The Yellow Palace, 2002

The Yellow Palace is a rather small and intimate facility if compared to the other buildings constructed over the recent times in Tirana. It is a “palazzetto” for six households, each in a floor of 120 m2, while its ground floor is reserved for shops. Being such, it risked being more of a private object, rather a property of the ones living there, than an asset of the city. Therefore, the architectural intervention, through a plastic treatment, aimed at transforming this small building into a public landmark, a sign for the road it was located into and for the entire city.

Residence Building

Twin Villas, 2010

It was the first time in about 70 years from the construction of King Zog’s Villa in Shiroka, on the banks of Shkodra Lake, that two Albanian investors decided to build two individual holiday villas, using a real architectural design and an architect. In the motley of illegal constructions without any architecture design, built on the slope of Taraboshi Mountain in Shiroka, overlooking the fascinating view of the lake, this project was too inspiring to miss. Hence, the design of these two villas was focused on capturing the view of the lake, orienting all its interiors on that side.

Lingoto Center, 2011

Lingoto Center  was designed and intended to be an offices building. Nowadays a private university is ‘sheltered’ in its premises. Placed on a narrow and long parcel this object wants to express with its movement ‘matter, “physicality” and “sensuality”. In turn this movement is as an adaptation to the context and the objects “hitting” it on both sides. Its floors plan is conceived as an open space, to unify and extend the work surface, placing work stations at the edge and in ‘touch’ with the nature.

Titanic, 2012

This facility is built on the Adriatic coast on the Shkëmbi i Kavajës beach, where the Titanic restaurant was located. Situated facing the sea, it is meant to house residential apartments as second homes and for vacation.

Attico Building, 2018

If we would summarize the basic concept of this project in few words, it is a response to conditionality, which is also the basic idea of our studio’s work. The building is conditioned by the urban study of a maximum of 4 and 6 floors, with a central placement on the parcel. The main architectural idea intended to use these “restrictions” to create a “deconstruction” of the volume where the two upper floors are pulled inwards on three sides, which makes the 4-floor volume more readable. The volume interpretation has taken into account minimizing the impact on the surrounding environment, making not a palace, but a “palazzina”.

1. Stick to a rigid sleep schedule

Set a time you want to wake up every morning (including weekends), count backwards seven or eight hours, and stick to it – every day. This way you will be more refreshed and ready to get things done.

2. Create a morning routine

3. Develop a new non – architectural hobby

It can be yoga, hiking, dancing or anything that can help you escape the everyday life and the most important, helps your architectural side.

4. Create an inspiring studio

To stay focused clean out the clutter in your office and complete with a desk and decorations that foster creativity. You can try Feng Shui too. Gather your favorite candle scents, oils and crystals for the new year. It helps you to find balance and harmony in your working space.

5. Prepare a playlist of music that motivates you

Studies say that classic music helps in developing the brain, but you can put songs of any genre on the list if they motivate you.

6. Attend  architectural conferences

Research  architectural conferences you’d like to attend this new year. You can start with the 3^rd edition of Share Tirana 2020 on this 11th February.

7. Establish an agenda

Keep your ideas, projects and meetings organized. An agenda keeps you on track with the sequence of topics to be addressed, and it helps in ending the meeting on time.

8. Take breaks and travel more

You can start as simply as turning off your computer earlier in the day, avoiding emails after a certain time, or going for a relaxing walk after work. The point is to take your mind off work for a few hours every day. However, when it comes to subtle textures, atmospheric spaces and beautiful details, there is no substitute for traveling to experience architecture in person. Cities in Albania are full of hidden gems just waiting for you to cast your critical eye over in 2020. Whether it is a simple walk around the block or a plane ride to the other side of the world, travel more this year!

9. Write a “Love-To-Do” list

Add the things you love to do to your list. This may sound counterintuitive, but it serves as an outlet to keep you happy and your creative juices flowing. By scheduling time to do things you enjoy, can make you more productive in the long run.

10. Get things right the first time

Most people are wildly distracted these days, and this leads to mistakes. Become a special performer by having a mindset of doing what it takes to get it flawless first. This unleash your productivity and saves you days of having to fix problems.

1. Servete Maçi Primary and Secondary School by Studioarch4

3. Gatsby eat&drink by V arkitekturë studio

4. Park Gate by X-Plan Studio

5. Cantilever House by Markingplan architecture

The most characteristic typologies of houses that testify to a certain socio-economic development in Albania, from the second half of the 18th century, to the first half of the 20th century, from the houses recognized as traditional or vernacular (master-crafted) houses as well as houses after the second half of the 19th century, designed with architects and reconstructed to meet the demands of a more contemporary lifestyle (e.g. the genesis of the contemporary city houses).

The main intent is to highlight the features of this very authentic architectural typologies, in both geographical entities: cities and villages, with their different and unifying features, like their facade-treatment, plan organization and volumetric composition, their organization in independent or residential ensembles, the presence of traditional special equipment of production (the house being back then, the place for both living and working), etc.

The platform is in an evolving state, where the main data and website-structure was created during the first four months of the project implementation but is still open to further improvement and enrichment in materials, therefore many more houses are waiting to be included on this public platform, which hopefully will pay a small tribute to these hidden treasures and the collective memory related to them. The implementation of the project was supported by the Swiss Cultural Fund.

A very important part of the project are the visits and ethnographic interviews done with local people from the neighborhoods nearby and the houses’ family members themselves. Apart from the more academic information, the descriptions of these houses contain also information related to people’s memories about them, therefore this information is more dense and rich in layers. Since a house is a more intimate and personal space, some of the families were very welcoming and curious and eager to share their knowledge about the places they have inherited but in some cases, it was difficult to gather information.

Some of the places visited, from where the houses were mapped, are: Shkodër, Shirokë, Theth, Tiranë, Krujë, Kavajë, Elbasan, Durrës, Berat, Gjirokastër, Dukat, Bujanë, Vuno, Korçë, etc, organizing 2-3 days expeditions in each one of them and apart from noticing all these architectural treasures and their richness in details and historical importance, we also noticed a certain emergency situation related to their conditions for a very considerate number of them. 125 houses were mapped, number of houses found only through literature 91, number of houses found through the terrain-expedition 52, number of photos uploaded on Wikimedia Commons 2028.

Since there is a lack of information about this houses online, the need to make this knowledge, all this information more public more accessible for everyone, in one structure, that uses open source platforms, was crucial and urgent.  Added value of the project is the fact, it uses open source platforms that permits to everybody to contribute to its continuity through writing on Issues in Github (link at the website-bottom).

The main intent, is to pay a small tribute to these hidden treasures and the collective memory related to them.

Links

Website: https://thealbanian.house

Link with all photos:  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:The_Albanian_House

Bibliography for the description: https://thealbanian.house/bibliography

Project manager: Jora Kasapi

Project assistant: Sonia Budini

1. Lego

Which profession would allow you to play with Lego as a legitimate source of inspiration? Architects can use their imagination in this game, which is designed to provide them a perception of real life buildings.

2. Leather case

3. Business Card Holder

A minimal matte black pocket business card holder looks far more sophisticated and professional than fishing around through a bag and pulling out a crinkled card.

4. Architectural model

An architectural gift guide wouldn’t be complete without a lovingly recreated mini version of a building everyone knows and loves. An architectural model of their favorite city from above will help keep them inspired and liven up their living or work space. If they have a favorite famous building, a simple white model of it would also make a great addition to their art collection.

5. Illustrated Cards and Art prints

What says ‘holiday cheer’ more than an illustrated hollyday card? And what could be more architectural than an illustrated buiding print? Find a copy of their favorite building or structure and you’ve just secured yourself best gift of the year.  Go for a more simple look with some minimal prints of famous houses and buildings from around the world.

6. Books

Although there’s plenty of architectural and interior design inspiration online, there’s something special about holding an actual book and flipping through its pages. Regardless of their tastes or style you’re sure to find an architectural book that they’ll enjoy. A beautiful book full of beautiful monochrome interiors will not only inspire the interior designers in your life but will add a touch of elegance to their coffee tables as well.

7. Desk Accessories

With all the time they spend sitting at a desk sketching, planning, and emailing, it’s important that your architect or designer love their space and the things they create with. Help them create the ultimate desk space with some minimal and functional office products. A concrete desk set with a pen holder, tape dispenser, and phone stand will help keep their space clutter free and stylishly organized.

8. Watercolor markers, pens or pencil box

Good writing utensils are an essential tool in the architect and designer pencil box. Brass pens, pencils, and stands are an elegant gift that will help to create beautiful buildings, structures, and rooms. Elegant brass pens add a sophistication to any designer or architects arsenal of writing utensils and will probably result in elegant designs and ideas as well.

Watercolor markers give artists a more precise way of adding color to their designs and are much easier to carry around than sets of watercolor paints.

9. Creative+Fun books

Just because they’re adults working important adult jobs, doesn’t mean they don’t still enjoy a bit of creativity just for the fun of it. A coloring book is a great way to give your architect or designer an excuse to sit down, chill out, and create things that are just for them. It cities will give your architect a break from designing and instead let them paint the town.

10. Personalized accessories

Even if it is a t-shirt, a cushion, a coffee mug or pencils, translating drawings or architect’s quotes into textiles and accessories is always a good idea.

Source: contemporist.com

Swing 275

The collection of Murano glass chandeliers Swing 275 is one of our collections that most differs from the classic Murano tradition: the design of this collection is closer to the natural shapes.

The decorative wavy elements that sorrounded the central arm recall some plants, the cups evoke the bluebell’s corolla. Two variations of the Swing collection are available in the catalogue, Swing 275 is the one with upward lights.

All the elements that composed the chandelier are made of blown glass, this confers to the lighting work a certain uniformity. This collection stands out not only for its design, but also for the colours available. Among the colours, it stands out the iridiscent amber, a particular shade of amber with iridiscent finishings, whose glares gives a magic atmosphere to the surrounding space.

Gatsby Naked

The Murano chandeliers Gatsby Naked collection is a special edition of the Gatsby collection. The structure of the chandeliers is the same of the Gatsby chandeliers, but here the plissè fabric truncated cone lampshades are susbituted with cups that diffuse the light in the sorrounding space.

These cups are handcrafted, their surface is decorated with the “rigadin” technique (blown glass with straight ribs on the surface). Their shape resembles that of the crown and the final element, contributing to the harmony of the whole structure.

The cups that sorround the light bulbs give even more lightness and transparency to the whole structure, turning the chandelier into an outstanding decoration object.

The Gatsby Naked collection can be customised in many ways, in order to meet customers’ requests; many different colours, sizes and models are available. The collection includes wall lamps, table lamps and floor lamps.

Capriccio

The blown glass chandeliers collection Capriccio 560 has the same structure of the 550 variation, but it differs from the last one for the position of the lights, which are downwards.

It is the best solution when the ceiling is not very high, without renouncing to the elegance and the magnificence of a venetian chandelier. As in many other collections by MULTIFORME, not only the structure but also the colours are innovative.

It is possible to customise the Capriccio 560 collection, choosing finishings, models, sizes and colours; the collection also includes a series of matching wall lamps.

Chapeau

The Murano chandelier Chapeau is one of the most appreciated chandelier among our classic models in the Multiforme TIMELESS collection. Chapeau is a classic and essential chandelier, it is handcrafted using high quality materials. This Murano glass chandelier is finished with handmade lampshades, and it is available in many different colours, sizes and number of lights.

The Chapeau collection includes chandeliers, table lights and wall lights. The big size chandeliers are perfect to be placed in stairwells, halls, meeting rooms and wherever an elegant decoration of the ceiling is needed. Chapeau is the perfect collection to decorate hotels or wide spaces, and whenever it is needed to minimise the costs without renouncing to a high quality solution. This is possible thanks to the high number of items available in this collection.

Simplicissimus

The name of this collection well express the essence of these chandeliers – superb simplicity. This collection of Murano glass chandeliers is the result of a research which harks back to the classic Murano chandeliers, with the purpose of re-elaborate them in modern terms.
Simplicissimus chandelier is made using high quality selected materials and finishings, it is a decoration product sober and of great value; and for this reason it is perfect to decorate both classic and modern spaces.

The Simplicissimus collection includes a wide variety of chandeliers, table lamps and wall lamps, each of these items is available in many different models, sizes and colours. It is also possible to customise the products on demand.

Coco

The glass chandeliers Coco collection takes inspiration from Coco Chanel, the revolutionary woman that has changed the fashion industry during the 20’s. In particular, this chandelier embodies one of her beliefs – elegance and style are based on simplicity.

The glass is manufactured using a particular technique, called “rigadin”, which allows to obtain straight ribs, conferring to the translucent surface a peculiar optical illusion. This optical effect, combined with the sheer silk plissè lampshades, contributes to the harmony and uniformity of the whole structure, which is a peculiar characteristic of each product of this collection – wall lights, floor lights and table lights.

Source: https://www.multiforme.eu

Charles and Ray married in 1941 and moved to California where they continued their furniture design work with molding plywood. During World War II they were commissioned by the United States Navy to produce molded plywood splints, stretchers, and experimental glider shells.  In 1946, Evans Products began producing the Eameses’ molded plywood furniture. Their molded plywood chair was called “the chair of the century” by the influential architectural critic Esther McCoy. Soon production was taken over by Herman Miller, Inc., who continues to produce the furniture in the United States today. The other partner, Vitra International, manufactures the furniture in Europe.

CASE STUDY HOUSE 9: THE ENTENZA HOUSE, 1949

“Case Study House 9, also known as the Entenza House, was designed for Arts & Architecture publisher and editor John Entenza as part of his innovative Case Study House program. The property is situated on a primarily flat parcel on a bluff in Pacific Palisades overlooking the Pacific Ocean, at 205 Chautauqua Boulevard. The design of Case Study House 9 exemplifies the concept of merging interior and exterior spaces through glass expanses and seamless materials.

GRIFFITH PARK RAILROAD, 1957

The Eames Office designed the station, rail yard, and graphics for Griffith Park Railroad, including concessions tickets, posters, and signage. For the station house—painted in olive drab, red, and black—they gained inspiration from Victorian railway architecture and typography. They also built other architectural elements and props to the same scale as the train (one-fifth life size).

HERMAN MILLER SHOWROOM

Throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s, the Eames Office designed the building and installed the interiors and furniture groupings for Herman Miller’s Los Angeles showroom.  Charles and Ray designed much of the new furniture introduced in this period, including the Eames Plastic Armchairs and Side Chairs, and a variation of the Eames Folding Table. The husband-and-wife team enlivened the showroom spaces with a vast array of objects. Integrated within the furniture displays, one could find anything from toys, plants, and tumble weed to sculptures, folk art, and photo murals.

THE KWIKSET HOUSE

In 1951, the Kwikset Lock Company of Anaheim, California, commissioned the Eames Office to design a low-cost, prefabricated house. Charles and Ray planned to construct it with off-the-shelf parts and hardware. This would allow Kwikset to manufacture the house in quantity and sell it as a kit; this stemmed from the Case Study Program’s idea of normalizing industrial, postwar materials in residential building. The hope was to allow postwar families and indiviuals to live in a “modern” way for an afforable price tag with a reduction in materials and time spent building. The Eameses proposed a one-story house, modular in plan, with a curved plywood roof and exposed beams. The interior had an open plan with a large living room that opened out onto a garden.

THE MEYER HOUSE, 1936 – 1938

The Meyer House has five bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, a tennis court, and a greenhouse. Eames and Walsh made custom furnishings for the home, as well as decorative glass, murals, and other site-specific artworks. In it, Charles seems to have been exploring curves: a circular library/study opens off a landing on the main stairwell, while a set of nested curves related the back terrace and its view of the gardens to the echoing form of the dining room.

MAX AND ESTHER DE PREE HOUSE, 1954

The Eames Office designed this house in Zeeland, Michigan for Max De Pree, his wife Esther, and their two children. The Eameses designed the house entirely of timber. The front façade is a modular grid while the back has a long, second-story balcony that looks onto a garden and wooded area leading to a stream. The office designed the house in the same spirit of economical construction as the Kwikset House.

REVELL TOY HOUSE, 1959

In the late ’50s, the Eames Office designed a model house kit in ¾-inch scale, completely furnished with miniature Eames furniture and accessories. Designed for a toy manufacturer named Revell Company, the kit was to include a system of modular units of structural grids and panels made by Revell out of injection-molded plastic. Charles and Ray designed the rooms and spaces in varying sizes that they could be built into one, two, three and four-level structures.

Source: https://www.eamesoffice.com/

How To Create A Zen Garden

Carefully raked sand or gravel with precisely placed rocks are the main parts of a zen garden. Sand raked into a round, spiral or rippled pattern represents the sea.

Place rocks on top of the sand to make a soothing pattern.
The symbolism of the stones in a zen garden is one of the most important design elements. Upright or vertical stones can be used to represent trees, while flat, horizontal stones represent water. Arching stones represent fire. Try different layouts to see what natural elements the design calls to mind.

You can add plants, but keep them to a minimum and use low, spreading plants instead of upright ones. The result should encourage introspection and meditation.

A zen garden can also contain a simple bridge or path and lanterns made of rock or stone. These features add a sense of distance, and you can use them as a focal point to aid meditation.

There are different Zen features that you can use. That could be a stone lamp, a statue and anything that you can add that is visually appealing. Just see to it that your organization and arrangement of these items look good.

Add some light to your garden. This can make it look interesting during the night. Also, the lights and shadows it can create will make it look even lovelier. This will also let your garden standout.

Source: gardeningknowhow.com

Eclisse is an avant-garde balance between form and function, design and utility and it won the Compasso d’Oro Award in 1967. Manipulation of the inner sphere creates the effect of an eclipse allowing the user to add bright light or subtract for a diffuse glow – the name Eclisse is Italian word for eclipse. Eclisse in part of the permanent collection of the most important design Museums, amongst many the MoMa in New York and the Triennale Design Museum in Milan.

1. Aim for the glitz

A pale palette of rose golds and pinks allows this holiday vignette to handle glitter galore, with a heavy flocking, coordinating ornaments, even pillows and presents to match. Fill your home with a golden glow by opting for golden lights on your tree, garland, and more, you are instantly setting the mood for festivities while crafting a cozy atmosphere.

2. Bring in icy blues

3. Add a rustic flair

A tree dotted with delicate string lights, a mantel adorned with lush needle pine garland, and a rich berry red flower arrangement ties the look of a rustic theme together.

4. Keep it neutral

You don’t need color to dazzle up your home for the holidays. Mix a variety of finishes like gold, mercury glass, and champagne to create a chic and elegant look. Neutral christmas decor keeps the space soft and inviting, while still creating a festive atmosphere.

5. Make white your base color

In this holiday vignette, a white fur tree dressing, white walls, and plenty of fake snow make for a wintery wonderland, and make the bold pops of red even more dazzling.

6. Gift with greenery

Ditch the usual ribbon and top your gift with a pretty piece of greenery. It’s an unexpected but beautifully rustic look, as shown in these gift wrappings.

7. Opt for modern and minimalist ornaments

Give your tree a fun, minimalist twist with geometric gold ornaments, and if you’re big on holiday decorating, but short on square footage, a mini tree allows you to get festive without overwhelming your home.
To maintain the simplicity of a minimalist home, opting for simple, geometric decor is a no-brainer. The white metal tree, graphic pillows, and triangular table accents are understatedly festive.

8. Go natural

Take inspiration from nature for your decorating scheme. Use fresh evergreen boughs, garlands, and wreaths combined with in-season citrus like lemons, tangerines and oranges. It will give your home a beautiful natural look, and it smells heavenly.

9. Dress up the mantel

Spending time with family and friends by the fireplace is what the holidays are all about. Since all eyes will be on it for Christmas, dress up your mantel with everything from garland to red candlesticks. Just don’t forget to incorporate some of your favorite accessories as well.
Your home may lack a mantel, but that shouldn’t mean stockings are a no-go this year. This modern living room features Christmas stockings hung from hooks, which not only solves a common holiday crisis, but also serves as cute wall decor.

10. Bring cheer into your bedroom

Whether you’ve run out of places to prop your garland, or want to rest your head surrounded by the Christmas spirit, this elegant bedroom is decorated appropriately festive without feeling overwhelming.

Source: elledecor.com

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

The annual pavilion at London’s Serpentine Gallery in 2013 was made from white steel and polycarbonate panels, with a three-dimensional matrix-like design that appeared light as a cloud when viewed from afar. At 41, Fujimoto was the youngest architect to design the popular open-air structure, which functioned as a multipurpose space complete with a café.

Final Wooden House

Using only large beams of cedar and panes of glass, the Final Wooden House in Kumamoto, Japan, looks like a perforated cube from the outside, only to reveal that the lumber is cut at varying lengths and specifically arranged to create small but functional nooks inside. Finished in 2006, the structure is designed to be used as a short-term residence, complete with a bath in the corner.

Children’s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation

Completed in 2006, the Children’s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation in Hokkaido, Japan, is designed as a series of seemingly randomly placed boxes that connect to create interior spaces with serene expanses and more protected-feeling alcoves. The layout is meant to mimic that of a city, where any area can become an impromptu place for meeting or playing.

House N

This modular private residence called House N, completed in 2008, was designed as three nested concrete structures, not unlike a Russian doll. The outermost box features a garden area, deck, and open windows; the middle layer contains the kitchen and bath; and the innermost box holds the bedroom, dining room, and living room.

House NA

Glass walls and staggered platforms of white steel characterize House NA, a home in Tokyo with a layout that offers inhabitants a similar experience to living in a tree. Surrounded by a dense urban landscape, the dwelling was completed in 2011 and offers just a few private spaces—like the bath—in the otherwise open, scaffolding-like construction.

Musashino Art University Museum & Library

Completed in 2010, the Musashino Art University Museum & Library was designed to be one continuous spiral bookcase whose 30-foot walls feature shelves on both the interior and the exterior. Encased by a grid of glass panels, the structure contains a grand staircase that doubles as an auditorium, not to mention a collection of approximately 200,000 books.

House O

House O in Chiba, Japan is a weekend house for a couple located on a rocky coast two hours drive from Tokyo. The site is a rocky stretch facing the Pacific Ocean with approaches sloping down to the water level.

Tokyo Apartment

Tokyo Apartment is a four house-shaped apartments stacked on top of each other. Each apartment comprises two or three rooms connected over different levels by ladders and stairs both inside and outside the building.

HSG Learning Center

Sou Fujimoto envisioned a structure consisting of multiple cubes on a grid that take into account the proportions of the neighboring residential area. Varying from 3.5 to 18.5 meters above street level, the cubes offer a total of 7,000 square meters of floorspace. Rooftop terraces are planted with greenery, while indoor and outdoor spaces are connected with transparent surfaces. Internally, the structure is designed so that the layout of the rooms can be changed repeatedly.

L’Arbre Blanc (The White Tree)

This project is a striking housing development in Montpellier, France (2018): a building with a unique shape that suggests continuous movement and hosts 120 apartments spread over 17 floors. The hundreds of balconies, combined with the curved form of the structure, give the overall building a distinctive appearance like a huge tree. Each apartment has large terraces, which are double the indoor area, perfect for this Mediterranean city with a mild climate, where the locals can enjoy an outdoor lifestyle blended with Japanese references and a new, contemporary architectural form.

Source: architecturaldigest.com

Despite the fact that building is dedicated to the particular religious Christian community, the religion symbols such as cross, were not treated in the formal way. This symbol comes very naturally shaped by the main architectural elements such as walls and ceiling.

The building is materialized on red pigmented concrete regarding to be familiar with the local traditional mud bricks, but with very better constructive characteristics that whole construction of the building requires, at the same time.