Fire in the hole!

Sometimes I find something that is just visually stunning. There's a smart write-up (and more pix) about this Norwegian fire pit on OHIO's blog. For my part, I'm just going to post the pretty picture. Enjoy!

Via OHIO.

Japanese capsule hotel, for the birds?

We've covered Nendo projects before, and the Japanese designers always have something smart to say. This time, it's cohabitation, Japanese capsule style. 

You plus up to 78 tiny bird families. I wonder how many of the nests are occupied? 

The design is provocative, and charming without being too cute. The idea is better communing with nature, and the peepholes are a clever way to get your voyeur birdwatching on.

Images from Nendo. Via NOTCOT.

99 bottles of beer in the wall?

As a glass artist, I have a weakness for architectural glass, and I was blown away by this Heineken bottle. The WOBO bottle is a vintage concept, originally designed in 1965 after Mr. Heineken took a trip to the Caribbean and was struck by the bottles scattered on the beach and the lack of good building materials. The big idea is that the bottle would have a secondary use as a brickl. Best I can find, they manufactured only 100,000 or so bottles, and there are only a couple of structures built with them that are still standing.

Enjoy the photos, and if you want to learn more, there's a great article on the WOBO at Inhabitat.

Images from Inhabitat.

Off the cuff architecture?

These cuffs and rings are designed by architectural firm Marmol Radziner and made from surplus architectural bronze. I love the clean lines and lack of ornamentation--very masculine.

Images from Fast Company. Via Ecouterre.

Inspiration: Max Levy

I came across the work of architect Max Levy. While it's not billed as "green," the connection to nature and the materials here are inspiring. I especially like the elements that use sunlight and shadow. Enjoy.

Watering cans capture rainwater for the garden.

Low dining room window offers an usual garden view.

Images from Max Levy. Via Remodelista.

Happy holidays!

We're heading home to hang the organic stockings and drink mulled cider while we wait for Santa. The lab is dark until the new year. If you're feeling crafty, you can build your own modern gingerbread house. Detailed plans available for download from Hometta.

Have a great holiday, and we'll see you in 2010.

Images from Hometta. Thanks to Treehugger for the tip.

Guns Carved Into Old School Desks

Ben Turnbull turns vintage school desks into a commentary on American gun culture. His Lessons series features guns and grenades and one retro-futuristic space shooter. Maybe not as relevant to my teen-aged years, but much more interesting that “I (heart) Nik Kershaw”

Images from Eleven Fine Art. Thanks to Geekologie for the tip.

Bamboo Barn

Usually we don't post about eco-architecture, as there are tons of other web sites and publications filled with the latest LEED-certifiable technology and how, if you have a zillion dollars, you can use cradle-to-cradle materials in your eco-manse. However, this seemed different. The materials used are modest, and most are locally sourced. The structures are part of a utiliarian set-up, designed as a place to store, fuel, and maintain agricultural equipment, with seasonal capacity for storing hay and grain. The open-air design provides ventilation to help dry bales of hay. All the bamboo is locally sourced, and the big surprise is that this isn't somewhere in Asia, but on the Mason Lane Farm in Kentucky. That's right, this is hand-tied, Kentucky-grown bamboo. My grandparents' farm didn't look like this. Then again, they weren't trying for a LEED gold certification.The second structure on site features panels of corrugated metal, which are typical of rural farm structures. The design details here are minimal, but effective. You can read more about it and see a full slideshow on Archinect. It's a great write-up, with lots of details on construction, materials, and the design philosophy.

Images from Archinect. Thanks to Inhabitat for the tip (Note: Inhabitat cites this as a North Carolina project, but it's actually in Kentucky. For our west-coast readers, there's probably not much difference ;-). However, I spent my summers visiting my grandparents at their Carolina farm, and I couldn't let the error go uncorrected.)

Dwight Way in Berkeley

Nothing much to say except that I LOVE this. It's on the corner of Dwight and MLK in Berkeley, and I used to live a few blocks from here. The entire building has all kinds of creative uses of found/scrounged materials, but this street sign fence is my favorite. If I ever find 300 street signs in a pile at the salvage yard, our dilapidated fence will be reborn as something like this. More photos and details in the Dwell article and slideshow. Don't miss the awnings made from car hatches.

Image from Dwell

Modern Coop

Why, why, why is our design blog featuring chicken coops? Around here, backyard chickens are becoming more and more popular. The eggs are fresh, organic, delicious, and cheap, and the chickens also make a lot of, um, fertilizer, which is handy if you're a gardening type. In our own Oak-town, you can keep several chickens (no roosters), as long as your coop is a reasonable distance from neighboring houses. Once you've decided to have your own chickens, you'll need a place for them to live. Most people build their own coop, but then there are these beauties, like mini airstream trailers for your flock. The coops are made of reclaimed cedar planks and can be customized to your needs. Each one is hand-built by architect/designer John Wright, who has raised several chickens in his own backyard.

Windows!

Modern Coop is Portland-based, so if you're in Oregon, your lucky chickens can live it up in Dwell-modern style. John's also available to help design your dream home, with or without chickens.

Images from Modern Coop

Architectural inspiration: The Dairy House

Arch Daily gives us these lovely images of a house inspired by stacks of lumber. It's the use of glass that makes the design really special. The spaces between the wood beams are filled with laminated glass blocks. The result is amazing, especially the way the light comes through the glass. The website has many more photos and details about the project.

Layers of wood and laminated glass

At night

Images from Arch Digest (photographed by James Morris)