Seven design-related Instagram accounts for a break from coronavirus news

With people self-isolating around the world, creatives and cultural institutions are using Instagram to entertain their bored followers. Social media assistant Daria Casalini has put together a list of light-hearted design and architecture accounts that offer respite from the news.

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A post shared by Royal Academy (@royalacademyarts) on Mar 20, 2020 at 3:07am PDT

Royal Academy

The social media team at the Royal Academy knows how to create relatable content that will make you smile.

Recent posts from the British art institution include a roll of toilet paper taped to a wall like Maurizio Cattelan's banana, and a list of family activities to do at home with children.

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A post shared by JACQUEMUS (@jacquemus) on Mar 16, 2020 at 2:24pm PDT

Jacquemus

Fashion designer Simon Porte Jacquemus is encouraging his followers to get creative with the "Jacquemus challenge".

The French designer asked his audience to use an item of his clothing line and mix it with items found in their homes, such as fruits and plants, to make fun portraits.

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A post shared by Jean Jullien (@jean_jullien) on Mar 20, 2020 at 6:27am PDT

Jean Jullien

French illustrator Jean Jullien is sharing playful drawings to bring some light relief to the coronavirus crisis.

One of his latest illustrations captioned "confinement" shows several individuals each isolated in their own bubble. Another asks the viewers to spot the difference between two drawings of a man lying on a sofa titled "before quarantine" and "after quarantine".

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A post shared by Gary Hustwit (@gary_hustwit) on Mar 24, 2020 at 9:37am PDT

Gary Hustwit

Those looking for documentaries and movies to watch should check out Gary Hustwit's account.

Every Tuesday, the American filmmaker streams one of his movies for free on his website, to fight off isolation boredom. Recent screenings include 2009 documentary "Objectified", which looks everyday objects and the people who designed them.

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A post shared by The New Yorker Cartoons (@newyorkercartoons) on Mar 17, 2020 at 8:01am PDT

The New Yorker Cartoons

The New Yorker Cartoons account features the best drawings from the famous American magazine.

A recent posts shows a man working from home in pyjamas, with the caption "My God... those meetings really could have been e-mails!".

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A post shared by The Metropolitan Museum of Art (@metmuseum) on Mar 22, 2020 at 7:38am PDT

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

For keen sketchers out there, The Metropolitan Museum of Art is challenging its followers to draw from their homes and is sharing its collection of paintings as inspiration.

The art museum asks its audience to tag their posts with #MetSketch and shares the drawings on the account's Instagram Stories.

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A post shared by Stefano Boeri Architetti (@stefanoboeriarchitetti) on Mar 17, 2020 at 11:22am PDT

Stefano Boeri Architetti

Lastly, if you speak Italian, you might be interested to know that architect Stefano Boeri is uploading an IGTV video every day where he talks about different books.

The books reviewed in the series range from architecture essays to Italian classics, including Italo Calvino's The Baron in the Trees.

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The post Seven design-related Instagram accounts for a break from coronavirus news appeared first on Dezeen.

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La Firme transforms "cramped" space into Montreal's sun-lit Melk Cafe

Design studio La Firme has turned a tight, triangular space into a bright and airy cafe in Montreal.

The outpost is for Melk Cafe, a coffee shop and cafe that has three locations in the city. La Firme has also designed its locations on the corner of Saint-Urbain and Saint-Antoine streets.

Called Melk Café Saint-Urbain, the new spot occupies a triangular commercial space near the city's Chinese Quarter and business district.

"The original space was cramped," said La Firme founder Louis Beliveau. "A triangular floor plan with a curved wall and space tapering to two metres wide made for strict tolerances."

The studio opted to keep the space relatively open without any internal walls. The design showcases the existing high ceilings and ample light from a long glazed wall at the entrance, rather than calling attention to its irregular plan that reduces in size dramatically.

La Firme included existing details like concrete walls and exposed plumbing and pipes in the interiors. New additions such as polished concrete floors and built-in furniture are intended to make the space feel old and new because the details seem both contemporary and yet industrial.

Soft green accents, white ceramic tiles and wood soften the otherwise industrial scheme.

"Our aesthetic approach emphasised the timelessness of raw materials within a limited palette," Beliveau said.

Upon entering is a volume that was included to shelter the interiors from Montreal's cold winter winds. Glazed upper portions allow the interiors to still feel open and light.

A long counter provides space for taking orders, preparing drinks and storing goods.

The rest of the eatery is outfitted with booths of different sizes that were custom made by La Firme. Seating is built into them and allows the cafe to accommodate up to 24 people.

"The new Melk coffee bar was not only a design-thinking tightrope walk between necessity and aesthetics but a reminder of how much thought can go into aspects of design that people might overlook," said Beliveau.

"We decided to make the built-ins banquettes to minimise footprint and maximise the numbers of clients being able to sit down and have a snack," he added.

The banquettes are raised on platforms above the ground, making the tables bar-height. The tables are plywood with a laminated veneer coloured pale green, which matches their painted metal bases.

Square white tiles round out the project, which clad the built-in seating, the counter and the entrance.

Montreal is well-known for its food and design-forward projects. Other bars and restaurants include Marcus at the Four Seasons hotel, Falafel Yoni, Jack Rose, Vinvinvin and Appareil Architecture's colourful Pastel Rita,

La Firme has also renovated a Montreal apartment with a huge bathroom and built a country home from an old barn.

Photography is by Ulysse Lemerise.

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Synchronized Starling Flocks Undulate in Mesmerizing Patterns Captured by Photographer Xavi Bou

For starlings, there’s truth to safety in numbers. “In winter, starlings join in flocks of thousands of individuals to try to confuse the hawks that attack them, doing a mesmerizing dance,” said Barcelona-based photographer Xavi Bou, who recently released a video chronicling the birds’ synchronized swooping. In “Murmurations,” a name that refers specifically to the phenomenon, Bou captures the avian movements through a series of gray lines that swell and undulate with each obfuscated turn.

Set to a soothing track by Kristina Dutton, the video is part of the photographer’s larger Ornitographies project, an ongoing endeavor stemming from his childhood walks through nature with his grandfather. Bou previously focused on chronophotography for the series, which combines multiple images of flying birds into a floating pattern that resembles double-helices. “Murmurations” similarly blurs the starlings’ outlines and distinct features to focus instead on their heaving movements.

On his site, Bou has prints available of his composite images, and more of his phenomenological work can be found on Instagram. (via Kottke)

 

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Tom Heath’s “sporadic” design practice favours speculation and collaboration

From dancing naked around the house to providing a platform for rejected work, Tom discusses his creative mindset.

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Metamorphic and mesmerising, Sujin Lee paints the most common subject of all: grass

Looking to the everyday for inspiration, the artist strives to take nature's simple forms and transform them into something mysterious.

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