Category Archives: design

Chicago Cultural Center

19 Thursday Nov 2015

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Chicago Cultural Center Tiffany Dome

Visiting family in Chicago last summer provided the perfect opportunity to check out the Chicago Cultural Center, originally Chicago’s first Central Public Library and with a dome designed by Tiffany. We were intrigued and found it was well worth the time to go!

The dome is 38 feet in diameter and made with 30,000 pieces of glass. Designed with a fish scale pattern and signs of the zodiac at the very top, it’s not made with the brightly colored glass that is often associated with Tiffany. The glass in this application is a clear iridescent-type glass (Tiffany’s proprietary Favrile glass) that lets a lot of light into the space. While the dome was solely sunlit at one time, it is now lit with electric lights as well. Interestingly, the exterior of the dome was covered with concrete and copper in the 1930’s (what were they thinking?!) but restored to its original design intent in 2008.

The dome covers the Preston Bradley Hall on the second floor, once the General Delivery Room for the library and now used for special events of all kind. There are lovely Tiffany chandeliers throughout the space with the clear iridescence of the dome. The use of color was saved for the incredible mosaic wall designs that cover practically every surface and archway of this room. These beautiful mosaics made from Favrile glass, stone, and mother of pearl intermix symbols related to printing, libraries and books in a palette of bright green, turquoise, gold, gray and white. A variety of quotations carved into marble in many different languages is also part of the captivating wall decoration.

Chicago Cultural Center Wall Mosaic

The room has a definite feminine quality to it in a lovely, bright, refreshing way. I was surprised that it was not the dark, subdued colors found to be more typical during the Victorian era of Interior Design. This quote from the center’s brochure detailing the workmanship caught my attention: “The noted Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company of New York executed most of the room’s decorative features, including the dome, mosaics and lighting fixtures, employing mostly a female labor force, as women were thought to be more adept at the fine handiwork.”

—Jill

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Harmony with Nature

12 Thursday Nov 2015

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harmony with nature

In recent years, I’ve had the opportunity to visit Japan, and among the many wondrous elements of Japanese design, one design feature that really struck me and continues to influence how I approach design is the harmony created by courtyard gardens juxtaposed within traditional Japanese architecture.

Many traditional homes, both large and small, have a central courtyard that visually becomes part of the interior of the home. Often separated by shoji screens (which are usually kept open during the day), these gardens are instantly accessible from within the home, and provide a refuge as well as ever-changing visual interest throughout the year.

Common elements of Japanese courtyard garden design include a bamboo fountain that pours into a low stone basin near an entrance, lanterns, sand, smooth gravel, artful garden boulders that suggest mountains, ponds, wandering paths, and small bridges. These elements are carefully planned within and around trees and other plants to create a contemplative, serene environment – a special place accessible only to those within the home.

—Jason

Fall Decorations / No-carve pumpkin ideas

26 Monday Oct 2015

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Late summer/early Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the mix of cool, crisp days when it’s finally time to pull out your favorite boots, flannels and sweaters, and the lingering warm, summer-like days that help you ease out of your summer frame of mind. Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, especially because of the decorations. Instead of the typical carved pumpkins, here are a few fun twists to add to your decorations this year.

Painted and Bedazzled Pumpkins
Calligraphy Pumpkins
Paint Pen Pumpkins
Sequined Polka Dot Pumpkins
Pumpkin Family
Fishnet Stockings
Gilded Pumpkins
Creative candlesticks

Painted Patterns

22 Thursday Oct 2015

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Painted Patterns

I was fortunate enough to visit Eastern Europe in September with my husband, Steve. We took a 10-day riverboat cruise on the Danube River. It was our first trip to Europe and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to see the beauty of the European architecture in person that I have been so drawn to in images. I enjoyed focusing on architectural elements and applied design in my many of my photos and plan to share some of my favorites in this and future blog entries.

This Entry is focused on the beautifully painted patterns on the architectural surfaces of the Matthias Church in Budapest, Hungary. The church has been beautifully re-built and restored since WWII.  It was the first of many, many churches we visited on our trip but the richly painted designs in Matthias Church were my favorite. The rich, bright colors and changing design patterns flowed across practically every wall, ceiling, and molding whether they were flat, curved, or carved. They added depth and movement in a whimsical, playful way. I thought they were delightful and evoked such a different feeling when compared to their more serious counterparts that were filled with clouds and heavenly beings, glimmering gilded elements and stone columns carved in black and red marble.

Enjoy!
Jill Bosshart

House to Home: part 1

15 Thursday Oct 2015

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Day One

Have you heard the phrase, “those that do for others, don’t do for themselves”? Or perhaps a better example is, “The cobbler’s children had no shoes”. As a designer, those phrases have always been the case for me and my abode. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always loved creating a home but it’s been on an extreme budget (think second hand stores (except for mattresses, I shudder at the thought) and dumpster diving), but this past May my husband and I went all in and purchased a home in town that has been worn down, and neglected for thirty plus years.

When we first heard this home in our dream neighborhood was “coming soon” we immediately called our realtor and drove over to the house. It was in utter disrepair, but we were blind to the reality. . . we only saw our future home. After a competitive bidding process against developers who wanted to tear down the historic home and build two new homes on the almost half acre site, we came out victorious only after promising the owner that we would renovate the home back to its original splendor.

With title and keys in hand May 25, our contractor started on May 26 clearing the overgrown land and demolishing the damaged interiors. It’s already been a long journey, with many, many lessons, despite the fact I’ve been in the business for over 13 years, but it’s been a dream come true. I’m excited to share more stories from this experience in future blog posts. I hope you’ll come back to read more and to see the progress of this gem in the city!

Cheers! Momo

BEFORE
Interior Damage

JJ Benedict, Architect

16 Thursday Apr 2015

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Jules Jacques Benedict Jules Jacques Benois Benedict was indisputably a brilliant man and a master of architecture. Through his meticulous attention to detail we are still awed by the talent and imagination of the early 20th century architect who trained in Paris at l’Ecole des Beaux Arts. He practiced from 1899 to 1948, most of that time in the Denver, Colorado area. Accounts of his personality describe him as flamboyant, temperamental, opinionated and an utmost perfectionist. He was known to carry a cane on job sites and would use it to obliterate work that was not to his expectations.

Private Home in Denver
Private Home in Denver
Private Home in Denver

The buildings Benedict created in the metropolitan area reflected his Beaux Arts training. He repeated many of the same architectural elements from building to building, adapting them to the particular structure. Details such as Greek, Roman and Gothic-inspired arches in windows and doorways, ornate iron details and carved stonework were trademarks of his designs.

Littleton Town Hall
Church
Church Addition

Another mountain structure, Chief Hosa, was designed and built for the Denver Mountain Parks as a restaurant. Benedict describes his approach to the design of the structure in the following quote:

“Hosa Lodge was always there… We simply piled up the rock in layers, leaving some openings for light. We laid felled trunks across the top and called it a lodge, and it suffices. It remains rock and red bark like its setting.”

Chief Hosa
Chief Hosa Closeup

 

Benedict applied these details and the foundation of his training to approach another type of design that he dubbed “Alpine Architecture”. His passion for the mountains was reflected in the preface page to his 1925 portfolio in which he used the verse from PSALM 88:1: “My Foundation is in the Holy Mountains.” He felt strongly about a harmonious association with the site and the use of indigenous materials in his mountain structures.

A Denver newsletter, Municipal Facts, described Benedict and his Baehr Lodge design this way: “a great genius as a designer and his development of a type of mountain house that is indigenous to the soil has been a noteworthy achievement.”

Nestled into the side of a mountain, designed in several levels to adapt to the natural slope of the land it was built on, the home is sensitive to its site, making the most of the commanding views.

This description could be applied to one of his most spectacular designs, St. Catherine’s Chapel perched on the top of a rocky mountain outcropping; the chapel seems to emerge out of the land. The building truly has a sense of place among its surroundings that takes the breath away of motorists who happen to come upon it.

St Catherine’s Chapel
St Catherine’s Chapel

Of the 54 buildings, churches, residences and park structures Benedict is credited with in the Denver area, 23 are listed on the local, state or national registers of significant historic structures. This speaks to his talents as an architect, the validity of the intent and application of his designs.

—Jill Bosshart

What is Biomimicry?

12 Thursday Mar 2015

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There’s been much discussion about Biomimicry in my life recently, which brings up the question – what exactly is Biomimicry?

According to A Biomimicry Primer by Janine Benyus, a biologist, innovation consultant, author of several books, including the book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, and co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute, the formal definition of Biomimicry is:

learning from and then emulating natural forms, processes and ecosystems to create more sustainable designs

The core idea of Biomimicry recognizes that nature has already solved many of our present day problems: energy, food production, climate control, benign chemistry, transportation, collaboration, and more…

Geese fly in a V formation to reduce wind resistance and conserve energy.
Riders at the Tour de France use the same formation for these reasons, too.

Simply, biomimicry means to imitate life (bios means life, mimesis mean to imitate). A balance between nature and technology, biomimicry is based on respect for, rather than domination of, the natural world. Biomimicry aims to discover sustainable solutions to everyday problems by borrowing from life’s blueprints, chemical recipes and ecosystem strategies. Biomimics seek to learn from nature; which requires design practitioners to use a new method of inquiry in order to bring us directly into relation with the natural world and life’s genius for the continuation of not just one life, but all life.

Learning from life’s genius involves three big questions:

  • What would nature do here? (nature as model)
  • What wouldn’t nature do here? (nature as measure)
  • Why or why not? (nature as mentor)
The Kingfisher has a long, solid bill for diving for prey and digging.
The Shinkansen borrowed the Kingfisher bill design to reduce noise (sonic booms!) when emerging from tunnels.

Biomimics turn to nature for inspiration – their valuable teachers are the bacteria, fungi, plants and animals of this planet – and they seek their advice at all stages of design to create products, processes and policies that are fully life-inspired, functional, sustainable and beautiful. Instead of harvesting (bioutilization) or domesticating (bioassisted), biomimics consult organisms and see nature as a source of ideas instead of a source of goods.

Biomimicry is difficult to categorize: it is a design discipline, a branch of science, a method of problem solving, a sustainability ethos, a movement, a stance toward nature, and a new way of viewing and valuing biodiversity.

Termites keep their mounds at a very stable temperature by opening and closing vents throughout the mound over the course of the day.
The Eastgate Centre has a cooling system that operates like a termite mound.

So, then, how do we make the act of asking nature for advice a normal part of everyday inventing? How do we bring nature’s wisdom to all parts of our economy?

If you’re looking for more information about this fascinating topic, here are several links to get you started:

AskNature
Biomimicry Institute
Biomimicry Guild
Swedish Center for Biomimetic Fiber Engineering – Royal Institute of Technology
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard

—Amy DePierre