Cool Hunting Video Presents: KK Projects

by Cool Hunting Video

by Michael Tyburski

Starting with a converted bakery in St. Roch, one of New Orleans' most neglected neighborhoods, KK Projects reimagines buildings ravaged by time and Katrina as site-specific artworks, one at a time. This video tours several of the sites and checks in with founder Kirsha Kaechele to learn about her experiences integrating art into one of the roughest ghettos of the city and what it's like to actually live in a gallery.

Illustrator Ilana Kohn

by Lost At E Minor

Brooklyn-based illustrator Ilana Kohn creates vibrantly colored works which practically glow in their playfulness. A graduate of Pratt Institute, Kohn's regular clients include the New York Times, The Deal, Utne Reader and The Advocate.

Studio Junction

by Jacob Resneck

Toronto-based Studio Junction is attempting to create affordable living space for a family of four in what once was a warehouse in industrial Toronto. Reclaiming urban space by in-filling blighted industrial neighborhoods is nothing new. But creating vibrant neighborhoods instead of cookie-cutter condominiums and renovated lofts for the upwardly mobile is entirely different.

The result is Courtyard House– an innovative design using crafted with courtyards that face inward. Taking advantage of natural light and conditions, it creates what the designers call a poetic “space in between.”

”It is the Courtyard House's multivalence--to be urban yet introverted, open yet intimate--that reveals the rich potential of the project's double readings,” writes architecture critic Lola Sheppard in an article in Canadian Architect.

A reception exhibiting these designs was hosted by Come Up To My Room, an alternative design blog that's exhibiting some of the most exciting examples of alternative design in Canada and beyond.

Tony Duvert: Un Anneau D’argent á L’oreille and Abécédaire Malveillant

by Ami Kealoha

The late French writer Tony Duvert is probably best known for When Jonathan Died (Quand Mourut Jonathan), the tale of a mutually destructive sexual relationship between a middle aged artist and a young boy.

Recently two of Duvert's more recent works have been republished by A.P.C. now that interest in the obscure writer has been rekindled since his death.

These later works are Un Anneau D’argent á L’oreille (A Silver Ring in the Ear), which his fans say was his 1982 farewell to novel writing, and then Abécédaire Malveillant (A Spiteful Primer) what has been described as an indictment against all that the author grew to destest—philosophers, priests even his own parents—which eventually drove him into isolation where he died alone last year.

Both are $18 from A.P.C. but neither of these works are available in English translation. At least not yet. You can however purchase "Good Sex Illustrated" for an introduction to Duvert's views on on sex education and children's rights to their bodies and sexuality.

Geo Birdhouse by Kelly Lamb

by CH Contributor

by Laura Neilson

The birdhouse, most often found outside country cabins and other rurally-situated homes, just got updated for the city. L.A.-based designer Kelly Lamb's new geo birdhouse is a sleek new abode for any urban wren, finch or warbler.

Developed throughout the mid-1900s, geodesic domes are most commonly associated with the architect R. Buckminster Fuller, who hoped to popularize them enough to offer a quick and low-cost utopian-like solution to the post-war housing crisis. Known for their aerodynamic, "omnitriangulated" shape, the structures are incredibly strong, despite being free of structural supports. Today the domes are common sights at temporary events such as Nevada's Burning Man Festival.

Multi-media artist Lamb is perhaps most visibly known for her ad campaign collaborations for brands such as Coca Cola, Heineken and Salvatore Ferragamo. While her use of geodesic design also includes a disco ball, Lamb's all-white ceramic birdhouse is an appropriate tribute to Fuller and his intentions for geodesic living. "I do have a fascination with geodesic domes, spheres and faceted things in general, as I feel they reference some sort of abstract eternity," Lamb says. "Each season [the birdhouse] can be occupied by a different bird, which plays into the communal living philosophy that was present during this time period."

The birdhouse can be viewed at Areaware's online site, however it won't be available for purchase until May.

Available for pre-order at Areaware for $95.