet, and the staircase.

© Bruno Helbling

The box delineates the eating-living area and contrasts with the dark, rough concrete floor and the black kitchen elements.

The building is Minergie® certified, a registered quality label for low-energy buildings. The energy concept includes making use of the neighbouring house’s existing heating system and using solar panels to heat water for both houses.

© Eduardo Calderon

Architects: Hutchison & Maul Architecture
Location: Mercer Island, Washington, USA
Design Team: Robert Hutchison, Tom Maul, Joyce Puri
Structural Engineer: Jeff Albert
Mechanical Engineer: Rainbow Consulting
Interior Design: Hutchison & Maul Architecture w/ Julie Petri
Contractor: EH Construction
Project Area: 623 sqm
Project Year: 2004-2007
Photography: Eduardo Calderon, Alan Abramowitz, Tom Hille, Hutchison & Maul Architecture

The site is very steep, long and narrow – 50’ wide by 400’ long with an average slope of 35%. Located on the west side of Mercer Island, there are panoramic views west towards Seattle and the Olympic Mountains beyond. Zoning permitted construction on only 35’ of the 50’ property width, and limited the height of the building to 30’ relative to the slope of the site.

site plan

© Alan Abramowitz

Exterior terraces and courtyards are carved into the sloping hillside to facilitate pedestrian circulation throughout the site; to provide natural light throughout the primary levels of the house; and to provide privacy from the neighboring properties. The house consists of two parts: a concrete plinth which contains utilitarian and less-used spaces; and a hovering wood volume above that contains the private functions of family bedrooms and bathrooms. The resulting space sandwiched between the wood structure and concrete plinth houses the primary living areas, bound by large expanses of glazing that afford views through the open level of the house to the Lake beyond.

© Alan Abramowitz

To access the house, one navigates through the series of excavated exterior terraces and stairways, across water features and bridges, then down another stairway, finally arriving at a small exterior glass-enclosed courtyard in the center of the residence. This entry sequence informed the shape of the wood volume as well as the placement and configuration of the concrete retaining walls. Horizontal wood siding assembled with members of alternating depth enhance the notions of texture, shadow and perspective; contrast with the smooth concrete site walls; and ultimately heighten the journey from driveway to center of house.

© Paul McCredie

Architects: Parsonson Architects
Location: Shoal Bay, New Zealand
Project Team: Gerald Parsonson, Craig Burt
Structural Engineer: Spencer Holmes Consulting Engineers
Builder: Phil Davidson Construction
Project Area: 220 sqm
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Paul McCredie

Shoal Bay is a remote settlement on the rugged east coast of southern Hawkes Bay. The building is designed to be part of the rural setting, it is raised off the ground and sits beside the original woolshed, which has served the bay since the early 1900’s. The bach is rugged yet welcoming and offers unpretentious shelter, it is the type of place where you kick off your shoes and don’t need to worry whether you walk sand through the house.

floor plan

© Paul McCredie

The bach is formed of two slightly off-set pavilions, one housing the bedrooms and the other the main living space. Decks are located at each end of the living pavilion allowing the sun to be followed throughout the day. Sliding screens at the north-west end provide adjustable shelter for the different wind conditions, offer privacy from neighbouring campers and act as walls for outside sleeping.