Setting their sights high

Here's another fun Friday post: For those readers following the development of The High Line on the West side of Manhattan (which officially opens in a few short weeks!), The Sundance Channel has a great collection of stories about the project. Among those interviewed: Liz Diller and Ric Scofidio, Robert Hammond and Joshua David, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Kevin Bacon. No, really! Here's the first in the series, New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik.

Want more? The full lineup is here.

People who need....design?

Here's a tidbit that came our way via Unbeige this morning and certainly caught us off guard: Barbara Streisand has contracted with Viking Press to write a book about design. Say what? It seems the showbiz legend has recently finished building her dream house, a Malibu, Calif.-based oceanfront compound, and she's ready to expand on the process as well as all sorts of other residential designs. The book, titled "A Passion for Design," is scheduled for fall 2010 and is, according to Streisand, the culmination of a lifelong love of architecture and design.

More light on the showdown in Texas

An update, via IALD, on the Texas brouhaha over licensing legislation that would outlaw lighting design:

Texas State Senator Kip Averitt's office has called to inform IALD that the "lighting designer" language in Texas House Bill 2649 (THB2649) will be withdrawn and replaced with language requesting a study by the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation of the feasibility of licensing in the industry.  

There are various technical steps to be completed in the next few days as the Texas legislative session reaches its statutory end-of-life on 31 May, but the bottom line is that lighting designers will be able to continue to practice in Texas!

Against the law in Texas?

Will lighting design be illegal in Texas? This info arrived this morning from the International Association of Lighting Designers:

The Texas State Legislature passed legislation this morning, 27 May 2009, which will have the unintended consequence of outlawing the practice of lighting design within its borders.

 

As it is currently written, Texas House Bill 2649 (THB2649) prohibits lighting designers who work in Texas to work on projects without being licensed as either an electrician, architect, engineer, landscape architect or interior designer.

 

The IALD strongly urges the Texas Senate Business & Commerce Committee remove language restrictive to the profession in THB2649 as a "technical adjustment" when the bill is prepared for Gov. Rick Perry's signature, or the eventual veto of the bill by the Governor should no changes in language be made. 

  

The IALD urged members to ask the Texas legislature to vote against THB2649, stating in part : 

 

"This legislation has the unintended consequence of outlawing an entire profession—architectural lighting design. The International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) strongly urges all members of the Texas Legislature to drop this legislation, Texas House Bill 2649."

 

For those interested in getting involved, the IALD suggests getting in touch with Texas state representatives or sponsors of the bill, including Rep. Wayne Smith, who initiated the bill. 

Want more info on the bill itself? The full text is available here.

Best green companies?

Across the pond, The Sunday Times recently named the UK's Best Green Companies. Included in the top 10: Milliken Contract and Skanska UK. One architecture firm, MCM Architecture, also cracked the top 30, while a handful of other building materials manufacturers also made the top half.

Check out the full list here and then let us know who you think should have made the cut.

iMix and iMatch?

 

Benjamin Moore is jumping on the app bandwagon with the upcoming release of ben® Color Capture™, an iPhone application that matches colors from your iPhone pics to Benjamin Moore hues. On top of that, ben Color Capture taps into the phone's GPS system to locate the nearest Benjamin Moore retailer near you at the moment you use the application.

Starting June 1, iPhone users can download the app, which promises to be intuitive and easy to use. Gliding a finger across a digital photo taken with the iPhone, zooming in to a color and tapping on a "match" key will pop out a strip of colors with the closest paint match highlighted. Shaking the phone will also provide up to four coordinating colors. Favorites can be saved and enlarged.

Ample creativity

Tricycle Inc. has announced the finalists of its Ample Sample contest, which challenges design-minded folks to reuse their carpet samples in innovative ways. So who made the cut? 

Four finalists were chosen and all of their blueprints and/or instructions are online. The winner will be announced shortly and will be featured at NeoCon® 2009 in a few short weeks. Up for the spotlight:

Jake Tompkins of JMBC Design for "Magic Carpet Ride"

Sean Miller for "Mailbox"

Heather Wright and Christina Jih for "Plush Petal Pendant"

Wuthichai Leelavoravong for "Shoe-Keeper"

At look at what's going on in our backyard

A stroll out to enjoy today's lovely New York weather also brought a nice look at the new building going up around the corner for The Cooper Union, courtesy of San Francisco-based Morphosis:

Up and down

Another touch of bad news: After an eight-point jump in March, the AIA's Architecture Billings Index (ABI)—an indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the 9-12 month lag between architecture billings and construction spending—fell in April. Granted, if fell less than a full point (from 43.7 to 42.8), but still.....

On the upside, it was the first time since August and September '08 that the index was above 40 for consecutive months. On the downside, the score still isn't great as anything under 50 indicates a decline in demand for services.

Says AIA chief economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA: "The most encouraging part of this news is that this is the second month with very strong inquiries for new projects. A growing number of architecture firms report potential projects arising from federal stimulus funds. Still, too many architects are continuing to report difficult conditions to feel confident that the economic landscape for the construction industry will improve very quickly. What these figures mean is that we could be seeing things turn around over a period of several months."

A Sneak Peek: What's Old Is New Again

Today, KnollTextiles offered the press an extremely sneak peek of its four new introductions to the Archival Collection. Originally launched two years ago to coincide with KnollTextiles' 60th anniversary, the Archival Collection pays homage to the fabrics created by Florence Knoll herself in the mid-20th century. Dorothy Cosonas, creative director at KnollTextiles, took a dive into the company archives and this time emerged with fresh takes on two upholsteries and two draperies. What's amazing is how just a few tweaks and reinterpretation of color—a definite strong suit of Cosonas—can make make a 50-plus-year-old fabric prevalent for today's market. 

Cosonas translated Florence Knoll's 1953 upholstery Plain Linen by combining a dry linen ground with a top coat of color (97 percent linen with 3 percent polyurethane on the face) to allow it to exceed 100,000 double rubs for today's contract industry. The classic Cornaro line (1974-1978) combined flecks of white in its solid ground, and Cosonas updated this fabric as a piece-dyed textured solid (75 percent wool, 20 percent silk, and 5 percent nylon) in which the silk offers tonal contrast. 

Both new drapery textiles offer such a delicate hand that they beg to be touched. Quartet, originally designed by KnollTextile contributer Suzanne Huguenin in 1963, is a repeat of four, 1-ft. wide bands of color, 118 in. in height and available in four colorways. Made of 100-percent Trevira CS polyester, the drape gently moves to diffuse light, as it currently hangs in Knoll's showroom. And Nova rhaps can be considered the most literal translation, as it is identical in scale to the original pattern designed by Wolf Bauer in 1969, but now is printed o 10 percent Trevira CS Polyester, 56 in. wide. Clearly reflecting flower power of the '60s, Nova in anticipated to be just as popular today as it offers the industry an atypical floral with broad commercial design appeal.

On one of the first truly perfect spring days in New York City, it was quite a treat to take a break from the pre-NeoCon® craze to visit the grandiose Knoll showroom with sightlines clear across the city and step back in time with the folks from KnollTextiles. Be sure to catch the new introductions to the Archival Collection at its official launch at NeoCon®, Knoll showroom no. 1111.

Pictured top to bottom: Cornaro, Quartet, Plain Linen, and Nova