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i saw design: mapua’s interior design exhibit

Green Guide and I visited Mapua’s Interior Design Exhibit (MIDEX) in A. Venue Mall along Makati Avenue last Saturday. Two of my batchmates from college are members of Mapua’s ID faculty so my expectations were high. Thankfully, I was not disappointed.

There are four booths individually designed by four students that showcased their interpretation of avant-garde.

Lyra Lester Abuck’s “Tunnel Vision” found inspiration in science for her design of a bar.  To create an exaggerated illusion of depth, she applied basic techniques used in perspective drawing into an actual three-dimensional space. Sections of bent plywood in decreasing widths form the walls and the ceiling. The sections were further emphasized by backlighting the channels between them and painting the sections in gradating color, from white to black. Taking inspiration from a chemistry lab, the design of the open shelves at the back of the bar mimics the form of the Periodic Table, while laboratory glassware was used for mixing and serving drinks (which reminded me of this).

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Jeleanne Cribe turned her family’s devastating experience during typhoon Ondoy into her creative muse for her design of a bedroom entitled “Ondoy’s Homecoming”. Curved lines correspond to the movement of the flood waters while the blue light denotes the somber mood during the catastrophe. The elevated bed is reminiscent of their floating furniture during the flood, and the two dropped ceiling accents are stylized versions of their damaged ceilings.

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Instead of designing another boxy interior, Kristella Saclag gave her “Three-point Introspection” living room a new unexpected shape by having faceted walls. Interestingly, the combination of mirror panels, painted sections, and warm cove lighting made the walls look like they were finished in gold. The rest of the details in the room, like the sliding panels that hide the entertainment system, the coffee table, and the ceiling lamp, all follow the faceted form of the walls.

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With the recent implementation of the smoking ban, Ben Francis Nasayao thought of designing a luxe smoking “Lounge Center” with an unexpected twist. While the space looks glamorous, the inspiration behind the design, a smoker’s damaged lungs, is rather disturbing. The decorative panels took the form of damaged bronchial tubes. The colors red, black, and gray were taken from the colors of cigarettes, smoke, ashes, and death (hmmm quite morbid!).

The Interior Design program in Mapua is relatively new but we were impressed with the quality of the design that the students presented. Congratulations to Lyra, Jeleanne, Kristella, and Ben, and to their adviser, Twenty Munoz! MIDEX  runs until October 22.

P.S.

For price inquiries on the furniture pieces displayed in the exhibit, you can visit them at the 3F A. Venue Mall, Makati Ave., Makati City or email Ben Nasayao at <nasayaoben@yahoo.com.ph>.

i saw design: desktop wallpaper from fossil

I was looking through Fossil’s boyfriend watches when I noticed the Fossil-Life-Style tab. It opens to a page of different artsy and designer-ly links and a few downloadable goodies from Fossil such as these vintage-style desktop wallpapers.

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(Click on the image to download the wallpaper)

i saw design: omo furniture

O.M.O. by Movement 8 furniture designer Milo Naval is now my favorite store! Every time I go to LRI Plaza, I make it a point to drop by the store just to admire their pieces. I especially love this beautiful white daybed and the poster bed behind it. Because I know I can’t buy them for myself (the daybed is P93,000 while the poster bed is P120,000 if I remember correctly), I’m praying that I’ll have a client who will be willing to buy them!  :)

O.M.O. is located at the G/F LRI Design Plaza, N. Garcia (Former Reposo St.), Makati.

photography: hallie burton

When looking at photos of interior spaces, I’m often drawn to the ones that look natural and effortless—no forced artistic angles, no fancy treatments. I’m no expert in interior photography, but my guess is that this kind of look is relatively difficult to achieve, much like the no-makeup makeup.

I think Australian photographer Hallie Burton does a great job achieving this. She has a way of capturing the character of the space and making each shot look poetic without trying too hard.

Her shots have a good balance of light and shadow that complements the design of the interior space. Modern spaces look bright, clean, and crisp. Earthy interiors have a more dramatic treatment, with just the right amount of shade and shadow to make the different textures pop. The more colorful contemporary homes get a “happy” kind of lighting that’s not too bright, just enough to flatter the colors and make the spaces look fresh and cheerful.

Hope these eye candies will inspire you for the rest of the week. df

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10a alabama st.: hausbesetzer laboratory

Of the three sections inside 10A Alabama, the quirkiest would have to be Hausbesetzer Laboratory.

Conceptualized by artist Jetro Rafael (of Van Gogh is Bipolar fame), Hausbesetzer Laboratory is a tea bar set in a rather twisted world of a makeshift science laboratory.  The setting is complete with microscope, periodic table, a life size skeleton model, and laboratory glassware. However, the wooden hutch and counter table where the foodstuff and supplies are stored and displayed give visitors a hint that it is actually a food space and not some strange experiment room.

Dried leaves and other ingredients for creating tea concoctions are stored in flasks, vials and test tubes. Aside from tea, they also offer Jägermeister & Goldschläger tes tube shots!

We didn’t get to try anything from their menu but I just read that their Belgian chocolate drink served in empty beer bottles is good.

[previous: resurrection furniture; RAW]

i saw design: “mid-century” posters from etsy

Happy to stumble upon the etsy store of Czech graphic designer Jan Skácelík! Inspired by Scandinavian mid-century design, these posters feature furniture, accessories, decorative motifs, and colors from that era.

Top poster features a Danish cabinet, Arne Jacobsen lamp, vintage flip clock, mid-century vases, and an Ericofon.

with the Eames La Chaise chair.

with Cathrineholm (mid-century Norwegian ironworks and enamelware) canisters.

with a Rorstrand Tango cup with leaf patter by Marianne Westman.

Who knew these posters could be so informative! These are great for those taking up History of Modern Furniture this semester. For more of his posters, visit Jan Skácelík’s etsy shop here and his blog here.

i saw design: the sketching backpacker

While most of us take photographs during our trips, Filipino artist Robert Alejandro (the same person behind The Sartorialist Sketches and the “RO” in Papemelroti) draws and paints to document his travels around the world. His blog The Sketching Backpacker features some of his drawings during his trips around Europe and Asia.

They remind me of those days in college when we had to make watercolor drawings of period style architecture, interiors, and furniture pieces for our history classes. Plus, our Prang watercolor paint sets looked just as messy, hehe!

*images via the sketching backpacker

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lost type co-op

Just type “0″ and the font of your choice is free for download. FREE COOL FONTS FOR EVERYONE!!! Great for DIY cards, invitations, posters, and all the possible printable goodies you can imagine. Gotta love the people behind this project.

The Lost Type Co-op is a collaboration between Tyler Galpin and Riley Cran. It was founded with the intention of providing unique and quality fonts based on a pay-what-you-want model. All designers get 100% of the donations their font receives.

*via Lost Type Co-op

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pom pom factory

Oh, wow. I can’t believe you can make a business out of making paper pom poms!!! I should have done this straight out of high school. All the pompom-making “training” from several years of cheerleading put to waste. Or not… -ardel

*photos via pom pom factory

handmade nation

I stumbled upon this video while searching for a poster on handmade projects/crafts.

It’s an interesting documentary on “the rise of diy art, craft, & design” in the U.S. by Faythe Levine. I wonder if this “social/art movement” (sorry, not sure how to call it) will ever reach the Philippines. When it does, I’ll be one happy crafter. As we’ve mentioned in our presentation for Heima’s Design Discussions, manang* hobbies rule!

p.s. Thank you again Heima for making us part of Design Discussions! You can preview Heima’s latest collection here.

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*Tagalog slang referring to a very conservative and traditional woman who’s likely to become an old maid
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