i saw design: the mind museum
Written by designfolder on November 12, 2009 – 11:20 am -Last month, we attended a one-of-a-kind event at the NBC Tent. Kenji Williams, an award-winning director and classically trained violinist, with Ballet Philippines, wowed the 1500 plus audience with sights and sounds of Bella Gaia. Bella Gaia is an audio-visual trip showing the “beauty of the Earth as seen through the eyes of astronauts.”
The event was organized as a preview of The Mind Museum to the public.
The Mind Museum, “the first world-class science museum in the Philippines”, is set to open at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. The building is designed by a team of architects from Lor Calma & Partners, led by Ed Calma.
The audience at the NBC Tent, composed of designers, scientists, students, educators, sponsors and the press were shown 3D renderings of the different galleries that will be housed in the two-level structure.
Some of the main galleries are:
The Universe Gallery
The Earth Gallery
The Atom Gallery
The Life Gallery
Learn more about The Mind Museum here. The Design Folder team will be first in line when it opens in 2011.
*Photos and renderings courtesy of The Mind Museum
Tags: architecture, ed calma, museum, the mind museum
Posted in i saw design, space matters | 2 Comments »
design trail: singapore
Written by designfolder on October 16, 2009 – 9:42 pm -“So, did you like Sentosa?” was the most frequently asked question I got from people who knew I just came back from Singapore. The second most frequently asked question was, “Did you like their chicken rice?” I couldn’t answer either question. We didn’t go to Singapore’s most popular tourist destinations (but we went to Ikea twice!) and we didn’t get to eat Singapore’s famous delicacies (we had Austrian sausages in Chinatown instead). But we did get to see a lot of great design.
Their SMRT train stations were so clean and well-designed. Look at that ceiling detail!
Chinatown was one of the pleasant surprises of our trip. Everything was so festive and everyone there seemed to be in a good mood.
We did go to one famous spot, the Esplanade, where our generous hosts took us to eat delicious food. The architecture of the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay building, or “The Durian”, was especially beautiful at sunset.
For me, one of the highlights of our trip was discovering Ann Siang Road and Ann Siang Hill, which is near Chinatown. We already told you about Ann Siang in our Heima post. The shops there had real personality. The home and lifestyle store, Vanilla Home, was chic and classy. Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of the shop but you can check out their luxurious pieces at their site.
Books Actually was cute and unassuming. I hear they’re leaving Ann Siang, though. I hope their new store at their new location will be as lovely as this one.
Earth Sanctuary, a boutique and spa, was relaxed and understated.
Strangelets, located at Amoy Street, was really fun and quirky. And they had the most interesting products. I took home a timbercroc from their store.
We saw the most interesting places when we put down the map and veered off course. We suggest you do the same the next time you go to Singapore. And don’t forget to wear your most comfortable shoes!
*Read more to see our complete set of Singapore images, including a picture of a really red building, more shops, and inspiring temples.
Tags: chinatown, ikea, museum, shops, singapore, travel
Posted in design trail | No Comments »
