Posts tagged ‘Design’
Windows From Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater For Sale
Do you live in a house with a top class architectural pedigree?
If so, listen up, because the conservation body that looks after Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Fallingwater has come up with a crafty way to get the windows replaced: sell the old ones off to architectural relic hunters.
Their website explains that the old windows are suffering from decay (hmmm, wonder if all that falling water is to blame – the owner’s father dubbed the place ‘rising mildew’?).
Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater
And this, architecture groupies, is where you come in:
“Naming opportunities range from $500 to $10,000 and up for each window, skylight, glass door, or set of windows, depending on the size and location.
“You will receive a commemorative piece of the old Fallingwater glass, framed along with a drawing of the house, specifying the window that you have endowed.
“Additionally, if you endow a window at $1,000 or more, you will be recognized on a donor wall in the Fallingwater Visitors Pavilion.”
$1,000 for a bit of old glass? Genius!
Here’s a nice video about the house:
Spider Plant Pot Bot
My new favourite designers are the Play Coalition, who first came to my attention with their selfless light fitting, The Martyr; a neat little visual pun on the idea of energy-saving.
They’ve now come up with a crazy, Tim Burton-esque solution to light-starved houseplants, The Plantbot.
Slap in your favourite fern, yucca, whatever and say goodbye to wilted foliage as the Plantbot doggedly follows sunlight around your room.
Warning: if the Day Of The Triffids gave you nightmares when you were a kid, it’s probably not for you.
But if the idea of a perambulating plantpot shakes your branches, you can see more pics at the Play Coalition website.
If nothing else it’ll freak the hell out of the cat. No more peeing in the plantpot for you Mr Moggy!
(All pics: The Play Coalition)
Laurence Goes Green For Charity
We like clever designs at FindaProperty. And we like smart, green ideas. So when a marriage of the two comes to our attention, we like to share the joy.
Therefore, it is with great pleasure that we bring to your attention the Can Can Chair, a regal looking affair (albeit toytown-sized) that is made entirely from recycled drinks cans.
pic: Treehugger
Okay, so we admit that the fuchsia hue and celestial winged pattern might not be to everyone’s taste.
And it doesn’t look like the most comfortable piece of furniture ever made although it’d probably do your posture the world of good.
But given that its designer was Laurence Llewelyn–Bowen, the foppish, long-haired fellow from Changing Rooms, maybe we should just be grateful that it doesn’t come in a garish shade of purple.
Flamboyant Laurence, who was responsible for some of the most outlandish makeovers seen on the TV series – and the ensuing anguish – seems to have left controversy behind with this nifty idea which demonstrates how recycling and design can work together.
Even better, come next year when vivid pink thrones will be soooo last year, the chair can be melted down and used to create something completely new. Clever, huh?
Laurence’s recycled chair will be auctioned off later in the year with all proceeds going to charity.
What’s That Coming Over The Hill?
It’s caravanning, Jim, but not as we know it.
Q: How do you turn the old-fashioned caravan into a trendy affair?
A: It’s easy! Simply:
1. Include the word Pod in the blurb
2. Manufacture it in a lurid funky colour
3. Give it a catchy name
4. Market it to ‘urbanites’
And, hey presto, welcome to the brand new world of the ‘Capsule Caravan’:
Okay, that’s not doing justice to this rather clever design from David Tonkinson, who decided it was time that the humble mobile home was towed into the 21 st Century.
And it certainly is well thought out, despite its uncanny resemblance to a giant Tic Tac. Lightweight and small enough to be parked in a normal sized space, once it’s stationary, the Capsule Caravan expands into two Pods (yay!)
Comfort Pod is your chill-out and sleeping zone, and Service Pod contains all the functional stuff like cleaning gear, storage space and a gazillion power points.
Tonkinson, who came up with the concept of the contemporary caravan for his Final Year Project, claims that the popularity of festivals in recent years has reinforced the appeal of caravans to a younger generation. A fair point.
But c’mon! I’m a festival fan myself but there’s no way I’d want to turn up at Glasto with what looks like an enormous Jelly Bean trailing behind me – but maybe I’m just not edgy or young enough.
The Big ‘Winging It’ Cat In A Box Controversy
What the … eh? … awww ain’t it cute!
The latest offering from achingly trendy design mavericks SuckUK has sparked a bit of a heated debate here in the FAP Editorial Suite.
Well, it did once we’d all stopped laughing like loons at the sight of this slightly indignant looking cat ‘flying’ a WWII plane.
Look, he seems to be saying, I’m a fit, sleek urban prowler with a serious rep to maintain, and you, well, you’re just being silly now asking me to sit in this daft contraption and pretend like I’m having fun … If it wasn’t for the Whiskas and the free flea treatments …
The designs are meant to be an amusing toy for the feline in your life, but it was on this very subject that the FAP scribes were at odds…
Gareth: Hmm, I think that cat might have been Photshopped into the picture …
Annie: I’m not surprised … no self-respecting cat would want to get into that, and if it did it’d probably get stuck, so no wonder they had to Photoshop it …
Gareth: I think they’re kinda cool. I reckon my cat would really like one … cats like to climb into stuff …
Annie: Mine doesn’t – no way. And look, it’s £15 for what’s basically a self-assembly cardboard box …
Gareth (sadly): Looks like they’re pretty much sold out until mid Sept …
Annie (clutching head in hands): You’re kidding! People are actually buying this stuff? …I…I… has the world gone mad?
And so it went on …
Me? I don’t have a cat, so I stayed well out of it…
You, on the other hand, may well have a whiskery friend, in which case we’d be interested to hear your views on this matter of profound national significance….
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