Telefonplan Tower

by Evan Orensten

Standing proudly in the Stockholm suburb of Midsommarkransen, the 10 story, 72 meter tall Telefonplan tower—built and used by Ericsson for many years—stood as the center of their corporate campus and served as a neighborhood landmark. Today the neighborhood has grown beyond Ericsson's presence, and local architect Milo Lavén, artist Erik Krikortz and interaction designer Loove Broms have transformed the tower to be a landmark in a new way that brings energy and dialogue to the neighborhood.

The Colour By Numbers project changes the lights on each story of the Telefonplan Tower and is programmable by mobile phone. Anyone can call +46 (70) 57 57 807, select the floor(s) they want to color and then hold down a series of keys to create a unique color. You keep selecting floors and choosing colors until you are finished, and then you can see your creation on the live web cam.

Via WMMNA

Kaiseki Contest Winner

by Letizia Rossi

Last week we gave CH readers a chance to win an autographed copy of Yoshihiro Murata's Kaiseki: The Exquisite Cuisine of Kyoto's Kikunoi Restaurant. Thanks to everyone who wrote in with your Japanese culinary adventure stories. Our winner shared a charming story about a Japanese restaurant discovered in China where every entree included "a small salad with the best dressing we'd ever had, some strange but delicious potato-like vegetable, and a little dish of cream-based soup that had a small piece of chicken and a tiny shrimp hidden at the bottom."

We're still accepting submissions for our Kissology contest through this Friday, 3 November 2006, so send us photos (to leti [at] coolhunting [dot] com) of your best attempts at emulating the masters of glam makeup.

SAT Shower Curtain

by Letizia Rossi

For multi-taskers who eschew the idea of showers as a time for quiet contemplation and would rather cram in a study session while lathering up, The Intuitive Learning Company's (TILCO) line of educational shower curtains brings learning to every room of the home. Striving to "educate by observation through the process of combining a stylistic display of simple educational topics on common products found in the home," TILCO currently offers shower curtains featuring SAT vocabulary, SAT math, english grammar, as well as French and Spanish Vocabulary. Available online for $20.

Anonymous: In the Future No One Will Be Famous

by Ami Kealoha

With an anonymous cast of 11 international artists and a curator, the group show "Anonymous: In the Future No One Will Be Famous" opens today, 31 October 2006, at the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, embracing the flip side of Warhol's quip about 15 minutes of fame. In part a statement against the current over-inflated art market that spawns "artists as brands whose works have become masterpieces in ignorance of philosophy," the exhibit's layout also intentionally confuses the art objects with the everyday fixtures in the gallery—Duchamp-style. Edited by anonymous and Max Hollein, the catalogue includes contributions from Dominic Eichler, Stephan Heidenreich, April Elizabeth Lamm, Eckhart Nickel and Hans Ulrich Obrist and is availiable from Schirn for €20.

Anonymous: In the Future No One Will Be Famous
31 October 2006-14 January 2006
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
Römerberg
60311 Frankfurt, Germany
tel. +49 69 29 98 82 0

via e-flux

LED Calculator Watches: A Brief History

by Watchismo

Before the Hamilton Pulsar (once thought to be the first calculator watch), a gift giving advertisement in the June 1975 issue of Playboy magazine included the Calcron LED Wrist Calculator (pictured left). One of the most collectible, only 50,000 of Hewlett Packard's 1977 HP-100 (pictured center) were made, of which about half were purchased by a Saudi prince. That same year, Sinclair introduced their DIY kit that didn't include a watch function (pictured right) and between 1976-78 Hughes Aircraft Company produced a similarly bulky piece that made appearances on Battlestar Gallactica. Since then, the 80's brought LCDs and every imaginable company produced LCD calculator watches. Go here for more details and images.

Maak Eebuh T-Shirts

by Letizia Rossi

Harlem-based design house Maak Eebuh is launching their debut line of T-shirts "The War Series," aiming to provoke comment and build dialogue about the war in the Middle East. After working in costume design and high-end fashion at Yigal Azrouel, designer Jade Schulz started the line of limited edition tees earlier this year as "a brand whose artwork filters important issues of the moment in a different light." One of her designs, printed with the words "Welcome to the Empyre," uses old-world graphics to play on the concept of an American empire. (Pictured left, click for detail.)

Available in various pigment-dyed colors the 100% cotton shirts are made in California, with a comfy and stylish low-cut neckline and are finished with an enzyme wash to make them extra-soft. Maak Eebuh T-Shirts retail at $59 with 10% of the proceeds going to online. Schulz is currently working on her second collection "The Travel Series" which will be available in Spring of 2007.

Pinkberry

by Wendy Dembo

If you haven’t heard about the wonders of Pinkberry, it's neither a new fragrance nor a nasty skin condition but rather a frozen yogurt phenomena that's already taken over LA and recently opened their first NYC location in Koreatown. Available in only two flavors, plain and green tea (although I've heard no one ever gets the green tea), it’s the many toppings—fresh fruit, crunchy sugary cereal, cookie crumbs, nuts, etc.—that elevate the frozen treat into a personalized dessert. Especially delicious after a salty, garlic-y Korean meal, the yogurt is tangy like real yogurt and not overly sweet like normal frozen yogurt. The space is modernly decorated with Philippe Starck's crystal-clear Charles Ghost stools and Victoria Ghost chairs and wavy, repro pendant lights by Poul Christiansen. Be on the lookout for new stores in Chelsea, the Upper East Side and Soho.

7 West 32nd Street
New York, NY 10001 map
tel. +1 (212) 695 9631