Intricate Landscapes and Animals Cut From Single Sheet of Paper by Pippa Dyrlaga

“This Fragile World,” (2019), hand cut paper and acrylic paint, about 11 x 11 inches. All images © Pippa Dyrlaga

For Pippa Dyrlaga, one piece of paper holds a lot of possibility. The Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire-based artist cuts each one of her delicate creations from a single sheet. Her intricate designs turn a blank page into a plant-filled landscape or a robot tending to a garden. Dyrlaga begins by sketching each piece in reverse, before cutting sections out. Then she flips it over to unveil the finished work or to paint details onto the piece.

Whereas her previous work often utilized a single white sheet, the artist now is working more with color, painting shades of blues, golds, and black, which helps to distinguish one group of plants or mosses from the next in her lush landscapes. She also has been inspired by Greek mythology and lore, describing “Psychopomp” (shown below) as “a spirit or deity, often depicted in animal form, which guide people into the afterlife,” on her site. “The piece is split into two, night and day, life and death. The daytime is represents life and growth, organic patterns and plants. The second half with nocturnal animals and abstract patterns, representing the more abstract idea of what comes ‘after.'”

Head to Dyrlaga’s Instagram for more of her intricate creations, and see which are available for purchase in her shop.

“Torn #3” (2019), torn and hand cut paper, painted with acrylic, about 20 x 10 centimeters

Left: “Arber” (2020), hand painted and cut Japanese 36 gsm washi paper. Right: “Garden Spirit” (2019), hand painted and cut Japanese 36 gsm washi paper

(2018), hand drawn and hand cut Awagami Kozo Natural Select paper 46 gsm, about 23 x 25 centimeters

Left: “Torn #1” (2019), hand cut paper. Right: “Torn #2” (2019), hand drawn and cut paper

“Bright” (2019), hand cut from Awagami Factory 36 gsm paper and painted with acrylic paint

Left: “Psychopomp,” hand drawn and hand cut paper, 80 x 40 centimeters. Right: “Bennu,” hand cut 32 gsm gampi washi paper, with hand painted gold acrylic

‘While the World is Asleep” (2018), hand drawn and hand cut paper, about 42 x 28 centimeters

 

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Dense Ecosystems with Flowing Water Systems Packed in Vintage Luggage by Kathleen Vance

“Traveling Landscape, Grey Samsonite,” vintage train case, resin, artificial foliage, soil, water, water pump, and fluorescent light, 13 x 9 x 9 inches. All images © Kathleen Vance, shared with permission

New York City-based artist Kathleen Vance creates lush landscapes brimming with green mosses, foliage, and rocky surfaces all stored in an unusual carrier: vintage suitcases. Vance’s ongoing Traveling Landscapes series connects travel and natural resources, inclining her to incorporate active water components into many of her miniature ecosystems. The artist tells Colossal she hopes to convey that “water and our natural open landscapes are our legacy to the future generations and something that must be protected and cherished.”  Her more recent pieces, like “Traveling Landscape, Spelunker,” deviate from her previous work by including caverns replete with hanging stalactites and stalagmites, or icicle-like rock formations, that she sculpts by hand.

Utilizing found vessels, Vance says she wants to “relate to a time when travel was slower and the distances between us and our homelands and foreign landscapes were more difficult to access.” Each portable environment is designed and retrofit for specific steamer trunks and train cases.

The cases act to abstract the idea of travel and romanticize its idyllic qualities. I am always on the look out for cases that have some indication of travel, with notes and markers which give a feeling that they have really been used for used for transportation of someone’s special or personal items.

To keep up with Vance’s environmentally focused projects, follow her on Instagram.

“Traveling Landscape, Luce,” vintage train case, resin, artificial foliage, soil, water, water pump, and fluorescent light, 11 x 6.5 x 8 inches

“Traveling Landscape, Ornate Silver,” ornate metal and wooden chest, soil, stones, resin, artificial, foliage, and water, 12 x 12 x 17 inches

“Traveling Landscape, Golden Interior,” 12.5 x 5 x 8 inches

“Traveling Landscape, Spelunker,” found traveling case, hand sculpted stalactites and stalagmites, resin, paint, artificial foliage, and soil, 13 x 9 x 9 inches

“Traveling Landscape, Assembly,” antique case, hand sculpted landscape, resin, paint, artificial foliage and trees, and a bulb light

 

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A post shared by Kathleen Vance (@kathleenvanceart) on Jan 22, 2020 at 4:14pm PST

 

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LMN Architects creates sensitive addition for Asian art museum in Seattle

American studio LMN Architects has renovated and expanded a 1930s, art deco-style museum in Seattle, making sure to preserve "the architectural legacy of the historic building".

Local studio LMN Architects – winner of the 2016 AIA Firm Award – was charged with overseeing the first extensive update to the Seattle Asian Art Museum since it opened in 1933. Designed by local firm Bebb and Gould, the art deco-style building has landmark status in Seattle and is listed on America's National Register of Historic Places.

The museum, which is located in Volunteer Park in the city's Capitol Hill neighbourhood, is also one of a small number of North American museums dedicated to Asian art.

Situated on a gently sloping site, the museum has three levels with rooms are organised around a skylit central space, called the Fuller Garden Court.

Photograph by Adam Hunter courtesy of LMN Architects

LMN Architects' project entailed renovations to the existing building, along with adding a rectangular volume to the east elevation that totals 13,905 square feet (1,292 square metres).

The aim was to provide more space, restore existing finishes, update systems, and strengthen the connection to the surrounding park.

Photograph by Adam Hunter courtesy of LMN Architects

"The design represents the seamless integration of the building's spectacular site with the museum's mission for the 21st century: to showcase Asian art in conjunction with contemporary educational and conservation spaces," LMN Architects said.

The new addition – made of glass, steel and concrete – contains offices, a community meeting room, and a 2,658-square-foot (247-square-metre) gallery. The extension also features a highly transparent lobby that faces the park.

"The new lobby is the vertical connector to the program spaces and is composed mostly of glass, giving the impression that the space is floating in the landscape," the firm added.

In the existing building, the team addressed the "critical needs of infrastructure, accessibility and programme space". Facades were restored and new glass was installed in windows. The main entrance, located on the west side of the building, was improved.

In existing galleries, the team made major upgrades to walls, floors and ceilings to ensure they were structurally sound and met code requirements. The layout was slightly reconfigured to make way for a new education studio and a new conservation centre.

"The building components and the interior spaces have been renovated and organised to maximise programme space and functionality, as well as take advantage of their own tectonic identity," it added.

Photograph by Adam Hunter, courtesy of LMN Architects

The project also entailed modifications to the surrounding landscape, which were overseen by Walker Macy, a firm based in Portland, Oregon.

The team restored pathways and fountains, and fortified the connection between the museum and the historic Volunteer Park. The large swath of green space was designed by John Charles Olmsted, the adopted son of famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

Photograph by Adam Hunter courtesy of LMN Architects

The Seattle Asian Art Museum holds artwork from numerous countries and regions, including China, Korea, Japan, India, the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. It is one of three venues that make up the Seattle Art Museum, or SAM.

Others are the museum's main location in the downtown district, which was designed by Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates, and a sculpture park that stretches along the urban waterfront.

The $56 million (£43 million) project was funded through a mix of public and private contributions. After being closed for two years due to construction, the museum reopens on 8 February.

Overall, the design is meant to respect the building's past while updating it for contemporary use.

"The Seattle Asian Art Museum honours and preserves the architectural legacy of the historic building and integrity of the park, while providing space for deeper explorations of the diverse, artistic and cultural traditions of Asia," LMN Architects said.

Other art museum projects in the US include renovations to the Philadelphia Museum of Art that were designed by Frank Gehry, and a major renovation at New York's Museum of Modern Art that was conceived by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Gensler.

Photography is by Tim Griffith, unless stated otherwise.

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Project credits:

Architecture: LMN Architects
Landscape architect: Walker Macy
General contractor: BNBuilders, Inc
Construction and project management services: OAC Services, Inc

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Coronavirus quarantine hospital in Wuhan completes in just nine days

A prefabricated hospital with capacity for 1,000 patients has been built in nine days in Wuhan, China, which is the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

The Chinese state confirmed yesterday that the first of two quarantine hospitals in Wuhan had completed in just over a week. It will start admitting the first 50 infected patients today, reported China Global Television Network (CGTN).

Called Huoshenshan Hospital, the facility has been handed over to 1,400 medical staff from the Chinese military.

The building took nine days to complete, with a total of 10 days between construction starting and the first patient being admitted.

The hospital has capacity to treat 1,000 coronavirus cases. Stock image of surgical masks by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

Construction workers in Wuhan laboured through the night to dig foundations, concrete building bases and to crane modular prefabricated-units into place.

At peak times 1,500 workers were reported to be on site. Workers interviewed on CGTN, which is funded by the Chinese state, said they had only slept for two hours in three days.

A second hospital in Wuhan called Leishenshan Hospital, will have a capacity of 1,500 patients. It is due to complete on 5 February and start admitting patients on 6 February.

Coronavirus is a new flu-like virus effecting the respiratory system. It causes a fever and a cough, which can progress to pneumonia.

In mainland China there have been over 360 deaths from the virus, and one death of a Chinese national in the Philippines. Currently there have been over 17,000 confirmed cases of infection, with 175 cases outside of China in 25 countries around the world.

Video reporting from CGTN showed units with ultraviolet disinfection technology installed in the walls, which will allow staff to pass equipment to and from treatment rooms without entering.

"With the support of the government and the people, we are sure to win this smokeless war," China's vice premier Sun Chunlan said when he inspected the hospital on Sunday 2 February.

This model for prefabricated hospitals was pioneered in China during the SARS outbreak in 2003. At that time, Xiaotangshan Hospital was built in Beijing in just seven days.

The city of Wuhan was put under quarantine on 23 January 2020, with all planes and trains in and out of the city suspended. Stations are being guarded by the military.

British and American nationals who have been evacuated by their governments were put under quarantine for two weeks in their home countries upon their return.

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Scott Whitby Studio creates multi-level boudoir for a throuple

Three people can sleep, practice yoga or drink whisky together in this bedroom designed by London-based Scott Whitby Studio.

The clients are a throuple – a romantic relationship between three people. They asked Scott Whitby Studio to create them a bespoke boudoir in their south London home, which also features spaces for other activities.

The architects responded with a reimagining of the traditional four-poster bed. Above the large sleeping space is a mezzanine that can be used for reading, exercise and other forms of relaxation.

Studio founder Alex Scott Whitby said the project was "unusual and exciting". He saw it as an opportunity to rethink the typical bedroom layout, where furniture is simply dotted around a room.

"Making space for a contemporary relationship typology was a new challenge for us as a studio to tackle," he said.

Called The Tri-Pod, the bed structure comprises a huge piece of joinery, crafted from walnut.

Two first-floor rooms, both with high ceilings and tall windows, were combined to make space for it. It sits in the centre, away from the walls, allowing light to reach all parts of the room.

The bed, with a mattress large enough for three, can be opened up or closed off.

This allows one of the threesome, who suffers from a sleep disorder, to enjoy a restful night's sleep sheltered from street noise and planes. It also allows the bed to be concealed when the trio are entertaining guests.

A storage closet is slotted into one side, alongside a staircase that leads to the upper deck. Scott Whitby describes this upper level as "a secret leisure world for whisky tasting, yoga and reading".

The architect suggests that more of London's Victorian properties could be reconfigured in this way, creating two rooms on top of one another rather than side by side.

"We are delighted that our client loves their quirky, practical, exotic bed and that we have been able to help them live in a space that fulfils their needs and requirements in an innovative and transformational way," he said.

Other projects completed by Scott Whitby Studio include a pop-up cinema in a shipping container. It is currently working on a renovation of an art-deco sea pool in Cornwall.

Photography is by Nicholas Worley.

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