SKAGGS

As the original creator of the concept of NYLON (NewYorkLondon) and designer of some of the most contemporary residential and commercial spaces in New York City (including SKAGGS HQ), Jo Laurie of Jo Laurie Design is the go-to creative, when you’re in need of practical yet innovative interior design services and advice.

We sat down with Jo to find out how she outshone Terence Conran’s London Flagship store and brought a little NYC flavor to the Sloanies, the importance of a great mirror or lamp, Wigstock and why ICFF is the fashion week of the interior design community.

Jo Laurie — interior designer extraordinaire - tell us about your self!
Jo Laurie, NYC. Based in Downtown NYC since 1985… but with an ever-shrinking world, I’m so pleased that I have US and UK passports and Australian residency! [Talk about jetset! -Ed.]
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Frank Lloyd Wright’s last remaining hotel, The Park Hotel, is in desperate need of financial support. If you can, please support Wright on the Park.

Ahhh Tribeca, home to the Tribeca Film Festival, The Odeon, a celebrity or two, SKAGGS and now one of the coolest and sexiest buildings I’ve seen in a long time. Construction has begun on a 20-story residential tower on 5 Franklin Place and is designed by Dutch architect Ben van Berkel of UNStudio.

It doesn’t look like much now, but the renderings are absolutely gorgeous. I love the metal bands that wrap the building and after finding out that they’re not just for show, I love them even more.

The reflective metal bands of our building are almost sewn on, like a dress. They grow thinner and thicker, wrapping themselves around the building and generating different visual effects as they change. But they are not just graphic elements, they are three-dimensional. Sometimes these bands become balconies; other times they become sunscreens that protect the apartment interiors from excess sunlight and reflect excess heat. So they have a true function and a sustainable quality, too.

There’s a great interview/feature on Dezeen with sketches, plus an interview with Ben van Berkel himself. Highly recommended read.

Wow, what but not a better way to start off a design filled 2008 than to see that the US Postal Service is going to release a collection of stamps in honor of the great designers Charles and Ray Eames. They look beautiful and if you know anything about the work of the Eames, you’ll agree that this is a well deserved honor.

The full set of 16 stamps “celebrate the richness of Charles and Ray’s work” and includes the Eames House, La Chaise, the Lounge Chair, Crosspatch, House of Cards, the film Tops and more. Apparently, it has taken 10 years for this to happen, according to Eames Demetrios, grandson of the Eames and Chairman of the Board of the Eames Foundation.

Look for them at a post office near you this summer (or on a letter from SKAGGS).

An interesting concept from two graduate students at MIT dealing with how to harness the collective power of crowds to produce energy.

“We engage with the city in a very physical and bodily way, every day, even though people don’t really think about it like that,” Graham said. “Our project tries to make that connection visible through this balance between capturing and using energy.”

Last week I was watching Architect William Mcdonough’s TED Talks presentation and towards the middle of it, he throws out this design problem:

“Design something the makes oxygen, sequesters carbon, fixes nitrogen, distills water, provides habitat for hundreds of species, accrues solar energy as fuel, makes complex sugars and food, creates microclimates, changes colors with the seasons and self replicates?”

Sounds like a simple enough challenge, doesn’t it? And to think we just cut down trees to “write on them”, as he so eloquently put it.

A brilliant talk buy a brilliant man who’s philosophy of “cradle to cradle” design bridges the needs of ecology and economics.

Years ago I saw an interview by Mike Wallace of FLW. I remember how wonderful it was and how revealing Wright was, not only about his work, but himself. He was 90 at the time and in NYC to supervise the construction of the Guggenheim Museum and was invited by Mike Wallace for an interview. PBS has a few segments available for online viewing and the audio interviews are available on iTunes (The real classic part is Wallace smoking during the interview and doing the advertising for Marlboro).

Speaking of the Guggenheim Museum, I met to post this sometime ago, but got too busy to do so. The Guggenheim in NYC is currently under renovation. The New York Times, had a great piece on it several weeks ago which included this drawing of the exterior showing all of the cracks in the facade.

The concrete building was built without expansion joints and therefore has suffered throughout the years. Through July 8th, the museum is showing a special exhibit entitled “Restoring a Masterpiece” which documents to process of restoring the Guggenheim.

It’s a beautiful beautiful building and one that I am glad to see is being meticulously restored.

Ahhh, finally Spring has sprung and it’s time again for NYC Design Week 2007 and the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). I’ve never been to Milan Design Week but next year, it is definitely on my the list. If the images and what I’ve read are any indication, then I think we’re in for a real treat this year at the ICFF (May 19-22, 2007). Read the rest of this entry »

There’s been a lot of talk about the High Line Neighborhood, (the development of the abandoned railway line on the West Side). Some are all for it, some are against.

I didn’t know until today that David Bowie himself was championing the redevelopment of the area and even curating the High Line 2007 festival , much like Robert Deniro did with the Tribeca Film Festival. It’ll be really interesting to see how this all pans out, especially as New York Magazine put it: “The abandoned railroad that made a park … that made a neighborhood … that made a brand.”

This segment, aired this morning on San Francisco’s KQED, looks at LEED certification and the rise of sustainable building in the Bay Area. The show also looks at the new California Academy of Sciences, designed by Renzo Piano in collaboration with Chong Partners (Skaggs designed their website). Very interesting.

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