New York Design Week is almost upon us and the new releases are coming at us fast and furious. Today, we're featuring the Bellboy Water Tower, a low lounge chair made from reclaimed old growth California Redwood taken from one of those incredible New York City water towers. The Water Tower Chair is part of New York's Design Week, which opens Friday, May 18th. Thing is, there's just one—and it will be auctioned off as part of The 12x12 Show—online bidding will be allowed. The event showcases the work of 12 woodworkers selected to create a piece from the timbers of one of 12 historic Gotham sites, and it benefits woodworking education for the non-profit Brooklyn Woods. 

Photo by Joshua Dalsimer

Photos by Joshua Dalsimer 

Last week, Orbit, London’s new Olympic Tower was previewed for the public, and this week it is reacting. 

Anish Kapoor, the sculptor responsible for Chicago's popular Cloud Gate (“the Bean”), won an international competition to design the Olympic Tower, the Orbit.  Orbit, commissioned by the Mayor of London and designed in collaboration with the imaginative structural engineer Cecil Balmond, is intended to attract visitors during and after the London 2012 Olympics. It opens to the public in July—and adult admission will cost a whopping £15—which even Kapoor has bemoaned. The project is said to have cost £22.7m, with the vast majority of that figure coming from the deep pockets of Britain's richest man, the steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, chairman of the ArcelorMittal steel company.

The 114m steel structure has aspirations akin to the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower, of course, was intended to be temporary but the people of France and the world loved it so dearly [after 50 years] that permanence was bestowed upon it. So far, the Orbit has not received such a warm welcome, especially from the Brits. Has it affected it’s own success by prematurely striving to be a design icon, a structural marvel and a piece of ‘history’ during and long after the games will end? Surely these labels are earned not gifted.

The British public is often reserved, even laid back. If there is one thing that stirs opinion and debate it is art, public art even more so. When it’s big and expensive, every man and his dog has an opinion to share.

We asked a number of Brits—artists, architects, designers, schoolteachers, accountants, parking attendants and more—what they think of the Orbit. Here’s what they told us.

“When I saw it mid-build, I was more impressed with the crane. I think it's an embarrassment to all concerned.”

“I can't wait to visit! I love the abstract nature of the design - it is dynamic, the way people circulate, the structural qualities and colour are fantastic.“

“I saw this when was last in London, I thought it was weird scaffolding...Couldn't believe it was purposely built as a monument! Piece of sh*t!”

“I really want to like it and applaud the change of direction away from the tasteful... But it's a funny ungainly thing! Overall I enjoy the lack of profundity though!”

“I choose to abstain, however my staff add the following commentary -> #fail #wtf #facepalm . They are a mature gaggle.”

“I think it relies a bit on the old 'It's really big, isn't it impressive?' thing. I thought for a while it could have been quite an elegant structure, but it seemed to become less so as it went up – it will be interesting to see if it becomes more loved over time. Also to see if the public like it more than architects do. The viewing platform Iooks pretty ungainly. That said, I'm usually a fan of architectural follies like this.”

“I do think it’s an amazing sculpture when you read about it, but personally I wouldn't like to look at it out of my bedroom window!!”

“I'm hoping its better when experienced first hand, and you get to experience its scale. You usually need the context Anish Kapoor's work. Normally you can sense the volumetric quality of his work even in a photo, I am not feeling the love for this piece. Yet!“

“Nice to see a flamboyant sculptural project, but not so elegant, looks a bit threatening (think War of the Worlds). And why red?”

“It's an incredibly contrived confection, but with an equally ambitious intent... ...personally I think it lacks a level of sophistication and reserve that a piece of this nature demands.... ...the oft touted reference is the Eiffel Tower, and the drama tall icons juxtaposed against residential create... ...I buy into this to some extent, however the form, detail and composition are unfortunately poor... ...It irritates me that the UK continues to over state and over design in such circumstances.”

“I think it's amazing, full of energy, not sure why it's got so much stick? The engineering behind it is a triumph.”

“An ugly piece of machinery that's only saviour is possibly the light show. But mainly it’s just a money show from those involved.”

“I can see the engineering behind it, yet visually it's ugly. Funds could have been spent better...”

“I like it! Looks like a helter skelter but I'd like to go up to viewing platform one day.”

“It sort of reminds me of those aliens in Sim City. Even more so at night when it glows with red anger.”

“I am still waiting for either its beauty or its ugliness to provoke me - which might put it in the furtive territory in-between?”

“I think it is an artist's failed attempt to create architecture...Total waste of money, resources and materials...sorry to sound too harsh but all I want to ask him is "Why?"

“Its hugely disappointing no? It looks like a '90s roller coaster ride...”

“I love it visually, but object to the obscene cost.”

“I feel that the excessive use of steel is in disharmony with the current thinking of environmental design and saving resources. Not very elegant.”

“I find it pleasing, it vibrates as though it’s tied itself through itself to contain itself and makes sense as an excellent expression of the power and scale of the commissioning company's services.”

“In short, a hideous waste of money - love his work, but it definitely isn't in the same league as Chicago Bean!”

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson pre-empted possible criticism of the project during the official launch, by stating: "Of course some people will say we are nuts – in the depths of a recession – to be building Britain’s biggest ever piece of public art.”

What do I think? I believe in this case Kapoor has been driven by the materiality, one with which he doesn’t have a huge history. The nature of the competition stipulated steel as the main construction material due to the relationship with ArcelorMittal. This condition, along with the necessity for habitation, pushed Kapoor’s boundary between art and architecture. 

But who is to say these opinions won’t all change in ten weeks or ten years? If there’s one thing we British do better than drink tea, it’s change our minds. 

Video: Building Orbit 

Some highlights:

A house made from Bolon by Missoni flooring. 

Moroso, will show two new sofas for the first time in the UK. 

Belgian showroom Bulo shows a new desking system grID.

The Republic of Fritz Hansen will show a new chair and table series miniscule™ 

Kusch+Co will bring its trilogy of wooden-framed seating series 1010 bine, award-winning 3000 njord and 7750 fjola to London

Big names such as Knoll, Steelcase, the Poltrona Frau Group, and Milliken will be on the scene as well—with showcases and anniversary parties. Clerkenwell also welcomes newcomers to the neighborhood such as BuzziSpace, Dauphin Human Design, Domus, EFG, Figueras, Ochre, PROOFF, Planet Partitioning, Porcelanosa, The SCIN Gallery, Thinking Ergonomix and Zip.

If you're going, well, we're jealous.

Despite being the destination for New York’s art and design crowd, west Chelsea maintains a relatively quiet existence after the galleries shut their doors. Its gritty, industrial character, cool and stylish by day, often goes unseen at night. And while many a hotelier have understandably avoided this remote part of town in favor of higher-traffic locales, Carlos Couturier of the newly-debuted Hôtel Americano is quick to articulate that this was precisely what appealed to him. 

“We like the fact that we’re in our own world, and yet, things are changing so swiftly,” he says. “We wanted the hotel to be an emblem, a foundation, before the neighborhood changes into something else.” 

Visitors to Mexico may already know of Couturier’s hotel group, Grupo Habita, and its various assortment of ten-and-counting properties, ranging from Mexico City’s sleek Hôtel Habita, to Maison Couturier, a tropical farm estate nestled away in Veracruz. Hôtel Americano, however, is the group’s first enterprise north of the border. 

Couturier and his team enlisted Enrique Norten, now based in New York, to mastermind the design. Having worked with Grupo Habita before, Norten’s participation tempered the daunting nature of an international project, while his understanding of Chelsea’s landscape appropriately shaped the hotel’s aesthetic.

“We agreed on a metal façade because there’s a lot of industrial aspects in the neighboror collector, or whatever. This is a neutral space, where they can almost disconnect from that.”

Room rates aren’t inexpensive per se, but they are affordable. And yet, Americano doesn’t skimp on hospitality. Here, the notion of luxury is rooted in offering the same level of service to all its guests. Providing luxury that’s attainable, but without devaluing its very definition has always been a top priority for Grupo Habita, now more than ever. 

“In this economy, guests are much more focused on value. They want to be accommodated individually, regardless of whether or not they’re staying in the smallest room or the biggest—everyone should be treated like they’re staying in the best room,” says Couturier. “And that’s what we do.” 

Hôtel Americano's Carlos Couturier, Photo: Eric Luc

Photos by Eric Luc; Styling by Nick Whitehouse;
Hair and makeup by Annamarie Tendler;
shot on location at Hôtel Americano in New York.

Initiated by the tragic events in Japan, Larsen's students look at new port city strategies that would address climatic concern—including new types of performative architecture that can "recode their context."

Larsen received a $20,000 Rotch Travelling Studio grant to help fund a trip to Tokyo for 12 architecture students at University of Illinois. The students researched and proposed preliminary architectural and urban solutions around Japanese coastal cities that face high flood risk factors. On the trip, the studio analyzed Tokyo and Tokyo Bay, specifically the Tsukiji Wholesale Fish Market, as a test bed to grapple with issues surrounding architecture and urban development in similar port cities. The studio used Tsukiji Fish Market as a model "to establish an interface and dialogue between infrastructure, ecology, and architecture and think opportunistically about future urban networks and ‘infra-tectural’ prototypes in port cities."

Friday night there's an exhibition opening of the studio work. Saturday, there's a symposium featuring lectures from professionals and academics. 

Exhibition Opening
1414 Kingsbury, Chicago
Friday, May 11, 2012 | 7-10pm

Symposium Presentations
Saturday, May 19, 2012 | 1-6pm

R.S.V.P. at Facebook for the exhibition and symposium.

Nestled away in a centuries-old converted mill, and tucked into the pastoral English countryside, is Idea*, a design-thinking studio that develops innovative products to help its clients use their workplaces more effectively. Idea’s kind of design-thinking is done in very non-traditional ways. The company’s unique method of conducting business includes holding meetings in an open-air boardroom, rain or shine. But don’t worry; if the British  drizzle takes a turn, there’s plenty of space to chat indoors, next to the energy-efficient wood-burning stove or the communal dining table. Idea’s interesting quirks and perks are what attract high-profile clients such as BBC and Google.

“Everything we do is different because you can’t have a set methodology or process with the innumerable, diverse projects we have,” says Idea creative Guy Miller, a veteran video game designer who now writes client reports that resemble novel-like page-turners instead of the more conventional fact-sheets. Chris Ager, another Idea creative team member, adds: “I wouldn’t really say there’s ever a routine about how the office works. That’s how we live and breathe as a business.” He says the team strives to make each project a new experience, even if it means flirting with the “f-word.” “We are quite prepared to fail. Of course we have to deliver successful projects, but people within the organization have the freedom to do something a bit different.” 

One of Idea’s, well, ideas is Me and My Workplace, an online suite of design tools that assesses office productivity and potential while using the surveyed outcome to shape the physical design of workspaces. Rather than hiring out pros to promote the product, a team of Idea’s graphic and interior designers, programmers, and writers developed the company’s first stop-motion animation. Although the film’s hand-drawn aesthetic errs more on the side of craft than Web 2.0, making shiny, streamlined projects isn’t part of Idea’s business plan. The firm does not cater to what clients think they want, but instead delivers what is best for business. “We don’t win them all,” Ager says. “But the lion’s share of our work comes when we’ve had a chance to develop things over time with clients and generate real change.”

Long train journeys between Idea’s Shropshire office and the smaller London-based Shoreditch office allow workers to unplug and take creative thinking off the screen. And because many Idea employees spend weeks meeting with clients, they often work remotely. The team’s extensive travel prompted the organization to share its remote workplace practices as a product. “Nine times out of ten, we’ll be in a café or the British Library because we can get good coffee and Wi-Fi,” Ager says. The office’s hand-picked network of London’s Internet hubs inspired Idea to develop WorkSnug, an augmented reality app that helps any mobile worker find the best places to productively tuck in with a coffee and connection. “Designing a workplace should not be about designing a location,” Ager says. “Your workplace is very much a virtual tool that helps you work wherever you need—or want—to work.” WorkSnug even implements technology to measure the volume of the nearest café, so an after-school craft hour won’t interrupt your work hour.  

Although the app garnered rave reviews, Ager doesn’t see what all the fuss is about. The technology has been in place for years. Idea just helps people and businesses use it better, and maybe have a little fun in the process.  “It feels quite normal to us, and it’s not like we’re trying hard to do it,” Ager says. “We’re always quite happy to be sitting slightly on the edge of the mainstream, otherwise we wouldn’t be what we are.”

 *Idea’s offbeat tendencies are apparent in its idiosyncratic spelling: iDEA which we have adjusted for readability.

Photos courtesy of Idea

So, Graffiti Cafe isn't exactly a spot where you'll find the tagging and popping and locking set in Varna, Bulgaria, that's easy to forgive. Studio Mode's design for the boutique hotel club combines the organic feel of wood in the ceiling, columns and table bases, alongside a more opulent modern feel of the modern lounges and illuminated modular white wall coverings. It better look good, one floor above is the city's Gallery of Modern Art. In the club world, it might be arty and restrained, but we're guessing that might be good news to travelers hitting Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, who shouldn't be shy about settling in here for a night. 

Photos by 3inSpirit

But perhaps even bigger news is that Wilson, the former Nike Global Creative Director, has been honored with the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Award for Product Design. “Being recognized by such a prestigious design organization and awarded for my body of work is the greatest honor of my career. It makes all the countless hours, obsessing over the details and product experience, even more meaningful,” says Wilson. Congrats Scott Wilson, this Friday night cocktail is for you.

Today, we're featuring more from Saunders Architecture's designs of artist studios on Fogo Island, Newfoundland, for the Arts Corporation of Fogo Islands, the Squish Studio, in fact, near the town of Tilting. The trapezoidal building is only 30 square meters of space, supported by stilts and perfectly suited for a transient artist who travels lightly. What you don't see? The kitchen is powered by solar panels on the roof and it features a compost toilet and wood burning stove—call those green features if you must.

Photos: Bent René

Jeffrey Beers was gracious enough to take a few minutes to tell us about the updates. “Previously, individual areas in the club were quite segregated. We significantly reconfigured the existing space, opening up sight lines so guests can watch all of the action – both on the video screen and around the club. The original ‘bleacher’ seating was too steep and shallow. We’ve expanded it to make inviting, lounge-like areas. In the VIP rooms we incorporated a sophisticated, neutral color palette and a lot of wraparound furniture so that they feel like high-end, very comfortable living rooms."

The details had to be right for the client’s flagship location and reflect the personal style of a contemporary music icon—one that might, on occasion, treat the space like his living room according to Beers. “Jay visits the 40/40 frequently; it's where he comes to relax and watch games with his friends and family, so it had to evoke his effortless cool as well as urban luxury.” 

While it has won awards and accolades from the design press, you still can't bring a CUBBY home from the design shop. The ingenious "coat hook + storage unit" has had a rough road from inception to production. Originally designed in 2006, it won both Best of the Year: Accessories by Interior Design Magazine and Best in Show at the DWR, Modern+Design+Function competition, CUBBY was created by Materious, the husband-and-wife design duo Stephanie and Bruce Tharp. The praise for this merging of objects typically found in a home entry has been deafening, but the project has yet to be manufactured. 

That's not because Materious don't know what they're up against. The company focuses mainly on creating product ideas for manufacturers. The duo is very aware that not all great product ideas have the ability to be produced for the masses. "Larger companies have larger overhead, so the pricing and margins may not accommodate product ideas that could be successful, and the risk may be perceived as too great for them to deviate from their established formula... so, sometimes if you want your product to make it to market, you have to do it yourself," Bruce Tharp tells us. 

CUBBY was one of the first projects they designed, one they could not let be lifelessly value-engineered. Designed to be hung with one nail, made of recycled and recyclable material in the USA, and proportioned to support anything from a laptop bag to a coat, the CUBBY was no simple tube of plastic, it was thought-out. "It seemed like such a shame to just abandon the project because of what we perceived as corporate short-sightedness," Tharp writes. Taking matters into their own hands Stephanie and Bruce looked to crowd fundraising via kickstarter. Perhaps design conscious consumers could help bring the product to life? From the looks of it, that's precisely how it worked out. The project is fully funded with the bidding wrapping up Saturday.

There are but a few days left to be one the the first people to snag the CUBBY—$19 gets you one mailed to your door. Hurry, you can still own a great piece of contemporary American design—no middleman required.

Today, we're kicking off a series on Saunders Architecture's designs of artist studios on Fogo Island, Newfoundland, for the Arts Corporation of Fogo Islands, which does residencies on the island to promote geo-tourism to the benefit of the gentle and culturally aware local folks. The islands stark beauty is echoed in strong, angular studios by the Norwegian architects, who like to throw a black box or ominous tower in the mix along with structures that are riffs on fisherman's traditional salt shacks. First up in the series we are presenting is the Long Studio, a 1,300 sq ft studio on stilts above a rough and wet area of Fogo with copious amounts of natural light and hidden storage, toilets and wash basins, all providing the contemplative and inspirational setting for which creative folks can long. We're longing, oh how we are longing.

Photos: Bent René