merry christmas everyone

merry christmas everyone, originally uploaded by considered design.

nike matagi

just when i was beginning to loose interest in

a certain type of footwear these puppies came along

named after japanese hunters using traditional hunting

techniques for bear and japanese serow

i shall be tracking these down... especially the air baked mid

a stroke of genius

enric miralles

hugely influential to my own thinking Miralles sums it up perfectly

originally spotted at diffusive architectures

“I feel I am a participant in the tradition that prizes doing, manufacturing, as the source of thought… Shifts and turns make the paper lose its sheet nature. It is a working structure. Its rules are those of economics and commodity. On these planes there is no concern to represent… it is a task of multiplying a single intuition: of seeing it appear in all its possible forms… of aligning acrobatically, like a game, all the rays of lines that go in a direction… of keeping all the aspects of one’s project on paper. It is not a question of accumulating data, but of multiplying them; of enabling what you had not thought of to appear”

no doubt the root of our own continuously evolving vocabulary of ideas......

tick tock tick tock tick

are global consumption patterns about to change for good ?

are we moving towards a low / no carbon economy ?

or is it business as usual ?

the return of poshness

oh Britain, what a curious place you are....

retailers

a couple of retailers that are floating my boat right now, one on the East Side and another on the West.

Dave's Quality Meat in New York and Blackbird in Seattle. I'm always on the look out for a decent pair of moccasins, really if I'm honest the ultimate pair of moccasins, and lately one of my all time heros Chris Bonington has been providing stylistic influence for that old school mountaineering vibe.

time for some more Kendal Mint Cake......

canada's image lies in tatters!

where i would like to be this weekend!

portland @ the ace hotel

the sort of thing that we get excited about....

lovely lovely lovely

considered design in aj notebook.

Great new feature from AJ and the AR. They have launched a new user-generated design and architecture site. www.ajnotebook.com. Notebook is a collection of the most inspiring ideas in architecture and design - and is all generated by the readers.

We uploaded a post on the Rennie Art Gallery, we are currently second row down on the left hand side. Click on the image to go straight to our website to see the project in full or click on the information symbol to rate us or comment.

christmas markets

why has this tradition of christmas markets not really made its way across the atlantic?

there is nothing that feels more christmassy to me than walking around outdoor stalls filled with good food and good crafts whilst drinking some warm mulled wine. we will certainly miss it this year.

woolly pockets strange advertising!

what do naked women have to do with a planting system for a living wall?

does woolly pockets seriously think that the only people interested in recommending or buying this product are men? I am not adverse to nudity but the narrow mindedness of this campaign is not allowing me to take the company or the product seriously.

studio search

we have started looking at potential places for our studio.

there are lots of places we would love to have an studio in vancouver, main areas include, lower main, hastings, gastown. But mainly we desire character and light and a creative environment

Current favourite is the alhambra building in gastown.

irish architecture

i probably am very bias but there are so many good architects in ireland at the moment. these lot are my new discovery... how i didnt know about them before i don't know.

ODOS architects I am drooling over the houses they have designed!

rennie art gallery roof deck

Birch Trees, originally uploaded by considered design.

Just putting the finishing touches to this project.
Looking forward to plants exploding in spring!

check out the rest of the photos on flickr.

VOTE VOTE VOTE

we're a finalist! Go here and vote

friday!

cor-ten deck, originally uploaded by considered design.

seeing how beautifully the deck is weathering has made my friday!

starling dance

One of things I miss most about working in Belfast at this time of year is seeing the starling dance every night on my way home. It is such a spectacular display of nature.

Bio feedback loops

and in an unusual querk of universal confluence re. our previous post about Grouse Mountain's wind turbine and the need for a visual representation of the true life cycle carbon cost/potential net benefit BLDG BLOG post this fantastic project. I feel an idea coming on........

sustainable energy for grouse mountain

Seeing this wind turbine makes me smile everyday. I think its very brave move for Vancouver, despite the very obvious scars on the mountains from winter activities the view across to the North Shore is unspoilt.

There is an unfortunate view of wind turbines and wind farms and "not in my backyard" is often the outcome. I totally disagree with this view and would love to have one in my backyard (when we move out of an apartment).

I think that it is vitally important we see where our energy is coming from, that we appreciate when we turn a light on or put clothes in a drier, we associate the electricity with its source, how else are we to become responsible if we have no understanding of the origin?

Personally we would love to see more wind turbines up there, so the mountain can be fully self sustained!

I think the turbine is a very powerful image for the winter olympics and I hope other countries take note of how sustainable their mountain resorts could be.

real places real people

and less of the 'lifestyle' I hope............

The Modern Baroque

CNC, 3D Printing, and Laser cutting are really floating our boat right now, and THIS is THE most beautiful work we have seen in a very long time. Stunning.

House

so which wall gets the wall paper then.......

vivienne westwood

we need a house so we can use some of this fantastic wallpaper.

mona hatoum exhibition write up!

straight news write up on the mona hatoum exhibition!

fall in vancouver!

To Autumn, John Keats

SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has

o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

Franklin and Admunsen

Id forgotten how good a documentary this is

david holmes, andy votel

wish I was home in belfast this weekend !

carbon sink ?

So does this make up for the Tar Sands then ?...No ? Didnt think so....

North West Passage

renewed interest in discovering Franklin's ships
hmmme

CTV

guardian

Falun Paint

If your going to paint wood....do it like the Swedes

http://www.falunpaint.co.uk/index.php?main_page=page&id=22&chapter=4

spur gastropub, seattle

Its been a year since we were in seattle and I am still dreaming of the food at The Spur.

It was that fantastic!

http://www.spurseattle.com/index2.html

wing sang press!

Mona Hatoum _ An amazing opening of an incredible building with a nearly finished roof garden....

Bob Rennie's private art museum opens in Chinatown's oldest building

vancouver talent

There is some seriously good talent brewing in vancouver, some people shout about it, while others just go about producing amazing beautiful quality work. Letting the work speak for itself and in this case it most certainly does!

This company is my recent favourite, having watched them work and seeing the final product I am stoked.

http://www.urthwurks.com/home.html

Urthwurks recently created some stunning millwork at the new Rennie Art Gallery in Chinatown. The design and quality of workmanship is inspirational!