The Klassnik Corporation

Been meaning to flag up this company for a while - The Klassnik Corporation.  I met Tomas Klassnik at a crit I went to watch at London Metropolitan unversity the other day. They describe themselves as 'a London based interdisciplinary design practice focused on architectural research'.   For me their work ticks all the boxes - both fun and functional. I particularly like the Bunk Bed Bus Stops - what Londoner wouldnt?

http://www.klassnik.com/

bunk bed bus stops

RIBA Regent Street Windows Project 2011

Just finished a project in May working with Scott Brownrigg helping to create an installation as part of RIBA's Regent Street Windows Project 2011. Hope to work with them again soon. :)

Design Synopsis: Advancements in technologies and communication will have a profound affect on the development of the Cities of Tomorrow. Despite their geographical distances, cities will become increasingly more connected and accessible in everyday life as the result of the ever growing use and impact of the internet on our lives.

Essentially we all live in a giant network of cities, where there are no boundaries. This will create new dimensions to architecture within tomorrow’s world. Reflecting this idea, each pyramid represents a City of Tomorrow; each city is effectively limitless, and forms part of this ever growing global network.

Cities are also symbolic of the manmade world, but it is a world which is gradually being destroyed by those who have created it. With the issues surrounding global warming becoming more evident in our lives, the dangers associated with excessive UV light as a result of ozone depletion will need to be addressed further. The coloured light from the pyramids represents these UV light issues, these will continue to cast themselves upon us as we live in our Cities of Tomorrow.

for further details see: http://www.ribablogs.com/?tag=regent-street-windows-project

Thornhill School

Just found out that a building I helped design while working for WHAT_architecture has been given the go ahead. An article on the piece was featured in the February issue of the AJ -

http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/what-reveals-thornhill-outerspace-scheme/8610792.article

We ♥ the Suburbs - Cluny Summer Pavillion

I recently got involved in building a summer pavilion alongside two fellow University of Sheffield Graduates Melanie Bax and Sarah Considine. The Pavilion was part of a project entitled We ♥ the Suburbs, dedicated to celebrating the Suburbs, understanding some of its often neglected issues and using design as a tool to tackle them. With the help of volunteers like myself, Sarah and Melanie created a temporary pavilion space in which to hold summer events in the Cluny Estate, South End. Events will be taking place in the pavilion throughout the summer. See the website for details.

For more information see the website http://weheartthesuburbs.blogspot.com/

Bartlett School Summer Show 2011

This Summer I spent much time attending various end of year shows around the country, both out of interest and in an attempt to make my mind up about which university to attend for my Part II. Of all the shows I attended I was most impressed by the work of the Bartlett, which I felt this year was particularly diverse and showed a great range of ideas and skills. Heres one of my favourites:

you&mearchitecture

Just discovered youandmearhitecture - liking their work a lot. A fairly new practice of two members, both having both graduated from the RCA, they describe themselves as a 'London based design platform....(who) makes things - a postcard, a book, a house, a city, using playful, challenging and inclusive methologies.'

www.youandmearchitecture.com

They recently held an exhibition entitled 'Hatitecture' in which they challenged various up-and-coming artists and architects to come up with London inspired hats as part of London Design Week 2010. Here's a photo of all the entries....

Lego Love - Cowley St Laurence School

As a child I always had a love for Lego - constantly driving my mother crazy building the same house over and over again (an architect from a young age!), yet, I can safely say I found someone more crazy then me! Over the past two months I have been helping to build a Lego facade for an extension to a school in Hillingdon, London. 

Here is a small scale (almost) project bravely showing how classic and overworked programs can result in a landmark for the immediate community (most known as the home of Heathrow Airport).

The main concept of the school is the massive lego facade which gives a playful character and unique identity to the project.It is not a big surprise that earned the “Guinness World Record for the largest on-ste interlocking Lego build”

“The use of Lego was empowering in the sense that it allowed maximum public participation and facilitated the design process—as a building material implicit to child’s play that is both fun and educational,” says What_architecture director Anthony Hoete.

For me details on this project please follow the link to the article in the AJ education supplement
http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/whatarchitecture-unwraps-lego-clad-school/8608380.article

Barbican or not to Barbican? That is the question...

The Barbican are thinking about possibly getting me to design a travelling pop up installtion for them for over the summer based on my design for LFA 2010. The idea would be that it would be an interview room that records peoples responses to all the summer creative events they are holding..... Watch this space....

POP UP and CONFESS! Sponsored by New London Architecture!

Having visited the London Festival of Architecture a few times now, I finally mustered up the courage to design my own installation for the Festival. The theme this year is 'Preparing for the Olympics' - which got me thinking about all the new building that will soon start to take place that will begin to transform London as we know it. Still today, there is a great level of distrust between architects and the public, and I was keen to create something, ahead of all this building, repair this relationship. New London Architecture took a liking to the scheme and have provided me with sponsorship to run with the project and get it made!

POP-UP AND CONFESS!

A TEMPORARY ARCHITECTURAL CONFESSIONAL FOR LFA 2010

Ever stolen your mate's idea? Bribed your way to the front of the print queue? Blagged your way through a design review? Yeah sure you haven't......

As us architects prepare for the architectural transformation of our city ready for the 2012 Olympics, wouldn't it be nice to be able to clear your architectural conscience and start a fresh?

Based on the South bank, on 3-4 July as part of the London Festival of Architecture 2010, The Pop -Up confessional allows just this.

Come tell us your architectural sins and receive your' I've Confessed!' badge (sure to be a collectors item,)

Remember to come visit me 3-4 July on the South Bank! 

Architecture for Humainty - London Architecture Week 2010

I am currently busy designing a structure for London Architecture Week on behalf of ASF + Article 25 and AFHUK. Will be around Regent Street somewhere- site not yet confirmed 19-20 of June. Check it out.

New Job @ WHAT_architecture

Just started work at WHAT_architecture. Farah says hi.


Heres a little bit of background as taken from their own website..............


WHAT_architecture produces designs, applied research and buildings in the fields of architecture, urbanism and landscape. Early projects such as the Venice exhibit (‘91 Bienale Prize), the Temple of Laughter (Artifice ‘94, AD ‘95) and House on Motiti (Blueprint ‘98, Experimental Houses + New Vernacular ‘99) brought WHAT_architecture to the attention of a wide field of clients and gave the office critical acclaim. WHAT_architecture continues to pursue its fascination with space and mobility described in the book ROAM: “the contemporary world is one characterized by the mobility of people, goods and information”. Spatial mobility embraces responsive uses to space (012hil_rooftop nursery has numerous operational modes), circulatory space (001sar_sargeant gallery has curatorial circulation), infrastructural space (000fly_flyover house generates garden housing over offramps), transport nodes (000vac_ office tower as vertical roundabout)...

WHAT_architecture uses an iterative process to design space that produces greater choice for the client. Options, variations and permutations install confidence and mitigate against risk as the design process is informed by selection and elimination. The products of this approach vary in size and type: from installation to master planning. Current projects include both public and private and are scattered around the globe including: an eco-tourism hotel in NZ, a hotel extension in Rotterdam, an old person’s home in Germany, an Olympic landmark, childrens’ centres, an art cell and housing in London. By simply asking 'what?' everything is discourse!
www.whatarchitecture.com

Photos of its award winning rooftop nursery......

Oh the joys of unemployment.....

Like many other architecture students at the moment I am facing the reality of unemployment. Rather than moan about it I have decided instead to take decisive action and think of new ways of getting noticed. I recently posted 60 of these flyers through architecture office doors throughout London.  Now I sit and wait.......fingers crossed!

Ansham and Flux Launch Party

Just began work at Ansham Architects, a fairly new multidispliary design practice based in Folkestone, Kent. My first project of the day was to design and curate an a networking/exhibition event for the company. The event was a great success- pictures shown below:

for more details of their work see http://www.ansham.com/

Criminal Graphics

loving the new graphics for the new Criminal catalogue.......shame about the clothes - same old, same old

http://www.criminalclothing.com/documents/SS09Range.pdf

Nike Snowboarding: Danny Kass Collection

During my time in Canada I came across a few sights that took my breath away, but nothing so much as the new Danny Kass Snowboarding Collection for Nike.



To accompany these delightful treats, Nike has made a promotional video which is defiantly worth a view. Find the link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQVXpX4mhsM