We now return to our regularly scheduled program.
Hey, it’s been awhile but anyway, I just wanted to plug this new project of mine: an online zine called New In Manila
It’s basically a zine where I try to cover various scenes of the Manila design and art scene. You can check out some of the features we have right now like Manila Design Week and the Versus 2 Exhibit which was held in Alliance Francaise De Manille.
CLICK THE IMAGE!
Shepard Fairey has been under the spotlight for the past year or so. Initially with his work on the Obama HOPE poster and how the image became the unofficial campaign image for Obama, which appealed particularly to the younger and more internet-savvy demographic. And lately, for the “fair use and appropriation issue” where the Associated Press threatened to sue Fairey, who used a photograph that an AP photographer took and turned it into the Obama HOPE image.
Shepard Fairey first came to fame through his early Andre Giant Has A Posse/Obey Giant campaign where he also appropriated an image of wrestler Andre the giant into posters and stickers, which later on evolved into the Obey logo. He also branched out to doing t-shirt and apparel through his brand, OBEY. He is also involved in graphic design & illustration as well as developing marketing campaigns.
You can read more about the issues in the following links below:
AP alleges copyright infringement of Obama image
You can hear his side of the story from this interview with NPR here.
Last weekend, while strolling along Powerplant Mall, Rockwell, there was a display area that showcased ergonomic chairs and furnitures, particularly for children. The showcase was for the new store than opened on the upper level called Ergrokidz. On one side they also had some office furniture displayed and an office chair caught my eye. It was a chair that resembled the Herman Miller Aeron office chair and even the salesperson on hand agreed with me that there were similarities. This chair was brought in by Contract Design and was selling for around Php 32,000 or US$ 711 while the original Aeron chair, depending on the size, would probably cost from US$ 600 to US$ 1,000 which is equivalent to Php 27,000 to Php 45,000.
I first came across the Aeron chair when I chanced it upon seeing snippets of various design firms’ offices such as Fragment Design and Cubism Inc. I thought the design was cool and the seat is covered by a mesh that looks almost metal-like called Pellicle. It is considered to be good for the back and posture of the user as the seat has an ergonomic shape and the height and back can be easily adjusted. The side arms can be adjusted as well, including the option of totally hiding the arms.
It has been said that the Aeron chair was the symbol of the IT bubble in the 90s and a status symbol for many offices. I’ve came across many reviews and while some are unhappy with the comfort-ability, most are pretty happy with their chairs. Or they might just be forcing themselves to be happy because they shelled out a lot of money for the chair, hah!
Maybe someday, I shall try it out(I checked their site and they do have dealers here in Manila). If I have the extra cash to blow and it feels good enough, maybe I’ll invest in one.
It’s increasingly difficult to buy a proper home in the city these days with rising properties prices and a general lack of available property. However, if you are lucky to come across a lot with a nice location and a nice price but has a small area, the Gig Antic might be the perfect model home for you.
WIth just an area of 52.06 square meters, the Gig Antic a 2-floor residential structure located in Yokohama, Japan and is designed by the architectural team of N Maeda Atelier.
Shot from the front
The 2nd floor
The 1st floor with the bathroom
While the design might not be for everybody, I feel that there are many elements here that was borrowed from the condominium concept that can be utilized in designing a compact home. The 2nd floor looks like a typical loft for a condo which with proper mirror placement and use of space helps in making the small space look bigger than it actually is. I’m not too much a fan of the bathroom located on the 1st floor as I feel they still could have used the space behind the kitchen to accommodate a small bathroom and perhaps make the 1st floor another living room space or another extra room or even make it the master bedroom.
The furnished 2nd floor
View from the top
I was trying to figure out where the master bedroom was placed for the home and I reckon it’s behind the working area on the upper part of the loft. If there was still space for a bedroom behind the working area, I don’t see why there can’t be a space for the bathroom behind the kitchen, which is the area below the master bedroom.
Aside from that minor flaw, I really, really love this design. It’s clean, spacious and has lots of light coming in. The overall design might have to be changed for the Manila environment, it might need a little more space around the lot for walls, parking space and a gate. I’m not architect but I guess around 80 square meters should be sufficient enough for those additional details and at 80 square meters, it should be still quite affordable for a 1st time home owner.
In continuing my interest in modern Japanese architecture and design. I would like the present the following design by Atelier Tekuto.
This is the Twin-Bricks House located in Saitama, Japan. I like how it’s like two different spaces yet it blends seamlessly together. Another plus for me has been the use of natural light and wide spaces. I really like to have a place to live and work at that has tons of natural lighting. I guess it feels more relaxing and inspiring that way.
A thought came to mind while I was at the office earlier. Why am I so insistent in trying to become an active part of the art, design and music culture?
I’m not really sure what to say, but this idea came to me while thinking about it. I think partly it’s because it allows me to make my mark in this world. In today’s current age where products and ideas are pushed by multinationals, being involved in culture is one of the things that I feel is something that’s achievable by an ordinary citizen like me. It’s one of the things that you can still try to grasp and feel with your own hands, not just something mass produced by or built up by factory or marketing machines just to sell. Something like a song, when written honestly can feel like the artist or the band is sharing part of their soul or their personality to the listen. It feels genuine.
But these days, even that isn’t safe from the prying hands of the big players. It’s funny though, because even before some of these subcultures have already crossed bounderies to mainstream markets. However I feel that these days, what’s happening is that companies are integrating into the culture and making it seem that they are supporting it’s ideals and history. But the truth is they are bastardizing it and making it fit into their mold, while still selling it to people who don’t know better. And as you see more and more people are getting into these cultures or subcultures under the assumption that it is real, when in reality this just the same machine under a different guise.
I hope I made sense. Think about it.
Today I want to share another design company. This time we are focusing on interior design. I would like to introduce to everybody, Wonderwall Inc.
Wonderwall Inc. is spearheaded by Masamichi Katayama. It’s the same company that’s responsible for the A Bathing Ape retail store Busy Work Shop in Japan, London, New York and Hong Kong. In fact, Nigo and Bape was one of their first customers and some could say, their claim to fame.
They have since then gone on to design various retail stores as well as restaurants. From APC to the Tokyo Curry House, Wonderwall Inc’s design concepts is all about breaking barriers while still taking in consideration everything that is important in any store. The Japanese are known for their focus on detail, it’s the same ideals for Wonderwall. From the type of lighting, materials, proportions as well as the actual experience of the store, all these elements come into play in their designs.
I felt it was only appropriate that the first masterpiece I should present is none other than the atelier of Wonderwall Inc.
Next up is one of the first projects of Wonderwall Inc.. The Busy Work Shop in Harajuku, it was originally built during 1998, but it has been recently renovated.
BUSY WORK SHOP HARAJUKU
For the Bape store, after discussions with Nigo, we decided to create a store that felt like a town within a building with an American diner flair. However, for the top floor, a sense of playfulness was added with a colonial style resort inspired space.
They also worked on the offices of Ogilvy & Mathers in Japan, as well as the retail store for A.P.C. Homme in Daikanyama.
OGILVY & MATHER JAPAN
These offices are located on the 25th floor of a large office building. A great view of the Tokyo landscape is incorporated into a common space connecting each division which can be used as a lounge, with a variety of randomly placed chairs.
A.P.C. HOMME DAIKANYAMA
Creating an impression of a space that had some big changes to the interior without actually making changes was an important factor in this project. The space has been restructured while revering the fact that it was cherished for a long time, with a garden as the entrance, with different rooms and space each with it’s own scenario of the A.P.C. world.
I felt it was only apt to end with another Bape store. This time we have the Bapexclusive store in Aoyama.
BAPEXCLUSIVE AOYAMA
For this project, Katayama wanted a coexistence of two opposing ideas; minimal and maximum. The ground floor is very minimal; a very controlled space made of pure-white grids of tiles. The second floor is a maxim space surrounded by walls of sneakers and floored with carpeting made of 10 colors. For the stairway which links the two floors, a lighting system and mirrors are utilized to change colors and allow the light to spill down to the ground floor. The conveyer belt for the sneakers on the 2nd floor is enclosed in a glass cylinder. The middle of the conveyer belt is open through the ground floor that allows one to view the rotating sneakers from below via the mirrored ceiling.
Store descriptions and pictures were courtesy of the Wonderwall website. You can see more of their designs and some bonus stuff in their website.
Hope you guys enjoyed this feature, I will try to share more cool stuff in the future.
I’ve always liked looking at nice things, whether it’s girls, drawings, pictures, whatever.
Today, I shall share the office/laboratory of Under Cover in Tokyo, Japan. Now, what is Under Cover? Well those who follow Paris fashion shows should know the brand by now, headed by Jun Takashi. Well, no, I don’t follow fashion shows, but I know Jun Takashi because of his streetwear background.
In the early 90’s, Jun or Jonio as he is called, opened a shop named Nowhere in Harajuku. Together with his partner, Nigo, they sold limited and exclusive shirts designed and printed by themselves. And yes, it’s the same Nigo who is now the head of the multi-million A Bathing Ape label.
Without further ado, here are the pictures of the UC office. Designed by Klein Dytham architecture (KNa). Pictures and text also courtesy of KNa.
Undercover Lab is a building, which is undercover. Not only is it tucked away in the back streets of Harajuku but the site is also very deceiving. A 10m long narrow driveway leads to a 12m x 12m site at the rear.
The building houses a studio, press showroom, and office. A 20m long hanger rail to show the entire collection of one season was required. This is housed in a black tube running along the only 20m straight line on the site, which extends out over the entrance driveway. This cantilevered tube extends the building’s influence to the main street in a strong but stealth way.
The tube was made to look as anonymous as possible, almost like a shipping container where you have no idea of its contents. The tube also conjures up images of telescopes etc, which give the building a mysterious feel _ nobody knowing what quite is going on inside. So much so that some people may feel intimidated just walking under the tube if they are unannounced.
Wow, I never would have thought how tough transcribing an interview could be. I’m currently in the process of transcribing for an article that I’m working on. I hope I can get this done by this week and at least have the basic outline for my article ready.
I love working on this project, I’ve been very, very excited about the potential of this thing. I hope that in a small way, it can have a positive impact on our society.
Now, I’m being quite vague innit? Hehehehe. You’ll find out soon enough.
So I shall continue to transcribe, listening to the sounds of early 90’s backpack hip-hop, A Tribe Called Quest and Gang Starr!
