Ultra Swank - Retro Living and Design from the 50s, 60s and 70s.
posted by unliteral on Dec 8, 2011 - 8 comments

Jason Scroggin and Akari Takebeyashi teach in the Architecture faculty at the University of Kentucky College of Design. Together they also form Design Office Takebayashi Scroggin [D.O.T.S.] Recently they took the idea of an architectural massing model* to the world of animals. Here is a petting zoo of "Massimals" made with ziplock ties, polystyrene foam, chipboard and foam core. [more inside]
posted by honey-barbara on Jul 26, 2011 - 4 comments

The Pasadena architectural firm of Greene & Greene was one of the foremost exponents of the Arts & Crafts movement. Their "ultimate bungalows," including the Gamble, Thorsen, and Blacker Houses (and a host of modern-day disciples) stand testament to the enduring elegance of their work, but for a fuller examination of the brothers' design process, delve into the thousands of blueprints, drawings, and photos at the Greene & Greene Virtual Archives.
posted by Horace Rumpole on Jul 26, 2010 - 25 comments

The Obselisk. The bastard child of a Mensa quiz and rattan furniture. Getting apart is probably ok, but I don't want to put it back together - particularly after drinky-poo's. But certainly a talking point - particularly at $9,890 . Via
posted by ninazer0 on Apr 19, 2007 - 19 comments

Architecture and the Velvet Fist of Happiness - click 'view the book" in the top left. {Flash, slight sound, NSFW}
posted by dobbs on Dec 11, 2006 - 9 comments

Carlo Mollino [Polaroids section NSFW] A student of the occult, he was an Architect, Designer, race car enthusiast and photographer [NSFW]
posted by tellurian on Feb 1, 2006 - 11 comments

Welcome to EUROBAD '74, an exhibition of Europe's worst interiors of 1974.
posted by atomicmedia on Oct 3, 2005 - 48 comments

Charles Eames (1907-78) and Ray Eames (1912-88) gave shape to America's twentieth century. Their lives and work represented the nation's defining social movements: the West Coast's coming-of-age, the economy's shift from making goods to the producing information, and the global expansion of American culture. This Library of Congress exhibit outlines major themes of the Eames' life and voluminous works, including architecture, furniture, and the film Powers of Ten. It is wonderfully illustrated with artifacts, photos of their life and work, and examples from the Eames' collection of 350,000 slides.
posted by carter on Jan 12, 2005 - 14 comments

Is This All There Is To Modern Design? Although Design Within Reach is a commercial website, it's well put together, with interesting features that provide biographies and a a potted history of modern furniture design. However, like the plethora of coffee-table books on the subject, the uncomfortable (!) feeling remains that it crystalizes the accepted and the historical - the so-called modern classics - rather than engage with what is truly contemporary. This is, after all, highly traditional modernism and post-modernism. And it's rife. Where is the avant-garde? Is there one on view to ordinary mortals? You end up feeling that the truly new designs - this century's, after all - are being swept under the carpet, awaiting some boring committee process of consensus and approval.
posted by MiguelCardoso on Sep 29, 2003 - 35 comments

Verner Panton, a fantastic Danish architect and designer known for his wild interiors and furniture. “Most people spend their lives housing in dreary, grey-beige conformity, mortally afraid of using colours.” He definitely was not afraid. Tak skal du have, Verner!
posted by snez on Jan 13, 2003 - 10 comments