Pirate Ship Room, Climbing Cave and Golf Simulator Make a Home A Playhouse.

Kuhl Design + Build of Minnesota is a full service, residential design/build company specializing in large remodels and whole house renovations. Their way of doing business is dynamic, interactive and as they say "fully transparent." They feel that it's your house, and it's your money. Recognition of this fact is seen in every facet of their business because they respect their clients enough to be honest about the numbers. In exchange, their clients trust them to do the right thing. And the results are beautiful. Kitchens, bathrooms, interior and special projects like this amazing home dubbed "Pirate Ship House."





The Pirate Ship House was initially created for builder Steve Kuhl's brother as part of a 6,800 square foot home in Medina, Minnesota (the house has since been sold.) The project is complete with crow's nest, brig and a wood plank bridge.



The ship's hull was made with ribs of laminated plywood ribs and flexible masonite and the coating was made by combining epoxy and drywall compound with brown colorant to find the perfect mix. After applied, it was combed to give it a rough texture:



The bridge that extends across the room to a pirate's ship can handle the weight of four adults:




"This hole (behind the Captain's Wheel) provides a quick escape down to the closet below the ship for emergency wardrobe changes," Kuhl says:


Approximate budget for a pirate room like this one: $40,000


A Secret Superluge in the Mudroom:



In the mudroom, one of the four doors conceals a secret passage that takes you into a closet where you will find a spiral tube (the SuperLuge) that when slid down takes you to the Climbing Cave which includes a climbing wall fit for both adults and children as well as an indoor golf simulator room that has carpet mimicking a golf green and sand trap.





Approximate slide budget: $2,500 to $5,000 for the components

The Climbing Cave:

Approximate climbing wall budget: $15,000

The Golf Simulator Room:




Approximate budget for the golf simulator: The software was around $18,000 when it was purchased; Kuhl is not sure how much it costs today.

About Kuhl Design + Build:


In 1999, Steve Kuhl and Dan Murphy started Kuhl Design & Build. They set out to create a little something different in the remodeling industry. Their business plan would hinge on a bold idea. They would only work with people they trust and only for those who trust them. They used to keep this a secret because they were afraid people might take it the wrong way. Now they announce it proudly because they realized it has allowed them to grow into a truly unique organization. This approach has also resulted in them having the most excellent clients on the planet. Nothing beats doing what you love for people you adore and then getting paid for it.

images and info courtesy of Kuhl's Design + Build and Houzz

Kuhl Design +Build

The Kharkov, House Awards "Outdoor" Finalist By Australian Architects Collins And Turner

Here's a look at one of the finalists in the Outdoor category of Australia's 2012 Houses Awards. The Kharkov House by architects Collins + Turner:

You Can't Make This Sh*t Up. New York Crowd-Sourced Content Compiled & Curated.

New York Writes Itself was created as a crowd sourced and branded content idea in New York City by the Village Voice and Leo Burnett NY. Designed to be shared through social media and cultural influencers, the branded content reached audiences in a direct way where they could enjoy and share the content; a website to which people can contribute, an art exhibit, an ongoing blog and a bi-weekly web series.

The entire effort has won several awards including a Cannes Titanium Lion for branded content integrating user-generated content.

THE CONCEPT:


Village Voice is an editorial channel that has heritage of capturing the real, uncensored voice of New York. The challenge was prove this brand position, and at the same time, re-establish the Village Voice as the go-to source of arts and culture. The objective was to re-establish the Village Voice as the real uncensored voice of New York, and a brand that is in touch with New Yorkers and the cultural scene of the city. Their strategy was to create a campaign that would not just advertise the Village Voice, but would give New Yorkers a new way to get involved in the creation of cultural content with the brand. Therefore, they created ‘New York Writes Itself’, a crowd sourced content platform designed as a place for New Yorkers to write down the amazing things they see and hear on the streets of NY every day, and see them turned into editorial and creative content. The first execution of the project was a letterpress art exhibition in which the city’s leading letterpress artists brought real words heard on the streets of New York to life letter by letter.

THE NEW YORK TYPES LETTERPRESS ART SHOW:


Various printers and designers then turned the words of New Yorker's into beautifully designed letter-pressed posters that were shown in an exhibit. Every piece of art in the show was inspired by a person, scene, or quote witnessed in NYC.



THE CHAIRMAN BI-WEEKLY WEBISODES:



The Chairman is a bi-weekly webisode series that launched a month ago. The 'Chairman' himself is a New Yorker who reads a small excerpt from the official NYWI script in each episode. With the engagement of a story teller he reads to us from his iconic yellow leather chair which is placed on the streets of New York.


see the episodes here

The audience were drawn to New York Writes Itself through integrated channels including: - newyorkwritesitself.com, the hub of the consumer generated content which fueled the campaign - Social media including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Village Voice newspaper and villagevoice.com - Editorial content including Village Voice and earned media - Key cultural influencers and bloggers who targeted relevant sub-cultures in the creative community - Street poster campaign on the streets of NYC.

‘New York Writes Itself’ was hugely successful as a piece of branded content: over 24m media impressions to date. Held at the Art Directors Club in New York, the exhibition achieved a record attendance. 2m unique visits to NewYorkWritesItself.com, 52 articles of earned media in editorial channels outside the Village Voice including New York Times and CBS News. $15,000 revenue generated in sold artwork of which 100% went to the artists involved. New York Writes Itself has made such a strong cultural impact, Village Voice has made it a permanent piece of its arts and culture content. An Off-Broadway play and comedy series are currently in production as is new content to come.




Get involved as a Scribe at newyorkwritesitself.com, and your everyday experiences of New York just might become part of the next New York Writes Itself experience, which could take the form of music, writing, photography, a short film or more.

Keep sharing your stories.


Credits
Executive Producer: Jeremy Fox Leo, Burnett NY
Village Voice Publisher: Josh Fromson
Village Voice Promotions/Marketing Manager: Christina Pettit
Village Voice Web Editor : Nick Greene
Village Voice Online Operations Associate Manager : Tara Mcguiness
Chief Creative Officer: Jay Benjamin Leo Burnett NY
Creative Director: Michael Canning, Leo Burnett NY
Creative Director : Kieran Antill, Leo Burnett NY
Cultural Architect: Max Goodwin, Leo Burnett NY
Managing Director: Tom Flanagan, Leo Burnett NY
Village Voice Media President And Chief Operating Officer: Scott Tobias
Village Voice Marketing Director: Rosemary Raposo
Copywriter: Michael Canning, Leo Burnett NY
Art Director : Kieran Antill, Leo Burnett NY
Creative Intern: Skyler Dobin, Leo Burnett New York
Web Developer: Avant, LLC
Music: Comma Music
Production: Radical Media
Artists:
Keystone Design Union
Center for the Book Arts
Center for the Book Arts
Swayspace
Tarhorse Press
Peter Kruty editions
Production: Bill Thomas
Editors:
Beast
Nice Shoes

Information, images and some of the text, courtesy of The Village Voice, Cannes Advertising Festival and Newyorkwritesitself.com

12 UK Artists Design Posters For The Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This summer's Olympic and Paralympic Games are heralded with 12 special artist designed posters. Created by leading British artists Martin Creed, Chris Ofili, Anthea Hamilton, Gary Hume, Michael Craig-Martin, Sarah Morris, Bridget Riley, Rachel Whiteread, Fiona Banner, Howard Hodgkin, Bob and Roberta Smith, and Tracey Emin.

Since 1912, each Olympic host city has commissioned one or more posters to celebrate the hosting of the Games. Over the course of the last century a body of iconic work has been created and previous artists who have created a poster include David Hockney, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and RB Kitaj.

The artwork is on show at Tate Britain in a free exhibition as part of the London 2012 Festival.

Posters For The London 2012 Olympic Games:

Bridget Riley, ROSE ROSE:

Martin Creed, WORK NO. 1273:

Anthea Hamilton, DIVERS:

Chris Ofili, FOR THE UNKNOWN RUNNER:

Howard Hodgkin, SWIMMING:

Rachel Whitehead, lOndOn 2012:




Posters For The London 2012 Paralympic Games:

Sarah Morris, BIG BEN 2012:

Bob and Roberta Smith, LOVE:

Fiona Banner, SUPERHUMAN NUDE:

Gary Hume, CAPITAL:

Michael-Craig Martin, GO:

Tracey Emin, BIRDS 2012:




Available as signed limited edition screenprints or as reprints.
You can purchase the posters from the Tate here

Banksy's New Olympic Themed Wall Murals

Posted on his website are these two new images by Banksy as an homage to the Olympic games which began yesterday in London.


detail:


Banksy