Billes Architecture Home Design Competition

by Brian Fichtner

Recently, Cool Hunting was invited to participate as a guest judge in the Billes Architecture Home Design Competition, a student competition aimed at fostering new designs for affordable housing in New Orleans' most devastated neighborhoods. Students from 16 U.S. and five Canadian universities were invited to submit their proposals in the hopes of earning a $1,000 cash prize, but more importantly, working with Billes Architecture to see their proposal get built.

Similar to the competition that served as the starting point for Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation, which has now erected six new homes in the Lower Ninth Ward (three designed by Billes Architecture alone), the aim of this competition was not merely to explore ideas, but to make these ideas reality. To that end, the designs of all ten finalists will be considered for development through Billes' newly formed nonprofit organization, New Designs New Orleans.

As Cool Hunting's emissary, I traveled down to New Orleans last week to witness the awards ceremony and chat with Billes Architecture's principal and founder, the amiable Gerry Billes. While his firm is largely recognized for its commercial output, Gerry has been eager, in post-Katrina New Orleans, to lend a hand in shaping the residential redevelopment in the city's most damaged areas. Despite the rather tight deadline for the competition (invitations were just sent out in December), Gerry seemed pleased with the quality of submissions, particularly those from McGill University in Montreal, which contributed an overwhelming number of entries thanks to the enthusiasm of Michael Jemtrud, the director of McGill's School of Architecture. In fact, three of the five winning entries came out of McGill.

Despite a constrict design brief—one/two floors raised to accommodate the Advisory Base Flood Elevation; three bedrooms; an interior floor plan of roughly 1,500 sf; 30-50 ft wide and 100-150 ft deep lots; eligibility for gold or platinum LEED certification; construction cost of $150,000 to $200,000—I was impressed with the variety and consideration the students gave their proposals. In particular, I found Adaptive Living (top image), by Diandra Maselli and Elisa Costa of McGill University, to be one of the most practical solutions to the design brief. While their exterior lacked the flourish of other finalists, the simplicity of materials and construction coupled with an intuitive floorplan struck me as one of the most viable home designs.

Check out the slideshow above for renderings of all ten finalists (the winning five come first).

Also on Cool Hunting: Capsule Video: Billes Products International Design Contest 2008

Heidiskis Handmade Wood Core Skis

by Tim Yu

A few weeks ago the CH team sadly took our last run down the slopes for the winter at the secluded mountain of Sugarbush Vermont. The fact that it was our last trip was only brightened by the experience of trying the new, all wood core, handmade Heidiskis from Austria. (Pictured above: Joel, Ami and myself on the lift.)

Originally only available made to order, Heidiskis recently introduced an exclusive "tip to tail" handmade trio of wood core skis for retail—the All Mountain, Freeride and Powder. To best serve the snowy conditions Heidiskis created the skis using only Swiss White Ash wood, giving them a great combination of longevity, flex and strength.

Through crud, ice and wet snow the skis felt quiet and stable, providing a smooth, fast ride. We couldn't help but feel great with the skis attached to our boots, while Heidiskis offers custom graphics, the provided designs are classy and fresh.

All three styles are the same price and are available in limited quantities from the Heidiskis website for 1,200€.

Fantastych Triptychs Sale

by CH Contributor

by Tisha Leung

Natural Curiosities, purveyors of mouth-watering historical and educational prints, is having a rare public sale of stunning triptychs. The images are giclée prints printed on Somerset Velvet Fine Art Acid Free paper in their studios in Los Angeles. With every Fantastych Triptych purchase (all are $995) comes four complimentary Curiosity Boxes consisting of a set of 14 loose prints with nature themes. They're only available through 25 April 2009, so contact Natural Curiosities by calling +1 323 906 1083 to purchase.

Khefrie's Flamingo
The design and shape of a flamingo has always fascinated people who love the natural world. One of the most extraordinary birds on the planet, this triptych celebrates its unusual form. Each panel measures 44.5" x 16.5".

Caspari Horse
Inspired by an aristocratic woman standing by her champion horse from 1904 photograph, originally purchased at auction in England, this triptych makes the image more contemporary. Each panel measures 30.25" x 22.25".

Lord Bodner’s Octopus
The octopus holds a certain fondness for Natural Curiosities, represents everything "curious" about what they do as a company. Taken from a copperplate engraving by Lord Bodner, published in 1826 in London as part of a series studying creatures of the deep, this triptych is the newest addition to their continued fascination of the octopus and in particular has the finest detailing the company has found to date. It also comes in brown and each panel measures 51.6" x 23.6".

See more after the jump.