Banksy Finances ‘Louise Michel’ Lifeboat to Rescue Refugees From the Mediterranean

All images © Louise Michel, shared with permission

Banksy’s latest artwork can be spotted on a vessel rescuing refugees from north Africa, who are attempting to cross the Mediterranean to find safety in Europe. The anonymous British artist, whose work we’ve talked about extensively, used the proceeds from the sale of an artwork to purchase a former French Navy boat, which is named after anarchist Louise Michel. With a fire extinguisher, Banksy sprayed the exterior with pink paint and adorned it with a version of the iconic “Girl with Balloon.” This iteration outfits the child with a lifevest and swaps the red heart with a pink flotation device.

The project was conceived of in September 2019 when Banksy contacted Pia Klemp, who led several missions with NGO boats to rescue refugees. “Hello Pia, I’ve read about your story in the papers. You sound like a badass. I am an artist from the UK and I’ve made some work about the migrant crisis, obviously I can’t keep the money. Could you use it to buy a new boat or something? Please let me know. Well done. Banksy,” the artist wrote, according to The Guardian.

Now, Klemp and a professional rescue team helm the 31-meter lifeboat, which already has brought aboard hundreds of refugees. Capable of at least 27 knots, the boat is faster than most ships, allowing it to reach people faster and “hopefully outrun the so-called Libyan coastguard,” Klemp says. The project’s mission is explained on its site:

It might seem incredible there is need for a homemade emergency vehicle in one of Europe’s busiest waterways, but there is. The migrant crisis means that European states are instructing their Coastguard not to answer distress calls from ‘non-Europeans’ leaving desperate people to drift helplessly at sea. To make matters worse authorities prevent other boats from providing assistance, arresting crews and impounding boats that do.

This past weekend, the Italian Coast Guard responded to distress calls from the vessel when it evacuated about 50 people, a process the crew has been documenting in a live feed on Twitter. To help aid the efforts, you can make a donation.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Banksy (@banksy) on Aug 29, 2020 at 3:56am PDT

from Colossal https://ift.tt/2GdDnae

Ten architect-designed swimming pools for cooling off at home

As summer continues, we've rounded up 10 of the most refreshing outdoor swimming pools that architects have designed for houses around the world, including a private lagoon, a "Roman bath" and hillside infinity pool.

---

Casa Xólotl, Mexico, by Punto Arquitectónico

This outdoor pool weaves in and out of the stone walls of Casa Xólotl, a Mexican house that Punto Arquitectónico renovated after finding it in a state of disrepair.

The water is accessed by steps down from an outdoor living area or it can be enjoyed from an overhanging hammock. On one side of the pool, a waterfall feature has been incorporated within the doorway of the home's former cistern.

Find out more about Casa Xólotl ›

---

Los Vilos House, Chile, by Cristián Boza

The late 20th-century retreat of architect Cristián Boza nestles into a cliffside in Chile that overlooks the South Pacific Ocean.

One of its key features is its circular, stone swimming pool that slots into the hillside, which is accessed via an elevated bridge that extends from a roof terrace. For residents who prefer wild water swimming, a large staircase leads down from the top of the site to the oceanfront.

Find out more about Los Vilos House ›

---

Casa B, Malta, by Architrend Architecture

A rooftop swimming pool is the focal point of Casa B, a concrete house that Architrend Architecture has slotted within a traditional terrace in the seaside town in Malta.

The pool is visible from street level through a glass side that is framed by a square concrete arch, while its glass-bottom allows residents to observe bathers from inside the home's double-height entrance lobby.

Find out more about Casa B ›

---

Oak Pass House, USA, by Walker Workshop

This picturesque infinity pool stretches 22 metres along the edge of the roof terrace of a Californian home, which Walker Workshop has carved into a hillside in Beverly Hills.

The pool sweeps beneath and reflects the bough of one of biggest of 130 protected oak trees abutting the site, around which the entire house was designed.

Find out more about Oak Pass House ›

---

Casa Monterry, Mexico, by Tadao Ando

Tadao Ando's Casa Monterry features a long, linear pool that juts out from its hillside setting to provide uninterrupted views of the Sierra Las Mitras mountains.

Its minimalist appearance complements the geometry of the house behind it, which is composed of various horizontal and vertical concrete planes that appear to emerge from the landscape at different heights – including the poolside patio.

Find out more about Casa Monterry ›

---

Canal House, USA, by Studio MK27

One of the most unusual private pools in Dezeen's archive belongs to Canal House in Miami Beach. The pool takes the form of a lagoon within which residents can swim with fish.

It measures 30 metres in length and is surrounded by vegetation to provide an "authentically manicured" natural environment, while concrete columns with in it support a meandering walkway overhead.

Find out more about Canal House ›

---

Jellyfish House, Spain, by Wiel Arets Architects

This large glass-bottomed pool cantilevers from the roof of the Jellyfish House in Marbella to offer clear views of the Mediterranean Sea over neighbouring houses.

It overhangs a semi-enclosed terrace adjacent to the entrance of the home, bathing it in rippling light projections and shadows of overhead swimmers. It also shares a glass wall with the first-floor kitchen to provide glimpses of bathers inside the house.

Find out more about Jellyfish House ›

---

Villa Molli, Italy, by Lorenzo Guzzini

Architect Lorenzo Guzzini designed a minimalist infinity pool for this grey-stone villa in Italy, which helps to retain focus on the panoramic views of Lake Como.

According to Guzzini, the pool "is not a mere cliche, but it has an architectural and symbolic function, uniting visually to the wild 'aqua dulza' of the lake".

Find out more about Villa Molli ›

---

Ruckers Hill House, Australia, by Studio Bright

The elongated outdoor pool at Ruckers Hill House in Melbourne is designed to mimic a "collonaded Roman bath", lined with tall, white-brick walls inset with upturned arches.

It was built by Studio Bright as part of its extension of an existing Edwardian-era home and is framed through a large glass window within an open-plan kitchen and dining room.

Find out more about Ruckers Hill House ›

---

Panorama, Argentina, by Fernanda Marques

A 10-metre-long pool shares a thick glass wall with the double-height living area of this Argentinan apartment, resembling a giant aquarium.

It was sewn into a narrow space in the apartment's garden while Fernanda Marques was carrying out an interior renovation. It is accessible from either the home's second floor or a statement folded stair in the garden.

Find out more about Panorama ›

The post Ten architect-designed swimming pools for cooling off at home appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/34Odecn

Sarah Willemart and Matthieu Muller transform Samsung Eco-Package boxes into animal toys

In this video, Dezeen x Samsung Out of the Box Competition finalist Sarah Willemart explains how she created a series of animal companions from Samsung television boxes.

The toys, which Willemart designed together with Matthieu Muller, are called Endangered Animals and intended to help parents teach their children about declining biodiversity.

There are three animal designs, a polar bear, a black rhinoceros and a sea turtle, which can be made from boxes for Samsung's The Sero, The Serif and The Frame televisions.

When children are not playing with the toys, they can be used around the home as decorative pieces of furniture.

The concept is one of five finalists in the Dezeen x Samsung Out of the Box Competition to create innovative household objects by repurposing cardboard packaging.

The contest draws on Samsung's Eco-Package concept, which aims to reduce waste by providing customers with a way to repurpose their television packaging into new household items.

The finalists were selected from 15 shortlisted designs, which included a planter, a sneaker rack and even an amplifier for mobile phones.

The post Sarah Willemart and Matthieu Muller transform Samsung Eco-Package boxes into animal toys appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/3lx6CF2

Ying Chang creates furniture out of paper for Malleable State collection

Sheets of paper are layered with glue and then moulded by hand to create London designer Ying Chang's Malleable State collection of furniture and homeware.

The series is continually expanding and so far includes a number of shelves, mirrors and waterproof vases, as well as structural tables and stools.

"I chose paper as my medium because it is one of the most commonly used and discarded materials," Chang told Dezeen.

"By applying a craft approach to paper, I was able to explore and expand its charismatic limits. The results reflect and play on our perception of value."

Much like with papier-mache, the wet amalgam of glue and paper becomes a malleable, clay-like composite, which can be shaped into various organic forms.

But rather than mashing smaller pieces of paper together to create a pulp, Chang's technique sees large sheets left intact and stacked on top of each other to create a smooth surface.

The silhouettes of the pieces respond to paper's unique texture. Chang's furniture often features crumpled details, as in the base of the mirrors or the carefully folded strips that make up the frame of the stools.

Once dried, Chang claims the strength of the material can rival that of wood.

"One piece of paper has limited strength. However, like many other materials, it becomes stronger if bonded together 20 or 30 times," said the designer.

When she first started working with this technique, Chang primarily used brown paper in a shade similar to that of cardboard, in order to let the material itself shine.

But since then she has introduced a rainbow of different colours as well as digitally printed patterns into the mix.

"The aim is to use the objects to pose a question about what our expectations are of different materials and their affective value," said Chang.

"To make us reassess the way we value things, which heavily depends on their materiality and the context in which we come across them, from the museum to the domestic."

Part of the Malleable State collection is currently on display in the Kleureyck: Van Eyck's Colours in Design exhibition at the Design Museum Gent.

Previously, Chang has developed a modular table based on the grid system used by architects and graphic designers, which was showcased in her Royal College of Art graduate show in 2014.

Other experiments in crafting furniture using paper include a duo of tables by Charlotte Jonckheer, which is made from stone dust and recycled paper, as well as Thomas Barger's cartoonish paper pulp chairs.

The post Ying Chang creates furniture out of paper for Malleable State collection appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/2QGEFws

Gitai Architects builds rammed-earth observatory in the Negev desert

Gitai Architects used rammed earth and stones from the nearby Mitzpe Ramon crater to build the Landroom observatory in Israel's Negev desert.

Landroom is intended to function as a shelter from the sun in daytime and an observatory at night. The structure measures just six square metres and has space for only two people.

Israeli studio Gitai Architects built the minimalist structure at the western observation point of the Mitzpe Ramon crater, where it is easily accessible from the town of Mitzpe Ramon via a natural path.

The square building has a circular interior and an opening facing the desert, as well as a built-in seat where travellers can rest.

It has no roof but is instead open to the desert air to give visitors a view of the night sky framed by its pressed-earth walls.

The studio described Landroom as "a minimal environmental structure designed on the verge between territory and a landscape object."

Architect Ben Gitai, founder of Gitai Architects, used local materials – stones and soil from the surrounding desert – to construct the rammed-earth observatory.

"It is a microtopography design process," he told Dezeen. "The technique of the rammed earth construction consists of excavating the local earth and ramming it into designed moulds in order to shape the walls."

The architect had previously used the technique for his Earth Memorial project, which he said is the only memorial in the world made from earth, and finds it very durable.

"The compiled layers of earth contain natural minerals and their molecules only get stronger with time," he said. "Many sections of the Great Wall of China were built in this way."

The project was commissioned by the Mitzpe Ramon municipality, and the studio is currently also developing a large capsule hotel "in the same architectural spirit" for the municipality, Gitai said.

"The local community now see it as an example of how to build in the area," he added.

Landroom was inspired by Esther, Gitai's newborn daughter, whom he wanted to show the importance of looking up to the sky for inspiration.

"Landroom is a call to our ancient instinct to look up to the stars for guidance," Gitai said. "Inspired by Esther, the queen of the stars, this project is an ode to the spirit, to creation and to freedom."

The project will also be shown as part of the Time Space Existence exhibition organised by the European Cultural Centre at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021.

Gitai Architects was founded in 2014 and has offices in Paris and Haifa.

Other projects in the Negev desert include Plesner Architects' Six Senses Shaharut hotel and Amir Mann-Ami Shinar Architects and Moshe Zur Architects' Ramon Airport wrapped in faceted aluminium panelling.

Photography is by Dan Bronfeld.

The post Gitai Architects builds rammed-earth observatory in the Negev desert appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/31HAd6Q