Its name invokes the iconic toy best played in a park, but this light is seriously smart.  The function of this lamp is to illuminate directly the top of the table, with a precise light cone, emitting a diffused and reflected light: all by one single bulb.  With its chrome reflector and opal diffuser, the Frisbi Suspension Lamp can deliver direct, diffused and reflected light. With its three fine steel cables, the unit can be suspended from any ceiling.

Frisbi looks wonderful when used in the living room or when suspended over a dining table. Whether it is switched on or off, the Frisbi always shines due to its innovative design.

Source: stardust.com

Since 1940, he has been experimenting industrial products with his brothers Livio (1911-1979) and Pier Giacomo (1913-1968). After the graduation, he started to looking into forms, techniques and new materials, conceiving a complete design process.

He achieved  in 1969 the teaching qualification on “Artistic Design for Industry” from the Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione (Ministry of Public Education) and he taught at Turin Architecture University until 1980. Afterwards he acquired the teaching post in Politecnico of Milan until 1993 as fulltime “Industrial Design” professor.

Achille and Pier Giacomo’s industrial designs were smart and playful, and most of the works they did together are not attributable exclusively to either one of them. Among these works are the light designs they did for FLOS, such as: Taraxacum ceiling lamp and Gatto table lamp (1960), Beehive -or Splügen Braü lamp (1961), Toio –or Toy lamp (1962),  Arco lamp (1962), Taccia lamp (1962), and Snoopy lamp (1967). But they also designed playful furnishings products during this time; some examples are: Sello stool for Zanotta (1957), Sgabello per Telefono, a telephone stool in the shape of a bicycle seat, and the Mezzardo, or sharecropper’s stool, for Zanotta (1957); the RR 226 stereo system (1965); and the Sanluca chair for Gavina (1961).

Netherlands Dance Theater, 1987

The Netherlands Dance Theatre, completed in 1987, was OMA’s first major project. It was originally conceived in 1980 as an extension to a circus theatre in Scheveningen, a seaside resort in The Hague. In 1984, the design was adapted for a new site – the Spui Complex – in the centre of The Hague. Koolhaas’s theater shared the site with a hotel and a concert hall, incorporating the latter’s exterior wall in a shared foyer.

Nexus World Housing, 1991

Villa dall’Ava, 1991

The villa is situated on a hill which slopes steeply toward the Seine, the Bois de Boulogne, and the city of Paris, in a neighbourhood characterised by 19th century houses in a classical “Monet” landscape. The house is conceived as a glass pavilion containing living and dining areas, with two hovering, perpendicular apartments shifted in opposite directions to exploit the view. They are joined by the swimming pool which rests on the concrete structure encased by the glass pavilion.

Kunsthal, 1992

The Kunsthal combines 3300 square meters of exhibition space, an auditorium and restaurant into one compact design. Sloping floor planes and a series of tightly organized ramps provide seamless connection between the three large exhibition halls and two intimate galleries. Its position, wedged between a busy highway and the network of museums and green spaces known as the museum park, allows it to function as a gateway to Rotterdam’s most prized cultural amenities.

Maison à Bordeaux, 1998

The Maison à Bordeaux is a private residence of three floors on a cape-like hill overlooking Bordeaux. The lower level is a series of caverns carved out from the hill, designed for the most intimate life of the family; the ground floor on garden level is a glass room – half inside, half outside – for living; and the upper floor is divided into a children’s and a parents’ area. The heart of the house is a 3×3.5m elevator platform that moves freely between the three floors, becoming part of the living space or kitchen or transforming itself into an intimate office space, and granting access to books, artwork, and the wine cellar.

Seattle Central Library, 2004

At a moment when libraries are perceived to be under threat from a shrinking public realm on one side and digitization on the other, the Seattle Central Library creates a civic space for the circulation of knowledge in all media, and an innovative organizing system for an ever-growing physical collection – the Books Spiral. The library’s various programs are intuitively arranged across five platforms and four flowing “in between” planes, which together dictate the building’s distinctive faceted shape, offering the city an inspiring building that is robust in both its elegance and its logic.

Seoul National University Museum Of Art, 2005

The Seoul National University Museum is defined by its siting on the side of a small hill, close to the entrance of the university. The building’s form was conceived as a basic rectangular box, sliced diagonally by the incline of the hill. This form is then raised up on a small central core – the only point of contact with the ground – so the building is nearly all cantilever, extending up and down the hill, following the topography precisely and appearing to hover above it.

Casa da Musica, 2005

The Casa da Musica attempts to reinvigorate the traditional concert hall in another way: by redefining the relationship between the hollowed interior and the general public outside. The Casa da Musica, the new home of the National Orchestra of Porto, stands on a new public square in the historic Rotunda da Boavista. It has a distinctive faceted form, made of white concrete, which remains solid and believable in an age of too many icons.

CCTV – Headquarters, 2012

The CCTV headquarters aims at an alternative to the exhausted typology of the skyscraper. Instead of competing in the race for ultimate height and style within a traditional two-dimensional tower ‘soaring’ skyward, CCTV’s loop poses a truly three-dimensional experience, culminating in a 75-metre cantilever. The building is visible from most of Beijing; it sometimes comes across as big and sometimes small, from some angles strong and from others soft.

De Rotterdam, 1997 – 2013

De Rotterdam is conceived as a vertical city: three interconnected mixed-use towers accommodating offices, apartments, a hotel, conference facilities, shops, restaurants, and cafes. The project began in 1997. Construction started at the end of 2009, with completion in 2013. The towers are part of the ongoing redevelopment of the old harbour district of Wilhelminapier, next to the Erasmus Bridge, and aim to reinstate the vibrant urban activity – trade, transport, leisure – once familiar to the neighbourhood.

Source: https://oma.eu/

1. Create a living wall

You can turn your gallery wall  in a true art space. Give your wall a fresh feeling by adding some living, breathing greenery. A liveable shelf is better than a traditional one, if you fill it with hanging plants too.

2. Bring nature in

3. Keep your desk on point

Potted plants can live a long time and they are a design feature on your furniture. Use them on your desk or dining room tables as living, breathing decorations. If you require something small to spruce up a desk use a terrarium; the perfect home for tiny plants.

4. Hanging plants art

If you live in a small apartment, hanging plants are the perfect decoration because they don’t have a footprint. This way you save more space and give your interior an organic design. Hanging plants are the best choice for high ceilings too, choose the ones that makes the most of it.

5.  Group pot plants

Grouping different species together on a hanging shelf or in a corner, is a great option that adds depth and diversity to a space. Use this tip if you’re short on surface space, or are simply looking to make more of a contemporary feature out of your house plants.

6. Divide spaces

Walls and solid doors are so out of our intrests. Instead, divide spaces with a shelf full of plants, outlining different parts of a room and at the same time, giving more air and freshness to the space.

7. Use large plants decoration

Bring a large plant next to your sofa as a decoration. It is often an area that can be neglected or it can be an a empty corner. A large plant dresses and makes the space living. Clusters of plants especially work well in room corners too, where nothing else fits, saving them for being wasted spaces.

8.  Fill up kitchen with plants

The kitchen is the most important facility in the house, especially for a woman. To create a fresh space while cooking, pack out the corners with pots of easy-care, steam-loving evergreens. Paint the walls in a deep green and you’ll feel like you are cooking in a fresh open space.

Best Indoor Plants For Your Home

According to San Diego Botanicals , these are the best indoor plants that you can use not only as home decor, but to purify the air too.

Peperomia
This petite plant’s waxy and colorful foliage is a striking detail to spice up your living room.

Boston fern
This delicate-looking lacy fern is actually pretty tough, and it will add a jazzy yet elegant touch to your home’s interior.

Mint
Culinary aficionado’s favorite house plant, mint is also a powerful insect repellant. On top of all that, its irresistible scent boosts brain power.

Weeping fig
This spectacular-looking tree-like plant is a must-have interior design element, in addition to its low-maintenance expectations and ability to improve indoor air quality.

Peace lily
Often voted one of the best indoor plants, Peace lily does not only boast gorgeous flowers, but also high efficiency at tackling airborne toxins.

Pothos
Due to its extremely low care needs, incredible ability to eliminate formaldehyde from the air and beautifully variegated leaves, this trailing vine is everything you could look for in a plant.

Aloe vera
Easy to care for, this leafy succulent is well known for its amazing health benefits, among which is eliminating air toxins.

Spider plant
Although it’s best known as a decorative house plant, spider plant actually offers pure, toxin-free air and, in terms of care, has pretty modest expectations.

Snake plant
Extremely efficient at purifying air from toxins, this easy-maintenance plant with tall, snazzy leaves is the perfect addition to your badroom or bathroom.

Philodendron
Not only does this heart-shaped plant absorb air toxins, but it’s also easy to grow and maintain. On top of that, the climbing vine can transform any room from dull to lively.

English ivy
Besides being the number one air-filtering plant, English ivy is easy to grow and looks endlessly beautiful cascading from the floor.

Siza Vieira’s very first professional project is  Casa de Chá da Boa Nova built on the rocks, between 1958 and 1963, just two feet from the water. Distinctive mid-century design features are evident in the lines and angles of the structure and massive tiled roof.  Among Siza’s earliest works to gain public attention was a public pool complex, Piscinas de Marés, he created in the 1960s for Leça da Palmeira, The structures consist of two natural pools filled with fresh sea water, designed and built between 1959 and 1973,  situated 1 km from Casa de Chá da Boa Nova.

Most of his best known works are located in his hometown Porto: except Casa de Chá da Boa Nova, the Faculty of Architecture (1987–93) and the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (1997). Álvaro Siza was invited in the early 1990s to design the Serralves Museum project that took into consideration the specific characteristics of the physical setting and the need for integration within the surrounding landscape.

Like the early Modernists, his shapes, molded by light, have a deceptive simplicity about them; they are honest. They solve design problems directly. If shade is needed, an overhanging plane is placed to provide it. If a view is desired, a window is made. Stairs, ramps and walls all appear to be foreordained in a Siza building. That simplicity, upon closer examination however, is revealed as great complexity. Structure and architectural form in Siza’s buildings work in graceful harmony, such as the cultural institution and museum of Iberê Camargo Foundation (1995) and Portuguese National Pavilion (1998).

If Post Modernism had not claimed the term, and distorted its meaning, Alvaro Siza’s buildings might legitimately have been called by that name. His architecture proceeds directly from Modernist influences that dominated the field from 1920 to 1970. We can see this in his religious architecture too. From Santa Maria Church de Canaveses in 1996, to the recent design of  the Church of Saint Jacques de la Lande in France. Materiality is signature in Siza’s work and is represented in both churches made of concrete.

While Siza himself would reject categorization, his architecture, as an extension of Modernist principles and aesthetic sensibility, is also an architecture of various respects: respect for the traditions of his native Portugal, a country of time worn materials and shapes; respect for context; and finally, respect for the times in which today’s architect practices with all its constraints and challenges.

Siza has been involved in numerous designs for public housing, public pools, universities and museums.  Some of them have reached the boarders of Asia, in South Korea with Mimesis Museum (2009), in collaboration with Castanheira & Bastai Arquitectos Associados and Jun Sung Kim. And in China with The Building on the Water (2014)and China Museum Of Design Bauhaus Collection (2018), in collaboration with Carlos Castanheira.

Source: https://www.pritzkerprize.com/

Ai Lati creates decorative and technical lighting and was established in Italy in 2005 by Federico de Majo, a Venetian designer with a family background in glass lighting. They do one thing and do it exceptionally well – create exquisite artisanally-crafted lamps in simple architectural shapes, made by an incomparable material for the diffusion of light.

1. Keep it neutral

Calm, even-toned colored rooms make the space appear more bigger. This is the number one trick to optically change the size of a room. Add some textures to spice it up or  a rug to differ the floor from the walls.

2. Create optical illusions with mirrors and curtains

This is the oldest trick in the list. Mirrors will make your space feel larger, lighter, and airier. And this adds a lot of style to your interior without having to use much space. On the other hand curtains hung well above the window impart airiness and height, making the space feel bigger.

3. Use smart storage

Choose a custom storage unit instead of a regular bed frame for your mattress, so you create room for storage under the bed, or have it sit on a set of simple risers to create space for storage underneath. You can place shelves over your bed too, you don’t lose nearly as much valuable square footage. Even a windowsill can provide extra storage space for decor, books, lighting, and other essentials when there’s no room for an extra shelf.

4. Create zones

Separate spaces not with walls but with shelves, curtains or even a partial glass wall. Tearing down walls or solid doors for glass or simple structures,  open up views and connect adjacent spaces. This way your small apartment feels bigger and lighter, and above more stylish.

5. Think vertical

Tiny space are so easy to overlook, especially when there is no room for decor. If you don’t have enough horizontal space to decorate your apartment, go vertical. Use hanging or high-mounted elements in spaces between the top of the furniture and the ceiling. You can make your apartment feel higher by taking bookshelves and cabinets all the way up the walls.

Extra. Use strategic furnishing

You can save extra space in your apartment by mounting your TV on the wall or above the fireplace instead of using a media console. Also replace your regular table with a round one so the used space is smaller and you can move freely in your kitchen. When guests are coming over, bring some extra seating that can fold up and be very compact and easily store away.