.DesignLovesI.

Tuesday 30 August 2011

Waist Beads

Unlike a necklace or a bracelet, waist beads attract and evoke deep emotional responses within us. Today they are seen as a tasteful and fashionable accessory; however some people still maintain cultural and superstitious beliefs about them. Waist beads originated in Africa where traditionally they were symbolic of Mother Nature's initiation of a young girl. In some parts of Africa, the waist beads are made of fragrant materials like sandalwood and are anointed in oils.

In other parts of Africa and the Diaspora, women wear waistbeads for their own personal pleasure. Some shaman women add crystals and gemstones to facilitate healing by the properties of the particular stones.

Zulu women wear their waist beads to perfection!

Beads played a huge part in marking the stages of a woman's life in Africa. When a young girl reached puberty, this was a time for celebration; a time to marry and bear children. She would make a skirt from beads which was meant to adorn and attract possible suitors. Even after the girl was married, she would wear a string of beads around her waist, which she would 'rattle' for her husband's attentions. These strings of beads stand for femininity, sexual attractiveness and woman power, status and role. Treasuring them is respecting one of Zambia’s most prestigious cultural traditions and tribal sense of status and identity. In Zambia, if a woman wore the string of waist beads around her neck, she was perceived as having loose morals.

Friday 26 August 2011

The Oaza Zdravlja Pharmacy, Belgrade, Serbia (2009)

Designed by Karim Rashid, the Oaza Zdravlja Pharmacy is actually inspired by the healing process of the human body rather than any particular time period.

A double helix of digitally animated LEDs pulses back and forth across the center of the ceiling.

“This form is symbolic of the journey medication takes through the body’s cellular framework.” - Rashid

Courtesy of Karim Rashid

Nhow Hotel, Berlin

Sergei Tchoban's architecture

Karim Rashid's design

nhow Berlin

"Hard edged dockside architecture meets playful futuristic design at nhow hotel Berlin"

- Stuart Blakley

Located on the banks of the river Spree, in the heart of Berlin, the nhow is the world's first ever music hotel. It fuses music, cutting-edge architecture and a vivid interior into an unforgettable, multi-sensory experience. Each of the 304 guest rooms offers a unique space that is experimental in design yet functional, comfortable and equipped with all the amenities needed to make you feel right at home.

Reception Area

"My vision engages technology, visuals, textures, colour, as well as all the needs that are intrinsic to living in a simpler less cluttered but more sensual environment."

- Rashid

The use of asymmetric shapes, irregular lines and psychedelic patterns constantly redefine the hotel experience.

Courtesy of nhow hotels

Thursday 25 August 2011

Will, Montpelier

"Will" is an elegant textile sculpture that was installed by Aalto University. The sunlight created different shadows while the wind moved the textiles making it look like a living organism within the courtyard.

Image Courtesy of FAV, photo © Paul Koslowski

Table Cloth, Los Angeles

Table Cloth (by Ball-Nogues Studio) is a performance space in the courtyard of Schoenberg Hall at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music in Los Angeles. The project is a result of ongoing research into the reuse of temporary structures and installations. Table Cloth serves as an integrated set piece, backdrop, and seating area for student musical performance and everyday social interaction.

It is made of hundreds of individual low, coffee-style tables and three legged stools. Each of these household items is a unique product (no two are alike), fabricated specifically for the installation by Ball-Nogues. The tables and stools link together collectively to form a “fabric” that hangs from the east wall of the courtyard. When the Table Cloth meets the ground, it unrolls to form an intimate “in the round” performance area.