* Design: Reflections on a Soup Spoon, by Alice Rawsthorn

Design: Reflections on a Soup Spoon, by Alice Rawsthorn: “..it was designed by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen in the late 1950s for use in one of his architectural projects, the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. Then in his late 50s, Jacobsen was the most famous architect in Denmark and was renowned internationally for the sensitivity with which he softened the ascetic Modernist style with gentle curves and sensual finishes..”  Excellent, sharp, smart article in The New York Times, by the astute design observer Alice Rawsthorn..

See posts on other equally sharp articles by Alice Rawsthorn:

•  Residential Architecture: Villa Tugendhat – Reopening a Mies Modernist Landmark
• Protest Branding – Elements of Style as Occupy Movement Evolves, by Alice Rawsthorn
• ‘Keyed to Detail, No Matter How Crazy’, by Alice Rawsthorn – The Sensual Intelligence of Designer Aldo Bakker
• Graphic Design: With a Big Boost From Technology, by Alice Rawsthorn
• Can Anybody Be a Designer? by Alice Rawsthorn
• ‘Postmodern, but Not Especially Proud of It’ by Alice Rawsthorn
• Looking at China as a Creator, Not Manufacturer by Alice Rawsthorn
• Visually Stunning, Technologically Ingenious, Poetic, Subversive – The Lighting of Ron Gilad for FLOS by Alice Rawsthorn
• Quietly Excellent Design – The Annual Post-Salone Sigh from Alice Rawsthorn
• Skull and Crossbones as Branding Tool
• A Taxonomy of Office Chairs – You’ll Never Look at Them the Same Way Again

image: Georg Jensen; The New York Times; article: Alice Rawsthorn, The New York Times

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* Design: Exhibitions: ‘Born Out of Necessity’ at MoMA – Mother of Invention, Cousin of Design, by Roberta Smith

The Final Home 44-pocket parka

Design: Exhibitions: ‘Born Out of Necessity” at MoMA – Mother of Invention, Cousin of Design, by Roberta Smith: “..Most of the designs here fall somewhere between life-and-death necessity and modern-living convenience, but the more pressing the need, the more intriguing they tend to be. Especially so are simple objects that help relieve pervasive life-thwarting conditions..Design has a history, but at its best it also is history, telling the story of human growth, social change and expanding capacity.”

According to MoMA: Born out of Necessity - Showcasing objects that adhere to the traditional view of design as a tool for problem-solving, Born out of Necessity offers close examination of the problems themselves—whether urgent, foreseen, or imagined. From objects that respond to pressing needs in developing countries to new solutions that are tailored to the urban environment, the exhibition examines how design intervenes across a range of experiences, including medical emergencies and natural disasters. Other objects demonstrate how products created to address specific challenges for people with disabilities can provide solutions that improve everyone’s life. Drawing on the narrative power of design, Born out of Necessityaddresses a host of complex cultural developments, such as the need to incorporate environmental responsibility in everyday life, our attempts to marry ancient religious beliefs with contemporary mores, and the desire to anticipate and prevent technological and ecological quagmires.”  Through 28 January 2013, moma.org

Slideshow, accompanying the article ‘Mother of Invention, Cousin of Design’ by Roberta Smith, here

image: Richard Perry/The New York Times

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* Architecture: Renzo Piano’s Demure Additions to Le Corbusier’s Masterpiece – Quiet Additions to a Modernist Masterpiece, by Michael Kimmelman

A new convent and new visitors’ center, designed by Renzo Piano, has been inserted down the hill from Le Corbusier’s hilltop chapel.

Architecture: Renzo Piano’s Demure Additions to Le Corbusier’s Masterpiece – Quiet Additions to a Modernist Masterpiece, by Michael Kimmelman: “..What Le Corbusier called the chapel’s “ineffable space” derives not from Zen-like simplicity or Baroque extravagance but from this quasi-Cubist asymmetry of robust, jaunty, sensuous shapes, held in improbable equilibrium as if by a juggler on a tightrope. It’s a sculptural feat. Nowadays architects rely on digital technology to fashion swooping, soaring spaces that look as if they folded in on themselves. Ronchamp, by contrast, is the product of old-fashioned craft and serendipity, every surface different from every other, imperfectly, lovingly made…It is to Mr. Piano’s great credit that he didn’t aim for anything nearly as special. Le Corbusier had come to embrace primitive craft. Now buildings are assembled from products and systems. Mr. Piano’s additions are occasionally severe, what with all the glass, metal and hard angles, but light softens everything, especially the oratory, the convent’s hearth, where a hidden slot in the curved chancel wall, a subtle nod to Le Corbusier’s handling of filtered light in the chapel, lets in a consoling ring of sunshine..”

image: Iwan Baan, The New York Times; article: Michael Kimmelman, The New York Times

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* Design: Furniture Meets the Digital Age, by Steven Kurutz

Design: Furniture Meets the Digital Age, by Steven Kurutz: “..As technology rapidly remakes most parts of our lives, the furniture industry remains largely slow-moving and low-tech. For many retailers, midcentury furniture designed 60 years ago still qualifies as “modern.”  Even so, in recent years a number of furniture designers have been struggling to adapt — in ways big and small, subtle and not so subtle — to new forms of technology and the proliferation of devices..”  A look at the present and future of furniture design and the impact of personal technology..

The article includes a very good 17 image slideshow, here.

image: The New York Times; article: Steven Kurutz, The New York Times

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* Residential Architecture: At Edge of Paris, a Housing Project Becomes a Beacon, by Michael Kimmelman

Residential Architecture: At Edge of Paris, a Housing Project Becomes a Beacon, by Michael Kimmelman: “..Sheathed in a fresh cloak of glass balconies and corrugated aluminum panels, it rises on the edge of this city amid a landscape of decaying cement-and-brick housing blocks. This half-century-old tower used to be one of those blocks. Its makeover, by a creative team of local architects — Frédéric Druot, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal — is a case study in architectural ingenuity and civic rejuvenation. It’s a challenge to urban innovators, too. Instead of replacing the old tower with an entirely new building, the designers saw what was worthwhile about the existing architecture and added to it..”  Retrofitting, architectural rejuvenation, natural light, views..

image: Frédéric Druot/The New York Times; article: Michael Kimmelman, The New York Times

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