A Look At How The Oscar Statuette Is Made & Fun Academy Awards Facts.

In honor of tonight's 85th Annual Academy Awards, here's a reprise of a post that looks at how the coveted statuette is actually made, from start to finish.



The exterior of R.S. Owens in Chicago:


Casting, Buffing and polishing:



The metal is heated to 960 degrees before pouring into the cast.

The Oscar, removed from the cast, and ready to be polished and buffed:

The rough seams are sanded:

And the statue is polished:



Electroplating:


being dipped into the nickel (the second step, it's first dipped into copper):

Dipped into the 24k plate, the fourth step (the third step is dipped into silver):




Engraving and Mounting:


Affixing the engraved plate to the base:

a close up look at base:

Placing the felt pad on the base:




Oscar Fun Facts:

• The official name of the statuette is the Academy Award® of Merit

• Oscar is 13½ inches tall and weighs 8½ pounds

• The First Recipient was Emil Jannings, named Best Actor for his performances in “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh” in 1929

• Number of Awards Presented to date as of 2011: 2,809 statuettes



• It was designed by Cedric Gibbons, chief art director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and sculpted by Los Angeles artist George Stanley.

• The Oscar statuette depicts a knight holding a crusader's sword, standing on a reel of film. The film reel features five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy (actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers.)

• How Oscar received his nickname is not exactly clear.
The most popular story is that Margaret Herrick, an Academy librarian and eventual executive director, remarked that the statuette resembled her Uncle Oscar, and the Academy staff began to refer to it as Oscar. Although the nickname was used with increasing frequency during the late 1930s, the Academy didn't officially use the name Oscar until 1939.

• The Oscar statuette hasn't been altered since his molten birth, except when the design of the pedestal was made taller in 1945.

The 85th Oscars airs tonight at 7pm Eastern time and 4pm Pacific time

New Crushed Porcelain Cups, Tumblers, Containers and Champagne Buckets from Revol of France.

French porcelain culinary cookware brand Revol's Froissés Collection is a collection of wrinkled porcelain espresso cups, coffee cups, water goblets, utensil holders, vases and champagne buckets that come in various shiny, matte and colored glazes. Initially produced in solid colors and only in one size, they have now added several sizes and patterns and colors to the line for 2013. The Froissés Collection now consists of 22 colors and shades as well as special patterns, such as flags, plaids, dots and more. In addition to these, they have a line of crumpled dishes as well.



Each Revol tumbler is manually turned out, trimmed, polished and glazed before firing… and all of this is thanks to the expert hands of our workers. Made of culinary porcelain, which guarantees extreme mechanical and thermal resistance, all of the collection is oven-, microwave-, dishwasher- and freezer-safe. So they are perfect for everything from hot coffee to ice cream or champagne to flowers.





From the 5CL (1.75 oz) Ristretto tumbler all the way to the 3L (3.25 qt) champagne bucket, and including the must have espresso and cappuccino tumblers, you are sure to find a tumbler to fulfill your needs.






Photos courtesy of Revol and © Philippe Barret

Where to purchase?
•Buy Revol Tumblers and Cookware Here

•Also available at Sur La Table where they have Free shipping on all orders over $59



Gift Sets of 4:



The gift sets of four goblets shown above are available for purchase online here

Photographer Amy Friend Brings Light, Romance And Mysticism To Vintage Photos in 'Dare Alle Luce.'

In her series, Dare alla Luce, photographer Amy Friend alters vintage images by deliberately allowing light to pass through them. Amy says the project aims to return the photographs, and indeed the souls of the subjects, to the atmosphere. “In a literal and somewhat playful manner,” she says. “I aimed to give the photographs back to the light, hence the title of the series, Dare alla Luce, an Italian phrase used to describe the moment of birth.”

Stefan Sagmeister Uses Kerry's Howley's Hair Art As Typography To Promote His Show.

To promote Stefan Sagmeister's "Another Show about Promotion and Advertising Materials" at Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Sagmeister team (Stefan Sagmeister, Jessica Walsh, Michael Friemuth and Philip Hubert) actually shaved their heads...




...and worked with artist Kerry Howley (whose hair jewelry I wrote about here) to create the typography, made from hair, for these award-winning promotional materials.





The three posters are actually available as art prints here at Society6.

Credits:
Art Direction: Stefan Sagmeister
Design: Jessica Walsh
Photography: Henry Hargreaves
Makeup: Anastasia Durasaova
Hair art: Kerry Howley

Edge Land House With Triangular Smart Pool and Living Roof By Bercy Chen Studio.

This Austin, Texas residence by Bercy Chen Studio is not only stunning to look at in terms of architectural design and interior styling, but it's a project that also takes the environment, the landscape and local plant life into consideration.










The Edge Land residence (also called the Edgeland House) is a concrete, steel and glass 1400 sf residence located in Austin, Texas near Town Lake. The project touches on architecture as site-specific installation art and as an extension of the landscape. As with many of Bercy Chen Studio's designs, the influence is often drawn from vernacular precedents of various cultures. While the essence of the project is conversant with a Native American Pit House, the roof form has been largely influenced by the ancient art of origami.







The modern home's design integrates hydronic heating and cooling, geothermal heat exchange, phase-change thermal heat storage, rainwater collection, a smart pool that provides an additional thermal mass that ties into the geothermal system and an integrated living green roof.



The house’s relationship to the landscape both in terms of approach as well as building performance references the oldest housing typology in North America; the pit house. Like a pit house, the house will undergo a 7-foot excavation gaining benefits from the earth’s mass to maintain thermal comfort throughout the year. Such architectural settings create opportunities for maximum energy efficiency using a proposed Integrated Hydronic HVAC system.

The seasonal wildflowers planted on the roof were done in conjunction with The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas.





The planting of the roof:






Images of the construction and structural framework:





The triangular smart pool can be used for swimming and provides an additional thermal mass that ties into the geothermal system.






Text from the architecture firm:
Edgeland Residence is located on a rehabilitated brownfield site and is a modern re‐interpretation of one of the oldest housing typologies in North America, the Native American Pit House. The Pit House, typically sunken, takes advantage of the earth’s mass to maintain thermal comfort throughout the year. Like this timeless dwelling, Edgeland Residence’s relationship to the landscape both in terms of approach as well as building performance involves an insulative green roof and a 7‐foot excavation‐ gaining benefits from the earth’s mass to help it stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Such an architectural setting presents an opportunity for maximum energy efficiency when combined with high performance systems such as the integrated hydronic HVAC system. The mechanical system combines: hydronic heating and a green roof for maximum energy efficiency.

Edgeland Residence is about healing the land and ameliorating the scars of the site’s industrial past. The project raises awareness about a diminishing natural landscape and its finite resources by creating a balance between the surrounding industrial zone and the natural river residing on opposite side of the site.

Both visually and functionally, Edgeland Residence touches on architecture as site‐specific installation art and as an extension of the landscape. The program is broken up into two separate pavilions, for the living and sleeping quarters, and requires direct contact with the outside elements to pass from one to the other. This project sets new standards for sustainability while providing great aesthetic qualities through its small footprint and integrated mechanical features.

all images and info courtesy of Bercy Chen Studio

Bercy Chen Studio LP is an architecture & urban planning firm with design/build capabilities based in Austin, Texas founded in 2001 by partners Thomas Bercy and Calvin Chen