Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen has designed the Neutra collection for Tribù, a Belgian outdoor furniture manufacturer.

From Tribù:

The new Neutra collection is taut and sober in inspiration and thus fits in neatly with the timeless tradition of Tribù. The collection in basic colours white and black includes an armchair, easy chair, footrest, lounger and two accessory tables. Neutra is ‘100% made in Belgium’ and perfectly reflects the design vision shared by Vincent Van Duysen and Tribù: unobtrusive elegance and well-considered detail for discreet luxury. Sober elegance finds expression in clean, simple forms and flowing lines. A restrained style, but with a keen sense of detail. The frame of the chairs, for instance, has a triangular profile that creates the illusion of extra-fine lines, and the armrests on the chairs and lounger sport an inlay of weatherproof black artificial leather.

Visit the Tribù website – here.   Visit Vincent Van Duysen’s website – here.

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H Arquitectes designed this hillside house in Vacarisses, Spain.

Visit the website of H Arquitectes – here.

Read a detailed description after the photos…

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These bathtubs from Käsch, a German manufacturer, caught our attention, not just because they’re designed to allow the water to overflow, but because we don’t normally see bathtubs that are so level with the floor.

From Käsch:

The Overflow bathtub series is designed in such a way that overflowing water is directed back into the tub which gives the bath the appearance of a natural waterhole. The concept resulted from the wish to combine the aesthetics of nature with the cultic character of bathing, and to give space to the element water in order to allow for all its possibilities. When flowing, it creates reflections in the interplay with light and new experiences associated with its sound. Man’s contact with the element water is intensified. Overflow understands itself as part of a bathing culture intent on naturalness, accentuating both meditative and stimulating elements in the bathroom.

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Glass Sculptor Elizabeth Lyons creates colorful decorative hand-blown glass bottles. The Big Jar series grew out of her fascination with old apothecary bottles. “I like the dynamic quality of a collection of related objects. The forms, shapes and colors play off each other. Things are always changing.”

The “Big Jars” series come in a range of forms, sizes and colors. Each piece is made by Elizabeth Lyons in Rochester, NY and all are signed and dated. Available for purchase through the studio.

Visit the website of Elizabeth Lyons – here.

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The team of architects at EXH Design created the interior for Swissnex Shanghai, Switzerland’s outpost for science, technology and culture in China.

From EXH Design:

In the design process we integrated the architectural logic with design sensibility, to arrive at rational conclusions by carefully considering and evaluating the evidence available. A big and flexible functional space is divided by a curved screen into 2 areas: public space for workshops, conference, exhibitions and reception, behind the screen is friendly working space also with a high flexibility for 7 to 14 workers. The screen flowing between ‘public’ and ‘private’ is the sensitive element plugged into the interior. The special attraction of this screen is its visual animation while you pass through.

Visit the EXH Design website – here.

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Italian designers Francesco Bonamico and Marina Toscano created the Anthea hanging lamp for lighting manufacturer Murano Due.

From Murano Due:

With a gaze at the past to give new invention to that antique precious material of crystal, and a leap forwards to discover innovative forms was how Anthea was born, the new lamp designed by Francesco Bonamico and Marina Toscano for Murano Due. The light spreads through the precious drops of pressed and ground polished glass through a cascade of elliptical pendants of polished metal that reflect and release infinite reflections into the room. The recurring layout of the elements creates a very elegant, harmonious and original furnishing item when the light is turned off to then become a sparkling feature when it is turned on.

Visit the Murano Due website – here.

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Austrian design team EOOS have created the Summer Cloud sun lounge for the 2009 collection of the outdoor furniture manufacturer DEDON.

This classic sun lounger takes on a new, innovative face with the SUMMER CLOUD collection from DEDON. The beach chair combines the lounger and fabric top to form a functional and unique design object.

SUMMER CLOUD offers individual 360° use with its sun lounger and sun top connected to one another in a novel way that may be swiveled and set independently of each other. The sun lounger hovers upon a round base from which the screen perfectly functions in an organic manner. The base has a circular mesh structure and also serves as a tray for personal items, which further enhances sun-worshiping moments and the time spent outdoors surrounded by nature. As a result, the individual elements merge into an object full of open and flexible artistry.

SUMMER CLOUD allows you to adjust to the ever-changing angle of the sun, satisfying all individual needs intuitively, so you can enjoy fantastic scenery and vistas.

Visit the EOOS website – here.  Visit DEDON’s website – here.

CROX Architects have sent us their work on the Artemide lighting store in Taipei, Taiwan.

From CROX:

Responding to Artemide philosophy, lighting is a source of physical pleasure and mental comfort, CROX beautifully embellishes the first Artemide Flagship Store in Taipei Downtown with the concept of the brightness and the sense of hope by interpretating the scene of sunlight breaks through the cloud.

From concept to realization of the design, CROX uses the high strength yet light weight fiber-reinforced polymer(FRP) to make one piece freeform possible; extending from the ceiling to the wall and forming the counter desk. The hanging form covers the posts and beams creating the surreal atmosphere.

Carefully crafted and installed by the experience FRP maters, this sculptural composition is finished with glossy paint to give a visual illusion of a large store space. The two-floor store installing with the big window glasses evoking the nearby neighborhood through the engaging reflection and curvilinear form.

Visit the CROX Architects website – here.

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Arca Architects designed the Silver Cafe in the town of Morecambe, England.

Commissioned by regeneration body ‘Winning Back Morecambe‘, the new cafe building for the Promenade was to provide a distinctive new landmark.

Arca’s solution was to raise the ground level of the garden strip to create a terraced plinth for the cafe to sit upon. A silver stainless steel band wraps the space, framing views of Morecambe Bay through its glazed facades and withstanding the harsh marine climate. This shiny organic form acts as a ‘full stop’ to the western end of the seafront. In use, the cafe seating can spill out to occupy the various levels of the terracing, animating the public space around.

Visit the website of Arca Architects – here.

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OMVIVO, an Australian manufacturer of bathroom products has released two new colours into its Onda Washplane OmniGlass collection, Ruby and Bruge.

The Omvivo washplane was designed to simplify, yet enhance the washing ritual. Behavioural changes over the years indicate that we are now using a continuous flow of clean water, rather than using soiled water in a plugged basin. This observation allowed Omvivo to change the whole design approach to a ‘washing vessel’.  Without the need to hold water, a basin could be slim, elegant and sculptural.

Visit the OMVIVO website – here.

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The Joe Lounge is the latest addition to the Joe collection from Vincent Sheppard.

From Vincent Sheppard:

The ‘loveseat’ first appeared in cinemas in the fifties. Lovebirds would creep together, cuddling their way through the film in the seats that were not quite big enough for two. Joe Lounge, the latest addition to our highly successful Joe Collection takes you on a trip into the past.

Joe Lounge is available in just about any colour you want and will fit perfectly into all styles of interior. The design, combined with natural fabrics, makes this loveseat very restful. The protective cocoon guarantees total relaxation, either alone or with you child in your lap: reading a story, going through the papers, sipping a glass of wine, or simple dozing. Joe Lounge is a sure-fired winner for those who love to lounge.

Visit Vincent Sheppard’s website – here.

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Brooklyn based designer Ben K. Mickus has sent us an email to let us know that his Relief Chair will make its world debut at the Cooper-Hewitt National Museum of Design, in New York, this Friday, March 6th, as part of the “Fashioning Felt” exhibition. This exhibition will explore the varied new uses of felt in contemporary design.

From the designer:

The chair is a sculpted assembly of rapidly-renewable felt sheets, supplanting foams, upholstery and anything applied.  The cascading edges of the felt sheets create an integral pattern with both a visual and tactile effect. The Relief Chair’s contours invite the user to sit back and relax. The body of the chair is a layered assembly of medium-density wool felt sheets, adhered to each other and sleeved over an internal steel frame. The felt body and frame rest on break-formed stainless steel legs, with a satin finish. The composition juxtaposes weight and weightlessness with an intrepid stance. The chair makes a statement in any room or lounge.

Visit the website of Ben K. Mickus – here.

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Construction is underway on the Singapore Civic & Culture Centre, which has been designed by the international architectural firm Aedas.

From Aedas:

Singapore Civic & Cultural Centre is located within the Vista Xchange precinct of one-north, Singapore. The 54,000 sq.m. development comprises of cultural, civic & retail uses and when complete will provide a premier entertainment, lifestyle and retail experience for one-north and the wider Singapore community.

The design for the 24,000 sq.m. retail space responds to the challenging site topography as the zone spirals inwards addressing the major entry points and culminates in an open amphitheatre. Above, a 40m high grand foyer creates a visual and spatial connection between the retail, civic and cultural zones. It also provides a canopy under which the public can experience outdoor entertainment and al-fresco dining while protected from the elements. The focus of the cultural zone is a 5,000 plus seat auditorium, which will be the largest venue of its kind in Singapore capable of staging amplified musicals, concerts and other large scale visual events.

The venue is supported with administration, artist and technical support, function spaces, foyers, concessions and circulation spaces making up the remainder of the 30,000 sq.m. cultural and civic program.

The concept design is driven by the desire to blur the boundaries between retail and cultural zones and indoor and outdoor spaces with flowing spatial transitions that encourage discovery and deliver an energetic civic node serving one-north and beyond.

Visit the Aedas website – here.

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Swedish designer Jessika Källeskog has created the Cut Table, which she recently exhibited at the 2009 Stockholm Furniture Fair.

From Jessika Källeskog:

A table reflecting one aspect of its use. A table is often used in many different occasions apart from eating; starting out from that perspective I searched for new expressions in form and function that embraces the use and plays with the esthetics of the classical table. My challenge was to use a plane to develop into a three dimensional shape. Architecture and cubism was keywords which led to combine contrasting forms.

Visit Jessika Källeskog’s website – here.

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Architect Harry Seidler designed the Berman House in Joadja, New South Wales, Australia.

From the architect:

Built in virgin countryside near the top of a deep valley with a winding river below, the house is placed against a rock cliff with a suspended living area and projecting balcony overlooking the dramatic natural setting.Following the rocky plateau, the plan is arranged on two levels with the glazed pavilion of the living area below the upper bedroom wing.

Utilising the site’s ample sandstone boulders, support and projecting screen walls anchor the house into the rugged terrain. A dam wall between two rock cliffs creates a deep natural swimming pool with an ample water supply in the case of bushfires. The house is built entirely of fireproof materials. Roof water is collected into a central tank under the house.

Visit Harry Seidler’s website – here.

The home is being offered for sale through Drew Lindsay agency – here.

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