Finnish library culture on display at the Venice Architecture Biennale
A new central library will open in the Finnish capital in December 2018 that promises to transform the way we think about public spaces and libraries. Finland’s library culture is on display at the Venice Architecture Biennale from 26 May to 25 November 2018.
Finnish library culture on display at the Venice Architecture Biennale
Oodi and Finnish library culture and architecture are currently on display at the Venice Architecture Biennale, which runs from 26 May to 25 November 2018. The Mind-Building exhibition at the Pavilion of Finland explores the development of Finnish library architecture over the years, from the country’s first public library in 1881 to the opening of Oodi in December 2018.
Mind-Building rests on the idea of the public library as a case study of modern monumentality. The exhibition considers libraries as buildings that remind us of the values of civic society and the power of enlightenment. The exhibition at the Pavilion of Finland and its library theme have attracted a lot of international media attention, including positive reviews in The Guardian, CNN, and Monocle. Both Wallpaper and the Financial Times have named Mind-Building one of the highlights of this year’s Biennale.
"We are delighted by the great reception that the exhibition has already received. Public libraries capture people's imaginations as key places of learning and sharing. Investing in their great architecture makes libraries stand the test of time, giving us buildings we love and are proud of. In Finland, this has been the case for more than 100 years. Helsinki Central Library Oodi will be the next great chapter, a pulsating heart for the Finnish capital," says Hanna Harris, director of Archinfo Finland and Mind-building’s commissioner.
The Venice Architecture Biennale is the world’s leading architecture event. In 2018 it presents 63 national pavilions alongside the main exhibition, Freespace. Finland has a strong presence in Venice this year, as it is also in charge of the Nordic pavilion. The exhibition is presented by the Museum of Finnish Architecture and features an interactive installation curated by Eero Lundén. In addition, the main exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale features a section by Talli Architecture & Design.
Central Library Oodi (Credit: ALA Architects) | Mind-Building exhibition at the Venice biennale (Credit: Ugo Carmeni)
Further information:
Mind-Building is organised by Archinfo Finland and presented with the support of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland as well as the City of Helsinki, the Embassy of Finland in Rome, Visit Finland, Visit Jyväskylä, Visit Seinäjoki, Artek, Konto Acoustics, MTAB Finland, the Building Information Foundation RTS, Arkkitehti – Finnish Architectural Review, Alvar Aalto Foundation and Helsinki City Library.
For more information:
Finland's cities are havens for library lovers https://wpyadmin.ne.cision.com/l/vivboyxz/www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/may/15/why-finlands-cities-are-havens-for-library-lovers-oodi-helsinki
Why Finland is home to the world's most radical libraries https://wpyadmin.ne.cision.com/l/vivboyxz/edition.cnn.com/style/article/finland-mind-building-libraries-venice-biennale/index.html
Helsinki Central Library Oodi http://media.ne.cision.com/l/vivboyxz/www.oodihelsinki.fi/en
Mind-Building exhibition at the Pavilion of Finland http://media.ne.cision.com/l/vivboyxz/archinfo.fi/en/venice-biennale/mind-building
After establishing high standards in the art of the poster, Poland has been considered to be at the forefront of poster art. For over a hundred years, Polish poster has been well-known worldwide. Poster as a technique evolved rapidly. The First International Poster Exhibition took place in Cracow in 1898. After the restoration of Poland's sovereignty in 1918, the art of poster began to flourish, centered around the city of Warsaw.
In the 1920s and 1930s, not only the Polish government made large-scale use of posters, but also commercial companies were turning this medium to meet the needs of industries such as tourism, business, sport, railway services or shipbuilding. This brilliantly developing art was interrupted by the Second World War and posters began to play a significant role. They became a communication channel of the communist government, spreading soviet propaganda until October 1956. It was a year of transition for Polish people. As Stalinist faction was significantly weakened, it also began to lose its power over artistic forms of expression.
Because of the communist government was less vigilant over some arts, the sixties was the time of international shows and large “exhibition boom” of Polish posters. Artists have managed to combine truly wonderful artistry with commercial purposes and, as a result, polish "way" of thinking about the poster become a world- famous novelty. Polish style began to be so recognizable worldwide, that the movement has even gotten a name- 'Polish School of Posters'. It was centered around one of the finest poster and graphic artists in the world, Henryk Tomaszewski.
As Poland for decades remained behind the iron curtain, it was the poster to provide the only credible window on the world. Because of how strongly the poster responded to social needs, a sense of solidarity between the artists and the audience appeared forming sort of a social bond- the names of the artists were widely known within the country. Therefore the Polish poster has become the voice of the people who would have been speechless without it.
"Posterized" exhibited at the PMQ in Hong Kong is an introduction to the most influential, award-winning contemporary poster artists from Poland - Mieczysław Wasilewski, Władysław Pluta, Małgorzata Gurowska and Lex Drewinski, to name but a few.
It is a conjunction of various creative personalities: from graphic designers to illustrators and independent artists, whose work focuses around a poster as a medium. As it also was relevant in the 1960's, such unique sharpness can only be achieved with an observant eye of an excellent poster artist.
The participants were also asked to carry out the project titled "Tribute to Hong Kong," which is their homage to the city and its long history. We're hoping, that this experimental project about this glorious city will be a refreshing venture and will initiate a series of unique posters.
A series of programmes will be presented during the exhibition period: there will be a typography workshop tailor-made for kids and a poster workshop for both kids and adults. Curators will talk about polish posters and how posters make graphic design a unique medium in the lectures and lead public tours on weekends.
WORKSHOPS
Typography workshop for kids (age: 8-13) - Duration: 1,5 hours
During this workshop, kids will get to know better how to use letters, how to make stencils and posters with them. We will also experiment with forms and colors making concepts of our poster designs.
03.06 (SUN) - 12.30 P.M. - 2.00 P.M.
Workshop for adults and kids: How to design a poster without letters and make it talk? - Duration: 1,5 hours
02.06 (SAT) - 12.30 P.M. - 2.00 P.M.
LECTURES
Polish posters during 1958-2018. Lecture by Max Skorwider/ Aga Mori PhD
Presentation and lecture on the multimedia projector.
30.05 WED 7.30 P.M. - 8:30 P.M.
Witty thinking in graphic design. - Lecture by Max Skorwider PhD
Posters that made graphic design unique compared to other media. Presentation and lecture on the multimedia projector.
31.05 (THURS) 7.30 P.M. – 8:30 P.M.
Curatorial tour - by Marta Skorwider/Aga Mori /Max Skorwider
02.06 (SAT): 4.00 P.M. (Duration 30 -45 min)
Open workshop: 25.05 – 10.06
Exhibition: Posterized. Poster Art From Poland.
Exhibition: Duration: May 25 - June 10, 2018 (11am - 8pm)
Venue: Qube, 2/F, PMQ (35 Aberdeen Street, Central)
Website: http://posterized.eu/
Victoria Dockside, Hong Kong
Cultural mastermind and Tatler 500 lister Adrian Cheng is 'making waves' with his latest mixed-use development, Victoria Dockside, in Tsim Sha Tsui. The US$2.6 million, three million square foot art and design district right on the Kowloon promenade is set to transform Hong Kong's iconic skyline with unique art and design spaces, along with a green oasis for the area's residents and 60 million visitors per year. Here's what you need to know about Hong Kong's most exciting new neighborhood.
5 Things To Know About Victoria Dockside
1. History
Victoria Dockside is located on the site formerly known as Holt's Wharf, a global freight and logistics hub that dates back to 1910. The site played a major role in connecting Hong Kong with the rest of the world, eventually making it one of its busiest ports.
The plot of land was acquired by Adrian Cheng's grandfather, Cheng Yu-tung, in the 1970s to build New World Centre, and Adrian is now rebuilding it into a global art and design district with a strong focus on culture.
2. A new neighborhood
Built in the '80s, the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade and Avenue of Stars was due for an upgrade and Victoria Dockside will transform it into an art, design and business hub, with a healthy dose of greenery.
The masterplan for Victoria Dockside was conceptualized by acclaimed architectural firm Kohn Pederson Fox (KPF), landscape architect James Corner Field Operations (JCFO) in collaboration with Adrian Cheng, and over 100 designers and consultants around the globe.
You may know KPF for their work on Tokyo's Roppongi Hills and Hysan Place in Hong Kong—they are also credited for transforming New York's Hudson Yards into the city's most exciting new neighborhood.
3. K11 Atelier office concept
The first phase of Victoria Dockside—K11 Atelier—opened in late November 2017 and brings a brand new office concept to Hong Kong.
Pioneering a mix of art, commerce and innovation, an example of how this all comes together is the 'Office Academy'—a myriad of programmes ranging from spiritual and physical wellness, productivity and success, culture and creativity, and team building that all K11 Atelier tenants have access to.
K11 Atelier occupies 15 floors of the mixed-use tower and is already over 70 percent leased. World-class tenants include Mizuho Bank and Taipei Fubon Bank, and most offices command 270-degree views of Hong Kong's beautiful Victoria Harbour.
4. Art in the office
A well-known art aficionado, Adrian Cheng has handpicked a striking art collection for K11 Atelier, which includes the works of artists including Qin Feng, Nick Mauss, and Alexander Tovborg. The three works challenge traditional forms of image-making by exploring extraordinary materials, not unlike the materials used to create Victoria Dockside.
The interiors of K11 Atelier were designed by Japanese firm Simplicity, who have made use of natural materials such as wood and paper to create an intimate, minimal and calm setting.
5. A green oasis
Victoria Dockside will open fully in the third quarter of 2019 with the opening of the Rosewood Hotel and Rosewood Residences (run by Adrian Cheng's sister Sonia Cheng) in late 2018 and the new Avenue of Stars in early 2019.
For now, the area has already become greener with the introduction of Salisbury Garden, an outdoor public and exhibition space in the form of an oval-shaped lawn designed by landscape architect James Corner. We're told that the new Avenue of Stars will also contain more green spaces for the public to enjoy—it's the first project in Hong Kong to make use of wave energy generators, meaning that parts of it will actually be powered by waves.
With a combined three million square feet right at the foot of the world's most iconic harbourfront skyline, Victoria Dockside's mix of premier art, design and leisure experiences is all set to become a new landmark destination for Hong Kong.
Get more information at victoriadockside.com
Photo: Courtesy of Victoria Dockside | Written by: ERICA FONG from Hong Kong Tatler
#VictoriaDockside #AdrianCheng #TsimShaTsui #Kowloon
Paris Mint - The last remaining factory in Paris
The Paris Mint is the oldest French institution and one of the most beautiful examples of neoclassical architecture in Paris. Founded in the 9th century by Charles II (known as Charles the Bald), the historical site on the Quai Conti produces works of art, medals, decorations and coins made of precious metals.
REINVENTING THE PARIS MINT
In 2009, l’Atelier d’Architecture Philippe Prost (AAPP) won the competition launched by the Paris Mint to find a manager for the reorganization project of the Paris site. The aim was to re-situate the Paris Mint in the continually moving narrative of the 21st Century, by revealing the prestigious collections and monetary treasures and giving the public the opportunity to admire live productions of medals and coins.
The Hôtel de la Monnaie combines in one a manufactory, a palace, and a museum. Temporary exhibitions and Guy Savoy’s restaurant hosted in the palace. The museum has a permanent collection, and a new museum shop is now open in the old forge underneath a vast 17-meter dome.
The Paris Mint can now offer the general public a cultural, educational and recreational tour of the last remaining factory in Paris, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Please stay tuned for more details.
Crédit : 11 Conti de la Monnaie de Paris Vestibule Philippe Prost, architecte / AAPP © adagp – 2017 © Aitor ORTIZ
Dynamic Scandinavian design
Experimenting with colors and textures, Mijo Studio is a forward-thinking Scandinavian design duo specializing in prints, patterns, and textiles. Their innovative work is based on analog techniques and characterized by their curious and playful approach to the creative process.
Consider textile design to be a broad and diverse field and from their Copenhagen based studio, they design creative solutions for experimental projects and exhibitions as well as commercial collaborations within various design fields.
The design duo is founded by Miranda Tengs Brun (Norway) and Josefine Gilbert (Denmark). Educated textile designers from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and Design (Copenhagen, Denmark) their shared passion for patterns, prints and textiles brought them together to create bold patterns often characterized by dynamic brush strokes and graphic expressions.
AIO by Mijo Studio - PLAYFUL FURNITURE
Aio started as a playful experiment exploring the relationship between patterns and shape. The design and pattern both inspired by movement and printed with reactive dyes by hand. Textile designers Miranda Tengs Brun and Josefine Gilbert (Mijo Studio) experimented with various hand-printed techniques and invented a new printing method when they created the pattern for AIO. This process and expressions became the main inspiration for the rounded and dynamic shapes that made of specially designed foam and handmade wood construction.
With its sculptural shapes and dynamic hand-printed pattern AIO encourages the user to interact and play. By turning and flipping the three elements, the user can create different compositions according to mood and the surrounding context. The stable foam ensures a comfortable seat while the bold and colorful pattern emphasizes AIOs playful approach and interactive function.
For more information, please visitwww.mijostudio.com
TOM DIXON DELVES DEEPER INTO SUPER TEXTURE & HOME ACCESSORIES
Continuing the exploration into the construction of cloth, SUPER TEXTURE dives deep into the weave, the knits, and the knots, adding color and extra texture to the SOFT and BOUCLE ranges. This January Tom Dixon delves deeper into SUPER TEXTURE – the name given to the first-ever collection of textiles, and the the optimum vessel in room scents.
Burgeoning adventures begin in print, in embroidery and in the hand tufting and looping of wool with young emerging talent to produce new families: ABSTRACT, PAINT and GEO. Three new colors are added to the existing range – Khaki, Wine and Electric Blue for a reinvigorated exercise in color stacking.
ABSTRACT is the name given to a pair of cushions made using techniques from the rug and carpet industries. Thick, wooly, harder wearing and generally more substantial than most cushions, these are hand tufted in Varanasi, Northern India by extraordinarily skilled craftsmen.Details of a cityscape watercolor from textile artist Josephine Ortega were blown up in scale and separated on graph paper to create a grid a technique familiar in tapestry pattern, but supersized for this project.
A collection of abstracted architectural watercolors based on scenes of British urbanism.
Urban perspective sketches and Hippy Wall hangings of the seventies were the initial inspiration for the variety of textures and blocks of saturated colors that come through in ABSTRACT. The loops, tufts and the variety of pile heights accentuate the hand-crafted nature of these cushions impossible to create by machine. Made from 100% New Zealand wool, backed with natural linen and generously filled with Danish duck feathers outstanding materiality and a human touch.
PAINT is a set of cushions with a subtle painterly print of abstracted urban landscapes rendered onto a super soft canvas. A set of abstracted architectural watercolors based on scenes of British urbanism was also created by Josephine Ortega. The pigment of pinks and indigo were then ink jet printed onto a textured canvas of off-white linen to form stackable landscapes. Woven from natural linen mixed with lightweight viscose for a soft and natural feel, PAINT is digitally printed, sewn, stuffed and finished in Britain.
Celebrating the decorative qualities of natural phenomenon in bold embroidered strokes, GEO is the no-fuss monochromatic that packs a graphic punch.Embroidered graphic illustrations inspired by the natural geologies of rock formations and layered sediment, GEO is restrained yet expressive pattern making across two cushions and a double-sided throw.
This heavyweight giftset of six STONE candles imagined in a triangular showcase is a color spectrum of exotic marbles. Turned on lathes by skilled engineers in India each rocky, rounded heavyweight container is unique due to the particularities of the individual block of marble. This forms the optimum vessel for the dry exotic fig and sandalwood essence of the Stone scent collection.
For more detail, please visit tomdixon.net #tomdixon