Innholdsfortegnelse for March/April 2021 i AZURE

Noga Series For his most recent line of exactingly minimal furniture, Vancouver-based designer Christian Woo found inspiration in a familiar yet unlikely source: his eldest daughter. Taking its cues from the “simplicity and honesty” inherent in her compositions of stacked wooden blocks, Woo’s sculptural Noga series consists of two side tables, a four-seater bench (a quartet of lathe-turned cylinders that continues his Column collection) and a coffee table, all unified by their shared elemental geometries. A defining feature of both the 40.6- and 55.9-centimetre-tall side tables and the 91.4-centimetre-square coffee table is their ability to be entirely inverted — a nod to the toy blocks’ ever-changing assemblages. Each handcrafted piece is carefully hewn from FSC-certified solid wood and available in raw or charred oak (shown), natural or blackened walnut and…

A year and a half ago, Time magazine included Bangkok-based landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom on its list of 15 women leading the fight against climate change, lauding her large-scale “green interventions” for tackling the food and water scarcity, among other eco-threats, facing Southeast Asia’s megacities. One of the most stunning of those interventions, in terms of both scope and ingenuity, is the Thammasat Urban Rooftop Farm, a.k.a. TURF. Completed by Voraakhom’s 10-year-old practice, Landprocess, in late 2019, the project repurposes some 22,000 square metres of “wasted space” at Thammasat University’s campus on the northern outskirts of Bangkok into the largest organic rooftop farm in Asia. Interspersed among the crops are a host of new public spaces (including a large amphitheatre), power-generation measures (such as solar panels able to produce up to…

When it comes to grand design projects in the public sphere, the residents of Barcelona know that good things come to those who wait. If the past 30 years were about transforming the city’s central neighbourhoods, the recent focus has been on reshaping the gritty outer suburbs. Currently, the Spanish metropolis’s most ambitious redevelopment project is in La Sagrera, which has promised to inject some landscaped cosmopolitanism into a working- and middle-class area characterized by pedestrian high-rise apartment blocks and defunct industrial buildings. Camp del Ferro — a newly completed sports centre for basketball, roller hockey and artistic skating — is one of the first finished buildings in this ongoing project. A partnership of three established Barcelona-based studios — AIA Activitats Arquitectòniques, Barceló-Balanzó Arquitectes and Gustau Gili Galfetti — won…

1 EASY-SLIDE OPERATOR A new operating mechanism for Pella’s Impervia line of casement and awning windows, the Easy-Slide Operator adheres to universal design principles by allowing for smooth opening and closing without the need for cranking. Using a ball-bearing system and a Kevlar-reinforced belt, the unobtrusive hardware can be placed on the jamb (for casements) or the sill (for awnings) and requires only five pounds of pressure to activate; the curved horizontal tab has a thickness that reduces pinch gripping and pressure points. An internal brake system secures the window in place at any point. pella.com 2 AL450 Made to measure, the AL450 is a thermally insulated fixed window system that offers soundproofing, watertightness, wind resistance and more. Shown here framed in black with a transom detail, the series can…

BECK A heathered plain weave, Beck is one option in Maharam’s first-ever solid wool collection. Sourced from top wool-makers in historic textile regions around the world (with some incorporating recycled clothing), the 10 fabrics showcase the nuances of the natural material while boasting durability and an extensive 350-custom-colour palette. maharam.com BUZZ Its unique weft (a blend of wool and silk noil) and heathered-wool warp give Buzz a saturated colour, which is dotted with subtle flecking for visual interest. The wool portion is made from 37 per cent upcycled pre- and postconsumer knitwear waste. It’s part of the Clever collection, which is offered in 12 hues. knoll.com ALTO With its ultra-soft touch, the Alto series brings residential comfort to the hospitality and cruise sectors. A modern take on 1970s latch-hook rugs,…

“One of the things we wanted to defend in this project was the idea of an openness to the city and of not wanting disability to be treated as something that needs hiding away,” says Adrien Lambert, co-founding partner, with Etienne Lénack, of Paris-based architecture studio Lambert Lénack. He’s talking about the Paul Meurice Home and Day Centre for Disabled Adults, known officially as the Établissement d’accueil non médicalisé Saint-Joseph. Recently completed in a dense and fast-growing district in the 20th arrondissement, it serves young intellectually and physically challenged individuals who can function and work to some degree but require medical supervision. As designed by Lambert Lénack, however, Paul Meurice eschews the introversion, rambling institutional identity and other tropes of conventional care homes. Instead, it’s a gracefully stepped building that…

A relationship to land based on kinship and reciprocity — the connection to what many Indigenous communities across Australia refer to as Country — characterizes Brisbane-based Kevin O’Brien’s approach to architecture. This often arises from “a curiosity and a desire to understand Country better,” he says. Belonging to the Meriam and Kaurareg peoples of the Torres Strait, O’Brien is one of only a small number of Indigenous architects practising in the nation today. His distinct perspective stems from a deep listening to Country combined with a sensitivity to people and place; the result is an aesthetic that isn’t easy to anticipate or classify. Conceived as an Indigenous storytelling space, Blak Box is a temporary structure designed in 2018 for the New South Wales theatre company Urban Theatre Projects. Lit from…

Raised in a bicultural household in Rotorua, located in the Bay of Plenty region of the upper North Island of Aotearoa (the Māori name for New Zealand), architect Nicholas Dalton (Ngāti Whakaue, Te Arawa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Pikiao, Pakehā) grew up surrounded by Indigenous Polynesian culture. However, “when I started practising in 2004,” he says, “there was no Māori design in the firm I was working for.” Dissatisfied with this lack of visibility within the field, Dalton founded his own studio, TOA Architects, in 2010. Today, he has a growing team under his direction and an impressive portfolio to match, although he stresses that the TOA kaupapa (initiative) is a collective one. “It’s not just my voice,” Dalton says. “It started as my vision, but I [now]…

When Orion Resource Partners — a global alternative investment management company in the realm of precious metals and mining — relocated its New York headquarters to the 25th floor of the city’s 7 Bryant Park tower in 2019, it was looking for more than a prestigious address in the steel and glass trophy building designed by architect Henry N. Cobb. It also wanted to foster a strong brand identity that encapsulated its values and unique position within its industry. Enter the local office of M Moser Associates, the award-winning international architecture, design and consultancy firm known for its human-centric approach. “They take immense pride in who they are and what sets them apart,” says senior designer Arianne Biton, who, along with her team, worked closely with Orion’s CEO and COO…

“Typologies are dead,” says Teemu Kurkela, a founding partner at the Finnish firm JKMM Architects. His point is that, when it comes to design, people no longer think in rigid categories. Today, the world is replete with hybrid and multi-purpose buildings: a residential and office tower that doubles as a market square (Markthal, in Rotterdam), a corporate office that resembles a Prairie-style mansion (McKinsey & Company headquarters, in Toronto), a power plant that moonlights as an artificial ski slope (Amager Bakke, in Copenhagen). Over the past two decades, however, no single typology has been adapted quite as aggressively as that of the library. In the past, libraries were repositories of knowledge, primarily (as the name implies) books. The Internet, however, has usurped this role, even if it doesn’t perform it…

From a five-part collection of thick wool sweaters emblazoned with structures inspired by vernacular dwellings called lavvu to a series of images cataloguing upcycled everyday objects, Sámi artist and architect Joar Nango’s work traces the very edges of design and its interrelations with circumpolar Indigenous communities. Currently based in northern Norway — part of his people’s traditional territory, known as Sápmi, which stretches across three Nordic countries and a portion of Russia — Nango draws on the long traditions of hacking and improvisation integral to such regions, “where resources are scarce and the climate [is] unpredictable, harsh and unmerciful,” he says Nango’s Skievvar, devised for the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial, is a case in point. Interpreting the traditional windows of nomadic, oceangoing Sámi groups into an “ancient-futurist” screen, the structure…

Remember the Maytag Repairman, the lonesome fictional washing-machine fixer who famously had little to do because Maytag appliances rarely broke down? In his heyday, product durability was a source of pride among manufacturers, and the reality of buying something for life wasn’t so far-fetched. Today, by contrast, our postglobal, speed-driven culture of impermanence tends to prize novelty over longevity, social-media buzz over evergreen appeal. Only recently have we begun to tally the increasingly dire costs to our planet and our societies of this slavish devotion to the new and next. As a result, slow design is hot again, as is a rejection of growth at any price. “If we’re honest with ourselves,” Colorado-based designer and academic Jesse Weaver wrote recently in Design Like You Mean It, his online newsletter, “we’ve…

Public-Space Benches 1 Ribs Bench Outdoor The latest iteration of Sydney-based designer Stefan Lie’s bench is robust enough for exterior use. A flexible metal spine allows the piece to be moved into different positions; a fixed-spine version is available for high-traffic environments. Materials Powder-coated aluminum in four colours Dimensions 45 H × 165.6 W × 80.1 D (when straight) Manufacturer DesignByThem, designbythem.com 2 Vancouver Bench A collaboration among Green Theory Design, LM Studio and Studio Block, this perforated design nods to the seasonal weather of the city it’s named for, allowing for both water and snow drainage. Materials Recycled powder-coated marine-grade aluminum in matte off-white, black or custom Dimensions 45.7 H × 150.4 W × 55.8 D Manufacturer Green Theory Design, greentheorydesign.com 3 Iconic Offered with or without a back,…

Walter Hood is hopeful. In the nearly three decades since he launched his practice in 1992, the Oakland, California-based landscape architect has witnessed a number of progressive flashpoints, instances in which, as he puts it, “we collectively were willing to act.” He cites the L.A. protests of the early 1990s, the dawn of the Obama era in the 2000s, and now — perhaps most encouragingly — the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that began last year. “I don’t know what this moment is,” he says, “but we’ve got to be ready.” The notion of incremental change, of pushing against constant setbacks, also inspires Hood’s work, which draws from art, language and symbolism to recentre marginalized people in public spaces. Hood defines his studio as a “cultural practice.” Among its completed works…

Within the newly designed Kinistinâw Park in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Tiffany Shaw-Collinge’s family pattern is woven, like thread, along the underside of an angular crimson canopy. By marking the structure with the traditional northern Cree-Métis beading patterns her family has used for generations, the SCI-Arc-trained designer asserts Indigenous stewardship and ways of knowing, the motif serving as coded language to welcome Indigenous communities into a place that hasn’t always been accepting of their presence. “I just wanted [to create] a space for people to have rest and reprieve again,” she says, “to feel something greater than themselves.” As an interdisciplinary designer (she’s an architect, an artist and a co-founder and core member of the Indigenous collective Ociciwan), Shaw-Collinge produces work that’s diverse yet holistic, each project informing the next in…

“How can architecture be more culturally relevant for Inuit?” asks Winnipeg-based Nicole Luke, who has her professional sights set on Inuit Nunangat, the four Inuit regions in Canada’s Far North. Hailing from Igluligaarjuk, also known as Chesterfield Inlet, in Nunavut, Luke is primed to make history as the first Inuk graduate of a national architecture program when she receives a Master of Architecture from the University of Manitoba this spring. It’s a distinction she is preparing for with full awareness of its significance to her community across Canada. Most recently, Luke has lent her skills to the Winnipeg Art Gallery as the exhibition designer behind “INUA,” the first major presentation at Qaumajuq (formerly known as the Inuit Art Centre). Creating graphic partitions inspired by Inuit culture, such as the shapes…

Ontario’s Prince Edward County, the upstart lakeside wine region between Toronto and Montreal, is in a compelling state of flux. Protected farmland, rustic barns and quaint century homes occupy much of its sublime terrain. Over the past decade, a slew of young wineries, farmers’ markets and chic grassroots culinary experiences have also materialized, making The County, as it’s known in the region, a blossoming tourist centre. (Think of it as a Canadian version of upstate New York.) To meet the growing visitor demand, a number of contemporary rental retreats have been springing up of late. Among them is the burnt-cedarwrapped Ell House, a collaboration between two emerging firms, Ravi Handa Architect and AAmp Studio. Based in Montreal, Handa practises Nordic-inspired architecture and is now designing energy-efficient vacation homes in rural…

Wood 1 Perfect Planks With five nature-inspired colourways and an NRC rating of 0.45, Acoufelt’s WoodBeQuiet line of wood-look planks offers significant sound dampening and refined aesthetics. The rectangular 20-by-100-centimetre modules are suitable for vertical use only and can be installed in six unique patterns. acoufelt.com 2 Full Coverage Carvart by Gustafs’ wooden wall and ceiling system consists of four linear units — panel, rib, plank and module — that can be installed with various spacings between them. The sound-absorbing and fire-retardant product is available in veneer, lacquered veneer and stained or pigmented finishes. carvart.com 3 Natural Look Thanks to an innovative dyeing method, Vicoustic’s Flat Panel VMT modules resemble an array of natural surfaces, including wood. The scratch-resistant panels have a maximum NRC value of 0.65 and come in…

Poäng. Ektorp. Billy. Since its founding in 1943, Swedish furniture giant Ikea has supplied an abundance of iconic household products, entering both homes across the world and the cultural lexicon. Yet these restrained and affordable goods, while marketed on their universality, may not be suited for everyone. “Our everyday home environments do not always anticipate the unique needs of people battling cognitive and physical frailty,” says the Lien Foundation, a Singapore organization that recently commissioned two local studios — Lekker Architects and Lanzavecchia + Wai — to produce Hack Care, a richly illustrated guide that leverages “practical hacks, wacky ideas and simple tips” to make an array of the manufacturer’s mass-produced objects safer for an aging population dealing with dementia, plus assist those who care for them. Ranging from a…