Hospitality Design: Blue Frog Acoustic Lounge

Project | Blue Frog Acoustic Lounge 
Location | Mumbai, India 
Architect | Serie architects 
Client | Blue Frog Media Pvt. Ltd 
Completion Date | 2007





 

 

For a full narrative about the concept and design of Blue Frog Acoustic Lounge visit this link. 

illy Push Button House

illy collaborated with artist/architect Adam Kalkin to create a dramatic work of living art - the illy Push Button House, a five-room home with a kitchen, dining room, bedroom, living room and library constructed within a standard industrial shipping container. The home, which transforms at the push of a button, is created from recycled and recyclable materials and is the physical representation of illy's dedication to sustainability, art and innovation.

 

Can't watch the video?  Try this link.

A212: CAFE: Tokyo Baby Cafe, Aoyama, Tokyo by Nendo :

I love the muted color scheme and the use of scale used in the Tokyo Baby Cafe, in Aoyama, Tokyo by Nendo.  Finally, a restaurant just for parents and their children.

The cafe is designed for both the parents and the children.  The cafe is stocked with everything you need to entertain a child;  books and toys, and includes a playroom, private rooms and separate spaces for nursing and changing diapers. Wide aisles make it easy to move around with a stroller, and light switches and door handles are placed high up to keep children from using them.

The cafe is designed to be enjoyed by two very different sizes of users, 'parents' and 'small children', so the interior plays on this difference in scale. They also see the world through different eyes. Take a table: adults live their lives aware of tabletops, and the things placed on top of them.

But children see the table's underside. A table's legs can look like pillars, and the reverse of the tabletop is like a roof. The cafe's 'absolutely huge' and 'absolutely tiny' furnishings take advantage of these two perspectives, the adult's and the child's.

A nursing sofa becomes a playroom when blown up on a massive scale, and a diaper changing table when shrunk to minuscule proportions. Big windows pair with small ones, and big lightbulbs with small ones. The floorboards vary in size, and the undersides of tables, where parents eyes don't reach, hide pictures of parent and baby animals. In fact, 'parents and children' can be found all around the cafe, ready for their parent and child visitors.

Found via: A212: CAFE: Tokyo Baby Cafe, Aoyama, Tokyo by Nendo

Featured Project: The Parlor, Phoenix, AZ

Built in a Phoenix neighborhood chock full of mid-century modern architecture, The Parlor, designed by owner Aric Mei and Panthangay Architects is a great example of sustainable design.  

Wood from the interior and roof and the old metal sprinkler system from the building was salvaged and re-purposed. Every piece of millwork in the space, including the host stand, bar and built-in booths, were built using the salvaged wood from the old roof.  Parts and pieces of the metal pipes from the sprinkler system were used in the designs for door handles, lighting, shelving, lighting, and the fireplace.  Structural columns from the original mid-century canopy were torn out, then used to create table bases.

The Parlor is a wonderfully creative and environmentally friendly project.  Watch the video below to see for yourself.

3/29- I noticed that sometimes the embedded video is not showing up in the blog post. In case you experience this, here is the direct link for the video. Enjoy!