Wave Avenue's Blog Posts - Wave Avenue

Geometrical Extension of the Balmain Cottage

2013-01-15T02:00:00.000Z

Sydney-based architecture studio Innovarchi designed the Balmain renovation project. This unusual geometric extension is part of a traditionally designed cottage in Balmain, New South Wales in Australia.

Description from the architects:

In the context of the heritage area in and around Balmain this extension to a small cottage demanded careful consideration of the philosophy behind the new intervention. Analysis of traditional built forms, usage patterns and development codes led to a strategy of providing a contemporary interpretation of the ever-decreasing volumes often evident in ad hoc additions of kitchens, laundries and outside toilets that were often made to these original structures.

Moving away from traditional usage patterns, the public penetration of the private realm has progressed from the compartmentalised formal front rooms to the more relaxed and inclusive realm at the back of the property. The area closest to the entry now becomes the bedroom precinct and the back is a fragmented indoor/outdoor public space bounded by the allotment fencing. Access is via a central corridor that extends through the house right back to the rear gate.

With local design guidelines requiring pitched roof forms the new architecture grew out of the recognizable triangular shapes traditionally associated with hipped roofs. The building also acts as a protective screen creating a privacy hood blocking the views into the garden from the neighbouring house. As the scale and dimension of the addition reduces towards the back gate the external landscape is amplified and spliced into the informal semi-internal spaces.

The folding forms create a canopy that provides shading in summer and allows the northern sun to penetrate into the space for passive heating in winter. The addition breathes new life into old under-used home with 95% of the existing building fabric retained. The roof design increases the rainwater harvesting capacity and the skylights foster a reliance on natural daylighting. The spaces are naturally ventilated and the roof has high performance insulation to minimise heat gain. The landscape concept includes a deck area and large native garden eliminating the need for lawn.

Photos by John Gollings, Innovarchi website.

Tasteful Twin Peaks House in Melbourne

2013-01-15T01:00:00.000Z

Australian studio Jackson Clements Burrows designed the Twin Peaks house. This renovated modern home is located in Melbourne, Australia and was completed in 2011.

Description by the architects:

This project involved the design of alterations and addition to an existing Edwardian house of some historical significance which is located in an area with a Heritage overlay.

The brief for the house revolved around accommodating a family, including 3 children. The proposal included 3 new bedrooms and activity space to the new first floor at the rear and a large family /kitchen area directly below. The existing house included a new master bedroom / ensuite, study and the maintenance of the original grand dining room and lounge areas.

The idea of the house was organised around finding a compatible but distinctive relationship between the existing interior and the new addition and the existing external form and the new addition. This was achieved through the use of a common materiality contrasting black brick for the new against red brick in the old. The pitched external roof forms, a requirement of stringent Heritage guidelines, were expressed as “twin peaked” gable ends that aligned directly with the with the double valley hip roof of the existing house. The external timber clad rainscreen is defined as a one third proportion that aligns directly with the existing slate tiled roof of the existing house. While compatible in terms of proportion and alignment the reductive abstraction of the new exterior and interior, suggests a new relationship to both the immediate garden and the greater surrounding context.

Internally the new addition uses white painted timber lining boards and exposed internal black work to define a new family living space. The use of materials normally associated with the exterior of a Heritage house suggests an inversion of our normal reading of an interior that is both surprising and yet reassuring in terms of its familiarity.

Photos by Shannon McGrath, Jackson Clements Burrows website.

Exquisite Studio Extension by Marchetto Higgins Stieve Architects

2013-01-15T00:00:00.000Z

Check out this unique contemporary extension of a studio located in a historic church in Hoboken, New Jersey designed by Marchetto Higgins Stieve Architects.

[via contemporist]

Sleek Shaker Heights House

2013-01-14T02:00:00.000Z

Ohio-based studio Dimit Architects designed the Shaker Heights House. This sleek contemporary home is located in Columbus Ohio and was completed in 2012.

Description by the architects:

This single-family residence was designed to facilitate the modern lifestyle of an active young family in the leafy Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio. The house plan is arranged as two basic wings--- one is more public in function with living, dining, and entertaining spaces--- the other is more private, providing bedrooms, home office, exercise room, and support spaces. The two wings meet at the heart of the house- an expansive open kitchen, with views to a protected rear courtyard with swimming and reflecting pools.

The various rectilinear masses of the house will be clad in either a light cast stone veneer or with ipe wood slats arranged over a rain-screen membrane. Generous walk-out roof decks, also surfaced with ipe wood slats, provide extensions for each of the second floor bedroom spaces, while the remaining flat roof surfaces will be planted with green prairie grasses. Construction by Pistone and Tesauro Builders of Chagrin Falls is near completion, with exterior detailing and landscaping scheduled to be finalized by the early summer of 2012.

Photos by Feinknopf Photography, Dimit Architects website.

Walk Through a Brilliant Interactive Maze

2013-01-14T01:00:00.000Z

Design studio LIKE Architects made an illuminating installation for IKEA in Lisbon, Portugal this year. The said project was composed of 1,200 pieces of LEDARE lamps attached to HEMMA floor bases in varied heights. A brilliant way to introduce IKEA's new project, the LEDARE.

[via architizer]

Playful 'True Colours' Advertising Campaign by Faber Castell

2013-01-14T00:00:00.000Z

What better way to advertise a product than to display it playfully right straight to its clients? German company Faber-Castell known for its pencils, pens and other products for artists commissioned the German advertising agency Serviceplan to come up with an eye-catching campaign to showcase how close their pencil crayon colours come to the real item with a running slogan dubbed as True Colours. Check them out after the jump!

[via beautifullife]

Picturesque Waterfall Bay House

2013-01-12T02:00:00.000Z

Auckland based studio Bossley Architects design the Waterfall Bay House. This 270 square meter residential home is located in Waterfall Bay, Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.

Description by the architects:

Located in a remote bay in the Marlborough Sounds, this house emphasizes the intimate qualities of the small bay. Set close to the water it runs along the contour as a two storey primary element incorporating living areas above and guest rooms below.

Linked by a glazed bridge is a main bedroom, raised above the cliff on visually unstable legs to emphasize its eerie-like relationship to tree tops and sky.

Photos by Paul McCredie and Kieran Scott, Bossley Architects website

Behemoth Giraffe Design of a Day Nursery

2013-01-12T01:00:00.000Z

Paris based studio Hondelatte Laporte Architectes designed the zero energy project Giraffe's Crib. This 1450 square meter day nursery crib was completed in 2012.

Description by the architects:

Giraffe's crib is located at the foot of the "non-tour" designed by Jean Nouvel, in the words of the "triangle" between the Quartier du Vieux Pont de Sèvres neighborhood slab made in the 70s, and the new Keystone neighborhood. The whole area offers a hilly skyline.

To integrate this remarkable urban overall consistency, the project consists of three tiered layers, morphology is the articulation of all neighborhood characteristics: stacking and moving ramp.

This public facility expresses the world of childhood. The idea is to create an event that leads the public space using childish imagination: invest wildlife places. A giraffe is a leader and has quietly graze the tree layer within reach while polar bear cub trying to climb to the upper terrace from the south and a procession through the garden ladybug.

Photos by Philippe Ruault, Hondelatte Laporte Architectes

Wondrous 760 Stacked Bicycles by Ai Weiwei

2013-01-12T00:00:00.000Z

Artist Ai Weiwei has come up with an interesting installation composed of 760 stacked bicycles that have been physically attached resulting to a single cohesive structure which can be explored from within. It seems that the artist has an unusual bond with bicycles since he also had similar work in 2011 dubbed as Forever Bicycles wherein he used 1,200 bicycles. You may want to visit the artists' exhibition at Galleria Continua until February 16th.

[via colossal]

Glorious Photos of Vienna in HDR

2013-01-11T01:00:00.000Z

Vienna is home to rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, grand buildings, monuments and parks. All of these captured in Gosia Czarny's glorious photo collection in HDR of the gorgeous City of Dreams that is Vienna.

Find more of Gosia Czarny's portfolio on Photography Served.

Surreal Can Manuel d’en Corda Vacation Home

2013-01-11T00:00:00.000Z

Check out this absolutely relaxing vacation home called Can Manuel d’en Corda designed by Castelló Martìnez & Redolat. The former classic inspired Spanish home located on the island of Formentera was restored with a touch of contemporary design. The whole place makes you want to retire earlier to enjoy the beauty of nature, to be calm, and to always stay happy. ♥

[via thecoolist]

Stylish Swedish Home Surrounded by a Lush Garden

2013-01-10T23:00:00.000Z

This refreshingly beautiful 130-square-meter home is filled with stylish designer pieces. The lush garden surrounding the large veranda is a perfect place for early morning meditation and al fresco breakfast.

The rustic themed kitchen, which is the heart of this home, is simply dreamy and is perfectly equipped for those who love to cook. Isn't it gorgeous?

[via mechantdesign]

Earth From Space Look Like a Painter's Stunning Canvas

2013-01-10T02:00:00.000Z

The Earth As Art photo collection are scenes of the earth from space created for aesthetic purposes rather than scientific interpretation. Beautiful and stunning.

If you're curious for more photos you'll find loads more at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center website.

[via anthologymag]

Absolutely Adorable Toddler Photography by Vanessa Lewis

2013-01-10T01:00:00.000Z

Originaly a food photographer, Vanessa Lewis started a studio called Nina Say Cheese where she dabbled on kid's photography for a change. In this studio, kids are photographed in adorable sets re-enacting their actual playtime. Themes include, circus, forest, pilot and tea time.

Why Nina Say Cheese? Vanessa started with this project when she couldn't find a studio she liked to photograph her daughter. Her daughter's is named Nina.

Find out more on Nina Say Cheese website.

Awesome Poster Images Created from Handwritten Movie Scripts and Album Lyrics

2013-01-10T00:00:00.000Z

These posters seem ordinary but actually they are not. Artist Mike Matola puts a little twist to his artwork by writing down the lyrics of a song or a script of certain movie in order to form a picture. Among his posters include images of members of The Beatles as well as characters from the movies such as The Shining. Remarkably, he does not draw these portraits and instead writes down words and the results are amazing. Check them out after the jump! ♥

[via geek]

Fun Playground Hoops Around a Tree

2013-01-09T02:00:00.000Z

Tokyo based studio Tezuka Architects designed a playground that is literally a Ring Around a Tree. This one-of-a-kind and enjoyable play area is located in Tachikawa, in Tokyo and was completed in 2011.

Project description:

Designed around Japanese Elm (zelkova) is not just a short stop on the children's lives - the tree which is carried with spiral around building has planted more than 50 years.Nearly eradicated from typhoon and completely dry, despite widespread skepticism, elm fully recovered.Older residents of the neighborhood say that even before kindergarten built it was the only tree in the area used by children for climbing and playing.

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

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Tezuka Architects website.

[via thirdteacher]

World's Longest Moonlight Rainbow Fountain

2013-01-09T01:00:00.000Z

The Moonlight Rainbow Fountain is the world's longest bridge fountain with nearly 10,000 LED nozzles that run along both sides that is 1,140m long, shooting out 190 tons of water per minute. This spectacular water fountain was installed in 2009 in Banpo Bridge that crosses the Han River in Seoul, South Korea. Pedestrians and motorists surely does the best view of the bridge at night with its magnificent play of colors.

[via amazingplacesonearth, thingsaboutsouthkorea]

Gorgeous Hotel Missoni in Kuwait

2013-01-09T00:00:00.000Z

Take a glimpse of this lovely place located at the Salmiya seafront of Kuwait designed with the fashion house‘s iconic boho-glam patterns and details. Hotel Missoni can be described as beautiful, frolic, enchanting and distinct. The hotel boasts for its provision of high comfort and warmth of hospitality family style.

[via honestlywtf]

12 Inspiring Quotes To Perk Up Your Week

2013-01-08T23:00:00.000Z

Hope your week has been enjoyable so far. It's the middle of the week so take a deep breathe and think about how you'd relax this weekend, so certainly deserve it. While you're at it, here are some motivational quotes in beautiful typography to inspire you. Enjoy!

[via tumblr, pinterest]

Amazing Portraits Rendered Using Discarded Jeans

2013-01-08T02:00:00.000Z

Who would've thought of making portraits made entirely of jeans? That would be British artist Ian Berry, also called Denimu. At first, you wouldn't think that these portraits and urban landscapes were created by weeks and weeks of cutting, stitching and gluing jean fabrics because the composition, shades and shadows are simply remarkable. But it is made of discarded jeans and that's “Jean-ius”.

Check out more of Ian Berry works on his website.

[via hypenotice]

New Eco-Resort Designed in Harmony With Nature

2013-01-08T01:00:00.000Z

The refreshing Eco-Resort Pedras Salgadas was designed by Luís Rebelo de Andrade and Diogo Aguiar. Located in Portugal, this new eco-resort consists of a set of seven small houses in perfect harmony with the surrounding outstanding nature. It was completed in 2012.

Project Description:
Designed in a modular prefabrication system but flexible to adapt to the specific places within the park, these houses result in several different combinations of the same three modules (entrance/bathing - living - sleeping) creating different morphologies and different dialogues with the surrounding nature, wisely occupying the empty spaces between the trunks of large trees and, at the same time, allowing each home to be unique, special and worth visiting.

The pitched roofs that characterize the intervention redefine the contours of the park boundary and result, within the houses in comfortable but dynamic spaces.
The vain corner contradicts the structural logic of the house but creates the ilusion that the park is inside the house framing living nature pictures.

The outer coating in slate tile refers to the local construction traditions and the slatted wood used when there is a balcony creates the perfect resting spaces.

Photos by FG+SG architectural photography, Diogo Aguiar website.

[via dezeen]

Stunning Palette Knife Paintings by Kathryn Trotter

2013-01-08T00:00:00.000Z

What's with a palette knife that makes a painting look so elegant? A palette knife is a blunt tool used for mixing or applying paint, with a flexible steel blade. The "palette" in the name is a reference to an artist's palette which is used for mixing oil paint and acrylic paints. Achieving a thick texture that is rich in color, blending, building surface texture, edging, detailing and scraping off layers of paint are the main goals of palette knife painting. Check out these gorgeous paintings by Kathryn Trotter who creates artwork with layering effect of thick paint and intentional pairing of colors.

Pedestrian Path Lets You Reflect On Your Life Choices

2013-01-07T02:00:00.000Z

This installation will make you feel nostalgic and think, what did you want to be when you grow up? Was there anything you wanted to change about your career now?

Candy was commissioned to create public art for Finland’s 2011 European Capital of Culture events. For this project, a pedestrian/bike path nicknamed Uraputki or “Career Path”, because it is a popular route that students take from their residences to the university, to get a degree to get a job. This path was turned into an interactive space with stenciled fill-in-the-blank sentences to make students reflect on their life choices as far as careers are concerned.

For example, sentences stenciled on the pavement say “When I was little I wanted to be ____. Today I want to be ____.” in Finnish, Swedish, and English. Passersby can use colored chalk to write directly on the pavement and reflect upon their larger life choices. Sun and rain erase the responses and the installation starts again. The project is created with temporary spray chalk and will fade with weather and foot traffic.

This project is about comparing yourself today and when you were young, reflecting on how you’ve changed or stayed the same, and thinking about the desires you had as a child. What made you come alive as a kid and why? How can this help inform the decisions you make today? Some favorites: “When I was little I wanted to be a princess. Today I want to be an electrician.” “When I was little I wanted to be a bird. Today I want to be a speech therapist.” “When I was little I wanted to be a grown-up. Today I want to be a kid.” The project is also about learning from the people around us and humanizing our neglected spaces. The industrial path is now a space to pause, reflect, and share with others.

Candy Chang's website.

Push + Pull Residence by MW Works

2013-01-07T01:00:00.000Z

Seattle based studio MW Works designed the Push Pull Residence. This 4,090 sq ft project is simple and elegant contemporary residence located on a tight, narrow urban lot in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle.

Description by the architects:

This project explores the potential for a modern infill project that is both lively and responsible. The long face, just three feet from the property line, opens up to natural light but maintains privacy while the ends of the house open up to small private landscapes. The house was designed to easily integrate a solar hot water system, photovoltaics and a green roof. During demolition of the previous home, framing was salvaged and milled into Douglas Fir siding by the architect, revealing an on-site history through aged, black nail holes and wood patina. A rigorous plan, reserved detail, and a palette of rough materials and clean lines combine to create an adventurous yet highly livable home on a modest budget.

Photos by Tim Bies, MW Works website.

Captivating Macro Photography by Wil Mijer

2013-01-07T00:00:00.000Z

Last Christmas, we posted macro photos of snowflakes, but what does macro photography really mean? Accordingly, macro photography refers to extreme close-up photography, usually of very small subjects, in which the size of the subject in the photograph is greater than life size (though macrophotography technically refers to the art of making very large photographs). Here's another treat for photography lovers out there. See some of Wil Mijer's amazing photos of insects after the jump!

[via 123inspiration]

Splendid Watercolor Paintings by Grzegorz Wrobel

2013-01-05T14:30:00.000Z

Grzegorz Wróbel's interest in drawing and painting from the early years of childhood but he found fascination in the watercolor technique only in 2002. You'll find that his paintings mostly features buildings and the urban landscape, that's because he works in architecture and everything that is connected with it.

The artist says,

My watercolors are created from a passion to observe the world around us. Each watercolor is just my personal version of reality. I just add the number of pigment at the right time, and the water and gravity do the rest.

[via livingdesign]

Lovely Carpets Made From Plastic Clothes Pins

2013-01-05T04:00:00.000Z

Check out these adorable Peg Carpets designed by We Make Carpets and commissioned by the Graphic Design Museum in Breda, The Netherlands. Just imagine how many clothes can be pinned up using these colorful clothes pins, amazing isn't it? ♥

[via cmybacon]

Giant Colored Pencils Appear in Matsudai Joyama

2013-01-05T01:00:00.000Z

Reverse City is a giant colored pencils installation hung in rows in Matsudai Joyama created by Cameroon-born artist Pascale Marthine Tayou. On each pencil is written the name of one of the countries of the world.

The giant pencils are variously colored; some are short, some are tall. This town of pencils is fixed into a stainless steel frame and hovers, detached from Nature, at a height of about two meters. Suspended upside-down, the points of this colorful city are aimed at human visitors who, looking up at it, feel both awed and threatened.

[via lifeartworks]

Extremely Detailed Cardboard Sculptures Inspired by Movie Sets

2013-01-04T02:00:00.000Z

With the use of surgical scalpel and wood glue, Melbourne based artist and filmmaker Daniel Agdag makes these extremely detailed cardboard sculptures guided with only pure intuition and imagination.

The artist calls this collection 'Sets for a Film I’ll Never Make'. He likens the process of creating every piece to sketching 3d objects with carboard.

The unassuming use of boxboard as a medium belies elaborate complicated machines and contraptions that preserve the incessant redundancies of the modern industrial world. His work has been described as architectural in form, whimsical in nature and inconceivably intricate.

[via strictlypaper]

Upcycled + Portable Container Holiday Home

2013-01-04T01:00:00.000Z

Atelier Workshop believe up-cycling containers can be an effective answer for large scale projects and if portability, site access, robustness, security are issues. One example is this prototype called Port-a-Bach, a holiday home built inside a used container with connections to attached solar and wind equipment.

Atelier Workshop require appropriate commercial partners for this model to be mass produced and for this reason it is not available yet. Hopefully, they'd get good backing for this project soon. The key features will definitely benefit a lot of portable home enthusiasts. Some of it include: security, high-level finish, designed to be environmentally clean, comparatively inexpensive, comfortably sleeps two adults and two children.

And it has a fully enclosed exterior steel shell when folded up, a well-appointed storage and toilet facilities, a versatile living space that includes bunk beds, double bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. It comes with 6 concrete footings to form a stable, non-invasive 'foundation', allowing you to situate the unit on a wide range of ground conditions.