Dwell Dec-11-Jan-12

Since the first issue of Dwell we have championed one of the most creative, sustainable, and promising building systems that has been a part of the American housing landscape for more than a century. What we love about prefab is its creative pursuit of modern-home-as-product, with sustainability and authenticity at its core. And within these pages, Dwell explores innovative examples of how far prefab—promising for the masses and appealing to the well-heeled who love designing with a “kit of parts”—has come and just how far it still has to go. The allure of prefab is that it continues to fascinate and propel architects, builders, and homeowners to experiment restlessly, hoping to capture prefab’s pledge of precision and economy. We devote 42 pages of this issue to those protagonists of prefab…

What a surprise to read your great piece about Marimekko (Process, September 2011). Thanks to writer Katja Lindroos and photographer Alex Subrizi for such a thorough story about what makes Marimekko so unique. In the 1970s, young architects like me loved Marimekko for its strong colors and patterns. I am retired now but have a new career making large wall hangings and quilts out of Marimekko fabric from the remnant box at a Crate and Barrel outlet. I have made about 25 so far, and I must have more than 50 patterns in my ever-growing fabric inventory. The quality of the material is perfect, the colors are vibrant, and the patterns remain fresh and compelling. Peter Hoyt Cincinnati, Ohio Thanks for the “Inspired by Japan” story (September 2011). The article…

Ty Cole Ty Cole journeyed from his home in Brooklyn to the end of Long Island to photograph the Pryor Residence (Off the Grid, p. 58). Upon arriving in Montauk, he thought he might have taken a wrong turn. “No way that house is here,” he recalls thinking. Nevertheless, he found the expansive, floating structure and the family at the end of a long, gravel driveway. “They were so hospitable and made the experience a real pleasure,” Cole says. Jessica Haye and Clark Hsiao Los Angeles–based photographers Jessica Haye and Clark Hsiao visited Paul and Shoko Shozi’s nearby home for this month’s My House (p. 46). “While we were shooting, Shoko made a batch of homemade banana-nut muffins and packed them up for us with Japanese cookies and rice cakes…

Though we couldn’t see all 280-some events at the ninth-annual London Design Festival this September, a very hardworking furniture trend did catch our eye. Shoehorn Hanger by Faudet-Harrison for Tracey Neuls The clothes hanger gains a rather pedestrian second use thanks to the London-based design firm Faudet-Harrison. This hanger, made for shoe maven Tracey Neuls’s new store in Shoreditch, has a shoehorn on each end. faudet-harrison.com Forking Light by Adam Xander Adding a spun aluminum shade and bulb to this pitchfork prototype we saw at the TENT London show takes it from fully functional in the farmyard to a perfect fit for the foyer. adamxander.co.uk Coat Rack from the Pipework series by Nick Fraser The “recontextualization of familiar things” drives Nick Fraser’s design. We came across the powder-coated copper pipes…

Whilst in London, we met three talents who are making their marks on the local design scene. Soon you’ll be uttering their names along side Morrison, Dixon, and Adjaye. Max Fraser At the tender age of 31, writer Max Fraser is already a ten-year veteran of the London Design scene and is increasingly one of its most indispensable fixtures. His first book—Design UK, a comprehensive shopping guide—was published in 2001, but it’s the second edition of his London Design Guide (which debuted at the festival) that will keep him, and you, on the map. Fraser’s take on a traditional city guide is shot through with a critic’s eye and a journalist’s ear as he editorializes on the best stores, galleries, showrooms, and museums in the Big Smoke—and on everything from…

In London, we came across a pair of exhibits that showed off the highest of contemporary design while hearkening back to the stalwart Britain of yore. Parlor Trick For all the British design on display at the festival, nothing truly hit home—or recreated it—better than the Living Room, a stylishly cozy collection of English goods curated by design journalist Alyn Griffiths and designer Jonathan Krawczuk. The pair set up shop in a small room in the store Luna and Curious in East London, kitting out the diminutive space with the work of 18 different brands, all made in the UK. Their selections included a few boldfaced names of contemporary British design—Established & Sons, Donna Wilson, Matthew Hilton—but a Drone table by Dare Studio, a teapot by welovekaoru, and a sideboard…