5.28.2010

Castle Pines Residence








AERA Studios began work on this 12,000 square foot summer home approximately 6 months ago with Don H. Ruggles Architects and Montare Builders. Drywall has just been completed and the space is really starting to come together. We expect to be finished with this project mid-October... stay tuned...

5.19.2010

Modular Wall Tiles Clean the Air!



Earlier this year, Ceracasa, a spanish ceramic manufacturer, pioneering in the production wall and floor coverings, unveiled Lifewall, a modular living wall tile for exterior applications. Lifewall was designed by Emilio Llobat of Maqla Architects, Azahar Energy, and Ceracasa.

The new system uses drip-water irrigation for water efficiency and can support a variety of plantings.

Lifewall works in conjunction with another Ceracasa product called Bionictile. Bionictile is a low-maintenance, ceramic, facade tile that reacts with moisture and ultra violet rays to eat nitrogen oxides in the air.

5.17.2010

China Grove art installation by Brent Comber



Medium - Western Red Cedar, white porcelain paint, acrylic panels, wires

Photography by Gillean Proctor

From the artist... "In most of my work, I try to bring the outside inside. With my sculpture China Grove, however, my challenge was to display effectively a part of the forest within a forest setting.

I wanted to create objects that had the look of precious porcelain figurines and present them in an outdoor space that would serve as a natural display cabinet. With this in mind, I treated nine cedar flares—stumps that have been pulled from the ground—with a substance that gave them a china-like appearance.

In a beautiful forest grove, at Salt Spring Woodworks on Salt Spring Island, I hung them all at the same height to give the impression of a base supporting them. The shifting natural light within the grove plays over the porcelain-textured surfaces of the hanging flares and imbues them with a strikingly ethereal quality."


http://www.brentcomber.com

5.04.2010

Whirlpool unvails green kitchen




Whirlpool’s GreenKitchen eco-system prototype was finally displayed at this year’s Eurocucina kitchen show in Milan. Features include an induction oven, solar panels, a dishwasher that re-uses water from the sink and the stove, and a monitor that displays energy consumption and cooking information.

Probably not warm but interesting...

5.03.2010

Armani Hotel, opens in the Burj Kahlifa, Dubai





Hold onto your wallets... current rates in USD start at $1600 a night and go up to $8000. At check-in each guest receives a personal "lifestyle manager" aka personal assistant, so I suppose some would say it's worth it.

dubai.armanihotels.com