Beneath the Surface Blog

The Russian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale feels like a scene out of a science fiction movie. With QR codes pasted over nearly every inch of surface in the pavilion space, users scan the surfaces with a computer tablet, unlocking the QR codes to launch snippets of information about the construction of a new Russian city.

The Skolkovo science and technology centre, located just outside of Moscow, is being designed by the architectural teams of Pierre de Meuron, Rem Koolhaas, and Kazuyo Sejima. The “science city” will bring together advanced technology and energy companies from distinct fields of science into a single community.

The pavilion design attempts to “find an architecture metaphor for connecting the real and the virtual. People today live at the intersection of on- and off-line; ‘our common ground’ is becoming a cipher for infinite mental spaces.” In this constructed representation, the user and his or her instrument are the vehicles for decoding (transforming) a mere black and white surface pattern into digital space and information.  Poignantly, the experience of the pavilion is dependent on an interface with humanity, the technology cannot stand alone – perhaps a reflection of emerging views of the scientific process?

We work with backlit surfaces day in and day out, and this particular installation has refueled our creative juices when imagining surface possibilities.  We salute the originality in this wall surface design that becomes an integral link in a systematic yet highly interpretative experience.

Image credits: Dezeen

As cool autumn weather sweeps into Cleveland, the impending winter snowfalls are brought to the forefront of our minds. At the first sign of snow accumulating, the parks fill with families and children enjoying ice skating, sledding, tossing snowballs, and fearlessly falling backwards into the fluffy ground covering to make snow angels.

Artist Dominic Harris uses technology to heighten the snow angel creation process in his childlike yet haunting art installation, “Ice Angel”. Participants stand in front of a perforated metal screen backed with acrylic, the images of their arm movements recorded by specialty cameras and imprinted on the grid of white LEDs.

From the artist:

“Ice Angel blends the act of youthful playfulness when creating snow angels with modern digital manipulations, making the viewer assume the role of both performer and portrait subject.

As the user moves their arms a new wing shape appears, unfurling from the shoulders, moving and displacing virtual snow. The wings are created dynamically and are linked to the participant. The artwork has a ‘memory’, capturing a hidden view of the participant and their angel wings, and this specific angel identity remains linked to that participant in any future encounters with the artwork.

The merging of angel mythology and the natural phenomenon of light travelling to earth creates an intriguing intersection. In modern terms, light is our messenger, allowing us to view the universe. An angel’s form is inherently human, yet an angel always originates from beyond.”

On display in London, you can create your own angel image at Victoria & Albert Museum through Spring 2013.

Image credits: Dominic Harris, Fastco Design

Even though our office is pretty spacious, files, drawings, and miscellaneous papers seem to keep piling up on our desks (an on the immediate surrounding floor area). It seems like no matter how much space we have, it always gets filled – and fast! If that claustrophobic feeling is starting to creep in a bit like it is for us, take a second to peer out from behind those stacks to check out this video.

Architect Gary Cheng doesn’t work in a cramped spot, he lives in it! At only 344 sq. ft., his apartment is tiny at best. However, his innovative design has turned the apartment into a dynamic interior puzzle of over 24 rooms that not only take advantage of such little space, but prove that well-thought design can triumph in even the smallest areas.

Feeling overwhelmed as the surface area of your desk becomes increasingly populated with drawing sets? Just watch this video and you may be inspired to transform the cluttered space into an efficiently dynamic design.

The Oculus Bar at the Venetian Hotel is an icon of Las Vegas. Reflecting the Italian grandeur and charm of the city of Venice, the original design of the Oculus bar boasted Ionic columns, ornate statues, strong spatial divisions, and layers upon layers of color and form. When the design teams of Wilson Associates and Steelman partners were recently commissioned to renovate the Oculus Bar, they engaged in a delicate dance with history.

(Above: Oculus Bar before renovation)

(Above: Oculus Bar after renovation)

How to update a historical, iconic bar space while respecting its historical references and bringing it up to date with modern design? Here's how this project team accomplished the feat:

• Removing the visual interruption of the perimeter columns creates a more open and inviting atmosphere for bar patrons. By softening the edges and ceiling plane, the bar is able to flow into and relate to the adjacent spaces.
• Maintaining the octagonal shape of the bar space keeps the most memorable element of this space translated into the renovation. Its distinct geometry and straight lines are carried through all layers of the bar design.
• The central octagon reaches full height to join strongly with the ceiling, visually strengthening the central anchor of the bar.
• The eight pedestals at the perimeter of the octagonal bar provide an opportunity to introduce a signature, textured material at the level and scale to have most impact on the patrons.

GPI Design was selected to adorn the bar pedestals with our custom backlit onyx panels. Keeping in the spirit of the overarching spatial design, the onyx panels were envisioned to have a chic white background marked with strong defining veins. And while the project team moved full steam ahead whipping the remainder of the space into shape, these small crown jewels of backlit onyx were guided to fruition by the GPI team.

To transform the custom onyx panels from their raw slab format to the final installed pieces on-site, GPI Design began by scouring the quarries for stone slabs that met the designers' vision.

After the building owners put their stamp of approval on the hand-selected slabs, we moved quickly (yet carefully) through the fabrication process so that our backlit onyx could be installed as the remainder of the space completed construction.  The onyx pieces were laminated to glass, cut to size, and laid out in careful bookmatched arrangements.

The LED backlighting panels and electrical schematics were engineered as the stone was in production, all with the ability to be controlled and adjusted as the onyx and lighting finally converged on-site.

The backlit onyx panels punctuate the eight pedestals with an elegant material statement, creating glowing beacons and intimate spatial dividers for the bar patrons.  With the forms, detailing, and color palette tying together throughout the renovated bar space, the Oculus Bar is transformed while maintaining strong ties to its original Italianate design.

Image credits: VegasChatter, Hi-Con, Inc., Wilson Associates

Architects, urban designers, and graphic designers alike are sure to appreciate the artistic installations of Russian artist Daria Makarenko. The series ““Ceramic Speaks in the Street” reclaims the lost corners, the nooks and crannies, the voids of urbanity. By replacing a missing stone in a façade or sidewalk with a new piece of material engraved with a short phrase, Makarenko repossesses the inherent meaning in the architectural landscape.

Those unexpected moments when one stumbles upon Makarenko’s small installations are both private and public, beckoning one to ponder the possibilities of expression in shared community space.

"This Stone Used To Be My Heart"

"I Never Had a Plan B"

"True Geniuses Were Never Afraid of Banalities"

"The World is Full of Walls"

"Silence Also Keeps a Message No Need to Break It"

Artist statement: 

Daria Makarenko

What makes Makarenko’s work so captivating? Does architecture really need an intervention in order to express emotion?

Image credits: Daria Makarenko

Summer is dwindling and fall classes are beginning. For many elementary students headed back to class, nothing beats starting the school year with a new backpack, some cool kicks, and fresh box of crayons. But while elementary students relish in cracking open that crisp box of colorful waxy goodness and penning those silky smooth lines of creativity on that first coloring assignment, Christian Faur is also relishing the potential of crayons –just completely outside the lines of any coloring book.

Christian Faur’s crayon sculptures go beyond the typical use for this elementary school staple. Appearing to be pixelated images from afar, his works of art are crafted from thousands of tightly packed upright crayons in varying hues. The tips of these meticulously placed crayons creates a plane – almost like a forest canopy – that conveys images both in both 2D and 3D format, and crayons as both individual and unified elements of a whole. 

But it's more than just an atypical use of crayons that gives Faur’s work such visual impact. The way in which light plays off the angles of the crayons, creating shadows and subtle highlights, enhances the various nuances and intricacies at play within his work. The way in which all of these elements converge - in light and shadow, 3D and 2D, holistic image and individual pixel - is fascinating, and adds depth (both visually and emotionally) to his works.

A far cry from any coloring book, Faur’s crayon sculptures certainly don’t stay within the lines. However, in this case, we’re willing to bet his elementary teachers would let it slide!

Image credits: Christian Faur

Words cannot do justice to this astounding video of light crawling over stone surfaces in an ever-changing symphony of texture, color, light, and movement. Created by visual artist Shawn Reeder using timelapse photography, the video piece showcases the range of lighting conditions at Yosemite National Park in California.  While it's easy to be swept away in the beautiful images, be sure to ponder why our built environment lacks such variety.

Yosemite Range of Light from Shawn Reeder on Vimeo.

Now turn off that computer screen, break down your office walls, and look to nature to inspire your material choices and lighting expressions!

For centuries, architects have incorporated ornate columns, elegant cornices, and complex vaulting systems into their structures to draw the eye of the visitor upwards around the perimeter of the space. Jim Lambie, an artist in Glasglow, Scotland, demonstrates that designers have been thinking backwards for years, and what occurs below your feet is just as significant as what's above. Using thousands of lines and hundreds of meters of tape, Lambie transforms floor planes into visual masterpieces that serve to stimulate, puzzle, and awe it's inhabitants.

Though Lambie uses a variety of everyday objects in his projects, his growing fame can be accredited to his colorful vinyl tape installations being exhibited around the world. The geometric floor patterns represent more than a whimsical piece of art, it's a medium for Lambie to educate his audiences that a simple material can transform an ordinary room into an extraordinary fantasy for the senses. While the idea of vinyl tape may seem basic, the amount of time, planning, and effort it takes to complete an installation is anything but; each transformation takes at least 3 weeks to complete!

Lambie takes a different approach to art than most contemporary artists, striving to disorient the viewer rather than capture their attention. Through the use of vivid colors, contrasting angles, and bold patterns, Lambie gives a new life to austere, static, and mundane spaces that would normally be overlooked. By using existing architectural lines within the exhibit gallery as the inspiration for the patterns, viewers are provoked to question if the room is expanding or contracting, pulling one way or the other.  According to Lambie, “covering an object somehow evaporates the hard edge off the thing, and pulls you more towards a dreamscape.”

Lambie has been considered an artistic genius by critics due to his uncanny ability to create fun, energetic, and graceful art that does not rely on any obvious social, political, or personal meanings; the lighthearted displays are solely for the guest's enjoyment.   As Lambie's pulsating illusions with vinyl tape continue to astound viewers around the world, we salute his colorful interventions.

Credits: Architizer, Juxtapoz

Playgrounds represent places of limitless imagination, yet their forms are repeated from place to place, with clearly defined rules of operation for each piece of equipment.  A Japanese crochet artist has redefined the notion of a traditional playground, weaving colorful fabrics into whimsical patterns that beckon children to swing, run, crawl, and explore. Take a look at how Toshiko Horiuchi Macadam tactfully turns a playground into a piece of tactile art, and fantasy into reality!

While knitting and crocheting have always been the foundation of Toshiko's work, the direction of her pieces shifted unexpectedly when two children visited her gallery began to climb onto her piece of art. She claims that “the fabric took on a new life, swinging and stretching with the weight of the small bodies, forming pouches and other unexpected transformations, and above all there were the sounds of the undisguised delight of children exploring a new play space.”  From that moment on, her work has moved from galleries to parks, and from monochromatic color schemes to vivid rainbows.

Toshiko's interpretation of “playground” is radically different than what you would normally find in the United States, and consists of an enormous, hammock-like net that is suspended from a wood pavilion. With bright colors, organic shapes, and sweeping patterns, it's no wonder that children would consider it a whimsical paradise! One of the most attractive qualities about Woods of Net is the fact that it has no specified use; children are able to run on the net, swing on suspended ropes, and sink freely into the whirlpool of fabric.

Toshiko will display her crochet playground in Woods of Net, a permanent pavilion designed by Tezuka Architects and TIS & Partners Structural Engineers. Located in Hakone Open-Air Museum, the structure relies exclusively on timber to pay homage to ancient Japanese construction methods. With 589 pieces of timber spanning a total of 320 cubic meters, the Woods of Net is extremely sturdy, and will last an estimated 300 years. Careful perforations in the wood allow natural daylight to illuminate Toshiko's design, creating a “space as soft as the forest where the boundary between outside and inside disappears.”

We salute Toshiko's willingness to draw inspiration from her children, weaving the unbridled imagination into her crocheted paradise.

Credits: ArchDaily, Television Break Wordpress

If you believe in the popular misconception that wood and other natural materials give rooms a “rustic” feel, think again! In the modern age, designers are finding innovative ways to introduce natural wood to the hospitality world without sacrificing a sleek, upscale aesthetic. You're sure to love these unique applications of a very traditional material. We can't help but imagine how well these materials would pair with ambient backlighting!

BanQ Restaurant

Office dA, a Boston-based architecture firm, had the challenge of creating a one-of-a-kind interior for BanQ, a French-inspired restaurant with a Southeast Asian twist. The architects utilized the beauty and flexibility of natural wood to balance the sophisticated atmosphere of a French establishment with the exotic flair of an Asian bistro. Opting to “radicalize the difference between the ground and sky,” the designers chose to make the ceiling the focal point of the space. The experimental project was created using a simple CNC milling device, which resulted in luxurious waves at an economical price. Light and shadow play an important role in the perception of the wave forms.

The Warung

Perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean in Bali, some might say The Warung could put interior décor on the back-burner, allowing mother nature to become the primary design element. WoHA Architects made a compromise, and relied on natural wood to blend the interior and exterior environments while simultaneously recalling traditional Indonesian and Balinese building materials. While precise wood perforations in the upper level act as a daylight filter, white walls at eye level allow the tropical scenery to captivate diners.

Cotta Restaurant

SCDA Architects took advantage of the tropical Southwest Pacific climate in Cotta Restaurant, purposely blurring the boundaries between the dining room and the beach into one enormous space. Delicate pieces of overhead wood give the dining area a sense of enclosure, and local trees are repurposed as tables. By laminating the oversized wood tables, designers were able to achieve a sophisticated look that seamlessly integrates into the natural setting.

Link S Suspended Lamp

Rather than designing a site-specific light fixture, Lzf lamps has launched a line of handcrafted lights made exclusively out of natural wood. These exquisite lamps utilize the internal beauty of wood to radiate warm light throughout its surroundings, casting unique shadows on adjacent surfaces. With graceful curves and a variety of wood tones available, the Link S suspended lamp will continue to hang in upscale restaurants around the globe.

Bravo 24

Allowing the food of world-renowned chef, Carlos Abellán, to be the star of the restaurant, Isabel Lopez Vilata took a minimalist approach to the interior décor of Bravo 24 in Barcelona, Spain. By organizing simple lumber in an ornate geometrical pattern, the restaurant retains an open, modest appearance with a sophisticated flair. Plush seating and white linens gives an added warmth to the space, while also serving to counteract the hard surfaces of the walls, floors, and ceilings.

From rustic to chic, it's clear that the wood carries endless design opportunities. As material technology advances and creativity abounds, we can't wait to see what designers are going to try next!

Credits: ArchRecord, LZF Lamps, Isabel Lopez Vilalta