Opulent Kintsugi Installation by Artist Victor Solomon Gilds Dilapidated Basketball Court in Los Angeles

All images by Shafik Kadi and © Victor Solomon, shared with permission

Celebrating the restorative qualities of sports and basketball’s return this past week, Victor Solomon has repaired a deteriorated court in South Los Angeles through the ancient art of Kintsugi—the Japanese method of repairing broken pottery by using metallic substances to mend the fractures. The artist filled cracks in the cement with gold-dust resin, highlighting the years of use “to accentuate the healing as a formative part of its journey,” he says. “Sport can entertain, inspire, and distract, but more apropos than all, the platform of sport can help us heal.” Titled “Kintsugi Court,” the gilded installation has similarly lavish backboards and hoops.

The restored court is just one of Solomon’s explorations into the sport and the ways it intersects with luxury. For more of his embellished projects, head to Instagram. (via The Kids Should See This)

 

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BKSK adds glass dome to roof of Tammany Hall building in New York

A glass and steel dome modelled on the shape of a turtle shell rises from the top of a historic building in New York City's Union Square to pay homage to an indigenous group that formerly settled in the area.

Tammany Hall is a brick building situated at the east corner of Union Square Park built in 1928.

It is the former headquarters of the Tammany Society, a political organisation named after chief Tamanend, who the leader of an indigenous group called the Lenape people that settled on land along the East Coast, including present day New York City.

BKSK Architects consulted with the Lenape Center, an institution led by Lenape elders that upholds the legacy of the group through programming and exhibitions, to realise the project.

It involved a restoring the landmark building's facade and an expansion of its usable space, which was created by the three-storey-high glass dome on top of the structure.

The rounded roof takes cues from the shape of a turtle shell, a reference to the origin story of the Lenape, which says the group believes it rose from the water on the back of a turtle.

"Using symbolism from the Lenape creation story, a glass dome inspired by the form of a rising turtle shell has been added to the building bringing an additional 30,000 square feet (2,787 square metres) to the interior," the studio said.

To form the circular dome the existing hipped roof was reconstructed using steel and glass panels that are covered with grey terracotta sunshades.

On the top floor sunlight beaming through the domed roof projects the geometric pattern of the steelwork across the floor and rounded walls.

To protect the building from solar heat gain and unwanted glare the studio chose a transparent glass material that also provides clear views of the nearby Union Square Park.

In addition to the new roof, the brick and limestone facade was also carefully restored and new bronze storefronts, similar to the structure's original design, run along the street level.

"BKSK welcomes the opportunity to develop a visual, meaningful dialogue between contemporary and historic architecture," added partner Todd Poisson.

"We believe that many structures, Tammany Hall among them, can accommodate change and vertical expansion without a loss of integrity."

BKSK, Edifice Real Estate Partners and owner Reading International have positioned the building to house several retail or commercial leases or to act as a single flagship location for a business.

Other historic preservation projects in the United States include an 18th-century home in Virginia with a glazed addition designed by Machado Silvetti and Boston's brutalist city hall.

Photography is by Christopher Payne | ESTO, courtesy of BKSK Architects.

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Music meets design in Raver Jinn’s BIPOC-centred practice

Gradients, orbs and warped text symbols collide in the Brooklyn-based designer’s multifaceted work.

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Foster + Partners designs "porous" Apple store in Beijing

A large overhanging roof shelters the expansive glass walls that front the "open and inviting" Apple Sanlitun store by Foster + Partners in Beijing, China.

Located in a large open square within Sanlitun, an area of the capital city's Chaoyang District, the building replaces China's first Apple Store built adjacent to the site in 2008.

Apple Sanlitun was developed by Foster + Partners in collaboration with Apple. It is twice the size of the original store and positioned on a more prominent site within the plaza.

It was designed with a "porous building envelope" that is accessible on all four sides and distinguished by a storefront with 10-metre-high glass panels to minimise the boundary between the inside and outside.

"Apple Sanlitun is all about being open and inviting – visually, physically and metaphorically," said Stefan Behling, head of studio at Foster + Partners.

"The store is a grand place that connects the inside and the outside," he explained.

Apple Sanlitun's principal glass facade is adorned with floral motifs and connected to large stone walls that wrap around the rest of the building.

Glazed areas lined with trees were also built at the rear of the store, which were intended to reflect those in the plaza and help "dematerialise the boundary between the inside and the outside" further.

Overhanging the glazed areas is a large flat roof, designed by Foster + Partners to shelter customers from the hot summer sun and heavy rain while maintaining uninterrupted views of the plaza and natural lighting inside.

This roof was lined with timber on its underside – similarly to the studio's Apple Michigan Avenue and Apple Iconsiam – and incorporates 390-square-metres of photovoltaic panels on top to help offset the store's energy consumption.

Inside, Apple Sanlitun's interiors are vast and uninterrupted, comprising a ground floor and a cantilevered upper level that steps down to a viewing deck.

This open layout was achieved by a structural system named Special Truss Moment Frame that was designed to resist seismic forces while allowing large column-free interior spaces. According to Foster + Partners, it is the first time the system has been utilised in Chinese architecture.

At ground level, there are 15 product tables and display cases positioned along the walls, alongside a private boardroom for business customers that are concealed through frosted glass.

At the rear, two large stone staircases were positioned on either side to guide visitors upstairs, which are both mirrored externally with staircases in the plaza.

The store's Genius Grove, where visitors can receive customer support and help with their devices, was placed upstairs alongside The Forum.

The Forum, which will host Today at Apple sessions with artists and creatives from Beijing, steps down to the panoramic viewing deck that is filled with upholstered leather seating.

Foster and Partners is an international architecture studio with headquarters in London, founded in 1967 by Norman Foster. The studio is behind the design of all the latest Apple Stores, including Apple Piazza Liberty in Italy and Apple Champs-Élysées that were completed in 2018.

Other recent projects by the studio include Dolunay Villa in Turkey, a luxury residential tower in London and an online book to entertain children during the coronavirus pandemic that stars its Gherkin skyscraper.

Photography is by Chaoying Yang unless stated.

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Nestbox is a modular trunk extension that turns cars into campers

Czech firm Studio 519 has designed a plywood module called Nestbox, which fits neatly into the boot of a car and can be expanded into a double bed and fully fitted kitchen for camping.

The unit, created for local company Egoé, comes in four sizes to suit a range of cars and can be customised with modules such as a cooker, mini-fridge, sink and camping shower attachment.

During transport these different elements are neatly compacted into a steel-backed mainframe which, at its largest, measures just over one metre long and half a metre wide and tall.

But on arrival, a system of integrated, space-saving drawers and fold-away attachments allow the Nestbox to be turned into a complete sleeping and cooking set-up in a matter of minutes.

"Our main goal was to achieve a similar level of comfort to a motorhome within the confines of a van," said the head of Studio 519, Richard Vodička.

"We happily gave up the convenience of a flush toilet, which you get in a camper, in favour of more freedom when travelling.

By expanding the possibilities of a regular van you facilitate a way of travelling that is far richer in experiences. It allows you to slow down your life and get closer to nature."

To set up the bed, a panel of slats that is folded away on top of the mainframe during transit can be unfurled over the car's collapsed back seats and finished off with a foldable mattress.

Meanwhile, the kitchen is condensed into one large drawer, which can be pulled out from the trunk to provide counter space and access to the cooker and mini-fridge.

The sink is collapsable and integrated into a drop-leaf panel that can be stowed away while not in use.

A range of smaller drawers was specifically designed to store kitchen equipment while on the road, with designated slots carved out of the wood to hold knives and cutting boards.

Locally sourced birch plywood is used liberally throughout the design to create a sense of warmth and bring nature into the interior of the car.

"The materials and the colour scheme stand in contrast to classic automotive aesthetics and are more likely to evoke a sense of home," said Vodička.

"Except for the folding washbasin, everything is locally sourced and made in the Czech village of Bílovice or its surrounding area," Vodička continued.

"The designers and the people who manufacture the kits work on the same grounds. This kind of immediate feedback is very important for us."

Vodička hopes that Nestbox can offer alternative modes of travel and a renewed sense of agency to holidaymakers, who were left in the cold by the Covid-19 travel restrictions.

"We are in the middle of a mindset shift right now," he said.

"Global travel restrictions have caused people to rethink what they expect from their vacations and their leisure time. Nestbox is able to give its users a sense of privacy, security and most importantly freedom."

Elsewhere, designers have started to ponder how we can make traditional modes of transport safer in a post-pandemic world, with PriestmanGoode sharing plans for how we should "future-proof" air travel and Italian architect Arturo Tedeschi and Hong Kong's Ponti Design Studio releasing concepts for how to integrate social distancing measures into local tram systems.

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