Posts from — April 2009

Here’s some beautiful woodwork to inspire, and in my case relax, on this Monday morning. Jin Kuramoto, who just recently started up his own design studio, collaborated with Shikoku-based wood company Mikamo to create the exquisite pieces.

Jin Kuramoto will be participating in New Wind From Japan for Milan Design Week starting this Wednesday and running for 5 days.

Koenji, located on the western outskirts of central Tokyo, holds a special place in my heart. In 1982, when I was 1, my parents moved out of Brooklyn and settled down, in all places, Koenji to start anew. I went to pre-school there and the majority of my childhood memories are rooted in the area. That’s why I was so excited when I came across renowned architect Toyo Ito’s new project, Za Koenji. Opening May 1st, Za Koenji is slated to become a performing arts center for the area.

With those good ol’ memories with me I’m taking off. Have a nice weekend!

Images courtesy of site／シキチ

Related:

• Toyo Ito Notebook

The capsule hotel is a distinctly Japanese concept catering to business men who have missed their last train home and/or are too drunk to make it home. But a new kind of capsule hotel is now offering grace and redemption to ashamed business men.  First Cabin, which recently opened in Osaka, the birth town of capsule hotels, recreates the experience of first-class flying for just $50 a night. The space was designed by Tadasu Ohe of Plantec Architects, who also happens to sit on the board of directors.

via Nikkei Business

Black Hall is a pretty cool name for a university’s music facility. It’s even cooler when the designer takes a neon-pop color scheme to the interior. Enter Black Hall, a new addition to the Senzoku College of Music – the first school in Japan to offer a Jazz major – designed by Terada Design and unveiled earlier this month. It’s got a jazzy feel, don’t you think?

Update | 10.12.2009
Black Hall just won a 2009 Good Design Award!

If you haven’t heard, Japanese telecomm operator KDDI has teamed up with eccentric artist Yayoi Kusama to launch iida, a new line of artsy phones. Kusama has taken her iconic polka dots, once used to cover everything from naked bodies at a MoMA show to  trees at the Singapore biennial, and created this phone, as Andrew Potter from Reuters eloquently describes it, “camouflaged in coolness.”

However, the 1 million yen (10,000 USD) price tag is a bit redonkulous and I would therefore like to point your attention to something a bit more modest while, personally, ever more exciting. Remember the vine cell charger I wrote about a while back? Well KDDI has decided to rename it ac adapter midori and include it as part of the accessory kit, therefore becoming commercially available! Don’t worry, you won’t have to shell out a million yen just so you can get your hands on that charger.

I love how this new packaging design for udon noodles is both cutesy and luxurious at the same time. It’s for a new type of udon that uses fiber-enhancing dried gourd shavings as an addition to the typically flour-only recipe.  Japanese designer nosigner took on the task of giving this new product an identity that plays up its obscurity, while maintaining the integrity and seniority of the dish…insanity! Ha, 5 ity’s in one sentence!

The new noodles are set to hit stores in June 2009!

Photos by Masaharu Hatta

UPDATE | May 18, 2009
The packaging design for kanpyo udon just won a coveted iF Design Award! Congratulations!

UPDATE | October 7, 2009
The packaging design for kanpyo udon just won best of show in the food category of the even more coveted Pentawards 2009! YAY

Naoki Terada of Terada Design Architects has developed the Write In Measure (2009) for Muji. Fairly self-explanatory, the new measure enables users to jot notes directly onto the tape. I can’t figure out what it’s made out of. Can’t be paper right? Not durable enough. I wonder how well it erases…

Olior is a new project by ex-A4 member Yuki Futa. He recently opted to part ways with the innovative design group (whose awesome tumi ishi children’s game is set to launch in the near future, by the way) to pursue his passions in woodworking. And I was surprised to see such a strong body of work; everything from doghouses to doorstoppers. I think my favorite is this modern take on the traditional Japanese floor chair, or zaisu.

Click on over to ARTINFO for a sneak peak of Japanese photog legend Hiroshi Sugimoto’s new work. I’ve  always had the sense that his photographs occupied the realm of scientific process more than art, which is perfectly understandable given the documentary nature of photography. And with this new body of work he seems to be exploring this idea more than ever.

“Lightning fields 013″

left: “Roofline of Lacock Abbey, most likely 1835–1839″
right: “Arrangement of Botanical Specimens, 1839″

Related:

• Hiroshi Sugimoto’s seascapes at the Gagosian
• New work by Hiroshi Sugimoto

I think the Switch Tray by Masanori Oji of Oji & Design is brilliant. An oldie but a goodie, this baby truly epitomizes the symbiotic relationship between your lights and your keys. It won a kokuyo design award 4 years ago.