Cool Hunting

Melt Modern
Matt Proctor and Aixé Djelal are Portland based cast aluminum artisans who create a range of one-of-a-kind decoratives and architectural elements. Aixé describes their work as "molten lava frozen in space," and that's pretty accurate. Their work exhibits an unusual blend of organic shapes, voluptuous lines and surface texture, and is made entirely of recycled aluminum. Melt Modern products and information about custom work...

Wood Exorcist
Yann Hervis is a rare craftsman of inlaid wood marquetry, bridging into contemporary art and interior design. His refined combination of precious woods humanizes the usually cold transit spaces of architectural projects: lobbies, doors, staircases, ceilings, elevators... In the process, while experimenting with the natural grains of wood, their colours, densities, textures, and natural dyes, he came to create his signature "palimpsests". By combining...

Final Wooden House
Blurring the lines between what is a floor and what is a ceiling, the Jenga-like structure of Final Wooden House allows its occupiers to decide how to use the space according to their position. Comprised completely of wood, Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto wanted to express the versatility of lumber by creating one structure that embodies all of the typical functions normally carried out by...

Vienna Design Week 2008: Carpetplots
Reinterpreting the carpet as canvas, Carpetplots is a series of six limited editions each by a different Austrian designer. The project is the work of Vienna-based design duo Danklhampel, who curated the group of designers, and the furniture retailer Prodomo, which hosted the show at their gallery space, Prodomo Windows. What's unique about these carpets (compared to other similar collaborations) is a process, that's...

Reinventing Grand Army Plaza
by Tamara WarrenGrand Army Plaza, the main entrance to Brooklyn's Prospect Park, sprawls across 11 acres in a landscaped oval. With regal statues and a sparkling fountain, it's majestic and — its function as a busy traffic circle separates the cultural landmark from the surrounding pedestrian sidewalks — inaccessible. Reinventing Grand Army Plaza is an exhibit that highlights the visions of 30 top entrants...

Zaha Hadid's ZH Duemilacinque Door Handle Now Available
by Tamara Warren Zaha Hadid, the first woman recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, designed a door handle a couple years back that was manufactured by Italian hardware company Valli & Valli and it is finally on sale now. In a collaboration with Woody Yao, the handle, which is called ZH Duemilacinque, was originally created for the Puerta America Hotel in Madrid. The hotel...