When I spied this project on The Artful Desperado yesterday, my head exploded with colour happiness and I had to share. Alex Brewer, otherwise known as HENSE, is an artist from Atlanta with a colourful, abstract, graffiti-inspired contemporary style. In short: wow-inducing. He was recently hired to create a massive mural on a historic but derelict church in a waterfront neighbourhood of Washington, D.C. Fittingly, the installation is directly across the street from a planned 20,000 sq.ft. museum (making the up and coming area officially smashing). I am often in favour of preserving great old architecture and returning buildings to their former glory. This project gave me pause. It would have been easy for abstract/graffiti style to clash horribly with this vintage church and make it look a blight of soulless, messy tags. But in the hands of HENSE, it remains heavenly. Vibrancy, detail, gestural abstraction – the mural retains the integrity of the historical structure yet creates a completely modern, artful wash of colour. And all using just latex paint and talent. History is given a new, colourful layer and in effect, brings glory back to what was long forgotten…

(p.s. anyone know what this building is set to become? I’ve been trying to figure it out!)

(photographs via HENSE, spotted on the artful desperado)

With the rise of big box stores and discount e-commerce, brick and mortar shops feel more important than ever. Their design details and community building potential are vital to the uniqueness of cities. To me, the soul of a place is found walking down its streets but what happens if every street looks exactly the same? Even if chain stores are an inevitable addition to a neighbourhood, there is no excuse for cookie cutter design. Just look at that great Starbucks above! Any shop can be engaging and full of great design. In my latest post for Rena Tom, I dissect some great brick and mortar shops that have caught my eye lately and serve as inspiration for physical storefronts, unique online spaces and temporary retail. Pop over here to have a look…

(photographs via love camden, michael penney style, blank inside, nico alary, weekday carnival, dezeen and the design files)

I feel like I have come across more inspiring school architecture lately than ever before. I hope this is a continuing trend because if there is one place that should always be colourful and inspiring, it is school. I love the gorgeous exterior of The Reece School in New York by Platt Byard Dovell White Architects. A non-profit private elementary school for special needs children on East 104th Street, I love the rectangles of transparent colour that make the building look friendly from the outside and full of joyful, colourful light on the inside. There are some fantastic light fixtures in the classrooms and gym as well. Learning and colour really are a match made in heaven…

(spotted on arch daily, photographs by jonathan wallen)

Now this is a colour-happy police station. Designed by Klein Dytham Architecture, the ‘Koban Police Box’ is a station in the Japanese neighbourhood of Kumamoto. A perforated steel ribbon rims the top of the structure allowing for lovely shadows to dapple the sidewalk throughout the day. The inside surface is also painted a rainbow of light hues which, when viewed at street level, allows for colour to pop intriguingly from the perforations in many different ways. This design certainly projects a friendly, less intimidating image of police. I hope the handcuffs are similarly colourful…

(photographs via designboom)

I have always been Olympic Games obsessed but, after spending a few years working on design for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, I am full on bonkers about all things Olympic from sports to design to cultural events. One of my favourite facets is how the “Look of the Games” comes to life and dresses the event from tiny keychain to massive building. I particularly like when this design breaks tradition and changes the look of a sport. Case in point? London 2012′s Riverbank Arena where, for the first time ever, the Hockey competition will be played on a colour that isn’t traditional grass green. Instead, the pitch will be vibrant cobalt blue with hot pink edges and, in another Olympic first, the ball will be yellow instead of white. CMYK dreaminess, no? The palette was created in response to a request from the International Hockey Federation to help raise interest in the sport and is the final product of copious testing. Both the warm-up pitch and competition field are bold, modern and sure to catch the eye of many new hockey fans. The cobalt field will help the yellow ball be seen and overall, the vibrant colour trio will be beautifully telegenic and bright. Great abstract pattern in the spectator seating as well. I love when sports experiment with modern hues and design. Can’t wait to see this field in action as I may have just found my favourite London 2012 piece of colour…

(photographs via creative review, anglotopia, telegraph, teamgb, guardian and the big picture)

Ecole Maternelle Pajol is a four-classroom kindergarten in Paris’s 18th arrondissement that joyfully showcases how colour and education are a true dream team. I love how Parisian architects Palatre & Leclère restored the 1940′s building. The front retains its vintage brick beauty while the back explodes with vibrant patterns and colourful activities. The interiors are equally joyful with bold hallways, bright furniture/building materials and a dotted ceiling I just love. Even the washroom features fabulous streamlined colour and animal details (love those dividers!) This kindergarten must be one magical place to learn and play…

(spotted on the cool hunter)

We have all heard of “pop-UP” retail but will “pop-OUT” retail become the next begin thing? I am in love with the ingenious design of The Gourmet Tea in a São Paulo, Brazil shopping centre. Created by architect Alan Chu and inspired by the brand’s 35 brightly hued tea tins, the space is a wall of artful squares when closed and a lively, angled store when open. The flat panels of the plywood box “slide, swing and roll” into a vibrant space within minutes. I love how the shop sign is a hinged flap. A brilliant, colourful design that proves small spaces are often the most magical. Perhaps we can turn all malls into art installations when closed?

(photography by djan chu via dezeen)
(pop over to my other the gourmet tea post here)

Cash desks, sales counters or receptions desks are sometimes overlooked as retail elements bursting with magnificent design potential. I think this area is the soul of a store or studio. It’s where guests are welcomed, a customer turns that sought-after item into their cherished possession and where lasting impressions are formed. In my latest post for Rena Tom’s site, I focused on the design possibilities of cash desks and the functionality considerations that should be kept in mind. It was a hunt but I think I tracked down some inspiring images for your next retail or reception desk creation! To read my post, please take a look here.

(photographs via made by girl, brent comber, arch daily, reception desk world, xnet and decor hacks)

Casa Tissue Box Cover from Urban Outfitters. I think every home may need a house with tissue plumes of smoke…

My second guest post on yellowtrace focuses on the most beautiful kindergarten I’ve ever seen – the Educational Centre En El Chaparral in Granada, Spain designed by Alejandro Muñoz Miranda. Colour windows were added to communal spaces like doorways (leaving classrooms with clear glass) so changing weather and seasons could inject the white space with gorgeous coloured light. Can you imagine going to kindergarden somewhere so magical? Check out my whole post and more images on yellowtrace.

(photographs by Fernando Alda via Dezeen)

I recently came across the headquarters of Ziba Design, a design consultancy in Portland. The lobby features an installation of employee names laser-cut from wafers of Styrofoam and hung vertically according to date hired. As a vital prototyping material used by industrial designers and one that happens to be cheap and light, the use of Styrofoam is brilliant. Even better? The cluster of names is positioned across from large windows with a view of Portland’s waterfront. As weather and light changes, the wall will showcase different patterns of colours and shadows dancing across the typography. The piece will also constantly evolve as new Ziba employees are added to the piece (really highlighting people as the soul of any company). I love this installation not only for its beauty but as a example of fantastic material selection and, more than anything, how design need not be expensive to be stunning.

(photographs via aiga)

If you ever chat with someone who declares that environment conscious architecture can’t be a beacon of bold, colourful design, direct them to the Pixel building in Melbourne, Australia. The country’s first carbon neutral office building of its kind has impressive green credentials (read about them here) and manages to be a stunning symphony of form and colour. The facet-shaped “wings” are just beautiful and the colour palette feels like it was plucked from an Australian bloom (perhaps a pincushion or protea?) Overall, it is a building bursting with colour and, I imagine, infectious energy. I love that such a technically advanced building doesn’t have to be stainless steel to be sleek, modern and simply gorgeous.

(photography by ben hosking via weheart)

Until last week, I had no idea what the Department of Philosophy building at New York University looked like. When I came across an image while doing research, I was stunned. Jaw-dropped, eyes insanely large, stunned. How was this done four years ago but I had never seen it? Good Lord. While the exterior of the 1890 corner building is protected and thus remains untouched, Steven Holl Architects did a complete 30,000 square foot interior renovation. The concept “organizes the new spaces around light and phenomenal properties of materials” and it is hard to see the space as anything but enlightening. The skylight and 6-level stair shaft are awash in beautiful shapes and constantly change with the seasonal light. The upper level floors feature “different shades and textures of black and white, according to the texts in Ludwig Wittgenstein’s book ‘Remarks on Colour’“. Oh and those flickers of rainbow on the gorgeous textures of rich white? Prismatic film was installed on some of the stairwell windows which allowed sunlight to occasionally place a piece of rainbow onto the clean interior. It feels modern, spiritual and simply peaceful. Can you think of a better place to ponder philosophy? Easily one of the most beautiful pieces of interior designs I have laid eyes on and so very perfect for its subject. Hmm, time to google NYU philosophy program applications…

(all images © andy ryan via steven holl architects, dezeen and architizer)

That fireplace. Good Lord. A large expanse of fuchsia that will be in my dreams indefinitely and is only one colourful detail at newly opened The Saguaro Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. The space was “inspired by the contemporary architecture of Mexico and the Arizona desert… designed around the color and light of the surrounding landscape.” Doesn’t it feel like you are in the middle of a desert sunset? A really inspiring palette including tangerine, fuchsia, grape, coral, saffron and a host of other warm hues. I love those bold pops of colour mixed with varying shades of natural wood. The bedrooms feel airy, vibrant and modern yet still calm. If I am missing in Scottsdale, you can definitely find me sitting by that beautiful fireplace…

(photographs via saguaro & knstrct)

behind the scenes

A second Kate Spade post this week because their holiday collection is just that good. I love “Give Colourfully”, the Holiday 2011 campaign video. It is bursting with bright colour, pattern, design supplies, paper and all things devoted to the season of festive wrap. It’s quite impressive how much Christmas comes across without relying on traditional colours, snow scenes, winter clichés, etc. Continuing with the theme, the front page of their website animates colourful presents you can “unwrap”. A larger Kate Spade post will pop up one of these days as their design team and brand as a whole is one of my true ‘colour heros’. Check out the behind-the-scenes video too. The team used 1,000 yards of coloured tape, 15,000 square feet of tissue paper and 400 yards of paper ribbon to create the mini-film (including wrap a 1965 VW beetle!)

Airports are fascinating places. Some are rather frightening and clinical, some are gleaming structures of great design. The latter category more than fits ‘Harmonic Convergence’ by Christopher Janney, a spectacular interactive sound, light and colour installation at the Miami International Airport. Created in the walkway from the rental car terminal to the main airport, Christopher used diamonds of coloured glass, the constant sun of Florida and a liberal coat of white paint to create a dazzling hall of pure colour. The pattern created on the floor is stunning. When the sun finally sets, the installation remains vibrant via computer-controlled LED lights. Christopher also designed a “sonic portrait” or composition of constantly changing tropical birds, thunderstorms and other distinctly Floridian sounds to interact with the coloured light. Christopher says his installation “announces” the airport to visitors as they enter or exit the main terminal and I am certain this component of the trip would be unforgettable. If I ever visit Miami, I can now count on one thing – a lengthy trip to the airport. You can find me in the hall of colour, staring at that pattern of light…

(spotted on designboom)