Æsthe/tech:Tonik

Building | Beauty | Consuming | Image

Wordle

Thought everyone would find this amusing. A website that turns your text into a data graphic, based on frequency of use.

MS

http://www.wordle.net

Mother’s Milk

via dezeen

So for the coming of age designer who has traded in long nights in the studio for long nights tending to newborns, check this self heating bottle by Karim Rashid.  As a father myself, I can tell you that a portable, energy conscious method of heating bottles (not through your car) would be of tremendous value, especially with breast milk that needs refrigerated.

iiamo go is a self-heating feeding bottle that gives parents on the go the ability to serve body temperature milk to their baby anywhere anytime without the use of electricity. iiamo go is the only bottle in the world with this unique combination of a portable, non-electrical, throw-away organic heating cartridges (iiamo warm) and a patented heating technology that is integrated into the bottle itself. The process is very simple. Pour the mother’s milk, formula or milk powder in the bottle; insert the cartridge in the bottom of the bottle and then just push, wait a few minutes and serve the milk.

I would encourage all to read the article and comments, as Karim defends his design, and if you are like me, you might appreciate something else besides cynicism and negativity.

MS

Pulp

If you like supermodels, the desert, and old-ass pictures, your train has finally come in…

PULP ART BOOK is a collaboration between supermodel Joni Harbeck and photographer Neil Krug, and if you have $250 burning a hole in your pocket, you can buy a piece of cool.

http://www.pulpartbook.com

MS

Tron Legacy

For those that didn’t have the pleasure of growing up when the original movie, Tron, was one of the most visually ambitious movies to date, you will absolutely have the pleasure of enjoying a follow-up film with an equally ambitious style, the original set of actors, and a film-maker who has his roots in architecture. It is set for release in 2010.

While this might be old news to those that frequent Comic Con, I still think it’s relevant in the design community, mostly because I love to see how worlds get (re)interpreted and crafted within their respective media. This film specifically for me always ran style parallel to substance, thus Kosinski was a very compelling choice to helm the project. Kosinski was once half of KDLab, and has worked in varying capacities with Nike, Chevy, Lincoln, and Hummer amongst others. His style is refined, beautifully desaturated, and overtly architectural. If you’ve thought it might be a good idea to buy a Lincoln after you saw this commercial, you can thank Kosinski.

In any event, talking about the nuances of the actual film will remain pure speculation at this point, and I would run the risk of aggravating a much nerdier crowd than I with mis-hits about the history, plot, or specificities relative to character development. So for now I would say, enjoy the trailer and visuals. Be inspired.

http://www.josephkosinski.com/

http://www.flynnlives.com/

MS

Negligence

Negligence is the rust of the soul, that corrodes through all her best resolves.

Owen Felltham

I will post again…fear not. Thanks for your patience.

MS

Visual Acoustics

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A new film about the life and efficacy of Julius Shulman.

http://www.juliusshulmanfilm.com/

MS

Reburbia

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Recently, Inhabitat & Dwell sponsored a competition to reinvent suburban life. The finalists can be seen here.

http://www.re-burbia.com/finalists/

MS

Matryoshka

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Recently, Tent London & The Art Fund Prize sponored a competition to design a semi-permenant summer pavilion for the Lightbox Museum. Amongst all of the criteria, the gyst is that it needed to be a flex space to  house a number of various art pieces (standing, hanging, etc.), allow for presentations, and be a place for informal gathering.

In addition, it was to be designed such that a local design and fabrication firm (FACIT), could use their system to produce the product within 72 hours (on-site build time).

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The following is my entry, entitled Matryoshka. The project is based around a proposition that a system of volumes be nested within one another in an ultra-efficient cube, and their ultimate extension results in new program-specific space. I found the most liberating thing about the project was that it was an exercise in restraint – from the site, to the programmatic stipulations, cost and highly specific construction methodology, the design had to satisfy a number of constraints.

The winning entry was from Tina Manis, and was highly effective.

Enjoy

MS

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Maha Nakhon

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OMA/Ole Scheeren tower design in Bangkok (estimated completion 2012). It will be the tallest building in Thailand’s capital.

77 Stories, 1.6 million square feet.

MS

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Noriko Ambe

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I was looking at the work of Noriko Ambe the other day, and am completely fascinated with the meticulous nature of her endeavors. What’s interesting to me is the dichotomy between what is expected and what is revealed in this process. Superficially, I don’t know if I am to believe that these are excavations of sorts, where the beauty lies within the sequential discovery of the formal nuances amidst each layer of Yupo paper as it is carved away, or if in fact, she knows what is coming next, and the mastery of the technique has led to a carefully planned additive method, where we only see what she intends, knowing how each layer will unfold.

I would guess it’s probably a little of both, which makes it all the more compelling.

MS

http://www.norikoambe.com

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