Inside and Out of Amsterdam's Modern Houseboat, the Watervilla de Omval.

This tautly designed houseboat, Watervilla De Omval, floats in the Amstel river of Amsterdam. The design has, unlike most floating houses, a very contemporary design without losing the characteristic appearance of the typical houseboat.



Living on the water gets more and more popular in Holland. The clients/ owners who come to the office of +31 Architects always love the typical charms and characteristics of living on the water but don’t like the standard “caravan” appearance of the existing houseboats. More and more people want to live on a contemporary houseboat that has been designed for their specific needs, the houseboat at De Omval is an obvious example of this wish.


above: livingroom detail and bathroom


above: fireplace in the livingroom

The clients wanted a boat with an open floor plan where they could enjoy the views to the water and the outdoor space to a maximum. The distinguished curved line of the facade directly derives from this desire and the restriction that the boat couldn’t be more than three meters above the water.




The living area and open kitchen are located on the waterfront, from here one has a panoramic view at the Amstel and you can enter the floating terrace.





Following on from the living area and kitchen the bedroom is located on a split level. The split level introduces an open route to the ground floor of the boat and, at the same time, makes it possible to create a terrace on the south side without exceeding the maximum building height.






To accentuate the round lines of the facade it is carried out in with shiny aluminum. The white plastered walls and ceilings follow the curve of the facade creating a seamless transition from the exterior to the interior.




Floor plans:



+31ARCHITECTS was founded in 2005 by Jasper Suasso de Lima de Prado and Jorrit Houwert. They both graduated at the Technical University of Delft in 2001.

Location: Amsterdam
Architects: J. Suasso de Lima de Prado, J. Houwert
Area: 200m2
Building contractor: Ardesch/Dijkhuis groep
Photographers: Iwan Baan, Colin Morsch/ Gianni Basso

information and images©+31Architects

The Wall Murals On Tiffany's Temporary Façade Of Their New Soho Store By 4 Contemporary Artists.

Tiffany & Co. invited four contemporary artists to transform the temporary façade of their upcoming Soho store in New York with one-of-a-kind murals inspired by true love.


above: Tiffany's temporary storefront served as a black wooden canvas for four artists.

The fourth and final wall mural was just finished yesterday. Here's a look at the four murals in progress and the finished works.

1. DANIELLE DIMSTON FOR TIFFANY SOHO

The first participant in the artist series was visual artist Danielle Dimston. Her mural, which took two and a half days to complete, was inspired by NYC's Soho neighborhood.

Artist Danielle Dimston at work on her Tiffany Soho mural:


Her mural is said to be loaded with secrets and symbols:

Dimston stands in front of her almost completed mural:

The final mural:


2. ELLIS GALLAGHER FOR TIFFANY SOHO

The second participant in the series was world-renowned street artist and native New Yorker, Ellis Gallagher , whose work can be seen around the city.


Artist Ellis Gallagher A.K.A. (C) ELLIS G. adorns the storefront of Tiffany’s upcoming Soho location with his iconic "drip-drop" characters.

Ellis signs his finished mural:

The final mural:

A video of his process:

The mural by Ellis Gallagher A.K.A. (C) ELLIS G. remained on the upcoming Tiffany Soho storefront through the first week of August.

3. DANNY ROBERTS FOR TIFFANY SOHO

The third participant in the artist series was California based illustrator/painter and Creative Director of Igor +André, Danny Roberts. His mural depicted romantic scenes in a style for which he has become known:

Danny hard at work on his mural:

Danny stands back to look at his work:

The final mural:

Watch the creation of a hand-painted mural by Danny Roberts, which took 133 hours to complete:



4. NATASHA LAW FOR TIFFANY SOHO

The fourth and final mural was created by English painter and graphic designer Natasha Law (who also happens to be the sister of actor Jude Law). She is known for her scantily clad females rendered in a flat graphic silhouette-like style with colored backgrounds.


Natasha begins putting her first brushstrokes on the mural:


Natasha adds the bright yellow with a roller that will serve as the beacon of light from her subject's flashlight:

The final mural:

images and information courtesy of Tiffany & Co. and the individual artists.

The 9 Finalists and Winner Of The Diet Coke STAYEXTRAORDINARY Design Challenge.

Diet Coke has been going for a more fashionable angle for awhile now. Gaultier's fun Diet Coke campaign, Karl Lagerfeld and other fashion designer bottle designs and now a new can design by San Francisco design shop Turner Duckworth (initially introduced as a limited edition about a year ago).

But they haven't stopped there. They've enlisted the talents of young designers from top design schools like Parsons, Otis, SCAD and more to help brand the soda with a STAYEXTRAORDINARY t-shirt design contest.



above: the new Diet Coke can design

In June of this year, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and Diet Coke entered into a partnership to launch a design contest to find the identifying graphic element that best supports their current STAYEXTRAORDINARY campaign.

THE ASSIGNMENT
To “Design an original “extraordinary” graphic element for a woman’s t-shirt that makes a statement about Diet Coke and those who drink it”.

They asked that the students focus more on the graphic design rather than a text design. To avoid confusion, Diet Coke has removed the font/typography elements from their FTP site so that students focus more on the graphic design itself.

THE WINNER

above: The winning design by Alfonso Gustavo


THE JUDGES
The winning T-shirt design was selected by some of the biggest names in fashion including Vince Voron, associate Vice President, Strategic Design and Integrated Marketing Content, Coca-Cola North America, creative experts from Target and luminary designers Zac Posen, Cynthia Rowley and L’Wren Scott.



THE TOP 20 FINALISTS
* Gustavo Alonso, Miami International University of Art and Design, Miami,
Fla.
* Florencia Chaves, Parsons The New School for Design, Brooklyn, N.Y.
* Mackenzie Gaudette, Miami International University of Art and Design,
Miami, Fla.
* Marianne Grobman, Miami International University of Art and Design,
Aventura, Fla.
* Sarah Humphries, Savannah College of Art and Design, Tampa, Fla.
* Adele Jackson, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
* Kelly Jenkins, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa.
* Toni-Marie Koulos, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa.
* Xenia Lally, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga.
* Zi Lin, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga.
* Katherine Owen, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga.
* Danielle Perret, Parsons The New School for Design, New York, N.Y.
* Raquel Reyes, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga.
* Victoria Schermerhorn, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
* Brianna Scherlock, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
* Kayla Speedy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa.
* Renee Tomic, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
* Florencia Torlaschi, Miami International University of Art and Design,
Tamarac, Fla.
* Logan Treacy, Savannah College of Art and Design, Charlotte, N.C.
* Mengdi Wu, Parsons The New School for Design, New York, N.Y.

THE TEN FINALIST DESIGNERS AND ARTWORK
(listed alphabetically)

The 20 listed above were then narrowed down to the following ten finalists using the following percentage breakdown:
•Creativity/Originality of Shirt Design (33%);
•Appeal of Submission (33%); and
• Fit to Contest Theme of Extraordinary Design (34%).

Alonso Gustavo (the winner):

Brianna Sherlock:

Florencia Torlaschi:

Katherine Leigh Owen:

Logan Treacy:

Mackenzie Gaudette:

Marianne Grobman:

Mengdi Wu:

Renee Marilyn Tomic:

Zi Lin:


The winner was chosen by fans casting their votes at DietCoke.com/Design

“Diet Coke is an exciting and stylish brand, and we are pleased to be a partner in this unique design challenge,” said Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA. “We’re always looking for ways to support the next generation of fashion designers, and this will be an amazing accomplishment for a student to put on a resume before he or she even graduates!”

THE PRIZES
To encourage the talented finalists to continue chasing their passions, two runners-up selected by the judging panel will each receive $2,500 scholarships, and the remaining 17 finalists will each receive $250 scholarships.

Limited-edition t-shirts featuring the winning design by Gustavo Alonso will be produced and available at Target stores next month.

In addition to having his or her design available in Target stores nationwide this September, Alonso also will receive a $10,000 scholarship and a trip to New York City in September to experience the rush of a week of high fashion.

All images and information courtesy of DietCoke.com

The Positively Impressive Paper Sculptings Of Jeff Nishinaka.

Paper sculptor Jeff Nishinaka has been at it for 28 years - and it shows. His intricate white and color paper sculptures have been used by such brands as Coca Cola, Visa, Paramount Pictures and Bloomingdales', to name a few.