cpd STUDIO... coming soon

tomas aLonso

mickey muennig...organic architecture

photos: cooper point house, ca.
his unique style of building with the land, rather than on it is inspiring enough. 30 of his works are all located in the big sur area along the central california coast. he pushes the limits with all materials while maintaining a true organic feel.

"At a time when most architecture seems merely argumentative, these buildings are relaxed and free, filled with - dare I say it? - real joy." -Micheal Sorkin, architect at the academy of fine arts in Vienna.

indoor landscaping

photos: christian richters, ohnes & schwahn


so innovative, so smart. incorporating some serious interior landscapes into high rise office spaces and residential homes....creating healthy environments and optical pleasure!

the choice of plant species and a low-maintenance technique ensures a minimal effort for maintaining the installation. GrüneWand® allows a unique interior design for instance in offices, sanitary institutions, hotels or shopping malls, and obtain thereby also representative functions.

these have been implemented in many structures over in europe already, but the word will spread and i am confident we all are going to be seeing these interior wonders stateside.

idol architect and artist

roy mcmakin and ian butcher form the greatest duo to ever grace the industry....in my opinion. they have found a balance within architecture and design that leaves you completely satisfied and never questioning their reasoning. please take a look into their world of domestic architecture.

the lush

one of the many ways to get inspired...take a trip into nature. OR visit an amazing nursery....ROLLING GREENS in culver city, 9528 jefferson blvd. this is such a surprise amongst the warehouse haven, on top of the hill with three huge levels of lusciousness for your indoor/outdoor paradise.

from gorgeous pots to rustic lighting.....every plant is the finest specimen....this isn't your average garden center.

laguna beach remodel

here are a few shots (first phase-upstairs master bed & bath)of the laguna job i have been working on with Anders Lasater Architects and the Artisan Restorations guys....i used to live in laguna beach, so this project has been really special for me to be apart of, now that i am living in LA.

another sale!

matteo luxury

this weekend matteo is having their HUGE SUMMER WAREHOUSE SALE, downtown LA on 3rd st.,912 E 3rd, to be exact....just around the corner from SCI-arc.

beginning at 10:30 am....fri-sun.

luxurious linens, fine italian spun fabrics, all made in USA...so gorgeous you'll wish you had a mansion to adorn with all these goodies.

if you are an avid linen lover, you MUST attend! i have been saving up for a MATTEO sale for a good few years now....and it is most definitely worth every penny. their vintage washed linen bedding is so amazing.....and everything they make is absolutely durable...perfection.
added bonus, their warehouse headquarters is really neat to cruise around in while you shop...so enjoy!

eDw/\Rd (ella GaLLERy

edward cella art & architecture NEW gallery space
6018 wilshire blvd, LA

Transforming Photography

JUST EXTENDED into AUGUST! make sure to go and check it out!

The gallery’s inaugural exhibition, Transforming Photography, presents an inclusive selection of works that redefine the material nature of photography. At a time when the boundaries between artistic medias and traditionally held expectations of the nature of photography are in flux; Transforming Photography suggests alternatives to the commonplace manipulations offered through digital processes. The exhibition will feature visceral and process based photographic works by Isidro Blasco, Ben Dean, Mary Heebner, Gerald Incandela, George Legardy, Joni Sternbach, Joan Tanner, Ethan Turpin and Thomas Zika.

The exhibition also features the Los Angeles debut of Spanish Born; New York - based Isidro Blasco who combines architecture, photography and sculptural installations to explore vision and perception. In a similar manner, Joan Tanner mounts collaged celluloid transparencies on hand made light boxes fabricated from found objects re-approariated by the artist combining both photographic and sculptural processes.

Using the physical gestures of drawing, Gerald Incandela uses the chemistry of photography to refine photographic images beyond the camera. His works are held by the Getty Museum, and this exhibition will represent his debut in Los Angeles as well. In contrast, George Legrady and Ben Dean utilize distinct digital computational strategies to create viable photograph like images which are synthetic, constructed works. Their work map new, advanced approaches to digital photography within the context of the exhibition.

Other artists reinvent historic photographic processes and archive materials. Joni Sternbach, a Brooklyn based artist who is currently the subject of a solo exhibition organized by Phillip Prodger at the Peabody Essex Museum of Art, uses the pre-civil-war period photographic process of tintype (or wet plate process) to document though portraiture contemporary surf communities on both the East and West coasts. Ethan Turpin mines the historic images of vintage stereocards to create new digital composites that challenge cultural and economic presuppositions. His work employees the hand-held antique viewing devices to create the dimensional photographic effects characteristic that made stereocards a salon sensation in the early portion of the 20th century. Lastly, the German photographer, Thomas Zika suggests the creative opportunities presented by “found” photography in his lush and sensual Bathers project. (press release)

A + D Museum's Urban Hike

calling all outdoorsy design buffs.....


Urban Hike: Forgotten LA

The Architecture and Design Museum launches a trio of urban hikes canvassing little-known LA with the City of Angels' laureate, Mike the PoeT. On July 26, the trail kicks off in southeast Downtown, in the National Historic Monument district of Little Tokyo. Come August 9, the course veers southwest to Leimert Park, a '20s neighborhood designed by sons of Central Park landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead. Design-loving urban trekkers head northwest on August 30, winding down the museum's summer Urban Hike series with a sojourn into LA's Westlake neighborhood and its staple, MacArthur Park.

pRice

$15 / $30 three-tour package

wheN

suNdAY juLy 26 11am

suNday auG 9 11am

suNdAy AUg 30 11am

wheRe

while the A+D website is under construction, check out any details on the museum's facebook page....

GEO-Planters

artist kelly lamb has brought us some really great designs.....now, with these wonderfully playful, sophisticated pots even our plants have a new look.

www.kellylamb.net

tokyo boy

a couple favorites from furniture designer shigeki fujishiro, whom i really admire. his blending of rustic materials and new modern design make his pieces stand apart from the norm.


be sure to check out his other stuff www.shigekifugishiro.com

lautner up for grabs

www.10160maudeave.com

ny ny

dumpster + talented design = dumpster diving

photo: y paskova

l.a. heat has gone to my brain....and lately, i find myself wishing i had never left the beach for downtown l.a.
nah, i love it here in the land of opportunity.
BUT, it seems as though some folks across the country are feeling the city heat, as well. due to a cool group of cats, dumpsters around nyc have become transformed into amazingly clean swimming pools.

yup, real life, actual dumpster diving is refreshing now-a-days.

a nod to danish design

all images from danish design store

julius shulman 1910-2009

Case Study House No. 22
Julius Shulman’s 1960 photograph of Pierre Koenig’s Case Study House No. 22, shown hovering above the Los Angeles grid, is among the most famous architectural pictures ever taken in the U.S. It was, an architecture critic wrote, “one of those singular images that sum up an entire city at a moment in time.”

© J. Paul Getty Trust. Used with permission. Julius Shulman Photography Archive, Research Library at the Getty Research Institute


Famous for his modernist architectural photography, Julius Shulman will always be remembered. he passed away last night at 98 years old.

cash-for-grass

L.A. Department of Water & Power is offering LA homeowners $1.00 per square foot rebate...IF, they turn in their grassy lawns for a more responsible, drought resistant landscape.

does this appeal to you? for more info check out the LADWP website

do your part and give it some thought!

henrybuilt had a baby

VIOLA PARK, it's fresh take on the modern kitchen is heavenly. henrybuilt will always be my favorite, next to custom, but now they have a new venture that is more affordable. with interchangeable components and a huge range of colors and forms, the kitchen is reinvented.

viola park is designed by henrybuilt and manufactured in seattle. check out the website for a look into the future of modular kitchens. www.violapark.com

it's back

the infamous mid-century cord chair is back in production. originally designed in 1953 by jacques guillon, the maple core and veneer base is strung with nylon cord for the seat and backrest. avenue road, based in toronto, has decided to start production again on this minimalist's dream chair and make it available for purchasing this august....for $795.

underway on kensington

laura weekes(pictured), painter extraordinaire, has begun the transformation room by room.....here she is prepping for room 3....many more to go, but it's a wonderful start. this is a great project i started working on for my neighbor and rolfing wonder, lynn cohen, check out her website, rolfworks.net

i will keep updating with photos as the project progresses. very exciting to be involved in reviving an old LA victorian!

tomdixon.net, i love u

Born in Tunisia, Tom Dixon moved to England in 1963. Educated in London he dropped out of Chelsea School of Art to play bass in the band Funkapolitan before teaching himself welding.

Tom rose to prominence in the mid 1980's as "the talented untrained designer with a line in welded salvage furniture". By the end of the 80's, he was designing chairs for powerhouse Italian brands like Cappellini; by the mid-nineties, he had created his own company, 'Eurolounge', to make and sell his work. His earlier pieces are now collectables and have changed hands at auction houses around the globe.

Tom Dixon was appointed head of design by Habitat in 1998 and later became Creative Director until his departure in January 2008. He was the public face of a creative team responsible for driving forward the Habitat brand. To maintain Conran's dream of enriching everyday life through simple, modern design and creating a shopping experience that is theatrical and intimate.

Tom's earlier works have been acquired by world famous museums across the globe from the Victoria & Albert Museum through to Museums in New York, Boston, Paris & Tokyo. Tom was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2001 and the most recent accolade included Tom winning Designer of the Year 2008 from Architektur and Wohnen Magazine.

lovely built-ins

photo:conrad/nytimes

ENNIS HOUSE for sale

photo:LA TIMES

a rare site to see as i am scouring the local times....but honestly, i really wish i could get my hands on a mere $15million right about now.....that is the current asking price for the 1924 completed frank llyod wright ennis house. after much thought, the foundation, that has been restoring it, has recently put this hillside masterpiece up for grabs. located near beautiful griffith park with wonderous scapes of the city...as well as views of his other architectural spectical.

read the full article at LA TIMES online, search ENNIS HOUSE

5th Floor

in 2008 owner Robert Apodaca opened 5th Floor in downtown LA's chinatown....the unique space serves as a creative stage for artists, designers, and architects to display their works.

this saturday, june 20, from 6-9pm will kick off the opening of a new installation by three very talented designers titled "Looking for Work".

their personal takes on modern & contemporary furniture design should not be missed....whether or not you make it to the opening party.....the exhibit will be around at 5th Floor until july 18.

press release download

gallery website

happy birthday pre-fab

charles and ray eames' house in pacific palisades is turning 60 next weekend!

the infamous design duo lived in their perfect rendition of quick building for over 40 years....and still today, you are able to visit this industrial charm as it has been donned a national historic landmark.

if you live in the area and you are free, there is a celebration picnic being held on the home's beautifully landscaped grounds!

mild obsession

tortoise, in venice.

if you happen to find yourself on abbot kinney blvd, make sure you wonder-on-in to the general store's little bro at 1208.

simple design and outstanding taste make up this small construct in the midst of what has become a major drag strip.

catch a ride on the LA show boat

if you are one of the not-so-lucky, then you missed milan....and now neo-con has passed you by. but do not fret....LA is going to save the day. next weekend you will surely get your design fix, right here in the south land. there are two shows battling it out for your attention, & who says you can't make BOTH.

downtown and beverly hills is where you will find the design enthusiasts.....
june 26-28, 2009

CA BOOM show
Dwell on Design

to the trade or just supporting the trade. come one, come all.